Reflecting on 11 tools

I'm at the finish line. I have really enjoyed this course, it was so much fun to learn and create images, videos, etc. The most exciting part is that I was able to take my time and really process all the wonderful tools that I will be teaching my students this year. It was also a wonderful idea to take this course over the summer. I was able to relax and enjoy my
summer with my family. Some days were tougher than others though. My daughter ran around pulling me away from the computer or turning oFF my computer to play or read to her. She even told me, "Hurry up mommy and fimish it so we can go swim". Some of my favorite tools are Jing, Diigo, Smilebox, Skype, Animoto, ipad and Google docs. Oh! I think they are all my favorite, too many to choose from. I plan to use PhotoStory/Animoto for my students to summarize stories. My students will use Jing to capture images for Social Studies or Science projects. Diigo is already a hot tool on my computer. I have many bookmarks, just love how much easier it is access my most used websites from any computer.

I remember being so excited when I learned that we would be required to take a technology course over the course of the summer. I thought finally, just what I have been waiting for. I was surprised however at how long it would take me to complete this course. I kept having aha moments and began creating videos, lessons, and capturing images for the school year. I am looking forward to a techno savvy school year, 2010-11 at its best.

Tool # 11 Digital Citizenship

I teach my students to be honest, respectful and responsible. I have the traits of a hero, classroom rules, and science rules instilled in my students and posted in my classroom as a daily reminder. We will be adding digital citizen rules to the list, a must. The three things I will make sure my students understand about being a good digital citizen are first knowing the importance of online safety, plagiarism and cyberbulleying. I will play a big part as well as my student's parents in making sure that they are staying safe online and not sharing personal information. They will also need to know that using someone else’s work as their own from sites is considered cheating (plagiarism). Finally, recognizing cyberbulleying. I will use sources like brain pop videos and others available on the SBISD Educational Technology website.

Tool # 10 Exploring Mobile Technology & Apps

I have apps on my blackberry, but I did not realize how much more is available to download. Oh! I am having an extremely good time now, my cell is going on battery overcharge with apps for myself and my students. Well, I reviewed some of the apps at Apple in Education and was specifically interested in the following apps: abc pocket phonics (games) for the ESL learner, abc iwrite words handwriting game for those students who need handwriting practice and Speak+Read Audio Books to aid in English Language Development. These apps and many more are going to be great additions to my Bilingual Centers. So, I will use the iPad and all the appropriate apps in classroom centers and special projects.

Tool # 9 Sharing Information

I was pleasantly surprised by Jing. Jing is so much fun, it's so easy it shines up right in the top center of your screen. I like that it stays on ready to capture any visuals that might interest me. I can just see my students using it to capture screen shots of States, Continents and Symbols like birds, flowers, etc. for Social Studies projects. I would also use it to leave specific instructions for students to follow while they are working in a center, the list goes on and on..endless possibilities.

Skype is a tool we will use to communicate with students on campus, throughout the district and also around the world. I will have my students have a special friend that they can communicate with about projects, what they are learning, ideas for writing and so forth. We will use it to communicate with our favorite authors or who knows maybe even be on pbskids. I installed it and I am giving it a try, we will see how things go.