Ms. Deacon

I am commenting on your post about assistive technology. That is a shame that beacuse of cost some students weren't able to use tools to assist them. I read that Dale had to purchase the technology for the school. This is very disturbing. I think all studnets could benefit from using these tools. Funding needs to be dispersed for matters that matter!
http://msdeaconsclass.blogspot.com/2011/10/assistive-technology-but-at-what-cost.html#comments

Comment to Michelle

Hi Michelle,
I've left you comments before, but as you know they were not posting. After reading your post about web conferencing, I began to look further into it and how I can utilize this tool. Just like voice thread, I think it would be useful for my students to conduct mock interviews. As a teaching tool, for classes that come behind, we could use the conferences to critique and learn from. Also, we can share with the employer the mock interview before they meet person to person. The employer can then make a decision to meet the person based on the initial interview done on the web conference. Also, on the business side, my CEO has another office in D.C. Thsi could be useful to have virtual staff meetings! Thanks for sharing! This should have been posted on
http://mlangan.blogspot.com/2011/10/web-conferencing-programs.html

Social Networking for younger students

Social networking and online communication can be a great way for kids and adults to connect with each other and make new friends, so it's a natural choice for a student who are struggling to make friends. However, there is concern about online safety and finding an appropriate place for a middle school student to socialize. Many of the more popular social networking sites (MySpace and Facebook) and virtual worlds (Second Life) may have questionable content. There are kid-friendly versions such as, Teen Second Life. Another great site for kids, parents and teachers is called Imbee. Teachers and parents can keep an eye on student's interactions to ensure safety. Anotehr great resource is Whyville. It is a virtual world where kids create a charachter, chat , play games, and engage with other kida from all over the world. There are countless opportunities for safe learning!!

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Response to Dale Peterson

Hi Dale,
Adobe has many programs that are fabulous in hte classroom, for both educators and students. I have to use Creative CS5 for other courses and the tutorials were very useful as well as effective! I have never used the specific program you are discussing, however I now see that it can be effective in the career setting I am in now. Thanks for the information! This comment should have appeared on Dale's page here is the link....

http://dalepetersen.blogspot.com/

Classroom blogging: A new way to go

My experience so far with classroom blogging has been a very intrigue one. I am new to blogs and blogging, even for social networking, that does not mean I am anti-social but just a little bit old fashioned...lol. It takes longer time for the 'bug' responsible for new wave of doing things to bite me. This class has brought a new limelight out for me in this area. I am trying to get accustomed to this new wave of the Read/Write web as Richardson (2010) said. It is very good though, and I really applaud it. In the classroom, I see it as a way of improving communication and collaboration between school and parents. I have heard from many parents how students can intercept their parents phone messages or even mails. Now, a teacher that sets up blog to communicate with parents on general topics in the classrooms, will bring such parents closer to what gose on in their children's classrooms. It is also a way for the lower elementary to get fascinated with learning. I see so many advantages with classroom blogging. The teachers too can get well connected, share best practises and experiences that are rare to come across, and thereby prepare each other's minds in event other teachers experience such.

A bit confused but moving forward....

I have commented on several of my classmates blogs, but apparently they comments were not posted. I've enjoyed reading each blog and they all offer great resources. One of my favorite new tools, is Google Docs. I already have incorporated some forms into my daily life as an adult educator! Thanks for sharing!

Reflections on Blogging

This is my personal reflections on use of blog as a classroom tool of learning and teaching. Blogs and blogging is pretty new to me before this class. I had never joined any blogs either to read or contribute. With this class, I am able to see the usefulness of blogs for my own personal career development, hands-on-experience from more experienced teachers than me. Setting up the blog is even worth mentioning, the ease of set up is very encouraging and an incentive for me to plunge ahead with setting up a blog for my class use now.In my present job I will use the blog to inform the students each week on what core topics we cover and invite their comments.  This assignemnt and all the ideas shared has really enriched my knowledge with regards to usefulness and implementation of these Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.