Final post for my PLN

For my Personal Learning Network, I have began using different resources to get in touch with different teachers from around the world. As I have mentioned in my first PLN post I had created a Twitter account since that time I also set up a Skype account. My username for both Twitter and Skype is danillepitt. To view my profile on Twitter or leave me a message, click here. Through Twitter I was able to contact Mr. Lamshed and Mrs. Kelly Hines. These two teachers are amazing when it comes to incorporating technology into their classrooms. I asked Mr. Lamshed how he used technology in his classroom; here is what he had to say:

"jlamshed

@daniellepitt use technology in lots if ways. Blogging is the obvious one. Has changed the way I teach. Provides a real and amazing audience"

"jlamshed

@daniellepitt for kids to share learning with. We are a mac school so we use that suite of software a lot. ILife is fantastic for..."

"jlamshed

@daniellepitt everything multimedia. Podcasts and video casts are used a lot now. We have a soundproof room for recording as well."

"jlamshed

@daniellepitt I use a lot of video to record experiences, for reflection and increasingly more for media literacy. Boys in particular will"

"jlamshed

@daniellepitt write with alvie project in mind. We also have an interactive whiteboard in every classroom. Hope that helps!"

When asked what technology she used, Kelly Hines said the following:

"kellyhines

@daniellepitt podcasting, SMARTBoard, Discovery Streaming, wikis and Skype"

"daniellepitt@kellyhines what is discovery streaming?"

"kellyhines

@daniellepitt it is a paid subscription service that's part of the http://discoveryeducatorsnetwork.com services - many of which are free"

When she said that she used the Discovery Education website, I had never heard of it before, so I checked it out. This website is similar to the Alex or ACCESS programs that we have in Alabama, but for anyone to use. There are several services on there that are really cool. A teacher can search through lesson plans and they also offer a puzzlemaker. I think that the best part of the website is the fact that many of their services are free!

The last teacher that I contacted was my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Angela Benson. She made a huge impact on my life and is the reason that I am studying elementary education. I was able to contact her through email. She had some amazing things to say about the SMART board and all of the programs that she can use through the SMART board. Here is the conversation that we had:

"Hello Mrs. Benson,
I am not sure that you remember me, but my name is Danielle Pitt. I was
one of your students at Rockwell and also Kim Pitt's daughter (she use to
work in the cafeteria). I am in college now at the University of South
Alabama studying to be an elementary teacher! For one of my classes that I
am taking I have to put together a Personal Learning Network of teachers
that I have talked to about being a teacher and how you use technology in
your classroom. I was wondering if I could include you in this and ask you
a few questions? You may email me at dep701@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Danielle Pitt"

"It is so nice to hear from you. I would love to help you."

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! I guess I will start by asking the obvious question: How do you use technology (ex. Computers, Internet, Smart Board, class blog, etc.) in your classroom?

Thanks,

Danielle "

"Oh my, that is such a broad question. I love my SMART Board and use it daily in all subject areas. In reading, I use it to go through this great web site that has the weekly story’s vocab, purpose for reading, and comprehension questions. There is also links to spelling activities as well. I also use it to practice choral reading for fluency, rate of speed and accuracy. I put a passage up and we read it together. I also use it in literacy centers and let a rotating group go up and do a reading based website/game for practice. I really use my board in math. The kids love coming up to work problems with the pens. Fortunately, they had a board in second grade, so they have been showing ME how to do some really cool things. I love the different interactive websites for math and enjoy working problems for the group with different color pens and effects. In language I use the board for sentence correction. I put up several incorrect sentences and they laugh and then write them correctly on their paper and then I call several up to correct them on the board. I also use this as a projector in social studies and use movie clips off of “United Streaming” to go with an area of study. I wrote a grant recently for a Lumens Document Camera which I LOVE!!! You can do experiments under it and project them up on the SMART board, or put up a magazine clipping with a science related picture, graph, or chart for them to see. This has greatly reduced my need to run to the copy machine every time I want them to see something or do a worksheet.

I hope this helps. If you need more, just ask me some specific questions."

"Wow! I had no idea that that could have been such a broad question, I do apologize for that! Thank you so much for this insight I will definitly be using all of this information! This gives me a great start and I will probably be emailing you again soon! Thank you so much for your help and time!

Danielle"

Overall, I have really enjoyed getting in touch with all of these amazing teachers. They each use technology in such a big way in their classrooms. They have all given me some great ideas to use in my future classroom. I wish them all the best of luck!