Thursday, March 8, 2018

and 1 more Thing # Internet Resource Final!

Internet resource final

Reflect on and describe five constructs/concepts/principles/strategies gained from this course (explaining each accurately and clearly, and then describing how they will inform/affect/change your professional practice.


1.    WebQuests are one technology construct I am taking away from this course and utilizing in the classroom. I am excited to be using a learning platform based in inquiry learning where most of the information the reader accesses and learns from is online.  Webquests are almost completely web based, and the learning activity connected with the web quest is usually an authentic, real world task. I was unaware of this web 2.0 tool even though it has been around for a number of years now. I am now more informed on the construction and implementation of a webquest to use with my students. I believe using this tool will strengthen the cohesiveness of my lesson plans and units with tasks that implore the students to independently choose a topic, ask questions, evaluate sources, think critically, summarize and present research or projects. My students will have more motivation for learning using this tool because it is challenging yet creative.

2.    Behold the revitalizing of the Wiki!  Revitalize only because I found so many dead or dying Wikis.  I am definitely going to use this strategy in my classroom. Developing a Wiki page is easier than I ever imagined it would be. The most important part is keeping it alive and relevant. Wikis are similar to document collaboration tools such as Microsoft word or Google docs but instead of being private, this platform is published on the web for easier access. Wikis are easily shared and collaborated with among students and teachers. Anyone can register and keeping track of what has been added and changed helps keep a system of checks and balances, or accountability. I plan to have my students use Wikis in the classroom from now on.

3.    Internet safety is of the utmost importance in today’s vast technological world, especially since most teachers now employ curriculums that incorporate the internet and the tools found on them. I was pleased to learn about the importance and management of web safety through this course. It is definitely important to have more than just the common and basic signature form to promote and provide internet safety. There are actually models and games students can use to promote safety. Investigative role playing is one of these models I learned about. The idea is to have student’s research websites and discover which one is false, or a hoax website. Students need to be tech savvy and constantly thinking critically to stay above the reaches of the criminal cyber mind.  Having an array of activities to keep kids on their toes is very important. I have learned how to do more than is required by districts by taking this course.

4.    How to create social media platform is a concept I learned through this course from the book study by Michael Hyatt: Platform, Getting Noticed in a Noisy World. In this book Hyatt outlines the process on how to become an influence online, becoming an effective online presence and having your voice heard. But being heard on social media platforms isn’t easy, in fact, it’s very difficult to reach out and land the presence you intend. Hyatt introduces several methods to get your voice heard by using these platforms. It is imperative to scaffold and slowly build your students into using these platforms in the classroom. Hyatt advises to create a compelling story as the first crucial directive. Start with a Wow factor on your platform. Something intriguing and not mundane. Keeping students attention and enthusiasm in building good platform for learning is imperative. Leaning how to build, how often to post, using key words are all part of Hyatt’s plan to create and maintain a successful, informative social media platform to use in the confines of the classroom for educational learning purposes.


5.    Presentation and Assessment tools equally important tools that I have discovered taking this course. I was introduced to a multitude of new tools for presentation and assessment. My favorite new presentation tool is definitely Prezi. I had a brief experience with Prezi in the past but I never actually experience the power of the tool until this year. Prezi is more than a PowerPoint slide because if allows you to better capture the attention of your students or audience members. It is also a great resource tool for students to use to present their projects. The newest assessment tool that I like is Socrative. This tool allows teachers to create polls, tests, quizzes or other exercises to check for assessment. The best part is that students can use their smartphones. This makes learning more fun because students can incorporate their cell devices into the classroom. Thanks to these new tools, I will make my classroom a fun, learning environment. 

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