Cheryl+Dirth

=__Web 2.0 Tool__=

media type="custom" key="8727930" I had not heard of or used **"Photo Peach"** before this class and found it to be a positive experience. I have always been a picture taker and have had files upon files of digital pictures of activities at Fort Madison Middle School. At FMMS, each teacher is assigned a group to mentor consisting of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. This group is called "ASCENT". I plan to use "Photo Peach" from now on, to create slide shows showing activities done during "ASCENT" class. Meaningful music can be added along with fun messages. The slide show can be shown to exiting eighth graders allowing them to look back at the fun times they had during middle school. It can also be shown to incoming sixth graders showing them what fun there is to come in their next three years. = = =__Web 2.0 Tool and PLN__=

I had heard of the PLN tool **Skype,** but had never used it. I can use it to collaborate and communicate, thus building my PLN. Skpe is a tool I can use personally for family and friend communication, I also plan to use it as an educational tool for my classroom.

I had watched over my sons' shoulders as they "skyped" their girlfriends and each other. My three college aged sons have been after me to get an account so we can video chat with each other. They will be so surprised and proud of me for having an account. After signing up and learning to navigate the tool, I realized I didn't have a camera on my laptop computer. ( I will have to invest in one of those real soon.) I requested several people to be on my contact list, including my three sons, my web2.0 for 21 instructors, and Michelle Bentler, who is a classmate in my web2.0 class. Michelle and I participated in a call on Skype without video after school one day. It was a great experience. We talked about, and shared, several of our experiences with web 2.0 tools. I can see myself in the future using "Skype" to video conference with a student who is out of school for an extended time; in the hospital, sick at home, or on a family trip. My language arts class has had pen pals worldwide. Skype would bring each student's pen pal into our classroom. That would be exciting!

=__PLN__=



The first PLN Web tool that I plan to use more is **Twitter**. Social networking is something that I haven't been interested in, but using Twitter to build a PLN does appeal to me. After taking this class, I am now aware that I can learn and collaborate with individuals around the world, or I can learn and collaborate with individuals in my own school district. I have really enjoyed following #mathchat ,#educhat, and #fcsdweb2. I have also started following #FMCSD. Our Fort Madison IT people started tweeting after I started this class. I have tweeted with them about tech problems I have encountered and they have tweeted help back to me. Very convenient for all of us. My learning curve has been extremely steep over the last month. I started below ground zero and now have my head somewhat above. The "twitter "twerminology" is becoming a part of my everyday vocabulary.

=**PLN**=


 * HootSuite** allows me to manage contributors and share data with my PLN. It can display all the hashtags (#) I am following all on one page. I can use Hootsuite to collaborate and communicate with many different sources.

=**__PLN__**=


 * The Educator's PLN** has been very enlightening. I am still experimenting with navigating this tool. It seems to be a valuable tool to build my PLN. Some of the videos have been informative. There is much to learn from this source.

=__**Web 2.0 Tool**__=

I really enjoyed the web tool **"wordles"**. I used it to connect with math terms and concepts. Students could use it as a self assessment re-telling everything they remember about rules and procedures of various math concepts. In my language arts class, my students have been working on biography reports. If I can get a day scheduled in the computer lab, I am going to let them type out their report and go to wordle.com to create a word cloud to add to their visual aid for their presentation.

=**__Web 2.0 Tool__**=



After introducing a math concept to my class and practicing that concept with various assignments on one day, I like to begin class the next day by sharing a youtube clip related to the concept from the day before as a way to revisit it. Sometimes it's a fun clip with a song or game to help my students remember the rules and concept. I look at it as collaborating with another math teacher that is reinforcing what I had taught the day before. My students enjoy the clips and it helps them retain math concepts.
 * Youtube** is the only web2.0 tool that I had tried in my classroom before taking the web2.0 class. Actually, I didn't even know that youtube was a web 2.0 tool.

=**__Web 2.0 Tool__**=



One of the web 2.0 tools that has been user friendly at school is **"Wallwisher"**. It is one of the few tools that has not been blocked by the Fort Madison web filter. I chose "wallwisher" as the technology piece of the TPACK framework when creating my lesson plan. The tool was a hit with the students and met the goals of my lesson plan. It proved to be an excellent way to review for the assessment over adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions. I did encounter a few problems with that site. Several times there would be an "Oooops!" and I couldn't access my walls. It was frustrating at times.

=__**PLN and Web 2.0 Tool**__=

A **Blog** can be used to build my "personal learning network" or it can be used as an educational tool for my students.

http://cdirth.blogspot.com/

I can't think of a better tool to communicate with students and their families, (except Wikispaces), about happenings at school along with assignments and expectations, and it is GREEN! If only every family in our school district had internet access.

Blogger is also a great way to collaborate with fellow educators. I can visit their blogs to see what is new and interesting in their school/classroom, and I am able to comment on their blog. They in turn, can check my blog to see what is new with me and leave a comment. It is another wonderful way to share with other educators.

=__Lesson Plan for Application of the TPACK Framework__=

[|REVIEW OPERATIONS OF FRACTIONS.docx]


 * Lesson Plan reflection**

I feel my lesson plan met the TPACK framework. I was able to coordinate technology, pedagogy and content into a lesson to review for a math assessment over fractions. I was worried about wasting valuable time if the technology did not cooperate, but everything went better than expected. Taking a risk is never easy for me when it comes to teaching, but I realize that is what I have to do to be a 21st century teacher. Creativity, collaboration, information literacy, critical thinking/problem solving, digital citizenship and operations/concepts are only attainable by taking risks. The only reason I might hesitate to try something like this again is my district's technological deficiencies. I have one student computer in my classroom and have limited access to one computer lab, 25 computers, for a building of 480 students. It took an inordinate amount of planning and cooperation from staff to accomplish what I did. Using Wallwisher was fun and purposeful. If I had the tech resources, I would be more likely to proceed with Web 2.0 experimentation.

Cheryl Dirth