CHAPTER 10:  WHAT IT ALL MEANS

     This chapter provided a good synopsis of all the ways in which the Read/Write Web is changing the way in which we live, work, and teach.  Ultimately it changes the way in which we define what it means to be literate.  The old fashioned definition of being literate means to be able to read and write.  Although those are two core measures central to being considered literate, they are no longer enough to ensure understanding.  A major shift in education is transforming the way in which teachers view their role in the classroom.
    Teachers should begin to see themselves as connectors, not only of content, but of people.  Primary sources should be used in the classroom.  In addition, teachers need to become content creators by writing blogs, and using podcasts and wikis and other social tools to deliver content.  Students need to potentially be able to learn 24/7 and these tools can provide just that.  I found it particularly interesting that Richardson talked about the fact that teachers cannot pretend to know everything any more and they need to be willing to tap into the work of others who are willing to contribute their ideas and content.  This book did a great job introducing me to some pretty cool web tools.  Richardson provided good rationale as to why and how one would use the various tools.  This chapter would also have been good to read at the beginning of the book.

CHAPTER 9:  SOCIAL NETWORKS:  Facebook, Ning, Connections, and Communities

     This chapter discussed the two types/purposes of social networking.  The first type of social networking is friendship based.  Facebook provides a nice platform for this type of networking.  I myself enjoy Facebook.  It has enabled me to re-establish old connections from my high school and college days in addition to starting and maintaining new connections (ie, people met at conferences, social events, the workplace, etc.).  I also find it a good way to stay in touch with family members and close friends by sharing pictures, making status updates, and posting important news articles for all to read and make comments on, thus divulging each person's unique point of view or stance on the topic. This in and of itself is a very powerful learning tool.  However, at this point I am not too sure how I would convey to my students the importance of the acceptable use of Facebook.  It is somewhere I do not want to go right now.  Perhaps I will someday be able to wrap by head around the idea.  As for now, my school is like the many other schools that block Facebook from their servers.
     The other type of social networking is interest based.  Richardson discussed how ning.com is a powerful tool for this sort of networking.  However, he did warn that there are some down sides to Ning (such as not being able to share individual blog posts or other artifacts publicly and the site you create is either all private or all public).  I particulary liked the example of how a Career Exploration Coordinator used Ning to have students share and reflect on their internship experiences.  I was the School to Career Coordinator at my school a couple of years ago and wish that I new about this powerful social networking tool.  This tool is a great way to prepare students for the literacy demands of the twenty-first century for sure!

CHAPTER 8:  PODCASTING, VIDEO AND SCREENCASTING, AND LIVE STREAMING:  Multimedia Publishing for the Masses

     This chapter provided just the framework I was looking for in regards to using video and screencasting to show a mathematical process.  As you can tell, I have found the video and screencasting topic to be the most practical for my classroom.  Many of my students have attentional, organizational, and short-term memory difficulties.  Sometimes my students get home and try to complete their homework only to find that they have no idea what their notes mean because they weren't really paying attention when they copied them.  Perhaps they are missing parts of their notes or they forgot to bring their math binder home altogether.  Posting a video and screencast of the daily lesson to my blog or wiki could really help these students out.  At the very least, it would be one less excuse they could have for not completing their homework! 
     I guess I have my homework cut out for me!  I am going to check jingproject.com out to try and start screencasting!  There are many mathematical videos on khanacademy.org  however, some of these videos do not teach certain mathematical concepts the same way that I do.  My students become very familiar with my style, use of prompts, acronyms, mneumonics and steps and procedures.

CHAPTER 7: FUN WITH FLICKR: Creating, Publishing, and Using Images Online

     Flickr sounds like a great way to introduce students not only to digital images and publishing, but also social conversations, and collabrative learning opportunities.  After reading this chapter, I thought to myself all of the cool ways I could use Flickr if I taught an elementary classroom.  I also thought of all the great ways I could use Flickr if I taught English, science, history, art, foreign language, etc.  These subjects seem so much more versatile in the use of Flickr (especially with learning disabled students and the level of math I am teaching them).  I think it would be so cool to use Google maps for history or science.  Flickr is also a valuable tool for current events.  Often times images are posted right as they happen.  The whole notion of having students complete "random writes," or "Flicktion" by  having students pick a random photo from Flickr and writing a story about it seems really cool to me.  Perhaps I am just not thinking outside the box enough and using my creativity to design a lesson plan using web 2.0 tools such as Flickr to teach a mathematics lesson.  In my opinion, math seems like a more difficult subject to teach using these tools for my population of students.
   My husband and I just built a fence around our house (not going to lie, he built it a lot more than I did).  I have thought about using Flickr to show the steps we took when building the fence, incorporating all the mathematical processes we had to use.  I would use the annotation feature in all my pictures documenting all of the tools we used and steps we took to build the fence.  Stay tuned, this may just be the lesson that I present.  However, I am just not sure yet!

