This was a great class. At first I thought it was going to be overwhelming. After I settled in, I realized how fun it was going to be. I learned so many new things and gained a lot of self confidence in using technology in the classroom. My favorite thing was Google Docs. I had used it before, but through this experience, I realized many more uses for it. I am looking forward to doing some collaborative lesson planning using Google Docs. I also really liked the "creative" applications we learned, like the letter pictures on Flickr and the Mosaic maker.
I plan to continue to explore ways that Web 2.0 can be used in the classroom. It will also be helpful for my children on their school projects. I intend to continue to use the Classroom 2.0 Ning site. That has great information on it. And so many resources.
As for the format of the class, I think it was great. I liked the online aspect because it allowed me to complete the tasks when I had time, but still had deadlines that I had to follow. i could work at my own pace. The facilitators were very easy to get in touch with if you needed help. I will take a class like this again. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you for comments and encouragement on this class. I hope that there will be further offerings like this class.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Thing #23
Visit 23 Thingsters
Wow!! The last Thing! I had no idea that these resources were out there. I love that there are teachers that are willing to share good ideas and resources with the rest of the world. I was told that a good teacher "steals" ideas and implements them into her own classroom. I think this is true. This is why teachers plan together, to get and give insight into lessons.
There was so much information on the ning site. It would be hard to not find something useful. Any time you are having a problem, you can make a comment and get advice from people who have already been there. Teaching is a hard enough profession without having to completely reinvent the wheel. If someone has an idea or advice on how to solve a problem, teach a lesson better or better engage the students, then it should be shared. After all the purpose of teaching is to educate the future of our country. We need to all be together in that endeavor.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thing #22
Finally, something I know about. I have been using Facebook for about a year.
It is important for educators to know about social networking sites because the students use them so much. So much of student communication goes on through social networking sites. I am not a fan of teachers friending students on these sites. I think that teachers personnel lives should be kept separate from students. But I know many teachers that do friend their students. It does allow for communication with the students.
Social networking sites give teachers an insight into trends, fashion and cultural, that students are participating in. It allows the teacher to be aware of what students are doing outside the classroom.
I like Facebook better than MySpace. I felt that MySpace was geared for younger people. I have even heard students say that Facebook is MySpace for old people! I like to be able to easily share pictures with family and friends as well as share what is going on in my life. Facebook has reconnected me with many of my old high school friends. It has been fun to catch up with them.
I am not sure that there is an educational use for social networking. This is primarily because I do not feel that teachers and students should be friends on them. I think this blurs the line between the teacher and student professional relationship. There are other ways to communicate with students outside the classroom.
It is important for educators to know about social networking sites because the students use them so much. So much of student communication goes on through social networking sites. I am not a fan of teachers friending students on these sites. I think that teachers personnel lives should be kept separate from students. But I know many teachers that do friend their students. It does allow for communication with the students.
Social networking sites give teachers an insight into trends, fashion and cultural, that students are participating in. It allows the teacher to be aware of what students are doing outside the classroom.
I like Facebook better than MySpace. I felt that MySpace was geared for younger people. I have even heard students say that Facebook is MySpace for old people! I like to be able to easily share pictures with family and friends as well as share what is going on in my life. Facebook has reconnected me with many of my old high school friends. It has been fun to catch up with them.
I am not sure that there is an educational use for social networking. This is primarily because I do not feel that teachers and students should be friends on them. I think this blurs the line between the teacher and student professional relationship. There are other ways to communicate with students outside the classroom.
Thing #7B
Google Reader. Love and hate it!! So much information and I am bad about checking it. I have got to get in a better habit.
I just read an article about ebooks out selling print versions. According to Amazon it has sold 143 Kindle books to 100 print books. Kindle is the Amazon electronic reader. I think this is interesting. I have a Nook, which is Barnes and Noble electronic reader. I really like it, but still love a hard copy of a book. The electronic reader has some benefits over a hard copy. You can get a book at any time of the day. You do not have to wait for a store or library to be open. Also, ebooks often are a little less expensive than print books. There is an environmental benefit as well. All the paper and production is not needed. People who have trouble seeing will enjoy the ebooks, because they can adjust the size of the font.
I can see why people do not want to switch to an electronic reader. but I agree with the article in that books are changing. People I have spoken to say they like the feel of a print book, the weight of it in their hands. But as with everything else that is changing, electronics is the way to go. Soon more people will own the e-reader and purchase the e-books. I feel that we will never completely replace the print version of books. After all, the ebooks don't look so good on the shelf as all the print books.
