I love RSS readers! I never knew that the exsisted... I guess I was under a technology rock or something. It really makes it easy for me to access all my usual sites with one easy entry. It also makes it so much easier to know what is new rather than checking for new news twenty something times a day.
I would use RSS readers to keep students updated on current events. Maybe reading some new posts and writing a little summary could be a great bell ringer.
My Blogline
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thing #9
I found that both of the tools that I used were very user friendly. I used custom sign generator and image chef. I have had some experience with these types of tools since I use myspace and facebook. However I have never used these particular sites before. Sign generator was really fun. You can make almost any thing you want. There are alot of different options as far as templates, fonts and colors so I really liked that too. Image chef was interesting because you could make alot of different things. I thought it could be neat to use image chef to make a default picture for either of the social sites that I use. I would use these types of sites probably for extra credit. The students could receive vocab words on monday and by friday they could have one sign that they created that depicts the word through image. It would be very interesting to see what they came up with.
I used Sign Generator to make this.
I used Image Chef to make the Kristen Heart.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thing #8
I think it would be awesome to use this in a creative writing assignment where students would have to describe the word and textures. I think it could be used in presentations where students would have to pick a word, make a mashup and then do a presentation on the word. I think that I could use these mashups in e-cards and I think the puzzles would make great gifts!!! I really think that sharing photos is great! The pictures should be appropiate of course, but I am supportive of social sharing sites.
Thing #7
I liked Flickr. It was very very easy to set up, join groups and tag. Flickr could be used in a classroom setting to share photos of a class party or maybe even a really neat photo scavenger hunt for the creation of a story. It would be very beneficial to keep parents visually involved in how are class works. I picked this picture because I love my cat. I also thought this picture was funny because it looks like he is waving. It added much quicker on Flickr than photobucket. I have a photobucket account that I have used since 2004. While it is not really like a social site, it is good for photo storage. Flickr is a really neat way for families to share photos too! I am really glad to have a Flickr account so that I can send pictures to my cousin who is living in California. I do not mind having my photos in public and the ones I would mind I would not place them there.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thing #6
I chose Mango. It is great! The website is a great way for total immersion students to learn english from their own language. There is a sentance that can be read and then the sentance is read in the language that the student is trying to learn. This would also be an excellent way for students who know English to learn another language such as Japanese or Spanish. I would love to use this tool in my classroom. There timed questions to which the person says the answers and then is shown the answer. I did not really like that the lessons are so long, the first one that I tried was 62 slides long. However, you can skip or review certain slides by simply dragging the arrow. The website also offers several reviews of just vocab or phrases. I thought it would be wonderful for all kinds of students, "normal" or disabled even. Mango is great!
Thing #5
I feel that School 2.0 is a viable option. With one third of all internet activity being created by people under the age of 20, schools should definatly take a harder look at the use of technology in the classroom. Maybe there should be more classes offered with additional technology components. It would be amazing if students could see what students are learning about around the world through skype. Maybe even skype into a lesson in a class in England! Students would get a world view and be able to identify more with people around the world. I think that special precautions will have to be taken to keep students from cheating but a great idea no the less. Schools need to take a step towards allowing students to have more contact with technology in an educational forum, instead of just social sites.
The schools of the future would have a better world view and probably better even for teachers. Teachers across the country could have better ways of sharing ideas and materials. It would also allow schools to keep children more interested in what is going on in the class, instead of just the regular teacher talks- student takes notes. All in all, a wave of technology is heading into the classroom anyway because the technology generation in heading into the work force and will use their knowledge to help their students succeed in anyway they know how.
The schools of the future would have a better world view and probably better even for teachers. Teachers across the country could have better ways of sharing ideas and materials. It would also allow schools to keep children more interested in what is going on in the class, instead of just the regular teacher talks- student takes notes. All in all, a wave of technology is heading into the classroom anyway because the technology generation in heading into the work force and will use their knowledge to help their students succeed in anyway they know how.
Thing #4
Commenting creates a sense of community because it is how the writers get a response about ideas or problems they might be having. That is probably why Blue Fox's number one rule of commenting is leaving a meaningful comment. Only a meaningful comment would create a some sort of relationship between reader and writer. Some comments that I, myself, have received on other social sites to which I am a member are just a waste of words. I prefer a friend's comment to be more than just Hi. Leave comments that express what is your opinion on my ideas or what is going on in my life. I thought another great point by Blue Fox was to remember that words have power. Expressing yourself is important, but words can be both positive and negative. Negativity is one thing that bloggers, really anyone, does not want to hear. In the words of Thumper "If you can't say anything nice. don't say anything at all." A negative comment can ruin the whole context on a blog, because other people who comment on that blog will begin a "commenting war." Then that blog will be forever ruined because people will just comment to start fights. Positive comments are great. Someone can disagree and the comment overall can still be positive. Both of these points are very important, especially for novice bloggers and social siters.