   

CHAPTER 6:  THE SOCIAL WEB:  Learning Together

     I have been connected to Facebook since 2008.  While I do still enjoy Facebook, I think I am ready to expand my horizons by joining Twitter.  I must admit that I am reluctant in a way.  When I first joined Facebook, I was obsessed!  As I am getting older with more responsibilities (own a house, two dogs, planning for a family, etc.) I find that I really cannot afford any time to become obsessed!  I guess it is all about finding balance.  Anyhow, I found this chapter to be very informative.  It provided me with some very good ways that I could use Twitter and social bookmarking sites such as Diigo and Delicious.  First of all, I never thought of using Twitter for both personal and professional use.  Personally, I would not think about combining both personal and professional use on Facebook.  I should think that one would have to use good judgement about the content and pictures that they post on Twitter.  For instance, one should not post a picture of themselves in their pregnant nun Halloween costume on Twitter if they are combining both their personal and professional worlds!  Ha!  All joking aside, I can definitely see the benefits of using Twitter for professional use. 
     For a truly paperless system, social bookmarking sites are a must.  These sites allow one to tag information and share links in such an easy way.  Furthermore, one can highlight and leave annotated notes about an article.  Combining this software with RSS is potentially a very powerful tool for educators.  As I have stated before, I primarily teach resource room math.  I cannot imagine my students reading and bookmarking mathematics articles.  However, I can see using this with my academic support students.  I can also foresee myself using this to share information with my colleagues in which we could collaborate on curriculum, etc.

CHAPTER 5:  RSS: The New Killer App for Educators

     Hmmm....what does RSS stand for?  Really Super Software?  Oh, it stands for Really Simple Syndication!  I would have never guessed!  When Keri referenced RSS in class, I didn't think I would have a use for it.  On the contrary, this chapter has really made RSS sound very appealing to me.  I am going to admit that I have not tried it yet.  However, in theory it sounds wonderful.  Content comes to me instead of me going to it.....sign me up!  When I have a little more time (sorry, IEP progress reports needed to be worked on the past week) I plan on setting this up for my own leisurely use at first.  I am going to create my own collection of news and features that will be personalized to my interests.  And yes, I will be one of those people that get articles on Boxers sent to me!  I do potentially see RSS as having tremendous value in my classroom.  I teach mainly resource room math, but I also teach an academic support class.  RSS seems to me to be the perfect tool for teaching students how to manage, analyze, and sythesize multiple streams of simultaneous information.  In order to teach these skills, I first need to get accustomed to this on my own.  When subscribing to a site, you need to make sure it is worthwhile.  For instance, one should look at the advertisements on the site, whether or not the author's full name is there, credentials, how often the site is updated, and the quality of the writing.  Organization of content is important.  I should think that a mismanaged or unorganized RSS feed is comparable to a messy desk or backpack in which a student can never find their homework.  Folders should be created for various topics.  I am rather certain that printed newspapers are going to be obsolete in the near future.  Google Gears sounds like a great program/app that enables one to save the text of whatever you are waiting to read.  This will enable you to be able to read text offline (in case there is not internet access). 
     In the 2012-2013 school year, I plan on having my high school student in my academic support class set up their own Google Reader accounts.  This will require me to book one of the two computer labs available for the whole school each time they need to access their accounts.  However, I do feel that this will be a very valuable resource for them.  This past school year, I had a student who was completing a research paper on Alzheimer's Disease.  In retrospect, if I was aware of RSS feeds, I could have had my student create an RSS feed that would bring in any news about the disease to her aggregator as soon as it was published.  This is like doing research 24 hours a day, but the RSS feed does all the work!  Super cool!

