Sunday, March 27, 2011
ALRIGHT!! FINAL THOUGHTS!
I must say that this was a long journey with many, many, many hours spent in front of the computer. With that being said, it was a wonderful experience. I can't imagine that I would have ever learned about most of these websites and social networks in my lifetime, more or less in one course! I think that I have set up more accounts in this one assignment than I have combined in the past. I only hope to remember all my passwords and logins.(smile) I think that I will use a great deal of the things I learned in this activity in my classroom. So many of the activities we explored were not only great for the classroom, but for personal use as well. I would suggest this being used for classes outside of the education dept. I think that it is a great tool for students to use in any field, especially since a great deal of those included things about organization! Overall, I enjoyed the hours spent researching and I hope to use my favorites in my classroom when I begin teaching!
Thing 23
A few examples that I found during this exercise that shows how Learning 2.0-23 Things for Teachers blog was based on someone else's work....
Credits
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
*Note: This project is loosely based upon the website 43Things (which allows you to set and track personal goals) and the Stephen Abram article titled 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006).
Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/canonsnapper/2534297004/
etc..
etc..
After reviewing the tutorial about Creative Commons I think it has opened up a gateway to useful and usable material for the classroom. This website allows a safe haven for teachers to create lessons that include technological resources without breaking laws that deal with copyright. It makes it much easier on the mind to know that someone created a tool that allows you to view material that has been filtered as safe and usable. I know that I will use what I have learned to share with my students the importance of crediting people for their work and how extremely easy it is to use things that are not ours to use! I think that in a world full of technology that is so readily available at our fingertips we often forget that we still have to remember that it originated from somewhere...and most importantly for someone. By recognizing that someone has worked hard to produce and create things only adds to the appreciation of using it.
Thing 22
The titles for my three binders are: Special Education tools, Rubrics, and 4th grade Math lessons.
I chose to share my 4th grade math lesson binder: http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=84644
I think this is a great tool to organize all the information you use on a daily basis. It is especially nice when you have a ton of information that you don't want to carry around in an actual binder, especially if you don't have space to store it! I think this would be a great way for students to build research ideas or to keep track of information they need for class. As far as using it in the classroom, it is a great opportunity for you to control the websites children use in the classroom. You can categorize them by subject and topic, then all the students have to do is log on and find the information they need!
I chose to share my 4th grade math lesson binder: http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=84644
I think this is a great tool to organize all the information you use on a daily basis. It is especially nice when you have a ton of information that you don't want to carry around in an actual binder, especially if you don't have space to store it! I think this would be a great way for students to build research ideas or to keep track of information they need for class. As far as using it in the classroom, it is a great opportunity for you to control the websites children use in the classroom. You can categorize them by subject and topic, then all the students have to do is log on and find the information they need!
Thing 21
St. Louis
This video was made from photos from a trip visiting friends in St. Louis.
I really LOVED this website! I thought it was a great way to capture memories into videos. I think I will definitely come back on this website and possible purchase some of the upgraded options to make some of my photo albums into videos. It was really easy to use and I liked that I could link it to my Facebook account so that I could access all my photo albums!
This video was made from photos from a trip visiting friends in St. Louis.
I really LOVED this website! I thought it was a great way to capture memories into videos. I think I will definitely come back on this website and possible purchase some of the upgraded options to make some of my photo albums into videos. It was really easy to use and I liked that I could link it to my Facebook account so that I could access all my photo albums!
Thing 20
I thought I would share this cute video on what kids at a Catholic school have to say about the start of America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F-D9IYrQWw
I really enjoy using YouTube. You can find just about anything on here from tutorials to breaking news. Sometimes the site can contain an overload of irrelevant information when your doing a search, however I still think it is a great tool for inside and outside the classroom. The reason I chose the video above was because I love when kids come up with answers to hard questions in such a simple way. Working in the schools I have the privilege of hearing the funniest things and I wanted to share a piece of that. I think that this website, if censored properly, would be a wonderful tool to use as part of the library website. I think it has such a vast range of information from a wide range of sources that would be beneficial to students and parents alike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F-D9IYrQWw
I really enjoy using YouTube. You can find just about anything on here from tutorials to breaking news. Sometimes the site can contain an overload of irrelevant information when your doing a search, however I still think it is a great tool for inside and outside the classroom. The reason I chose the video above was because I love when kids come up with answers to hard questions in such a simple way. Working in the schools I have the privilege of hearing the funniest things and I wanted to share a piece of that. I think that this website, if censored properly, would be a wonderful tool to use as part of the library website. I think it has such a vast range of information from a wide range of sources that would be beneficial to students and parents alike.
