Web 2.0 in my district

In general our district has been very good about accepting technology and even encouraging its use in the classroom. With the use of tools such as smart boards, moodle, Google docs for sharing, Skype and other web 2.0 tools, I feel pretty comfortable with where are district is at. Just last year they installed big screen projectors in 90% of the classrooms to allow teachers to maximize the use of presentations and smart board activities. Since I came to the district four years ago, I have noticed a large increase in overall technology use in our district.

With all of that positive stuff being said, we still have staff resistance. We have had in-services on the benefit of using technology and also have been introduced to many great resources. I specifically remember being a demonstration on www.polleverywhere.com . Many of you may have heard of this interactive tool that allows participants to take a real-time survey by texting their answers in. While many took this for what it was worth, others used it to rip on encouraging texting in school. This I see as our biggest barrier in using web 2.0 tools in our school.

When I come across new technology that may be beneficial to our school, I often time share it with an administrator, or share a link with the staff by email. Administration and many staff members have been very receptive to these resources and ideas. Many times I just ask the students if they like a tool. As we all know, they will tell us how they feel. If the kids like something I use it as leverage when encouraging others to try, purchase, or implement different technologies in the classroom. I am very happy that our district has been accepting this pattern and can only hope that others jump on board.

I never thought that I would actually "Tweet"

I have to admit, I promised myself I would never do the “Twitter” thing. Now that I have joined, I do see some of the positive benefit. It is a great way to follow the latest in areas that I am interested in. I can follow ESPN if I want to know the latest in the sports world. I can follow a celebrity if I want to know their next move. I can also keep tabs on my cousin in Washington just by following him on Twitter. Professionally I can follow educational organizations such as NEA or the US Department of Education. This is a good way to keep tabs on what is going on in the Education world nationally. I also found a great research Tweeter (if that’s what you call it) called Teacher Created. This is just another great place to find teacher resources in abundance.
As a coach I can see Twitter as a great place to keep parents and the community in the loop. It could be used to announce schedule changes, rain outs, or game results. Instead of making numerous phone calls, you could simply make one easy post. The problem I see in this is that there are many people that will not get a Twitter account. So maybe Twitter could be used as an additional informational resource. Many of the things I have mentioned above could be used for a class also. I see it working even better for a college course. Besides being used as an announcement tool, it could be used to implement an actual lesson. It could be used as a scavenger hunt, or even a word association activity. Whatever the use might be, Twitter does have its ups and downs.
With all of those benefits I still miss the day when people could go about their business without letting everybody else know about it. Professionally and educationally, I can see many benefits of using Twitter. It is another tool to reach out to students, parents, the community and the educational world. If Twitter becomes a place where you let everyone know that, “I just ate chicken with gravy and vegetables…yummy” than I can do without it.

Blogs and Professional Development

As we move forward and become a more progressive educational world it has become extremely important to become connected. Blogging is a great way to share ideas, collaborate and explore what is happening in the world of education (or whatever area you are interested in). I look forward to finding new tools and ideas that will contribute to my resources as a teacher and professional. I have found the following blogs that I will follow to contribute to my professional development:

http://www.thisweekineducation.com/

This blog provides many links to news stories involving others in the teaching profession. It also discusses hot topics such as: education and politics, NCLB, teacher lay-offs, reform, etc. It keeps in tune to the latest news and politics in our profession.

www.assortedstuff.com/top101

This blog site links teachers to interactive websites, information, and learning tools that can be used right in the classroom.

http://janeknight.typepad.com/

This is another great blog site to give teachers e-learning tips, links and ideas. This site not only gives teachers links to help them in the classroom, but also as a professional. Great for building e-learning resources.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

This blog is full of free tech tips as well as free technology resources that are available to teachers.

While looking at the different blogs I found myself intrigued by the blogs that provided resources and for teaching and technology. I always get excited when I learn something new that I can implement in the classroom, or utilize with my students. Using these blogs will contribute to my professional development, as well as my student's development.