CHAPTER 4:  WIKIS: Easy Collaboration for All

     Up until I took this course, the only type of wiki I knew about was Wikipedia.  I knew that any time I did a web search for almost any topic, Wikipedia would be one of the top sites to come up.  I have also heard many history and English teachers in my school lecturing students and providing strict rules against using information attained from this site in their term papers.  I couldn't help but think to myself that this site was very helpful to me whenever I was researching a question.  While I knew that not all content may be accurate, it was a very useful tool for whatever information that I was trying to gain some knowledge and understanding.  This chapter in the book reinforced my belief that there is a place in schools for not only wikipedia (a site that is constantly being edited) but also for classroom wikis where information can be shared and edited as a class.  The concept that "everyone together is smarter than anyone alone," is a very powerful one.  Using wikis in a classroom is teaching 21st Century skills in which collaborative construction of knowledge and truth is fostered.  As an educator, I am trying to conceive how I am going to employ this poweful tool in my classroom and also my role in the use of them.  I am trying to be positive.  However, I am also being realistic that it may be a couple of years before every student has a device (ie, Ipad, laptop) in which he/she can use all these great tools on a consistent basis.   
      During the 2012-2013 school year, I am going to start to incorporate wikis slowly in my routine teaching practices. I plan on putting the web address to my wiki on all my course syllabi. In addition, the syllabi for each class will be posted on the wiki. I do not feel I can go paperless and not hand out a paper copy yet. Not every student will have a computer, and I am not sure which households may or may not have Internet access. I would also like to post some screencasts of math lessons and notes that I have completed on the smartboard to my wiki. Students will be able to access these notes from home. While I do believe it is important that students practice math problems and take notes by physically writing, I also feel that they should be able to access what they may have missed or not understood in class.

CHAPTER 3:  Weblogs: Get Started!

     I feel Keri has done a good job introducing us to blogger.com, therefore I found this chapter to be mostly a review about what I already know.  However, the author did provide some additional resources that I may decide to check out and investigate further.  I do think that the author has a definite point in this chapter....in order to utilize blogs in the classroom and expect students to use them, one must be adept at blogging themselves.  Actually creating a blog or two of my own has helped me to wrap my head around this whole idea.  I believe it was Confucius that said...."I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand."  I plan on implementing blogs into my teaching pedagogy in small stages.  In the Fall of 2012, I plan on putting my blog address on all my course syllabi.  I will also post my course syllabi to my blog.  In addition, I will start off by posting assignments and homework on the blog.  As of right now, I am not too sure how I am going to incorporate student interaction/authorship on the blog. 
     At this time I disagree with the author's comment that giving each student a weblog basically means a paperless classroom.  I think that it will greatly reduce the amount of paper used, but I simply cannot see it has a paperless classroom until each students has a digital tablet of some sort (i.e. iPad, etc.) that is accessible to them at all times (with an otterbox case might I add!)  Check out the following blog that argues for the extinction of textbooks and other paper-type educational tools:  http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/ My school currently has  an AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) committee that was specifically formed to re-examine the existing policy.  It has been suggested that the no cellphone use ban be lifted.  The thought is that students with smart phones can use these gadgets as an educational tool.  I myself am an iPhone person and plan on checking out the BlogPress app suggested by the author.

CHAPTER 2:  Weblogs: Pedagogy and Practice


     Upon reading chapter 2, there is no doubt in my mind that the use if blogs in the classroom will definitely have a permanent place in the very near future (if not already).  It may be in its infancy at the moment, however, all grade levels seem to be moving towards this new genre of writing.  According to the author, blogs facilitate a new genre called "connective writing" (p. 28).   The author argues that this is a form of writing that encourages bloggers to read carefully and critically.  As I write this very blog, I find myself doing this very skill.
     As I am reading this book, I keep thinking of ways that I could execute weblogs in my high school special education resource room math class.  The superintendent of my school system has a strong vision of leasing ipads and providing every high school student and faculty member with one of these highly sought after devices.  However, the school committee in my town is split on the issue.  There are only two computer labs in my high school.  Each classroom is equipped with only one computer.  This one computer is hooked up to the smartboard and is mostly for teacher use.  I truly feel that more computers need to be made available in order for blogging to be consistently used in everyday instruction and assignments.  I do feel that it is moving in that direction, however painstakenly slow it might be!  We currently have a grading system called x2.  This program allows teachers to create a "page" (essentially a weblog).  On this page, students can reference assignments and submit them.  They can also make comments, etc.  In addition, students and parents can access a portal in which they can see their grades.  Sometimes I think back to when I was in high school, and I think of how I may not have liked it if my parents always had access to every single grade that I received!  In certain respects todays students don't always have it so easy!
     At a recent training, the faculty at my high school learned about a site called Edmodo.  This site resembles facebook, and is a secure social networking tool for teachers and students.  Check it out: edmodo.com .  After all the trainings and readings I have done, I am not sure that I am 100% ready yet to take on the extra responsibilities that may come with social networking and/or blogging in the classroom.  I am sure that many kinks will need to be worked out and also many unforseen problems may arise.  I feel as though I need more trainings to fully wrap my head around classroom management, and user agreements, etc.  Nevertheless, I do think that blogging has a lot of potential in the classroom, and will motivate this generation of digital learners!