Podcasts....

I have heard about podcasts for quite some time now, but never actually delved into the world of podcasts to see what they were all about. Now that I've actually had the experience of actually creating one, I have to say that I think they are pretty cool.  In my last few blogs, I know that I have mentioned that my struggle throughout grad school is finding ways to incorporate these new technologies withing a classroom of little ones who don't have a ton of independence.  With podcasts, I know that I would have to do most of the work to actually save, edit, and create the podcast so they can be shared, but the overall creation of what is recorded on the podcast is absolutely something that my students could come up with themselves.  I am starting to think of all the ways that I could have my students use podcasts because I know they would really enjoy them.  We have created digital stories in our classroom in which the students record their voices along with pictures and they absolutely LOVE doing that so I can only imagine their excitement level during a project like this.  Podcasts are easily shared so it would be such a great way for my students to demonstrate what they have learned, share information with others and communicate with their friends and families what they are working on in school.  Since podcasts can be about anything, it would be so easy to use them across the curriculum.  It would be a great activity to have the students listen to each other's podcasts and give feedback to each other.  They can learn something from each other and practice giving constructive criticism to each other which is something that all kids can use practice with, even the little guys.  I could see how creating podcasts could build my students confidence and self esteem and it would definitely be something they would be enthusiastic about no matter what the topic.  If I know one thing, I know that my students are conceited (in a good way) in the fact that they love to hear or see themselves (OR both) talking so I can guarantee that this would keep their attention and they could learn a ton! They could even record their voices reading stories they write, stories we've read, or doing reader's theater.  The possibilities are endless!

Ohhhh, so THAT'S what a Wiki is!

Okay, time to be honest.  I had no clue what a wiki REALLY was up until about 3 weeks ago.  I know.  That sounds ridiculous, but it's true.  I've heard of Wikipedia, obviously.  And I probably use it weekly.   When people first started using Wikipedia, I remember them saying it was a source you can't technically trust since anyone is free to put whatever information they want on there, but I didn't really listen to that.  Not that I ever cited anything for a paper or project from Wikipedia, but I will admit that I get plenty of information from there and for the most part, I go by whatever it says.  Probably not such a great idea, but I know I'm not the ONLY one.  So when we started learning about Wiki's a few weeks ago, of course, that was the only knowledge I had of what a wiki is, and even then I still didn't know that much about it.  Now I get it! It's not as complicated as it sounds.  Before this semester started, someone asked me what I would be learning about in my classes and I told them "wikis, blogs, and podcasts" and they asked me what that meant.  The only part of that question I could answer was about blogs because those,  I am actually familiar with.  They had me stumped at wikis and podcasts.  The other day someone asked me the same question and I actually gave them a relatively knowledgeable (at least, I think) answer about a wiki.  I explained to them how a wiki works and how you go about adding/editing information to wikis and told them about the affordances of collaborating with others when using wikis.  I'm not going to lie, I felt pretty smart!  That person even admitted to me they didn't really understand how Wikipedia worked and I was able to clear that right up for them!  I think my next step is figuring out how to use a wiki in my classroom.  With a lot of technology, it takes me some time to figure out how to incorporate it with the little guys since they are so limited with their capabilities.  Sometimes it ends up being more work for me but I think this is doable.  I just need to figure out what the affordances are of using a wiki in my classroom and find the best way to use it to enhance their learning so that it actually makes a difference.  I think it can be done, it will just take a lot of thought and experimentation!

Blogging about Blogging!

So here I am, writing a blog about blogging.  First off, I know that not everyone is a believer in blogging, or blogs in general.  I don't really have a feeling about them one way or another, but I am more of a blog reader, than a blog writer.  I think it's important to note that when you are writing a blog, you have to want to be writing it, and you also have to have something interesting to say so that people actually want to read it. I know that many of the blogs that I read (fitness, DIY, cooking blogs, etc) have relatively short posts which makes it easy for me to keep up and follow on a regular basis so I think it's important to keep it short and sweet so that readers don't get overwhelmed with the amount of information on the page and decide not to continue reading.


I know plenty of teachers who have used a blog I their classroom for educational purposes, but I've never tried it myself. Some teachers use it for themselves as a way to reflect on their teaching and happenings in their classroom.  I think that is a very valuable way to use a blog. Others can see your insights and creative ideas but also learn from your mistakes if you write about things that you did that didn't go as planned during a lesson.  As long as the information shared is interesting, I know lots of teachers who would be willing to read about a teacher's reflections.


Another way to use a blog in the classroom is to get your students involved.  Either having a class blog or having each student create their own if they are independent enough, having them experience the world of blogs could teach students a lot that they can't learn about just by reading books or having class discussions.  A class blog would be great to teach the class how to work together as a community and could foster lots of conversations that end up on the blog for readers to read.  The possibilities of things the class could blog about are endless and it would also give parents and family members a place to see what's going on in the classroom.  For the older grades, it could be a place of reflection and dialogue between students and also a way to provide feedback to each other.  This will allow for growth, progress and understanding across the board on many different topics.  It allows students to also work on writing skills so it is a great way for teachers to have lessons that are cross curricular.  


Overall, I think blogs are a good idea in the classroom. It is just a matter of people getting comfortable and figuring out how to use them in a way that works and that benefits the students. 

All About Me!

My name is Sara Ross and I am in my sixth year of teaching Kindergarten at Antietam Elementary School in Woodbridge, Virginia. I am originally from the Woodbridge area and I attended Antietam Elementary as a child.  I even teach Kindergarten in the same classroom that I went to Kindergarten in way back in the day and took over for my very own Kindergarten teacher! I graduated from Radford University in 2008 with a degree in Elementary Education with concentrations in special education and English and I am certified to teach kindergarten through sixth grade, although my passion for teaching lies mainly with the little ones.  Technology has always been an integral part of my life both in the school setting as well as at home.  I have always encouraged her students to embrace the use of technology and I consistently incorporate technology on a daily basis to enhance my students' learning in the classroom.  With such advances in technology and the growing demand for it's daily use, I feels it is important to link it to my students' lives in and out of the classroom.  My participation in the ITS program at George Mason University is making it possible for me to expand my knowledge on the subject and continually add to my understanding and implementation of technology in education. 

As far as blogs go, the only experience that I have with them is reading educational blogs or blogs on cooking or fitness.  I have never had my own blog or written on a blog, so this is a whole new world for me.  I also don't consider myself to be very creative, especially when it comes to writing, so I am a little bit apprehensive about writing a post each week and making sure that is interesting enough for anyone to want to read.  If I were writing a blog about the happenings of my daily life in the classroom as a Kindergarten teacher, I could probably go on for hours and tell millions of funny/interesting/amazing stories about my students.  I think this whole experience of writing about my learning through the ITS program but I am positive that overall I will benefit from it and walk away with another tool I can use in my classroom.