BP3_Schoology and more

[Neo sees a black cat walk by them, and then a similar black cat walk by them just like the first one]
Neo: Whoa. Déjà vu.
[Everyone freezes right in their tracks]
Trinity: What did you just say?
Neo: Nothing. Just had a little déjà vu.
Trinity: What did you see?
Cypher: What happened?
Neo: A black cat went past us, and then another that looked just like it.
Trinity: How much like it? Was it the same cat?
Neo: It might have been. I'm not sure.
Trinity: A déjà vu is usually a glitch in the Matrix. It happens when they change something.

Or when someone learns of an amazing Web 2.0 tool from another person's blog and falls in love so much they have to post about the same tool. Oh, Schoology, where have you been all my life?!?! Well, I should start from the very beginning, a very good place to start.

I spent some time checking out a few Web 2.0 tools this week...

Wordle...my students are beginning their unit on genetics on Monday.

iMindMap...this is a template, but would be perfect for student designed lab investigations.

Blabberize...I made this to amuse my daughters who both spent a miserable day with the flu today...my daughter might kill me if she finds out I shared this :-)

I couldn't pick. Then I read Pete's blog (Thanks for posting so early. I love overachievers!!!)  Why hadn't I ever heard of Schoology?!?!!? I checked out youtube and there are videos from tech educators from around the country describing how to use Schoology for their entire district! In fact, my school had a presentation last Monday on Moodle and the interface was a long list of assignments and information that I found difficult to read and even more difficult as a teacher to create. I was editing Jessica's lit review and she has an article that states that students want to use technology at school the way they use technology at home (Spires, Lee, Turner & Johnson, 2008). Schoology looks just like Facebook and is so intuitive!!! Check out what I did in a few short minutes...

 I first created 3 courses. I am currently teaching Honors Biology and AP Biology. My third course is called Teacher Tech.

On Schoology, I can post assignments, upload files and videos (I uploaded my EMDT Bio video from week 1 to see how it worked and it was brilliant!).

I can begin blog style discussions and allow members to join in the fun. For my Teacher Tech course, I can allow the teachers to initiate discussions and post assignments they have created. They can ask questions, solicit recommendations, provide feedback for one another...Schoology provides a learning management system coupled with the interactivity and support of a social network!

 My AR project is focused on teaching my colleagues about Web 2.0 tools that they can use immediately in their classrooms. I actually don't just want to show them the tools, I want to teach them how to integrate the technology into their curriculum. I want to provide opportunities for us to work together to inspire and motivate each other as we navigate the ever changing world of Web 2.0 and soon to be Web 3.0. What better way to do this than by creating a course using Schoology to "teach" my colleagues?!?! I am certain, in the long run, that I will learn far more than I could ever hope to teach.

Spires, H., Lee, J., Turner, K., & Johnson, J. (2008). Having our say: Middle grade student perspectives on school, technologies, and academic engagement. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 40(4), 497-515. Retrieved from ERIC database.

 

BP2_iGoogle Screenshots

A place for everything and everything in its place...

Check it out! I've got a PLE! The second video by Drexler and Drexler was fascinating. The whole time I was thinking about how I could incorporate some of the skills and techniques presented. I have always been fascinated by how the brain learns, in particular teenage brains. I find that too often, parents, teachers, and employers do not give teenagers the credit they deserve. Sure teens are flighty, moody, irrational, and selfish sometimes, but they are also compassionate, loyal, and creative. I try to encourage the positive traits and remember that I used to be a capricious teenager too...even though it was quite a while ago!

We set up the original iGoogle page in month one and I have to admit that I never used it. I didn't see the value in the page. I hadn't quite figured out how to use my iGoogle page as a way to really organize my tech clutter. It took a bit of time to figure out the lay of the land, but once I started going, it was difficult to stop. I found myself checking out the Gadgets and adding a couple that just make me smile. This will come in handy when I am spending hours on the computer. If I need to smile, I can check out my flying pigs and my little hamster :-)

In designing my own PLE, I quickly began to realize how powerful this kind of tool could be for my students. It would be incredible to design this as a freshman and watch it grow and mature throughout high school. The development of a learning network would provide the opportunity for my students to investigate how they learn and also how to connect with others to deepen their learning.

One challenge, not all of my students have Google accounts. Does anyone know if there is a similar tool for those who are not Googlites?
Well, I am off to check out some Web 2.0 tools. I've got my eye on a couple possibilities...check back to see which lucky ones get picked :-)

BP1_Welcome to my blog

The human brain...the most powerful machine on the planet. It is capable of amazing feats of creativity and flexibility. This mass of grey and white matter composes about 2% of a human's body mass. It sets humans apart from all the rest in the animal kingdom, yet, so little is understood about how the brain works.

As a teacher, everyday I affect the brains of my students. My goal is always to help them grow, develop, mature, learn, create, and understand. I do not take this job lightly. I know that each experience in my room leaves an impression, one that may have a lasting effect long after they have left my class and moved on to college and beyond. They may not remember the particulars of the reactions of photosynthesis or be able to diagram the process of protein synthesis, but I know that their brains will be changed forever, for better or worse. Knowing this pushes me to learn more about the brain, to find out how to engage my students in meaningful daily exercises, to unlock the natural desire in my students' brains to inquire, question, solve, and discover.

I share this as my beginning so that you can learn a bit about me, what drives me, what inspires me, why, like you, I would undertake this accelerated masters program. This journey has already been fast and furious. I have to remind myself to take a breath and slow down long enough to notice the changes that have occurred since starting EMDT. These are changes in the choices I have made in my classes for assignments, activities, presentations, communications and more. Not only have these changes impacted my students, but they have changed me. As I continue on my quest to engage and motivate my students, I find that I am becoming more engaged in the process. My brain is alive with creative ideas that are bound to leave a lasting impression on all those who join me on this adventure...maybe even you...