Thing 19
For thing 19 I really enjoyed going through some of the different social networking cites. I already have a Project Playlist account that I set up a few years ago. I really enjoyed the fact that you can categorize your music into different genres and you can make your own playlist categories according to what your in the mood to listen to. One of the social networks that I found appealing was the Crafts network under the Hobbies section. I LOVE to make things and restore things, so this social network was right up my alley. I definitely plan to join this site and use it at home!
Thing 18
Here is a link to my Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/amy.goder
I already had both accounts so I chose to share my experiences with Facebook. I think as an educator it is extremely important to know how social networks work. You have to be aware of what you chose to post on your account, who you chose to be friends with, and what pictures you chose to share. Facebook is a world wide website, so your information is available for the world to see, if you chose to friend them. I think we also need to be aware that everyone we are "friends" with have access to our information and whoever they may live with or share a computer with may also be able to look at your account.
I have really enjoyed the opportunity to get in contact with people I would otherwise have no way of getting in touch with. In addition, I am able to keep up with family and friends that I don't get to speak to everyday. However, there are always down sides to social networking. As I said before, be careful of what you say and post.
I think that Facebook offers a wide range of features. You can add apps, play games, attach YouTube videos, etc. This list goes on and on.
I'm not sure if I see this website being used in a classroom situation. Especially since it is blocked from the computers in the school. I think Facebook is set up for "social" situations and not for learning purposes.
I already had both accounts so I chose to share my experiences with Facebook. I think as an educator it is extremely important to know how social networks work. You have to be aware of what you chose to post on your account, who you chose to be friends with, and what pictures you chose to share. Facebook is a world wide website, so your information is available for the world to see, if you chose to friend them. I think we also need to be aware that everyone we are "friends" with have access to our information and whoever they may live with or share a computer with may also be able to look at your account.
I have really enjoyed the opportunity to get in contact with people I would otherwise have no way of getting in touch with. In addition, I am able to keep up with family and friends that I don't get to speak to everyday. However, there are always down sides to social networking. As I said before, be careful of what you say and post.
I think that Facebook offers a wide range of features. You can add apps, play games, attach YouTube videos, etc. This list goes on and on.
I'm not sure if I see this website being used in a classroom situation. Especially since it is blocked from the computers in the school. I think Facebook is set up for "social" situations and not for learning purposes.
Thing 17
After looking through the sites found in Del. icio. us. I think that this is a great tool! It was very easy to maneuver through and also the process of creating a personal account is very simple. I think this is a great way to keep up with websites that you find useful and interesting, all in one place. I love organization so I can totally concur with the tutorial on how things can be overwhelming and hard to find when they are not in one place. I liked that the website not only offered a place to keep all your bookmarked websites, but that you can also add tags to make narrowing them down more simple.
I think this website would be great for teachers to use among a grade level to share websites they find useful in the classroom, as well as sharing among other grade level teams. I also believe that this would be a great tool to use if you were doing a class project or a group project. Students would be able to research information that they found useful at home and collaborate among team members without being in the same place. Overall, this was a great experience and I was happy to learn about this website!
I think this website would be great for teachers to use among a grade level to share websites they find useful in the classroom, as well as sharing among other grade level teams. I also believe that this would be a great tool to use if you were doing a class project or a group project. Students would be able to research information that they found useful at home and collaborate among team members without being in the same place. Overall, this was a great experience and I was happy to learn about this website!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thing 16
For Thing 16 I chose the iGoogle start page because I use so many other google tools. I loved that you could customize the page to fit what is important to you..which for me is entertainment related since I have no life outside doing homework! (smiley) I did make it my permanent homepage as well.
