Learning
Progress
As I have said, prior to this
inquiry, technology was always a part of my life. However, Web 2.0 has not been. I have learned a great deal and will always continue to have
more to learn when it comes to Web 2.0, not even to mention Web 3.0 (O’Connell,
2011). Here is a look at some of
the things that I have learned and the areas that I feel I could still improve
in each of the tools that I have chosen.
 |
| Success |
 |
| RSS |
1.
Blogging and RSS
Successes
· I have developed a network of
blogs that provide professional development opportunities.
· I have
become consistent in my online reading habits, ensuring that I keep on top of
the information that is being delivered to me and feeling less overwhelmed.
· I have
published my thoughts and ideas for others to read. My blog is out there for the world to read and I have
actually had visitors from my blog from as far away as France, Germany and
Russia, which is extremely motivating to continue.
· Before
starting to blog, I knew absolutely nothing about HTML and never thought I
would. Through my blog, I have
learned a lot by using a custom layout, embedding videos and customizing
colors.
· I am
comfortable enough with blogging that I am ready to integrate blogging into the
classroom and move towards Kist’s (2010) idea of a “new literacies classroom”
(pg. 8). I am looking forward to
providing my students with an authentic audience to direct their writing as
well as providing a window into our classroom for parents. I want my students to have that
motivation that Campbell (2011) mentions that can come from the “recognition
that they receive from their peers,” just as I have received from blogging
myself (pg. 8). I also want my
students to realize that “the point of writing is [not only] to have something
to say [but also] make a difference in saying it” (Wiggins, 2009). The only way for them to realize this
is to have that authentic audience.
Room for Improvement
· I do not believe that I have
reached Richardson’s (2010) level of academic blogging that I intended to (pg.
31). Through my blog, I have been
able to focus my time on self-reflection and realizing what it is that I think
about technology (Blake-Plock, 2009), but I still struggle in the areas of
analysis and synthesis over the longer time periods that Richardson (2010)
speaks of in order to reach that level of “complex blogging” (pg. 31). This does not discourage me because I
have accomplished a lot in terms of my blog and have learned a great deal over
the past couple of weeks. This
only gives me motivation to learn more and to improve myself as a blogger.
· I also
need to improve in my own advertising of my blog. Once again, it is hard to put myself out there and so I did
not invite fellow professionals (through Twitter) to read my blog as often as I
should have been. I realize that
feedback from other professionals creates the opportunity for further learning
and conversation and so this is an area that I would like to continue to
improve in.
 |
2. Twitter
Successes
· This
is by far my favorite of the tools that I have explored!
· I have
developed a Professional Learning Network that I can rely on for advice,
support, suggestions, ideas, etc. in many curriculum areas.
· I have
become a bit of a Twitter addict (which I am alright with and can admit freely)
through TweetDeck, which allows me to keep up to date with Twitter news and
manage Tweets that I would like to return to at a later date.
· I
understand the language and format of a Tweet, know how to direct Tweets to
specific people, use and search hashtags, etc.
Room for Improvement
· I am still working on being
concise in my Tweets to ensure that I stay under the 140 character
maximum. At times, I have to
re-write a Tweet multiple times to get it right.
· I need
to work on putting my own ideas out there more often. I have no problem re-tweeting other peoples posts, replying
to questions directed at me, or reading through everyone else’s Tweets, but I
need to be more consistent at Tweeting about my own classroom and professional
topics that I am encountering.
· I am
still weighing the pros and cons for using Twitter in the classroom. I think my students would really enjoy
it and again, it would give them an authentic audience to right to, but right
now my top priority is the integration of blogs.
 |
| Diigo |
3. Diigo,
Delicious and Evernote
Successes
· Through Diigo and Evernote, I
have managed to tackle my endless supply of bookmarks, resources, websites,
etc. and create organization out of the chaos. I feel comfortable now that when I save a link I will be
able to return to it without frustration or wasted time.
· Evernote
has helped to organize my classroom anecdotal records and has made me more
consistent in writing things down right away. My iPad, opened up to Evernote, is always close by so that I
can jot down observations, successes and areas that students need to continue
to work on, on a daily basis.
 |
| Evernote |
· I have
become better and more consistent at reflecting upon my lessons because of the
notes that I am taking through Evernote.
I can keep track of the difficulties that multiple students are having
which makes me in turn reflect upon the ways that I have presented that
information and how I can present it better for those students.
· I have
learned how to create shared lists, as Berger and Trexler (2010) talk of, in
order to share sites with my students are allow them to carry out
research. My students are not yet
ready to use sites such as Google to conduct research, but I can use Diigo to
compile a list of student friendly websites and teach students how to carry out
online research in this way.
Room for Improvement
· I need to remember to take
advantage of the social aspects of Diigo.
I would like to look further into the area of RSS and Diigo in order to
further expand my Professional Learning Network, but was unable to get there
due to all of the other information that I was already collecting with other
tools.
 |
| Glogster |
4. Glogster
Successes
· I was
able to create a Glogster presentation on the benefits of Twitter to present to
fellow colleagues. It was well
received and some of the Division 2 teachers even asked me more about Glogster
itself.
