Thanks again for understanding about missing class last week. Hopefully this latest eye surgery for my Mom will work!
I'm not sure if you watch "The Office" on NBC, but last week's episode featured Second Life. It was a funny segment about how far removed users are from reality and featured some graphics from the site. Very funny, check it out!
World Book Encyclopedia allows you to search for available videos, atlas and dictionary. There is a wide range of tools that will apply to elementary and high school levels. Also, it is very user friendly for teachers providing helpful links to lesson plans (great ideas to use). I also like the tab about Connecticut. (Everything from entertainers to political leaders are featured) This could be used in several subjects, and will make it fun for students to learn about fun state facts
Brainpop appears to be modern and definitely appeals to a younger crowd. It incorporates fun graphics to grab the users’ attention. Under English, the tabs range from basic grammar lessons to more specific topics like poetry, outlines, public speaking and even features summaries of popular literature for young adults. I was immediately drawn to the movies about Harry Potter and author Agatha Christie, because these were the novels I was most interested in as a kid. By using Tim and Moby as guides to the site, students are drawn to the lessons.
TeAchnology is a bit more streamlined which appeals to parents and teachers. It incorporates tabs that most of the other sites feature, including lesson plans and worksheets. What I liked the best was the helpful tips on how to construct a rubric. Rubric Studio provided helpful ideas on how to get started and provided a basic template for any rubric.
I was a little confused by PrimoPDF because I don’t really have a need to convert files to PDF. I’m sure as I get older and start to teach, that need will shift, but as of now, no. Maybe when we start to build our websites for our final exam I will use this site more. The template was nice and it seems easy to do and the fact that it’s free doesn’t hurt.
I really liked Charts and Graphs because I’m so bored with Excel. This site is fun and attention grabbing and they are clearly targeting a younger crowd with its bubbly home page. This will help math teachers, but also any other teacher who wants to present information in a different manner. English teachers could use this if they want the class to create their own newspaper publication. Charts and graphs are very flashy and eye catching. It also helps you decide which type of graph would be appropriate for your lesson. I liked the grabbag tab that had several fun options like quizzes, videos to watch, word searches and other brain teachers. This is very interactive and students will appreciate this section.
I liked the competing websites for concept maps. This is a new term for me, but it sounds like it is a place to share opinions, facts, and critiques within the community. Cmap tools explained their purpose and goals better than Inspiration Software, Inc. leading me to explore their site more. I also felt their format was more appropriate, using a cleaner approach. Students might be more drawn to Inspiration Software, Inc. However, Inspiration Software, Inc reached out to businesses, students, and teachers in their own separate tab making it specific to the group.
As discussed in class, I enjoy using GradeConnect. I never had experience with WebCt as some of the class has, but it sounds like GradeConnect is more reliable. I like having all of my grades posted and my current average calculated for me. Parents can get more involved with their child’s education by signing up for a membership. From GradeConnect, you can access the course outline by going to the link section, making everything very accessible. Assignments are posted with due dates so there is no confusion. This site makes me feel more aware of what I need to do, and keeps me organized.
Internet4classrooms was a kind of culminating website of helpful teacher tools. Its tagline says it all-Internet tools which makes a teacher's life easier. Review sheets, test makers, and rubrics are all available to the subscriber. These modules are easy to construct and to be used in the classroom. I like the award certificate makers tool; this gives students tanglible praise that make them feel that they've been successful and achieved their goal. It's also fun for the teacher to distribute these awards.
Ok, done for now, but I would be happy to go over the rest of the tools with the class to see what they said about them when they were discussed last week. Also, the conference scheduled this week seems more innovative and exciting than the last!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Ch 5/Class Review
Hopefully I cleared up any confusion with my Lesson Plan assignment. It would have been different had I realized the assignment was for class time and not a take home one. That would be too hard to do in every classroom, ha.
I'm glad we were able to change the date for our research projects. I like the range of my topic, and definitely was relieved that we have more time to extend our search. Assistive learning programs are very interesting to me in the political, social, and moral aspect. I also agree with what we decided for our final exam. Our own website is a complex assingnment and would be a good culmination of the semester.
I particularly got a lot out of our discussion of power point. I had mentioned that we were doing a section of power point presentations and Microsoft Office is a fresh new look versus the tired old layouts I see every week. It will definitely bring a breath of fresh air. I'll try and see if I can use Brainy Betty for sound bites during the presentations, so the class can learn through sight and sound. As for our discussion about work cited, I for one sometimes am confused about the right format ( I just didn't want to say it in class). But I think this website is very vital to students, whether it's a high school or college student. Easybio.com gave the most user-friendly instructions, so I'll try that one next time instead of wasting more time than I have to.
