Virtual Vision

The last two classes for this course have been virtual classes. I really wasn't in favor of having these, but I wasn't brave enough to speak up and say I don't feel comfortable doing this. It would be like admitting "I'm a computer idiot". Who wants to do that? I was concerned, but I tried to have an open mind about it. I knew I could probably muddle through somehow. To my surprise it wasn't so bad. I checked in on threaded discussion and then I tried each assignment. The first class was working with podcast. I went to Gabcast and played around for a while and then recorded a podcast. Everything worked well with no hitches. I tired the new technology with my students the next day. I also gathered some ideas on how I could use this great technology. The second class we were to explore Yack-Pack and create a voki and post it to our blogs. I did not receive the invite to do yack-Pack, but I was able to create my voki. I loved this. It was alot of fun. I wasn't sure how to post the voki on my blog, but I figured it out fairly quickly. The virtual classes were not the nightmare I had anticipated them to be, but I still prefer face to face encounters. I think it's just a personal thing. I do think however, that the virtual class is a good thing to have from time to time. It is good to have different experiences.

Technology Triumph

I can't believe this semester is drawing to a close. This class has definitely been a challenge for me. I would not have considered myself completely tech illiterate, but I was a far cry from savvy. I was very nervous when I begin this class, because I worried if I would be able to keep up or understand what was going on. As I reflect, I must admit that for the most part things were not as bad as I thought they may be. I did leave in tears a few nights because I felt overwhelmed and for one reason or another technology was not going my way. I tried to put this class into perspective and I realized that I have learned many new technologies and I'm armed with some new projects to accentuate my lessons. Learning and growth are the most important things. That is what I tell my students, so I guess I need to practice what I preach.
I know I'm more confident because I don't panic right away when something doesn't work out. I still panic, just not as quickly as before. Now I try again or try a different way to make it work. I would have not done this before.
I have begun to include technology into my weekly lesson plans. I find myself asking what technology element could I add to this unit. I know that the technologies I have learned in this course will benefit me as a teacher and as a professional. I want to continue exploring new technologies and try out new projects with my students.
I know I will begin a class Blog. I will be creating digital text, and making podcast and Inspiration creations regularly. I will do more webquests with my students, and I plan to create a webquest for our Social Studies and Science units. I already use my social bookmarks regularly. I hope to make a class wiki and a threaded discussion to help my students collaborate on projects and assignments.
I really enjoyed creating this last Inspiration assignment. It is so much better than my first Inspiration creation.

Movie Marvel

I finished making my digital movie project. I used photographs that I took with my students and we worked together to come up with the text. I used movie maker to complete this project. I used this soft ware because I have access to this program at school. I originally began a book at jumpcut.com, however I didn't finish this project because this site is blocked by our county. I requested that the site be unblocked, but the county would not cooperate. So I thought I should become familiar with movie maker since that software is available. Movie Maker is somewhat user friendly although I lost my work several different times. I also had a very difficult time uploading this to my blog.For some reason the movie wouldn't up load even after I tried four different times. One of my colleagues told me about a site she sometimes uses called fileup yours.com (which were my sentiments exactly) that you can upload videos or any thing else I suppose. After I uploaded to this site success followed shortly. I captured the the pictures for my movie one afternoon on a nature walk with my students. We were looking for signs of spring. I took the photographs, but the students help write the text for the photos. They seemed to enjoy this and I didn't have to brow beat them to get it done. This is one of the things I like about technology. It is a great motivator.
I think this would be a good project for students to use if they access to their own digital cameras. However, the students could also be included by creating text to accompany the photos of a nature walk or field trip that were taken by the teacher. I am going to attempt to load my scanned book pictures into movie maker so that students would be able to follow along with their favorite books.

You can Check out my movie by clicking digital project under my assignments.

Gab on Gabcast

Lisa and I tried our podcast again today. It was a success! We used Gabcast and it was much better. It was very user friendly. This was on of the projects that i found to be very easy to use and even uploading went smoothly. I used the school's phone just to see if would work and it did! No problems ( it was hard for me to believe as well). Some of the technologies that we have experimented with in this class have required some technology back ground or at least some trial and error, but this was so easy. I think almost anyone at my school would be able to do this. I already shared this with my team and they were impressed.
For Gabcast you use a telephone instead of a computer microphone. The students did real well with it and really enjoyed it. They also liked hearing the podcast as well. They laughed when they heard their voice. I think Gabcast is better than Odeo because any one can listen to the Gabcast. On odeo, in order to listen, you had to be a member.
I sent the website and title home to parents so they could listen. Many did listen and wrote very sweet reponses back to me saying how much they enjoyed it. From now on I will do my gabbing on Gabcast!