I created an online calendar in a previous assignment and made it public. I have to say that I did use another google tool and it was fun to add things into the online calendar and know that I can access it from anywhere!
To-do-lists..Where do I start! My life is a walking to-do-list and to be honest I have made to-do-list and forgotten them too! So I was excited to see what things were in store for this part of the assignment. I really liked the features of Backpack since it rolled everything into one; to-do-list, itinerary, calendar features. etc. I am planning on taking a trip to Ireland next year and I am looking forward to using this tool to stay organized.
All of these tools are beneficial in there own way, whether in the classroom or for personal use. My personal favorites are almost all the Google tools, especially the translation one. I also would recommend the tool for organization if you tend to be messy or unorganized. Overall each of these tools were great to access and learn about!
I created an online calendar in a previous assignment and made it public. I have to say that I did use another google tool and it was fun to add things into the online calendar and know that I can access it from anywhere!
To-do-lists..Where do I start! My life is a walking to-do-list and to be honest I have made to-do-list and forgotten them too! So I was excited to see what things were in store for this part of the assignment. I really liked the features of Backpack since it rolled everything into one; to-do-list, itinerary, calendar features. etc. I am planning on taking a trip to Ireland next year and I am looking forward to using this tool to stay organized.
All of these tools are beneficial in there own way, whether in the classroom or for personal use. My personal favorites are almost all the Google tools, especially the translation one. I also would recommend the tool for organization if you tend to be messy or unorganized. Overall each of these tools were great to access and learn about!
Thing 15
Wiki?? Well this was the first "Thing" I came across that didn't really work. I tried to edit things within the wiki after I signed up for an account, however it still said I wasn't authorized to make changes. So I just went in and added in my Post 9 into the wiki instead. I think that if working properly this would be a great tool to use within the English department. You could have students edit written work or even create a newspaper where the students could edit one another. I'm sure it would work great in other content areas as well, but that is the first area that came to mind when I was working with the wiki. I think that it is interesting that you can set up who is allowed to edit and who cannot. Overall, I think that it was an interesting concept but I'm not sure if I would feel comfortable enough with the program to use it in class.
Thing 14
Flowcharts and Mindmaps...
Flowcharts are more useful in situations where you are going through a process and usually have yes or no answer within them in order to tell you in which direction to proceed. For example, if you look in magazines they sometimes have flow charts to determine things you like. So perhaps in the beginning it ask, "Do you like loud music?" If you answer "yes", you continue down to the next box; if you answer "no", you go to the left box..and so on. In a learning situation I think that the Gliffy website for flow charts was easy to use and provides you with a template to begin your creation that makes it an easy step-by-step process.
Mindmaps are much like brainstorming charts. They begin with a broad concept and then narrow it down to details. These can be used for just about any subject or content. I think that these are much easier to use than the flowcharts especially if you are using them in an elementary school setting. The Bubbl.us website was super easy to use for creating mindmaps and they would be a great tool in the classroom for children to use.
Flowcharts are more useful in situations where you are going through a process and usually have yes or no answer within them in order to tell you in which direction to proceed. For example, if you look in magazines they sometimes have flow charts to determine things you like. So perhaps in the beginning it ask, "Do you like loud music?" If you answer "yes", you continue down to the next box; if you answer "no", you go to the left box..and so on. In a learning situation I think that the Gliffy website for flow charts was easy to use and provides you with a template to begin your creation that makes it an easy step-by-step process.
Mindmaps are much like brainstorming charts. They begin with a broad concept and then narrow it down to details. These can be used for just about any subject or content. I think that these are much easier to use than the flowcharts especially if you are using them in an elementary school setting. The Bubbl.us website was super easy to use for creating mindmaps and they would be a great tool in the classroom for children to use.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Thing 13
When using Zoho Writer I found it to be very similar to Microsoft word. It is not quite as advanced but it still had some more updated features: adding links, pictures,sharing documents, etc. I still prefer to use the Microsoft version, however it is nice to have a backup software for writing papers.
