Up on CLOUD number 9

I'm finding a bit of a trend with the things we're learning about in this class... it's going to take a lot of work.

In regards to using The Cloud, the Horizon Report highlights a few of the pros to the shifts in teaching, but they also point out important challenges that we as teachers need to be prepared to meet. (see last two pages of the Report).

What does this mean for me?

Work.

But not just lots of extra work... but work that will help the future.

This added work will make it so we can stop talking about making a shift and actually DO IT!  I don't know if it's just me, but I often feel like we're learning all these great things that we can do in the classroom and should be doing.  Things that will be better for the student, etc. but quite frankly, I just don't see it... I've done all my professional semesters and I've only caught glimpses, mostly from student teachers, of the potential we have to change the classroom.  If we take it upon ourselves to make the change, the next wave of teachers can hit the ground running!

This in turn will help the Students as they enter into their future... the future of the world... Our world.  The walls and limitations of the classroom can be completely torn down! (figuratively*) and they can access any and all the information they thirst after.  Our students will be more prepared for the future as they explore all the possibilities that are available to them, not just what we make available to them.

Moral of the story, we have to suck it up and:

*but really... the possibilities are pretty close to limitless...

What I didn't know is...

WIKI is an acronym?!? Ha! Well, that's good to know and makes a lot of sense, so without further ado... What I know is:

Remember my post about Web 2.0? all about the interacting with the interwebs...? (if not, just click the hyperlink)  Well, wikis are perhaps one of the best examples of this phenomena.  If you haven't ever used wikipedia, a prime example of a wiki, here's the gist of it (taken from wikipedia itself!):  "a web application which allows people to add, modify, or delete content in collaboration with others"


While some of the pros and cons of wikis is discussed on the class website, I wanted to further mention/give opinion on some of the added points taken from this article.

Not going to lie, when I say Using Wikis to Tell Stories Online, all I could think was "One word stories!" (briefly: a story is told by more than one person, each taking a turn to add only one word).  As explained by dramaresource.com, in this game "It is not always easy to maintain a logical flow for the story..." I feel like sometimes this is also the case with wikis... while I am a big fan, I'm sometimes lost when it comes to keeping control and logic in what is shared.  It is something that would take a lot of added time and work to control in the classroom (and without, since the internet is accessible at all hours).

Social Bookmarking is fun to do!

Okay, can I just say how much FUN I've had this week?  I like to make learning fun, and I've been able to go onto Pinterest and look up crafts and games and even pranks which I can use at my present job (doing homework with Francophone elementary school students.
See!
Visit Patricia's profile on Pinterest.