Delicious, the Social Bookmarking Website, brings a remarkable convenience to users across the globe. Through this online resource, users can digitally bookmark resources and material and can access them from any internet-enabled device, anywhere in the world. I have found Delicious to be incredibly convenient. I can locate instructional materials at home and can easily access them at school, through my Delicious account.
                  The idea behind Delicious is simple, but brilliant. With the click of a button, a user can create a digital “bookmark” to a specific resource. Traditionally, digital bookmarks are stored on one device, a single computer or tablet. With Delicious, the bookmarks are stored online, which can be accessed from anywhere. As opposed to e-mailing a link, using a flash drive, or copying/pasting, users can access their links with one mouse click. Delicious goes even farther with an innovative way to categorize a library of bookmarks. Users can organize their links into “stacks.” Specific stacks, or groups, can then be built and extended to incorporate a vast amount of commonly themed resources. Going further, each resource can be “tagged” to a specific category. These tags are one word descriptors that represent the content of the resource. Tags then group commonly themed resources together. The method of tagging bookmarks and sorting them into stacks provides far more flexibility than traditional folders for “Favorites.”
                  Despite being very new to the world of Delicious, I found it very easy to use. From the first stack I created to the tags for my newly developed bookmarks, everything seemed simple. I was very surprised at the simple, yet innovative nature of this resource. As a teacher, I was happy to see that this resource would be easy for students (even early elementary aged) to use. As I was exploring this resource, I created several stacks that I wanted to share with my students. I set the stacks to “public” for sharing purposes, so that my students could access the resources. When tagging resources, I found common threads within the resources that I had not previously noticed or recognized. I look forward to sharing Delicious with my students next week.
                  One way that I am really looking forward to using this website is with student research projects. Realistically speaking, researching specific concepts, for third grade students can be a bit of a challenge. With the inability to access many websites at school, I often find myself searching for links and complex URLs that I had accessed at home. With Delicious, I can find meaningful and accurate websites at home, and can instantly share them with my students. In addition to cutting down on the amount of time my students spend “browsing” for information, it ensures that the students have access to safe and appropriate online sites. Professionally, I am looking forward to using the stacks and bookmarks of other educators to locate valuable online resources. The internet is such a vast library of material that sometimes it is hard to filter through the information. With Delicious, you can view what other people have determined to be meaningful and relevant, and can instantly access it.


There are so many uses for Delicious in education. I am looking forward to further exploring this great resource. 

                The internet is home to thousands of amazing programs, resources, and tools that can be used to enhance learning experiences in the classroom. One of the coolest tools I have encountered in my exploration of online educational resources is Glogster. With Glogster, users can create online, interactive, multimedia posters right from the website. With elements like photographs, audio files, videos, and text, students can demonstrate their learning in multiple ways. These posters can then be printed, presented, or shared digitally with others.
                Glogster possesses limitless potential as an educational resource. As a teacher, I see Glogster as an incredibly motivational forum for student expression. Bottom line, students love using technology and students love expressing themselves creatively. With Glogster, students can fuse their learning and their creativity to develop an interactive poster that is uniquely theirs. These digital posters, representing student understanding and knowledge, can then be used as a powerful assessment of student learning. Glogs, or interactive posters, can be incorporated into any subject area and can be used to integrate technology into traditionally text dependent content areas. This year, my students have created glogs for historical figures, science concepts, as well as book studies. The products my students created demonstrated higher order thinking, creativity, and deep knowledge of the content or information.
                From a logistical perspective, Glogster is one of the easier web-based resources to incorporate into a learning experience. Glogster is well-designed, and incredibly user friendly. In all reality, students can probably navigate the site and create a poster with very little teacher support or assistance. Learning time is maximized with these digital posters, as students have instant access to “drag and drop” resources into their glog to represent content. Glogster is also a very safe way for students to create digital posters. With a private and safe platform, teachers can view posters and maintain control of the forum, or can set the settings to share the poster with others.
                As with all technology integration, challenges and obstacles can arise. I think one of the most common challenges with Glogster is that, in order for it to be maximized in the classroom, a teacher needs a membership. While the general use of Glogster is free, a teacher account (which then provides 50 student accounts) costs around $30. This is the best way to get all students on to Glogster simultaneously (without setting up individual e-mail-based accounts for each student.) This challenge can be overcome by staggering student work on Glogster, and allowing several students at a time to access one class account. Another challenge could be simply logistical. Getting a class of elementary school students to create a digital poster, unlike any previous learning experience can bring a lot of questions and needed assurance. With teacher modeling of Glogster usage, guided and independent practice, students should be able to easily and effectively use this resource. Because it is so user friendly and motivational, I think the benefits of this tool far exceed any challenges that may be faced through its usage.