Here is the document I created using Google Docs:
<iframe src="https://spreadsheets3.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dDYwbEhtNXNsYl92WHBpQk5qNXFPc3c6MQ" width="760" height="687" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe>
You can actually respond to the questions when your at the link and it will forward it to a spreadsheet I created so that I can see all your answers!!!
I thought that this would be a great tool to use for creating tests or fun review sheets.
The students can use any of the Google Docs to create things from writing papers, to sharing calendar events, to creating study guides, to making graphs and maps, etc.
I prefer to use Google Docs because they are easier to use and have more features that are familiar to me than Zoho.
Here is the document I created using Google Docs:
<iframe src="https://spreadsheets3.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dDYwbEhtNXNsYl92WHBpQk5qNXFPc3c6MQ" width="760" height="687" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">Loading...</iframe>
You can actually respond to the questions when your at the link and it will forward it to a spreadsheet I created so that I can see all your answers!!!
I thought that this would be a great tool to use for creating tests or fun review sheets.
The students can use any of the Google Docs to create things from writing papers, to sharing calendar events, to creating study guides, to making graphs and maps, etc.
I prefer to use Google Docs because they are easier to use and have more features that are familiar to me than Zoho.
Thing 12
The two Google web tools I choose to use were Google Calendar and Google Translate.
This is a direct link to the calendar I composed:
https://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=6aTy_MQLJcOl9gOUgQdoNA
This was really fun to play with and I like that you can share your calendar. If you want to invite friends to join your calendar, then they can add things to a shared calendar. This would be great to use in the classroom for students when they wanted to pick days to present things to the class or sign up for days to use the computer. There are lots of things you could use this for and its very simple to use.
This is a direct link to some of the phrases I translated in Google Translate:
http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=&ie=UTF-8&text=Happy+St.+Patrick%27s+Day&sl=en&tl=es#en|es|what%20are%20you%20doing%20tomorrow%3F
SO MUCH FUN!! Ok. I am a geek, but I love to hear things in other languages and this tool is awesome! It actually translates and gives you an option to hear it! How cool is that? This would be an amazing app to have on your cell phone if you were in a foreign country. All you would need to do is type in your sentence, listen to the translation, and repeat. You would obviously need to know how to translate back what they say..so this may not be a perfect method, but it is a start. As far as a class room setting...sky is the limit! You can use this tool to have students in a foreign language class practice speaking the language, translating material, and even searching foreign websites. YES.. i said foreign websites because it will translate a website into English as well. I really need to get out more..it is amazing what you can find on here!
This is a direct link to the calendar I composed:
https://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=6aTy_MQLJcOl9gOUgQdoNA
This was really fun to play with and I like that you can share your calendar. If you want to invite friends to join your calendar, then they can add things to a shared calendar. This would be great to use in the classroom for students when they wanted to pick days to present things to the class or sign up for days to use the computer. There are lots of things you could use this for and its very simple to use.
This is a direct link to some of the phrases I translated in Google Translate:
http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=&ie=UTF-8&text=Happy+St.+Patrick%27s+Day&sl=en&tl=es#en|es|what%20are%20you%20doing%20tomorrow%3F
SO MUCH FUN!! Ok. I am a geek, but I love to hear things in other languages and this tool is awesome! It actually translates and gives you an option to hear it! How cool is that? This would be an amazing app to have on your cell phone if you were in a foreign country. All you would need to do is type in your sentence, listen to the translation, and repeat. You would obviously need to know how to translate back what they say..so this may not be a perfect method, but it is a start. As far as a class room setting...sky is the limit! You can use this tool to have students in a foreign language class practice speaking the language, translating material, and even searching foreign websites. YES.. i said foreign websites because it will translate a website into English as well. I really need to get out more..it is amazing what you can find on here!
