Gliffy Research Paper Organizer

My district used to have a license for Inspiration software and it had a very helpful feature that allowed students to toggle between a concept map and a formal outline.  Since I am going to be working on the research process with a 12th grade class comprised mainly of special needs students, I decided to try Gliffy to see if there was a similar feature.  Unfortunately, there is no outline option, but I still think that a concept map will help the students understand the difference between a topic and a thesis and I also think that it will reinforce the relationship between the thesis and the subtopics.  For a bigger version of this map, please visit http://www.gliffy.com/publish/3018788/

I like the fact that Gliffy offers a few different options for formats and I think the Venn Diagram option would be good to use with the interactive whiteboards.  The program was easy to use, for the most part, but I need to investigate the user agreement and the terms of service before I can suggest this tool to my students or colleagues.

Digital Presentations

I have mixed feelings about digital presentations because I feel that too many of my colleagues view their use of digital presentations as 21st century teaching.  Although programs like PowerPoint make lecture notes slightly more engaging, they are frequently used in a very teacher-centered manner.  Consequently, there is often no real pedagogical shift between writing on a chalkboard and using a digital presentation.

After observing many lessons that could be referred to as "Death by PowerPoint" as students fell asleep and doodled in their notebooks, I do appreciate programs like Prezi, Glogster, and Voki because they are more dynamic.  However, I still prefer that these programs are introduced as tools for student use in a student-centered classroom because, in the hands of students, these tools can be used for creation activities that display higher order thinking.

Since Glogster is partially blocked and won't load properly in my district, I chose to create a Prezi because there are many teachers at my school interested in making more interactive presentations. I familiarized myself with the program by creating an introductory presentation for the unit on Elie Wiesel's Night that I will be teaching in two weeks. This presentation is intended for use with an interactive white board so the students and I can apply reading strategies and other annotations to the information in class. This way, I can also model the use of the tool and encourage my students to use the program for a culminating project at the end of the unit. 

I like the way that Prezi allows a more conceptual organization instead of the traditional linear organization and I also like that it is easy to create and easy to embed documents, pictures and videos. Here is the URL for my presentation:
http://prezi.com/5yww_xz6jdda/introduction-to-night-by-elie-wiesel/

(Sorry for the delay - I accidentally hit "save" instead of "publish".  I guess this experience can be added to my list of "cons" on my blogging entry!)

Social Bookmarking

Although I think social bookmarking is valuable and easy, I do not use this tool as much as other Web 2.0 tools. 

In theory, this approach should help narrow down the overwhelming amount of information available on the Internet, but I still feel overwhelmed with the amount of information being shared.  For example, a lot of technology experts shared their Delicious accounts with me at various Classrooms for the Future training events.  As excited as I was to have access to their resources, I never actually revisited their sites.

As far as using these sites for my own organizational purposes, I do like that I can get to my bookmarks on any computer (as opposed to the old way of bookmarking sites on a local computer).  I also like that I can tag sites with my own words so I can group them in ways that makes sense to me even if it might not be clear to someone else.

Overall, I think I just need to fully embrace the potential of social bookmarking because it would probably make my job and my research a little easier.

My Blog about Blogging

Since I love to read and write and I encourage my students to read and write as much as possible, blogs are one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools!

Creating a blog is very easy and I think that is one of the best parts about blogging.  Many people, both students and teachers, are weary of a lot of Web 2.0 tools because they think that they must be complicated or require a lot of prerequisite technology knowledge.  After creating a blog, they realize that the tool is user-friendly and very easy to use and that encourages them to be more open-minded and try other web tools.  There are many benefits to using blogging, but there are also a few drawbacks that I have seen.

Educational Blogging Pros:

• Authentic scenarios allow students to become more invested in creating knowledge.
• Wide audience keeps students accountable for rhetoric, grammar, and mechanics.
• Interaction allows students to learn from and help each other.
• The format encourages student engagement because many students enjoy using computers.
• Blog writing prompts allow students to develop traditional literacy as well as digital literacy while developing their individual voices.

Educational Blogging Cons:

• Some students might be intimidated by the live audience.
• Students can abuse the interactivity and use it for inappropriate or negative communication.
• Students need access to a computer in order to utilize the tool.
• Some parents might not understand the need for web-based technology tools.

Unfortunately, this is not a tool that I use as frequently as I would like because my district's Acceptable Use Policy is pretty strict about electronic communication.  Luckily, my administrators did create a Blogging Policy which is an amendment to the AUP and we also have Moodle which allows for secure posting that can be closely monitored by the instructor.