Week 3: Thing #8

I commented on this post. I read that Ning was going away and was surprised to read her post about Ning, so I commented.

Week 3: Things #7 and #8

I have subscribed to a couple of feeds.  One in particular is the Tech&Learning feed.  It gives me regular updates on news and discoveries in the technology world related to education.

Week 2: Thing #5

My Trading Card!

Week 2: Thing #4

I found this image on Flickr and thought it to be appropriate in my exploration of the Web 2.0 tools. I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and wanted to see how it looked now. I lived there when I was in grade school (30 YEARS AGO). The scenery is still incredibly beautiful.

Click the picture to go to Flickr page

Week 1: Thing 3

As I looked over the copyright "Thing #3", I was struck by the challenge on how to teach the idea of respecting copyright to students so they "get it".

I thought of an idea for them to create something, an idea or an object, that they believe is original. Have them turn it in to me either electronically or in physical form. I would then in turn pass them out to other people with the assignment of having them act or make people believe that it is their idea and they created it first and nobody elses. This will in theory "bother" the original creators and they will wonder why the person "acting" wasn't giving them credit. It would be very interesting how the students would react after having the feeling that their "work" or "idea" was being used without being given credit for it.

Week 1: Thing 2: Battle of the Books

I have got an idea...it is related to Idea 2. Our school participates in Battle of the Books each year and I have always been trying to get some online activities to support their work in reading all of those books. Last year, I created a website where the students could post comprehension questions for their teammates to answer about the books they have read.  It was okay, but they had to enter their own questions and it took more time than I thought it was going to.

This year, I am going to allow the students to create posts on my blog related to the books they have read. Students can then comment, ask questions, leave insightful comments, etc. for books they have read for the benefit of all the other participants.  We will see how it goes.

I would also like to incorporate the discussions on this blog with my work on ALEC, our districts new learning and education portal.  I would like to add all the students participating in Battle of the Books at our school to an ALEC custom class where I can post quizzes, learning activities, etc. to help them succeed in their quest for the Battle of the Books festival at the end of the year.  Looking forward to helping them out.

Week 1: Thing 1: Web 2.0 - ...And We're Off!

The class has started. I am having fun.

Way Cooool Class! Super opportunities! Looking forward to implementing some of these tools with my classes and also sharing these with the teachers in my building. Very easy.

I am changing this post so I follow procedure. I created my avatar and it is supposed to be a representation of me.  It is almost exactly what I am like...except for the young part, and the weight part, but the tennis part is right on.