Being Literate in the 21st Century

As I watched this YouTube video on being literate in the 21st century, it really got me thinking about how literacy has changed since I was in school. I agree with some of the teachers in the video about the definitions of literacy. When I think about when I learned to read, I think about learning letters and sounds. We had big alphabet books (about 12x12). Each book was a different letter. We practiced tracing, writing, and picking pictures that started with that letter. Nowadays, I think about how my 3 years old does so much with technology. There are so many apps out there to help our kids read. How can we use these avenues to enhance our children's learning. 

Also while I was reading about blogging, the thought that it's really more about reading than writing struck me. I had never thought about that before, but it's so true. Before you begin writing a blog, you need to know the ins and outs of blogs you enjoy reading. It's a great way to get students reading and writing in a different manor. It's different than the routine of writing essays. It's a way to get their creative juices flowing and allows them to branch out a bit more. 

Being literate today is so much more than what it meant even just a few short years ago. As technology emerges, we as teachers need to keep up with those trends. It is our responsibility to teach our students in ways that they understand, and as they use technology more and more, why not use those avenues to get them to learn?

EDET 573 Intro

We're starting a new course for our MET program. It's hard to believe we are winding down this degree! I have learned so many new ways to use technology to help my students learn. With our school moving to 1:1  this year, I know these classes will be a huge benefit! As this class begins (Technology of Enhance Literacy), I am excited to learn ways to get my students reading and writing online. Being a math teacher, I also hope to learn and find ways I can enhance literacy in my classroom. I am excited to begin this journey!

Twitter Chat

I participated in the #flipclass chat. Since we are going 1:1 next year at the middle school, I wanted to see and learn what I could. I didn't get all of my questions answered, but I will continue to follow and participate to get more answers. The chat mainly centered around 3-4 people. It was good to hear what they are saying about their classrooms. The proctor asked some great questions. However, most of them pertained to only those who have already flipped their classrooms. It was still good to read about things that they would do differently and things they liked. Once I get into flipping my own class, it will be a lot easier to participate. I haven't followed anyone yet, but I have a couple in mind. I also want to keep following this chat and find others in my grade level/content area. Overall great experience for my first chat.

Web 2.0 for Educators

One tool that I've really started using educationally this year is Pinterest. Over the summer I started seeing the value that it has educationally. I absolutely love it. Somebody out there has already found or made a lesson that worked for them and are willing to share it with other teachers. I can do a search for a specific topic and find endless resources of activities and assignments and lessons. Last summer I began by doing a broad search for Common Core 7th grade math. I found people that had shared an entire unit. I firmly believe in the saying "Why reinvent the wheel?" If people are willing to share what they've found and made, then it must be of some value. I've only used this as a tool to use as a teacher, but I'm sure eventually someone will start pinning on how to use Pinterest in your classroom. Ay ideas?

Social Networking

Social Networking is a network of friends, colleagues, and other personal contacts. It is an online community with a common interest who use a website or other technologies to communicate with each other and share information, resources, etc. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social+network)

I absolutely love getting to share ideas with other people. I follow Facebook pretty closely. I love being able to stay in touch with old friends and keep track of how they're doing. Over the course of the last year and a half, I am beginning to see how helpful they can be for teaching as well. I started Pinterest a couple of years ago, mainly to find great DIY projects for my home, and I have fallen in love with it. But just over the course of the summer, I have seen how helpful it can be in education as well. So many fellow teachers have created lessons or projects and want to share it with everyone. My philosophy is "Why reinvent the wheel?" If someone has put in all the leg work and is willing to share it with you, USE IT!!!!! I absolutely LOVE Pinterest. 

In the last 2 weeks, I have joined Google+. I really like that you can follow certain topics that interest you. They will pop up any postings on your home screen. You can also post text, pictures, videos, etc. I love the Hangouts and that you can have a personal chat with someone. What's also really cool is the video portion of Hangouts. I think this would be really cool to have a Video Hangout with others schools around the country or even world to show them how diverse we can be. You could also have students follow certain educational sites. I followed Khan Academy, and they are always posting math videos on their page. I could have different students, whether low or high, watch certain videos they post and comment or attempt some problems. It's a very neat way to incorporate a social networking site into education. The kids love it! 

Please share other things you like about Google+ as I am still learning, or any other social networking sites you love for education!

Network Based Classrooms

I am looking forward to making the transition to a networked classroom. I think it can be very exciting especially with how tech savvy our world is becoming. There are lots of good things that can come from a networked classroom. With as much time as our students spend on some form of device, I think they will be much more engaged in what they are learning. It's so different from the traditional method of learning. There are so many different ways students can submit a project or presentation. It allows their creative juices to flow.

With as many advantages that surround a networked classroom, there are also problems that may arise. Of course, you will always have to deal with WiFi issues that arise. As a teacher, I plan on having a back up plan for that case. I also foresee  dealing with students being off task. I thought I had heard of a program that displays all of their screens onto your teacher computer. If any of you know what that's called let me know! I think the biggest thing we may face is that students may not have internet access at home. I want to encourage my students next year to plan time to come in before school or stay after school to get what they need so they won't need to have Internet at home.

I have a couple of programs in my mind that I want to start out using for next year. I don't want to dive in too deep and overwhelm myself. I think trying something new each quarter or even semester would be great. I'm the type of person that needs to experience things myself, then pass them onto my students. I want to use Edmodo for exit tickets. I already put some of my lessons on Educreations and upload them to my website. I want to continue with that.

I think having a networked classroom can be a huge aid in differentiation. I know I've allowed some of my advanced students to work ahead this year. They watch the video lesson and take notes at home, then come in and work on the assignment in class. They've been following a flipped classroom set up, which I love, and so do they. I also have some lower students that have been working on Accelerated Math. I love this program, and I can see how beneficial it can be for all students. Each student has their own track and have to pass a certain area before moving on. It's a great way to focus on certain skills they are lacking or to help students get ahead and focus on skills needed for higher level classes.

Twitter in the Classroom

I am very new to Twitter. I created an account back in August, but I haven't really had the chance to dive into everything it has to offer. I am more of a Facebook person. But as I keep hearing more and more things about Twitter, I have found myself checking Twitter more just in the past few weeks. 

I've started doing some research on how to use it in the classroom. One thing I think I like the best is to create a chat session for help with homework. I wouldn't plan on doing this every night because it would get too time consuming. I would maybe pick a day of the week and a time for students to bring any questions they may have. I also like the idea of maybe posting a weekly extra credit problem or riddle that students could work on. They would be optional, but I would have them due maybe on Mondays. I also like the idea of posting upcoming due dates or test dates. And if we have a test coming up, I would post a review question daily for the week leading up to the test.

Again I am very new to Twitter, but I really like these ideas and would like to start implementing them next year. I think the kids would really like it. What are ways you use Twitter for your classrooms? I would love to hear more ideas to broaden my horizons.

Follow me at @andreaotto08