Thing #7b

I read a very interesting blog from my Google Reader. It was called "Is It Okay to be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" I really enjoyed this blog, because I think about this quite often. I am a tech facilitator and I have teachers that have no interest at all to learn new technology or to even use it for teaching. They will give every excuse in the book to not come to the computer lab. I try to give them ideas on things that they can do in the computer lab, which makes me excited for the students. Those ideas are often shot down. I know that what they really need is just a little training to get them comfortable. The only way to get comfortable is to actively participate. They can't deny that students are more engaged when technology is being used. Why not learn new ideas for the classroom to better engage the students? We have the resources in Mesquite to do that, so their really is no excuse.

Great Blog!!

Thing #21

I started using Google Notebook, because I think this would be a great way to research your family history and then allow your family to view and edit as you find new information. My grandfather was also in WWII and I often research his division and I ask him questions as I go along. The Google Notebook would be very useful in this way as well. I can see using Google Notebook to do research with a group of people. The group can read and edit what others have written or researched. This allows many people to collaborate together on one page instead of on ten different pieces of paper.

I was also researching the Battle of Franklin on Google Notebook, because I am reading "The Widow of the South". This fictional book is based on true stories. So I was checking out the factual information as I read the book. As I was researching, I found that Google Earth has the Battle of Franklin mapped out for you. It shows battles, famous plantations, deaths of Generals, and many important details to the battle. Google Earth would be great to use to show important areas of the World. You can take a virtual tour of many locations of interests.

Thing 20

My initial thoughts about Google Docs was that you could download files from your computer to share.  I didn't realize that you could actually create them in Google Docs.  I am a little confused on one thing though.  Do all people involved have to have a google account?

I am always sending out URLs on different resources for teachers to use in their classroom.  I could create a web page of these URLs and keep adding to it or change it from year to year.  The teachers could add to it as well.  I enjoy feedback from them as well, and Google Docs would allow me to do that in many ways, by a shared document or by using a form.  Google Docs can also be used for proofreading.  I often have my friends proofread my documents before they are sent out, this would be very helpful in that aspect.  

I really like the idea that there are not a huge amount of copied documents, there is only one document shared among many people.  I can see how this tool would be very helpful.  All we need now is Google to be unblocked.

Thing #19

Voicethread would be great to use to discover what students already know and have learned about a topic.  You could have a pre and post assessment, what they already know at the beginning and what they have learned at the end. For example, if the universe is the next topic in Science.  The teacher could create a voicethread asking students to respond on what they already know about the universe.  Then at the end of the lesson(s) the students can reflect on what new things they have learned.  

In my personal life, I would love to send old pictures to my family on voicethread and have them respond on what was going on that day, etc.  Just like the voicethread introduction.  That would be a lot of fun to hear their comments.  Especially my grandparents photos.

I liked this voicethread that talked about blogging, it was a tutorial for a biology class.  

Thing #18

I wanted to find videos that explains some of the things that we learned in Web 2.0.  This would be for teachers who are not able to take the class and are interested in some of the applications that we have discussed.

I wanted to find a video explaining Wikis and describing instructions on how to set one up, etc.  I found exactly that on teachertube.  I searched for Wikis and got pbwiki which gave me basic instructions on creating a wiki page.  There were also multiple sights on pbwiki that gave detail instructions on how to set up your site. These videos would be very helpful for teachers starting a wiki page.

Then I looked up different applications that I was not so familiar with, such as iMovie.  I found multiple sights that walked me through the whole process of adding text, add and trim audio, and adding transitions in iMovie. This was amazing.  It seems endless on the information that can be viewed on Teachertube.   

Thing #17

I previewed The Tech Teachers.  The podcast was created by two teachers who enjoy using technology in the classroom.  Each week they podcast some of their ideas, such as new technology (iPhone) and ways to use technology for school.  They explain technology terminology as well as give reviews on certain Web 2.0 sites and technology resources.  

The podcast directories that I stuck with were the ones that discussed technology uses in the classroom.  I found quite a few on iTunes, I downloaded about 5 different podcast over that topic.  I also wanted to learn different uses for an iPod, so I downloaded Learning at Hand: iPod.  

Podcasts would be good for tutorials on special technology uses.  For example:  How to set up a wiki or blog.  You can talk them through the entire process.

The Spanish teacher at my school, creates a PowerPoint for his students and he puts them on the iPod.  They can then listen to it as well as read it and follow along as they are reviewing over a new concept.

Thing #16

There were several things that I enjoyed about LibraryThing. Recommendations of books gave me great ideas for my next read. I really liked the Zeitgeist Overview. I could find a top author and look at the books that they have written. I could also look at the top book list, to help me find a book. The star ratings is a great tool to use, because I don't want to waste my time with a horrible book. This sight is going to save me a lot of time at the library.

LibraryThing would allow students to read a novel and blog about it or even rate it. It would give them an opportunity to get new ideas for their next read. If they enjoy reading Harry Potter stories then they can get recommendations for other books that are similar. You can use covers to make posters or a photomosaic.

Thing #15

My delicious bookmarking page has tagged sites for technology lessons, music, and audio books. This is a much easier way to search for sights that you need in a hurry.  My bookmarks get so big and unorganized that it takes me forever to find what I am looking for.  I also enjoy that you can write notes that will remind you about the content in the site.

I have teachers ask me all the time for lessons for the computer lab.  Now, I have a place to save resources where I can easily get to them.  This goes for anything. All I have to do is search a keyword and all of those sites will pop up.  

I am ready to import all of my bookmarks into delicious!

Thing #7b

I subscribe to Tipline - Gates' Computer Tips.  I read a blog about a teacher using Goggle Earth to teach a math lesson.  The students were directed to a tall building by zooming in and looking at the top of the building with a view down toward the grown.  The questions was "How tall is the building?".  They couldn't cheat because it wasn't a famous building, so they could not use the Internet to look it up.  All they had was the shadow to figure it out.  

I thought that blog was a very innovative way to teach a math lesson.  The blog also gives a site that has math lessons using the real world.

Thing #14

I looked at everyone of the tools for Thing #14.  I spent 20 minutes on Jigzone, putting a puzzle together.  That was my break time from actually doing my lesson.  I also want to use Mixbook

at some point to create a photo book of my family's vacations.  I have realized that I need to take more pictures so I can download them into all of these great websites. This lesson has been very enjoyable, because I have now bookmarked lots of sights to share with my teachers.

PollDaddy would be a very useful site for teachers to add surveys or take a poll on their website or blog.    You can add text, pictures, and video to your polls.  It can be used to ask students questions on what they are learning or students can use it to create their own surveys for a class project.  It is very quick and easy to get results very fast.  Results are also graphed to get you a better view of your data.

Thing #13

The beach picture came from Image Chef.  All you have to do is type what you want to write in the sand and it does it for you. Then you can drag it to your desktop.  There were many more great ideas on this site, this picture just caught my attention right.  

The Happy Face Generator is very unique.  You can create smiley face logos, signs, and comic strips.  You have to choose your specific smiley face character and type what you would the sign to say.  Then, drag it to your desktop.

It took me a long time to get this assignment completed because I played around so much.  I finally was running out of time so I had to make myself finally narrow it down and choose something.  There are so many different Image Generators that I wanted to see all of them.

Image Generators are a really fantastic ways to make presentations unique.  You can use them on the school website, newsletter, and newspaper. The image generators can be used to create a story for your class.  It can be a great way to create a biography for a certain character or famous person.  There are endless opportunities to gather unique images to tell a story or get a point across.