Doing Some Reading

Reading the short book "Teaching for Tomorrow" wasn't actually a "choice." Apparently this is an example of being given a task that turns out better than anticipated. While the book contains some old ideologies, their varying implementation moves the responsibility for learning and problem solving from the teacher to the student in a systematic and logical way. And, it seems they will be far better for it. Change will require a great deal of self-discipline on the part of both the student and the teacher, but may prepare students far better for life after school. Although it seems a bit cliche, this is an exciting time to be in education.

Class Reflections

Class time was well spent organizing and enhancing the project and unit I'm preparing. It allowed an opportunity to revisit sites, practice some previously learned skills, like embedding new links (at times my brain feels taxed)or revising ideas. It also provided the chance to work with individuals on discovering curriculum that I may be using next year. Heather and Ruth offered suggestions that were very helpful. Lisa and I were able to get together later in the week to add touches and refine our unit. I'm really excited about our plan to use images that will bring some curiosity and understanding to student discovery and learning. Everyone's input has been greatly appreciated and I look forward to putting this new knowledge into place with students. Now to wait for that "ah ha" moment.

Animoto - Another Day

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Further Investigation Leads to Better Understanding

I enjoy reading, even technical/instructional materials if they seem to have a point or advantage, but with this class I'm finding the observations of my classmates more valuable. Our discussion of the many tools for technology integration clarified some of their differences and possible uses. I find as I investigate these sites that I wish to create the presentations, webs, etc. (stuck in that traditional "I speak, you listen" mode) rather than simply offering these vehicles as options for student use to learn new curriculum. After our discussion, I took another look at Google Docs, Drop.io and SoHo as options while planning my project. Google Docs is basic yet versatile for creating and storing documents and lets colleagues and students work together and have access to the same information. Despite the claim that Drop.io is "extremely...easy," I had trouble with it on my first encounter. It seems a great resource to go beyond Google Docs to post podcasts and voice messages for students and collect student work. My preliminary search of the ZoHo site was equally intriguing as a way to enhance or manipulate documents with editing features and templates that can be easily embedded for presentations or collaborative input on group projects. I liked that one can be inventive or simply use provided formats when developing a slide show. These many tools allow students to make choices and use individual creativity when demonstrating their knowledge.

First Class of May

Digital storytelling is very exciting. Animoto is a nice way to start for some, but Voice Thread seems to have so many additional options. I like that creativity is encouraged and student stories can be shared. In addition students and teacher can collaborate on their story, support their opinions or descriptions and learn from one another. My initial attempt begins with text but I look forward to adding voice on the next Voice Thread. I know there are many other tools I have to discover. Perhaps if I could add a few hours to each day?

Emperor Qin

Notes from class

More investigation is necessary - deciding the best tool to use for the occasion/assignment. Check out Snag Films (documentaries).

New Sites

I have a dilemma. Given a list of sites to explore, I am amazed at how easily I become immersed in all that's available. The directive was simply to set up an account for Animoto but the options seemed endless and it was fun. I had similar experiences with photobucket and flickr. There are so many other sites to investigate but I'm also getting ideas from colleagues. Another fun site (the options are more limited but perhaps a site for elementary?) is xtranormal.com so I've played with that a bit. Thank you to all for your great suggestions!

Guy Studying

It seems I go through these phases, flashes of color...drama, frustration, jubilation and exhaustion. PhotoBucket and bighugelabs were great in helping me play with, alter and embed my photo. Now I just have to remember how I did it! Thanks to all my classmates for their invaluable help.

What will I do?

This is the question I found myself asking throughout today's class. There are so many possibilities of ways to use the tools presented. Classtools.net really has a wide variety of ideas to use with students. I am looking forward to collaborating on a unit with regular education teachers to keep students actively involved.

Site Exploration

It really has been great discovering some of the many sites and applications available. It's amazing how well a student can enhance a presentation for any subject. I checked out Soundzabounds with its incredible selection and varying lengths of music. I also liked Pandora and the ability to search by artist. Now...on to more music!

Middle School Blog Site

I don't always take the time to read through the "Curriculum Connection" that is e-mailed to us. For some reason the April issue caught my attention. I plan to investigate the site more thoroughly, but I wanted to share that on page 4 at the end there's a link to Billings Middle School, www.billingsmiddleschool.com/beta. Students are actively involved in technolgy training and lessons using blogs.

Learning Overload

I learned a phenomenal amount of information that I need to reflect upon and digest. I would like to be able to add sites that students can use to my delicious account. I have to think a bit more on how I'll best use wikis with student projects. There are several things I need to investigate further. I know initially I'll use RSS and the Delicious account the most.

Hurrah

This is my first post. Now I should be able to find my Blog on my own! Thanks, Rebecca.