BP10_2009123_PeerReviewCarolynChew

Carolyn I loved your one minute massage on GoAnimate. This is a tool I would really love to introduce to my students. Great post and video!

BP10_2009123_PeerReviewChuks

Chuk this is for you! I loved your posting on Flickr-teaching creative writing. I especially loved the sample poems you posted. Didn't know you liked and wrote poetry. Does it say that on your profile? I've looked at it a few times but I don't remember reading that. This is a great post and will poetry and creative writing in mind when interacting with Flicker. Great post!

BP15_2009123_OneMinuteMessage2

Please check my podcast on blogging and why it is a great web 2.0 tool for anyone especially teachers.

BP5_2009121_SocialBookmarking

Social Bookmarking, what is it anyway and how does it help me? Well whether you are sending emails with attachments or simpling working on blogs and inviting others to view and share in the ideas posted on your blogs, you are taking part in social bookmarking. Social bookmarking is a method used by Internet users to share, search, organize and manage bookmarks of resources found the world wide web, Keep in mind that bookmarks reference these resources but does note share them. This is a great tool for anyone looking to share ideas with others. It is an easy and simple way to share and reference information. One that I have learned about from ETC is Delicious.

I found the following list of what you can do with Social Bookmarks or what Social Bookmarks can do for you

from an article posted by About.com: Web Trends entitled

Social Bookmarking 101 - What is Social Bookmarking and How Can It Help Me?

"Not only can you save your favorite websites and send them to your friends, but you can also look at what other people have found interesting enough to tag. Most social bookmarking sites allow you to browse through the items based on most popular, recently added, or belonging to a certain category like shopping, technology, politics, blogging, news, sports, etc.

You can even search through what people have bookmarked by typing in what you are looking for in the search tool. In fact, social bookmarking sites are being used asintelligent search engines." (http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialbookmarking101/p/aboutsocialtags.htm)

I have also included some screenshots of some social bookmarking tools and links to these tools.

So my social friends, if you have not been social bookmarking, I hope the above reasons will get you started.

http://delicious.com/

• www.BookmarkingDemon.com

BP10_2009122_PeerReviewMichaelMcCurdy

For this blog entry, I am researching the Web 2.0 tool, GameClassroom.com. “Game Classroom is a one-stop web destination for accessing high-quality educational games, and homework help for K-6 students” (GameClassroom.com)

1. I have taught music at the elementary school level for 10 years as of this post. Because my initial undergraduate major was electric engineering, I have always stressed the importance of learning core subjects to my students. There would be many times where I would integrate my music curriculum with the subject material being taught in the homerooms. So GameClassroom.com seemed like a resource I would like to research in order to share with the core subject teachers.
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GameClassroom.com is not directly collaborative as many other Web 2.0 tools, such as Flickr, Blogger, Wikia, etc. It is, however, very INTERACTIVE. Students who go to GameClassroom.com are not passive participants in their learning. Because the content is based on educational games, GameClassroom.com students are active participants in their learning.

GameClassroom.com allows students to select from two main categories: Language Arts and Math (as of this posting there is not a section for Science. Each category is separate skills for each grade. And each skill has a specific topic. Suggested games in the GameClassroom.com can be found in each skill level. The games give instantaneous feedback to the student. Games for lower grades have excellent demonstrations and are designed for the beginner learner. Games for older students have visual instructions and are designed for the older learner. The game engines do not frustrate the learner, so he or she is able to focus on answering the questions by whatever means the games use. Interestingly enough, I found it rather insightful to practice my skills on games for all ages. I realized that my teaching skills would benefit from occasionally playing these games. I found it interesting to compare how I present content to how the games found on GameClassroom.com present content.

There is so much good content on GameClassroom.com (except for the lack of a science section) that this is a highly recommended Web 2.0 tool for all elementary school teachers.

References:

GameClassroom.com (2009) Retrieved December 13, 2009, from http://www.gameclassroom.com/

Images:

All images are user-generated screenshots from http://www.gameclassroom.com/

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BP12_2009123_Tool#4(blogs)

Blogs, blogging or blogger any way you call it, blog is a web 2.0 tool I have come to love. This web-publishing tool allows me to post anything from text materials to artwork and even videos quickly and with ease. I find my blog site to be very user friendly and fun. I can easily change the look of my blog web site by the click of few buttons. There is no guesswork when it comes to maintaining a blog website. As a student one thing I like about blog is the convenience it provides me. I can access it from anywhere at anytime. There are no special technical skills required to be a blogger. Just create your blog web site, choose any topic and blog away. I am writing a blog on blog. How cool is that! Blogs are excellent tool for teachers. Besides using blogs as a communication tool with students and parents, teachers can use blogs for collaboration, as a motivational tool, and discussion forum. There are a lot of things teachers can do with their students using blogs. You can use blogs to differentiate instruction so that all of your different types of learners are learning at their optimal. Blogs can be used for writing and reading assignments. It is an excellent tool to integrate into writing activities, especially for students who are not so fond of writing. Blogs can also be used for classroom management. According to the posting by Teaching Today, blogs can serve as a portal to foster a community of learners. They can be used to inform students of class requirements, post handouts, notices, and homework assignments, or act as a question and answer board. Blog is an excellent tool for teaching and blogging is a great skill to add to your list of mastered skills as an educator. You owe it to yourself and your students to start blogging. (http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/blog-basics). To get started with blogging, go to www.blogger.com and create an account. It is as easy as ABC. Happy blogging!

BP12_2009123_Tool#4(edu 2.0 for school)

edu 2.0 for school:

This is a fantastic site for educators or anyone looking to create an online school. The following is a quote directly from the site I created for myself:

The site makes it easy for teachers to create classes and for students to enroll in them. It also allows administrators to monitor and control every aspect of the system. The end result is that teaching becomes more efficient and enjoyable. Teachers use this site to create online lessons with resources such as pictures, video and audio. They also set, track and grade assignments online. The system includes the latest collaborative tools such as blogs, wikis, forums, chat rooms, RSS feeds and debates. Teachers can make transcripts of the student's work available to parents so they can see how their child is doing. (http://tea.edu20.org/site)

I created my site in minutes. From what I could see, this is a very professional web site. You can create your own online school. I plan on using it to create online homework assignments and in school technology based workstations for my students. It is just like actual school. You can add your lessons and schedule assignments for the students. You can also track completion of assignments and grade these assignments online. Creating an account is so easy anyone can create an account in minutes. You can customize your site with pictures, videos and other forms of media. It is a win, win situation for teachers and parents. I love this site because it puts you in control of your classroom even when you are not there. For those looking to start their own school, it is a great starting point for an online school or interactive school website. You can use the free one or contact them for a chance to be licensed with your own edu 2.0 site. Keep in mind this is optional so the site is completely free. In fact the site’s motto is “the free, easy way to teach and learn online.” (http://tea.edu20.org/site) This is an accurate description of the site. It is free to create your own online school, it is easy to set up the site.

References:

Retrieved December, 13, 2009 from http://tea.edu20.org/site