Web 2.0 tools

I plan to incorporate both blogs and podcasts into my computer classes this year. The first one is blogs. I think the students will enjoy creating and commenting to blogs. I plan to have students blog about photos they will taking as well as different events that occur throughout the school year. I also plan to keep a blog as a form of communication with parents.

The second tool I like is podcasting. Part of our classes intention is to create a video podcast of the schools daily announcements. This video podcast would also be available to parents so they can keep up to date on the schools events.

Both of these tools will introduce students to new ways to communicate with large audiences. They will cover many of the NETS-S and METS in Michigan. The experiences will engage the students in their learning and hopefully their parents as well.

21st Century and New Literacies

The challenges that educators will face include getting the support and equipment necessary to promote the literacy. Also, being able to connect to the world and not be censored by filters that will block everything. The next step is then to shift the focus of teaching away from preparing for the test to lifelong learning. Much of this is caught up in politics. No Child Left Behind has really hindered technological advancement in schools. In fact the students tend to be teaching educators more about technology. Educators need to make a stand and teach the students what they need now and in the future. The following video sheds light on that idea.

First Ever Podcast

Well I have created and published my first ever podcast. A huge thank you to my son Nathan who helped me with the podcast by discussing a book he has read. We enjoyed making the podcast. I had some technical difficulties, but worked through them. We created the podcast using GarageBand and I had to post the podcast to my iWeb site. Click on Calvin and Hobbes.

While looking at the resources on podcasts, I found many that I have since subscribed to via iTunes. I plan to have my 8th grade students do some podcasting this year, but I think it will be in the form of a video podcast. Our thought is part of my 8th grade computer class curriculum will be to do the schools daily announcements as a videocast. All of the teachers in the middle school will subscribe to this videocast daily. This experience will cover many of the NETS, but especially creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, and technology operations and concepts.
I would also, like to do some podcasting with the sixth grade students, but have not come up with an idea at this time. Maybe I will stick with the concept my son and I did and have it be a book talk activity.