Flowgram Presentation

I have used Powerpoint as a teaching tool for a very long time. Currently, I've been introduced to many different types of programs that offer compatibilaty with the PPT program. However, I am very comfortable using PowerPoint and I believe I will continue to use it in the classroom as a teaching tool. I have to admit, it was very hard to find images that portrayed the message that I wanted to send to my students about Thanksgiving. I believe I could have used this wordless powerpoint in my classroom if I used my own verbal narration to go along with it.

Thing # 23

http://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/



I found this website that offers the 23 things as part of a Learning 2.0 project that is supposed to encourage staff to experiment and learn about the new technologies that are taking over the Internet. The 23 things are very similar, but this particular program offers the "staff" a USB MP3 player if they complete the 23 things by a certain date. This particular site also offered links to other 2.0 programs on the right side of the screen.

Thing # 22

The first website that I chose to look at was the Educational Podcast Directory. I found this website hard to navigate around, and I couldn't get a podcast to play. The next one that I looked at was the Podcastdirectory.com and I found that website to be un-organized and jumbled, so I moved on to the Learn Out Loud podcast site. I browsed through their Education related podcasts and found this podcast that is hosted by two "chicks" (actually two women) that investigate the latest gadgets and software to talk about on their podcast. On the particular podcast that I listened to, they were recording this podcast while going down the road. I added this podcast to my Bloglines account, which was REALLY easy to do!

Podcast - Tech Chick Tips
http://techchicktips.net/podcasts/podcast.xml

Thing # 21 Video

Thing # 21

I really enjoyed working with ANIMOTO to create a short video with my personal images. I chose to use pictures from my summer vacation with my fiancee, Andrew. We went to Destin, FL in May after I graduated from college. It was a fun activity because I was able to revisit these pictures that show us having a great time on vacation. The ANIMOTO video application was easy to use. I didn't have any problems uploading pictures except for my dial-up connection, which took forever to upload 12 photos. The music selection wasn't exceptional, but it was easy to select your music choice and have it uploaded to your video. My video is done, but I'm having problems getting it to upload to my blog. I'll come back and update this later on a higher speed connection.

Thing # 20

I haven't used YouTube a whole lot in the past, but the very few times that I have, it's been hilarious to watch some of the videos posted. Unfortunately, I couldn't access YouTube from my computer at school. Blocked Website. Anyway, I could access TeacherTube and I found an interesting video on that website called "The Top Ten Things You Do Not Learn About Teaching in College". It's a David Letterman top 10 countdown, and I love to see these every week on his show! This video was awesome because the top ten list came from actual teachers, and some of the ideas were great!
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=c157590b2fa1a7d093a3

Thing # 19

I am a member of the TeacherPop community. I joined this online community during my summer course. I enjoyed using this online social networking site because it gave me and my classmates open accessbility to communicate with one another. The other site that I chose to check out was "Bake Space", because I love food! http://www.bakespace.com/ I liked this website because it has so many different features ( recipes, forums, conversations, etc.) It even gives you a recipe box to collect your chosen recipes, and other neat gadgets that make it so user-friendly.

Thing # 18

I'm already a MySpace user, and have been since 2005. I enjoy using this site because I can keep in touch with distant family and friends that I don't see or talk to everyday. Educators should know about these social networking sites because it's a great way to keep in touch over distance. Both websites are conveniently accessed and user-friendly. Even my grandmother has a MySpace account! I prefer Myspace over Facebook, because Facebook isn't open accessed. You have a limited search criteria (school, etc.) I can see how a high-school community might use these, but it would need to be regulated to keep them in line.

Thing # 17

I think this site would be very convenient for bookmarking valuable sites. Too many times I find myself browsing the web, and I'll find a really good website. Rather than writing the address down, bookmarking it, or losing it all together, this would be an easy way to keep up will all of the websites that are usable. Teachers really don't have a lot of spare time so this website would be a definite time saver for when you need to get to that "perfect" website that you bookmarked. This website provides a good directory for that type of thing.

Thing # 16

I am one of the most organized people I know, so this was an excellent activity for me to explore and learn from. I'm always looking for newer and better ways to become organized within my daily life and my classroom. Since I've began teaching, I've noticed that my organizational skills aren't so accurate anymore. I'm finding it difficult to seek the time to get organized, much less stay that way! I already made myself an iGoogle account with another "thing", and it's a wonderful tool to catch up on your daily items, such as email and weather. The next site that I went to was the CutePDF. I'm always having problems with my PDF files, and I think this will be useful when it comes to that problem. The next site that I chose was Sticky Notes. I am always using my post-it notes to write small items down, and this site is amazing. There are several times when I'm on the computer, without a sticky note in sight. This site will prevent me from ever forgetting something that I meant to write down on a post-it note. I also looked into the Stikkit online application, and I didn't really like it as much as I did the Sticky Notes. I signed up for the MSN Calendar because I'm addicted to MSN and all of its gadgets. I love My MSN homepage every morning (very similar to iGoogle). It didn't take anything to sign up for the MSN calendar except for my already registered username and password. I am able to import my contacts from my hotmail account, which makes it easier to remember things about particular people. I also like how you can share your calendar with other people. This would be an excellent idea to use with my fellow colleagues.

Thing # 15

After viewing the wiki sites, I am amazed at how many students really get involved with the wiki sites. I was very impressed with the Wiki Wiki Teaching idea for using wikispaces to get their kids involved. All of the students projects were content specific, well designed, thorough, and organized. I investigated the following wiki sites.

1. Salute to Seuss - I liked the simplistic nature of this project. The students were required to make a creation based off of a Dr. Seuss book. The webpage had a link to the books that were selected for the projects. It also won an award! (Best Wiki by Edublogs)

2. Schools in the Past - I was instantly attracted to this site because it dealt with first graders. Mrs. Cassidy's first graders were looking at how schools have changed over the years. The first graders interviewed parents and grandparents to find out how schools have changed. The entries were very funny and entertaining to read. The children investigated the following categories: Playgrounds, Library, Number of students in class, What was studied, School rules, and anything else that was different. The site was very well organized and each category had it's own frame to make it convenient to read. It is amazing to read the differences in school now and in the past. Very good site! http://schoolsthen.wikispaces.com/

3. Thousands Project - I liked this site because it changes once a month. Each month, the teacher posts a new question for the general public to answer. The class goal is to get 1,000 answers for each month within the school year. The wiki allows the students and other participants to share their thoughts, get ideas for writing, learn geography, and collaborate with others. I like the organization because each month had it's own link to click on and read the responses. Beside each link, there was a note telling the reader whether or not they had received 1,000 responses. The site also had a Wiki visitor map that showed where in the world people were visiting from.