Chapter 5 provided insightful advice for moving beyond the basic software programs. This applies to the average high school teacher who is dealing with media savvy teenagers who are bored with the same tired programs. This challenges them and makes the lessons enjoyable. In class we did discuss "the basic 3" of software support tools. This is a bit out of my element since I had only really worked with these 3 programs. Now having been introduced to more programs, I find myself more open and excited about these ideas. I would like to get the sotware suite Publisher and be able to use that for my more creative assignments instead of just using Clipart. You have the opportunity to create newsletters, magazines or booklets, which every teacher has a use for. These software suites are appealing to schools becuase they include several software tools in one location. It's a package deal. Picnik has been an exciting alternative and the fact that you can pull pictures from any website is a great tool. I've already worked with electronic encyclopedias and now having GradeConnect, I like the easy access of having assignments and grades right there.
I've used worksheet and puzzle generators for my internship which requires hands on activities for middle schoolers. It allows them practice and is a fun way to get students involved. There are plenty of sources online that allow you to input the data and they will generate a crossword puzzle, worksheets and other games. All you have to do is type it into a search engine and the possibilities are endless.
I agree that having each student own their own PDA would not be effective in the classroom. It's pretty expensive and the students might not have a great use for them like teachers might do. Since I'm an English major, I would be working closely with reading tools if anybody has trouble with reading or writing skills. Students can work on it themselves and I would facilitate to give them hands on experience.
I am particulary interested in working with IEP programs. I want to work with high schoolers but am on the fence about working with an urban school. The class agreed that it might burn you out if you start off in inner city in the beginning, but it could be rewarding. IEP Generators would definitely be widely used in inner cities and would help teachers cut down a lot of that paperwork.
I'm glad we were able to change the date for our research projects. I like the range of my topic, and definitely was relieved that we have more time to extend our search. Assistive learning programs are very interesting to me in the political, social, and moral aspect. I also agree with what we decided for our final exam. Our own website is a complex assingnment and would be a good culmination of the semester.
I particularly got a lot out of our discussion of power point. I had mentioned that we were doing a section of power point presentations and Microsoft Office is a fresh new look versus the tired old layouts I see every week. It will definitely bring a breath of fresh air. I'll try and see if I can use Brainy Betty for sound bites during the presentations, so the class can learn through sight and sound. As for our discussion about work cited, I for one sometimes am confused about the right format ( I just didn't want to say it in class). But I think this website is very vital to students, whether it's a high school or college student. Easybio.com gave the most user-friendly instructions, so I'll try that one next time instead of wasting more time than I have to.
Chapter 5 provided insightful advice for moving beyond the basic software programs. This applies to the average high school teacher who is dealing with media savvy teenagers who are bored with the same tired programs. This challenges them and makes the lessons enjoyable. In class we did discuss "the basic 3" of software support tools. This is a bit out of my element since I had only really worked with these 3 programs. Now having been introduced to more programs, I find myself more open and excited about these ideas. I would like to get the sotware suite Publisher and be able to use that for my more creative assignments instead of just using Clipart. You have the opportunity to create newsletters, magazines or booklets, which every teacher has a use for. These software suites are appealing to schools becuase they include several software tools in one location. It's a package deal. Picnik has been an exciting alternative and the fact that you can pull pictures from any website is a great tool. I've already worked with electronic encyclopedias and now having GradeConnect, I like the easy access of having assignments and grades right there.
I've used worksheet and puzzle generators for my internship which requires hands on activities for middle schoolers. It allows them practice and is a fun way to get students involved. There are plenty of sources online that allow you to input the data and they will generate a crossword puzzle, worksheets and other games. All you have to do is type it into a search engine and the possibilities are endless.
I agree that having each student own their own PDA would not be effective in the classroom. It's pretty expensive and the students might not have a great use for them like teachers might do. Since I'm an English major, I would be working closely with reading tools if anybody has trouble with reading or writing skills. Students can work on it themselves and I would facilitate to give them hands on experience.
