The second tool I experimented with this week was the capture image on jing.com. There is also a video tutorial feature that would be good to show on a teacher website for how to complete different assignments. I was not very comfortable with this tool and need more time to figure it out. The testimonies from teachers have some great ways to use it in class. I like the idea that kids can video themselves doing assignments or projects at home and them email them in to the teacher or “present” them in class.

Based on the rubric the website is free and offers some great features for kids to express themselves. The capture image on jing is like the capture feature on the computer already. Like the rubric says, the level for a teacher is intermediate. Maybe I have more confidence in my computer skills then the true skills I have for this site. I just need to keep playing with it. The standards are the same for this site as ning.com. 

The first tool I chose was to create a discussion forum from chapter 8, on ning. com. I used the rubric to see what level of computer skills were needed, the cost and how the tool could be used to collaborate with staff and students. I started the website with the intention of bringing back to life a book club at our school that died out quickly this year as school got going. I was hoping that not having the constraint of a physical meeting could bring people back on board and offer an alternative to respond to the ideas in the book.

As I set up the page and thought about school this week, I was able to come up with some possible ways to use it with the kids in class. I thought about offering a weekly challenge piece to reading that is completed on the Internet via the class discussion forum.  Following the theme and vocab. for this week, third graders would research two native Oregon plants or animals and then compare and contrast the two with a given sentence frame. They would also need to reference the web sites they used. The forum allows for pictures uploads, so they could include those. Then kids struggling could get ideas and help from the others.  They would also love to comment on each other’s work as well.

The TASC standards met are 9b, 9d, 9k, 9n (Professional Learning)

The OEST standards that this could help meet are 1b (Create/Express Self) and 2a, 2b (Interact and Collaborate) 

            I had a hard time choosing a tool from the book. There are so many ideas for using all the different tools at school. But I wanted something I could use in class, so I choose a social bookmark that I set up on delicious.com. Signing in was easy and making the actual bookmark involved some problem solving since I am just beginning.  I chose to focus on the reading topic for the week and found some different things to enhance the vocabulary and relate to the real world. It really opened my eyes to technology enhancing the classroom and being a time saver as well.

            The rubric is was what really helped me to pick the tool I should use. I like that social bookmarks are free and rated as basic, since my skills are basic. The thing I like the most is the ease of being able to share what I create with other people and that I can store multiple sources from the web on one site instead of bookmarking them or remembering where I found them all and looking for them one by one.

            I believe that I have met a lot of the standards in the TASC, But I will just touch a few. First, I opened up the curriculum to learning differences by providing a different way for input and output of information.  Next, I chose a movie that shows the topic being applied to real world settings and engaging learners in local and global issues. Last, I have another way to assess the group instead of paper pencil. It’s not as stressful as paper pencil and allows us to discuss ideas as a group.

            I am excited to share with others how easy, fun and applicable social bookmarking is, not to mention the standards it meets and the time it saves in the classroom.

After reading chapter 1, I was really worried about how much I was going to like and want to use the rest of the book. I understand giving background information on technology, but the depth that the chapter went was confusing, especially the part about RSS. I had no idea what they were talking about. I got frustrated and made my husband read it so he could explain it to me, which means that he came away from the RSS part with a much different idea than myself. He explained that they were like pop ups that take you to the web site connected with the information. I thought they were like references on a science paper. Needless to say that section put a bad taste in my mouth. However, I read on and really enjoyed the rest of the chapters. I am excited to try using the suggestions in the rest of the chapters and, if I am successful, maybe even share with others in the building.