Here is the same photo as above after I tried to edit it on picassa. I couldn't figure out how to make it come up here larger but if you click on the picture you can get a larger view.

Blogging in Education

As difficult as these times may be we are so fortunate to live in an era where so much information and tools are so readily available to us. Currently I am learning about web 2.0 and the many tools and applications that are available to use through this browser. Things like blogs, wikis, photo and video sharing sites and many more are just some of the tools available to us to help us improve our teaching methods. We can not only use these different web base tools with our students but we can also use them to talk with other teachers and professionals from all around the world. Web 2.0 provides a fast and very affordable (free) way for people to share information in whatever form with others. As a teacher I believe that this is going to be an essential tool for us within our classrooms. It will allow our students to be in constant communication with us, it will allow our students to share with people from other parts of the world helping them to gain a little bit of insight as to what other kids their age do, and it allows for them to think of creative ways to express their feelings and knowledge of a certain subject. One of the tools that is available through web 2.0 are blogs. Blogs are personal commentaries on a wide variety of issues that can entertain, convince and influence its readers. (Web 2.0 and You) With blogs teachers and students are able to share information immediately with their teacher and most importantly with other students about a certain subject or maybe even a certain concern they may have. It also allows the teacher to see what the students may have learnt or felt about a certain topic that they had been studying or an activity that they had in school. Blogs are a great way for teachers to measure how much the students are learning. Blogs also provide a way for teachers to communicate with other teachers and allows them to learn from each other. So all in all blogs are great for both the teacher and the student. It allows for the students to be creative and yet provides the teacher a way to know how much knowledge and information the student has retained by what he has written about the subject and also by the way he has commented on some of his other pupils blogs. In one blog I read it said this about blogs and online discussions,

“They help learners integrate or synthesize information. They help surface learners’ own opinions and ideas about particular academic topics. They may help contrast ideas. They also encourage students to express their own voices and to share interactivity and ideas with each other.” (Eruditio Loginquitas)

Technology in the classroom

As I continue to move further along my path to becoming a teacher I am starting to see the importance of understanding the ins and outs of computers and the different programs that are being used in the education world. My computer skills have always been rather low and I thought that as a teacher I would be able to get by with limited use of the computer. I figured the only time I would need a computer would be for recording grades or giving presentations, but I am slowly realizing the effectiveness of technology in the classroom and how much better my teaching skills can be with the help of a computer and the Internet. I am amazed at the different programs and features that are available to us that allow for a more involved and proactive learning environment. Long gone are the days of reading a textbook and answering the questions at the end of the chapter like many of us had to do in school. Today’s students are completing assignments that are much more thought provoking and engaging than answering true or false questions from a book. They are creating web pages with detailed information about a certain subject, they are using social networks to talk with people from a different part of the world about a certain topic, they are creating elaborate presentations with the help of PowerPoint and prezi and in doing these things they are not only improving their knowledge on a certain subject but they are also developing real skills that will greatly help them when they become adults. In my opinion today’s students are receiving a far better education and much of that has to do with the rise in the use of technology in the classroom. Today thanks to the internet kids have unlimited access to information about anything at their fingertips. My sons who we adopted from Samoa had not been exposed much to computers and the Internet but they are quickly learning and before long will be passing me up and teaching me how to use a computer. Nonetheless I will continue to look to improve my skills as a teacher by using the resources available to us. As a Social Studies teacher I plan on having my students give many presentations and one of the best ways to do that is with powerpoint or prezi. I also would like to see my students create documentaries about a specific event or person and with today's technology they should be able to create and edit these films without too much difficulty. I am excited to start and look forward to using various teaching methods to help my students improve their skill and knowledge.