Flickr is a free, photo sharing and management application that is available online. This website not only allows people to upload and store their photographs, it allows users to share and browse a vast library of photographs. Photographs on Flickr can be tagged, or associated with specific terms, that allow them to be sorted and located in many different ways. Photographs can also be geotagged, or linked to a specific location. With advanced search options and thousands of photos available through the Creative Commons, Flickr is a wonderful source for educators to find photographs that enhance learning.

In the classroom, I view Flickr as a highly valuable instructional resource. It can be used to locate and share photographs that represent significant people, places, and things. These photographs (if rights allow) can be used in presentations, lessons, and projects. These drastically enhance instruction as they provide a visual perspective of information. With Flickr, students can digitally explore places to build a contextual understanding. For example, if studying about the marsh/swamp habitat, a student can use the search feature to browse an extremely large pool of photographs related to that region. These photographs help students construct knowledge of the habitat. Exploring and studying photographs related to that specific region (and viewing the location on an interactive political map) allows students to build a contextual understanding of that geographic region or location. Flickr would also be an awesome way to construct or partake in a virtual field trip. Aside from using Flickr to find photographs to enhance presentations, here are some other ideas I have for using Flickr in the classroom: locating thematic photographs for writing prompts/assignments, creating content specific PhotoStory project, visual documentation of student work for portfolio, and photo sharing with global ePals.

 (See Photograph Below) This is one of the many photographs I found when browsing through coastal habitats. This photograph can be tied to several of the science standards taught in third grade. We study about the regions of Georgia, one of those regions being the Atlantic Coast. We also study types of soil. Students learn that there are many different types of soil, including sand. Plants that grow in sandy soil are very unique because they get very little nutrients from the actual soil. Because sand does not hold water, these plants take in a lot of water at one time, but can go for periods of time without water. This picture provides a perfect example of a plant that thrives in sandy soil. Visible adaptations for survival are also evident in this photograph. I would ask students to observe the picture and to predict what adaptation is visible.

Photograph Credit:
 Joe Shlabotnik and can be accessed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/363114745/

     After encountering the “CC” on a variety of images, videos, and other media, I finally know what it means! The “CC” represents “Creative Commons” which allows individuals to use and share the work of others, without going through the long process of seeking written permission required for copyright materials. This unparalleled access makes resources readily available and adaptable. As a teacher, I am so grateful for the Creative Commons, and on another level, I’m really excited to learn that “CC” does not always stand for “Closed Caption” which I initially thought.
            As surprised as I was to learn about the Creative Commons, I was even more surprised to know that this access has been around for over ten years! Designed to combat the harsh restrictions and limitations on traditionally copyright resources, the Creative Commons essentially opens up educational resources for others to use, learn from, and be inspired by. The Creative Commons eliminates the “intermediaries,” or the people between the creator and the potential user. It allows an author or creator to share the rights to their material. It provides freedom and flexibility to access and utilize resources that internet sharing and communication was designed to maximize.
       As a teacher, the Creative Commons opens up a vast library of media for me to use to enhance the learning in my classroom. Through the Creative Commons, teachers and educational institutions can exchange information and share ideas globally. This drastically enhances the sharing of a vast amount of education information. I know that my students and I directly benefit from the access to such resources. I am constantly browsing and hunting for video clips, photographs, illustrations, diagrams, songs, texts, and mnemonic phrases to include in instruction. Whether for flipcharts, PowerPoints, PhotoStory projects, or other technology-based resource, I am always looking through Google, TeacherTube, Wikipedia, United Streaming, etc. to find ideas that related to the concept being taught. Other times, I use ideas found on the internet and in other media as a spring board, ideas to build upon and expand. Without the Creative Commons, I would not be able to use these resources without going through a lengthy process of applying for legal permission.
       While there is great potential in the power of the “pool of resources” included in the Creative Commons, it is also evident that some may find this less restrictive access concerning. One concern that I have related to the Creative Commons is that there is no foundation in place to ensure that information accessed and utilized is properly cited. For example, I constantly create interactive flipcharts through ActivInspire. And, because I want to broaden the impact of these resources, I share the flipcharts on a website called Promethean Planet. While I want anyone to be able to modify and utilize my flipcharts, I also want my name to be tied to my original work. Unfortunately, by sharing my work, there is no guarantee that my name will remain associated with the work. When I consider this in the “big scheme of things,” I am reminded that if it enhances student learning, I do not care who is credited with creation. I think the benefits of the Creative Commons far exceeds any risks or potential negative impact.

