Back to Tool #7 part 2

Ok I have been messing around with this photostory thing and this is due tom. I finally got a video in, but it is terrible! For some reason i could only put in 5 pictures and only had this mp3 (my other stuff is on itunes). Please excuse this but I am glad I finally got it to work!!

Back to tool #7

Reflection

I did it!!! I really enjoyed exploring all of the tools! The one that was really foreign to me was the digital bookmarking. I know it was probably not one of the most engaging ones, but it will be completely usable for me and my classroom. I could tag sites based on the theme we are working on for easy access to the kiddos or even teach them the basics of "searching" or "google-ing" by using these titles. It is an online file cabinet and I love new ways to organize for sure!

Now that I have completed, I have these ideas that keep popping into my head on ideas for technology in my classroom. It will make my lessons much more engaging and the kids will have so much fun.

I did have one unexpected outcome of this experience though... I actually enjoyed learning about these new tools and really will be able to use them in my classroom!

Tool #11

Just as we have to teach our kids to be safe and courteous when interacting with others, we have to now teach the same tools in the world of technology. I do believe in the setting I am in that I would primarily focus on internet safety; just as one of my main focuses in the classroom is safety within our environment. I would make sure they knew how important it is to not give out personal information without permission from an adult. From there I would probably attempt to integrate more technology into our daily routine and build off of the skills they have to help them become more technology savvy.

Tool #10

I reviewed the "Read to Me" app which is a collection of Children's books read aloud with visuals to go along with it. This would be very helpful for my students. I believe the more exposure they have to books, the better. It would help develop vocabulary as well as aide in enhancing their reading skills. I do not have an iphone so I was not able to play with it as much as I would like to.
I believe adding itouches or ipads to the classroom would be a huge benefit! It is so user-friendly and very engaging. Maybe I can test them out this next year???

Tool #9

Skype would be such a great tool to use in my classroom! How awesome would it be to speak with other classrooms across the country? I could also use this to interview people in different fields of work. Especially during a time of budget cuts this would be a cheap way to still experience different people in different places.

This is the first time I have ever played with Jing but I think with more practice this would be a great tool to use for me personally. It is much easier that taking a picture, downloading it, then emailing it. I think I will play with this much more.

Tool #8 part 3

I had fun checking out all of the educational videos. I found really cute ones in TeacherTube but had problems trying to embedd them. There was a teacher that created a video with her class called "Hopes and Dreams of First Grade" where the kids drew pictures and each had one goal to accomplish by the end of the year. What a great idea! The kids could look back at the end of the year and see if they have accomplished their goal.
As I searched on Youtube I found some cute songs that I could use with my kiddos. I have one child in particular that really loves music and believe she could really benefit from this. I hope to use many more videos next year with an ActivBoard...

Tool #8 part 2

Tool #8

Tool #7

Ok I am having huge issues with this tool! I have now attempted to create a photostory for two days and have not been able to for some reason. Instead of pulling my hair out even before school begins I think I am going to move on to the next tool. I will come back to this one as I think it would be so cool to start our year with a photostory of the cool things we did last year. I have created books of fieldtrips in the past and think the whole production would WAY better than photos and words alone.

Tool #6

I believe Wikis would be such a great tool in Language Arts! I loved the continuing tennis ball as well as the First grade Wiki in the beginning stage of writing. I believe this is another great way to allow students to collaborate with peers as well as bring their family into another aspect of their learning experience...which is always a plus! I also believe this would be a great way for Life Skills teachers to coollaborate and share thoughts and ideas.

Tool #5

I decided to go with the delicious site to do my tagging/bookmarking. I played around with it for a while and realized it is much more useful than I initially expected. There have been so many times that I find a great site for lesson ideas and educational games and completely forget what the site was called. I am hoping to eliminate that problem by using this tool. I even tagged my sites under content area and functionality for easy access later on.
As I searched around for other sites that may be useful to me I mainly used the same tags I used for searching around as well. The ones I was able to find a few useful things on were http://abcteach.com/ as well as http://mathplayground.com/. I will play this site much more!!

Tool #4

So I just created a document in Googledocs and think it is a great idea. With the different schedules of everyone in our classroom I believe the calendar and schedule function would benefit all of us. It provides an organized way to keep up with everything/everyone while reducing paper. Our schedule is constantly changing and this really simplifies that process!

Googlereader was much easier to set up than I expected. I began following blogs and realized how much it truly simplified the process. You no longer have to spend as much time navigating through old material...It automatically shows you the new material. This will be a huge benefit in using the PLN to collaborate with peers.

Tool #3 Part 3

I had such a great time exploring all of the image creators! I thought I would NEVER complete tool #3!

I have explored other blogs and really have gained so many ideas this way. Everyone has been so creative in ideas to use these tools.

I think I could use the tools in my classroom on a social level. There is nothing that gets my kiddos more excited than photos of themselves. I have used photos of my kids participating in different activities to tell stories and even sequencing. Adding a special touch to the pictures will be an added bonus!

Tool #3 part 2

This is easier than I thought...

Tool #3

Life Skills Rodeo!

Tool #2

I believe participating in a PLN is such a wonderful opportunity!! New resources for communication across grade levels as well as within teams which is always a good thing...especially in the world of education.



The point that stood out to me in the comment advice section is to set boundaries. I guess it never even crossed my mind that you would need to set rules for comments others make but it makes complete sense. By doing this you are truly able to control your environment.



The blogs I commented on are:

Foster's Findings

Meyer's Muse

My Teaching Life

Helping Teachers Accommodate

Deleon's Dream 2

Tool #1

So after I finally started I am thinking I can do this. I am not the most technology savvy person, but hope by completing these 11 tools that I will really be able to broaden my knowledge!