What I already knew: Social media was a growing part of education due to the increase of internet exposure. There are computers used in classrooms now rather than just in a computer lab or a library. Social media is a growing epidemic and schools are now adopting it as a useful tool rather than dismissing it as a distraction. What I wanted to learn: How exactly is social media used in the classrooms? Are things such as Facebook becoming useful for learning? What I learned: Facebook is being used in schools as a useful way to encourage events within the school district and even a way of reaching out to students. It has shown that online classes are just as effective as regular classes. Teachers are using podcasts to voice their lectures and help students re-live what was taught. Twitter has not yet made it's way into the educational system but it something that is being worked on. Students are expected to be able to use computers in todays society to complete classroom assignments. It is unusual nowadays for a school to not have computers somewhere in the building that students can access.
What procedures do you think Rosa Parks Elementary is using to provide services to struggling students? Why are school personnel dissatisfied with this process? The procedures the school is providing is to put the students in special education when they are identified as slow learners. The problem with this that students aren't identified until later in their school, which causes them to have already been failing by the time they get the help they need. The reason the personnel is so dissatisfied is because they can be caught earlier and given the help they need preventing them to fail these classes. What approaches are available to schools to help struggling readers and to efficiently identify students who need special education services? They have reading classes and pull out options for struggling readers. They have screening processes and even standards the teachers can look for in the classroom. What other information might a school find helpful when choosing which approach to adopt? The school might find it helpful to see it in action at another school or to do research on the success rate of the new approach. What steps might the S-Team propose to help its struggling readers? The S-Team might find it helpful to locate and identify the readers in younger grades as struggling readers and give them a little extra help to keep them up to speed with the rest of the crowd. They should discuss this with the rest of the faculty to everyone is on the same page.
21st Century Learning
Teacher: Hamish Mclean
1) This teacher is using the wiki as a communication device for all of the students as well as their parents. The students can showcase their work for others to see and ask questions without feeling uncomfortable. It is used as a safe place for students to come to when they want to communicate with the teacher. It is also used for parents to do the same. The parents can see their child's work displayed on the wiki and communicate with the teacher on the same device. It is also used to collect the students work in a portfolio so it is all in one place and organized.
2) I would really like to try the communicating with parents part. I believe that having a successful classroom involves being open and communicating with the parents. This is a wonderful way to allow the parents to see what the students are working on and opening up communication so they can discuss it with me the teacher.
3) This wiki meets the criteria of a networked classroom by having open communication lines and discussion. It also is a great way of providing feedback for the students. With this form of open communication and displaying of work it would be easy for the teacher to give feedback to the students as they complete their work. It is community based as well as feedback based.
2nd Grade Class Wiki
Teacher: D. Anderson
1) This wiki is being used as a communication method and collection of students work. It is also being used to engage students in advanced learning. It is also being used to educate other teachers on different ways of learning with examples from the class as it is happening. It can be used as a teacher resource as well as a student resource in the idea of advancing their education.
2) I would love to try this idea of communicating with other teachers. I think that teachers are always learning best from others in the field and how they do things. It would be wonderful to have a way to personally see how things unfold through the students works and lesson ideas. This would be a great learning tool not only for students but teachers as well.
3) This wiki meets the criteria of a networked classroom because it is incorporating the idea of community. It is taking the entire school into it's community and making it accessible to everyone. The students are allowed to communicate with each other as well as the teacher in this wiki which is an important part of a networked classroom.
Adams News Wiki
Teacher: Stu Woodward
1) This wiki is a place for students to come and share things that are happening at their school. It's a place students can look and know more of what events might be happening and things they might be interested in participating in.
2) I think this wiki is very interesting and a great way to introduced the idea of a wiki. Students can check it regularly to find an event going on that they would like to partake in. This would be very helpful for students who having trouble socializing and making friends. It will provide them a multitude of events that they can do to become more socially engaged with their classmates.
3) This wiki meets the criteria of a networked classroom because it is creating a community for the entire school. It is not just for one particular classroom for the entire school to use and create events. A student may be in a club where they would like to get the word out about a fundraiser they are having, this wiki gives that child a much louder voice then they would normally have. It is a great way to exemplify community based wikis.
