In the Clouds

WORDLE

My word cloud of the website: Teaching Today - Middle School Resources



CLOUD COMPUTING SITES

WeLearned.It - Project Managment System for Classrooms

I thought this would be a great cloud computing site to use for the classroom because it would be great for project-based learning ideas to use in the classroom that will help create a more student-centered environment. It has rubrics that can be shared for grading projects that have been created. Teachers are also able to share their differentiated learning groups. For someone who is looking at creating a more student-centered and project-based classroom this would be great!

Class Flow - A Cloud-Based Teaching and Learning Platform

This peaked my interest because it is a new way to create and share lessons with students via the computer or tablet using the class code. Instead of presenting lessons on a board in front of the classroom each student would be able to see the lesson right in front of them using their own computer or own tablet. This would help students who have trouble seeing the board or cannot copy down the notes quickly. It is also a quick way to assess and analyze student understanding because you can poll students or allow them to type/write on their own tablet and see right away who has the correct answers. Another benefit to this cloud computing site is that it allows the teacher to differentiate instruction.

Class Owl - Assignments and Discussions for the Classroom

This cloud computing site is one that I would like to use in my classroom because it is a great way to keep students up to date on what is going on in the classroom. This site comes with a daily organized checklist for homework and class deadlines so students are always aware of assignments that have been given. It is a great way to keep students engaged through discussion on their phones and tablets in or out of the classroom. It would allow students to ask questions they have at any time about what is going on in the class or about material that is being covered. They would be able to post their questions whether they are in or out of school.

PEARLTREES

My Pearltrees Account

Social bookmarking, something I have never heard of before let alone used, is a fantastic way to get ideas and share ideas with others on a public website. It helps organize and categorize resources to use in the classroom or while doing research. In the classroom, it would allows students to work collaboratively with one another by allowing them to share their Pearltrees accounts to see the resources each has saved while working on a project or research.

SUMMARY

I learned about a lot of new resources that I had never heard of before that I will be able to use in my classroom. According to the Cloud Computing Explained video, cloud computing is a way to save time and money for the school. It makes information accessible from any device that is being used. The three benefits to using cloud computing are: 1) scalability, 2) instant turn on/off, and 3) save money by only paying for what you use. I had heard about the cloud, but never fully understood what it was or how beneficial it is for schools until now. The 2011 Horizon Report says the challenge of using cloud computing is the privacy and control of the cloud, but I think most people have figured out that these challenges have been outweighed by the possibilities and saved resources it provides. I really like the idea of using Wordle as a vocabulary unit review for the end of a unit or even as a key-word cloud at the beginning of the unit. It helps the students understand the important words and ideas behind the unit. Social bookmarking is definitely something I will be able to use for myself as a student and also for in my classroom with my students. I love the idea of being able to search for other Pearltrees that will give ideas and websites for anything that I am looking for. Being as organized as I am, I also like the idea of being able to organize and categorize anything I decide to add to my Pearltrees account.

Blogging & Twittering

According to The 2010 Horizon Report, online collaboration tools allows students to work creatively, develop teamwork skills, and tap into other's perspectives. Blogging and twittering are two great ways that online collaboration tools can be brought into the classroom. It provides the students the opportunity to connect with one another and others around the world on a different level. It can get monotonous to connect with one another only in the classroom. These tools can continue to help keep students engaged both in and out of the classroom. I have heard and seen people use both blogs and twitter, but never really knew that much about either one of them. So I will share what I have learned this week and how it can be of value in an educational setting.

While watching Blogs in Plain English, I learned that blogs are a way to share personal news and ideas. It can give one's perspectives on different aspects of life and allows readers to share their thoughts as well. In this way a two-way street is created for discussion via the original blogs and the comments that are left by the reader. One of the benefits of using blogs in the classroom is that it can help build relationships among students and create an environment where even the shy students can shine. It is a great way for students to work on projects and to communicate with one another outside of the classroom. Even if students do not have Internet access, they can still communicate through the blog at school. Having students create blogs gives them the opportunity to put their thoughts on paper and to think deeper about what they are writing. Sometimes they do not take the time to think about what their thoughts are, and how they feel on particular topics, but given the opportunity to blog about it may give them this time to reflect on how they feel and what they are thinking. This is something that I would really like to try with my students.

I found the twittering videos to be helpful also. As I was watching Twitter in Plain English, I learned about how much it can really make people feel connected. Tweets are short updates and opportunities for the people to ask questions using only 140 characters max. It helps people learn things about each other that maybe they never knew by just reading what they are doing at different times throughout the day. It is much more informal than a full blog and fills in between blog posts that are written. By twittering, people can find out news in real time and look for trends that are going on right now without waiting for data to be collected and then shared. The Tweets for Education videos provided me with a lot of insight into how twittering can used for educational purposes. It is a great way to engage students in technology. It allows students to ask short questions and get short answers about something that may be happening in class or about something that was unclear to them that day in class. This would help with their meta-cognition where the students are thinking about what they learned outside the classroom. Again this platform, like blogging, may allow the shy students to share their thoughts and ideas in a more comfortable way. Both blogging and twittering will allow the students to be creative writers and if they are twittering they may have to get even more creative because the space to type is limited to only 140 characters. It is important, however, if you choose to use this with your class that students are taught twitter etiquette. They have to know that there are boundaries and that they have to follow the rules.

As I was exploring and setting up my first twitter account, I decided to follow MathInMiddleSchool because I am looking for ways to revamp my classroom. I am trying to turn my classroom into a more student-centered environment where I am just guiding and helping versus giving all the information all the time. I am hoping to find some good ideas and good articles specifically geared for a middle school math classroom.