Week Six (6)

Lesson six was an introduction to several classroom activities that could be used by teachers to make their lessons more interesting and fun. I really liked the Kid Zone and Map site along with the Word Sift. For finding out interesting facts of the day, which I feel is pertinent to students realizing that there have been many events that have taken place on particular days in history, this site would be great. Being a "word" person and loving to do all kind of word searches and puzzles, I would use Word Sift alot if I had a classroom! I may use it myself, as I buy alot of this type of material to keep my brain young! Since I am a PE aide, I do not use any of this type of technology and am not familiar with any other sites to recommend.

Week Five (5)

"Wiki" was a term that I was quite unfamiliar with, however, I had heard my college age daughter use it. That gave me a clue that it was some type of technology that I hadn't experienced yet. The videos were very informative and easy to understand. I believe that Wiki's can be very useful in many situations. I know for a fact that college students use them to complete classroom group projects and I am fairly certain that the students are very adept at using them. Saving alot of paper is one great "green" attribute for these Wiki's. As for using them in a PE setting, I don't believe that they would benefit the teacher/parent/student relationship. A blog would be more useful for that situation. Wiki's could serve a purpose for PE teachers across the district in sharing ideas and asking questions. Also, if the Athletic Director wanted to keep up with what was going on, he could check the Wiki to see what was happening and if there were any issues he needed to address. I don't think there would be any difference in regards to ease of use.

Week Four (4)

This afternoon was quite interesting as I read and re-read week 4 instructions and information. There was sooooooo much info, that my head was spinning trying to soak it in. I was also still trying to get my voki I created to import into my gadget on my layout. However, that was to no avail after about an hour, so I moved on to this NEAT portion of the voyage. I LOVED this photostory, because I have wanted to be able to do this kind of thing for awhile. I just really don't have extra time to fool with it in the school year, but here and now was great! I put together a short story from our Vegas trip this past spring and I kind of liked it. I will add it here and hope you enjoy seeing my handiwork!
I am sure this is very amateur, but I am proud!! Okay, so now it won't process this on my computer. This is really not working out like it is supposed to!!!!!!!!!!!!!I tried my darndest from 8:30 to 11:30 to get my video clip from teacher tube to embed and it wouldn't work. Also, I had lesson plans on the food pyramid to copy in this week, but it would not work either. I guess I am just not choosing the right options. :(

Week Three (3)

Well, after finally getting my password reset on this blogger, which only took me about an hour, I am ready to get this post over with :) This week elaborated on extras that can be used to explore with and add dimension and interest in your blogs. Google earth was visited and many interesting tidbits were related through the guides. It is almost beyond my imagination that these kind of sights are available to us here through these computer avenues!! Our grandparents would be absolutely astounded with the technology available in this day and time :) I am certainly interested in the google reader too, as I enjoy Facebook and think that this can be another neat tool to use at home.

Week Two (2)

Setting up a blog is explained in week two. There are many options that you can use to create many different looks. Avatar and Voki are two examples of options used to add personality to your blog. Selecting a background page that is already made is also available. However, to make the blog more personal, you should be creative and select some of your own layouts and settings. This will surely make your blog more interesting!!

Week One (1)

The time is now to get up to speed with kids and their techie knowledge!! Teachers need to stay abreast of all new and innovative ways that kids learn and communicate. This will be a great way to help us be up to date and provide another way for students to keep up with what is going on in our class.