The five blogs that I chose to follow from my classmates were: Paulette, Isaac, Brittney and Ashli. The reason I chose Paulette because we are great friends and I always want her point of view, especially on school work. I chose Isaac because I wanted a male point of view and I met him in class so I could put a face to the name. I chose Brittney because she is an english major and I wanted to read work by someone who is a writer. I chose Ashli because we both thought that viewing problems as challenges is the hardest habit.
The comments that I made were mostly on the 7 and 1/2 habits because I could easily compare or contrast my answers to theirs. I also commented on a few people's website choices. I chose that to comment on because I found the website they chose interesting.
The two blogs that I chose to follow outside our group is Bondville and A field journal. The reason I chose them is because Bondville is a great blog that gives information about high quality and unusual products. I loved this because it would be a great blog to get gift ideas. A field journal is a journal that shows the bloggers artistic abilities and decorating tips. I loved this blog. It is so creative and fresh.
The five blogs that I chose to follow from my classmates were: Paulette, Isaac, Brittney and Ashli. The reason I chose Paulette because we are great friends and I always want her point of view, especially on school work. I chose Isaac because I wanted a male point of view and I met him in class so I could put a face to the name. I chose Brittney because she is an english major and I wanted to read work by someone who is a writer. I chose Ashli because we both thought that viewing problems as challenges is the hardest habit.
The comments that I made were mostly on the 7 and 1/2 habits because I could easily compare or contrast my answers to theirs. I also commented on a few people's website choices. I chose that to comment on because I found the website they chose interesting.
The two blogs that I chose to follow outside our group is Bondville and A field journal. The reason I chose them is because Bondville is a great blog that gives information about high quality and unusual products. I loved this because it would be a great blog to get gift ideas. A field journal is a journal that shows the bloggers artistic abilities and decorating tips. I loved this blog. It is so creative and fresh.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thing #3
The ways that I would use a blog in an educational setting is to update parents on what is happening in my class, a calendar to let parents see what projects are coming up and giving websites that might help the students further understand what is going on in class.
I would love to have a blog that would give a small play by play of fun things that are happening in our class that often students do not talk about. Not only will it give the parents an inside view to my class but it will get them more involved in their kids lives. Parents can ask questions about how the student felt about that project and it could start a really good conversation.
I would really like a forum to place a calendar which could be changed as needed that is readily available to the parents and students. This way parents are not suprised when their children have a project that is due soon. Also it allows students to know what and when is going on at all times.
Additional websites that children can use holds a two fold benefit. One is that the children are getting additional information that I might not have been able to get across. The other is that they are improving their computer and typing skills.
I would love to have a blog that would give a small play by play of fun things that are happening in our class that often students do not talk about. Not only will it give the parents an inside view to my class but it will get them more involved in their kids lives. Parents can ask questions about how the student felt about that project and it could start a really good conversation.
I would really like a forum to place a calendar which could be changed as needed that is readily available to the parents and students. This way parents are not suprised when their children have a project that is due soon. Also it allows students to know what and when is going on at all times.
Additional websites that children can use holds a two fold benefit. One is that the children are getting additional information that I might not have been able to get across. The other is that they are improving their computer and typing skills.
Thing #1/#2
The habits of a life long learner are both hard and easy. For myself, the hardest part will be viewing problems as challenges. While I would like to think that I already do that, I know that most of the time the problems in my life are just that, problems. I still seek the answer to solve the problem and have no issue with asking for help but I would rather just be in the know at all times, but hey who doesn't. The easiest part is of course play! I love life and try to live it to the fullest that I know how. Play is the reward for all the hard work in life, that is why people love it so much. Could you imagine if all we did is work? How Boring!!!
I would love to learn how to build my own web page to put information up for my future students and their parents. I think it would make me as a teacher more available and also to help keep parents in the loop.
I think that setting up the blog was ok. It took a little time but all in all a success! I thought that the worst part was trying to build the avatar. I am pretty sure it will be for everyone else too, haha. My avatar does not exactly look like me, but she is really cute anyway ;). I gave her long hair like me, and my green eyes. Also, I chose a green dress because that is my favorite color. I chose to put her in the botanical garden because of another project for 3040, our webquest. For my webquest the students are hired at a botanical garden.
I would love to learn how to build my own web page to put information up for my future students and their parents. I think it would make me as a teacher more available and also to help keep parents in the loop.
I think that setting up the blog was ok. It took a little time but all in all a success! I thought that the worst part was trying to build the avatar. I am pretty sure it will be for everyone else too, haha. My avatar does not exactly look like me, but she is really cute anyway ;). I gave her long hair like me, and my green eyes. Also, I chose a green dress because that is my favorite color. I chose to put her in the botanical garden because of another project for 3040, our webquest. For my webquest the students are hired at a botanical garden.
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