Reflections Part Two

1. What did you learned?  I learned that applications I already use have RSS readers, so I didn't really need to subscribe, but I did.  I think for the future I will pick a different reader, but for the purposes of this class I will stick with what I have.
2. How will you use what you have learned?  I will use it to help me keep up with all the various sites a visit regularly.  I like having everything in one place.  The only draw back is that I really like being able to see more than two lines at a time of a page.
3. How did you feel about this tool?  I feel okay about this tool.  I think I will use it more for personal than professional use.  I can't think of as many uses of this as I can of the blogs we learned in our previous lesson.
4. What do you not want to forget about this tool?  I don't want to forget to add new feeds when I come across something I really enjoy.
5. How can this be used in the classroom or in your educational role?  I'm not sure yet, other than subscribing to educational blogs.  I'm not sure I could use this with my students.
6. Should you use this in the classroom or your educational role?  See question 5
7. What questions do you still have about this tool?  Right now I don't have any specific questions.  I'm still mulling over the tool.  I'm not sure how often I will really use this particular tool.

My New Subscriptions on Pageflake

I chose Pageflakes, and I really had no good reason for doing so.  I liked the set ups they had more than anything. I've been less than happy with it since setting it up, but hopefully I'll get used to it.  I subscribed to Wil Shipley's blog because he always has interesting things to say, so I thought I would add it.  Also, I subscribed to icanhascheezburger.com because I find funny cat pictures VERY amusing, and finally I subscribed to boingboing.net because it looked really interesting.  I found it on technorati and it looked like it was different than my usual read.

Reflections

Considering this is my first time as more than a mere commenter and observer, I've learned a lot!  I did not know how many resources were out there.  I never thought of how many uses blogging could have in the educational environment.  

I think I will start next year by creating a blog to share with parents that links to my teacher web page.  I would also like to share this information with more of the faculty/staff on my campus, so they would be able to use the tools as well.

I really like this tool.  It has some great classroom applications even if I start small with just a teacher communication blog.

I don't want to forget the basics of creating my blog, I know it sounds silly, but if I want to use it at school or hope to teach anyone else to use it, I have to remember.  I don't think I'll forget posting or any of the other skills because we are practicing a lot, but I only get to create once.  I'm just glad it's REALLY simple to set up.  I would like to show others on my campus how to do this, but August is a long way off!

This could be used tons of different ways.  I think it would be great for staff communication, student learning, and even parent communication.  My favorite way so far is writing workshop.  It is a great way to comment to and question students about their work.  It should definitely be used in my classroom.  I'm not sure how I will get it started yet, but I have plenty of time to think about that as the course progresses. :-)

I'm still processing all that I have learned this week.  I am concerned still about student privacy and permission to participate, but thanks Andy for your comment.  It helped me think more about how to set up in the fall so that I can worry less about those issues.  One more question I have come up with though, it about student blogs.  I had to have email to set this up, so my students would too.  What are some good sites for safe, free student email?

Blogging About the Blogs of Others

Well, I've spent some time checking out the blogs posted on our main page, and I have seen some ideas I really like.  I am quite excited about the one that focused on the 5th grade class's writing assignments.  I like the idea of each student having his/her own section to write in.  I think that would be a truly fantastic way to get students involved.  Another one I really liked was the one from Willard East Elementary.  I think that is a fun and effective way to communicate among staff.  It provides easy access for all faculty and helps answer questions and provide information quickly.  Also, it gives people a way to comment without sending blanket emails to the whole school.

My First Post

Wow!  I really did it.  I was able to become part of the bigger, well I guess Blogger, world.  I posted a picture of the newest additions to my family so I could practice doing that.  They are Statler and Waldorf.  I don't like to post pictures of myself, so generally my pictures will be of the family pets.

Well on to the true purpose of this blog.  I've spent a few hours reading other's blogs.  I have many of the same questions and fears.  Especially the fear of confidentiality.  How do you ensure that students are not being exposed to a larger world that you cannot control?  As well, I worry about those students whose parents deny internet access for them.  How will the use of such tools in the classroom hinder them since they cannot participate.  I also wonder about class access to computers often enough to really make this an effective tool.  I do think it would be a great way to have students communicate and express themselves, especially since it will get them excited about learning because it is new and different.

I think it would be a great tool for student writing projects and questions to me.  I also think it would be a good way to communicate class updates and projects.  It is much easier for me to use so far than the application I use for my teacher web page.