Gabcast! "Pet Care Kids" #1




Gabcast! You Belong in the Zoo #1

Podcast Possibilities

Lisa and I worked on our podcast today. One attempt was unsuccessful and We are going to redo it. It was a Reader's Theater play that our students were working on in reading groups. The students loved it and the recording went very well, but it did not save. I'm not sure why. The second attempt went a little better. Lisa and I made a reading tips podcast for parents to give them strategies on how to help their young readers. We used odeostudio.com. We will try again using Gabcast. This way we can see which one we like better. I can think of may ways to use podcasts. Some of them being: poetry readings, plays, parent information, students sharing experiences such as field trips and books they've read. There are numerous possibilities.

Wiki World

Before this class, I did not know what a wiki was or how it was used. Now I have more of an idea of wikis and how they can be beneficial. I think I like blogs better, but I can see the advantages to wikis. Unlike blogs several students can be working on a topic ant the same time and can be added together. They are easier for collaborations, because students can go in and add or change information on a certain topic even though the students may be in different classes, places, or countries. I think they would also be helpful for future students to use as tutorials or examples for certain topics or assignments. I would like to have a class wiki for my students. I like that a teacher can check to see what each student has contributed to the wiki topic or page. However, I'm somewhat bothered that information can be added to a wiki that may not be factual. But I guess nonfactual information can be added to anything. We need to always double check our facts in wikis or otherwise. This can be a valuable lesson for students to learn.

Jing Thing

I began making a tutorial for digital bookmaking at Jingproject.com. Although this site is helpful in making a very detailed tutorial, it is not user friendly. It allows users to record video so that each step in the tutorial is recorded. However, It is confusing to use beacuse I was not sure what to save these recordings to. After working for nearly three hours I became a little more familar with how to use the program, but I still did not have a tutorial completed. Also when the recordings are saved they are not necessarily in chronigical order. So then you have to listen to all recordings so that you can order them in your Word or Powerpoint document. I think tutorials are a great idea, but I definitely will not be making one if it is going to take that long. The Jing thing just wasn't my thing, but for others that are more knowledgeable tech wise it may be the right thing.

Webquest Wonder

I finished my web quest. I am calling this entry web quest wonder because it truly is a wonder that I made this. This was my first web quest. I have used other's web quests with my students, but I have never created my own. It was not to bad. I think I'll do a better job next time since I know what I'm doing. (Well a little anyway.)The assignment was not very complex. It was just time consuming. But since I'm not extremely tech savvy, it takes me longer to do things anyway. The Webquest I created is titled Go West! I was inspired to make this webquest because my students were reading a book about the western US and all the many tourist attractions there. They were so interested that we went to the computer lab just so they could find out more about these great places. I thought this would make a good webquest for my students to complete because they were so interested in finding out more. Web quest are great teaching tools to use with students because they love to find information on the Internet. Webquest lend themselves to cooperate learning and increase reading and comprehension skills. I think it sometimes can be difficult to find websites that are kid-friendly and easy to comprehend. That was the problem I ran into while making my webquest. Some of the sites I've posted were a little difficult for my second graders. But with a little help they were able to complete the assignment.
I use an animal webquest with my students each year right before we go on our zoo field trip. The students always enjoy learning about the animals and their habitats.

Digital Bookmaking Delight

I've completed my digital book. I'm very proud of how it turned out. My students enjoyed seeing themselves in the illustrations and they loved recording the text. My students are going to begin their own digital books tomorrow. They each chose a weather topic to write a book about. They made a trial hard copy to take with them when they make their digital book. I strongly recommend students having a paper copy before applying their work to PowerPoint. It helps them know the expectations for the assignment. My hope is that my students will be able to share their digital books with the kindergartners. I think they would all enjoy that. I can see how this would be so beneficial for students. Those that are struggling readers can use this as a tool to help them become better readers by practicing accuracy and fluency. This assignment strengthened my students farther because they had write the text to go along with their books. In this one lesson we were covering Science, Reading,writing,and technology objectives. I bet I could have incorporated math in there too if I had thought of it. It is great when an activity integrates so well with the entire curriculum. This project although somewhat time consuming was time well spent in my opinion. This is project I will use again and again. My students loved doing it and so did I. There's a link to my book on the left. Check it out! It's so cute.