I just read an article about ebooks out selling print versions. According to Amazon it has sold 143 Kindle books to 100 print books. Kindle is the Amazon electronic reader. I think this is interesting. I have a Nook, which is Barnes and Noble electronic reader. I really like it, but still love a hard copy of a book. The electronic reader has some benefits over a hard copy. You can get a book at any time of the day. You do not have to wait for a store or library to be open. Also, ebooks often are a little less expensive than print books. There is an environmental benefit as well. All the paper and production is not needed. People who have trouble seeing will enjoy the ebooks, because they can adjust the size of the font.
I can see why people do not want to switch to an electronic reader. but I agree with the article in that books are changing. People I have spoken to say they like the feel of a print book, the weight of it in their hands. But as with everything else that is changing, electronics is the way to go. Soon more people will own the e-reader and purchase the e-books. I feel that we will never completely replace the print version of books. After all, the ebooks don't look so good on the shelf as all the print books.
Thing #21
I had no idea that you could do so much with Google. Very impressive. I spent time with the calendar. That is fantastic. You can use it to keep your home life and school life totally organized. I check my email a couple of times each day so it would be easy to use an online calendar. And I always forget when I have scheduled things for. I think I will begin to utilize this.
And of course as a geography teacher I have used Google earth before. I love all the things you can do on it. There are so many things you can do on it. Through Google Earth you can visit sites and buildings in there exact location. Students can see historical maps that show what an area was like. Students can see things that have past and things that are going on now. You have the ability to see the South African Soccer Stadiums. There are many uses for Google Earth in the classroom.
And of course as a geography teacher I have used Google earth before. I love all the things you can do on it. There are so many things you can do on it. Through Google Earth you can visit sites and buildings in there exact location. Students can see historical maps that show what an area was like. Students can see things that have past and things that are going on now. You have the ability to see the South African Soccer Stadiums. There are many uses for Google Earth in the classroom.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thing #20
Google Docs is awesome. I was on the UIL Academic Competition planning committee at NMHS this past spring. We did almost all of our planning and scheduling through Google Docs. It made it so easy. We started by sending out a survey to find out what shifts people would prefer to work. We then were able to complete a spreadsheet that had all the competition names and how many people were needed to run it. We then took the information from the survey and plugged in the names. All people who were on the committee shared the documents, allowing us to fix and change things as they came to our attention. We were able to complete several lists of supplies and items that were needed for the tournament. It was great. Our principal could check how things were going at any time.
Google Docs can be used for scheduling purposes as we did for the UIL competition. You could also use Google Doc to collaborate with other teachers on lesson planning. Create a lesson, share it with the other teachers and they can make changes and revisions. It would cut out the need to find a time when everyone could get together to plan. Also, students could use Google Docs for group projects. All members of the group would have access to the document and be able to make changes and add additional information. There are countless uses for Google Docs. It allows input from a variety of people to ensure the best final product.
Google Docs can be used for scheduling purposes as we did for the UIL competition. You could also use Google Doc to collaborate with other teachers on lesson planning. Create a lesson, share it with the other teachers and they can make changes and revisions. It would cut out the need to find a time when everyone could get together to plan. Also, students could use Google Docs for group projects. All members of the group would have access to the document and be able to make changes and add additional information. There are countless uses for Google Docs. It allows input from a variety of people to ensure the best final product.
Thing #17
Podcasts.I have not used them in my class. I am not sure if I will begin to use them or not. There is much good information available by podcast. You can find stuff that will help in your classroom as well as stuff that is just interesting to you. I watched/listened to a few podcasts on Stuff You Missed in History Class. I loved it. Two women set you straight on some of the more obscure items in history that you may not be aware of. Right up my alley. I also watched a few podcasts about craft brews. Very intersting. I used itunes to search for podcasts. I like the way that it categorizes the podcast, making searching for what you are looking for easy. Again I am not sure that I will use podcasts in my class. I will have to continue to search to see if I can find things that will enhance my lessons.
Thing #19
I like Voicethread. I had not thought about using it in class before. But while I was exploring the suggested Voicethreads I had an idea of how I could use it. It would be neat to have the student create a dictionary of geography vocabulary. The slides could be illustrations or pictures of the words and the students could give a verbal definition. I have had the students create the dictionary before, all done on paper. They do not like the project. I think they would get more from the Voicethread assignment. I also have had my student create a scrapbook of a country. This would be a good project to create using Voicethread. The scrapbook includes history, cultural traditions, economy, physical geography among other things. It would be great to have a small group complete this on the computer and narrate the scrapbook.
