I love this exploratory exercise. Each “thing” forced me to dig a little deeper into the vast, limitless space of the internet. I did not know so many free resources were available; I will be spreading the word to my fellow teachers, students, and friends about all these wonderful sites. I loved how these “things” forced me to use the technology...not just read about it or look at examples.
I will take many of these sites into my classroom! Rarely do I have time to, or even think about searching my subject. I really gained a lot of insight and valuable resources.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thing 23
Screen Shot taken from secondlife.com
I chose virtual worlds for my Learning 2.0 tool. Initially, I thought the concept of virtual worlds and learning were completely ridiculous! At a second glance, it really is relevant; it has students react to situations and be in a stimulating environment.
I will use Creative Commons in my classroom with projects that use technology. A student can use a video, picture, or song and adapt it to a project topic. The possibilities are endless.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Thing 22
Live binders help keep all these pages organized by topic. I really like this website. It can easily be used for a class project or even for general note taking. A teacher can create binders for various units or by chapters in the textbook.
Titles of my binders:
Latin (embedded)
Latin Myth
Roman History
Titles of my binders:
Latin (embedded)
Latin Myth
Roman History
Thing 20
YouTube has many great characteristics about it; however, I would never give a class any type of freedom with this site due to the inappropriate materials on here. Rather it be people’s comments or even the video- a lot of the material is not suitable for school. I chose the video from Monty Python because it is a grammar lesson and it is funny! Love it! As far as useful library resources- the library can use movie trailers for books or even spoke video about new story books.
Thing 19
Currently, I am not a member of these online communities. I often use IMDB to answer those pining movie fact questions. It is have answered any question in the past!
Cooking is my #1 hobby! I perused the Tasty Kitchen! I was able to check out a few recipes without joining; I might join if I find myself going back for more inspiration. It had wonderful recipes, tips, and links.
Cooking is my #1 hobby! I perused the Tasty Kitchen! I was able to check out a few recipes without joining; I might join if I find myself going back for more inspiration. It had wonderful recipes, tips, and links.
Thing 18
Social networking has turned into the pulse of our society. From restaurant recommendations... to yoga classes...to relationship statuses, a large chunk of our population depends on these sites for news, social or "real"! If an educator is not interested in the social part for his or herself, then get into it for the students! It is crucial that we, as educators, know (almost) as much about these sites as the students. Not only are the students using this as their main vein for communication- it is a source for bullying. It is important that we understand and tame the beast before it goes too far. I currently do not have a twitter account, but I see know how people can really get into it. As far as likes and dislikes, I think personal privacy is an issue. Honestly, I have nothing to hide and I typically keep things out in the open anyway; but I do see how a private person can be skeptical. Twitter is a little too "status-y". I rarely update my Facebook status because I simply do not have the time, nor interesting life occurrence that must be shared. That is my issue with twitter...my life is not interesting enough for it! Haha. Facebook has the more interesting and useful features! The site has video chat, games, groups...ahh, the list goes on...and on...
Fun Fact: Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg originally went to Harvard to study Classics (Greek and Latin)! GO LATIN!
Classroom application can get tricky. My Latin 3/4 class has a Facebook classroom page. There is a feature where it you can "create a class". I will update them on assignments and they can converse about the assignment. It is great evidence for me to reflect on my classroom communication- I get to see first hand where I was not clear!
Can you see a classroom or school application for any of these sites?
Fun Fact: Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg originally went to Harvard to study Classics (Greek and Latin)! GO LATIN!
Classroom application can get tricky. My Latin 3/4 class has a Facebook classroom page. There is a feature where it you can "create a class". I will update them on assignments and they can converse about the assignment. It is great evidence for me to reflect on my classroom communication- I get to see first hand where I was not clear!
Can you see a classroom or school application for any of these sites?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Thing 17
I was pleasantly surprised about the wealth of information that was on delicious! There were several sites useful for classroom use, as well as resources. I clicked on "BrainPOP.com" and it took me to an interactive site for middle school students. I also searched "Latin" and found "textkit.com"; it had downloadable grammar books and Latin readers all for free! (Many Latin books no longer have copyright due to the text's age.) The act of bookmarking helps keep all the sites and ideas organized; it is easier to come back to what you have found. I know I have "bookmarked" items but I tend to never come back to them or even be on a different device and needed a link!
Thing 16
I chose to use iGoogle as my start page. I already have gmail and I was entertained by all the options that cater to all my interests! I did my it my home page, leopard printed banner and all!
I love online calendars! We currently use them frequently at Clarksville Academy. The school's calendar is available in a number of calendar platforms, including Ical and google calendar. Each one of my classes has a calendar with homework assignments and upcoming events! Also, the upper school school teachers have a communal calendar with testing dates on it so we don't bury our students with 5 tests one Friday!
I feel that to-lists are too complicated or what they are. For a basic task- I am going to use a post-it. If I was planning an event or something with a lot of tasks- sure I might consider it! I personally use the notepad on ipad for things like this because it instantly transfers my notes to my iphone! I always have my school notes with me! Very cool and convenient!
As for our choice of useful tools- my choice was Zamzar! I recently had to transfer my "teacher" files from my work PC to my new work macbook. I wish I knew this existed now! I will probably use this for converting image files so I can use them in different outlets! Great site- I will be telling everyone about this!
Thing 15
I think wikis are a great web 2.0 tool! I love how people can collaborate and share ideas because two, three, or ten brains are better than one. Unfortunately, anyone can edit it; one of those ten brains can pollute the wiki page with false or irrelevant information! I could use this for a student collaborative project. I or a group leader can be the monitor for "bad" information! For the sand box project, I added a hyperlink to my page I made!
Thing 14
The first site I went to was Gliffy. It was so easy to use! I had little trouble creating my flow charts! I did have a few problems with the mouse disappearing; I don't know what that was about! I can use this sight to better understand the complexity of Mythological family relations; here is an example of a chart I made on Gliffy:
The second resource was bubble.us. The was easier in the aspect that you are not modifying a template. You build your chart as needed. The features were not as easy to use as Gliffy. I also did not like how the arrows were not customizable.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Thing 13
Zoho's writing tools were great for a free word processing outlet! It had all the standard features that any writer would want; however, I can see the internet "going out" along with my unsaved work! I like my recovery option on Word! I do think the internet has made a once expensive necessity available for all...if you trust your internet connection!
I am very familiar with Google Docs. I frequently use this in my classroom! I submit my weekly lesson plans through spreadsheets and my students submit their essays by means of this program. Recently, with my second year students, I assigned each of my students a grammar topic to review and they were to "share" their notes via Google Docs. The basic information is in that shared folder with no evil outside internet information creeping in! It's great! For my example, I used the drawing features; I have never used these features and wanted to play around with it
I personally prefer Google Docs over Zoho. Google Docs is SO convenient. As soon as your check your mail, you can check, edit, and share you documents. As superficial as it sounds, I hate Zoho's logo! It's cheesy and dated.
I am very familiar with Google Docs. I frequently use this in my classroom! I submit my weekly lesson plans through spreadsheets and my students submit their essays by means of this program. Recently, with my second year students, I assigned each of my students a grammar topic to review and they were to "share" their notes via Google Docs. The basic information is in that shared folder with no evil outside internet information creeping in! It's great! For my example, I used the drawing features; I have never used these features and wanted to play around with it
I personally prefer Google Docs over Zoho. Google Docs is SO convenient. As soon as your check your mail, you can check, edit, and share you documents. As superficial as it sounds, I hate Zoho's logo! It's cheesy and dated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)