Leah's Blog

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Padlet

Padlet seems like it would be a fantastic tool for teaching. You can share weblinks, type a message, record your voice, add a photo, or link to a document. I'm thinking about using Padlet for our produsage assignment coming up. I've never used this tool before and am interested in seeing the way I works. I created a Padlet here: https://padlet.com/leahpie11/dogownership101 and would love if you'd check it out and maybe add something to my wall. I wanted to give it a try before including it into a formal lesson plan for students. I'm considering creating a lesson where students have to utilize Padlet to collect information for a research project and share ideas with each other. Here's a quick video that explains how to use Padlet as a student: Have you used Padlet before? Do you have any ideas for how I can include Padlet in a lesson for students?

Blogging and Peer Interaction

We've been blogging for this class for a while and I've enjoyed the opportunity to learn from my peers and engage in interaction despite not being in the classroom together. This week I read the article Assessing the effects of interactive blogging on student attitudes toward peer interaction, learning motivation, and academic achievements. The article states that " blog platforms provide a personal writing space, which is easy to publish, sharable, and automatically archived, empowering users to form learning communities through inter-linkages" (Yang & Chang, 2012). In fact, I'd argue that I've learned more from my interactions with others in this class than I would from a traditional teacher and textbook style of presentation. In a classroom, when a teacher poses a question, "students express their opinions without solid support from content they are studying, perhaps because there is not enough time to prepare or reflect. Disengaged students fre...

Pseudonym vs. Real Name

On social media, users take on pseudonyms for all sorts of reasons. Some want to hide their identities while others want the freedom to post without having their comments linked back to their real names. However, some platforms such as Facebook and Google+ have guidelines about requiring users to keep real names so there is no anonymity or pseudonymity. Platforms such as Instagram or Reddit allow users to keep names such as animallover34 and destroyer82 which provides a sense of privacy to the user. So which one is better, pseudonyms or real names? Arguments for pseudonyms include having protection to users who would like to share or discuss information that possibly puts them in a vulnerable situation. For example, a person with a disorder or illness may want to seek help from others on the web but may not want to reveal this to their friends and family. I experienced the use of pseudonyms during our community assignment when I followed a Reddit group. Many people refrained from ...

Social Media for Professional Learning

After reading this week's article titled Categorising teachers’ use of social media for their professional learning , I started to think about the ways I've used social media for professional learning. "Teachers are increasingly using online apps and educational resources to cultivate and extend their professional growth opportunities" (Prestridge, 2019). One of the main reasons teachers are getting involved in personal learning networks (PLNs) is to connect with like-minded peers. Teachers use these PLNs for informal learning, collaboration, and exchanging knowledge and ideas. "For many teachers, the use of social media for self-generating professional learning through their online PLNs becomes embedded in their daily routine, which improved their teaching practice and their own understanding of the relevant content or pedagogy" (Prestridge, 2019). When I was a teacher, I used Facebook to share knowledge and connect with like-minded colleagues. Using Face...

Pinterest Promotion

I have decided to do the full version of our Knowledge Sharing & Tracking assignment and created a small collection of classroom learning-related resources that I am sharing via Pinterest. You can view my collection of classroom resources here . Please visit and take a look at what I've created! So far, I've assembled boards for substitute resources, bulletin board ideas, writing activities, social studies, math games, science experiments, and Google Classroom. Most of what I have curated has come from a collection of existing materials but I did experiment with creating my own pin. One of the substitute activities I loved to do with my students was an Instagram "Where is my teacher?" page. I gave students a blank Instagram sheet and had them illustrate where they thought I was when I was out that day. I created my own pin for this resource and so far it has the most interaction on my site. Here are some examples: This student thought I was out fishing like a bos...

Edmodo

I've heard of Edmodo before and knew it was like an education-focused social media platform, but I've never put it to use. I decided to do some more research on the tool to determine how it could be used in the classroom. Here is what I found. Teachers Edmodo users can manage their classes and consolidate all their activities in one place. Teachers also have unlimited options in terms of sharing digital content. They can embed videos, create learning groups, and manage calendar events. Edmodo also offers numerous organizational features for teachers and they can even print out rosters for substitutes. Some other ways Edmodo can be used in the classroom are: 1. Assessments Utilize the Edmodo quiz builder or poll feature to assess students learning. 2. Peer Reviews and Critiques Place students in small groups and have them post their work to their group for peer review and feedback. 4. Writing Projects Students can share their writing projects with each other in Edmodo. 5. Langua...