I found this voicethread about different cultures from around the world. I would be able to use this in my geography class. It would allow students to compare and contrast different cultures around the world with our own culture. It would allow students to have an insight to some of the everyday ordinary things people do indifferent culture.
I found this voicethread about different cultures from around the world. I would be able to use this in my geography class. It would allow students to compare and contrast different cultures around the world with our own culture. It would allow students to have an insight to some of the everyday ordinary things people do indifferent culture.
Thing #18
I have been using Youtube videos to supplement teaching in my class for a couple of years. I like to find video footage of events so that the students have a visual to go along with the lecture. I used a clip from the movie Far and Away with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to show what a land rush was when we were learning about the Homestead Act. It was fantastic because it really allowed the students to visualize what a land rush was and they remembered the Homestead Act easier. When reviewing for the TAKS test, they brought that clip up several times.
Youtube contains videos to supplement just about anything you are teaching. Or just really cool videos that show the students a variety of things they many not have ever seen before. There is a great video of a Rube Goldberg machine that I have shared with students before. They may not have known what a Rube Goldberg machine was before but they did after watching the video. And they loved it!!
I plan to continue to use Youtube and Teachertube to supplement my teaching. I love having access to videos that allow the students to experience an historical event. It is better when students can have visual and audio of something to make them better understand and remember it.
Youtube contains videos to supplement just about anything you are teaching. Or just really cool videos that show the students a variety of things they many not have ever seen before. There is a great video of a Rube Goldberg machine that I have shared with students before. They may not have known what a Rube Goldberg machine was before but they did after watching the video. And they loved it!!
I plan to continue to use Youtube and Teachertube to supplement my teaching. I love having access to videos that allow the students to experience an historical event. It is better when students can have visual and audio of something to make them better understand and remember it.
Thing #16
Library Thing is pretty cool. I am always searching for a good read and this puts me in touch with people who can recommend the types of books I like. As a very avid reader, Library Thing will help me choose new books to read. In the classroom, Library Thing can help you organize the books you have (I have many and could use some organization). It would also be useful when you are encouraging students to read. You could help them search for books that interest them. Many students do not read because they do not know how to go about finding books that they would enjoy. Library Thing could help them narrow the search.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Thing #15
Delicious. Sounds like it should be an activity about food. Really, this may be one of the most helpful things we have done so far. I can not tell you how many times I have found a website that has great information on it and then forget where I wrote it done or what it was bookmarked as. This will be very helpful in keeping me organized. I love to pull stuff off the internet for lessons. Especially when I can find video or pictures that enhance a lesson I am teaching.
Tagging was easier than I thought it would be. My only problem was trying to be specific enough so that I would remember what I had tagged it as. I love that you can include a description of the site to trigger your memory of what it contains. Oftentimes, you will use a site but not have to go back to it for a year, until you are ready to teach that lesson again. I feel like this will be a tool that I am able to use both professionally and personally.
http://delicious/elizabeth_frith
Tagging was easier than I thought it would be. My only problem was trying to be specific enough so that I would remember what I had tagged it as. I love that you can include a description of the site to trigger your memory of what it contains. Oftentimes, you will use a site but not have to go back to it for a year, until you are ready to teach that lesson again. I feel like this will be a tool that I am able to use both professionally and personally.
http://delicious/elizabeth_frith
Thing #9
I somehow missed writing the blog for this "thing". I completed the sandbox early last week. I liked creating my wiki page. At first I was a little frustrated (as my son can attest to!) But once I figured it out I sailed right through it. It was fun to complete the tasks for the sandbox. I particularly liked getting the pictures for the page. I was frustrated by the difficulty in getting the pictures on the page where I thought they should be. I wanted to be able to "click and drag" the pictures.
Thing #7a
So, I have been very bad about checking my Google reader. I had over 500 items to search through.
I found an article about a man that moved and renovated an historic house in Cambodia. The article was in the New York Times. The man, Darryl Collins, found the house on a remote island and had it moved 200 miles to Siem Reap, where he planned to retire. Mr. Collins had to pay the family that owned the house $6400. The family had been planning to sell off the house in bits and pieces. People in Cambodia are not very interested in renovating old properties. The desire is to live in modern western style homes. After moving the dwelling, Mr. Collins renovated it. He added another wing to the original 1600 square foot house to include a kitchen, bathrooms and a guest room. The entire move and renovation cost $90,000. It also saved a type of house that has lost popularity in Cambodia for future generations to enjoy.
