First Twitter chat

I just finished my first Twitter chat on #nt2t!  The topic was on global connections.  Here are a few new bits of information that I gathered from this chat...

1. Many people are very welcoming of new users.  Their encouraging words and welcoming vibes helped me to feel more comfortable about using Twitter (because I had no idea what I was doing!)
2. The chats go way too fast for me.  It was difficult to keep up with the conversations because I'm still figuring out all the options on Twitter.  I'd be reading the conversation, forming my thoughts, and then realize I have 30-40 new results to read!  It was somewhat overwhelming, but I can see myself getting used to it with more frequent use.
3. I took me a moment to figure out the lingo.  FYI, Ss means students and Ts means teachers.
4. There is analytical information available that you can check out about your Twitter use.  Within the conversation, we were asked to find how many global followers we have.  I was able to get on the analytical page but could not find my percentage.  If you have any suggestions on how to do this, please let me know!
5. I would love to set up a virtual field trip/pen pal with a school from another country!  Many of my students don't have the opportunity to travel out of NE, so it would be quite eye-opening if they could view and visit with a school in another country.  How do I go about getting this set up?   

Preparing Students for 21st Century Skills

Preparing Students for 21^st Century Skills

Over many years, schools have been teaching students how to read, write, and communicate.  However, recent technology advances have caused us to evolve our teaching methods.  In the 21^st century, we have learned to expand these reading, writing, and communication skills while utilizing the Internet.  It truly is important that we are teaching these “new literacies” in our classrooms today.  In Donald Leu’s article Preparing Students for the 21^st Century, he mentions five skill sets that are important for today’s school-age children to learn.

1. Identifying Important Questions

2. Locating Important Information

3. Critically Evaluating Information

4. Synthesizing Information

5. Communication Information

My third grade students worked on research reports last quarter.  They used both books and online resources to locate accurate information about a country of their choosing.  In order to do this research report, my students used all of these skill sets when using the Internet to find information for their report.  Two sites they used at school were Culture Grams and Kids InfoBits.  Both of these sites were accessible on our school’s media center website.  Although students were offered the opportunity to access information on their country at home using the Internet, only about 20% did.  One reason for this is due to the socioeconomic disadvantages affecting some of our students.  Not all of my students have access to Internet at home.  After reading the article How Teachers are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms, I can relate to the comment about greater disparities between affluent and low-income schools when thinking about how I can best support 21^st century skills that these students will need for future jobs.

Culture Grams       Kids InfoBits

 

Creation, not Consumption

            The Free Tech for Teachers blog has so many inspiring new technologies that I can incorporate in my classroom!  I am most excited about a new technology idea found on readwritethink.org.  Students have the ability to create a Venn Diagram using an iPad, laptop, or desktop.  After reading the article on Creation Versus Consumption, I realized that all of the technology we use in my classroom is for consuming information (or assessing).  While watching the YouTube video “Learning and Creating with iPads in Kindergarten,” I was impressed that five-year-olds can properly take pictures and make a movie to align with their butterfly unit.  That’s quite impressive! 

            There was a statement in the TPACK article that stood out to me, “Teachers need to reject functional fixedness (Duncker, 1945) and develop skills to look beyond most common uses for technologies…”  This spoke to me because in the elementary setting, I am fixed on the idea of having students “get” information from technology.  Where is the time for creative technology projects?  I feel, though, that it is an important skill to be able to “create” work using technology.  It will also be a skill that sticks with a student because they are active members in constructing their learning.

            A couple weeks ago, our 3^rd grade comprehension skill was identifying and using Compare & Contrast.  Students made Venn Diagrams on posters to find similarities and differences of animals in the Mojave Desert…how boring, especially since they could have used technology to complete this assignment!  I plan to use the readwritethink.org Student Interactive Venn Diagram when we study Causes & Effects again!

thinkwriteread.org- Student Interactive Venn Diagram

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/venn-diagram-30973.html