Blogs Vs Websites (CEP 810)

A blog is different from a traditional website because it is more like a journal.  A blog is created by an individual for an individual purpose, often for a specific audience.  Websites are often created for businesses or organizations and are for advertisement or other large-audience purposes.  A blogger chooses their topic, or a variety of topics, and adds entries with their thoughts, feelings, or ideas whenever they want.  Many blogs are updated regularly, even more than once a day.  Many websites are created and then never or rarely updated.  A blog is organized by date, rather than subject matter.  A blog can be interactive- people can comment on each others' posts and have entire conversations online.  Most traditional websites are meant more for information gathering than for social interaction.  Blogs are also often much simpler than traditional websites- they are set up more as one continuous page than a complicated set of links.

Google Presenter

From the choices of Google applications, I chose to take a look at Google Presenter to see what it was all about.  Google Presenter is very similar to Microsoft Powerpoint.  

One of the first things I loved about Google Presenter was that it automatically saves your work very often, so you are not at risk of losing anything. I also loved that it is so easy to share- you don’t have to save it on flash drive, email it, or post it on a website.  As soon as you complete your presentation, you can click ‘start presentation’ to view it as a slide show. You can also give someone the web address of your presentation and it will automatically take them to your slide show.

The first thing I did not like about Google Presenter was that the automatic background for the slide is a chalkboard.  To me, it seems pretty outdated.  However, when you change the theme, there are several choices and a few even look 3D.  I also noticed right away that when I tried to push Enter to go to the next line of text, it didn’t do anything.  I had to use the mouse to click on the next line.  It wasn’t a huge problem, just an annoying inconvenience. I also found it frustrating that when trying to format text, there are only 6 different font choices. I like to think of programs like this one and Powerpoint as programs that give teachers a more interesting way of presenting information, but the limited font choices make it less interesting.

One of the best things about Google Presenter is that if students know how to use Powerpoint and Microsoft Word, learning to use Google Presenter will be easy.  They need to know how to use the basic toolbars and buttons in those programs. 

Students could use this program to demonstrate their knowledge on any subject or topic.  I think it lends itself easily to math because having slides allows you to show one step of a problem at a time.  

A teacher could give students different roles for working in a group to use Google Presenter.  If the teacher wants them to learn different aspects of the program, students could be in charge of different aspects such as background, layout, inserting pictures, adding sounds, changing the font, and things like that.  A teacher could also require a project to be a certain number of slides, and require each student to complete a portion of them.  

For any group work that involves technology, a teacher needs to consider whether or not to have all students in the group working together at once, or to give them some separate times at the computer.  It is difficult for more than one person to be sitting around a computer when only one person can work at a time.  It would be hard to keep the rest of the group on task while one student completes their part.  However, students can also learn a lot from each other when using technology together, so some teachers may want to have all students working at the same time, or at least have their group members close by for assistance.  

Blogs in the classroom

One strategy that would be effective with classroom blogs is scaffolding.  Using blogs would give students opportunities to reflect and respond to each other to deepen their content understanding after learning the basics from a teacher.  

A teacher could also use inductive learning through blogs.  The teacher could provide some interesting examples of concepts and then give students opportunities to make more sense of them through blog posts and reflections on each others' posts.  

I think it would be difficult to use simulation as a learning strategy through the use of blogs.  Blogs allow students to communicate and learn with each other, but they do not require students to continue physical activities or research to further their understanding of a concept.  

As a school librarian, I would love to see students using blogs to share ideas about books they have read.  I think that giving students opportunities to give their honest opinions about what they read would encourage them to share their literacy experiences with their classmates.  I think it would also encourage students who do not enjoy reading to read more because it would become more of a social activity.  

I think that blogs could be used to support topics such as math facts by simply giving students an opportunity to share what their strengths and weaknesses are as well as sharing ideas about what types of learning and resources have been effective for them.  For example, a student may mention that they hate multiplication, but another may post a link to a fun multiplication game. 

Learning to edit Wikipedia

For CEP 811, I was asked to edit the article about the school I work in, or to add an article if there wasn't one.  I work at Pinewood Elementary, in Warren Woods Public Schools.  There was a page for Warren Woods Public Schools, but not one specifically for Pinewood, so I created a very short, simple one.  I added links to the pages about the school district and the city, and included references of the school district website and the school's own website.  I had a little trouble with the references, so if you know how to fix it, let me know! Here is a screenshot of it:

I also had to create a wiki page.  I decided that I might as well make it useful, so I created a page about books.  I asked for ideas about great books to read with kids, and added a second page for adults to share their favorite books.  For now, I have only invited classmates as authors, but soon will change the setting so anyone can share ideas with me.  Here is the link: 

http://mrsraymondswiki.wikispaces.com/

WebQuests

There are many challenges to consider when creating online products used to teach children, such as WebQuests and educational websites.  First, it must be appropriate to the child’s reading level and current level of understanding of the topic.  Next, it must be user-friendly.  This means that students need to be able to navigate simply and without help.  It is also important to be sure that the information and links are up-to-date.  Information also needs to be presented in an interesting, engaging format without being too distracting from the objective. 

Here are some WebQuests I have found that would be useful for a Library Media Specialist:

http://www.barnstable.k12.ma.us/mme/news/studentinvestigations/WebQuests/dewey/index.html

This is a WebQuest about the Dewey Decimal System for 4^th-6^th Grade students.  I am currently learning to teach students about the Dewey Decimal System.  This WebQuest is entertaining and user-friendly.  It gives students an overview of the Dewey Decimal System as well as explanations of each  level.  Students learn through deductive instruction since they are looking for specific information and writing it down, rather than completing a project or doing analysis. 

http://www.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/ws/dewey/

This is another WebQuest to teach about the Dewey Decimal System.  It is designed for 5^th grade.  The introduction really gives students a problem to solve- the library was accidentally knocked down and students need to write a manual for volunteers to put the books back in order.  The process is broken down so different groups work on different parts and the final product will be a book students create using a word processor or other publishing program.  This WebQuest also uses deductive instruction since it requires mainly information gathering and requires students to present the information in a new way. 

http://www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us/teachers/epes/kgeorge/Web%20Quest/frogandtoad.htm

This is a WebQuest to help students connect literacy (Frog and Toad books, by Arnold Lobel) to science (frog and toad facts).  Students are told that Frog and Toad are fighting and they need to help by showing them how they are alike and different.  Students first read some stories, then work with a partner to explore websites to learn about frogs and toads. The project is to create a poster about frogs and another about toads.  I like this WebQuest because it presents a great way to help students make connections between fiction and non-fiction.   Students learn through a deductive process, but are then required to do analysis of the information to compare and contrast the information they gathered.