    In a world of constantly evolving technologies, one resource stands alone in terms of freedom and flexibility, and that is a wiki. A wiki is a website that allows users to contribute relevant and meaningful content to the page, generally without the review or permission of the original author or creator.  Unlike blogs that facilitate interaction through postings and comments, a wiki invites users to actually add, delete, and modify the content and organization of the page. Wikis are literally a community space for people to share content and ideas related to a specific topic or task. Because of the freedom and flexibility to collaborate and share, Wikis possess truly unlimited potential.
    As a teacher, I would love to find a way to incorporate an educational wiki into my classroom. Through my course assignments this week, I had the opportunity to visit and explore a variety of educational wikis (I’ll share more about these below). In addition to learning a few things from the websites’ content, I also gained numerous ideas for creating and utilizing an educational wiki. I think the coolest idea that I read about was a classroom wiki devoted to virtual field trips. How neat would it be to have a wiki devoted solely to virtual field trips, created by students, to share information and pictures related to a specific location? Considering the increasing costs of “off campus” field trips, this would provide students the opportunity to digitally explore a location. This will probably be my first wiki project! I also liked the idea of using a wiki to establish classroom resources (class encyclopedia, study guides, book/story guides, class scrapbooks, etc.) This would allow students to access content and contribute valuable information from any location in the world. In one article that I came across, the author suggested that with a very strong and content rich classroom resource wiki, students could eliminate the need to bring a textbook home, since the information would be available anywhere.  Another neat wiki idea that I saw involved multi-authoring stories in which a variety of people contributed to a story. Then, people from all across the world edited, revised, and translated the story. Because this story remains open to revisions and alterations, it is constantly changing and expanding. This seems like a great idea for teaching students about the writing process, author’s voice, as well as different perspectives. The potential, the options, and the opportunities that become available through a wiki are limitless.
     As I previously stated, I had the opportunity to explore many different wikis this week. The wikis that I have decided to share are the ones that seemed most relevant to me as an elementary school teacher.

• Greetings From Around the World: This is a 2011 Edublog Award Winning wiki that allows students to explore different places in the world. The specific pages for each location (identified on an interactive Google map) were created by students and include digital posters (created in Glogster). The site is organized into three easy to navigate components: Learn- Learn about places; Look- at this location through the perspective of another student; Create- create a page for a new location. In addition to having a great variety of information on many different locations, this wiki provides a local’s perspective on a specific place. Students can determine what they view as the most important information to share about where they live. Again, being that it is a wiki, others can contribute and share their perspectives. This was most definitely one of the neatest blogs I explored!

• Schools in the Past: In this wiki, people contribute information about what it was like to attend school in the past. It began with students interviewing their parents and grandparents about what school was like, and it has evolved to include information from a variety of contributors. It is a very basic wiki, with the vast majority of the content being on the main wiki page. The content is well organized into categories. The content is also highly relevant to young students, including information about playgrounds, lunch time, and other daily components. I felt that this wiki provided many interesting perspectives for students to review, as well as providing students valuable information for comparing and contrasting schools of the past to schools of today. I learned a lot while exploring this wiki, I know students do too.

• Kubler Reading: Mrs. Kubler’s site provides another interesting way in which a classroom wiki can be used. On this wiki, students in the classroom share information and discuss concepts related to the book they are reading, Tuck Everlasting. This wiki essentially seems to be a digital literature circle, with students having “reading roles” or jobs to facilitate discussions related to the book. I like that the content on this wiki is divided into the reading jobs, so users can click a role (like Word Wizard) and can then browse the content by chapters. This site is well organized and easy to navigate. I do think more content under some of the jobs would enhance this wiki. For example, when you click on many of the links, you only gain one to two sentences of information. Otherwise, I think this is a great wiki!  I use Literature Circles in my third grade class near the end of the year, and definitely want to try to engage students in some type of digital collaboration, possibly through a wiki.

