No more e-mailing something from home to school or vice versa! Anything I have on Google Docs I can access from my brother's home or any one of my son's homes. I am thinking of how convenient this would have been when another librarian and I were working together on a recent project. Also it would have been great while I was taking classes last year. This will save trips between various offices, or classrooms and the library, not to mention cutting down on interruptions on both ends.
This reminds me somewhat of the wiki activities. There were some things that I couldn't find as I created the spreadsheet I worked on. The spreadsheet will be quite convenient for generating a weekly library and computer schedule. I'm wondering if forms can be created in Google Docs and then uploaded to a wiki.
When a system is easy enough for me to work I consider it to be user friendly. Other than reading through the material in this assignment and following those directions the process seemed to work quite smoothly. The spreadsheet would make an efficient tool to keep track of information on library helpers (telephone #s, homeroom, birthdays, grade level, etc.). It would even work for creating a student generated listing of those "scary" books that students from everywhere come in and ask for, or any other particular segment of a genre.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thing # 19
What is Bellwork? My principal will be so glad to see this. The work shown on the Voicethread was meaningful and thought provoking. I can it used as a writing prompt or even an assessment tool. While I was listening to this link I did hear the question of copyright raised when using such pictures. In Going and Coming I was intrigued with the use if inference and generalizations. With What is Voce Thread Anyway? I started thinking of ways family history could be recorded with those that we want to keep their memories around even after they have gone before (or after) the rest of us. Some of these voicethreads were definitely for higher grades than elementary.
Having just completed some online classwork I was impressed with Measurement and Uncertainty. This teacher had a well planned lesson and it was easy to follow her directions. I was really happy with Measuring Volume of Weird Objects because our students have so little real world experience with this. While Web 2.0 Promises and Potentials was long it was an excellent review of what we're working with. The first graders did a fine job with their presentation in Library from A to Z.
The use of VoiceThread would be a efficient tool in checking for understanding, but even more beneficial in creating great PR by showing students in a 'Win Win' setting where they could voice their understanding of a particular concept. It would be great to use the picture prompt and then have students read what they write. This would be another method of editing papers, and would also allow students to listen to what they have written to see if it makes sense to them. The different ways of responding are accomodating to different levels of technology.
Having just completed some online classwork I was impressed with Measurement and Uncertainty. This teacher had a well planned lesson and it was easy to follow her directions. I was really happy with Measuring Volume of Weird Objects because our students have so little real world experience with this. While Web 2.0 Promises and Potentials was long it was an excellent review of what we're working with. The first graders did a fine job with their presentation in Library from A to Z.
The use of VoiceThread would be a efficient tool in checking for understanding, but even more beneficial in creating great PR by showing students in a 'Win Win' setting where they could voice their understanding of a particular concept. It would be great to use the picture prompt and then have students read what they write. This would be another method of editing papers, and would also allow students to listen to what they have written to see if it makes sense to them. The different ways of responding are accomodating to different levels of technology.
Thing # 18
What a journey this thing has been, and we only get to share one video? I came across Teacher Tube several years ago but hadn't subscribed to it until this last March after seeing the creators once more at a conference I was lucky enough to attend. To be truthful the only time I had ever explored YouTube before this was when I was searching for Il Divo videos. Since I'm not uploading that one I'll just provide a link for those of you who haven't seen them perform. They're better than any pill you can take for stress relief.
The first thing I spent time with on YouTube was their 'how to' videos. Some of the people commenting on the amateur ones can be vicious, and that's when I found the ones provided by YouTube. Next I played around with looking for something I could use in presenting library lessons this coming year. There were a few interesting sites and I've saved those. One was prepared with animation, and another with sock monkeys (this one was on TeacherTube). The one with animation was in two parts.
After more hours than I care to admit I started searching for material that could be used in research projects at the elementary level. When I entered a search for the Alamo I got a trip down memory lane. They used a song by Marty Robbins as the background for this video. It was quite well done and with the combination of music would even hold the attention of secondary students as well. Also on Teacher Tube I came across one titled the Challenges of Our Changing World that would be appropriate for upper elementary and secondary students.
