Have you heard of Symbaloo? I hadn't either, but I am now in love with it! So, you have have a list of websites that your students may go to, explore, and play on, and they are all typed out or written on the board, great! But, what happens when one wrong letter, or dot is out of place, or when the student types in org instead of gov? The "oops" factor is endless! Now, you can just create a Symbaloo, you can even make it your default homepage so it is easy to access, and voila, computer time becomes a little less overwhelming (for everyone)!
Here is the link to a Symbaloo I created for a fifth grade classroom.
My second "I'm in love" moment this week was when I sat down and took the time (hours and hours to be exact) to "play" on Pinterest! I cannot actually believe the words came out of my mouth. I have always been a "non-pinner" as I found the site to be overwhelming and unorganized, but I am now an active "pinner" (both for personal and professional purposes). I do not about you, but my "knowing" (or lack there of) of Pinterest was that it was great for recipes, crafts, and DIY projects, I figured I could simply search the internet for those things...and you can...however, on Pinterest, its all right there, pictures and everything (I am a very visual person)!
How could you use Pinterest in your classroom?
Here is a link to my boards on Pinterest. I have so much more exploring to do and cannot wait to put it all to use in the classroom. I started with the basics - technology in the classroom, resources for teaching and learning, and classroom management.
Social media and networking in the classroom has become a big topic in our society. Our students are glued to their technology (and let's be honest, so are we), and yet, maybe it is because I grew up in a time of typewriters, no cell phones, and Oregon Trail on the computer, I am not full on board with integrating social media and social networks in the classroom. The only social media network I have used in the classroom is YouTube and that is because I love, love, love to use videos and music in my lessons.
There are so many pros and cons out there telling us why we should or should not incorporate social media into our classroom, yet I feel that the decision should be made based on (a) the expectations of the district and (b) the dynamic/need/function of the class. If you have a class where the majority of the students do own electronic devices, or do not have internet access at home, then using outreach social media, is probably not the direction to take your class as it would only be setting them up to fail. If you are in a district where technology is a high priority, then most definitely branch out and try new tools and resources for teaching and learning with your students.
There is a fine line between enough and too much, in my opinion, when it comes to social media outlets in society, and in our classrooms. A key piece to making it work, is setting the expectations, guidelines, and consequences out from day one. Students need to know how to properly use the social network at hand. If we are going to teach with the technology, we need to teach the HOW and the WHY as well. Students also need to be aware of reality, while a pro of social networking is collaboration and confidence and participation - the flip side is no face to face communication and social skills. My overall feeling is that you have to create a balance of both in the classroom. We have to show our students the past (textbooks, class discussions, group-work, homemade projects, oral reports), teach them the now (social media/networking etiquette, educational uses of social networks, as well as benefits and dangers), and prepare them for the future (relationships, jobs, communication).
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