On the subject of social bookmarking I am undecided. I do not have all the details yet but these are my thoughts from what I have found;
I think that it could be good to have a collection of sites on a topic or find sites from people with similar interests and be able to find sites and information that would not normally be found. It would be a great way to add to your list of resources.
I think that it could be bad because anyone can add sites to it; sites that are inappropriate for children. It could be just another way to put children at risk.
Social bookmarking could be good in an ideal world but the internet is about as far from an ideal world as you can get.
« Twitter
The 10-12 class did not get the chance to look at Twitter, so I took the initiative to find out a bit of information out for myself. In all the sites I looked in, there were no mentions of how to use Twitter in the early childhood classroom.
I can imagine using this application to communicate with other schools worldwide to gain an insight into their worlds, but with the limited number of characters allowed in Twitter, I think it would encourage children to write in ‘text speak’. Can you imagine a pre-primary child writing to someone in another school or country saying; ‘I wud luv 2 cum 2 c u, pls txt bk l8r.’
This would need to be used under strict supervision to ensure that it is not used in the wrong way or that children are sending inappropriate messages. Bring back pen pals where children wait by the mail box, not the inbox, to get a letter that has had thought put into it about the weeks that have passed and the events that have taken place. I can see how emails can be great way to talk in real time with people on the other side of the world but I can remember the joy of receiving a letter in the mail.
Social Bookmarking »« Second Life
Although Second Life was not presented in my class (10-12), I have read some of the other blog entries and am getting the feeling that it is not something that many pre-service teachers would take with them into the classroom.
From the small amount of research that i have done on the topic, i must say that i agree with them, particularly since i will be teaching early childhood students.
I feel that children have a hard enough time finding their place in the real world without introducing them to a make believe one. Also, we have been encouraged throughout our own learning to make our learning experiences as meaningful and authentic as possible. So where does Second Life fit in with this theory?
There are plenty of CD Roms and other computer programs that have been written and designed specifically for early childhood or primary students that would offer, in my opinion, a far better experience that Second Life could.
I do not like the idea that anyone can join without restriction and the danger for children that this brings with it. I do not think that i would use this in the classroom, at least not for early childhood students. I do not think i would even use it for primary students. I may be able to be persuaded into using it with secondary students but since that it is not my field, i can safely say that this is one innovation that i will not be using.
Twitter »« Google Earth Adam and Joel 23rd October
I missed this week’s innovation presentation due to a headache that kept me in bed all day moaning and groaning. Because I was not present, I decided to do some research of my own to fully understand what Google Earth is and how I could and why I should use it in the classroom.
This is what I found;
‘Google Earth, Google’s satellite imagery-based mapping product puts the whole world on a student’s computer. It enables users to “fly” from space to street level to find geographic information and explore places around the world. Like a video game and a search engine rolled into one, Earth is basically a 3D model of the entire planet that lets you grab, spin and zoom down into any place on Earth. Now, with Google Earth 4.3, you can tour distant cities with Google StreetView, view photo-realistic 3D buildings, and even show your students sunset around the world with the new Sunlight feature,’ http://www.google.com/educators/p_earth.html
10 Cool and Easy Things You Can Do in Google Earth
Want to jump in and start having fun with Google Earth? Try any of the the following:
• View an image of your school, home, or any place on Earth
• Go on a tour of the world
• Get driving directions from one place to another and fly (follow) the route
• View other cool locations and features created by other Google Earth users
• View 3D terrain of a place
• View 3D buildings
• View Weather Information
• View Sky
• View Volcanoes and Earthquake faults
• View Historical Maps
http://www.google.com/educators/start_earth.html
This is what I think.
This is one innovation that I can really see myself using in the classroom. It is too good not to. I can just imagine travelling the world over, from the comfort of the classroom. Students could visit the Eiffel Tower, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Pyramids of Egypt, the African Savannah and so much more. The solar system is easily accessible through Google Earth, as is measuring the distance of countries or states. Also exploring volcanoes without the risk of getting burned is a huge bonus.
Well done Google. This is a great resource that I will definitely be using with the children in my classroom. Can’t wait to get started!