In closing I'm going to leave you with one my favorite Il Divo songs.
The first thing I spent time with on YouTube was their 'how to' videos. Some of the people commenting on the amateur ones can be vicious, and that's when I found the ones provided by YouTube. Next I played around with looking for something I could use in presenting library lessons this coming year. There were a few interesting sites and I've saved those. One was prepared with animation, and another with sock monkeys (this one was on TeacherTube). The one with animation was in two parts.
After more hours than I care to admit I started searching for material that could be used in research projects at the elementary level. When I entered a search for the Alamo I got a trip down memory lane. They used a song by Marty Robbins as the background for this video. It was quite well done and with the combination of music would even hold the attention of secondary students as well. Also on Teacher Tube I came across one titled the Challenges of Our Changing World that would be appropriate for upper elementary and secondary students.
In closing I'm going to leave you with one my favorite Il Divo songs.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Thing #17
The first neat thing about this activity is that I got to revisit some of the sites I had stumbles onto during earlier activities in our wanderings throughout the Web. I had already signed up for Just One More Book and have been enjoying their book reviews. I especially enjoyed the one they did for today (7/1) because it dealt with the foster care of animals. I did notice that on Learn Out Loud they had free audio books to download. At the Education Potcast Network my attention was caught by Voices on Antisemitism. While I wandered through the Skip the Tuition: 100 Free Podcasts from the Best Colleges in the World I got sucked into Earthquakes in Your Backyard because of the small quakes that have happened recently just a short distance from our own town.
Since I visited every single one of these sites I noticed that on some you didn't even need to download to iTunes but could listen directly from the site. That meant less steps and, for me, an easier process in listening to the podcasts. At Geek!Ed! I was intrigued by the teachers and staff discussing the differences in their classes and their use of the available technology in two separate years. The "personalities" of each class made it difficult for them to evaluate their program where each student had a computer to work from. Anything to do with books immediately catches my attention and so I had to check out Authors on Tour Live. That is where I discovered a new series (new to me) of books that I know will interest my mother. That means I will be looking for books in the Elm Creek Quilts series before I go next week to see Mom. The math sites that I visited offered higher order thinking skills, and even branched out into social studies when I visited mathgrad podcast. Check our their archives for Mathematics of Maps and see if you can use it for a lesson in reading maps.
The science sites looked like they would be perfect for teasers to get the attention of the class. In 60 Second Science I even thought that some of those spots could be used to introduce experiments. Since we have animals in my school environment I was interested in the podcast on animal behavior. As you can tell I didn't have any trouble in finding podcasts that could be used in the classroom and the library. I may even have to break down and get an iPod or MP3 player to have a more portable means of all of these wonderful sources that I've just skimmed over the surfaces. After hearing podcasts by students of all ages I can see that it would certainly be within the realm of possibility to create them within our school as well.
Since I visited every single one of these sites I noticed that on some you didn't even need to download to iTunes but could listen directly from the site. That meant less steps and, for me, an easier process in listening to the podcasts. At Geek!Ed! I was intrigued by the teachers and staff discussing the differences in their classes and their use of the available technology in two separate years. The "personalities" of each class made it difficult for them to evaluate their program where each student had a computer to work from. Anything to do with books immediately catches my attention and so I had to check out Authors on Tour Live. That is where I discovered a new series (new to me) of books that I know will interest my mother. That means I will be looking for books in the Elm Creek Quilts series before I go next week to see Mom. The math sites that I visited offered higher order thinking skills, and even branched out into social studies when I visited mathgrad podcast. Check our their archives for Mathematics of Maps and see if you can use it for a lesson in reading maps.
The science sites looked like they would be perfect for teasers to get the attention of the class. In 60 Second Science I even thought that some of those spots could be used to introduce experiments. Since we have animals in my school environment I was interested in the podcast on animal behavior. As you can tell I didn't have any trouble in finding podcasts that could be used in the classroom and the library. I may even have to break down and get an iPod or MP3 player to have a more portable means of all of these wonderful sources that I've just skimmed over the surfaces. After hearing podcasts by students of all ages I can see that it would certainly be within the realm of possibility to create them within our school as well.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thing #15 - Wiki Page
Before I begin to reflect there is a big THANK YOU going out to Julia Walker (the innocent victim who had last uploaded her Wiki page to the Sandbox) and Debbie Swartz who was in her office the multiple times I called hollering "Help!" I give thanks that both of you had the patience to walk me step by step. There were times that the title "wicked page" ran through my mind before I had their assistance.