· I was
able to push my own creative boundaries and moved towards “merg[ing] the left
and right sides of [my] brain as [I sought] to communicate and evaluation both
information and meaning (Dyck, 2009).
Room for Improvement
· To find ways to differentiate
student tasks and allow for the incorporation of Glogster as a potential tool
that the students could use.
Glogster
is one of the tools that I personally did not overly enjoy. I can still see the benefits for
students in the ways that it can allow the “opportunity for self-expression and
develops their creativity,” but it would not be my first choice as a classroom
tool (Wikipedia, 2011).
 |
| Animoto |
5.
Animoto
Successes
· I was
able to create an Animoto video to improve my presentation to Parent Council
about the current technology that is used in our classroom. This resulted in Parent Council
approving the purchase of iPads for our school.
· I have
created numerous videos of classroom activities to show to students and
parents, which allows parents to have a window into their child’s day in the
classroom and has increased conversations between parents and students as well
as myself and parents about our day to day activities.
· As I
frequently use my iPhone to take pictures and/or videos, my students are
becoming more aware of the importance of showing their best work. They are aware that I am capturing
their successes and areas of improvement so that I can generate conversations
and further learning. The use of
the technology in the classroom is not a distraction, but rather, a motivator
for students to perform at their own personal best and to ask for assistance
from their peers or myself when they are struggling.
Room for Improvement
· I would like to take my learning
a step further by showing the students how to use Animoto to capture their own
and their peers learning. The tool
is so user-friendly that I have no doubts that the students can use it as easily
as I can.
· I
would like to incorporate the videos that I am creating into a blog that
showcases our classroom learning and activities. This could then work as a portfolio of our learning in the
classroom as well as a reflection tool for myself to see exactly what worked
and what needs to be improved upon.
 |
| Goodreads |
6. Goodreads
and Shelfari
Successes
· I have generated a list of
professional resources that I have added to my “to-be-read” list that will
improve my own teaching and learning.
Room for Improvement
· In order to use this tool in a
personal manner, I need to find more time to read for pleasure (which,
unfortunately, is not very likely to happen).
Although
I preferred Goodreads to Shelfari, I was not a big fan of either tool. Unfortunately, I just do not have the
time to read for pleasure like I used to, in order to fully appreciate the “social
cataloguing” features of this tool (Wikipedia, 2011). After beginning my exploration and realizing that I just
could not make the time, I had hoped that I could incorporate Goodreads into my
professional life in order to create discussions about professional
resources. Unfortunately, the
discussions are just not there about the professional resources that I have
read or would like to read.
Not
only do the discussions not exist on Goodreads about the professional
resources, but also I did not like the forum feeling of the discussions that
did exist. If I am discussing a
book, I would like to discuss it in the here and now, rather than post a
comment and then wait for someone to respond, which could take a lot of
time. I have had discussions,
particularly about the Daily 5 and CAFÉ resources, on Twitter, which is more
suitable to the discussions that I was envisioning. I am able to have a discussion, or chat, with other users in
real time, with responses occurring right away rather than waiting around.
 |
| Jing |
7.
Jing
Although
it was not a part of my inquiry proposal, Jing is a tool that I have used a
number of times throughout the process that I have also had a number of
successes with and that I would like to continue to use into the future.
Successes
· I have successfully created a
number of Jing videos describing the process that I went through to explore and
learn various tools in my inquiry project.
· I have
shared these videos with other teachers in the hopes of showing them how easy
the tools are to use.
Room for Improvement
· I would like to explore the
possibilities of using Jing in the classroom for the students to teach one
another the tools that we are or will be using. As Gliksman (2011) discusses, “the best way to learn
anything is to teach someone else.”
I think Jing would provide that perfect opportunity for students to
reverse the roles and become the teacher in a manner than does not create the
pressure or nervousness of the live audience.
References
Berger,
P., & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing
web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in a digital world. Santa Barbara,
CA: Libraries Unlimited Inc.
Blake-Plock, S. (2009, September 11). Why teachers should blog [Web log
message]. Retrieved from http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2009/09/why-teachers-should-blog.html
Campbell, K. (2011, August). New technologies and the
English classroom. English Leadership Quarterly, 34(1), 7-10. Retrieved October 1, 2011, from
ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2422748771).
Dyck, B. (2009,
February 27). Hooked on Glogster: Posters 2.0 [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck037.shtml.
Gliksman, S.
(2011, November 19). Turning students into teachers [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://ipadeducators.ning.com/profiles/blogs/turning-students.
Kist, W. (2010). The socially
networked classroom, teaching in the new media age. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press.
O’Connell, J. (2011, September 3). The next big thing is web 3.0 [Web
log message]. Retrieved from http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2011/09/03/the-next-big-thing-is-web-3-0/.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs,
wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Wiggins, G. (2009). Real-world writing: Making purpose and audience
matter. English Journal, 98(5),
29-37. Retrieved November 10, 2011
from Eric.
Wikipedia
contributors. (2011). Glogster EDU. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glogster_EDU
Wikipedia
contributors. (2011). Goodreads. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 29, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodreads
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