Letting Technology do the Work

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As individuals we look to the Internet as a way to increase our reach to those we work with, learn with and are in contact with all around the world. One of the reasons for this revolution is the recognition of how important it is to have ready access to resources and people, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 204).   It has brought us closer together and some of the tools that have made this all possible include, wikis, pod casts, video and photo sharing communities, (Roblyer & Doering, Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching, 2013, p.223). 

Wiki - As teachers we research and review hundreds of online sites trying to find the ones that are most effective. A wiki groups web pages in an online community that can be accessed and added to by the community, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 224). This takes some of the searching out of the equation, saving time.  One Wiki I found that would be very beneficial is “Reidenglish”  at www.reidenglish.wikispaces.com. This is a wiki written by 9^th grade students guided by their literature teacher on Shakespeare.  Not only does it give a breakdown on characters, plot, language, and meanings of his plays it gives background on the Shakespearean world.  Included are pod casts, videos, essays and clips. It is students learning from their peers on their level and in their language. 

Pod casts – Resembling a radio cast or interview a podcast can be automatically downloaded on a regular basis once a person has subscribed, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 224).  Digital audio files can be found on just about any subject matter.  I found two that I think are easy to understand for middle to high school students.  One, www.literature_lady.podomatic.com gives a summary of Shakespeare’s plays even breaking it down into acts.  This is a wonderful resource for students to use as they read the plays simultaneously as a reference.  The other,  www.grammar.quickanddirtytips gives a quick and to the point grammar lesson in each podcast.  It is a quick review of those rules for students to keep grammar fresh on their minds. 

Social bookmarking site – Creating a list of all the sites of a common topic is a quicker way to organize and sort sites by topics, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 218). I found one on Symbaloo that has anything and everything about William Shakespeare.  It would be a great reference for teachers and students.
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/3710-William-Shakespeare?searched=true#aboutpublicwebmixes Teachers could go here for new topics to discuss on Shakespeare for lesson plans and students could use it for information on reports or papers, etc.

Widgets- Today we have ongoing of integration of online lessons and activities in the classroom, ( Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 238). As teachers create these lessons they are adding in enhancements to their lessons to deepen the understanding by the students, (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 238).  Widgets due just that, they add more. They can be added to blogs or online lessons as an additional resource.  Two that I found that would be great add-ons are, Vocab Ahead, which gives a new vocabulary word and its definition and Dictionary.com., which allows you to look up keywords in a dictionary, thesaurus or reference format.    Both can be found on the site www.widgetbox.com/widget 

The Internet is a great resource and in time all that information will be sorted, cataloged and at fingertips reach.  Lucky us!!!

Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, Aaron H. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (6th ed.).
    Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, INC.