Thing #22

Nings are social networks that are used in a professional setting.I think that this could be a great resource when collaborating with others. It is a great tool to be able to share and getting ideas from others. I explored teacherlingo which is a great tool to know and explore in the field of education!

Thing #23

I had a great time exploring the 23 Things! This was a great tool to learn about different this that can be used in the library and the classroom.I learned so many things. I was able to understand somethings that I head seen before but never truly understood. I hope to and plan to use many of these things in the future.

This program has assisted me in continuing to see how technology can be used in so many different ways.

I was really surprised at the free software that is compatible to Microsoft Office.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I just wish that I had more time to explore each thing. I think that it would also be a great idea to present information for either the midterm or final presentation to use one of the things explored in the setting.

ONE WORD:Endless

Thing #20

Write a post for Thing #20 about your video finds and the value of having access to so many video resources. Embed at least one of the videos you selected into your post.

I think YouTube and TeacherTube are great resources to use in the library and classroom. It is a great tool that encourage learners through many visual learning too that can reach more learners in a new way. I found a video that would be great to practice sight words. This is a great transition video that can be used to review words in the classroom.

Thing #19

This tool is special because Web 2.0 Awards List has a variety of tools that can be used in the Library and in the classroom. The tools listed on the Awards List can integrate technology and make learning fun. However, some of these some of the tools may not be able to be accessed at school.

Comiqs, is a great tool that can be used in the library to retell stories. Librarians can use this tool to promote books books that can get students interested in reading. Through the use of images and a comic book style layout can make using this site fun. In my own setting this can be a great scrap booking and keeping up with thoughts and memories. Its just a fun tool!

Thing #18

Ok, I love Open Office! This a great tool that can be used throughout the education field. I personally like this tool because users are allowed to create documents that is compatible on any computer and its FREE!!!! I have been a MAC user and PC has not always been my first choice. I have been challenged to buy software to be able to complete assignments. A site like this makes creating, similar to Microsoft Office.

When purchasing computers adding Word Processing and things found in Microsoft Office can be expensive (it is not included software) and is usually offered only through a trial period. Students can use this resource at home and at school, cutting the cost of software for schools. Disadvantages might include whether or not its as accessible to all audiences. It also a tool that is not as popular as Microsoft Office, so getting users involved could be a challenge.

Love it!

Thing #17

Wow! This thing was exciting. I thought this was a cool tool to utilize searches more effectively. Being able to find something or a topic that is being searched for quickly can save a lot of time. Teachers and librarians must have a great way of saving time and using this tool can do that.

I created a search engine geared for Kindergarten resources. It is what I am currently teaching and is something that I can continue to use in the coming year. Here is my site.

Thing #16

Wiki's can be used in many different ways. I think that in the classroom that teachers can be used in a way for resources for teachers, parents, and staff. I think that teachers can use Wiki's for lesson plans and other tools to get ideas for lessons. I published my thoughts about 23 Things on the Spring Branch ISD Wiki, or sandbox, describing my experience while utilizing the Wiki.

Teachers can use Wiki's to get information out to student's, parent's, and community. A wiki can be a great way to inform parents of what is going on in the classroom. A wiki can allow parents the opportunity to ask questions and update information.

Although I have been familiar with Wiki's I am sad to say that may of my fellow teachers are unaware of Wiki's. I think that it is unfortunate because it is a great resource that can be utilized by users in a quick and easy way.

Thing #15

Library 2.0 is a term that is used to described the "update" and new 21st century library. I think that it means that it is an attempt to coin the evolution of the changing library system.

In the school library I think that it means that things are changing. Instead of thinking of a library as a place for books and research, libraries are now integrated and infused with technology.

To a temporary place in time is an article by Dr. Wendy Schultz. In her description of Library 2.0 she believes the same idea that the library has changed. She puts a great emphasis on technology and the influence it has had on books and reading. I think that this article did a great job of describing how and why 2.0 is a great tool that has helped evolve the library. She also projects what libraries will ideally become in the future and the inclusion of more technology.

Thing #14

Technorati was a bit confusing when I first wen to the site. Popular blogs on the site was under construction. I also found no results when I did a search for School Library Learning 2.0.

I did like how Technorati had blogs divided into different categories (sports, politics, lifestyle).I think this categorization makes it easy for bloggers to finds sites that are of their interest.

I was excited to explore their widgets to add to my blog but the site was unavailable at the time.

Thing #13

I have used social networking tags before. It was a pretty neat tool when I discovered it. I used Dingo previously and found it very helpful. I think that they are a great tool to use when researching the Internet for professional things as well as for personal items.

Libraries and classroom can use to their advantage in many ways. Teachers can use this tool to categorize sites that students can benefit from and label them according to subjects. Teachers can use this tool as a way to tag sites for their productivity. Librarians can utilize tags by organize appropriate links to authors sites and genre driven books/sites that are student friendly.

There are times when they are a nuisance when people are writing things that are inappropriate to what is relevant.The tags sometimes get in my way too, but overall a great tool and fun to use!

Thing #11

Library Thing is site that can be used to catalog books. I love being able to keep track of the books that I have read and tabs on the ones that I want to read.

Its pretty interesting to see how blogs and catergorizing can be integrated in a central location. Being able to read what other people say and giving your own opinion can be helpful when making selections for both personal and professional collections.

It has a bunch of resources dedicated to book lovers!