Inspired Inspirations

My reading group kids have been working with Inspiration7. They have loved it. Our Title I teacher and I have been doing inclusion with this group. We signed up for flex time in our media center. Our media specialist did a quick demonstration and then the students got to explore and see what they could make. Then on the second day the students were required to make an inspiration map on a character from the book they are reading. I was very impressed with the work they produced. They did require some help, but overall they got the hang of it very fast. They were proud of themselves too.

springdoo saga

I finally got my video recorded...with sound. Check it out. It's not super quality, but it is promising. Maybe one day I'll be great! I probably wouldn't use this with my students because I have had a super hard time with getting it to work. If it was a little more effective I think it would be great to use to send students a morning message or to send them a greeting if they were out sick. I know the students would love to use it because they really enjoy seeing themselves. However, We will have to find another way than Springdoo.


http://www.springdoo.com/M1FAC36279FC313FD1

webcam worries

Today I've been working on using my new webcam. I had to get permission to install it and then someone else had to come in and put in a password. It takes an act of congress to get anything done here at school. Anyway... I must say that it is very neat! However, as usual I have had problems. I have been trying to record a video message to send to one of my classmates and it is not going smoothly to say the least. I think one of my biggest hindrances in learning about all this new tech is TIME. I just don't have 10 hours a week to play around with these things and figure them out. I think the web cam would be an excellent tool so that classes around the county, state, nation , or even world could use to communicate and collaborate. How great it would be to be able to have a tech buddy in another country. I'm learning and even though it may take me a little longer to figure these modern tools out, I'll still be ahead of some. What is sad is that I with my limited tech knowledge probably do twice as much than some of the other teachers in my school. Don't get me wrong, there are some great teachers here, but they,like me are scared of computers. I just want to say that if I can learn then everyone else can too.
I can tell that I am growing more confident each day. I hope that I will integrate more technology into my lessons. I know it would be beneficial for my students. Technology is such a great motivator for students. I know I would be a better teacher if I can get over my inhibitions and be brave.

Inspiration

Tecnology Troubles

Technology is not a friend to me. I have been trying to upload my inspiration work onto my blog, but so far I have not been successful. I hope that by the end of this grad course I will be able to do what I need to technology wise. I'm not sure why but I'm convinced that the technology gene skipped me altogether. I think it may have something to do with my age. I came through school when tech was on the brink of exploding, but most things were not yet available. Even though I'm young, I'm still old school when it comes to tech. However, some of my friends who are only a few years younger than myself are so tech savvy. I hope this class will help me to be able to implement more technology into my teaching. Students are so interested in computers, and I think using them more in my teaching would make them better readers, thinkers and technology literate. I think it would also make them more involved in their learning. Many times I'm afraid to try new things because they are not in my comfort zone. I'm really afraid that I'm going to mess something up badly and it will not be able to be fixed. I know many think that it is impossible to mess up that badly, but trust me it can happen. I speak from experience. But this course will hopefully supply me with a greater confidence where technology is concerned. I want to be able to pick a project to do with my students and know I will be able to help them get it done.

Blogging Benefits

I just made my first blog. I'm so proud of myself. I'm very technology challenged. This is a big deal to me. I can see how having a class blog would be a great parent/teacher communication tool. Teachers could just post links and work samples weekly and parents could check at their convenience. Parents love to be included in what is going on with their children. they would also be able to post questions or comments that the teacher may be unaware otherwise. I also think that students could benefit from a classroom blog. Teachers could post links for future units of study, discussion questions for students to respond, and work samples of other student's work. The only drawback would be for households that do not have a computer or Internet access. For those students maybe other arrangements could be made so they could view the blog too. After this class i think I will start my own classroom blog. I think i would enjoy it and I also think it would be beneficial for my students and their parents.