When I came to the mention of the Cheat Sheet I downloaded that, and then went to Wikispaces for additional tutoring. My work in progress can be located at http://misd23things.wikispaces.com/sandbox_experiment . The two (only 2?) items I had the most difficulty with were linking to the slide show and then trying to link my page to the MISD Wiki. That is where Julia and Debbie stepped into to soothe my ruffled feathers. One other problem I had was when I went to upload a picture of myself. When I did that It was like putting an 8x10 picture on the link. When I uploaded a picture from Flickr of an African Grey parrot it came out a very acceptable size. I didn't have the heart to call my 2 life guards back to see what needed to be done there.
Over the course of trying the new tools out I've gotten a bit more comfortable with the various tools, but I know that there is a fairly long road ahead before I get to where I need to be. That being said there have been so many wonderful discoveries along the way and that bodes well for the coming school years.
When I came to the mention of the Cheat Sheet I downloaded that, and then went to Wikispaces for additional tutoring. My work in progress can be located at http://misd23things.wikispaces.com/sandbox_experiment . The two (only 2?) items I had the most difficulty with were linking to the slide show and then trying to link my page to the MISD Wiki. That is where Julia and Debbie stepped into to soothe my ruffled feathers. One other problem I had was when I went to upload a picture of myself. When I did that It was like putting an 8x10 picture on the link. When I uploaded a picture from Flickr of an African Grey parrot it came out a very acceptable size. I didn't have the heart to call my 2 life guards back to see what needed to be done there.
Over the course of trying the new tools out I've gotten a bit more comfortable with the various tools, but I know that there is a fairly long road ahead before I get to where I need to be. That being said there have been so many wonderful discoveries along the way and that bodes well for the coming school years.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thing #16
Where was this when I was in the classroom? Library Thing is a wonderful tool for both the classroom and personal books. Of course I'd need to get a cell phone so that I could have access to this tool when I was out shopping. How many times have I bought a second copy of something simply because I couldn't remember if I already had it since I hadn't gotten around to reading that particular one.? Of course I could stop buying until my stack(s) got down to a manageable level and I caught up with my reading! Naw, that would be counterproductive should I end up somewhere with a few minutes of wait time and no book to read.
Even though I am in the process of relocating my classroom books to various locations this would be an extremely beneficial tool to just keep track of the books we have for personal reading. Cataloguing our home library will have to wait until I get these Web 2.0 tools completed. That would probably be a good time to also decide which books could be passed on to someone who would read them if I don't intend to go back and reread them. Those that feel close to being a member of the family will be the ones to get catalogued! This is the book that I'm currently trying to get finished.
While wandering throughout the site I did join Children's Fiction, and later will probably join other groups as well. Once again, this was a place where it was entirely to easy to get lost in the exploration. In the meantime I intend to take a mental break so that I can finish reading Savvy by Ingrid Law, one of our Bluebonnet book nominees for this coming school year!
Even though I am in the process of relocating my classroom books to various locations this would be an extremely beneficial tool to just keep track of the books we have for personal reading. Cataloguing our home library will have to wait until I get these Web 2.0 tools completed. That would probably be a good time to also decide which books could be passed on to someone who would read them if I don't intend to go back and reread them. Those that feel close to being a member of the family will be the ones to get catalogued! This is the book that I'm currently trying to get finished.
