While completing this assignment my two favorite things were the mashups and animoto. Both of these tools are extremely fun to use. However, these tools do not really apply much to education, but they were still fun. This assignment has made me realize that there are always new and excited tools and technology out there that I can take advantage. There are probably many more things that I can find that I could use in my classroom.
Throughout this assignment there were not really any unexpected outcomes. I did what was asked of me and learned lots of new things along the way. I really like this assignment overall and I think it was extremely beneficial to me, especially from a teacher's standpoint.
The majority of the things learned during this assignment can be used in the classroom and can make many things a whole lot easier. Especially when it comes to sharing information with others.
Now that this assignment is over I do not think I will keep up with this blog. I am not much of a blogger, but after I become a teacher I think I could use a blog to my advantage. However, it will not be of much use to me know.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Thing #23
Before I took this class I had no idea what creative commons was. I knew some about the copyright laws, but I was always under the impression that this was showed who owned it and that was that. I did not know about the options that are present in the creative commons. Knowing about creative commons licensing and knowing how to use things that are created by others will be extremely useful in the classroom. Now I know I can search the creative commons website to find things that will be useful to me without having to start over from scratch.
Thing #22
For thing 22 we were to create a livebinders account and then create 3 education binders. The ones I created were called third grade math, math worksheets, and helpful math websites. Here is the one I created for third grade math http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=696349. On the third grade math I just put in math games that a third grader could choose from to play.
I think that livebinders can easily be used in a classroom. They are a great way to share information with students and parents and sometimes even other teachers. The only way I would personally use them in a classroom is to share information. I would not make an assignment out of it.
I think that livebinders can easily be used in a classroom. They are a great way to share information with students and parents and sometimes even other teachers. The only way I would personally use them in a classroom is to share information. I would not make an assignment out of it.
Thing #21
Animoto is a really cool website to use. I like how you can easily make short videos with pictures and music. I had fun picking out pictures to use and then picking out music. I like how there was a bunch of music to choose from. For my short video that I made for this thing I just picked some pictures of my family to create a video of. I think that it was really cool. Here is the video I created hope you enjoy.
My Family
My Family
Thing # 20
YouTube is a great way to find videos that illustrate your point and show more examples of what you are teaching your students. These videos can help you teach a lesson or just sometimes make a lesson more fun. The only negative thing I found on YouTube is that you cannot really let a student explore it because they might end up finding a video that they do not need to be watching if they are not careful.
While exploring YouTube I decided to search for math videos, since I would like to be a math teacher. There were tons of videos out there that can help the students learn the concept by showing them what it means or in my case another example of how to solve a problem. While searching I came across a video called Area of Complex Figures- Subtraction Method (video 2). This video is shown below.
Thing #19
Visit TeacherPop
Before this assignment I was not part of any online communities other than facebook. However, looking through some other social networks I decided to join GoodReads. I love to read so I think that this social network will be fun. It looks really cool. Hopefully I will continue to like it.
I think that GoodReads will be a great network for parents and their students to go to. Just from me browsing through it, you pick the genre you like and then it gives you a list of books to go through and rate and when you rate a book it brings up suggestion for you to look through that are similar to what you rated.
I also think that the education social networks will be useful. I just have to join one other than TeacherPop. Also I think teacher pop is a great social network to become familiar with.
Thing # 18
I think it is important for teachers to know how social networking works because it is another way for teachers to spread ideas, events, and other news, just like the facebook page for the College of Education. I think that this is the best way to use social media for educational purposes. I did not really gain any new insights. I already know how to do most of the things on facebook and twitter based off past experiences. Twitter is probably better to spread news in a classroom because there are less distractions because the main point of it is to follow people and as long as you are not following a extremely high number of people you will get the news. Facebook is great at spreading news and events, but it has a lot more distractions. The biggest distraction on facebook is the option to play games. This is the only thing I really disliked about facebook if you are using it in a classroom setting. I personally cannot see myself using facebook in the classroom, but this is just my preference.
Thing #17
I think that social bookmarking can be extremely helpful for teachers. These websites allow others to see the pages that other people have found based on the tag that you looked up. For this exercise we searched educational technology and it gave us a bunch of links to look through.
This can easily be used in the classroom. One way it can be used is by allowing students during free time or at home to go look up games for the subject area you are teaching and this will give them a list of games or exercise to choose from that will help them strengthen their knowledge of the content being taught while having fun at the same time.
I think it can be used by teachers to help look up games for students and sometimes help them look for free worksheet sites to be used in the classroom. It can also be used to share some of the websites that you found.
This can easily be used in the classroom. One way it can be used is by allowing students during free time or at home to go look up games for the subject area you are teaching and this will give them a list of games or exercise to choose from that will help them strengthen their knowledge of the content being taught while having fun at the same time.
