Metacafe

Metacafe is kind of like Youtube, but on the entertainment level. It has other web 2.0 tools as part of the site such as Facebook ,Wiki, Twitter, Skype, and Digg. It also allows for a family filter and multiple languages. This site enables members to comment on videos and be involved in discussions. Members can share videos and can email each other. Privacy settings can be set in order to allow or not allow others to see your postings, comment on your videos or send you email.
Metacafe is also user friendly and easy to manipulate and maneuver. You can also receive news feeds on comments made on a video you have posted.
As an educational source, Metacafe, can be a tool used for students to create dialogs on a varity of subjects, ranging from pop culture to news event clips. The exciting thing about the news events, is that they do not have to start as ?world wide news? but with the use of international web 2.0 tool such as Metacafe, a local news clip can end up as world wide news.
There are some limits for the use of Metacafe is the classroom, the primary one being access. The access might be restricted to school sites, and also in order to have complete access, users have to sign up through email for an account. The other limit is the students maturity level to participate and interact. I would not use Metacafe with my primary grades Special Day Class.
Metacafe is kind of like Youtube, but on the entertainment level. It has other web 2.0 tools as part of the site such as Facebook ,Wiki, Twitter, Skype, and Digg. It also allows for a family filter and multiple languages. This site enables members to comment on videos and be involved in discussions. Members can share videos and can email each other. Privacy settings can be set in order to allow or not allow others to see your postings, comment on your videos or send you email.
Metacafe is also user friendly and easy to manipulate and maneuver. You can also receive news feeds on comments made on a video you have posted.
As an educational source, Metacafe, can be a tool used for students to create dialogs on a varity of subjects, ranging from pop culture to news event clips. The exciting thing about the news events, is that they do not have to start as ?world wide news? but with the use of international web 2.0 tool such as Metacafe, a local news clip can end up as world wide news.
There are some limits for the use of Metacafe is the classroom, the primary one being access. The access might be restricted to school sites, and also in order to have complete access, users have to sign up through email for an account. The other limit is the students maturity level to participate and interact. I would not use Metacafe with my primary grades Special Day Class.
http://www.metacafe.com/

Flicker Lesson

After searching the web for lesson plans associated with flicker, I was a little discouraged with what I found-or rather what I didn't find, in terms of a lesson that would be appropriate for my student population.
I teach students with disabilities ranging from 1st to 3rd grade. The lesson I would do for my class would be a group lesson using Flicker.com to find pictures of adult animals and their offsprings. This would be part of their science curriculum. It would help bring about some "realia" to the classroom.

PLE

Personal Learning Environments (PLE) would be great if teachers had the support and flexibility to allow them to exist in the classroom. Technology itself would not be enough. I have technology in my classroom- every teacher has technology and we have a tech support, however with out proper training, time and support, PLE?s will remain just a great idea.
Students need to learn to connect and with each other as well as with the knowledge available to them outside and beyond their textbooks and teachers. A personal learning environment would be able to incorporate and utilize multiple intelligence?s of students.
I think that a questions of how to measure learning and having accountability for the teacher, is going to be a persistent roadblock for developing PLE?s in the public school systems.

Google Reader

I chose the different RSS links because I use them periodically. Edutopia is a credible site that has many resources. Eduplace is a link that offers text book support for the books I use at work. PBS kids, offers many interactive links I use on the SMART board with my students. I also included my school-site web page because I need to keep up with my district news.

Autumn Blogging

When I think about my student population and consider the possibilities of them blogging I have to ask myself: would be possible and would they benefit?

Of course all my students could possibly benefit from blogging at some point, but for now only a small percentage of my students would actually be able to learn how to blog.

At this point the benefit would be the self-esteem from feeling connected with others. I can imagine the excitement the students would experience at reading their first responses.