Reflective Blog 5

When I started this week’s assignment I was not sure what I was going to use a wiki for or if I really had a need for a wiki. After reading and commenting on the posts of some of my classmates, I decided to develop a wiki I could use for exchanging ideas and information on ceramics. I have created the page but I have not added any information yet. I have some projects that I made and would like to take pictures of them and add to my wiki. I have a couple of sites that I need to check and see if I am still able to access them because I would like to add them on my wiki. I have even thought about making one for me and other teachers in my family that way we could use it to share and exchange ideas also.

Advantages I see to using a wiki is a common place where everyone can share and create their ideas on a particular topic or subject. Wikis may allow for better management of information because everyone can meet up and discuss a top in one place at anytime without having to worry about if someone didn’t see or get the information.

Disadvantages would be not everyone wants to use it because they do not like computers or having to learn how to use it. Someone changes or edits something that should not have been changed and the information is not correct. There may be a problem with accessing the technology such as no Internet connection or a problem with the site.

Depending on what they are used for I think wikis do have the potential for engaging digital natives. I think a couple of ways they could use them is to collaborate on homework or share ideas on a group project. Some may even decide to use them for after school purposes such as organizing a club or organization.

After exploring the eLearning Tools Wiki I am curious to learn more about the animation and visualization technologies. The one that really caught my eye was the Glogster site that talks about creating digital posters. I looked around on the site and some of them look really cool, I will be checking into this a little more.

Reflective Blog 4

This week I learned some differences between assessment for learning and assessment of learning. I had a general understanding but I’m glad I had the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the two concepts. I think out of the 10 assessment for learning my primary focus is on how students learn. I have often thought about the differences in how students learn and it took a little while for me to accept that we all learn in different ways. I think I always knew that but focusing on education and learning about the differences in all learners opened my eyes to that fact. Some of the things I have learned in my classes over the last couple of years have really changed my perceptions on education, teachers and students.

I believe portfolio assessment can be beneficial in two ways. One is as a way to display or show things you have done or created. The other is as a resource tool that you can continue to add more materials to. I think either of these has potential although the second is more along the lines of assessment for learning.

I think having a portfolio will allow me to see that I am able to catalog my works in one central place and that if I choose to do so, I can continue to add or change things around on my portfolio. I know if I continue on my path as an educator I can utilize this as a way to display things I have done and also share my ideas with my students.

Reflective Blog 3

The assignment this week was pretty interesting. I remember reading the article that talked about links and the validity of them but was glad to actually learn how to go about checking to see if they are credible. I am not surprised to hear about information on the Internet as untrue. I have found myself over time fact checking many emails or other information I receive from someone to see if it is true or not. In most cases it is not, at one time it amazed me how carelessly people sent this things out without knowing if it was true or not but now I’m no longer shocked. I am pretty confident about information I choose to use because of my concerns with information being valid, I often check information I use to make sure it is accurate. Although now that I know how to check links, I know this will aid in my search for finding even better sources.

In my opinion, it is important to start teaching children at an early age to get into a habit of checking or verifying information. If students are not taught how to check information they view or use on the Internet they will run a chance of using inappropriate or unreliable information. As an educator we can warn students that most of the information on the Internet is not always valid and show them how to look up information correctly but in the end it will come down to the individual student. Some will listen and fact check and others unfortunately will not. I think it would be wonderful if all students would verify information they find on the Internet with a teacher or parent. As a parent I try to teach my child how important it is to verify information that he finds on the Internet or receives from another person, and that includes his teachers.

Some advantages of organizing information are it is easier to find later when needed, you can have access instantly to what you want to know about instead of having to search through various places, and it’s easier to relate it to similar topics. Some ways I could use Delicious in the future is as a resource for websites that I like to use in my classroom and having them immediately available to me in one central location instead of having to search for them individually on the Internet. I can continue to build onto what I already have and also share these with other teachers that I have a common interest with.