Tool #11

Although I already use a number of the tools presented, I am excited about incorporating WallWisher, CoverItLive, and VuVox into my curriculum. All three have merit...my first test will be with VuVox. On Monday, my Career Preparation students will begin a project on 'job health and safety standards'. They will use VoVox to design an instructional video that will teach employees how to recognize hazards and prevent workplace injuries...should be interesting!

My vision for my classroom is one that always has room for change and to incorporate as much Web2.0 as possible. The more I can expose students to these ever-changing digital tools, the more I have an opportunity to influence them to become life-long learners.

I have already made a number of changes in my classroom to accommodate the 21st Century learner. My computer lab is configured into pods, which is conducive for teaming. I am able to monitor students through both my physical presence (MBWA-management by walking around) and through Vision (a terrific software that gives me an enormous amount of control in my lab).

My only regret through all of this is that I will not have access to the new technology coming onto our campus...perhaps one day soon?

Tool #10

In their book, "Digital Citizenship in Schools" Mike Ribble and Gerald Bailey discuss nine elements of digital citizenship. While all nine elements are equally important, I want to make certain that my students understand digital security, digital etiquette, and digital law.

I have utilized the "Digital Citizenship" text in my classes for several years. As we progress through the semester, I integrate lessons from the book. The first lesson I teach is on etiquette. I teach the students the proper way to address others online; our first practice is through commenting on blogs. Vicki Davis has a wonderful post on "how to comment like a king (or queen)". I use elements of her post to teach the students how to "verbalize" in a positive way through their commenting. From there, I progress to lessons on law (like creative commons and copyright), and security (how to remain safe on the Internet).

As for parents, I share my digital citizenship lessons with them during back-to-school night. I let them know what digital citizenship is and why it is important. Some of them ask for copies of my lessons...I gladly oblige!

Tool #9

This tool talks about how to utilize the new technology coming into the classrooms. Although my classroom will not receive any new technology, I did find Thinkfinity very interesting--and--I can use Thinkfinity through the computers in my lab.

One of the courses that I teach is Global Business. There is a large component of Economics taught in that course. Thinkfinity includes interactive lessons/tutorials on Economics. I'd like to incorporate these tutorials in my lesson plans for next school year (I do not have a section of Global Business this spring). In addition, I can utilize the SBISD Interactive Database to find other web-based tools. Currently, I use Go2Web20 to find and incorporate a variety of Web2.0 tools in my curriculum.

Here are the questions that I am to answer for this tool:

Why do you think it is important to tie the technology to the objective? There's needs to be a relevant connection between the lesson/project objective and the technology that I want the students to use--the why behind the what, if you will.

Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers? Students need to take responsibility for their actions. I have strict policies in my lab that hold students accountable for taking care of the equipment and for digital citizenship. It's imperative for students to learn that there are consequences for actions. By holding them accountable for the equipment, I can facilitate their learning.

Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations? Since I have a one-to-one environment in my lab, I won't necessarily need to incorporate stations. With that said, I do have time limits scheduled for all web assignments. I overview entire projects and then chunk it into daily requirements. This 'chunking' helps to teach time management skills to students. I have learned through trial and error that students need to be responsible for daily 'chunks.' This helps keep them focused and on task--especially during longer, more complicated projects.

List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations? This will not apply to my classroom.

What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station. This will not apply to my classroom.

Tool #8

As a Career and Technology Education teacher, this tool does not apply to me. The technology mentioned in this tool, unfortunately, will not be coming into my CATE classroom. :(

As a side note, however, I do certainly wish that I could somehow add a set of iPads to my computer lab. I have a personal iPad that I use daily and have had a blast with iTunesU. There's a plethora of information that I would love to incorporate for my students in the classroom...perhaps in the near future? We'll see...

Tool #7

Since 2008, I have the privilege of participating in both the Flat Classroom and NetGenEd global collaborative projects. It's amazing to see how students respond when working in teams with students across the globe.

One of my former students, Karla, won an award for her Flat Classroom video. Take a look:

Find more videos like this on Flat Classroom Project

I'd love to post some of the awesome videos that my students did in the 2011 NetGenEd project, but the site is undergoing maintenance right now and I can't access them :(.

This past fall I partnered with friend and colleague, Kim Clayton, to create a collaborative project for our Global Business classes. We utilized a Wikispace and a Ning to facilitate both communication and collaboration. For a first effort, I think we did pretty well. Take a look at the project Wikispace and let me know what you think! The Ning we created is private, so you won't be able to see it unless you request membership and we approve you. Here's a screen shot of the Ning home page.

Kim and I have already decided that we will collaborate again next year. We're considering expanding our collaborative efforts to include at least 2 other Global Business classes in the project.

Tool #6

So far, this is my favorite tool. I already utilize a number of the resources listed, like VoiceThread, Blogger, Google Docs, and PollEverywhere. I was, however, fascinated by WallWisher and CoverItLive.

See, this year I've been working to incorporate 'flipping' into my curriculum. I was introduced to the concept by Alan November this past fall and believe it to be a great way to get students more involved in their learning. I've been utilizing Scribblar and it's worked fairly well. I'm always on the hunt for resources that might be more efficient than Scribblar...

I think that WallWisher and CoverItLive just might fit the bill. I created a Wall for my Business Law class. I will incorporate it whenever we begin a new topic (week of 2/27). The students will read the content from their student text and then submit questions and comments onto the Wall. I will be able to see their comments and both respond immediately and incorporate that information into my overview (no need to cover information they already understand, right? That would be boring).

I created an event in CoverItLive for my Career Preparation class and embedded the event on our class Wikispace. While investigating the resource, I discovered that one of my Flat Classroom Colleagues, Anne Mirtschin, uses the resource in her classroom! I've contacted her for some more details; I'll let you know whenever I hear back!

In the meantime, I've scheduled a CoverItLive event for the week of February 27 for my Career Preparation class. One of the features is live gaming--I think I will set up a game to review them for their next test! My students love competition; it might get a little loud, but I know they'll be into it!

Tool #5

Of the 16 choices listed in Tool #5, I have utilized eight of them with my students. I first tried Glogster and Animoto to showcase my Junior Achievement Company Program students. Take a look at a couple of the marketing tools I created.

Make your own slideshow at Animoto.

I've had the students utilize some of the same tools in class. For example, in Sports & Entertainment Marketing students research different generations and then illustrate both the traits and how marketers can use the information to market products and services to those different generations. Team 8 this past fall really rocked the project. Take a look!

In Career Preparation, student teams utilzed Xtranormal to create an animation that illustrated how to address (positively) an ethical dilemma. Team 5 really did a great job!