This site is so cool. I love the idea of making it a digital cafe filled with teacher resources.
I looked under desserts and found a really interesting resource about virtual field trips. This is a fantastic idea especially with all the budget cuts that limit field trip opportunities. The site offers a zoo, aquariums, etc. for virtual field trips however I imagine there are several opportunities out there on the web.
Another way to do this is using a virtual world such as Second Life. This site is becoming more and more popular and a great resource for virtual field trips and bringing experts into the classroom.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Music tools in the classroom
Jamstudio.com or BBC virtual studio allow students to create music. It can be just for fun, but it can also teach students what sounds good together and what doesn't. It allows them to explore music and
Jamglue.com is also kind of fun. You can take your own track or make your own song and them mix it anyway you want.
I think music is so important for students and with budget cuts it often is one of the first to go from the school curriculum. Students can explore different instruments as they tie in to a lesson surrounding culture for example. Possibly experiment with drums when learning about Native American culture. Could also upload a podcast and add music, synthesizers, beats etc to it. Just fun to experiment with!
Jamglue.com is also kind of fun. You can take your own track or make your own song and them mix it anyway you want.
I think music is so important for students and with budget cuts it often is one of the first to go from the school curriculum. Students can explore different instruments as they tie in to a lesson surrounding culture for example. Possibly experiment with drums when learning about Native American culture. Could also upload a podcast and add music, synthesizers, beats etc to it. Just fun to experiment with!
2 lists for future educators
***Projects to enhance the classroom:
Student video creations, Google Tour, story bird, photo story, creating quizlets to quiz each other.
***Projects to promote learning:
1.Students can use "http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/workbooks" to create an online novel.
2. The whole class can work on an wiki together. For an example: a history class can create a class wiki on a certain event in history.
3. Record an audio of a written assignment.
4. Blockposter.com can help you display your projects online. Therefore anyone could have access to viewing the project.
5. Webquest is a good way of having the entire class access certain information through the web.
6. Glogster, an interactive poster that could also be accessed through the internet.
7. Students can create an online newspaper/magazine creation to display their ideas.
8. Creating a smart board game, so that they entire class can play.
9. An introduction to the class with using photo story, at the beginning of the year.
10. Have students create an online recipe book using mixbook.com
Student video creations, Google Tour, story bird, photo story, creating quizlets to quiz each other.
***Projects to promote learning:
1.Students can use "http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/workbooks" to create an online novel.
2. The whole class can work on an wiki together. For an example: a history class can create a class wiki on a certain event in history.
3. Record an audio of a written assignment.
4. Blockposter.com can help you display your projects online. Therefore anyone could have access to viewing the project.
5. Webquest is a good way of having the entire class access certain information through the web.
6. Glogster, an interactive poster that could also be accessed through the internet.
7. Students can create an online newspaper/magazine creation to display their ideas.
8. Creating a smart board game, so that they entire class can play.
9. An introduction to the class with using photo story, at the beginning of the year.
10. Have students create an online recipe book using mixbook.com
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Final blog post
There is no question that children are changing along with technological advances. Today's children are obsessed with social networking, online games (like webkinz), nintendo DS and any other new technology that comes out. These children, even more so than myself, are growing up with these new and exciting technologies and are learning new things everyday.
As future educators it is our job to grow with our students and with the technology in order to make the classroom more modern and exciting for the changing times. Technology is a great way to bring what children enjoy into the classroom as a tool for deeper learning. By taking their interests and incorporating them into curriculum we may be able to reach students in a new way and engage students who may have otherwise checked out mentally.
As a student for many years now I personally would have loved to be introduced to some of these tools in the classroom. The same old textbook, paper, test routine gets very old very fast. There are new ways to learn, explore and present information. At the rate technology is growing if we do not embrace it we are going to be left behind.
I fully intend to introduce students to technology. I feel this is especially important for those students who do not have access at home. Computer skills are so important in our society and students should have access to these tools. I also believe that students learn better when they are a part of their learning and have that hands-on opportunity. Technology provides just that while still incorporating something they already love into everyday curriculum.
I have really enjoyed this class and have made a rather hefty list of all the resources I find interesting as a future teacher. I can't wait to implement them into my curriculum.
Thank you for the resources! Any more you find I would love to have and I will also send you sites I find useful!
As future educators it is our job to grow with our students and with the technology in order to make the classroom more modern and exciting for the changing times. Technology is a great way to bring what children enjoy into the classroom as a tool for deeper learning. By taking their interests and incorporating them into curriculum we may be able to reach students in a new way and engage students who may have otherwise checked out mentally.
As a student for many years now I personally would have loved to be introduced to some of these tools in the classroom. The same old textbook, paper, test routine gets very old very fast. There are new ways to learn, explore and present information. At the rate technology is growing if we do not embrace it we are going to be left behind.
