Curation Exploration

     Recently I starting exploring Pearltress and I have to say that I am hooked.  When I first signed on and starting exploring how to use it the end result was not being able to walk away.   In the past I have used Paper.li and Tweeted Times and I was not as big of a fan with those sites.  I did prefer to use Paper.li over Tweeted Times when I compared the two due to the visual organization of it all.   I do not like the concept of selecting to scroll through the information as Tweeted Times requires. I do think however that the information is clear to read when using that tool. The text is a good size and it is nice that each topic is given its own space. The Paper.li tool however looks a lot like an old school newspaper. I can scroll over and down through the postings to see all that is available. The topics are clearly labeled (education, politics, art and entertainment, etc.) I appreciate the clear topic headings, the layout, and design of the whole site.

         When working with Pearltrees it is easy to see your "trees" easily in addition to the "pearls" that make up the trees.  Each pearl is a site of your choosing which can open into an additional window.  Similar to delicious or other curation sites like it, you are able to search for a topic and find the Pearltrees of others to look at and eventually pick for your own.  You can organize the pearls or whole Pearltrees in your drop box at the bottom of the screen.  This option is nice because you are able to control which ones you put up onto the desktop area within your Pearltrees and which to keep down below.

       Using this new tool after having used Paper.li and Tweeted Times in the past has expanded my view on curation.  I really enjoy the fact that the information is once again being presented in a different way.  The websites and resources are shown with picture icons that represent them.  They are also organized in a web format which for me makes a lot of sense.  Since this is more the way my brain works, this type of site makes a lot of sense to me.  

      I could use this tool with my students by having it up on my desktop while teaching.  I could picture myself using the site to easily be able to switch back and forth between resources online.  The students could then be exposed to the site and realize how easy it truly is to use.  I do see Pearltrees being use more within my own planning time and home use of the internet.  So often in class if I am switching between websites and exploring through tools online I really need to be sure I upload and open all the windows prior to the instruction.  Leaving the option for the sites to take a while to open or potentially not work is a big risk within a 4th grade room.  The more planning and preparation I can do before the children are in the room, the smoother the lessons tend to go. 

         This tool is much easier to manage than RSS feed tools in my opinion.  I still struggle with the sheer amount of information that is coming through on my feed and the way that information is organized.  I truly enjoy the visual representation of the Pearltrees site and can follow its organization much better than the RSS feed that I use. 

After working with Pearltrees I also worked with Scoop it.  Once again I am being exposed to new tools that help me to organize information.  All I can say about this resource is that I am still overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that is out there. 

As I was discovering the scoop it accounts of others and searching by topic I realized just how long I could spend working on such an activity.  I went on for an hour rescooping one awesome resource after another, watching videos and reading articles about specific topics of interest to me.  This video is a good representation of what I have been thinking through using these tools.  The amount of information that is coming in and the speed at which it is being created is something to be in awe of.  The progression of technology over the years is an unbelievable topic to think about and these curation tools just keep reminding me of that. 

Wordle and Word Cloud Tools

            The Web 2.0 resource I used is considered to be in the ‘word cloud’ category of tools.  Below is the latest media resource I created for my classroom of 4^th graders.   In order to use this tool, you need to decide on a set of text that will be sifted through.  Eventually a ‘cloud’ of text is put out after being sifted that essentially represents key words and a quick picture of the original text.  Below in bold is the specific key words I typed in to the original text box to give my students a quick look at our new electricity unit.  Also included below then is the actual word cloud results picture. 

Materials such as copper metal that conduct electricity (allow it to flow freely) are called conductors. Materials that don't allow electricity to pass through them so readily, such as rubber and plastic, are called insulators. What makes copper a conductor and rubber an insulator?
A current of electricity is a steady flow of electrons. When electrons move from one place to another, round a circuit, they carry electrical energy from place to place like marching ants carrying leaves. Instead of carrying leaves, electrons carry a tiny amount of electric charge.

Electricity can travel through something when its structure allows electrons to move through it easily. Metals like copper have "free" electrons that are not bound tightly to their parent atoms. These electrons flow freely throughout the structure of copper and this is what enables an electric current to flow. In rubber, the electrons are more tightly bound. There are no "free" electrons and, as a result, electricity does not really flow through rubber at all. Conductors that let electricity flow freely are said to have a high conductance and a low resistance; insulators that do not allow electricity to flow are the opposite: they have a low conductance and a high resistance.

