I think this week's activity was a little more difficult for me. I know the social networking sites are extremely popular and many of my friends and colleagues use them. It is something that I just haven't got into. I don't Facebook and until this class, no Twitter. I do have a LinkedIn account but I don't use it that much. I think the closest thing that I use on a regular basis is being a member of the MBEA listserv. I definitely check in on those emails daily and correspond with other teachers by asking for help or answering requests from others.
For this assignment, I have requested to join a Ning. Something completely new to me. The Ning I joined is ipadeducators.ning.com. I am always on the lookout for any help I can get on ways to incorporate using the iPads in the classroom. Even though my request is still pending, I have been able to search through and begin to learn from others. This site has a weekly discussion and this week's topic is "What is your ideal iPad lesson?" Several people have shared activities and apps that they are using in the classroom. I am excited about what I can learn from the members of this group. Other components included are blogs, apps suggestions, tips and news articles. Several of these components offer suggestions for different types of learners.
Based on the reading this week, I am interested in the idea of creating a Ning for my classes. Thinking ahead, I could see having a Ning for the new Entrepreneurship class could be a fun and interesting way for the students to participate in a dialog about creating businesses and case studies. I hope to learn more about these so I can present the option and get approval from my administration to use it next year. We'll just have to wait and see.
That's really good stuff! I think the point of all of this is to find the one that works for you and go for it. I am totally new to nings, but I've been into Twitter for a couple of years. I use Facebook but just for friends and family, so I know I've got a lot to learn there as well. I've never even attempted an iPad lesson in a classroom, so that's completely new to me, but it sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteOur district was going through a technology adoption last year and chose to get the students mac book pro's instead of Ipads. I think they both are very rewarding, but would definitely be interested to see how Ipads would work in the classroom. I think we will eventually get to that point, where everyone will have some type of technology tool, just who knows when, or what the resource/tool will be when the time comes. It amazes me to think of what technology will look like in the future.
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ReplyDeleteiPad, Mac Book Pro... at the rate technology advances, it's hard to know which platform will best prepare a student (or for that matter, a teacher) for the future. According to a study by AdAge, 78 percent of internet users access it through a smartphone.
ReplyDeleteWe have allowed SmartPhones this year (BYOD) but the plan for next year is to limit everything to the iPad. Allowing the phones to be used for "educational purposes" in the classroom has become a classroom management nightmare. I sometimes feel like I spend too much time monitoring the texting and Twitter rather than teaching. It is helpful when we are working on an online activity but with 30 phones in the class, I hate having to police during times when they are not supposed to be online. They are supposed to go through our school network but I know those with 3G are not and I don't even try to monitor which network they are using. I agree with the rate of advancements, who knows if we will already be behind by the time we have 700 iPads in the school in August.
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