Blogs in Education

1. Discuss your search results and why you feel they were similar or different:
When I searched for “Educational Blogs” on the search engines Google, Yahoo, and MSN, I found similarities and differences among the search results. The number of results for “Educational Blogs” was vastly different among these results. I received 15,500,000 results from the Google search engine, 4,590,000 results from the Yahoo search engine, and 757,050 results from the MSN search engine. There are so many keywords about blogs, so there were differences in the reference websites that showed in each search engine. When I searched Yahoo, I found many results to be about teachers and how they use blogs as a learning community. The websites that were predominant on Yahoo’s search engine were teacher blogs, edblogger praxis, etc. When I searched Google, I found specific websites for weblogs, blogs in education, and Kathy Schrock’s homepage. These results were similar to MSN’s results. MSN provided me with educational blogs, weblogs, and also Kathy Schrock’s homepage. These results had similar keywords as the Google’s search engine. This was a great exercise because I was able to see the differences in results, and how I can use resources to find more than one answer or result.

2. Identify and describe 3 interesting/innovative ways blogs are being used in k-12 classrooms:
Blogs are a great way to communicate within the classroom. They can help with getting ideas out in the open for discussion. The teacher can also post his/her thoughts about the blog topic and provide insight about his/her own experiences. Teachers can look at other blogs for resources and get new ideas for their own classroom. You can also use a blog to post information about your school, which is helpful for other staff members and school districts. You can also use your blog to add links to outside sources that can be helpful for many students, parents, and faculty. There is also no advertising ever, so this is great to keep your learning goals on task. There are many great things you can do with a blog, for you can use blogs as a source to learn how to work with technology. Integrating technology into the classroom is so important, and the blogs provide access to this opportunity. The blogs are for the students to learn and are a great idea to make your classroom interesting and innovative!

3. Describe your search on RSS readers/aggregators and how you might use them in a classroom:
RSS readers are a great way to provide information! They provide news updates that are simple for your computer. These files are read in a program called an aggregator. An aggregator collects news from different websites that can be provided for you. I would use both of these in my classroom to continue the idea of communication! The RSS readers would be great for news headlines, so I think this would be very important in my classroom. Depending on the age of my students, I may want to choose an appropriate aggregator that provides adequate information for the age range. I could post these RSS readers and aggregators to my personal webpage, which would be very appropriate for my teacher web, like the ones we have already made in our T&L445 class. This use of RSS readers and aggregators will help in the process of communication, so not only will my students know what is going on, but so will their parents, staff members, and other visitors to my teacher web. I think the RSS readers and aggregators are a great idea, and I know I could use these resources in my classroom to provide efficient communication skills.

4. Discuss the impact you think blogging and using RSS readers may have on k-12 classrooms:
I think blogging and using RSS readers will have a major impact on the k-12 classroom. You can use these resources for any age, in which will allow the students to become more comfortable with technology. These students will be able to speak freely about their opinions on the blogs and therefore, will allow for discussion and open minds in learning. The RSS readers will allow all of the students to be informed about different updates in the world, in the school, or in our classroom. The impact on these students from blogging and RSS readers will all be beneficial and positive; therefore, I know I will provide these opportunities in my own classroom.

5. Describe at least 2 pros and 2 cons of using blogs and RSS readers in education:
Blogs and RSS readers are great because they allow for communication and discussion to occur. These resources allow students to feel openly about their opinions and have the opportunity to see what others have written about the same topic. The blogs and RSS readers are also great because it is an effective place to inform your classroom about upcoming assignments and news in the classroom. RSS readers are great because they give updates that are quick and reliable. There aren’t too many negative points about blogs and RSS readers, but these resources can be difficult for some. If the students are too young for technology, these resources wouldn’t be the best or most effective. It may also be a bad idea for students’ ideas to be posted openly for class discussion. Some students may become intimidated to write how they really feel, or their information could allow for someone to copy ideas or make fun of the person. The blogs and RSS readers seem to have a greater positive effect on learning than negative, so I know I will use these resources in my classroom.

BLOG on Webquest and Wiki

I found it very beneficial to use a webquest and wiki as a resource for many reasons! After reviewing examples of webquests and wikis and discussing them with my group, I was able to identify items that I missed, how I would do something differently, and how I would apply a webquest/wiki in my classroom.

What I missed: When discussing webquests and wikis with my fellow classmates, we came to a conclusion that webquests/wikis are helpful! We all got the same idea of a webquest and wiki, where we knew they were great resources to look up other lesson plans from teachers. We all decided that webquests/wikis are great locations to organize classroom information and activities, where we can easily post our assignments at this webpage. When we were discussing the webquests I realized that you could also put your grading evaluations, rubrics, and calendars on your page, in which I didn’t recognize this earlier in the assignment. I now have a better understanding of webquests/wikis because of this group discussion.

How I would do something differently: I think webquests/wikis are great! When I was filling out our webquest assignment sheet, I was just scanning though websites and ideas, so now I want to go back through and examine each idea more in depth! I want to take my time and visit as many webquests/wikis to get more and more ideas about lesson plans/units. There is so much information out there, so I want to take my time now and learn as much as I can!

How I would apply a webquest/wiki in my classroom: I think these resources are great to use in your classroom because you can organize all of your assignments online! This allows the students to feel more comfortable with computers and the internet, while learning other subjects at the same time! I have many possible ideas for webquest/wiki activities like doing units on multiplication tables, geology projects of before and after erosion, astronomy/planets/stars/moon, history of Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail, and also the Trail of Tears about the Cherokee Indians. There are many possibilities and I look forward to how I can use this resource in my own classroom!

Learning Theories-Stephanie Simmons

There are many theories about learning! You can begin to understand the learning process by reviewing the behavioral learning theories of operant and classical conditions, the constructivist theories, the cognitive theories of schemas and information processing, the Myers-Briggs cognitive type theory, and finally Gardner‘s multiple intelligence theory. Many of these theories can be related to technology, where I will choose one as an example to create a better understanding about the learning process, while integrating technology to the learning theory.

Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory is one of my favorite learning theories. This theory covers a variety of learning styles; verbal-linguistic, mathematical-logical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, existential, and musical. As a teacher, you must try to meet each category when teaching a lesson. The lesson may not be able to include every category always, but the category must be met sometime during the unit. When teachers provide a strategy for each category, the teacher is allowing every child the opportunity to learn. There are many multiple intelligences, where each category can be met through the proper teaching methods in a technology class. I will give a few examples of intelligences, while integrating technology to the learning theory. While using technology, the verbal-linguistic category can be met when the computer can talk back to the student. I have personally experienced a program like this in middle school, where the computer program would tell me what words I just typed. This was very helpful in my learning to type and use a computer. Another category that can be met using technology is the mathematical-logical category. You can also easily complete a math project on a computer. In high school calculus, I used graphs on the computer to help me understand my mathematical assignment. This also related to the visual-spatial category because I could see the bell shaped curve and really understand the distributions of calculus. Technology was very helpful in meeting my needs as a visual learner. Another category that technology can fulfill is the musical intelligence. There are many programs on computers that deal with music programs. These assignments can become very creative and will also meet other intelligences like verbal and visual, while working with the musical category. As you can see, there are many learning theories and many intelligences, where integrating technology will not be difficult. Technology can easily be applied to learning theories and I plan to include technology into my lessons as a future teacher.