Science photos with Popplet

Why is it always science where the curriculum says observe the experiment, the reaction, and...the moon phases.  How can students observe the moon phases in the middle of the day?  Not to mention over a week long period where the observations seem very similar and students are expected to recognize every slight difference?  Why doesn't the curriculum say, using technology have students create a moon phases chart with imported moon images?

In order to address this fifth grade objective, "students will identify the phases of the moon and why the moon's shape changes throughout the year" (HCPSS, 2007), I incorporated the mindmapping tool Popplet.  Popplet allows students to organize words, ideas, and pictures by importing images onto a blank canvas.  For science this is essential, students are able to find moon resources and create a diagram when observations are too difficult. They can then connect their ideas and demonstrate their understanding, far beyond hard to see observations.

As seen in the Popplet Blog, users have used this mindmapping tool for all subject areas, at home and in the classroom.

Wallwisher

Sticky notes always appear on our school supply lists, so why not use technology to jot down a quick note, or in a classroom to organize a collection of ideas.  Wallwisher is shareable space to place virtual sticky notes.  Some of the uses include:

An account is necessary to create a new wall, but you can anonymously post to an already existing wall.  Wallwisher's Frequently Asked Questions addresses how to use the features and talks about Internet safety components.

As seen here, our technology teacher created this "TSES Reads" wall and sent out the link to the staff during Read Across America Week.  Staff members quickly and easily added a note to the wall, in addition to pictures or links to websites.  Then, students were able to add their favorite books and sign their names.

Wallwisher is also perfect for recording ideas, especially if ideas are added over a period of time.  Take the commonly used "parking lot" strategy where teachers ask students to record any questions or ideas throughout a class or several classes, and address the "parking lot" later on.  During our telecollaborative project, wallwisher could be used to organize ideas from multiple classrooms and everyone would be able to see already posted ideas and access the same sources.

Going green with Wallwisher

At least once a day I seem to be passing out sticky notes to my students to assess independent comprehension levels, to complete a warmup, or to brainstorm ideas.  In hopes of going green, or as it seems I always run out of sticky notes nearing the end of the school year, I was thinking I could use Wallwisher to complete the same tasks.

At our school, our fifth grade team completes the Simulated Congressional Hearings, which entails our students researching, analyzing, and presenting speeches on the United States Constitution in relation to current events.  Using this lesson, I have incorporated Wallwisher as a tool for students to address the constitutional questions as they relate to their current event.

Students are able to move their notes around, work in their groups to address each topic, and see each others' ideas as they develop their speeches.  Collaboration is a key component to the Simulated Congressional Hearing project and as noted on the ISTE Student standards, "students use digital media and environments to
communicate and work collaboratively, including
at a distance, to support individual learning and
contribute to the learning of others" (ISTE, 2007).

As Byrne discusses in Free Technology for Teachers article, wallwisher is great for adapting lessons for diverse students and Byrne actively uses the tool with his special education students.  He also references a slideshow entitled Nineteen Interesting Ways* to use Wallwisher in the Classroom by Tom Barrett, which includes such highlights as gathering feedback, sorting shapes, book reviews, showcasing student work, a suggestion box, peer presentation notes, and sharing resources.

Edmodo

Edmodo is advertised as Facebook at school.  Edmodo is a collaborative social network tool that teachers, students, and parents can use to communicate and share resources and information.  According to the Edmodo website, “Edmodo’s goal is to help educators harness the power of social media to customize the classroom for each and every learner” (Edmodo, 2012).

As seen in this YouTube video, Edmodo appeals to our 21st century learners and is a way to teach our curriculum and use social networking to experience new information. 

 

A username and password is necessary to join the Edmodo community.  Parents and students need to create a unique username and are given a secure group password to join class organizations and communications.

Currently, I use Edmodo to communicate with my fellow teachers. (Several  ET 630 classmates are also using Edmodo.)  Edmodo is ideal for sharing information such as websites, articles, and quickly communicating with teachers outside of traditional email.  Additionally, Edmodo offers educational communities that provide news such as current events and classroom tools.  As seen here, I am following Polar Bears International for my classes' research report and I have gained access to useful lessons and videos for my students.

This Web 2.0 tool would be perfect in our telecollaborative project as a means to communicate with other schools across the county and/or nation and easily post pictures, videos, and links for our students to independently view and analyze.

Edmodo with students...is it possible?

As seen in this video, there are numerous ways to use Edmodo with students - including posting homework and announcements, assigning quizzes and polls, sharing comments, videos, and websites.

However, numerous Howard County schools have encountered difficulties with Edmodo.  Because Edmodo has been associated with Facebook, several schools have experienced bullying problems with students using their Edmodo account outside of school to communicate with classmates.  How could this be prevented?  In hopes of convincing my administration to allow me to use Edmodo with my class, I've considered creating several student accounts (student 1, student 2, etc) and assigning a new student account each time.  But then would I be able to record grades or assign quizzes?  My students would be able to exchange ideas, under their assigned id in the given time period, but is that taking away some of the social networking creativity that Edmodo is encouraging?

Possibly Edmodo would be a good lesson in Digital Citizenship.  A tool for teaching responsible social networking, especially if communicating with students in a different area (like a telecollaborative project).  As seen on Edmodo TeacherHub, the article Edmodo and School Safety, encourages teachers to be vigilant about educating students on appropriate Internet behavior including establishing privacy protocols, monitoring behaviors, and managing both teachers, students, and parents on Edmodo.  Edmodo Back to School: 9 Tips for Online Safety provides a list of ways to incorporate Edmodo into online safety activities and lessons.

So even with its difficulties, don't the pros of Edmodo outweigh the cost cons? 

Hello Loyola Masters in Educational Technology Students

Welcome to Liz O’Connor’s Web 2.0 Tools Review.  Check back here to find valuable information regarding new Web 2.0 tools that you can use in your classroom.