Thing # 10

This "thing" was pretty cool. I was able to explore a few sites such comics, pictures, and images to send a message. Comic Strip Generator and Wordle were two sites that were fun to use. Comic Strip Generator is own in which students could use to express themselves about book titles they have read. Wordle could be used in many forms, in writing poetry, and anything of presentation. These tools can also be used to gain attention from students.

Thing # 9

I used research tools and explored their usefulness and the ease of the sight. Edublogs was the most convient in assisting me, it was very helpful. Atomic Learning was very confusing and things were difficult to find when I was searching. Although it had a vast amount of resources for the edication field. Technorati was a cool site that helped in the assistance for helping looking blogs. It lists the top blogs as well as news. Pretty neat!

Thing #8

What do you like about RSS and readers?

I like how the RSS allows readers to view this using a signal from the web that can be viewed anywhere.

How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?

In school it can be used to log the growth or production of a long term project. An RSS feed can be used to give out information anywhere, which can be a great help in school and personally.

How can libraries/teachers/administrators use readers or take advantage of this new technology?

It can also be used in a library setting to discuss books with students. It can be a great way to reach readers though dicussion and trailers. Administrators can use it to discuss events information with teachers. It is a quick and easy resource!

Thing #7

Google is a tool that is a big part of my life. I have been able to use many tools provided by Google. I have used Google Earth in the classroom when teaching the concept of maps to my students. It gives a great way for giving students exposure to community and other areas of the world. It is a great resource that students can explore independently as well.

I also found iGoogle as a great homepage that keeps all things that I use regularly organized on one page. It makes organization easy without having to visit multiple sites.

Thing #6

After playing with Flickr and the mashups I was able to seeing many ways these tools could be used within the library. I also had a fun time playing with the various tools. One of my favorites was Badge Maker.

This is a tool that could be used in the library where students and teachers could classify themselves with characters from novels that they have read or trying to promote. Students can create badges about characters from books and tell others in “book report” form about a specific character.

This is a great way to get students excited about what they are reading! It was extremely hard for me to stop playing with all the different tools… Try this one too! Writer.

Thing #5

Flickr is a great resource that teachers/librarians can utilize to teach lessons. This a great site that students can use to look for images about a particular subject. Without having to worry about copyright laws the use of the Flickr Creative Commons site can be used in the classroom setting.

Here is an image that I searched in the Common site, a photograph of the alphabet and numbers (something I use everyday in my Kindergarten classroom).

Thing #4

My blog is registered! Ready, Set, Play!

Thing #1

Here's my blog! Watch me PLAY!

Thing #2

71/2 Things was a great way to understand lifetime learning. As a graduate student I am a firm believer that learning should never end. Once goals have been met and set into place they should be worked on at a rate that they are attainable. This I believe is one of my strong points. I enjoy setting goals and being able to look back and reflect on my accomplishments. It allows me to value my abilities, knowledge, and skills. I think it is harder for me to maintain and up keep a resource toolkit. This is a vital tool as my success in my future endeavors, as a learner, teacher, and librarian. I think PLAY is the easiest and most rewarding part!

Thing #3

Setting up my blog was something that I had done previously, I just simply recycled an old blog for this assignments' purposes. Logging onto Blogger for the first time in months I immediately noticed changes that had been added to the site. I find the Blogger site a simple and easy way to create a blog. It allowed me as a user, new to this technology to learn about the tools available to my blog easy to manage. The addition to gadgets available for use on the blog had increased as well as the selection of designs.

Creating an Avatar was something that was new to me. I enjoyed changing the different accessories to define my personality. This was also a fairly easy thing to do and definitely a lot of fun!

Technology in Kindergarten

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Technology in Kindergarten

View more presentations from Erica Martin.

Benefits of Technology in the Classroom

Young learners and teachers can utilize technology to excel

Increasing demands for educators to enrich classrooms with technology has resulted in a powerful push for technology standards to be used across all grade levels and subject areas. Students in Kindergarten are often first exposed to technology through various experiences with computers, cameras, and read-alouds on tapes and CD’s. NYSED (2009) suggests that technology applications transcend the automation of old practices such as electronic worksheets and drill and practice. It is this idea that Kindergartners can benefit the most from this idea making their foundation or reading more engaging with the incorporation of technological advances.

NEIRTEC (2004) supports the belief that multimedia computers can present any type of auditory or visual materials---including speech, text, music, animations, photographs, or videos---alone or in different combinations. The inclusion of these technology components can promote the exposure to a multitude of vocabulary enriched entities for young learners.Using an abundance of technological exposure can promote the foundations of reading, NEIRTEC (2004) such as phonemic awareness practice, phonics lessons and drills, fluency practice, vocabulary instruction, and opportunities to learn and apply text-comprehension strategies---to students.

Using technology as an assessment tool as well as saving the teacher valuable time. Rubrics, checklists, and various other authentic assessment tools can be designed to fit the personal needs of individual teachers accommodating their specific needs. Computers can, for example, record the responses of all students in a class to a set of letter-sound matching problems and then immediately report to the teacher the errors made by each individual student and the most common errors made by the entire class (NEIRTEC). Having assessment tools created in the classroom accessed by teachers can provide an easy transfer of information when parent teacher conferences and report cards data is needed.

With the growing demands for an increased usage of technology in the classroom more and more teachers will begin to seek the advantages of using technology to their not only their benefit but that of their students.

References

New York State Education Department (NYSED). Guidelines for Instructional Technology Planning and Application. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http:// http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan/articles/technolo.html.

Technology and Teaching Children to Read (NEIRTEC). Technology and Teaching Children to Read. Retrieved January 26, 2010, from http://http://www.neirtec.org/reading_report/report.htm