Tracy's Wiki

Here is my wiki address: http://tracy-henry.wikispaces.com/

So what do you see is the biggest problem using technology with kids?

The biggest problem I have with using technology with kids is keeping them on task and off of game sites.  It is a chronic problem in our building.  The tech-support people spend most of their day trying to block inappropriate content from making it into the classrooms.  

I hope that as I become more knowledgeable about the technology, I can keep my kids hooked up so that they wont have time to stray.  I have really enjoyed working on the wiki and blog pages, and I am beginning to spend more time with web quests.  I am hooked.  What a wonderful, and engaging, use of technology.  I don't want to stop looking at them.  I hope my students will stay as interested in them as I am!

Here are a few great websites for educational online communities:

http://tappedin.org/tappedin/

http://mathforum.org/

http://knowledgeforum.com/

http://wise-demo.berkley.edu/

http://webquest.org/index.php;

WE-ALL-LEARN

The first letter acrostic or handy mnemonic for the ten openers is WE-ALL-LEARN. These 10 openers help us understand the possibilities for the Web of Learning.

These 10 key learning technology trends are opening access to both formal and informal education. Some of the openers relate to crating or finding information and resources and making them available on the web. (The World is Open, pg. 50) Other openers concern the infrastructure for locating, selecting, and using such resources and generating ways to access them. (The World is Open, pg. 50). Still other openers involve participating in and personalizing these resources. (The World is Open, pg. 50). These 10 openers are as follows:

1. Web Searching in the World of e-Books
2. E-Learning and Blended Learning
3. Availability of Open Source and Free Software
4. Leveraged Resources and Open Course Ware
5. Learning Object Repositories and Portals
6. Learner Participation in Open Information Communities
7. Electronic Collaboration and Interaction
8. Alternative Reality Learning
9. Real-Time Mobility and Portability
10. Networks of Personalized Learning
(The World is Open, pg. 51)

We no longer live in a society in which we can know it all, however, we do live in a world in which we need to know where to look, how to access, and what to focus on to find information. WE-ALL-LEARN is intended to be a road map for how we can enhance the educational possibilities of all learning participants on this planet. (The World is Open, pg. 52)

How to use technology to engage my students over long holidays or snowdays.

My last job was more technologically engaged than my current job. We were required to post all assignments online on a weekly basis. This way both the parents and the students had access to my lesson plans. If we were out of school for several days, and the students took their books home, they could look over upcoming assignments, and therefore, hopefully stay current. I am sure many of my former students spent many hours pouring over their teacher's websites over the long weekend. (lol).

Many of my colleagues also posted links to educational game websites , posted weekly vocabulary lists, reading logs, etc. to help their students stay hooked up to educational learning activities while not actually in the school building. I know my daughter spent quite a lot of time looking over her Spanish vocabulary words that were posted weekly. The school website was also a good place to search for which AR books and tests were available in our district.

I look forward to reading all of the responses to see what other ways technology can be used to keep students engaged over long holidays!

Is Webquest a Web 1.0 or Web 2.0 Technology?

Go to http://www.webquest.org/ and make an argument for whether a webquest is a Web 1.0 or Web 2.0 technology?

Webquest is a Web 1.0 technology that has "grown" into a Web. 2.0 technology. The description of a Webquest taken off of it's website is as follows: The WebQuest model has been around since ancient times: 1995. The web has fundamentally changed since then with the invention of blogs, wikis, podcasts and social tools of every stripe. Has the model kept up, or are WebQuests a relic of the 20th century? In this webinar Bernie Dodge will describe how WebQuests and Web 2.0 go together like chocolate and peanut butter. He’ll show examples of how the latest web-based tools can be embedded in a solid pedagogical structure to make a good lesson great."

Webquest is the perfect example of how a "community" changed itself to keep up with the needs of its members.