I am particulary interested in working with IEP programs. I want to work with high schoolers but am on the fence about working with an urban school. The class agreed that it might burn you out if you start off in inner city in the beginning, but it could be rewarding. IEP Generators would definitely be widely used in inner cities and would help teachers cut down a lot of that paperwork.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Web 2.0/ Atomic Learning
I think we can all agree that our conference call with "Babycakes" (haha) was a unique experience. I felt we could cut the tension with a knife the first 5 minutes. I think we handled it pretty well and definitely got into the swing of things. I thought it was pretty cool that we had the opportunity to do that. You could tell that by taking the initiative, their company does want to grow and expand, and definitely wanted college students' opinions. I just felt like he wasn't confident or maybe wasn't sure about a college demographic. I was a little nervous at one point when Jeffrey told him straight up what the problems were with "Babycakes"! ( I literally held my breath). But, I did like the possibility of a Second Life. I think that suits a younger demographic, but if marketed correctly, could be useful and exciting for high school students. I know I hadn't heard of a Second Life and it seemed like the rest of the class didn't. I found that interesting that Ron was surprised that we weren't familar with the term. Maybe we could go over that in class this week? I know when I heard of it, I did get the feel that it was a MySpace or some sort of Simms game. I think the idea behind of it of being a "community for learning" is innovative and should really take off.
Some of the other ideas we discussed are definitely appropriate for college students or even high school classrooms. Podcasts are already widely used and I love it when a professor incorporates them into the classroom. I think Ron was a little hesitant about some of our ideas, like he didn't trust our opinion. Toward the end of the conference call, I felt like we were intruding on his time. But I felt like your idea about a contest would generate interest and elicit a positive response. Everyone loves a prize. Hopefully, "Babycakes" and other companies will consider using a trial run for colleges to test out their product. This is a great marketing strategy and would get the University involved.
Now onto Web 2.0. Where have I been?! I'm right in saying that certain Web 2.0 sites are the same as an RSS Feed? Right after class I went home and spent an hour tooling around on Pageflakes. I already showed my mother how to sign up for one and I'm considering publishing my page. How easy and convenient it is to pick and choose what sites you want all on one page. It took some time to grasp, but I've come to the conclusion that I like the idea of a "StudentPage" This way, it can be used in the classroom for organizational purposes and saving time. I wonder how many other sites will join ranks, because I think Pageflakes is a hot new product. I was also sold on Picnik. I'm not sure as to what a teacher would use it for other than developing projects. However, art history or art teachers would definitely benefit from Picnik. I would definitely use it, and would probably use it as a teacher after I spend more time with the site. Maybe an elementary teacher would get more use out of it for making collages and hanging students' work, etc.
Some of the other ideas we discussed are definitely appropriate for college students or even high school classrooms. Podcasts are already widely used and I love it when a professor incorporates them into the classroom. I think Ron was a little hesitant about some of our ideas, like he didn't trust our opinion. Toward the end of the conference call, I felt like we were intruding on his time. But I felt like your idea about a contest would generate interest and elicit a positive response. Everyone loves a prize. Hopefully, "Babycakes" and other companies will consider using a trial run for colleges to test out their product. This is a great marketing strategy and would get the University involved.
Now onto Web 2.0. Where have I been?! I'm right in saying that certain Web 2.0 sites are the same as an RSS Feed? Right after class I went home and spent an hour tooling around on Pageflakes. I already showed my mother how to sign up for one and I'm considering publishing my page. How easy and convenient it is to pick and choose what sites you want all on one page. It took some time to grasp, but I've come to the conclusion that I like the idea of a "StudentPage" This way, it can be used in the classroom for organizational purposes and saving time. I wonder how many other sites will join ranks, because I think Pageflakes is a hot new product. I was also sold on Picnik. I'm not sure as to what a teacher would use it for other than developing projects. However, art history or art teachers would definitely benefit from Picnik. I would definitely use it, and would probably use it as a teacher after I spend more time with the site. Maybe an elementary teacher would get more use out of it for making collages and hanging students' work, etc.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
10/3 Thoughts
Do you think the spokesman for Atomic Learning is avoiding our class? After all, 13 students and a professor can be very intimidating to hold a conference call on what can be improved with their site. I was a little disappointed because I thought it would be interesting to voice our opinions about new input or improvements. After searching the other new data bases, I thought the option of "How to Contact Us" was very important. This way, users are more happy and the company can grow by this consumer confidence. I really was thrown as to why Atomic Learning created a new and improved section titled, "Atomic Training." As you pointed out, this section was more in sync with the 21st user. It seemed more advanced and definitely more approachable for children users. I would ask the spokesperson if Atomic Training planned to take over as the main site. As it is now, we can't sign into Training with our already registered passwords. This means more time and money for the users that they might not want to spend.
I wanted to make what we discussed in class valid to Atomic Learning. So, I typed in RSS Feed and received several options for tutorials to watch. It was very efffective in the way it explained how to save an RSS Feed to your liking. The only thing I didn't understand was when the tutorial mentioned "publishing" an RSS Feed. Does this mean other users can see your saved Feed? I do like the option of this because it does make it easier for a user to find their news, blogs and E-mail all on one location. I can see though that this might pose a problem of overloaded advertisements on the site. This however, is becoming a problem wherever you search online.
