Twitter is a social media website in which you can choose to follow other twitter users and they can choose to follow you. It builds online communities with users that share the same interests. You can tweet and write about things that are going on in your life, post links to things that you find interesting, and post pictures and videos. There are many different twitter accounts for education. Some of these include: Education Nation, Education Week, Ron Clark, U.S. News Education, and Discovery Education. There are many, many more accounts that are helpful for teachers and their classroom. Many teachers are using twitter for their own Professional Learning Development. In an article about teachers using twitter there was this quote from a teacher who uses twitter, "I'm able to get information and find opportunities I wouldn't have been able to gather on my own." (Boss, 08) Teachers say that twitter is quick, easy to use, and a great way to network with colleagues. (Boss, 08) The author of the article says this about how teachers feel about Twitter, "They like being able to ask and answer questions, learn from experts, share resources, and react to events on the fly." (Boss, 08) By following educators or profiles that deal with education it expands the world of fellow educators and gives them ideas to use in their own classroom. Educators use Twitter to post news, blog posts, their own blog posts, invite others to join online conversations, and other personal things going on in their lives. Although all of the feedback about Twitter and education is not always positive, many teachers find Twitter as a great tool and resource to use.
I personally do have a Twitter account. I began using Twitter my freshmen year of college for a first year seminar I took, we had to tweet six times that semester and post news articles that had to do with our class and our professor would pull up our tweets and we would discuss the news articles. I never really used or got into using Twitter then. During my sophomore year of college I began using and looking at Twitter more frequently, I believe this is because I was not forced to use Twitter for class and could use the tool as I wanted. Today I check my account multiple times a day but I only occasionally tweet other than that I am looking at what other people have to say. I do not personally follow any educators or education accounts on Twitter. I do know how to search for the accounts about education or accounts of educators in order to learn more about education, current events, and tools to use in the classroom. I do follow one of my education professor and she tweets news articles and other tools that I can look at and learn new things from. As I get more and more into my education classes and get closer to becoming a teacher I plan on using Twitter as a more useful tool to learn things about education and tools to use in my future classroom.
Evernote is a tool where you can have separate notebooks, for classes if you are a student or for every student if you are a teacher, and you can have all of your notes and web clips in one place. With Evernote you can store PDFs, images, and even handwritten notes. PowerPoint can even be opened through Evernote. This program also syncs with your account online, on your desktop, and on the app. Evernote is a great tool for convenience and organization. This is what Jennifer Carey says about Evernote and it being a great tool for organizing teachers and students, "Evernote can be a great application for teachers, both to keep yourself coordinated and to facilitate student learning." (Carey, 2013) In the article she gives tips about how Evernote can be helpful. For teachers they can put their emails, calendars, notes, and to-do lists in different notebooks but they will all be in one location on Evernote. Carey gave the tip to start off by creating a notebook for each class, then she said this, "In these various class-related notebooks I stored links to articles, primary source material, books, and more. I also added notes on my lesson plans." (Carey,2013) Evernote is a great resource for students because they can store their notes in separate notebooks for each of their classes in one place, and it is indestructible and they cannot loose their notes. Notebooks can be shared between teachers and students so that too can be helpful. The great thing about Evernote is that it is paperless, portable, and searchable and it is a great tool for educators and students.
I am an Evernote user. I love this tool and it has been very helpful. I began using Evernote at the beginning of this school year, before that I had never heard of Evernote. Evernote was one of the first things we talked about in my education technology class, and I am glad it was. Usually as I take notes I just write them by hand or print out the PowerPoint and write and highlight on that. For one of my classes I take notes for another student through the library and I have to type my notes. So I type the notes in a word document. For that class I created a notebook on Evernote for that particular class and I create a new note each time and upload the file directly into that class's notebook on Evernote. For my reading methods class we go read to our book buddies once a week and we have to write a reflection after each visit. At the end of the semester we have to turn in an e-journal, for that I created a notebook in Evernote where I put my entries and I will turn my Evernote notebook at the end of the semester. I think that Evernote is a fantastic tool and it has helped me to keep me organized this semester. I plan to continue to use Evernote and incorporate the program into my classroom as a teacher.
