Earlier in the semester we wrote a set of guidelines for utilizing technology in our classroom. I wrote a set of questions that I go by before I embark on a new technology adventure.
Do I need Professional Development to use this equipment?
Can I teach myself how to use the equipment?
Will the number of preps for the courses that I am teaching decrease my ability to properly utilize the new technology?
How many of my students will be able to utilize the new technology or software?
How expensive is the technology? Will my administrator blow his or her wig when I make the sales pitch?
How user friendly is the software?
How user friendly is the manufacturer of the technology or software?
Do I have time to integrate the technology or software into my existing curriculum?
Will the new technology or software enhance my students learning, or is it just the bells and whistles version of what I am already doing?
Will the technology help to prepare my students for their future in the workplace or at the collegiate level?
I cannot say that I changed my questions during this course, in fact I utilized these same questions when I pondered what project I could do that would be practical for usage in my class room. I debated about making separate blogs for each of my courses, but I threw that idea out as I felt that I could not keep up with all the blogs and my teaching assignment. I tried to design a classroom blog that I would use and that I could build upon as my confidence and technology strength improved through the usage of this blog. I also designed the blog to be appealing to my students and for their first look at a poster on glogster was aesthetically appealing, yet simple enough for them to be able to feel they could learn to design their own posters. I plan to use these posters in all of my classes for presentations, rather than the tagboard that I have always used in years back.
Overall, I feel that technology is a wonderful tool and it can be as overwhelming as you allow it to be. It is important for me to remember that I need to allow myself time to figure out the bells and whistles when I attain a certain level of confidence with the particular type of technology. I still do not know why I cannot get the links on the blog posts to show up correctly.( I was only successful once. :)) I suspect that there is something blocking my view because the link code shows up in my original posts. I am hoping someone at school, possibly one of my students will be able to figure that one out.
I am looking forward to getting approval from my administration to use the blog that I designed for the class. I am not sure what kind of consent form I will need, I am hoping that the tech guidelines that the kids have to sign at the beginning of the year will cover my blog posts.
As a parting note, I am very glad that I took this course, even though it was a very humbling experience; it was also took me on a huge rollar coaster ride of a learning curve. :) Good bye for now. Cynthia
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Link Problems
Final Project
Hi...all. I just finished the preliminary workings for my Science Class blog. It is meant to be practical and dynamic with changing bonus questions and problems. The site is at http://newtownscience.blogspot.com
Due to the fact that I do not know how the security works at the school and I have not been able to talk to administration or the technology advisor, I kept things very simple for me to utilize at the level at which I am at with the webtools.
The interesting part about the evolution of this course is that when I was making my new blog, I felt much more comfortable than I did the first night that I set up the blog. I was so overwhelmed with everything to do with the blog, yet when I was doing the project, I was much calmer. I still goofed things up, but I now have more confidence that in time I will figure things out and I do not need to know everything about a webtool to get it to work at the beginner level. Have a great evening. :) Cyn
Due to the fact that I do not know how the security works at the school and I have not been able to talk to administration or the technology advisor, I kept things very simple for me to utilize at the level at which I am at with the webtools.
The interesting part about the evolution of this course is that when I was making my new blog, I felt much more comfortable than I did the first night that I set up the blog. I was so overwhelmed with everything to do with the blog, yet when I was doing the project, I was much calmer. I still goofed things up, but I now have more confidence that in time I will figure things out and I do not need to know everything about a webtool to get it to work at the beginner level. Have a great evening. :) Cyn
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Bookmarks
I tried both the bookmark sites of delicious and diigo. I like the diigo because I could highlight and use sticky notes....something I have been wanting to do since the conception of reading on-line. I am a highlighter and I use sticky notes when I read a book or document and I have been very frustrated when I can not print out a document so I can highlight the document. I have also been frustrated with the loss of my favorite bookmarks when I go from computer to computer. Both of these sites give me the opportunity to save articles to read later or come back to with notes and highlighting.
