Blogging about Glogging

Paige and I were responsible for the Glogster portion of the Web 2.0 Wiki we have worked on as a class. I must say that I fell in love with this fun and innovative way of learning and self-expression in general. What a clever idea an interactive poster is! Students can use these to do About-Me projects, book reports, or nearly any type of project requiring a poster. As a teacher, I plan to use this tool to bring color and vibrancy into a mundane lesson.

While preparing the Glog used in our presentation, we did have trouble discovering some of the more advanced techniques that really enhance your finished product. Paige was able to go in after I created a rough draft and edit it with animation and text boxes that really made our work great. Next time, I think I will mess around with the various settings extensively before diving in to a new Glog because a good background knowledge of the various capabilities makes Glogster use much easier. Most importantly, I think Glogster really taught me that learning should and CAN be a fun, bright experience, and as a teacher, I should always be on the look out for tools that make an enhanced experience possible.

A Glimpse at Our Glog on Glogster

Oh My Wordle!

Today we learned about Wordle! Basically Wordle is a web 2.0 tool that can be used to create word clouds that you can apply in many different ways to your classroom. It is most certainly a unique and fun tool, very creative and perfect for adding color and design to any syllabus, worksheet, or learning experience. Unfortunately, one thing about the tool is flawed: once you have entered in your text and created the word cloud, you cannot go back and edit the words.Take, for instance, my "about me" word cloud:

 

So as you can see, I intended to emphasize my name and my boyfriend's name. However, I obviously would have liked my name to appear larger than his since this is an "about me" word cloud. I thought leaving it this way would give a visual representation of what I disliked about the tool: the inability to edit without starting over. I do not, however, want to take away from how neat and fun this tool is overall. Next time, I will simply count the words that I want emphasis on before creating the cloud. This way the word I want to be the largest will be listed the greater amount of times. It's as simple as that!

I think using this tool for "about me" assignments could be very fun for the younger, less technologically involved students. Using this tool is very basic and no registration is required. Most importantly, you can personalize the text, colors, fonts, etc!

The Wonders of WebQuest

This past week seemed slightly overwhelming as our class has shifted focus from one web 2.0 tool a week to learning about multiple tools at a time. The primary focus of last week, however, was yet another tool I had never heard of: WebQuest. WebQuest works much like an online project, where students are encouraged to collaborate and problem-solve as a unit. This type of learning is very hands-on and engaging for the students. I should take a brief second to tweak what I have been saying. What I have been describing is the ideal WebQuest- the type that a teacher should integrate in the classroom. However, as we learned through our WebQuest about WebQuests evaluation, there are both good and bad WebQuests out there and careful attention needs to be paid by the teacher before accidentally using a poor one.

When completing and discussing the WebQuest about WebQuests Worksheet, my group learned a lot about this unique tool. It was very beneficial to be assigned individual tasks, then come together to discuss our findings. The collective ranking of the sample WebQuests allowed us to determine what is most important in finding a good Webquest and what aspect of evaluating can be given less attention. We decided that a good WebQuest forces students to make decisions through teamwork and collaboration. The task is clearly stated, and the goal can be reasonably executed. While efficiency is important, a longer project with better long-term benefits is acceptable over a shorter project in which the goals are overly simplistic and could be accomplished through other means.

After completing the WebQuest as a group, we were sent to find our own WebQuest for classroom use. The one I found is called Earth Buddies. This WebQuest is designed for a second grade class and is designed to educate students about the reality of our environmental predicament (too many landfills and too much waste) and allow them to educate others about their newly-acquired knowledge through artistic expression. I evaluated this site using the same general roles from the group work, with an emphasis on collaboration, creativity, and problem solving. This WebQuest ranked highly in these aspects, and the overall appearance of the WebQuest was professionally executed and seemingly suitable for the young learner.

While I eventually found this great WebQuest, searching for a strong one proved time-consuming. A word of advise to future WebQuest users: plan ahead to allow time to find the perfect one! You have to examine multiple sites before you find a wonderfully executed one such as Earth Buddies. I can totally see myself using this WebQuest in my future classroom. The environment is such an important topic right now, and allowing students to brainstorm on possible solutions to landfills will encourage more healthy habits such as recycling and reusing.

I think this web 2.0 tool is great way to supplement material. When chosen correctly, the WebQuest will be stimulating and in many ways, fun for the students. Isn't that, after all, what group work and projects should be?

Earth Buddies WebQuest

Website Evaluating

For the latest assignment, we were to work independently and evaluate a website for its reliability and usability. I chose KidsKnowIt.com for my evaluation. This site was absolutely something I could see myself integrating into my future classroom. Everything on the site seemed informative and interactive. The evaluation we were asked to complete caused me to check out each component of the site, from the creator and publisher down to the accessibility. Looking at the evaluation as a check list, KidsKnowIt Network passes with flying colors.

If I were to integrate this site into my future classroom, I would use tools such as the educational podcast and movies. I also found a very handy spelling page where one can create a custom list of words that would be applied to any of the nine games. Students could use this tool in order to learn their new words. There are also endless educational games, which associate fun with learning. There are even a couple of databases on this site where students can explore. And then there's the best part- EVERYTHING, and I mean literally everything, on this site is completely free in access. There are no limits, as the hope of the creator is that this site will reach endless children and provide them with free educational resources.

Through this web evaluation, I discovered that utilizing a website in the classroom is not the first step. The first step is the most important- examining a website thoroughly in order to determine if it is reputable, safe, and kid-friendly. I think this realization midway through my evaluation made the critiquing run smoothly. Next time I think about finding a website to use, I will utilize these steps so I insure that the site is appropriate. For now, I can say that I will be continually revisiting KidsKnowIt.com so that when I begin my teaching career, I will already be familiar with a great educational website.

This activity assisted me by providing me with a prime example of a suitable website for students. It also opened my eyes to the processes necessary in order to fully evaluate the worth of a site. It showed me how endless the possibilities can be when a teacher finds a great educational website. Great sites can be applied to the learning process in so many ways through interactive games, podcasts, videos, databases, worksheets, etc. I look forward to stumbling upon other educational websites in the future!


KidsKnowIt.com: