Session 3 Blog Entry

Online File Storage

There are many benefits of using an online file storage website rather than saving to your computer or USB drive.  First of all, when you have an online file storage account, you can access your files from anywhere as long as you have internet access.  There have been many days as a teacher that I either forgot my USB drive at home or did not save a file to my USB drive.  Secondly, online storage of files protects you if your USB drive or computer stops working or if you lose them.  This use to be a nightmare situation for teachers, but won’t be the case anymore if you have an online account.  Lastly, online storage sites make it easier to share files with others.  Rather than having to attach files to an email to share with others, most online storage websites make it very simple to share with others.

In October, I attended a district inservice explaining how we are transitioning from using district servers to save files to an internet based storage system (live@edu).  At the start of next year, the “cloud” will be the place teachers or students will have to save files rather than their “home” drive.  When we first learned about Google Docs, I wished that I created all of my worksheets using Google Docs rather than Microsoft Word because it would be very simple to share worksheets with students.  Then I remembered that we will have this capability with the live@edu.  Also, through your live@edu account, everyone will have access to the Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Web Cameras

As a math teacher, I do not see a ton of uses for web cams in a math classroom but I did research some general ways they can be used in the classroom.  Students can take online field trips to places that stream online video.  This link gives a list of online web feeds that could be used as online field trips (http://www.atlanticava.org/WebandCamSites/WebcamTeachers.htm).   Also, students can have a guest speaker or presenter by having a video conference, especially if that person does not live close.  I could also see students having a video conference with a teacher if they have questions on what is going on with class.  

How Class Activities Can Be Used In My Classroom

Social Bookmarking

Before taking this class, I already had a diigo account from my masters program two years ago.  When I created my account, most of my bookmarks were for my personal life rather than for school.  Initially, I thought it was really neat to have your bookmarks available on any computer, but I stopped using it because most of the sites I go to I either know the web address or they are easy to find by using Google.

After our last class, I feel that my diigo account could be very beneficial for myself and my students.  For the last couple of years, I have advertised a few websites to students that they can view if they have questions about topics covered in class.  I have these websites posted on my wiki, but very few students used these websites as an additional resource.  I am curious if students would be more likely to view these if they had their own social bookmarking account or if they had access to my bookmarks.

Another thing I really like about social bookmarking is being able to highlight parts of text and being able to apply sticky notes.  As a teacher, this would be a great way of making sure that students focus in on certain parts of the text, especially if it is a longer article. 

I found an article that explains the essential skills that social bookmarking allows teachers and students to practice (http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/12/22/using-social-bookmarking-in-schools-and-with-students-part-one/).  In addition, I liked the quote they used to support social bookmarking (“Getting information off the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant”).  This is definitely a benefit of having access to others’ bookmarks.  Also, this website (http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Social+Bookmarks) lists some ways schools can use social bookmarking, especially in a school’s Library Media Center.

Web Browsers

I have not done the assignment on the different web browsers yet, but I am interested in learning the pros and cons of each kind of browser.  In the past, I know we have had some issues with Infinite Campus and Compass Learning not working correctly with certain browsers.  Hopefully, the assignment may shed some light on these types of issues.

What I want to learn in CEDO501 Class

By enrolling in these two courses, I want to learn what are the essential aspects of creating an online course since there is a big push from our district and nationwide for online classes. I have my masters from Marian University in Educational Technology so I know a lot about different Web 2.0 tools and online resources (blogs, wikis, etc.) but we never actually created a course using Moodle. Online learning is definitely something that interests me so I am excited to learn how to create a successful online class.

In addition to finding out the essential aspects of an online course, I also want to learn specifically what can be used for a successful online math course. Right now, I feel that high school math courses are one of the more difficult subjects to create a course online for. Currently at our school, we use Compass Learning Odyssey, which is a computer program that uses lesson tutorials to help boost the skills of students who struggle with math. Most of these students dislike math to begin with, but many do not like using this program and find it very difficult to learn math from a computer program. I am open-minded that it is possible to create a strong online math course, but I am sure that there needs to be certain aspects included to accomplish this.

I already had a blog created from my masters program, but I never used it with my students. One way I could envision using a blog is as a way for students to ask specific questions about homework problems. Not only could I answer questions on the blog, but also other classmates could provide answers and clarifications on topics that students are not understanding.

Another way I could see using a blog for my classes is as a way for students to reflect on what they know or their thoughts on a certain topic. I can see this as a way of strengthen students' understanding of the material we are covering. Also, from reading student responses, I can get an understanding on any misconceptions that students have.

I looked up to found a website that has sample math prompts that can be used for blogging (http://futureofmath.misterteacher.com/Writing%20Prompts.pdf).  Also, I found another websites that has blogs that can be used in the math classroom (http://www.onlinedegrees.org/top-25-blogs-for-math-in-the-classroom/). I think these are two great resources that I can refer to help utilize blogs in my classroom.