Energetic Elegant Educator

Just because! Final Reflection: July 24, 2009

As many of you know, I have been dancing since I was a little girl. Just this morning I was watching the ‘Today Show’ and caught a glimpse of this hilarious clip from you tube. Even though this clip isn’t exactly related to our class I had to add it to my blog because it is still technology related.  (Or it’s also a great video to end a great two weeks of class with!)

Also, today marks the final day of my educational technology class. Prior to the beginning of class many of my classmates and I were discussing the value of incorporating technology into our classrooms. We all agreed that this class has been really helpful in teaching us about the newest technology and how to use it. Two weeks ago I would have never thought that I would be typing a reflection into a blog, or using digital photo story to create a summer memory book. I guarantee that everything that I have learned in these past two weeks will be used in my classroom! I just hope my kids are ready for such a technologically savvy teacher come fall!

Thanks Steve!

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Reflection on the group presentation

Whew! Our project is completed! Overall, I think my group members and I did a great job on our presentation. In looking back on my section…I wished that I had added music to my presentation. I felt like my section was a little dry and boring in comparision to my other group member’s parts. On the other hand, I am glad that my group members and I worked well together. We all were able to handle eachother’s notes and criticism and I think that was key in doing well on this project.

My next step is to place my section of my presentation into my blog. My plan is to upload my photo story onto Vimeo and then place it in my products page.

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To Podcast or not to Podcast? Reflection: July 23, 2009

For the first time in my life I was given the opportunity to listen to my first podcast. I didn’t know what to expect and had a few questions in my mind regarding the topic. So, with further ado…I hopped onto the bandwagon and headed over to the website http://www.odeo.com. Upon entering the website I decided to click on the education podcast link and decided to click on a live cast that relates to my education needs.

So…here I am. Currently listening to a pretty interesting podcast called “The teacher’s podcast – for web 2.0 in teaching and learning.” What have I learned so far about pod casts? They are pretty similar to radio talk shows in which the host and guests humor each other with topics related to the subject. However, the ‘listener’ can decide what they want to listen to and essentially can control the content they are exposed to. My next question…Would I use a podcast in my classroom? Of course! Instead of visually stimulating my students with videos and web casts I can use a different type of media to expose my students to other forms of technological knowledge.

So who knew?! I may be hooked onto the world of pod casts. Hopefully I can use this in my school during the upcoming school year!

If you are interested then check out the site that I used to listen to free pod casts:

Http://www.odeo.com

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Reflection: July 22, 2009: Web 2.0

Today in class we were required to search for links to new websites that incorporate communication. Since I am not aware of many communication websites besides Facebook and Twitter  I decided to look at a site entitled Click Ball. Click Ball is pretty similar to Twitter where you create a profile, have the opportunity to upload a picture and search for friends. What I did enjoy about the initial set-up process of Click Ball was that I didn’t have to create an account or give them my e-mail address.  I could simply access Click Ball via my Facebook account and then scope out any friends who I wanted to join me.

Overall, the program looks pretty simple to use, and it looks like another great way to communicate with others via the web. I am assuming that once I bring more friends into the program we can create our own group and share blogs, websites and links that are meaningful to our needs. (Therefore making the program more meaningful for me!)  If you enjoy using Facebook or Twitter and want to try something new then go for it and try Click Ball. But, if you don’t enjoy reading about people’s daily activities and interacting with other’s then this site might not be for you.

Anyhow, here is the link…. http://www.clikball.com/download

Tags: Add new tag, Click Ball

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Reflection: July 21, 2009: Voice Thread of Hilton Head, S.C.

Today, we worked on a program in class called Voice Thread. ( You can view my work from the class above). I am not sure that I enjoyed voice thread as much as I did using photo story. Perhaps it was because the program was not that new to me? Anyways, when creating my voice thread I decided to keep my concept simple…to create a story about my favorite vacation spot…Hilton Head S.C.! We didn’t have much time to create our projects so I quickly zipped over to google images and typed in Hilton Head S.C. photo’s. I was bombarded by a large amount of images but tried to focus on larger landmarks that make Hilton Head so famous. After choosing my photos I decided to create a narration to the story. (This was not my favorite part as I really hate hearing the sound of my own voice.) So, after recording my voice onto the story then my voice thread was complete.