Skitch is a program through Evernote in which you can screenshot things, draw shapes and arrows on your notes, type with, highlight, and put stamp tools on your notes in order to help point something out to you or make you think about something as you read over your notes. Skitch is a good tool for learning experiences in the classroom. This is what Cathy Mere says in her blog about Skitch and using it in the classroom, "It enhances discussions with students by helping to make learning more visible." (Mere, 2012)
Skitch is the one tool that I probably use the least. The main thing I use Skitch for is to screenshot pictures or images that I want to use in my notes. I think this is because I did not know all of the capabilities of the program. Now that I know these capabilities I plan to use the arrows, highlighters, and stamp tools and incorporate them into my notes. I hope to use Skitch more in the future and use the tool in my future classroom for various reasons.
Educators need to take advantage of all of the tools and resources that are out there for their benefit. Teachers should use social media like Twitter to be updated with current events going on in the world of education. They should use Evernote to stay organized and have all of their notes in one place. Educators should use programs like Skitch to put pictures and point out important information on their notes. As a teacher I plan on using these tools to help me in the future.
Evernote is a tool where you can have separate notebooks, for classes if you are a student or for every student if you are a teacher, and you can have all of your notes and web clips in one place. With Evernote you can store PDFs, images, and even handwritten notes. PowerPoint can even be opened through Evernote. This program also syncs with your account online, on your desktop, and on the app. Evernote is a great tool for convenience and organization. This is what Jennifer Carey says about Evernote and it being a great tool for organizing teachers and students, "Evernote can be a great application for teachers, both to keep yourself coordinated and to facilitate student learning." (Carey, 2013) In the article she gives tips about how Evernote can be helpful. For teachers they can put their emails, calendars, notes, and to-do lists in different notebooks but they will all be in one location on Evernote. Carey gave the tip to start off by creating a notebook for each class, then she said this, "In these various class-related notebooks I stored links to articles, primary source material, books, and more. I also added notes on my lesson plans." (Carey,2013) Evernote is a great resource for students because they can store their notes in separate notebooks for each of their classes in one place, and it is indestructible and they cannot loose their notes. Notebooks can be shared between teachers and students so that too can be helpful. The great thing about Evernote is that it is paperless, portable, and searchable and it is a great tool for educators and students.
I am an Evernote user. I love this tool and it has been very helpful. I began using Evernote at the beginning of this school year, before that I had never heard of Evernote. Evernote was one of the first things we talked about in my education technology class, and I am glad it was. Usually as I take notes I just write them by hand or print out the PowerPoint and write and highlight on that. For one of my classes I take notes for another student through the library and I have to type my notes. So I type the notes in a word document. For that class I created a notebook on Evernote for that particular class and I create a new note each time and upload the file directly into that class's notebook on Evernote. For my reading methods class we go read to our book buddies once a week and we have to write a reflection after each visit. At the end of the semester we have to turn in an e-journal, for that I created a notebook in Evernote where I put my entries and I will turn my Evernote notebook at the end of the semester. I think that Evernote is a fantastic tool and it has helped me to keep me organized this semester. I plan to continue to use Evernote and incorporate the program into my classroom as a teacher.
Skitch is a program through Evernote in which you can screenshot things, draw shapes and arrows on your notes, type with, highlight, and put stamp tools on your notes in order to help point something out to you or make you think about something as you read over your notes. Skitch is a good tool for learning experiences in the classroom. This is what Cathy Mere says in her blog about Skitch and using it in the classroom, "It enhances discussions with students by helping to make learning more visible." (Mere, 2012)
Skitch is the one tool that I probably use the least. The main thing I use Skitch for is to screenshot pictures or images that I want to use in my notes. I think this is because I did not know all of the capabilities of the program. Now that I know these capabilities I plan to use the arrows, highlighters, and stamp tools and incorporate them into my notes. I hope to use Skitch more in the future and use the tool in my future classroom for various reasons.
Educators need to take advantage of all of the tools and resources that are out there for their benefit. Teachers should use social media like Twitter to be updated with current events going on in the world of education. They should use Evernote to stay organized and have all of their notes in one place. Educators should use programs like Skitch to put pictures and point out important information on their notes. As a teacher I plan on using these tools to help me in the future.
Boss, S. (08, November 13). Twittering, not frittering: Professional development in 140 characters. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/twitter-professional-development-technology-microblogging
Carey, J. (2013, June 25). Evernote: A great tool for organizing teachers & students!. Retrieved from http://plpnetwork.com/2013/06/25/evernote-teachers-classrooms/
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