Week 2 - KWL and Reflection

The  Connected Educator is a book that I have found to be refreshing.  I have had a lot of connections with the first chapter and the discussion about the New Media Literacies that all students and teachers need to know.  I was part of a group in New Hampshire who explored the New Media Literacies as the Early Adopters.  It was a learning experience for me to get an understanding of what the literacies were and how we could use them.  I also found that it was my first real experience with online learning.  I did not do as well with the online learning as I had hoped to do so I am working hard on each experience to get the most out of the online learning experience.  I loved the idea of the Ning that the New Media Literacies had set up to help people develop their understanding of the literacies through challenges in the learning library.  It really helped make it real and useful as a learner.  It was great, as well, as a way to introduce the literacies to our students.  

The interactive tools they have included in the book is really helpful to me with giving me ways to make the connections with the material.  The checklist/scoring guide to see how you measure up with the new literacies was helpful yo me to realize that even though I know them all and think that I am including them in my lessons, I really am not.  So now I find myself thinking harder and looking for more ideas on how to accomplish the task of integrating the new literacies in my classroom.  I also liked the google map and how it explains how to use the tool to put your information.  I have already started thinking about how to use this interactive map idea with my social studies class.   

Interesting enough I have realized that I don't have a very big digital footprint.  After watching the video about our digital footprint, I went online and googled my name and realized that there is a dentist out west that has far more information on the web than I do.  I have a Facebook account and use it to read and keep up on my friends but I don't write on it very often.  I have a Twitter account that I don't know really how to use. I upload pictures to Shutterfly but have not shared the information with friends and family.  I have realized that I need to update my digital footprint and start to participate more in the world now as opposed to waiting to see what will come up next.  

Sharing my KWL chart :
What I know:  I feel that I am knowledgeable in the area Microsoft applications like word, excel, and powerpoint.  I have used wikispaces to create wikis for my classes and for groups that I have been involved with as a way for all of us to share information in one place.  I have used Glogster in my classroom.  This is a great tool for creating projects but also a good way to have a collecting point for a digit portfolio.    

What I want to Learn:  I want to know more about ways to use technology more efficient in my classroom.  I want to teach my students how to be good digital citizens so I need to find good ways to make this happen.  I want to find better ways to use my interactive whiteboard as well as the document camera and laptops.  I would love to find a way to get my students to interact more through a blog or wiki to enhance their learning experience in the middle school.