As another week passes, I find myself anxious... both to start school AND about what technology tools I will be comfortable using this year. I have so much difficulty choosing what is best... for example, sites for classroom wikis. A free site would be best, but which one should I use?? If anyone has any suggestions as to which one would be best for the beginner, I am all ears : )
I will be dropping by school next week to speak with our IT 'guy' about what my class will be able to access this year. It is important that I have a gameplan in place prior to that so that I can explain the technology I want to be able to access and why.
Problem-based learning is still somewhat of a "problem" for me... I can't seem to find a problem that I can relate to my English classes. Ahhh, the beauty of the internet... I will be searching blogs, nings, wikis, etc. for some help here... always open to advice and suggestions.... Judy
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAwww, you made a wordle! I love those!
ReplyDeleteOur IT guy always loves to see me coming. He always asks, "What kinda site you need now?". HA! Love keeping him on his toes!!!!
Judith,
ReplyDeleteI have used www.wikispaces.com before in my classroom. It is a free site for educators and you have control over who can view, comment, and edit pages. It does take some time to invite your students, and some of them may have to open new e-mail accounts if their e-mail address is not exactly school appropriate. My students have enjoyed creating their own little piece of cyber space and get very excited when someone from outside the school comments on their page.
In regards to utilizing PBL in English classrooms, I believe that you can find a way to relate the issues from a novel to the students’ current lives. If you read the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the students could discuss the issue of racism, or if that is not a hot topic in your area, they could discuss the difference between the way boys and girls are treated in your high school on the issues of dress code, punishment for misbehavior, or academic performance expectations. These are just a couple of ideas I hope will help.
Max Mills
Max & Judith,
ReplyDeleteI used this wikispace with my students, it was a little slow getting the ball rolling, but once everyone became familiar with the technology the students were OK. We solved the email problem by making all the students used their school email accounts, all the students are given an email and a certain amount of space to save their school work on the server.
~Retta
Judy,
ReplyDeleteCheck out weebly. it is free software for educators to use to create their own webpages or blogs. It also has many other uses.