Thing 11
When trying to find RSS feeds I started looking by searching terms related to what I was looking for. I found that the Google search was easier to use for finding RSS feeds because I am more familiar with Google. I think the most confusing thing was determining the difference between subscribing to a feed and subscribing to a blog?? Does that make sense? There were millions of feeds and this kind of task seems to be a bit overwhelming, just like Cool Cat Teacher mentioned in her blog. I did find a feed for learning how to speak Spanish. This is not necessarily related to my area of teaching, however, it is related to teaching and learning. In addition, since there is controversy over the TEA, I found a news feed on events and topics related to this organization. Overall, despite the initial confusion, this was a fairly easy task to complete.
Thing 10
I really love this! I think that the RSS is a great way to organize all the information you need into one place. It would be great to have children in the classroom use this app to organize classroom blogs or to use it when doing research online. If students were in a class that related to current events, this would be a great way for them to check on information relevant to the course. Teachers can use this app for a world of things, from organizing blogs to organizing lessons. As far as personal use, I love to reinvent things and put them to use, so I love that I can subscribe to things related to home and garden information for ideas. I also like to make cakes in my spare time, so I loved that I could add in a subscription in that area too. Overall creating this account was a great experience, very simple, and extremely useful!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thing 9
http://imagegenerator.net/
This website was really easy to use. It allows you to pick from lots of different images, such as the one above, and then all you do is click and add the text you wish to use. I thought this was lots of fun and you can use this to send funny emails to friends or perhaps to introduce a new lesson!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Thing 8
Thing 7
I found this picture captured two of my most favorite things: butterflies and vintage! The photographer was CubaGallery. The information on the photo said that this picture came from a shop in NY...wouldnt I love to go there! I took a look at the collection of work from this particular artist and I found some amazing photos were similar to my liking. I think this is an awsome way to display your work and to find just about anything you need a photo for.
Thing 6
For Thing 6 I decided to chose playlist.com. I love music and listening to music while Im cleaning the house, so I set up an account through playlist.com. It allows you to select music into categories(i.e. playlist) so that you can play music according to the mood your in or just have seperate listings. You can also copy and paste the playlist into other areas, much like we added the Avatar to our blog. I think anyone who enjoys listening to music would enjoy having this Webware. In addition, I have also used Pandora to listen to radio webcast but it always seemed to lead to viruses on my computer, so I quit using it. I think that this website could be used in a music class. Teachers could post songs that are relevant to lessons in music and have it available for each class. In addition, students could put together playlists that they found were related to artists and genres being studied.
To get to the website I just went to http://www.playlist.com/
To get to the website I just went to http://www.playlist.com/
Thing 5
After reviewing some of the information on Web 2.0 and School 2.0 I have come to the conclusion that there is an endless world to the things we can access and use in the classroom and at home. School 2.0 is the extended version of the Web 2.0 but more along the lines of how we can use the web in the classroom. I think that technology has become so advanced over the last 10 years that I can only imagine what possibilities are instore in 10 more. I see children having desk tops that are computer screens and instead of textbooks they will have apps for each one on their screen. I think that technology is amazing but that I am weary of being dependant on it. What happens when the power goes out or the servers are down? Will our future generation know how to pull out a pen and paper? Or will things like textbooks, notebooks, and Crayola markers be the 8 tracks of the future?
Thing 4
Commenting is key to conversation. If we all sat around making comments and noone ever responded then we would only be talking to ourselves. Same scenerio in the blog world. We can post our ideas and thoughts all day long but if noone ever responds then what is the point?? By commenting we allow others to gain feedback and knowledge on topics that share importance to us and that gives a sense of community. I read over the blog from Coolcat Teacher and ProBlogger, both seemed to have a common consensus that commenting is essential to a successful blog. Two other points I found important: were making sure that you follow up on comments that are left on your blog and making sure that you post comments that are constructive to the writer.
My Seven Blogs
#1-Lauren Blake-Thing 5: I selected this blog because I thought it had an interesting perspective on how technology is taking over the classroom. I left Lauren with a comment about how technology in the classroom can sometimes be scary when thinking of all the things children don't learn because they can merely depend on those technological advances.(ex: mult charts, spell check, verbal communication, etc.)
