After 11 Tools- Reflection

I found all the tools useful in my classroom and plan to take full advantage of the resources that are provided for us. I believe these tools will enrich the student's learning and will help engage the students. In today's society students are used to technology and it is the teachers job to transform the classroom with up-to-date tools. One of my favorite tools I learned about was the generators and mashups. I never knew there were free resources online like these programs available for the students. I have brainstormed a few different ways I could incorporate these tools into the curriculum and one way would be to do a project of place around the world. The students can present their mashup to the class and then the whole class will learn about a new place. I believe this will engage today's learner because they are not just making a poster and presenting it to the class. Another tool I really enjoyed and found useful were the google tools. This program will be a huge help with my teammates and for the students. I can have my students work on a group project at home and this program will make it easier for them to work together.

The main way my thinking has changed is that it is so easy to use technology in the classroom. Before I started this program I was hesitant to use a lot of different technology with the curriculum. Now I know I can use technology with my teaching everyday in all subjects. There is so much out there available for teachers to use. We just have to be proactive and search for them. This toolkit has given the opportunity to showcase only a few programs that we can use in our classroom.

Honestly, I was surprised of all the programs I will use in my classroom. I did not think I was going to really need to incorporate all the tools into my classroom. I am very excited to get the school year started and get to use these tools with my students!

Toolkit #11- Digital Citizenship

It is very important for all children to be knowledgeable about good digital citizenship. The first thing I will teach my students is the importance of keeping their information private. There are so many ways that strangers can access important information on the web. My students will be aware how personal information should not be posted on the web for people to see. They should never post where they live or any other personal information. Another thing that I would like my students to understand is about plagiarism. I believe students at a young age need to be aware what plagiarism is and how stealing someone's work and putting their own name on it is cheating. Many students may not know what plagiarism is and how it could get them in a great deal of trouble. There are so many resources out on the web that the students should take advantage of but they need to know how to use them correctly. Lastly, I would teach them about cyber-bullying. Everyone needs to be respectful on one another on the web. While commenting on a fellow student's blog, students need to write encouraging, positive messages. Words can hurt and there is no need to purposely hurt someone's feelings. I would use the brainpop website to teach my students about good digital citizenship. The website offers short videos about how to exhibit good digital citizenship using cartoons that will engage the students. Also I will share stories I have heard about situations that have occurred on the web.

Tool #10 Mobile Technology and Apps

During my field experience at Forest Ridge elementary, I was introduced to using mobile devices in the classroom and got to see the effect on the students. I saw the itouch as a huge motivating tool in the classroom. The students absolutely loved getting to use the itouch and the best part was that they were learning a great deal from these devices. In the kindergarten classroom that I observed the students were using the itouch to watch digital stories that read to them a book. The student was able to follow along with the story. There were many reading apps that are available to work with in the classroom.

One of the apps that I reviewed today was the HearPlanet (Lite). HearPlanet (Lite) is a audio tour guide of the world. The student can choose a location that is desired to learn about and this app will give you an abundance of information on the town. I think this app would be perfect to use in the classroom and will use it as a tool when teaching the students about different parts of the world.

Math Drill Lite is an app that allows the student to practice their basic math drills. The program offers reviews, practices, and tests for the student to use. This tool will be great to have the student practice becoming efficient in their drills.

Word Salad is an app that gives the students practice with spelling. The program gives the student tiles that have a letter on them. The student uses the available tiles to create a word. Not all letters will be available to use so that the student has to strategize to figure out what word can be formed.

Itouches and ipods will be incorporated throughout my curriculum in the classroom. As shown through the apps that I have reviewed there are apps for math, reading, social studies, and science. These devices are great to motivate students that are not engaged in learning. In third grade it is important for the students to have their math facts down. Itouch apps like Math Drill Lite will be excellent for students to practice the facts and efficiency. I have seen first hand the impact these devices have had on reading in as low as kindergarten. The devices motivated the students to spend more time reading. The students begged to use their free time reading with the itouches. I saw a huge benefit from using these devices in the classroom.