My experience with Twitter

My experience with Twitter has been a good one. Twitter, in my own words, is a real-time online "email" or "blog" that is used to communicate with others. In order to be able to use Twitter effectively, you should try to "follow" people that post Twits about the subject or area of teaching that you are interested in. "Following" someone on Twitter is the equivalent of becoming a "friend" to someone on MySpace or FaceBook.
I had never heard of Twitter until just a few days before we were to open our own account in class. I opened my account with Twitter just 3 days before it was assigned in class, therefore I pretty much learned about Twitter with others in my class. My father works for a company based out of Boston that is all about getting people interested and involved in the internet, and all the processes that go along with it. He was able to tell me a little bit about Twitter. The best way to learn about something is to just do it yourself. I searched for people through Twitter, and was able to find a couple of friends to follow. I think that since Twitter is pretty new to people, not many people are using it yet. If I were to search for those same friends again in about 3 months, I bet they would all have a Twitter account. Twitter is becoming more and more popular.
Twitter has been useful in communicating with other classmates in this computer class, and I feel it will be a wise idea for me to have a Twitter account set up for my class when I begin to teach. I would be able to communicate in real-time with parents and also students. I could use it for posting homework, extra assignments, ammendments to assignments, upcoming events reminders, and for communicating with students if they have a question about homework and such. It will be a very useful tool in the classroom.
I have used my Twitter account several times, yet I'm sure not enough. I have posted twits several times, and I have also communicated with other students one-on-one several times about upcoming classes, and for help with assignments. I think I will continue to use Twitter as a tool for helping me to learn more and more about technology and its uses, and for keeping me up-to-date with the world around me.

 

My Life, So Far...

International Blogger, part 2

This is a picture of Mr. Hamilton's Senior Business Education class from Scotland, UK. Mr. Hamilton teaches at Stirling High School in Scotland. His blogspot is primarily used to keep his students updated with classroom information that they may need in order to keep them up-to-date with their studies. He leaves thinking questions for his students to ponder and then to respond to. He also leaves links for his students to follow in order to do the work given. The students do not have individual blogsites or e-mails through Mr. Hamilton's blogsite.
Click here to visit Mr. Hamilton's class blog.

International Blog

My first International blogging experience was with a school in Victoria, Australia. The teacher is "Mrs. C", and she teaches 5th and 6th grades. This blog is full of choices in which to navigate. It contains online-learning games, a calendar, maps, a special place for visitors to leave comments, and even a visitor counter. Each student in the class keeps up with his or her own blog, and exceptional bloggers are even awarded occasionally. The site contains links to other schools' blogs that they keep in contact with. There is a long list of resources available to the students. The site contains a lot of great information for both students and teachers.
To visit this site, click here: Australia bloggers

Using Blogs in the Classroom, part 2

The second blog that I found was at another school in Missouri. The blog was for Mr. Langhorst's 8th grade American History class at South Valley Jr. High School, in Liberty, Missouri. In this blog, students are extremely encouraged to participate in blogging. Students are required to summarize their classroom activities almost daily in their class blog. Mr. Langhorst chooses one or two students each time there is a blog to be made. This blogsite contains not only blogs, but also podcasts and studycasts. The studycasts are a review session of what the students should expect to see on their unit tests. The students also have their own e-mail system in order for them to keep in touch with their teacher and their peers.
If you would like to visit this site, click here: Mr. Langhorst's class

Using Blogs in the Classroom - Noel, Missouri

The first blog that I found was for Mr. Chamberlain's 5th grade class in Noel, Missouri. This class not only posts its own blogs, but also follows other blogs. They are currently communicating with a class from Australia that happens to be reading the same book that they are reading right now.
I think this sort of technology is necessary to our students' futures. These students are learning that they can communicate with people from all over the world. Even if you are not privileged enough to have the opportunity to physically visit foreign places, you can still visit from the internet. You can immerse yourself in other countries' cultures, religions, and beliefs, just by using your computer.
Here is the link to their class blog: http://www.mrcsclassblog.blogspot.com

"Did You Know?" Video

Wow! I was astonished at all the information in this video. I do believe that the internet is now a necessity and not just a luxury. What would we do without it? I would love for Mr. Fisch to update his video from the 2006 version to how technology has advanced today. I am amazed at how technology plays such a large role in my everyday life- even in the lives of my two young children. My Kindergartener is using a computer every day in her classroom. I started her in Compuchild classes when she had just turned 4, and I am so glad now that I did. Compuchild wasn't available when my other daughter was in pre-school--just 3 years earlier. It's amazing to me how Mr. Fisch even gets his information for the video he created. I'm sure that he used the internet for most, if not all, of it. We really have come a long way in such a short amount of time. When I was in high school, (12 years ago,SSHHH!!!) we worked on huge computers that had black screen backgrounds with green writing. No wonder I wanted to fall asleep in class everyday! Now, it's impossible to be bored sitting in front of a computer when the world is literally at your fingertips.

ACCESS Program

The ACCESS Program (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators, and Students Statewide) was initiated by Governor Bob Riley and State Superintendent of Education Dr. Joseph B. Morton in 2006. Access is a great program for training students that are going into college. It provides Distance Learning classes in order to connect students and instructors through online courses. It allows for flexibility for both the student and the instructor. ACCESS offers dual enrollment courses, remediation courses, and advanced placement and diploma courses. This program is a must for the society that we now live in where technology is taking over and helping people succeed, and also helping with time-management. I think that all students will succeed with this program, and in turn, will help our community in the future by preparing students for their future adult lives.

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange)

The Alabama Learning Exchange is a resource website that will open many doors to information for teachers everywhere. You can find information on lesson plans and share your lesson plan ideas with other teachers. This site is a great communication tool for teachers and administrators alike. As a preschool teacher, I have found this website to be of great use in the classroom. I am sure that it will be an invaluable tool for me in the future when I become an elementary school teacher.

About me...

I am an Elementary Education major in my 3rd year. My expected graduation date is May 2010, and I am very excited to finally see the "light at the end of the tunnel"! I have been a college student for 8 years now--on and off, of course. Having babies and illnesses in-between semesters of school has taken up a lot of my time. I am a divorced mom with two girls-ages 6 and 9 that keep me very busy. I love spending time with my family, going to see movies, dining out, and I love to shop. I have a fetish for shoes-mostly Yellow Box (I have 14 pairs!). I also love jewelry and purse shopping. I'm a girly-girl that also likes to go boating, fishing, and hunting, and I don't mind getting dirty as long as I don't have on nice shoes. :) I live in Magnolia Springs and feel blessed to wake up each morning in such a beautiful little town. If you've never seen the oak trees over Oak Street, I suggest you take the time to see it-and drive slowly so that you can take it all in.
That's all for now!