Social Bookmarking as an educational tool in the classroom will help teachers in the planning of instructions as less time will be spent navigating the web to teach a particular lesson. Also Forbes (2004) has noted that web based book marking as a component of instruction allows teachers to provide and present students with high interest meaningful reading material from the internet.
Social Bookmarking also help in internet safety because the teacher will preview the link before students are given access to the given links. Because of the quick save access to site, teachers can design lessons that meet multiple standards and multiple students using one activity. The students have more time to work on given projects and homework as sites are book mark so they will not have to spend time searching for sites to help them get their work done. Pupils and teachers can even switch computers and still gain access to their bookmarks.
Social Bookmarking helps pupils to collaborate with each other as they share bookmarks. Social Bookmarking sites can also help students get updated information on site.
Reference: Forbes, L. S.(2004) Using web -based bookmarks in k-8 settings: linking the internet to instruction.The ReadingTeacher58(3)p148-153. doi:10.1598/RT.58.2.3
Monday, July 26, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Leading Our Kids
Our kids are living in a world of online interaction for which they currently have few learning context or models. It is up to us as educators to prepare them for the challenges of using new technologies. In order for us to prepare students to use technologies effectively, we first need to embrace these new technologies in our practices.
We can do so by preparing our students to read, write and edit their way through online networks by making these literacy’s part of the way teaching and learning take place in the classroom.
We can do so by preparing our students to read, write and edit their way through online networks by making these literacy’s part of the way teaching and learning take place in the classroom.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Good Teaching Practice
It is great to have lecturers who are willing to have students evaluate the course to see what improvement that they can make in order to better the course in the future and also how best they can deal with problems face by us as students. I congratulate you all on being model teachers for us as classroom teachers. Such evaluation help in making you better teachers because you are better able to meet the need of the set of diverse learners in the Information Communication Technology course.
I also ask myself how many of us as classroom teachers ask our students for feedback on how we can better deliver the curriculum to meet the diverse needs of learners in the classroom. If we do the percentage may be relatively small. I see the use of some of the Web2.0 technology as helping us to get our students evaluates us as teachers. It gives them the opportunity to share things that they will not feel free to do so in front of us as their classroom teachers.
It could definitely work to our advantage in the way we prepare to meet the needs of some of our students. How many of us consider that the problem that some of our students may be having is due to our teaching styles? How many of us evaluate ourselves as teachers, ask our colleagues to evaluate us or even our students so that we can improve as teachers. I will really like to get your views on this topic.
I also ask myself how many of us as classroom teachers ask our students for feedback on how we can better deliver the curriculum to meet the diverse needs of learners in the classroom. If we do the percentage may be relatively small. I see the use of some of the Web2.0 technology as helping us to get our students evaluates us as teachers. It gives them the opportunity to share things that they will not feel free to do so in front of us as their classroom teachers.
It could definitely work to our advantage in the way we prepare to meet the needs of some of our students. How many of us consider that the problem that some of our students may be having is due to our teaching styles? How many of us evaluate ourselves as teachers, ask our colleagues to evaluate us or even our students so that we can improve as teachers. I will really like to get your views on this topic.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Using Concept Mapping To Teach Literacy
I am happy to say from the group presentations I was able to see how concept Mapping can be used to teach various aspects of reading. Thanks to the group which did Concept Mapping in Literacy in Mrs. Mahabir-Cletus class which did a remarkable job in presenting the use of Concept Mapping in the teaching of Literacy.
They were able to cover many areas in which teachers can use Concept Mapping to teach Literacy such as Vocabulary, Comprehension, Phonics, Writing etc. I like how they were able to give suggestion in the use of Information Communication Technology in teaching the various stages of reading. The presentation thus gives me a better understanding of the use of Information Communication Technology in the teaching of reading.
I just want to thank the group on literacy and all other groups because all presentations were meaningful and I did learn a lot from all the group presentations.
They were able to cover many areas in which teachers can use Concept Mapping to teach Literacy such as Vocabulary, Comprehension, Phonics, Writing etc. I like how they were able to give suggestion in the use of Information Communication Technology in teaching the various stages of reading. The presentation thus gives me a better understanding of the use of Information Communication Technology in the teaching of reading.
I just want to thank the group on literacy and all other groups because all presentations were meaningful and I did learn a lot from all the group presentations.
Parental Involvement
As a teacher I find that parents seldom visit the school to find out how their children are doing academically or otherwise. I will find them visiting the school at the end of the term to collect students’ report books. Fifty percent of the time they are busy on these occasions because they have to go to work, visit the grocery or some other errant that they have to do.
