Matt

Matt Aslakson Day One Reflections 1. List the name of your favorite Web 2.0 tool from today's class. Describe why you liked the tool and how you would use it in your class.
 * Without a doubt, Google Docs/Drive is the most important tool for the upcoming school year for me. Being able to have documents online for kids on a platform that has staying power and easy access is important. Also liking the group work possibilities of Google Docs.
 * I'm also interested in moving my use of You Tube to a new level--probably in video creation or video editing or existing videos.

2. Regarding technology in your classroom, school and/or district, do you feel like you are keeping up? Is it important? What do you think your students are thinking about technology at home/at school? What are your thoughts? 3. Do you have any questions about anything we did today? Please list them and/or bring them up in class. What do you want to be sure to learn during the rest of the course?
 * Yes, I do feel like I'm keeping up, but that's not good enough really because keeping up doesn't mean quality use. I'd like to get out ahead a bit and utilize new technology without having everything change.
 * That's another reason I am excited about Google Drive. It seems like this is the new normal for at least the next few years and teachers will be able to get some quality use out of it for student learning.
 * In some ways, students are in the same situations as teachers. They, in many ways, understand certain technologies better than teachers but not how to use for learning. It's for fun or for communication or distraction. Utility is an issue. If the technology doesn't make things easier and/or is more distracting than helpful learning breaks down.
 * I'm sure students would love to use their personal devices more but we lack systems to police that use. The last thing I want to be doing to having to check the screens of all 30 phones in my classroom, and it wouldn't work anyway because high school kids are savvy enough to manipulate their apps when teachers approach.
 * I'm sure I'd have questions as I tried to move from the basic understanding phase to incorporation phase in my classroom, but I can't know what those would be until I achieved that level of use.

I agree that Google Drive is a really useful and can be very significant in the classroom. Best wishes on getting that going in your classroom!
 * I would like to continue to make progress on learning new web based tools. Yesterday was useful to me and I'm sure today will be as well.

Day Two Reflections: After taking this class, please reflect on what you, as the teacher, need to do to make sure that you and your students can successfully use the tools that you have chosen to incorporate into your class. Think about hardware, software, network, student skill set, teacher skill set, time, etc.
 * One of the big things that I need to be able to do is get a reliable list of student email addresses (once the school year starts) to be able to get students set up for things like Google Docs. There must be an easy way to drag and drop a whole list of addresses into a share request...or would it make more sense for students to request access and then have me grant it?
 * Be sure to check with your tech integrator. It seems that your district is going toward being a Google School and that person should be a really great resource for you as you start using Google Drive/Docs.
 * Many students are ready for dealing with Google Drive as we speak so I do not foresee any issues there except for lack of access, which does still happen. Something like making YouTube videos...I have a feeling many many students are ready to be doing that as well. Where I would use them is a different story. Again, starting small is the key.
 * From a teaching perspective I'd think the prudent course of action would be to try and get a few ideas rolled out instead of trying to overhaul everything. I agree.
 * Hardware--we're doing ok in that area in Elmbrook but we do not have enough device access (not counting personal student devices). Software is old, bandwidth is probably too low...network is often slower than needed.
 * Time to learn is, unfortunately, in short supply. We have one tech integrator in building 2-3 days a week. With so many options, what to train teachers on is a moving target.
 * So, to be successful in integrating new technologies in the classroom really ends up beholden to teacher comfort level and skill set. I feel better about both after two days working through web 2.0 apps. I'm glad you're taking away some ideas that you can use! Good luck! Chris