We are becoming teachers in a generation full of students that have never lived in a world without the Internet. The students we will be teaching are digital natives. Today's teachers must stay up to speed with their students technology advances. Students are learning at a much more rapid pace than teachers. Many teachers are fearful but these fears are often based on untrue facts.
There are several strategies for teaching technology that can make both teachers and students comfortable. These strategies allow students to go as far as they can with technologies that they like to use as well as prepare them for the future.

Online Streaming Videos

• Videos can be found on any subject imaginable. Many videos are free and can be an priceless to your lessons. They can enrich the material and reach more students.

Web 2.0 ( Webquests, Wikipedia, Wiki Spaces, Podcasts, Blogs, Polling Devices, Social Bookmarking and many more)

• Webquests- students are involved using a predetermined set of web pages to search for specific information and complete a set of instructional tasks.
• Wikipedia- a page or a collection of pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content no matter the web browser. This a great way for teachers/colleagues/students to collaborate together
• Podcasts-the technology of creating audio or video files that are distributed over the Internet for others to hear. They can be assigned to groups of students or the entire class. Podcasts are a great alternative to traditional writing assignments.
• Blogs-used to enrich learning and teaching. Blogs can turn the learners into producers rather than products. They can display course notes, showcase student achievements, provide homework help, or initiate discussions.
• Social Bookmarking- share information with colleagues.

Classroom Websites

-Useful tools that can be used to enhance communication between students, parents, and other teachers.

Cell Phones (Camera phones, Instant Messaging, Polling Devices, and many others)

• Camera Phones- used to collect evidence/scientific data, photo journalism, visually express ideas, and identify things and people
• Instant Messaging- is something most kids already do easily. Teachers can administer "open phone" tests, review silently for quizzes, and answer classroom surveys, or take quizzes.

Quia Web Page

http://www.quia.com/profiles/khyder12

Concept Map

http://www.mywebspiration.com/view/126207a8b3c
Here is a link to my concept map on webspiration.

My Webquest

Here is a link to my webquest.
http://questgarden.com/79/19/9/090328115146/

Webquest

Webquest

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Gabcast Assignment, Live from Venice Beach, Florida!

Gabcast! Kelly's Gab #2

Interesting Podcasts

I found a few really interesting podcasts using iTunes.
Elementary: The Accidental Technologist (Trang Lai)
Middle: The Teacher's Podcast: The New Generation of Educational Technology (Dr. Kathy King, Mark Gura)
High School: The Secret of Teaching (Wavelength Inc.)
I actually think any of these podcasts would be entertaining and useful to teachers at any level. I particularly like the podcast, "The Secret of Teaching." It was really interesting. The podcasts are actual conversations with people that have either retired from a career in the field of education or people that are very successful teachers. The podcasts I listened to were pretty interesting and informational. It was nice to hear actual teachers talking about their experiences. This podcast would be useful to teachers and perspective teachers. It is nice to listen to someone talk about issues that you have or may have in the future. This podcast could help teachers solve a problem, inspire them to be a better teacher, or just serve as reassurance to teachers or prespective teachers. It is very relateable. I really enjoyed listening to it.

Social Bookmarking in the Classroom

Social bookmarking could be used a number of ways in the classroom. If each of the students had their own account to a site like http://delicious.com/ they would not only be able to organize the sites they found useful, they would be able to see what sites their peers had found useful. This would be particularly helpful if the students were researching a specific topic. They could feed off of each other's research.
It is sort of like that saying, "Two heads are better than one." The information an entire class has found helpful is better than the information one student can find on his or her own. I remember doing reports in middle school, when Internet research was something very new to me. Navigating on the web was a difficult and frustrating experience. I believe it would have been much easier if I had knowledge of social bookmarking. Because, social bookmarking can provide a guide for students that are having trouble finding what they are looking for.

Pros and Cons of Blogging in Education

Blogging is just like everything else in the world. It has its ups and its downs. Blogging can be a very powerful tool, if used appropriately.
Pros: Blogging is a new way to enrich teaching and learning. Blogs are easy to update, and can be powerful teaching tools. They are a fun, empowering, inexpensive, and easily devised way to turn learners into producers rather than products. This is something that teachers have tried to do for years, and can be easily accomplished using blogs. Another positive thing about blogs is that they can be anything the teacher wishes for them to be. They can satisfy practically any purpose whether it be to display course notes, showcase student achievements, provide homework help, or initiate discussions. With blogging the possibilities are endless, however as I said before, with the good, there is also the bad.
Cons: Blogging is a public publication, which anyone can have access to. There are ways to stop people from posting to your site, but things that are inappropriate have a way of showing up where they shouldn't be. Also, some people don't realize that blogs are a public publication that anyone can view. They use blogs as a diary to vent their frustrations. What they don't realize is a blog is like a web portfolio. Anything you place on it can be used for you or against you.
Source: Oatman, E. (August 2005). Blogomania! Every day 12,000 new blogs are created. Here's how you can get in on the action. School Library Journal, 51, 8. p.36(4). Retrieved March 03, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale:http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.etsu.edu:2048/itx/start.do?prodId=AONE

Educational Blogs I Recommend

These are just a few links to educational blogs I recomment as references, resources, and good examples.

http://www.thisweekineducation.com/

http://adifference.blogspot.com/

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/blogboard/

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/

http://theedublog.blogspot.com/

Poll Everywhere

Try this audience polling system at Poll Everywhere

Wikispaces Site

This is my Wikispaces Site. http://khyderpraxisprep.wikispaces.com/ I put a little information about the Praxis on this site. I haven't taken any Praxis tests yet, so I would like for someone that has taken the test to post to this site.

My Wikihow Article

Hey everyone! Here is a link to my wikihow article, How to Style Your Schnauzer, http://www.wikihow.com/Style-Your-Schnauzer, so check it out!

Improving a Wikipedia Article

I added some information to an article titled, The Little Mermaid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid#Adaptations I added information about the prequel to the first Little Mermaid. The information I added was this sentence: The movie also explains the absence of the Little Mermaid's mother. I added to the article at 10:29am, and so far the changes have stuck.

As of 2/25/2009 at 8:25pm the changes have stuck!
As of 2/27/2009 at 12:22pm the changes are still there!
As of 2/28/2009 at 4:47 pm the changes are still there!

As of 3/02/2009 at 9:39 am the changes are still there!

My Survey!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cERXSHFrX1Vrd1BySDJfLVhlOTZ2R1E6MA

Gabcast

Gabcast! Kelly's Gab #1

Why I chose to become a teacher...

I chose to become a teacher because I wanted a career that would allow me to make a difference. I believe that being a teacher will allow me to do this. I have always loved school. I have always felt comfortable and at home in the school atmosphere. I realize it is not like this for every student, and as a teacher I want to make learning a fun and rewarding process for my students. I see teaching as an opportunity to inspire people, and that is something that know will make me very happy.