When I first stared reading Helen Barrett's article, "Create your own portfolio" I found it unclear and difficult to follow. After rereading it, I decided that it provided useful information. One part of it that I liked is that it is connects with the discussion board I took part in on "Tapped In". During my "Tapped In" session, the person presenting discussed the ADDIE approach to technology, Assess, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate. Barrett uses the same approach to describe how to create multimedia projects. I also appreciate how she described different types of software that can be used to create an electronic portfolio and for which type of audience and users this is appropriate. As someone unfamiliar with creating electronic portfolios, this provided me with an idea of how to start.
I do wish there was background information about electronic portfolios in this article. I do not know a lot about them and would like to know more. I also found the tables regarding the stages of portfolios to be confusing. This might be as result of not knowing much about electronic portfolios.
I believe that portfolios are important for showing individual growth during the school year. They provide students with a foundation of evaluating their growth and can be shared with parents as well. The idea of electronic portfolios seem great. Obviously writing samples can be included, but I need to read more about the topic to determine ways to include other work samples.

Webquests

March's article, "The Learning Power of Webquests" provided me with a great basis for the impact webquests can have. In the article, March throughly explained the differences between good webquests and pseudo-webquests. Prior to reading the article, I felt I had a strong understanding of webquest. After reading it, I feel much more prepared for creating a webquest. Before reading the article and this class, I did not realize that webquests make students synthesize. I considered them more of a "web scavenger hunt for information". I understand now that students or small groups learn about a topic, evaluate and blend the information, present it to others in a creative and higher-order capacity.
I am very excited about creating and using webquest in my class. I feel I have a strong understanding of what is needed to create and evaluate outstanding webquests. I know that I need to make sure that students learn information individually or in a small group. The webquests that I want and should use have the students take this information and complete an activity that will make the students think prior to sharing it with classmates. I feel that the use of webquests will provide students a challenge because of the use of high-order thinking skills and provide for another chance of differentiation.

Digital Storytelling

After reading Banaszewski's article, Digital Storytelling Finds Its Place in the Classroom, I am excited about using digital storytelling with my students. While reading the article, I kept thinking about different stories my students have written during the school year and how creating digital versions of the stories would increase the excitement that comes with their writing. One of my students wrote a series of stories about Small Fry and Barney Bacon. Michael, the author, is a very gifted writer and the other students enjoyed reading the latest adventures of his characters. By having Michael also create a digital story, he would have even more ownership of the stories as well as have a potential challenge since writing comes so naturally to him.
Bazaszewski included some helpful hints regarding creating digital stories for an entire class of students. By being forewarned about background noise when recording the stories, I can already be prepared for how to handle that situation. I also liked how he provided tips for engaging students on a variety of comfort levels with technology. Even though he has done this with multiple classes, Banaszewski did not seem to lose sight of the fact that the process can be time consuming. When starting to incorporate new ideas and strategies in my class, I like to have someone honestly share the ins and outs of them. I feel like Mr. Bazaszewski did so by addressing the amount of time that will be used as well as mentioning that each student may only get to produce one or two stories because of time constraints. Knowing this helps me realize that even though I would like more digital stories to be created, it may not be feasible and that is fine.

Response to "What a Concept!"

Royer and Royer's article "What a Concept!" was quite intriguing. I was unaware of the idea of handheld computers for use in the classroom and I really like it. They would be a wonderful tool for getting students engaged in the lesson and understanding the concept being addressed.

I have used concept maps with just pencil and paper. Like the article, I have found them to be a great tool for determining students background knowledge about a subject as a formative assessment. They are also useful for summative assessments as well because students can classify information and provide examples. I also think they provide differentiated assessing since they are open-ended and students can add various amounts of information.

Concept maps work great in all subjects. They can be used to provide character analysis, determine characteristics of a state or region in social studies, or determine the biotic and abiotic elements of an ecosystem. Since they have subconcepts attached, students can provide specific examples in order to support there thoughts and ideas.

I have a couple of students with fine motor skills and concept mapping would be a great tool for them. Neither one of them enjoy writing because it is so laborious for them, so using the computer to share their thoughts would be well-received. It would also provide easier to read study guides than their notes.

By teaching the students in elementary school how to create concept maps, they could continue to develop this skill as they continue their education. They could return to their original maps and add more information about a topic or additional examples they encounter. I am definitely interested in learning more about using computer-based concept-mapping in my classroom instruction. My brain is already busy trying to determine ways to incorporate it into each subject.

Response to Blog On

After reading Poling's article, "Blog On: Building Communication and Collaboration among Staff and Students", I am excited about starting a classroom blog for my students. I use the Reader's Workshop model in my classroom, so my students respond to their reading in a Reader's Notebook. They write me a letter about what they have read and the connections they made while reading, "fix-up" strategies used, predictions, and unanswered questions about the text. In return, I write a response to the student about their letter and ask additional questions and comment on their ideas and thoughts. As much as I enjoy having this connection with each student, having a class blog would improve the learning taking place because students could comment on each other's writing and have a broader audience.
In the text, the author provides examples of students commenting on each other's posts and sharing their ideas for using "fix-up" strategies. I think those conversations would provide invaluable feedback for the students. They could see how other students process information and text and a variety of strategies work. I also think the use of blogs with Reader's Workshop would provide more excitement as the author suggested. My students love to use the computer and I think this would provide a wonderful authentic writing opportunity for students. I foresee students being more excited about responding to their text and sharing ideas with each other-just as I am more excited about responding to this article in a blog format than as a one-pager.
One area in which I see parental resistance to the blogging idea is because of safety. I like how the author's students used initials for this reason. Even though I would encourage my students to use initials while blogging, I am curious about the wariness of parents. By providing the parents with information about the benefits of blogging, such as this article, and my intention of protecting the identity of the students, hopefully I can convince parents that blogging is a wonderful addition to our classroom.