Teaching+with+Technology

As an educator in the 21st century, I believe it is critical to use relevant technology to teach core content to students. Their experiences with new technologies will give them the critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork skills that are in high demand in the workplace. Here are some examples of ways that I have used new technology tools with both students and teachers.

** __Student Blogs and VoiceThreads__ **  are excellent tools for helping students to collaborate and discuss ideas. Using these tools, teachers can post critical thinking questions and students can engage in online discussions with their classmates or even students in other classes or schools. Teachers can easily monitor the discussions even though they are not occurring at a single time. Through these activities, students learn to justify and defend positions, ask clarifying questions, and disagree respectfully.  Mr. Fairbairn's Class Blog Ms. Callaghan's Class Blog Our VoiceThread examples are currently password protected for student use.  **__Student Wikis__** ** are important tools for allowing students to collaborate by creating a shared collection of resources or information. In our North American Countries Wiki Project, students researched individual countries, but instead of creating a poster about what they learned, they added information to a class wiki. Then, they used the shared information to answer specific, standards-based questions about this topic. It was also a good opportunity to teach students about appropriate online behavior and protecting identities online. Mr. Fairbairn's Class Mr. Stys's Class ** 
 * __Student Podcasting__** is another way for students to connect with a wider learning community. Currently, I am collaborating with a 4th grade teacher to have students produce a book talk series. We plan to produce a podcast with weekly episodes recommending books to classmates and students everywhere. By integrating this technology with our reading, we are generating excitement and enthusiasm around our reading program. Look for it here (and maybe even in iTunes).

**__Professional Blogs__** provide a good platform for long-term staff development. Facilitators can update easily and participants are able to comment and discuss learning topics at any time. The staff development experience is enriched because the learning and collaboration are not confined to face-to-face meeting. **OCE 2.0  is an example of staff development I co-created with Nancy Mangum. The blog became our main tools for communication and discussion. It also became the template that we shared at the NCaect conference when presenting on empowering teachers to use Web 2.0 in the classroom.

__Professional Wikis__ ** are an excellent way for a group of professionals to share their knowledge and ideas. By contributing to a common resource, we have been able to tap into the collective strengths of our colleagues. I created the OCE Literacy Marketplace in collaboration with our literacy coaches as a way for teachers to share resources and best practices as we implemented balanced literacy instruction.   <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__Classroom Blogs and Wikis__** can provides teachers with new, and often easier, methods for Teacher-Parent Communication. Parents today come to expect some form of quick and easy access to their children's learning. Blogs and wikis are tools that are easy for both teachers and parents to use. I have worked with several teachers on setting up these tools for their classrooms. Here are some fine examples: [|Mr. Fairbairn's 5th Grade] (blog) [|Mrs. Donaldson's 4th Grade] (blog) Ms. Ciccarelli's 4th Grade : 2008-09 | 2009-10 (wiki)