Digital Spaces Map

One thing I learned from my digital spaces map is that I use tech pretty much equally in my personal and professional lives as a visitor.  I really thought it was going to swing professional, but I see I use it almost as much personally.  I think that comes from having an ipad on my bedside table, so any time I want to see how the Cubs or White Sox are doing, or I want to shop, or plug my headphones in, I use that.  There are plenty of websites I go on for school: Aspen is to take attendance every day, TalentEd is for evaluations and goal setting.  Reading Plus is an online reading program I use in my blended learning reading classes.  This is a fantastic site where students read leveled nonfiction and work on their comprehension and vocabulary.  (In fact I will be attending a blended learning conference this summer in Huntley, IL.  My district is piloting a blended learning program in the fall, and I want to be a part of that.  Since my students already do a lot of online learning, I should learn more.  Although I think it's kinda funny, every time I ask someone about blended learning and what it is, I get different answers.)

Anyways I use Hapara so I can see what websites and tabs my students have open on their chromebooks, and I can see when we take the STAR reading tests every month whether they are trying to google answers.  Youtube we watch because I often use it to get my students' attention as an introduction to something new.  Or as a wrap-up of things we have finished.

One area where I would like to increase my online practice is definitely the professional resident side.  I will do this by attending more twitter chats (there's one in 40 minutes I want to join:  a Twitter chat that will explore facilitation for inquiry in a #PBL classroom and school.) . I'm also thinking of using TodaysMeet with my classes. I frequently have students who leave school for 3-4 weeks to visit their native countries, or I have students who are out for a day or two. "What did I miss?" can be an issue. So students, on a rotating basis, will be the notetaker and write down what we did in class and any other important information for the day. I use to do this with a class notebook, but using the online tool will be easier. I'm pretty sure TodaysMeet can be used as a backchannel during discussions as well. And students can use it at home or at school and communicate with me and the rest of the class. Encouraging students to be more of a resident in their classwork sounds like a good goal too. Students should be engaging and interacting with others, collaborating and being active in joining discussions and sharing ideas. We've got the whole world to collaborate with, not just the 15 other students in the classroom.