Journal #4 Project Plan

• Site title: Kinder Kraze
  
  
• Developer: Tiffany Stubblefield
  
• Rational or Focus: The goal for my site is to provide all the information my student's parents need regarding my class in one resource that they can access anywhere at anytime.  I would like to basically include all the information parents would receive about the class when attending a back to school night or meet the teacher night.  I would also like my parents to be able to view the site and see what we are focusing on in class, what we will be doing next, important dates/events, and strategies/resources they can use at home to reinforce what their child is learning at school.
  
• Main features outline:
  Main homepage/welcome page
    - weekly newsletter
    -announcements
    -what we are learning this week
  
• Content: 
  -Homepage/welcome page
        Sub topics/web pages
      -about me
      -classroom expectations/behavior system (classroom management)
      -homework procedures
      -Year at a glance
      -upcoming dates/events
      -resources
      -kinder standards
    
• Target audience :The directed audience of the site is the parents of my students. I would like the site to be a resource for the parents and allow for me to ensure they have up to date information about my class and their child's eduction.
  
• Design considerations: 
  -I would like the site to be very user friendly
  -I would like to have a main "welcome" page and then tabs along to the top for my various pages within my site
  -layout/format to be accessible via computer, tablet, smartphone
  -colorful and creative (like kindergarten is!)
  -kindergarten focuses on seasons and holidays, I would like to change the main "welcome" page depending on the season/holiday.
  -my classroom theme this year is Pete the Cat, I would like my site design to go along with that theme as well.
  
• Limiting factors:
  -I am new to creating web sites and using HTML code
  -I am not sure how to add interactive elements to my site
  -I want to have many different elements to my site, but I am worried I might be taking on too much for my first site 

Journal #3

Kessler, S. (2010, September 29). The Case For Social Media in Schools. Retrieved October 18, 2015.

In the article The Case For Social Media in Schools, Kessler argues that having social media as a resource for education in the classroom creates an interactive positive learning environment for students.  Kessler points out that a large number of students are regularly using a social media site/app. "Almost three-fourths of 7th through 12th graders have at least one social media profile" (Kessler  2010). She also makes the argument that students learn more when they are engaged, therefore if students like social media they will be more engaged in lessons that can incorporate social media or social media like sites.  Lastly Kessler also states that there are several free resources to teach safe social media tools, and that if parents and teachers are involved in teaching students these safe tools then using social media will be a much more positive experience for everyone.
I agree with Kessler that social media can be used as a resource in and out of the classroom.  I think that interactive class sites and forums would keep students more engaged in their class lessons.  I also think having a class social media site would strengthen the sense of class community.   If a student could access their class social media site at home via a smartphone/tablet/computer they could post questions, start discussions, form study groups, and so much more.  I think that there are a lot of possibilities for the upper grades to use social media for educational purposes.  I also think it is smart to educate the parents as well.  I find that often parents look at social media as a negative when in fact they are just not familiar with social media or the many positive uses for it.  Having parents on board to help supervise their students social media use and learn about social media can help the parents stay involved and connected with their child as well.

Q 1: How could a teacher use social media as a resource in the classroom?

A 1: I think that a teacher could have the students set up a classroom blog based on a certain topic they are discussing and rather then have a class discussion students could state their opinions as comments/blog posts on the classroom blog.  The teacher could even have the students use accountable talk sentences frames and language so they can practice their accountable talk skills and debate skills.

Q 2: Could social media be utilized in the primary grades?

A 2: I teach Kindergarten and I honestly could not see my students using any type of social media simply because they are just learning their letters, sounds, and how to write.  I do think that social media could be used in a 4th or 5th grade classroom.  Maybe in those grades the teacher would have students create blogs, participate in something like Edmodo, or Class Dojo.

Journal #2

I was not familiar with Digg Reader before taking this course.  I like the idea of being able to choose the news, blogs, etc. that I am most interested in.  I chose to subscribe to several kindergarten blogs because I often find resources on Pintrest that are pinned from various teacher blogs.  Digg Reader allows me to go directly to the kindergarten blogs rather than having to find a blog through Pintrest first.  I also chose to subscribe to ESPN and the San Diego Chargers to stay up to date on my favorite team!

I have not previously been a part of an affinity group or PNG.  I chose to join Edutopia because it seems to be updated quite often and has a large number of members.  I teach kindergarten so I like that I can search for videos, resources, and live chats for my grade level.

I also chose to create an Edmodo account because I have heard of Edmodo before and it was recommended to me by a colleague.  I like that Edmodo allows me to store my resources but I have not fully created my profile yet and I am not sure how much useful I will find the group.  At first glance it seems that it is almost like a Facebook for my class where I can post assignments and grades. I teach Kinder so I do not know if that aspect will appeal to me, but I will try it out and see!




Q1: How could Digg Reader be used as a resource in the classroom?

A1: I teach kindergarten so I honestly do not think that Digg would be a very good resource for my students because they are just learning their sounds, letters and how to read.  However I do think that Digg could be used with older students. Students love to use technology and I think they would be more interested in reading up on current events if it was via a technology device. If I taught upper grades I would allow my students to subscribe to Digg articles that pertain to our topics and news articles. The students could read the articles and then could present on a current event that they learned about.  I think it would be a creative way for students to keep on what is going on in their community and the world around them.

Q2: If districts had their own affinity groups for their educators would that a valuable resource for teachers?

I personally think it would be nice if my district had their own affinity group.  Every district is a little different and have their own goals and requirements and it would be nice to be able to connect with teachers that have resources and ideas specifically for me or my colleagues.  I also think that maybe then the affinity group could hold discussions and webinar training that would allow teachers to participate in professional development from home.  The issue I see with this is that for me I have found that many of the veteran teachers in my district do not have an interest in technology or learning new technology so I am not sure that the affinity group would be fully utilized.