It's amazing to me that there are so many sites out there that I had never encountered before. Here I was thinking that I was this Internet savvy kid who knew all the hot sites. This was clearly not true for the educational world. I often wondered just how I would navigate my lesson plans or even make these lessons fun and relatable for kids. The sites that we searched through in class were the perfect answer. How did none of us know of their existence? Most of the sites provided up-to-date news stories about hot educational topics, as well as their magazine counterparts you could subscribe to. I especially enjoyed visiting the Time For Kids section in Edu Hound's section. I loved reading this magazine during 7th grade social studies; it was a greate way for me to relate. It was funny to see that they "partnered" together. It was also interesting to see that The Journal had a link directly to EduHound. All of these sites I feel are working together toward the same cause and would be a benefit to the classroom for both teacher and student.
My favorite one was definitely Educationworld. If there was something to look up, this site was the one to go to. I was particularly interested in the article about seating charts. In my Ed Psych class I am focusing on how to create the perfect environment in the classroom; this starts with how the students are situated and most comfortable. I found many "tips for the teacher" and other helpful hints. There were also related articles to the material provided and you could also search outside of EduWorld at the click of a button...definitely not a biased site. As you said, the District Administration site was the most outspoken. I found the layout to be like a New York Times website. This site provided articles as well as blogs in order to get a more informal and honest approach. There was also a section on K12 news which makes the search more narrow for teachers who want the latest news. A lot of these articles came from outside sources such as the latimes or nytimes. I wasn't put off by this but saw it as the DA weeding out the stories to provide the best of the best for their users.
All of these sites would be useful to myself and the class for the present and future sources. I loved going through each of them and won't forget about them. The time and effort put in by each site just goes to show that there is a market for these kinds of sites and the demand for them will increase as we progress into the 21st century and are looking for new ways to excite our students.
P.S. I think myself and others were confused by the schedule because the previous week said to review Chapter 3. I think we saw that and jumped the gun to Chapter 4. Anywho, I'm ready to discuss Ch 4 and my thoughts about it are in my previous post. See you Wednesday!
I wanted to make what we discussed in class valid to Atomic Learning. So, I typed in RSS Feed and received several options for tutorials to watch. It was very efffective in the way it explained how to save an RSS Feed to your liking. The only thing I didn't understand was when the tutorial mentioned "publishing" an RSS Feed. Does this mean other users can see your saved Feed? I do like the option of this because it does make it easier for a user to find their news, blogs and E-mail all on one location. I can see though that this might pose a problem of overloaded advertisements on the site. This however, is becoming a problem wherever you search online.
It's amazing to me that there are so many sites out there that I had never encountered before. Here I was thinking that I was this Internet savvy kid who knew all the hot sites. This was clearly not true for the educational world. I often wondered just how I would navigate my lesson plans or even make these lessons fun and relatable for kids. The sites that we searched through in class were the perfect answer. How did none of us know of their existence? Most of the sites provided up-to-date news stories about hot educational topics, as well as their magazine counterparts you could subscribe to. I especially enjoyed visiting the Time For Kids section in Edu Hound's section. I loved reading this magazine during 7th grade social studies; it was a greate way for me to relate. It was funny to see that they "partnered" together. It was also interesting to see that The Journal had a link directly to EduHound. All of these sites I feel are working together toward the same cause and would be a benefit to the classroom for both teacher and student.
My favorite one was definitely Educationworld. If there was something to look up, this site was the one to go to. I was particularly interested in the article about seating charts. In my Ed Psych class I am focusing on how to create the perfect environment in the classroom; this starts with how the students are situated and most comfortable. I found many "tips for the teacher" and other helpful hints. There were also related articles to the material provided and you could also search outside of EduWorld at the click of a button...definitely not a biased site. As you said, the District Administration site was the most outspoken. I found the layout to be like a New York Times website. This site provided articles as well as blogs in order to get a more informal and honest approach. There was also a section on K12 news which makes the search more narrow for teachers who want the latest news. A lot of these articles came from outside sources such as the latimes or nytimes. I wasn't put off by this but saw it as the DA weeding out the stories to provide the best of the best for their users.
All of these sites would be useful to myself and the class for the present and future sources. I loved going through each of them and won't forget about them. The time and effort put in by each site just goes to show that there is a market for these kinds of sites and the demand for them will increase as we progress into the 21st century and are looking for new ways to excite our students.
P.S. I think myself and others were confused by the schedule because the previous week said to review Chapter 3. I think we saw that and jumped the gun to Chapter 4. Anywho, I'm ready to discuss Ch 4 and my thoughts about it are in my previous post. See you Wednesday!
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