      What is the “Most Important” technology skill to possess? As a teacher, what can I do ensure that my students possess this skill or skill set? These, questions I have pondered recently, have made me think about the vast network of technology available to students and how to help students harness the inherent potential.  Naturally, when reading some of the articles and blog posts on my Google reader, I was genuinely excited to see a blog post titled, “The Most Important 21st Century Skill.” Before reading, my mind went in a number of different directions as I tried to predict what prominent educational blogger, John T. Spencer would label as the most vital 21st century skill. I was thinking the top of the list might include: locating information, evaluating content relevancy or accuracy, or effectively communicating digitally. 
     Contrary to my initial thoughts, the number one skill Spencer suggested was knowing when to turn off technology and experience things first hand. His blog post began with a personal experience that resonated strongly within me. Spencer told of a Saturday, when, like many educators, school work was on his agenda. His son wanted to go out and pick oranges for orange juice. After initially explaining to his son that work must come first, he had a change of heart and decided to go pick fruit with his family. He shut down his devices, and as he picked the oranges, the technology and the work became further from his mind. Through this experience, he learned that what he wanted most for his students was for them to experience life. He wanted his students to have big plans and dreams, but he wanted them to know when to shut down all the gadgets, reduce their digital connectivity, and embrace the moment.
      As I was reading this article, I felt like Spencer was speaking directly to me! As an educator, I spend so much time researching new and exciting ways to teach things and planning for dynamic learning experiences each day, that I often miss out on other experiences. Reading this made me more aware of the need to “power down” my technology, take a break from my work, and enjoy the moment. In a profession with that is constantly changing, with access to technology resources that are constantly evolving, we must know when to “press pause” and enjoy life experiences and relationships. I am going to take this insight today, turn off my technology and enjoy the rest of this day! I know that, ultimately, this skill will make me more effective in every aspect of my life. 


Response to John T. Spencer's "The Most Important 21st Century Skill" 

    The power of blogs in the education is unquestionable. Blogs possess limitless potential for enhancing student learning and empowering students. Blogs essentially breakdown the walls of a classroom and allow interaction on a global scale. With the uses of blogs constantly changing, determining the most effective way to assess a blog can be challenging. As with all assessments, trying to quantify qualitative products requires great thought and planning.
            Rubrics can be a great way to evaluate student performance through blogging. Rubrics can be used for assessments of learning and assessments for learning. I think one of the most important concepts of a blog rubric is transparency. Students need to know exactly what is expected of them, in terms of blog postings and responses. As an elementary school teacher, using a blog rubric would require modeling usage (evaluating a blog using the rubric in front of students), allowing students to evaluate sample postings using the rubric, and coaching during the first few blog postings (with the rubric in mind.) I would probably only begin to use blog as an assessment of student learning once students became comfortable with the process and of the evaluation instrument.  Through researching student blogging rubrics, I came across many components of quality blog postings. These components were used in developing a blogging rubric. I also came across four statements that encompass the most important characteristics of blogging responses (interaction):
    1.)    The comments contribute further information on the blog topic.
    2.)    The author of the comment added further resources.
    3.)    The content was organized and presented in a logical manner.
    4.)    The author’s voice was clear and their perspective presented.
    In conclusion, I created the following rubric to use for assessing the blog postings of my students. While I greatly appreciate the ability to quickly provide quantitative feedback to students, I feel that written commentary and feedback is far more powerful to the learning process.  Discussing or otherwise expressing qualitative feedback to students at the elementary school level is far more relevant than simply using a rubric.

As a relatively new member of the blogging society, I have learned so much by simply exploring the blogs of others. Browsing, reading, and interacting with a variety of educational blogs has provided me insight and perspective into the art of blogging. After reflecting upon the many styles of blogs that I accessed, it became apparent to me that I needed to make some changes in the way that I write for blog posts. Not that there is a right or wrong way to compose a post, rather I found that the most powerful and dynamic blogs were written in a “less formal” format. This is my first attempt at making my blog post more narrative and less mechanical.

Generally speaking, blog posts are written from expository or narrative perspectives. As opposed to a formal, assessment-worthy text, blog posts seem to be less technical, rigid, and more informal. At times, it seems as if these posts are written in a stream of consciousness. It almost feels as if you can hear the author’s thoughts and voice as you read. I felt that this provided more insight into the rationale and thought processes of the author. As a teacher, I can see this style of writing as being a powerful tool to gain perspective into a student’s perception. Blog writing is also considered “connective writing.” With this, blogs are written to not only communicate information but to connect people, other perspectives, and related resources. Another way that blog writing differs from other genres is in the audience. When writing a blog, the author must consider addressing a (very) public audience. In many genres of writing, there is a targeted and focused audience. In the world of blogging, anyone around the world can access your written thoughts, ideas, and reflections. While this large, global audience is often quite motivating to students, it is also an important factor to consider while writing. I found great perspective about classroom writing in digital spaces, and how teaching students about their “blog audience” could be used to enhance writing at this blog.

Reading a blog is also different than reading other types of literature. First, I think it is vital that you approach the reading of blog with the full understanding that it is, just that… a blog. The purpose may be to inform, to entertain, or to persuade, but the content presented in a blog is not always fully representative of the truth. Emotions, feelings, and experiences often influence the writing. This gives readers the opportunity to look at a situation or experience through the eyes of someone else. From an instructional perspective, this could be used to teach students about reading to evaluate content, author’s voice, and perspective.  I think teaching students how to read a blog, what to look for, and how to use the information is vital. In a world where blogging is quickly expanding in the media, we must prepare students to access and gain meaning from this information.

