Blogs I Follow Module 3

UMF EDU 568

Module 3 Communication Task

Links to Blogs I follow:

http://www.educationtothecore.com/

http://leadingwithtechnology.wordpress.com

http://iteachwithipads.net

http://wp.me/1rMN4

http://withliteracyinmind.wordpress.com/

http://jprince.org/archives/979

Screenshot of the RSS feed ---------->


Links to Comments on blog posts

http://iteachwithipads.net/2014/10/06/reading-fluency-with-explain-everything/#comment-5491

http://leadingwithtechnology.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/selecting-apps-using-tony-vincents-app-rubric/comment-page-1/#comment-48

http://withliteracyinmind.wordpress.com/2014/10/05/snippets-take-3/comment-page-1/#comment-345

With this communication task I learned a few new things about creating my own blog. I learned how to search for blogs with using specific keywords that would benefit my teaching and would interest me and my teaching style. Also, with this task I messed around in the settings and layout of my blog and found different widgets I could add to my blog. As a part of the task I learned about Adding RSS feed and I chose blogs that I would visit often and reflect on weekly.

As I created this task and I thought about ways I could use a blog in my kindergarten classroom. My students could create work and display their work in a Kidblog using pictures but wait, we have iPads...I bet there is an App for that. Yes, there absolutely is an app for that and it is called Kidblog! So I will spend this weekend looking into the Kidblog app and determining if it would be a way of effectively documenting work, a way of effectively collaborating in my classroom, and most importantly what would I want my students to take away from the experience of blogging.

I have come realize that blogging doesn't have to be a daunting task that takes up most of your evening. It can be a quick and easy way to reflect and decompress after a day. It's a way of stepping back and looking at an activity or maybe a lesson that didn't go well and taking the time to reflect on it. A blog can be used in many different ways to celebrate success, to share creative ideas, or reflect on your day!

Twitter Chat

This week I joined the Twitter Chat #kidscancode. I really enjoy this educational chat because I want to learn knew ways to use coding in my Kindergarten classroom and how to align coding to the common core. I also believe that teaching children to code at an early age will only benefit them in the future. Students are learning to code in middle school just as typing was once a required course.
Coding is like learning a new language and the earlier students are exposed this language the easier it will be for them to learn how to code.

I really enjoy Twitter Chats. Some I enjoy to actively participate in and others I like to sit back and research new findings while the chat unfolds before me. Twitter chats are great for PLN and connecting with other teachers. They are also beneficial for getting new fresh ideas or trying something new in your classroom. I like to see how others are using an app in their classroom and compare it to how I use that same app. Twitter Chats are great for sharing new ideas or even getting insight on an idea you would like to try. I will continue to participate in chats to grow my PLN.

When I think of using Twitter Chats in the classroom I can't think of a successful way to use Twitter Chats in my Kindergarten class directly with the students. In the past, I have done Google Hangouts with another school that does a weekly News discussion that the students direct and run. While the students are participating I would often communicate to the other teacher from the other school if we were ready to respond or if we need more time. Twitter would also serve as a type of advertising for the New Broadcast. This weekly News Show had many schools tuning in to participate and Twitter served as a tool to help the school get the word out about the weekly news topic and reminders.

In middle school I could see Twitter Chats being extremely beneficial to learning. A specific Twitter Chat could be a homework assignment or the teacher could create a class Twitter Chat and topic that the class could participate in to create a new type of communication with students.

I do use Twitter Chats to get new ideas for lessons or new apps to try for student learning. From this weeks Twitter Chat I learned about new ways coding could be tied into math standards and new projects to do with my students to show proficiency in coding and math standards.

I will use Twitter and Twitter Chats to spark my love for new knowledge and fresh new ideas for my classroom!