#2-Heather Wilson-Thing 2: I selected this blog because I thought Heathers comment on how she created her avatar was amusing. I thought that it was clever that she decided to select her clothing as a way to convey her personality; matching up the fiery red high heels business look with the hole-in the-jeans girl next door look. We also shared the experience of having a creative block when trying to come up with a unique name for our blog. Who would have thought naming a blog would be as stressful as naming a baby?!?
#3-Cory Fricke-Thing 1: I selected this blog because I had to agree with Cory and his passion to teach healthy habits to children. I shared with Cory that I struggled with teaching my 11yr old daughter healthy eating habits and that I commend him in his efforts to stress those habits to young children. Cory stated that he wanted to teach P.E. and I think that often physical ed teachers get hit with the "Lazy Card" because other teachers believe they sit around and play all day. However, I think that without P.E. some children would NEVER exercise or be made aware of healthy habits! So WORK IT OUT Cory!
#4-Courtney Kroupa-Thing 8: I selected this blog because Courntey found some really neat photo sites that displayed some artsy, creative, and fun ways to use photographs uploaded from your computer. I mentioned that I had yet to complete task number 8 but that I looked forward to getting around to tinkering with some of the websites she listed.
#5-Kate Gower-Thing 7: I selected this blog because I found that Kate had an interesting story behind the photo she posted. After giving a bit of background she mentioned that she wasnt sure how to incorporate such websites as flickr into teaching math in the classroom. I shared that I wasnt sure either but it would be interesting to see how you could!
When choosing my two outside blogs I tried to pick something that was personal and inspiring to me. I think that it would have been easier to just pick blogs about random day to day things but I felt that I wanted to see what kind of blogs are out there that can be powerful and inspirational!
With that I found two blogs: one of Wave3.com a KY news website and the other on gayrightswatch.com
#6-David M.Jarboe Jr. - The first blog I chose to write on, I found on wave3.com. The reason I picked it was because a coworker told me about his story Friday, Feb.4th, which also was the date he took his life. He had posted a long letter on facebook about how he had been sexually molested in the Catholic church in which he grew up in, naming those who did it, and then leaving last words to those who were close to him. I must say that I sat and read all six pages of his last words thinking to myself that we live in a place where technology is so advanced that now people can post on a website their last will and testament to the entire world? And this is not the first story that someones last words were posted on a blog or website and I am sure it wont be the last, but despite the sadness of the event it inspired me to write a comment on the newscast blog. I think that it made me feel that his death would not be in vein if I expressed my concerns about the church and what is going on as he would have wished for. More importantly that people HEARD him. I invite you to comment on this site.
#7-Prop 8 Lift-California Gay Marriage- This is the second blog I chose to write on. This blog discussed the recent decision to lift the ban on gay marriage in California. As of 8/18/11 couples of same sex will be able to marry under California state law. The reason I chose to write on this blog is because I strongly believe that everyone should have equal rights and freedom to chose who they marry. This can be a very hot topic and I like to read others view and opinions because I can respect both aspects. I think that blogs can provide a way for people to discuss things that are very sensitive in a manner in which is not confrontational. I also think that is a great resource for people to network with others who feel discriminated against, so that perhaps they dont feel alone in their struggles and battles.
My Seven Blogs
#1-Lauren Blake-Thing 5: I selected this blog because I thought it had an interesting perspective on how technology is taking over the classroom. I left Lauren with a comment about how technology in the classroom can sometimes be scary when thinking of all the things children don't learn because they can merely depend on those technological advances.(ex: mult charts, spell check, verbal communication, etc.)
#2-Heather Wilson-Thing 2: I selected this blog because I thought Heathers comment on how she created her avatar was amusing. I thought that it was clever that she decided to select her clothing as a way to convey her personality; matching up the fiery red high heels business look with the hole-in the-jeans girl next door look. We also shared the experience of having a creative block when trying to come up with a unique name for our blog. Who would have thought naming a blog would be as stressful as naming a baby?!?
