Web 2.0 Plan of Action

When I started on this journey, I was so cocky. I titled my blog “My Journey to Web Dominance” because I thought that there was not a whole lot that I didn’t know about technology and using it in the educational setting. Boy, did I have a rude awakening. I know that technology is always evolving but I thought I was keeping up. What I learned in this class will help me to grow as an educator and in my personal life as well. I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned and dare I say it, looking forward to the start of the school year.

On the professional level, I learned about several tools that will help me with communicating with my teachers, administrators, parents and students. I had used Google Docs but never paid much attention to how important a tool it could be. I want to use it to better get information to my teachers and receive information from them. I don’t have to send a memo or remind them to read email. I would also like to start a blog specifically for special educators and share things that I find of interest to that community.

Personally, I definitely plan to use my wiki page and start a new blog about teaching special education.
My action plan will incorporated the use of as many of the tools as feasible but specifically, I want to utilize Google Docs for the reasons stated as well as

Diigo - I want to love you

I am still trying to figure out how to use Diigo in the classroom. For whatever reason, I am not grasping the concept. That fact however, just makes me more determined to figure it out and to use it and once I do. I look forward to becoming proficient in it’s use and sharing this information with my colleagues. I am especially looking forward to forming groups for special educator’s and sharing information relevant to us and our student’s.

RSS - Really Serious Stuff

I knew that RSS feeds existed but never really or paid any attention to what it was or how to use it. Now that I know, it’s like a whole new world has opened up to me. I am a book and magazine lover. I have also learned to love eBooks and own more than I can count. With RSS feeds, I can now create and customize my content and share with friends, family, and colleagues.

As far as using RSS feeds in my professional life, I see it as another tool to share with my teachers who are a little less excited about technology as I am. I want to show them how beneficial this particular tool can be to them regardless of the subject that they teach. I will also show them that the content does not have to limited to teaching resources in the hopes that this will make it more exciting for them to explore. I would also like to incorporate RSS feeds on my blog. Working on that now.

I have currently subscribed to the following feeds that are of particular interest to me:
Dynamic Lesson Plans
I Want to Teach Forever
Social Media Explorer

I am looking forward to adding more as I explore the world of RSS further.

e-tools in the classroom

After looking at all of the sites, I think that I would most likely use classtools.net and alicechristie.org. With classtools.net, you can create free educational games, quizzes, activities and diagrams and host them on your blog, website or intranet. As a special educator, I use a lot if teacher created materials to supplement the curriculum. I really try to find sites that are interactive for my kids. This is a double bonus because not only is it interactive but they can be hosted on a blog which I plan to create for my department this year.

alicechristie.org is a site is dedicated to virtual field trips. I teach at a low income school and many parents cannot afford the cost of field trips. My students seem to be affected more than the comprehensive population. With this site I can take my students on virtual field trips or create my own field trip. The site utilizes tramline which is a site for educators to visit, develop, and discuss virtual field trips. The site hosts a wealth of virtual trips to museums, walking tours, and even the planets. I am excited about using this site for my students.