I found an article about a man that moved and renovated an historic house in Cambodia. The article was in the New York Times. The man, Darryl Collins, found the house on a remote island and had it moved 200 miles to Siem Reap, where he planned to retire. Mr. Collins had to pay the family that owned the house $6400. The family had been planning to sell off the house in bits and pieces. People in Cambodia are not very interested in renovating old properties. The desire is to live in modern western style homes. After moving the dwelling, Mr. Collins renovated it. He added another wing to the original 1600 square foot house to include a kitchen, bathrooms and a guest room. The entire move and renovation cost $90,000. It also saved a type of house that has lost popularity in Cambodia for future generations to enjoy.
Thing #14
Many of these were very fun. I played on the jigzone for a long time. I love puzzles and think this site could be great for my geography and US history classes. The puzzles can be done in the shape of the United States. This would make the students have to learn the states. So many of the students do not know them. I also enjoyed the quizlet website. That has a ton of information already created for students to use to study. I looked at the geography flashcards. They have all the vocabulary that I spend the first six weeks getting my students to learn. Because this is a website, I could easily use it to review students for exams. We could play a game by projecting the site onto the front board and dividing the class into teams. Students could also access the website at home to review on their own. I am always encouraging students to use flashcards to learn vocabulary. I also really liked Wordle. This one could be used to make really neat and informative posters for the classroom. You could create a world wall using this website. I loved the one that was created using the US Constitution.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thing #13
The custom image generators are very cool. I am very excited about them. The mosaic generator is great. I can create posters of images from all the regions of the world we study. My sister in law teachers life skills to elementary students. I told her about all of these website. She was very excited as well. There are a ton of ways she can use them to help teach the students in her class.
I created several mosaics. Here is one of my son's division championship game from football last year. I created it with Mosaic Maker. I created another of our trip to the great city of New Orleans in December of last year. I also spelled with Flickr. I really like this one. You can do so many neat things.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thing #12
Train Tracks
by Bogdan Migulski
Entrance Sign by Luminere
Barracks by Luminere
Suitcases by Emmanuel Dyan
Shoes by Rodrigo Galindez
Toilet Facilities by
Luminere
Ovens by Emmanuel Dyan
My slide show is about the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. It shows images from the entrance to what turned out to be the end for more than six million Jews.
Thing #11
Wow!! I had not spent anytime on Flickr before this assignment. You could spend an entire day on it and not get bored. I love the map feature. As I have stated before, I teach geography. I love that you can see pictures from a specific place on the map. I really like that the pictures were taken by people who have been there, so you get a much bigger variety of pictures than you usually see. The same pictures of an historic site or area tend to be printed over and over.
The theme I chose was Auschwitz. Not the most uplifting theme but one that never fails to capture the studen'ts interest. The pictures on Flickr were fantastic. I have not had the chance to visit Auschwitz yet, but the images on Flickr make you feel as if you have been there. I saw aspects of the concentration camp that I had not seen before.
Flickr can enhance the social studies classroom. I think that having a large number if images helps the students better understand the concepts taught in a geography class. They can see the different standards of living around the world, festivals and celebrations from around the world as well as historical sites. I am looking forward to bringing so many pictures into my lessons.
Mappr is a great tool for the social studies classroom. Again, it will help students understand the physical and cultural geography of a place. These are things that are often difficult for students to understand. They think that all people live like they do. Having a variety of images from around the world will help them have a better understanding of other people and cultures. And in a world that is getting smaller everyday, it is extremely important that people know and understand different cultures.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Thing #10
I had no idea about Creative Common. I was well aware of copyright laws and the difficulty with being able to use some things in the classroom. I had no idea that people were creating things that they wanted others to use in the classroom or for other reasons. I think it is fantastic and opens up a world of possibilities to teachers.
I have never posted anything on the web for people to use. I use many things in the classroom that have been designed by the district for my classes as well as many things that my fellow teachers and I have created for instruction. We have not posted any of them on the internet. Images and videos that we have used fall under the fair use policy.
I plan to use the OER Commons as I plan lessons for next year. They are many things available that could enhance my lessons. I like that it tells exactly how the creator wants to share his product. This will be very useful in the classroom.
I have never posted anything on the web for people to use. I use many things in the classroom that have been designed by the district for my classes as well as many things that my fellow teachers and I have created for instruction. We have not posted any of them on the internet. Images and videos that we have used fall under the fair use policy.
I plan to use the OER Commons as I plan lessons for next year. They are many things available that could enhance my lessons. I like that it tells exactly how the creator wants to share his product. This will be very useful in the classroom.
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