Final Thoughts...

I have enjoyed this class so very much. I can think of a way to use every single web 2.0 tool that we have learned about in my future classroom. I plan on using all of these tools to interest, excite, and motivate my students as much as I possibly can. Without this class, I would not know about 95% of the tools that I now know about. This is definitely what went well for me throughout this class. What I would do differently next time is to not panic whenever something (e.g. a tool and/or website) does not work right or go as smoothly as I'd like. This is something I will have to continue to work on.

Finishing our Classroom Websites!

This week we have been putting the finishing touches on our classroom websites. I am so excited to know that I will have this site and all of the resources to take with me when I go to apply to jobs and to use in my future classroom. I will definitely be using this with my students (and their parents) in my classroom not only as an excellent resource for them, but also for me as a teacher. I can feel confident knowing that I am bringing something so useful to my classroom. What didn't go so well for me in creating this site was having to go back and retype (ALL OF) the Wiki resources that I pasted on my resources pages so that the font would match throughout my website. I honestly wouldn't do anything differently next time. I am extremely pleased overall with how my website turned out and I am excited to put it to use! Take a look at Ms. Trimble's Classroom Website!

StoryBird.com

StoryBird is such a great site for teachers to use in their classrooms because they can create original short stories for their students to view and to read. What went well for me was that I loved picking out the illustrations and creating a little story to go along with them. Next time I would like to create several short stories that are similar to a series, because I think that students learning to read would enjoy reading them.

Journey to the Planets...

This week we have been working with iMovie to put together a Digital Story. I really enjoyed learning how to use iMovie because I know it will be a wonderful tool to use in the classroom for teaching lessons on many different subjects. I will be able to use my particular video (Journey to the Planets) in my future classroom as well as a fun way to introduce the topic of outer space and the planets. What went well for me during this assignment was that iMovie was very user friendly. I found it very easy to load the images and the music. I also found it easy to edit the music clips to shorten/lengthen them to my satisfaction. It was difficult for me to find photos that were in either creative commons or public domain that were of high resolution. What I would do differently next time is be more conscious about allowing enough time for the captions to be read.

Animoto!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Animal Cell - Excel Spread Sheet

We have been learning how to create an interactive spreadsheet. We had to come up with ten questions to enter into the spread sheet with one word answers. For my questions, I chose to use the topic of Animal Cells to go along with the diagram I created. What did not go so well for me was that it was a little difficult to enter in the codes for the correct answers and the points. The good news is that I learned to save the original compound words as a template and create my animal cells spreadsheet off of that. I will definitely try and use this in my classroom. I based the questions on my spread sheet off of my diagram so that the two can be used together. The questions on the spreadsheet reinforce what the students should learn from the animal cell diagram. This is an example of how I plan to use spreadsheets in my future classroom.

Compound Word - Excel Spreadsheet

Inspiration 9-Animal Cells

This week, we have been learning how to use Inspiration 9 software to create useful diagrams for the classroom. The topic of my diagram is the Animal Cell. My diagram satisfies the standard GLE 0407.1.1- Recognize that cells are the building blocks of all living things, SPI 0407.1.1- Compare basic structures of plant and animal cells and NETS-T 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. I have enjoyed learning to use this tool more than any other that we have learned so far. I will definitely use this in my future classroom for presenting new concepts and ideas, especially in areas where a visual tool will be more successful in presenting the information. What went well for me was that the topic that I chose ended up being perfect for diagraming. What didn't go well is that I was not about do a diagram of the plant cell like I had originally wanted to do. I wasn't able to do this because there was not enough room to successfully display both an animal cell diagram and a plant cell diagram. Next time I will try and use more graphics/images in my diagram and less words. I think this would help to hold the students' attention.

Hunt - Shapes! (Picasa)

Google Presentation


This week we have been learning how to use Picasa and Google Presentation. We used these programs to create a digital scavenger hunt. My particular scavenger hunt was for Shapes. The assignment was to go outside and find these shapes in nature, and to photograph them. This activity would be great to use in the classroom as individual projects or as a class activity. We used Picasa to share our photos for the scavenger hunt and to create a slide show. Next, we uploaded the photos to Google Presentation to create a presentation similar to a power point. Both of these will be great tools to use in the classroom for so many things such as student presentations, teacher-lesson presentations, sharing pictures for classroom activities and events. What went well for me was that the images were very easy to load into both Picasa and Google Presentation. Next time I will take more time to make the presentation more visually appealing and interesting to look at.

Smile Box - Invite

Customize a free invitation

Smile Box will be a great tool to use both in and outside of the classroom for me. What went well for me was primarily learning that Smile Box even existed! I had never heard of it before. Smile Box will be great for creating invitations to classroom events, parent meetings, and so much more. What I would do differently is focus on adding a personal image to the "spooky" invitation that we created during class.

Creating a website!

Last week we started working on our websites. Ms. Trimble's Classroom website is up and running, so check it out! Throughout the semester, we will continue to work on our websites. I found that creating and setting up a website is really a lot easier than I ever thought it would be. I guess you could say that this is what went well for me during the process of getting started. At this point everything is running smoothly and I really haven't run into much difficulty. I really would not do anything differently next time around!

Picnik!

Glogster allows you to create posters using text, graphics, and videos. This will be a great tool in the classroom in several ways. I plan to use this as a way for students to introduce/express themselves to their fellow classmates at the beginning of the year. I also plan to use this to present projects and assignments when possible. What went well was that Glogster was extremely user friendly, so I know it will be easy for older students to use. What i would do differently next time for this particular "space" Glog that we did, is that I would spend more time adding texts and arranging the images. I would also search for a video to add to the poster to make it even more exciting!

Delicious Bookmarks Screenshot!

Web 2.0 tool - Delicious!

The web 2.0 tool that my partner and I chose to do our wiki on is the Delicious social bookmarking site. What went well was that the site was very easy to use and join. This will be a great tool to use in my future classroom because it will allow me to share bookmarks to relevant sites with my students and fellow teachers. If I had it to do over, there really would not be anything that I would do differently. The site is very user-friendly and I think I would do it the same. Check it out!

Screen Shot of My Wordle!

FunBrain.com Reflection

I really enjoyed exploring the Fun Brain website. The site was extremely user friendly. Funbrain.com will be a great site to utilize in my future classroom because it allows the students to practice their reading, math, and literacy skills while having fun. I am a true fan of anything that can show kids that learning can be fun. The only thing that did not go well for me was locating the author and contact information. Next time I visit the site I'd like to spend more time reading the "Teacher's Home" page and the "Parent's Page" to see what information I can find in those sections.

Wonderful World of Wikis

This week we are learning how to create and edit wikis. I had no idea how simple wikis really are and how useful they can be in a classroom. I love the idea of using wikis to do things like take a class on virtual field trips or use them to study and focus on a specific topic. I have also learned how wiki can also be used as a communication tool for a group of people to work together and collaborate in a way that everyone in the group and access and modify the information. I am excited to learn more about the many ways that wikis can be useful.

First Time Blogger!

This is my very first blog! I am very excited to learn what having a blog is all about. So far I am learning how to create my blog by adding my picture, gadgets, and information about myself. This class will be great for me to learn about all of the technologies that are available to be put to use in my future classroom.