Reflection: Question 1
Upon being newly introduced to this techie tidbit of spruz.com, I believe as a high school history teacher I will be able to utilize this in my classroom. I know that I need to play around more with this tech item before I can implement it into my classroom. However, I believe that this site can be very useful especially in collaborative assignments that I periodically assign throughout the year. As I understand it, students can create their own profile and communicate back and forth between the teacher, and themselves. This can be helpful with projects as well as student interactions with the teacher. I believe it can also build upon the students need to create a sense of self and a much needed identity throughout the course.
Reflection: Question 2
I do remember hearing that only 50 people/students can join for free. This creates a roadblock to me as an instructor for obvious reasons. Another possible roadblock foreseen is that students may utilize this site as another form of facebook. That roadblock is not so bad however, students can easily veer off task and create problems not related to the course.
Reflection: Question 3
I can approach my administration and ask them to purchase a license from spruz.com to allow more students to enroll in this techie tidbit. This response will require a simple yes or no answer. Then I will pursue it other ways, maybe even paying for it my self. As far as the second roadblock discussed, I believe as an instructor this tidbit will have to be closely monitored. I will constantly and consistently review my students profile to make sure they are on task and communicating at an academic level. Incorporating these few suggestions, I believe spruz.com can be an effective way for instruction to take place.
Reflection: Question 4
There are a variety of things that I need to learn before I can utilize this effectively in my classroom. I first need to learn the cost of a license that handles the number of students enrolled in my courses. I then need to examine the website itself. Maybe I can set some parameters as to what students can do throughout the site. I will also have to incorporate a strict set of procedures and guidelines that the students need to follow to keep this tidbit as effective as possible throughout the instruction process.