Second Life »« Search Engines – Kim and Tracey 16th October
I really liked the idea of today’s innovation: child friendly search engines.
I can see huge benefits fro using these, particularly when the parent or teacher has control over what children can and can not view.
I found the two that were presented to us to be in need of some changes. For example; Zoeybot.com is still quite advanced with the layout of the site and the language used. I searched for Government and the site came up with the sentence: “The lines between some of the above forms of government can sometimes be ambiguous”. I would love to find a Primary school student who could understand what that means. Also the sites offered were limited to two or three per topic at the most.
Kidzui allows parents or teachers to not only restrict the sites that students can visit but can also add sites they deem appropriate. Staff from Kidzui work 24 hours a day to ensure that the sites are safe for young eyes.
Some unsavoury sites did get through these child-friendly’ search engines though. They really were quite scary, even for me, an adult.
I would use this in the classroom but I would need to check all of the sites thoroughly before allowing the use. I think that this is like most other resources used in the classroom; it needs a level of adult supervision.
Google Earth Adam and Joel 23rd October »« Podcasts – Christina & Sarah 25th September
I can see how podcasts could be used to record information, audio files and books to be listened to in the classroom but I do not think that I have the know-how to use them yet.
I think it would take a bit of work to set up and I am not sure that I would consider giving that time to podcasting just yet. Maybe in the future.
For the moment I think I will stick to CD’s and books.
If I found something really useful that I could find nowhere else, I think I might turn to podcasting.
I hope that I would.
Search Engines – Kim and Tracey 16th October »« Online photo sharing – Justin 9th October
Justin presented online photo sharing today.I like both of the applications that he presented but for different reasons.
I think that Flickr is a great resource for searching for photographs online. It is easy to use and has so many photos to choose from.
Photo Bucket being free was a great incentive and allows users to actually do something with their photos once they have collected/uploaded/downloaded them. I really liked the idea of creating an online scrapbook with a collection of photos.
I think that in the classroom I would use Flickr to search for photographs but Photo Bucket for working with photographs. I can imagine going on an excursion or completing a term’s worth of work and creating a scrapbook or slideshow of photographs for students and parents to view.
The added bonus of Photo Bucket is that unlimited albums can be created for no cost, allowing each student to have their own album of their work and any photographs that are important to them.
I do believe that this is one application that I will definitely be using in the classroom.
Podcasts – Christina & Sarah 25th September »« Smartboards – Sarah and Kate 25th September
Interactive whiteboards have always been one of those innovations that I just did not feel confident when using them.
This week’s presentation really gave me an introduction on how to use them and ways of using them in the classroom. In my prac which will take place in November, I will have the opportunity to use an interactive whiteboard. I now feel that I can do this with some level of confidence.
I found this presentation to be extremely helpful.
Thanks for information and the how-to guide guys.
It was great.
Online photo sharing – Justin 9th October »« Clickers – Chris and Robert 16th October
I can’t wait to take my class outside or on an excursion and get their responses using clickers. Recording responses, thoughts and opinions away from the classroom for later viewing would be a great way to work in and out of the classroom.
Clickers allow student involvement in classroom activities and tests.
The allow students who don’t like to speak up in class, the ability to contribute to discussions, voting, etc, without speaking up and risking ridicule.
Clickers could be used voting for themes for work in the classroom. They allow immediate feed back from the teacher to the students and from the students to the teacher.
The only limitations that I can see are that questions given to students to answer are limited to multiple choice and students can cheat by pressing the same number on their clickers.
Overall, I feel that clickers are one more resource that I would use in the classroom if I was given the chance, although I don’t know how east they would be to control in an early childhood classroom.
Smartboards – Sarah and Kate 25th September »« iPod and mp3 players Denise & Hayley 9th October
A lot more can be done with mp3 players than I originally thought.
Quizzes, flashcards, voice over.
I can see how they could be used in the classrooms but I still do not feel all that confident in using the. I think I need to have a bit more hands on experience with this innovation before I would consider using these in the classroom.
However, after seeing the presentation this week, I now have a sense of curiosity that will hopefully see me furthering my own knowledge.
Clickers – Chris and Robert 16th October »« Facebook and MySpace 18th September
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