As a school we need our parents to be fully involved in their kids’ performance and therefore we need to create avenues to encourage parental involvement. In the article strategies for engaging parents in home support of reading acquisition by Sharon Darling from International Reading Association (2005) she dealt with research that shows where parents and teachers partner together to support their children reading and academic performance and in such partnership students who performed below standard did exhibit demonstrable gains.
As teachers we want our students to strive to be their best. We always need to seek out ways to get our parents involve in students academic performance at school. I see the use of blogs and Wikis as tools which can be use by teachers in helping parents to be active in their children school life without having to make frequent visit to the school. Such web2.0 tools open avenues for parents to receive correspondences from school, projects that students have to do, know when students have home work and other related activities that will help them better understand what is taken place in the classroom.
The only problem with this is that all parties must have internet access and be willing to use it for such purpose.
As a school we need our parents to be fully involved in their kids’ performance and therefore we need to create avenues to encourage parental involvement. In the article strategies for engaging parents in home support of reading acquisition by Sharon Darling from International Reading Association (2005) she dealt with research that shows where parents and teachers partner together to support their children reading and academic performance and in such partnership students who performed below standard did exhibit demonstrable gains.
As teachers we want our students to strive to be their best. We always need to seek out ways to get our parents involve in students academic performance at school. I see the use of blogs and Wikis as tools which can be use by teachers in helping parents to be active in their children school life without having to make frequent visit to the school. Such web2.0 tools open avenues for parents to receive correspondences from school, projects that students have to do, know when students have home work and other related activities that will help them better understand what is taken place in the classroom.
The only problem with this is that all parties must have internet access and be willing to use it for such purpose.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Collaborative Learning
Recently I read this article in the Annual Edition Critical Reading in the content areas on improving young adolescent literacy through collaboration. The article dealt with how schools can use collaborative learning to get students to share their thinking, engage discussion and solve various types of problems. The writers’ also highlighted research done by Johnson and Johnson (1991) and Slavin (1995) which show that students involve in collaborative learning situations score higher on achievement test than other methods.
The article also dealt with ways in which collaborative learning benefits students such as improving self esteem, motivate students, built positive attitudes and a decrease dependence on students and many more benefits.
I decided to talk a bit about collaborative learning because I am not a strong individual in using the technology so I need the guidance of others to get me along the way. Sometimes it can be a bother to some when you need to constantly ask how to do something even if they may not say so. In the group assignment on creating a concept map I did understand the creation of the concept map better and even learn a little more from my peers who were a little more verse so I felt more at ease in doing the concept map and I felt that I benefited so much more in working with the group than if it was left up to me to create the concept map on my own. The level of accomplishment that I now feel would not have been possible if left to work on my own. I am a strong believer of collaborative learning in various subject areas not only reading so that our students will feel a bit of success.
The article also dealt with ways in which collaborative learning benefits students such as improving self esteem, motivate students, built positive attitudes and a decrease dependence on students and many more benefits.
I decided to talk a bit about collaborative learning because I am not a strong individual in using the technology so I need the guidance of others to get me along the way. Sometimes it can be a bother to some when you need to constantly ask how to do something even if they may not say so. In the group assignment on creating a concept map I did understand the creation of the concept map better and even learn a little more from my peers who were a little more verse so I felt more at ease in doing the concept map and I felt that I benefited so much more in working with the group than if it was left up to me to create the concept map on my own. The level of accomplishment that I now feel would not have been possible if left to work on my own. I am a strong believer of collaborative learning in various subject areas not only reading so that our students will feel a bit of success.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Don't "fraid" it use it
Many of us as teachers are hesitant to engage in using technology because we are afraid that our kids are more knowledgeable than us in using technology.We shun away from using technology in our teaching so as to make our lessons more meaningful and enjoyable for our students. According to Gee and Levine (2009) teachers must transform their classroom and their teaching but, like the students they serve, they need scaffolding to change and grow.
The Ministry Of Education in the setting up of a number of training programs in Information Communication Technology (ICT) during the holidays have realized that teachers need the relevant training and scaffolding in order to fully implement ICT in the classroom. I do hope after the training that teachers will implement what was taught in the planning of lessons so that they will be some form of transformation in the setting of the classroom for teaching and learning.
The Ministry Of Education in the setting up of a number of training programs in Information Communication Technology (ICT) during the holidays have realized that teachers need the relevant training and scaffolding in order to fully implement ICT in the classroom. I do hope after the training that teachers will implement what was taught in the planning of lessons so that they will be some form of transformation in the setting of the classroom for teaching and learning.
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