For electricity to flow, there has to be something to push the electrons along. This is called an electromotive force (EMF). A battery or power outlet creates the electromotive force that makes a current of electrons flow. An electromotive force is better known as a voltage.

            I have become so attached to using this tool that I try to do a world cloud for almost every unit I am doing.  I also used it for American Government this year because I could type in part of actual documents such as the Constitution and The Declaration of Independence.  Putting in parts of these real life documents excites the students once you reveal the way you got to the end result of the word cloud.  I do not always go back and show the students the text, but in the case of the real documents it really was awesome. With 4^th graders it is important to activate prior knowledge before beginning a unit such as this and this particular resource is perfect for it.  Studies have shown that students genuinely benefit from the activation of prior knowledge when being introduced to a topic.  The combination of getting them thinking about a topic and getting excited about being exposed to key words is an obvious positive to me!

            Accessing these sites is very easy because for the most part they are free.  If you search for any type of word cloud resource there are many that come up in the search.  I have found that there are several of these sites that I like, but the benefit of Wordle is the arrangement options once the sift has been done.  You can control the color, font, and placement of words once it is finished.   I feel this is a very great feature because you can alter it based on the unit and age of students. 

            Overall these recources are easy to use and helpful within my classroom.  Each time I wish to set up a word cloud I simply go onto the website, type in the text that goes with my unit, and hit “send.”  Once finished it is optional to adjust the way the cloud looks, but sometimes it looks so great that its done right then.  I will continue to use this web 2.0 resource within my classroom as much as possible.

www.wordle.com

What to keep and what to change?

           In my current teaching environment my 27 fourth grade students are in my classroom set up in desks that are in groups in order to aide in collaboration.  There is a Smart Board at the front of the room where all lessons are taught in one way or another.  Usually my lessons have specific slides that correspond with the information we are learning about.  I always post scanned pictures of the pages they are looking at in their workbooks and can point to exact numbers or problems when giving directions.  Although my school, students, and I are embracing the Smart Board Technology as a central focus we are still using workbooks, textbooks, teacher made packets, supplemental worksheets for practice, and traditional assessments. 

            In 2025 I hope that teaching spaces will look even more technologically driven and centered.  Students should be guiding their own discoveries and use inquiry based differentiated instruction with the support of a teacher as a facilitator.  I think the learning spaces will look less like rows of desks and more like tables designed to be collaborative work spaces instead of individual desks with folders holding all of their loose papers and school supplies.  Students would each have a laptop or iPad to work on and use to do simulations, research, writing, and reading during school time.  Thinking is encouraged, has endless amounts of freedom, and is not confined to the walls of the classroom.

            The main aspect of my current environment that I would keep is the sense of community within the classroom.  I plan to never lose the quality teaching that exists when telling the students of the importance that respect, kindness, empathy, and other character building traits can have on their lives.  With the technology driven collaborative classrooms, students being able to work together and respect each other in group work will be more important than ever. 

            One aspect of my classroom I would change is the use of paper/worksheets.  I use so many different worksheets in order to give the students additional practice.  I know that I can use my Smart Board or computers in order to get this practice in, but my struggle is in the assessment of that practice.  It is necessary for me to be constantly assessing the practice that we do in Math for example and all of my “checkpoint” assessments cannot be graded as easily at this point in my classroom through technology.  Right now I am able to collect the work, grade it, and then use it in order to guide further instruction.  If I had the Smart Board remotes I could see how easily I could do checkpoints throughout the units to check understanding.  It is my hope to get rid of all of the paper that I am constantly filing through and having to store and then recycle throughout the school year. 

            The changes I see happening could affect teachers, administrators, and learners in the sense that there will be a period of time when the changes need to be adapted to.  Everyone will need to get used to the changes and figure out what works for them and what will not.  Each individual will have to be constantly assessing their performance and learning throughout the whole process.  I think this change will be positive for everyone involved, but the process of getting used to it will be what some will struggle with.  In my experience teachers do not even like to find out their math or spelling curriculum is changing, so how will they react to a much larger change?