The days of sitting in a classroom and listening to a lecture are definitely over, or they should be coming to an end. In these days of technological advances teachers and schools need to keep up with the times. In order to prepare students for the web 2.0 world we need to be teaching them what to do with wikis, blogs, rss and how to use social networking sites appropriately. In order to accomplish this, teachers will need to become more educated with web 2.0 and realize that while they are developing students skills they will be developing their own as well. As David Warlick stated in his 2 cents column “teachers are learners and learners are teachers.”
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2007/02/27/more-on-school-20/

In order to assist with teachers becoming more familiar with web 2.0, I would suggest reading Brian Benzinger’s columns. In Part 1 he gives a detailed list of tools for teacher to use. In Part 2 he describes alternates for basic word processing and different presentations. Part 3 foucses on giving examples of how schools have incorporated some of these web 2.0 options. It would seem like a good place to start. http://www.solutionwatch.com/512/back-to-school-with-the-class-of-web-20-part-1/

There will be no EveryDay Math Home Links this week before Thanksgiving.  We will be starting our fourth unit in math, which focuses on multiplication.  Each student will be bringing home a set of flashcards to practice at home.  I encourage you to help your student memorize these facts.  Each Tuesday and Thursday they will be “tested” to see if they can advance to the next level.  In class we will be learning about the concept of multiplication to help the students build a better understanding.  Please send the flashcards to school with your child everyday, as we will be practicing them in class as well.

This post is in response to the assignment on YouTube. If YouTube is blocked in my classroom, I would not feel right about using during my class, but I would consider assigning a clip for the students to watch for homework. As Christopher Conway stated YouTube makes more resources available to students, and allows for better classroom management (You Tube and the Cultural Studies Classroom). In Stuart King’s article (no relation by the way), I really relate to him saying “one of the jobs of the teacher is to help the kids make sense of the world they live in.” This has been an underlying theme in the VHS course. I believe YouTube could be a useful tool in the classroom, as long as the teacher teaches the students to use it appropriately and teaches them about copyright laws.

Coincidently, my brother (who is a professor’s assistant at UVM) was”YouTubed” during one of his lectures to help students prepare for an exam. At this time, I don’t know any more about it, but I will ask him!

YouTube, Wikipedia

YouTube course is a class act

YouTube in the Classroom

Connected Classroom

You Tube and the Cultural Studies Classroom

11/9 Social Networking

I read several of the recommended articles on Social Networking. They discussed most of the issues that have already been addressed by members of the class. We should teach students how to use these sites appropriately so they can understand the safety and implications of their pages. I think every student with a MySpace or Facebook page should have to read the article about the MySpace in College Admissions.

More on the So-Called Safety Issue of Social Networking Sites

The Many Faces of Facebook

Missed Opportunity

A Briefing for Educators:Online Social Networking Communities and Youth Risk

MySpace in College Admission

We will be having our Spelling Test on Tuesday this week.  We will not have a test on Friday.  Instead, we will have a class Spelling Bee to decide the student that will represent our class in the school Spelling Bee.  If you need a duplicate list of those words, please let me know.

I definitely think I would use this blog in my classroom. It will be a great tool for communication between myself and my parents. I can also post assignments and have the students journal back to me. It would benefit my students in so many ways : technology, writing, reflections, questions… I have mentioned to a couple of students in my class, and they can’t wait to try it out. The one major hurdle I have it that blogs are blocked because of our filter. They won’t even let me put this link on the school website. It is a fight worth fighting, because this is so valuable. I can link this to many standards, and that’s what it’s all about right? My Tech Coordinator is 100% behind edublogs, so I am sure I will be on the school website in no time.

Welcome to Mrs. King’s site. This is where I will update assignments, give you classroom news, and provide an opportunity to ask questions.