Final+Examination

** EDU: 653 ** ** Sarah Kuenner **  Richardson’s book, __Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms__ (third addition), is an outstanding resource for educators in all areas of teaching. It has examples for K-12 teachers using the latest technology and Web tools and presenting it to their students and colleagues. I was a bit skeptical, being a 2nd grade teacher with such young students, using a few of these resources. However, Richardson’s book engaged me and sparked some new insight relating to my current job. As you read I will reference Richardson’s key chapters and explain how each type of Wed tool can help me as a teacher in my current classroom. I will also explain a few “down falls” with some of the Wed tools I am examining. In chapter four Richardson talks about Wikis he named the chapter, “Wikis: Easy Collaboration for All” which is exactly what a Wiki is. Wikis are designed to collaborate different ideas in an easier way. An article By Nathan Matias, states that Wikis can be used for a large variety of tasks, from personal note-taking to collaborating online, creating an internal knowledge base, assembling an online community, and managing a traditional website ([] ). I have not used a Wiki with my students, because they are so young, but after learning about them I plan to start on with the parents of my students to help collaborate on classroom parties, books, assignments and other items that might be addressed in the classroom. Even though I am unable to use this Wed tool with my students directly I can use it with my student’s parents or colleagues throughout my school or the district.
 * Final Examination **
 * __ Wikis __**

RSS was the next big Web tool that Richardson examined. He called this tool, “ A New Killer App for Educators”! Some of the benefits were talked about on, “What Is RSS? RSS Explained” ([] ) they included how RSS allows people to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites they are interested in. Many people save time by not needing to visit each site individual. There is a growing number of sites offering RSS feeds and this includes big names like Yahoo News. My biggest issue with these types of sites is that I cant have my students use it directly because they do not have the computer knowledge it takes. However, this is a great tool for me to get information that I can present to the students. I can stay informed on the latest education information; get up-to-date information about things going on in the world that may pertain to what the students are currently learning. Education is always changing and there is always a new idea or method for teaching or managing the classroom, being connected to RSS feeds can help me stay on top of the new treads in education. Richardson’s chapter six on “The Social Web: Learning Together” was short but packed with information. This chapter had two sections; “Twitteverse”, as Richardson would call it, and social bookmarking sites. Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you answer the question, "What are you doing?" by sending short text messages 140 characters in length, called "tweets", to your friends, or "followers”( []). One of the downsides to this type of Web tool is that my students are too young. If I taught older students there would be many different ways I could use it in the classroom. I could post assignments, students could communicate with one another, and parents could see what was going on in the classroom. Social bookmarking is a great way to organize resources that you use and share them with others. I think that social bookmarking is great Web tool to use with parents and teachers. I noticed that the students love it too!! I have created a social bookmarking page for myself, parents and my students. The students cannot access the page at school due to pop-up blockers; however, they can access it at home, where they can play fun educational games! The parents love that I have included ideas and resources for them! Flickr is the next Web tool that Richards examines in his book. You will find the information about flickr in chapter seven titled; “Fun with Flickr: Creating, Publishing, and Using Images Online”. This chapter explains what Flickr is, learning, practicing and having fun with Flickr! Flickr is a photo sharing site where you can upload and download photos that others post! Flickr is a great tool to use in the classroom. You can type in anything and get hundreds of photos! I use this in my classroom all the time with my second graders! We were learning about different types of turkeys during Thanksgiving. All I had to do was type in the word turkey and hundreds of photos popped up! One thing you need to be careful is just showing the students the pictures you want them to see. Sometimes you may have some pictures that are not appropriate or that don’t fit the topic. I do not have them use the site on their own because they are so young and you never know what might come up! One of Richardson’s longest chapters is chapter 8, “Podcasting, Video and Screencasting, Live Streaming: Multimedia Publishing for the Masses”. The purpose of these types of Web tools is to communicate with a larger number of people about a particular topic. You can watch or listen to podcasts, and screencast on almost anything! These are great to use in the classroom. Students can watch the screencasts as a reminder on how to do things or to get directions. For my second graders I created a screencast to teach them how to save their work using MicoSoft Word. Now if a student’s forgets or need a reminder they can watch the screencast again and I don’t have to run around trying to help twenty-five eight year olds!
 * __ RSS: Rich Site Summary __**
 * __ The Social Web: __**
 * __ Flickr: __**
 * __ Podcasting, Video and Screencasting, Live Streaming __** :

The last Web tools that Richardson evaluates in his book are Social Networks like, Facebook and Ning. He explains how Facebook can be used for personal connections and also educational connections. One of the downfalls of using these social networks is that many of the school have blocks that do not allow the students to access the sites at school. However, the students, if they have internet access, can complete activities at home using these social networking sties. These sites are great for connection with classrooms and students from around the world.
 * __ Social Networks: __**

Using these different Web tools teachers can create an engaging and enriching classroom for students of all ages. In my district we are limited in technology resources but we are moving more in that direction and I think many others are moving in that direction also. I hope that teachers broaden their horizons and look to these resources to help with instruction.

Sources Used:

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

[]

[]

[]