#3-Cory Fricke-Thing 1: I selected this blog because I had to agree with Cory and his passion to teach healthy habits to children. I shared with Cory that I struggled with teaching my 11yr old daughter healthy eating habits and that I commend him in his efforts to stress those habits to young children. Cory stated that he wanted to teach P.E. and I think that often physical ed teachers get hit with the "Lazy Card" because other teachers believe they sit around and play all day. However, I think that without P.E. some children would NEVER exercise or be made aware of healthy habits! So WORK IT OUT Cory!
#4-Courtney Kroupa-Thing 8: I selected this blog because Courntey found some really neat photo sites that displayed some artsy, creative, and fun ways to use photographs uploaded from your computer. I mentioned that I had yet to complete task number 8 but that I looked forward to getting around to tinkering with some of the websites she listed.
#5-Kate Gower-Thing 7: I selected this blog because I found that Kate had an interesting story behind the photo she posted. After giving a bit of background she mentioned that she wasnt sure how to incorporate such websites as flickr into teaching math in the classroom. I shared that I wasnt sure either but it would be interesting to see how you could!
When choosing my two outside blogs I tried to pick something that was personal and inspiring to me. I think that it would have been easier to just pick blogs about random day to day things but I felt that I wanted to see what kind of blogs are out there that can be powerful and inspirational!
With that I found two blogs: one of Wave3.com a KY news website and the other on gayrightswatch.com
#6-David M.Jarboe Jr. - The first blog I chose to write on, I found on wave3.com. The reason I picked it was because a coworker told me about his story Friday, Feb.4th, which also was the date he took his life. He had posted a long letter on facebook about how he had been sexually molested in the Catholic church in which he grew up in, naming those who did it, and then leaving last words to those who were close to him. I must say that I sat and read all six pages of his last words thinking to myself that we live in a place where technology is so advanced that now people can post on a website their last will and testament to the entire world? And this is not the first story that someones last words were posted on a blog or website and I am sure it wont be the last, but despite the sadness of the event it inspired me to write a comment on the newscast blog. I think that it made me feel that his death would not be in vein if I expressed my concerns about the church and what is going on as he would have wished for. More importantly that people HEARD him. I invite you to comment on this site.
#7-Prop 8 Lift-California Gay Marriage- This is the second blog I chose to write on. This blog discussed the recent decision to lift the ban on gay marriage in California. As of 8/18/11 couples of same sex will be able to marry under California state law. The reason I chose to write on this blog is because I strongly believe that everyone should have equal rights and freedom to chose who they marry. This can be a very hot topic and I like to read others view and opinions because I can respect both aspects. I think that blogs can provide a way for people to discuss things that are very sensitive in a manner in which is not confrontational. I also think that is a great resource for people to network with others who feel discriminated against, so that perhaps they dont feel alone in their struggles and battles.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thing 3
10 Ways to Use a Blog:
1. Have students create accounts as a tool for discussing assignments and receiving feedback among their peers. (High school age being more appropriate in this scenerio.)
2. Create a blog for the parents of your students to follow. You could include helpful tips and strategies for helping students with their homework and also a way that parents can communicate useful strategies among themselves.
3. As a student in the education program you can use the blog to share ideas among your peers and ask questions about things that you may find challenging.
4. As a student you can share experiences related to observations and reflections of classroom experiences. You can collaberate on the differences in teaching styles found throughout the schools in your community.
5. As a teacher you can create a blog that allows you to share ideas among your collegues when coming up with creative lessons and what standards you may find challenging to teach.
6. You can create a blog around current events and ask your students to post their views and opinions on whats going on in the world. This would be great for debate!
7. If you were an English teacher you could create a blog that would allow students to discuss the book that was being read among your classes. They could give their interpretations of the reading material.
8. If you were teaching Foreign Language you could create a blog in which students could interact with students from that country. This would enable them to talk with students who are fluent in the language and who are the same age.
9. If you were in Related Arts you could create a blog that would allow students to post videos or images of their work for feedback among their peers.
10. You can create a blog for just about anything that you would find useful, but most importantly it gives you opportunity to get ideas and feedback from anywhere, about anything in the world!
1. Have students create accounts as a tool for discussing assignments and receiving feedback among their peers. (High school age being more appropriate in this scenerio.)