I think it can be used by teachers to help look up games for students and sometimes help them look for free worksheet sites to be used in the classroom. It can also be used to share some of the websites that you found.
Thing #16
For thing 16, I first looked at the start page. I liked the start page from iGoogle the best. I created my start page and added gadgets that relate to me. I put the facebook gadget on there and continued looking through other gadgets. I also added a quotes gadget, movie gadget, a directions by google gadget, and a to-do list. I like how I can go to one page and be able to see all of these things that interest me and I can even make separate tabs for things.
The other part of this assignment dealt with online calenders. Online calenders can be helpful because you can access them from any computer. This is extremely helpful because you do not have to worry about carrying a calender with you. Then I looked at the to do lists. These can be helpful to keep up with what you have to do and since it is on the Internet you can get to you list whenever you can get on the Internet.
The tool that I think will be most helpful to me at school was Zamzar. Zamzar is a website that allows you to convert documents into another type of document. This is helpful on those occasion when you have student presenting assignment and they did not save it as the right type of document. You can just go to this website and convert it.
Out of all of the things that I explored in thing 16, I would recommend the online calender and start up page. The online calender is useful because you can get to it no matter where you are. The start up page is useful and cool because you can personalize it and get to many different places (email, facebook, twitter, and weather) by just going to one place.
The other part of this assignment dealt with online calenders. Online calenders can be helpful because you can access them from any computer. This is extremely helpful because you do not have to worry about carrying a calender with you. Then I looked at the to do lists. These can be helpful to keep up with what you have to do and since it is on the Internet you can get to you list whenever you can get on the Internet.
The tool that I think will be most helpful to me at school was Zamzar. Zamzar is a website that allows you to convert documents into another type of document. This is helpful on those occasion when you have student presenting assignment and they did not save it as the right type of document. You can just go to this website and convert it.
Out of all of the things that I explored in thing 16, I would recommend the online calender and start up page. The online calender is useful because you can get to it no matter where you are. The start up page is useful and cool because you can personalize it and get to many different places (email, facebook, twitter, and weather) by just going to one place.
Thing #15
Wiki is a helpful tool to be used when trying to collaborate information. I think that the best way to use it in a classroom would be to share information with other teachers. Other teachers can always be helpful and come up with great ideas. They could share these ideas in a blog, but not everyone can edit the content in a blog. On wiki you can take your tips, ideas, and any other information you may have and share it all in one place.
You could also use wiki when doing group work. You could have each group place their information on it and maybe use it to present when the project is done.
Overall, I think wiki is cool, but I do not think I would ever use it in a classroom other than to collaborate with other teachers. I do not really like the fact that anyone can edit the page.
You could also use wiki when doing group work. You could have each group place their information on it and maybe use it to present when the project is done.
Overall, I think wiki is cool, but I do not think I would ever use it in a classroom other than to collaborate with other teachers. I do not really like the fact that anyone can edit the page.
Thing # 14
For thing 14 we had to explore mind maps and flowcharts. I looked at flowcharts on Gliffy and then mind maps on Bubbl.us. I think that both can be used for educational purposes.
On Gliffy, you first have to choose a template for your project. You can choose a blank template or pick from one of the options that are pre-made. There are templates already made up for websites, venn diagrams, org charts, swot analysis, flow charts, network diagrams, software design, floor plans, and business processes. Then after you choose a template you can begin to create or edit your project. There are many different options you can use to create your project.
Bubbl.us is does not have quite as many options of things to do as gliffy does. This website seems to be used mainly for brainstorming. You first begin with a bubble to write in. Once you write in this bubble you can either press tab or command enter. When you press tab you will begin with a new bubble. If you hit command and enter you will have another bubble coming off of the original bubble.
On Gliffy, you first have to choose a template for your project. You can choose a blank template or pick from one of the options that are pre-made. There are templates already made up for websites, venn diagrams, org charts, swot analysis, flow charts, network diagrams, software design, floor plans, and business processes. Then after you choose a template you can begin to create or edit your project. There are many different options you can use to create your project.
Bubbl.us is does not have quite as many options of things to do as gliffy does. This website seems to be used mainly for brainstorming. You first begin with a bubble to write in. Once you write in this bubble you can either press tab or command enter. When you press tab you will begin with a new bubble. If you hit command and enter you will have another bubble coming off of the original bubble.
Thing #13
The Zoho application and Google Docs are extremely useful. I personally like Google Docs better than Zoho. Google Docs is like having all of the Microsoft tools in one. You can make a document, presentation, drawing, and a few other things. Then when you are done you can download it to your computer and when you download your document you can choose what type of file you want it to be. This can be extremely helpful as a teacher and it is free. That is one of the best parts about it. You also are able to go to one place for multiple things.
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