I fully intend to introduce students to technology. I feel this is especially important for those students who do not have access at home. Computer skills are so important in our society and students should have access to these tools. I also believe that students learn better when they are a part of their learning and have that hands-on opportunity. Technology provides just that while still incorporating something they already love into everyday curriculum.
I have really enjoyed this class and have made a rather hefty list of all the resources I find interesting as a future teacher. I can't wait to implement them into my curriculum.
Thank you for the resources! Any more you find I would love to have and I will also send you sites I find useful!
Creating a website
The task to create a website proved to be harder than expected. I decided to create my website as a digital portfolio that I can share with future employees.
I started out using google sites and got frustrated mainly with the navigation bar and lack of creativity with templates. I looked at several different sites (and half probably a dozen half finished sites around the web now). Each site lacked something I thought was important. One thing I noticed a lot was the sites often offered the links to other pages lining the top. Because I had so many links, it would cut them off and very few sites allowed the links to go down the side.
My favorite site (and I'm still very sad I could not use this one, it was beautiful) was wix. It did not support html so I wasn't able to insert any of the activities we have done throughout the term. It also was very slow and often crashed causing me to lose all of my work. Anytime I would right click it would freeze up and it was not compatible with my computer, I can't speak for any other computers. The links also 'broke' after you added your own information. I could not figure out how to solve this problem.
I also was disappointed with a lot of the templates. Most of them were plain and simple and didn't allow for personal creativity.
I finally landed on yola.com to create my site. It was the easiest to navigate and very user friendly. However you couldn't customize the templates to fit your needs. The biggest issue I had was with the headings on my pages. It had a set text that was too similar to the header image and if the text was too long, it would blend in and be unreadable. I had to shorten my headings to fit the empty space without reaching into the image.
Overall I'm fairly happy with my site. I like the way it looks, but am a little sad I couldn't use my wix site. I liked the overall professional look of it better.
My unfinished wix site if you want to check it out.
My website!
I started out using google sites and got frustrated mainly with the navigation bar and lack of creativity with templates. I looked at several different sites (and half probably a dozen half finished sites around the web now). Each site lacked something I thought was important. One thing I noticed a lot was the sites often offered the links to other pages lining the top. Because I had so many links, it would cut them off and very few sites allowed the links to go down the side.
My favorite site (and I'm still very sad I could not use this one, it was beautiful) was wix. It did not support html so I wasn't able to insert any of the activities we have done throughout the term. It also was very slow and often crashed causing me to lose all of my work. Anytime I would right click it would freeze up and it was not compatible with my computer, I can't speak for any other computers. The links also 'broke' after you added your own information. I could not figure out how to solve this problem.
I also was disappointed with a lot of the templates. Most of them were plain and simple and didn't allow for personal creativity.
I finally landed on yola.com to create my site. It was the easiest to navigate and very user friendly. However you couldn't customize the templates to fit your needs. The biggest issue I had was with the headings on my pages. It had a set text that was too similar to the header image and if the text was too long, it would blend in and be unreadable. I had to shorten my headings to fit the empty space without reaching into the image.
Overall I'm fairly happy with my site. I like the way it looks, but am a little sad I couldn't use my wix site. I liked the overall professional look of it better.
My unfinished wix site if you want to check it out.
My website!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Alternative website creation sites
weebly was a nice alternative to google sites. It was really easy to use. One thing I didn't like was the lack of variety for page layouts. I would like to see more variety or maybe a customizable option. I also would have liked more designs and fun colors.
Here is what weebly sites look like. Very easy to use and I LOVE the tabs to each page along the heading. Easy to navigate.
Can I possibly use this site to create my final project instead? I already started my google, but it is a lot harder to do and I like the ease and look of these sites better.
Here is what weebly sites look like. Very easy to use and I LOVE the tabs to each page along the heading. Easy to navigate.
Can I possibly use this site to create my final project instead? I already started my google, but it is a lot harder to do and I like the ease and look of these sites better.
technology newsletter
Our PLN created this newsletter using powerpoint and then compiled them together and created this newsletter.
newsletter
Newsletters are a great way to communicate with families or even other staff members in the staff room about upcoming events. It's a quick and excellent way to get information out there about upcoming events, concerns, funny stories, whatever you can think of!
I would love to start a newsletter in my new school. Only 1 more year before I'm a licensed teacher..
newsletter
Newsletters are a great way to communicate with families or even other staff members in the staff room about upcoming events. It's a quick and excellent way to get information out there about upcoming events, concerns, funny stories, whatever you can think of!
I would love to start a newsletter in my new school. Only 1 more year before I'm a licensed teacher..
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