I was so glad you had the disclaimer on the assignment that it can be alot of information and be sure to scan and choose what is applicable to you. I was really overwhelmed at first in the Classroom 2.0 site. However, it is really organized well and I visited several blogs of other teachers (and was very impressed with many of them). I also looked at some really cute videos. One in particular geared to first grade involved the Mayflower (which is what we are currently studying). The teacher had done a YouTube video that I would love to be able to use in my classroom, but I cannot access YouTube in my classroom. I was a little disappointed at the number of videos in YouTube and not TeacherTube. I hope Teacher Tube will take off soon and we can use so many of these brilliant creations.
I would love to look at this more (like over the holidays) to explore the social networking of teachers. We become better educators when we share ideas.
Pageflakes was one of the hardest experiences in this class so far for me. I experienced lots of frustration trying to copy the page to my pageflake. I did finally get to the orange button and looked at some of the flakes that can be added to a page. I tried this on two different computers and asked for help and still had trouble with this assignment.
I would probably use some other form of this to get the same result if I need to use it in the future.
At the risk of being somewhat repetitive, I still love the Family Fun feeds that I get. They always have some kind of fun recipe or idea. Some of which I can use in my classroom and some I can use personally. I like the Teacher Lingo feeds, but they sometimes can get overwhelming due to the number of feeds. One in particular I enjoyed was some teacher created ideas for “cleaning up” the classroom. Some were organizational in nature and some were just good cleaning ideas. I loved the idea of a secret piece of trash. The students are instructed to pick up trash on the floor and whoever picks up the “secret” piece of trash, gets some kind of small prize. I know my first graders would be motivated by this.
I explored google docs today. I am sure there are countless ways to use google docs. I would love to use the presentation tool to help design “powerpoint” type lessons in my class. My kids love when we use our big computer screen for learning. I have created several powerpoints to reinforce concepts like nouns and verbs already. I could easily see creating presentations in google docs in other subject areas. It would also be nice to use the spreadsheet for keeping track of Bible verse memorization and mad minute math.
I can certainly see how on a personal level the spreadsheet would be helpful as Christmas approaches to track gift buying (and spending). I can’t wait to do that…no more lost lists in my purse.
Video actually was saved in the wikispace. Problems with embedding this…..
I loved this video when I was a kid. It helped me learn about nouns. I even sing part of it today with my students.
Teacher tube was probably by far my favorite. I laughed at a teacher who had created a rap for classroom rules. I know the students would not soon forget his rules. I also saw some more serious information on teacher tube about helping me professionally regarding the media’s impact on the classroom. I really enjoyed looking at these teacher tube items.
The word “podcasting” has always sounded a little overwhelming to me. This presentation made it a little less “scary”. I listened to several podcasts….some from PBS (which is very appropriate for my students) and Storynory. I really enjoyed the Jamestown elementary students’ podcast of silly senteneces. It also had each child’s picture to go along with their silly sentence. What a great sharing tool for parents!
I subscribed to Radio Willowweb. That school must really be on top of things. I listened to a couple of their podcasts and it seems they have multiple podcasts going on each day.
I am still a bit nervous about trying it on my own, but hopefully, this will be like the other assignments, once I have completed it, I will feel more confident in my ability to carry it out in my classroom.
Library thing is probably one of my most favorite “things” we have done so far. I love to read and this is such a wonderful avenue of combining my love of reading with the social network. My daughter has a “library” of sorts here at home and has worked on “cataloging” her own books. I can’t wait to tell her about this. I know she will join immediately.
For use in the classroom, I did love the 50 book challenge group also. Our school has several reading incentivies throughout the year and this would be a great way to document that. Since I teach first grade, just reading a certain number of minutes would be another way to document and create a group.
I got a little carried away looking up some of my favorite authors and was surprised to find books I had not read by that author.
I watched the Games in Education conference. I thought several interesting points were made regarding games in the classroom. First, play IS a child’s work. However, games should be used to encourage problem solving strategies and make connections to the appropriate curriculum. Games just to “shoot” an answer, etc. is really no different than a worksheet. Two points that she made in regards to using games in the classroom were adequate time needs to be appropriated for games and the teacher needs to act as the administrator. I also think proper follow up to games is necessary. I certainly use educational games (some through publishing companies) to enhance learning and my students love becoming familiar with the computer.
Kicking it up a notch would be allowing students to design their own games. I think that sounds very exciting. I can see how that would take games to the next level. I was amazed to find out about the logo language and the scratch web where students are designing their own games. I really am behind!!
I think, like everything else, games to enhance learning are only as beneficial as the teacher allows through careful planning and appropriate follow up. We all know the old saying “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” I think that holds true in the use of games in the classroom also. Just using it as a time filler, etc. would be a plan to fail.
I really enjoyed making this short slideshow. After I have gone through this process one time, I think it will make the next time much easier. I got hung up on some “small stuff” that really did not matter. I am glad I had the chance to do this…