On that note please enjoy!

Tags: Add new tag, Voice Thread

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Reflection: July 20, 2009

Today I browsed a website for 21st century learners entitled Think Finity. You can also find the website at http://www.thinkfinity.org. The website is truly an educators dream as it houses tons of links to lesson plans, podcasts, and booklists. Upon visiting the website you have the choice of viewing one of the four tabs for educators, parents, students or afterschool. Depending on the tab you have chosen the site will take you to specific forums or links that are personalized for the needs of the user.

At first I chose the educator tab. This tab allowed me to view numerous options for professional development, interactive lesson plans and much more. In addition, this tab allows educators to integrate lessons and technology provided by the site to students and classrooms.  Another plus of the educator area is it’s connection to various educational partners. Depending on the lesson you are looking for you can find other links to video’s, blogs and various technological resources.  For example, if you were looking for a lesson on science but was also interested in integrating the arts or math in that same lesson, then you can  quickly find other links to those various subject areas via the lesson resource tab. Or, do you need to link your lesson to state standards? You can also easily align those state standards to your lesson with ease with another click of your mouse.

Another aspect of the site that I really enjoyed was it’s tab for games and resources that are meant for parents and other after school resources. I found a really great book list for children’s literature from the National Council of teacher’s of english (NCTE) and even managed to find a link for various podcasts. Overall, think finity is an amazing teacher resource for school and classroom use. Please take the time to ‘surf’ and check out the site as I am sure you will want to bookmark this site for your personal use!

Website link: http://thinkfinity.org/home.aspx

21st Century learners:

Tags: Think Finity

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Reflection: July 18, 2009: Unpacking the SOL’s

Happy Friday! Today in class we discussed the importance of ‘un-packing’ the sol’s. It’s a funny term but it relates to the idea of simplifying and breaking down the terms so that our students can better understand what is expected of them. In order to display my version of breaking down, or ‘un-packing’ my sol’s I chose a program on Microsoft Office entitled smart art. I learned about the program from my school’s tech guy and find that it’s a really easy way to create graphs and charts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the smart art and my written document to fit on my post all together. But, I did link the assignment from google doc’s so that you can see it more easily. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfrhwsrj_14wdnrdccz

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Reflection: July 17, 2009

My Digital Story! Please Enjoy and let me know what you think!

My summer at camp from Alexis Sacks on Vimeo.

Tags: Digital Story Telling

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Reflection: July 16th, 2009

Today was a pretty amazing day in technology class! (Does that sound nerdy??) Anyways, in class we began working on a program called ‘Prezi.’ Prezi is an interactive program that allows you to create unique class presentations. The program is truly amazing and I probably could have spent the entire day playing around on the site! I am really glad that we were introduced to the program.

On another note, I spent the first part of the morning working on my technology lesson plan. I have decided to take a science based lesson and integrate technlogy into it. My plan is teach a unit on shadows and add activities that include websites, online games and virtual movies to the lessons. I have no doubt that these extra technology activities will be beneficial to my students.  I am very excited about the lessons and can’t wait utilize them in the fall.

Happy Wednesday!

Tags: Prezi

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Reflection: July 15th, 2009

Today marked the second day of my technology class at Marymount University. So far I am enjoying the class as I learn about different ways teachers can incorporate technology in their lessons. During the morning session we were introduced to a fantastic program entitled “Wordle.” The Wordle program allows you to create ‘word like art’ to any pre-existing document. It’s pretty cool, and I am very sure that kids of all ages would enjoy it! In addition, we also made charts and graphs in both Microsoft Word and Excel.

After lunch we are planning on making a few discoveries in ‘Kidspiration’ and then working on our blogs. I am feeling slightly overwhelmed with the work load, but am confident in myself in completing everything on time. This class is proving to be a huge learning experience for me and I can’t wait to see how much I have learned at the end of next week.

Also, check out the website for Wordle! Be sure to bookmark this site for use during the school year!

http://www.wordle.net/create

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