Public Folder of RSS Feeds to Watch

I chose to look at Web sites and blogs that illustrated how teachers today are using collaborative technology in their classrooms to bring home the classroom and get students to be more interactive with their education. I chose to add the RSS feeds of different sites that I would like to watch that dealt with new forms of technology that are finding their way into the classroom and then to put this information to good use I chose to subscribe to blogs that log how teachers are using the technology or questions that they have due to the things they are trying in their classrooms. I was looking for a Web site or blog that would help me with creating an audio clip of my fifth grade students reciting their dreams along with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. So I will keep this blog posted for if or when I can find what I am looking for!

I think that as a teacher I will use RSS feeds in my classroom as an educational tool. I feel that by subscribing to other teacher's classroom blogs or wikispaces I can monitor their program in comparison to my own students. Also I think that learning in a technology rich environment can help students gain the skills that the technology age requires. I think that RSS feeds also provide an opportunity for students to keep tabs on online experiments, current events in their neighborhoods and international events that all can be used in a Social Studies classroom (the classroom that I plan on having and providing).

Stay tuned for updates as to my search for an audio project with my fifth grade!

My Apologies and my continued thoughts About Technology in Classrooms

First, I would like to apologize for having only one post, I did not realize that two was required for the original assignment. With that being said I would like to discuss an idea that I had about technology, the fifth grade classroom that I am in and Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I was listening to a recording of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speech "I Have a Dream", I myself had a dream about how to incorporate Dr. King's dream and the dreams of my fifth grade students into that vision. With this thought in mind, I thought that after having the students listen to Dr. King's speech I would have the students write their own dreams for their world and then record those dreams. After recording these dreams, I would like to create an audio file of the children's dreams streamed together so that the voice of Dr. King would be in the background while having the students dreams in the foreground. I think that this would be a meaningful project in that it would illustrate the vision of Dr. King while flashing forward forty years to see how life is the hopes have either become realized or where things need to go still.

If you are reading this and you know how or where I can go to attempt this project please let me know. Your insight is greatly appreciated!

Model Blogs of the Classroom Variety

When I was looking around for good examples of classroom blogs that I might use as a model for a future classroom of my own. I started my search by looking on a website that supports the use of blogging by teaching professionals in their classrooms with their students (if you are interested, click here). There were many options to choose from when creating a Do's and Don'ts list for classroom blogging. One my favorite examples of a classroom blog came from a fifth grade classroom and was constructed on edublog. I liked this blog and layout because it was very organized with its many different pages that made it clear to those not involved with the class as to where they could go to locate information. Also, I enjoyed how the students were able to post their own thoughts when it came to their SSR assignments, but best of all, there was teacher feedback for each comment; this showed how this blog was not only a teacher run project, but a student to student interaction. To view this blog click: Ms. Mercer's Classroom Website

I knew when I started looking at examples of classroom blogs that these were goals that I had in mind for not only the final project for this class, but a goal for my future classroom. Technology, especially easily accessible technology such as websites and blogs, are valuable to add to the classroom dynamic because it is another manipulative that can aid learning and also develop a true classroom community. I feel that blogs are a tool that can be accessed by parents and other faculty members that illustrates what students are doing all day in my classroom. Also the blog such as the one for Ms. Mercer's classroom allow students to contribute thoughts about books and showcase work and projects. Ultimately I would like to have a blog such as this for my classroom so that it might give voice to those who in a traditional setting have a difficult time being heard and as an opportunity to bring outside technology interests into the classroom dynamic.