2. Create a blog for the parents of your students to follow. You could include helpful tips and strategies for helping students with their homework and also a way that parents can communicate useful strategies among themselves.
3. As a student in the education program you can use the blog to share ideas among your peers and ask questions about things that you may find challenging.
4. As a student you can share experiences related to observations and reflections of classroom experiences. You can collaberate on the differences in teaching styles found throughout the schools in your community.
5. As a teacher you can create a blog that allows you to share ideas among your collegues when coming up with creative lessons and what standards you may find challenging to teach.
6. You can create a blog around current events and ask your students to post their views and opinions on whats going on in the world. This would be great for debate!
7. If you were an English teacher you could create a blog that would allow students to discuss the book that was being read among your classes. They could give their interpretations of the reading material.
8. If you were teaching Foreign Language you could create a blog in which students could interact with students from that country. This would enable them to talk with students who are fluent in the language and who are the same age.
9. If you were in Related Arts you could create a blog that would allow students to post videos or images of their work for feedback among their peers.
10. You can create a blog for just about anything that you would find useful, but most importantly it gives you opportunity to get ideas and feedback from anywhere, about anything in the world!
Thing 2
Our second assignment was to create a blog and avatar. When I was creating my blog name and my posting name I wanted something short, simple, and a little bit catchy. Creating the blog, as I said in the previous post, was fairly simple. I felt the step by step instructions were self explanatory and if I found anything to be confusing I simply asked my classmate next to me.
When creating the avatar I found that if you waited on creating it until after you created a login there were more items to choose from. I did design it to look as much like myself as I could, although it could use some spunk! I think when I get some extra time I will go back and have it reflect a little more of my personality.
When creating the avatar I found that if you waited on creating it until after you created a login there were more items to choose from. I did design it to look as much like myself as I could, although it could use some spunk! I think when I get some extra time I will go back and have it reflect a little more of my personality.
Thing 1
Our first assignment was to listen to a tutorial titled 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners. After listening to the tutorial I found it gave an informative outlook on tools that are needed to be successful in the teaching profession.
The habit I find to be the easiest is Habit 3: View Problems as Challenges. I strongly believe that in order to stay positive and optimistic about life you must always view the negative aspects of life as challenges. When we experience problems we have two choices: give up or move on. Each experience not only shapes who we are but who we become. Viewing problems as challenges will lead to overcoming things that may otherwise set you back. So in short, don't let the bumps in the road keep you from reaching your destination!
The habit I find to be the hardest is Habit 6: Technology. Although technology can be very helpful, it can also be very overwhelming. Often I find myself in comparison to the search engine commercials: black cat-Halloween-Holidays-Billie Holiday-Jazz-etc..you get the point. What was once limited information is now endless information. My biggest "challenge", so to speak, will be using technology to my advantage and not becoming overwhelmed when determining what information is most useful.
I hope by learning to use the tools available with Web 2.0 I will be able to make planning easier and teaching more interesting. I did find setting up the blog to be fairly easy, however, putting the silly avatar on here was much more challenging.
The habit I find to be the easiest is Habit 3: View Problems as Challenges. I strongly believe that in order to stay positive and optimistic about life you must always view the negative aspects of life as challenges. When we experience problems we have two choices: give up or move on. Each experience not only shapes who we are but who we become. Viewing problems as challenges will lead to overcoming things that may otherwise set you back. So in short, don't let the bumps in the road keep you from reaching your destination!
The habit I find to be the hardest is Habit 6: Technology. Although technology can be very helpful, it can also be very overwhelming. Often I find myself in comparison to the search engine commercials: black cat-Halloween-Holidays-Billie Holiday-Jazz-etc..you get the point. What was once limited information is now endless information. My biggest "challenge", so to speak, will be using technology to my advantage and not becoming overwhelmed when determining what information is most useful.
I hope by learning to use the tools available with Web 2.0 I will be able to make planning easier and teaching more interesting. I did find setting up the blog to be fairly easy, however, putting the silly avatar on here was much more challenging.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)