While wandering throughout the site I did join Children's Fiction, and later will probably join other groups as well. Once again, this was a place where it was entirely to easy to get lost in the exploration. In the meantime I intend to take a mental break so that I can finish reading Savvy by Ingrid Law, one of our Bluebonnet book nominees for this coming school year!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thing #14
That "yellow brick road" was like Hwy 43 in the foothills of the Ozarks! It was also strictly my own doing because when I got to any one location I would wander forever through their links. This adventure really did make me feel like I've stayed in the cave these last 5 to 6 years. I really had my bubble popped (thinking I had done a good job as a sixth grade teacher) when I found out just how very far behind and out of date I was! Whew. Room 15 Wiki had moved its location because Mr. Lindsay's school district had bought into their teachers having their own blogs and wikis. If you disregarded the sidebar you found his initial page divided into 3 sections with colorful images in each of those sections. I did note that he was the tech facilitator for his campus, but I still feel like I've been in the 'dark ages' with my technology knowledge.
In 1001 Flat World Tales I was intrigued because it spans the world, and also because it gives me the clock for our youngest son's vicinity (Thailand). I kept 'pinging' on all of the possibilities that were found in these different wikis. It seemed closely related to the Flat Classroom Project which also had the clocks showing the locations of the participating schools. Since this one was dated 2007 I was wondering if they had continued it. In one of the wikis for younger ages I saw first names mentioned. I definitely like the idea of pseudonyms. Then the students can provide that information to the friends and family they want to have access to their writings, podcasts, or videos.
While all of these sites had something to say I became interested in the Thousands Project. It was interesting to note that more than one of the examples provided came from our neighbor to the north, Canada. As I scanned the above project I noticed that they had responses from students in Joplin, Mo., an area that I'll be passing through in less than 2 weeks. It seems like a powerful tool to motivate our students to meaningful learning and collaboration.
The other one I looked at a bit more closer was Turn Homeward Hannalee; one reason was I have never read this book even though I had it in my classroom library (the cover also had a face lift), and the other reason was because our fifth grade finished out the year with a Civil War research unit. I was thinking about how the end products might have been different and how that same product could travel outside the classroom into the homes of their families anywhere that had Internet access.
Vicki Davis' blog post from 4 years ago was inspiring. She certainly managed to get the attention of her students and it spread like a virus, even to other teachers. Yes, I do think there is a demand for a wiki in my future. There may be times that I'll be calling for help, but wikis definitely have a place in our learning environment.
Because grade level planning is a part of the expectations at our schools I am pondering how a wiki could be used to facilitate some of those issues. Some teachers divide the subjects up and this would allow them to post their ideas and then the collective ideas would be available at any time, from home, or even in different locations within the school. I definitely plan to put it to use in the library when we switch to flexible scheduling this year.
In 1001 Flat World Tales I was intrigued because it spans the world, and also because it gives me the clock for our youngest son's vicinity (Thailand). I kept 'pinging' on all of the possibilities that were found in these different wikis. It seemed closely related to the Flat Classroom Project which also had the clocks showing the locations of the participating schools. Since this one was dated 2007 I was wondering if they had continued it. In one of the wikis for younger ages I saw first names mentioned. I definitely like the idea of pseudonyms. Then the students can provide that information to the friends and family they want to have access to their writings, podcasts, or videos.
While all of these sites had something to say I became interested in the Thousands Project. It was interesting to note that more than one of the examples provided came from our neighbor to the north, Canada. As I scanned the above project I noticed that they had responses from students in Joplin, Mo., an area that I'll be passing through in less than 2 weeks. It seems like a powerful tool to motivate our students to meaningful learning and collaboration.
The other one I looked at a bit more closer was Turn Homeward Hannalee; one reason was I have never read this book even though I had it in my classroom library (the cover also had a face lift), and the other reason was because our fifth grade finished out the year with a Civil War research unit. I was thinking about how the end products might have been different and how that same product could travel outside the classroom into the homes of their families anywhere that had Internet access.
Vicki Davis' blog post from 4 years ago was inspiring. She certainly managed to get the attention of her students and it spread like a virus, even to other teachers. Yes, I do think there is a demand for a wiki in my future. There may be times that I'll be calling for help, but wikis definitely have a place in our learning environment.
Because grade level planning is a part of the expectations at our schools I am pondering how a wiki could be used to facilitate some of those issues. Some teachers divide the subjects up and this would allow them to post their ideas and then the collective ideas would be available at any time, from home, or even in different locations within the school. I definitely plan to put it to use in the library when we switch to flexible scheduling this year.
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