When I make my school blog site for my project, I am going to include both of these websites so I can access them easily while I am school. I have always found that time is a limiting factor for me, so having certain articles bookmarked and highlighter so I can use them in my class for discussions will be wonderful for me as an educator of multiple subjects.
On a personal note, I have been looking up laws regarding custody issues in ND for my son and his daughter.I sure wished I had played with these sites earlier so I could have highlighted and saved sites as I was reading and searching. Now that I know about these sites and I have signed up for them, I will be using the sites for the legal searches as well.
I also thought of another use for these two sites. I am going to use the highlighter for the standards documents that I so frequently peruse. I know I will be writing curriculum this fall, so the highlighted standards documents will be great for these old eyes. :)
As usual, time disappeared when I was playing on these websites and I was amazed at the novelity of these two sites as well....and this fact seems to ring true every week when I explore. I have learned not to bite off more than I can chew as the class has progressed...and I do not feel so overwhelmed with the lack of a polished product at the end of my exploration process.
When I make my school blog site for my project, I am going to include both of these websites so I can access them easily while I am school. I have always found that time is a limiting factor for me, so having certain articles bookmarked and highlighter so I can use them in my class for discussions will be wonderful for me as an educator of multiple subjects.
On a personal note, I have been looking up laws regarding custody issues in ND for my son and his daughter.I sure wished I had played with these sites earlier so I could have highlighted and saved sites as I was reading and searching. Now that I know about these sites and I have signed up for them, I will be using the sites for the legal searches as well.
I also thought of another use for these two sites. I am going to use the highlighter for the standards documents that I so frequently peruse. I know I will be writing curriculum this fall, so the highlighted standards documents will be great for these old eyes. :)
As usual, time disappeared when I was playing on these websites and I was amazed at the novelity of these two sites as well....and this fact seems to ring true every week when I explore. I have learned not to bite off more than I can chew as the class has progressed...and I do not feel so overwhelmed with the lack of a polished product at the end of my exploration process.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Photo placement goof up.
I seemed to have goofed up how I placed the photos, but it was my first successful attempt at uploading photos into the posting of these blogs. Sorry for the confusion. :)
Well, I have been playing with the photo webtools. I seem to like Piknik the best so far. It seems easier for me to figure out without any experience at editing photos. I am going to attempt to upload a picture of my grand-daughter Mali here.
Here is another picture of her making knefla with my son.
I am not sure how these uploaded or the layout of this blog, so I am going to try and post it and see what happens.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Week 5 Reflection
As I have been cruising through the examples of classroom wikis and blogs, I am wondering which is the better avenue to pursue. I am getting the hang of the blog stuff, so I think a classroom blog would be a better alternative for me. I think once I can perfect the Blog then I should venture to a wiki. There are so many avenues to pursue with again, time being the limiting factor.
From what I can discern to have a classroom blog or wiki, I will need administrative and technology support. I am guessing that I will have to have some kind of consent form from my students as well so the material that they post is appropriate.
I do like the fact that students can work on projects from different locations and one student does not carry the burden of the other team member on the project. I am leaning toward having a class blog and using glogster for some digital project postings this year. I am guessing there will be a huge learning curve for myself and my students as there has been for me this summer on this journey of exploring webtools.
On a personal note, out of the ten foster puppies...I have two left with an interested party for one of them. :) If you are an animal lover and you have room to foster, it is very rewarding. You can contact your local shelter or breed rescue for details on how to help your community's animal challenges. :)
From what I can discern to have a classroom blog or wiki, I will need administrative and technology support. I am guessing that I will have to have some kind of consent form from my students as well so the material that they post is appropriate.
I do like the fact that students can work on projects from different locations and one student does not carry the burden of the other team member on the project. I am leaning toward having a class blog and using glogster for some digital project postings this year. I am guessing there will be a huge learning curve for myself and my students as there has been for me this summer on this journey of exploring webtools.
On a personal note, out of the ten foster puppies...I have two left with an interested party for one of them. :) If you are an animal lover and you have room to foster, it is very rewarding. You can contact your local shelter or breed rescue for details on how to help your community's animal challenges. :)
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