Being a Chicago Public School (CPS) teacher, I sometimes get frustrated with Web 2.0 tools. It’s not that I don’t like them; it’s because CPS has a lot of them blocked. For example, I’d really like to be able to use YouTube and Facebook with my students, but any time you try to access the site, you hear the sirens go off, which doesn’t make sense because according to Blackboard Inc., “Academic and professional organizations agree that using web-based learning environments can offer sound pedagogical benefits” (2000, p. 1). It’s unfortunate because there are a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools out there that teachers can use, but unfortunately they’re off limits in the classroom. In reference to students, Prensky (2001) stated, “They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all other toys and tools of the digital age” (para. 3). If this is the case, then educators need to focus more on using technology-based tools, such as Web 2.0 tools, to enhance the education of today’s students. We need to educate the students based on their needs of comprehension. Poole, McIlvain, and Jackson claimed that using online learning tools had an impact on learning targeting, “Skill reinforcement, human interaction, assessment, research and resources, and knowledge construction” (2004, p. 247). Luckily the web has tons of other tools that teachers are permitted to use.
Prof Rena recommended a website (http://www.kindersite.org/) for me to check out to see if it would be of use for my students. It’s called Kinder Site and their mission is basically to help students learn technology skills and basic learning skills such as colors, numbers, and letters. I played around with this site and found myself getting addicted to it. It’s a perfect site for my students because I teach Special Ed. Although I’m a high school special education teacher, my students function at a Pre-K level; therefore, making this site more beneficial to my standards for my students. There are thousands of links on this site that take you to games, songs, stories, etc. What I like most about this site is that it seems to be like a collection of activities from a nice mix of educational sites such as PBS Kids, BBC, and Starfall. Instead of having to go to each site individually, you can find links within Kinder Site. I can see myself actually incorporating this website into my curriculum and building lesson plans based off of the multitude of activities. I’d be able to use this site in numerous ways. I could teach the students math skills, reading skills, art skills, language skills, and computer skills. Those are just a few of the academic areas this site touches on. While exploring this site, a few activities stuck out that would be perfect for my students. I recorded a few clips and meshed it into one to give you an idea of some of the things students can do at this site. The clip includes learning the alphabet with animals and students have to match the first letter of the animal to the corresponding capital letter of the animal that can be found in the zoo. I’ve also included in the clip a multitude of math activities from counting to quizzes to how to tell time and a presentation on a healthy diet. There are hundreds of other activities for every subject, but this is just a glimpse of what’s available and beneficial for my students. Feel free to click on the clip or simply check the site yourself (http://www.kindersite.org/).
Like I said, I think this site is great for my students and more on their academic level. I was just introduced to this site so I haven’t tested it out on my students, but I’m more than certain they will enjoy it. Next week I will be able to test-drive it with my students in the computer lab. It should be interesting because I know that some students may get bored with the same activities and with this site they have a wider selection to choose from. If it is a success, then I will start checking out the laptops more often so that I can utilize some of the activities during my math, science, and language arts lessons.
If you’re an elementary teacher, I highly recommend this as a great Web 2.0 tool for your classroom. It’s very engaging and interactive. You can become a member and receive monthly newsletters absolutely free. Teachers can create a profile for each student in their class allowing students to have their favorite links bookmarked or ones that you choose for them as part of a lesson. You can also print of worksheets. ESL (English as a Second Language) students can practice their English skills with this site. It even includes a handful of activities available in Spanish. If you’re looking for a place where your students can learn the basics of education and practice using computers, then I really don’t think you’d be disappointed with this site. Teachers shouldn’t have a problem accessing this Web 2.0 tool in their school and the beauty of it is that students can get on the site at home if they have Internet access. If kids today are hooked on technology such as video games, then why not utilize technology-based educational sites that will grab the students’ attention? In my opinion, students don’t always care to learn so why not entertain them while learning because they often don’t realize that while they’re having fun, they’re actually learning.
References:
Blackboard Inc. (2000). Educational benefits of online learning. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://med.uth.tmc.edu/administration/edu_programs/ep/blackboard/text/Online_Learning_Benefits.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5). Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-
Poole, B. J., McIlvain, E. S., & Jackson, L. (2004). Teaching in the computerized classroom, 5th edition. Education for An Information Age. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/InfoAge5thEdition/Chapter9.pdf
Images are screen shots taken by myself as well as the video. Images and video are based on Kinder Site (http://www.kindersite.org/).
So true, districts want to protect students and they want us to be innovative. It takes communication with the IT folks to show that there is educational value in what we are wanting to use. My district has finally opened Twitter, YouTube and some other sites that were blocked because teachers were able to show the educational value outweighed what they were doing to protect students. There is always the student use agreement to go back to if students are not being appropriate with their use of the tools.
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