What I already knew:
Social media was a growing part of education due to the increase of internet exposure. There are computers used in classrooms now rather than just in a computer lab or a library. Social media is a growing epidemic and schools are now adopting it as a useful tool rather than dismissing it as a distraction.
What I wanted to learn:
How exactly is social media used in the classrooms?
Are things such as Facebook becoming useful for learning?
What I learned:
Facebook is being used in schools as a useful way to encourage events within the school district and even a way of reaching out to students. It has shown that online classes are just as effective as regular classes. Teachers are using podcasts to voice their lectures and help students re-live what was taught. Twitter has not yet made it's way into the educational system but it something that is being worked on. Students are expected to be able to use computers in todays society to complete classroom assignments. It is unusual nowadays for a school to not have computers somewhere in the building that students can access.
What procedures do you think Rosa Parks Elementary is using to provide services to struggling students? Why are school personnel dissatisfied with this process?
The procedures the school is providing is to put the students in special education when they are identified as slow learners. The problem with this that students aren't identified until later in their school, which causes them to have already been failing by the time they get the help they need. The reason the personnel is so dissatisfied is because they can be caught earlier and given the help they need preventing them to fail these classes.
What approaches are available to schools to help struggling readers and to efficiently identify students who need special education services?
They have reading classes and pull out options for struggling readers. They have screening processes and even standards the teachers can look for in the classroom.
What other information might a school find helpful when choosing which approach to adopt?
The school might find it helpful to see it in action at another school or to do research on the success rate of the new approach.
What steps might the S-Team propose to help its struggling readers?
The S-Team might find it helpful to locate and identify the readers in younger grades as struggling readers and give them a little extra help to keep them up to speed with the rest of the crowd. They should discuss this with the rest of the faculty to everyone is on the same page.
21st Century Learning
Teacher: Hamish Mclean
1) This teacher is using the wiki as a communication device for all of the students as well as their parents. The students can showcase their work for others to see and ask questions without feeling uncomfortable. It is used as a safe place for students to come to when they want to communicate with the teacher. It is also used for parents to do the same. The parents can see their child's work displayed on the wiki and communicate with the teacher on the same device. It is also used to collect the students work in a portfolio so it is all in one place and organized.
2) I would really like to try the communicating with parents part. I believe that having a successful classroom involves being open and communicating with the parents. This is a wonderful way to allow the parents to see what the students are working on and opening up communication so they can discuss it with me the teacher.
3) This wiki meets the criteria of a networked classroom by having open communication lines and discussion. It also is a great way of providing feedback for the students. With this form of open communication and displaying of work it would be easy for the teacher to give feedback to the students as they complete their work. It is community based as well as feedback based.
2nd Grade Class Wiki
Teacher: D. Anderson
1) This wiki is being used as a communication method and collection of students work. It is also being used to engage students in advanced learning. It is also being used to educate other teachers on different ways of learning with examples from the class as it is happening. It can be used as a teacher resource as well as a student resource in the idea of advancing their education.
2) I would love to try this idea of communicating with other teachers. I think that teachers are always learning best from others in the field and how they do things. It would be wonderful to have a way to personally see how things unfold through the students works and lesson ideas. This would be a great learning tool not only for students but teachers as well.
3) This wiki meets the criteria of a networked classroom because it is incorporating the idea of community. It is taking the entire school into it's community and making it accessible to everyone. The students are allowed to communicate with each other as well as the teacher in this wiki which is an important part of a networked classroom.
Adams News Wiki
Teacher: Stu Woodward
1) This wiki is a place for students to come and share things that are happening at their school. It's a place students can look and know more of what events might be happening and things they might be interested in participating in.
2) I think this wiki is very interesting and a great way to introduced the idea of a wiki. Students can check it regularly to find an event going on that they would like to partake in. This would be very helpful for students who having trouble socializing and making friends. It will provide them a multitude of events that they can do to become more socially engaged with their classmates.
3) This wiki meets the criteria of a networked classroom because it is creating a community for the entire school. It is not just for one particular classroom for the entire school to use and create events. A student may be in a club where they would like to get the word out about a fundraiser they are having, this wiki gives that child a much louder voice then they would normally have. It is a great way to exemplify community based wikis.