When considering the reading and writing of blogs, the concept of “blogging literacy” comes to mind. Through my blogging exploration, I came across several discussion posts and perspectives about “blogging literacy” that provided valuable insight. Donald Leu said it best:

    The new literacies include the skills, strategies, and insights necessary to successfully exploit the          rapidly changing information and communication technologies that continuously emerge in our world.      A more precise definition of the new literacies may never be possible to achieve since their most          important characteristic is that they regularly change; as new technologies for information and               communication continually appear, new literacies emerge (Bruce, 1997; Leu, in press a; Reinking).

As previously stated, I believe teaching students (and adults) about “blogging literacy” is vital. Gaining information from these resources is becoming more essential each day.

Without a doubt, I would say that the most dynamic aspect of blogging is the forum for communication and collaboration. The opportunity to provide comments and ask questions is powerful resource. It makes the reading more meaningful and relevant. With students, expanding the opportunity for communication through a blog exponentially expands their audience and network of peers. With feedback through comments, reflections, and questions, the author is offered additional perspectives and opinions on a topic. This information can then be used in a number of ways. An amazing look at the power of comments and interactivity on a blog can be found at this link. This student’s story and the feedback offered speaks volumes to this idea.

With blogs being at the center of the social-media revolution, I am excited to be venturing into this field!

We live in a society that is vastly different than it was ten years ago. As teachers, we see these differences in our students, the instructional resources available, and the expectations on all stakeholders. Simply put, our students are wired differently. They are digital natives that have developed strong experiences, knowledge, and comfort levels with a variety of technologies. As teachers, the challenge becomes determining how we can best meet the needs of our technology savvy students, while we try to gain the technological understanding that our students already have, all while addressing the state mandated curriculum standards. I believe one of the ways we can enhance our instruction and increase the engagement of our students is to harness the power of the Web 2.0 resources and tools.

                While a vast number of Web 2.0 tools are available to all digital consumers, there are an immense number of tools available to enhance learning experiences in classrooms across the United States. One of the most widely used of these resources is the blog. Monthly and weekly blog posts are becoming common practices in elementary, middle, and high schools. These allow teachers to communicate class happenings, expectations, and projects with parents, community members, even other school staff members. In the article “A Day in the Life of Web 2.0,” by David Warlick, he explains that class blogs can be used for cross curricular lessons, professional development, and collaboration among grade levels. The teachers at my school are just getting in to blog posting. Administration has dictated that each grade level must have a blog with relevant information and dates for parents to access. While this is most definitely a step in the right direction, we still have a long way to go. Ideally, teachers and staff members would be creating individual class blogs, sharing blog postings, and accessing the blog posts of others. In his article, Warlick also explained that the superintendent even subscribed to the blogs to learn what was going on in the classrooms. What an effective way to learn about what’s going on in the classrooms each day!

                Audio and video sharing is another way that teachers can harness the power of Web 2.0 tools. I see this as being a helpful resource for teachers, parents, and students. As a teacher, having the ability to record (either audio or video) messages or lesson content and digitially share with students and parents seems like a great idea. Whether for absent students or for parents that do not fully understand the concepts, sharing audio and video files seems like a wonderful way to communicate. Audio and video sharing for students seems like a great way to demonstrate knowledge and to share knowledge with others. It opens up student communication far beyond the walls of the classroom and the school and allows students to collaborate on a global spectrum.

                Podcasts are a tool that I envision being extremely beneficial to teachers and students. From a professional perspective, I can see podcasts changing the face of professional development. With the click of a mouse, educators can gain access to podcasts from dynamic and powerful teachers and speakers from around the world. In a school system that is plagued with financial challenges, this seems to be a positive solution for many seeking professional development opportunities. Just as well, podcasts can be wonderful learning tools for students. Again, with the click of a mouse, students can access a variety of audio files that provide meaningful, relevant, and applicable information for a myriad of individuals.

                All Web 2.0 tools have immense potential to radically revolutionize the classroom. While I have had the opportunity to utilize many of these resources for instructional purposes (Twitter homework, Weebly Blog, Delicious bookmarking, and so on…) I feel that they are minor blips on the scale of technology in today’s classroom. These tools will not only increase student engagement and support constructivist learning tasks, it allows limitless connections to be made. These are the connections that will help our students thrive in a technologically advanced society.