Me and Technology

My experience with Web 2.0 is quite limited. I have had a Facebook page for a while, but have used it very little until starting this course. I enjoy U-Tube and have used it to view such things as videos of my nephew in Vancouver, how to brush a cat's teeth (it's not as easy as it looks!), belly dance lessons, making mojitos, and music videos. I can certainly see the educational value of this website! I've had some exposure to Wikis at school and have a basic understanding of the concept, but haven't used them. This summer I attended a Math workshop where I was introduced to the Smart Board. I was pretty amazed at what they can do, but I think it will be some time before we see them at our school.

The school I teach in was equipped with a computer in each classroom last year (for teacher-use only) and I am very comfortable with email and doing attendance on the computer. I take my Grade 3 French Immersion class to the computer lab once each cycle for about an hour. The kids type stories, work on their keyboarding, and work/play with various software installed on the computers. As for the Internet, they practise their math skills on math websites, read poetry and stories, play games, and do guided research using specific websites.

This fall, our Teacher-Librarian will be taking my class for one period each cycle to work on ICT skills. This is a prep for me, but I will probably join him so that I can learn along with the students. I would like them to use Animoto, Voicethread and any other useful tools I discover on the Web to develop their French language skills.

This year I would like to set up a classroom blog or website where I can inform parents about what we are doing in class and homework assignments. This may foster better connection with parents and help them to play a bigger role in their childrens' education. After all, "it takes a village to raise a child"! I will also encourage parents to keep in touch with me through email, as making phone calls home and reaching parents by phone can be difficult.

Questions I have so fare regarding Web 2.0 are as follows:

1. Which Web 2.0 applications would be most useful to me as a teacher of FSL?

2. Would a blog or website be more effective in communicating with parents about classroom activities, links to websites, homework, etc.?

3. How can I navigate more efficiently through the web to find the information I need?

I look forward to exploring these ideas with you over the coming weeks and months.