I’ve used Google Docs a few times this year with my level team. It has worked very well for us. I am not sure how I would use the presentation tools just yet, although I did explore what is available and it looks like it could be useful some how. I would love to hear how others use these tools (especially elementary teachers!) Here are my three ideas for using Google Docs: 1. Important Dates and Tasks – This is a document that my colleague created for this week’s assignment. It allows us to streamline all of the important dates and tasks that we have to remember all year long, year after year. This is the first year we’ve done this, but from here on out, we will be able to collaboratively refine and make edits as necessary.2. weekly check-in with tutor. We have a few students each year who see a tutor during school time. Unfortunately, we do not always have time to check-in about a kid. A Google Doc would provide an opportunity to keep up-to date progress by both teacher and tutor.3. At the end of every year we write very detailed narrative evaluations for each student. If my teaching partner and I have a Google Spreadsheet, we can continuously (and collaboratively) take notes on a kid all year long. These notes would then assist us in writing thoughtful evaluations and preparing for parent conferences.
Youtube was a lot of fun. I have played around with it before, but this time, because of the Web course, I didn’t have to feel guilty about using it because it was this week’s assignment. It is amazing that you can type in virtually anything, and get a video about it. For the “how to” clip, I looked up “how to change a flat tire”, (my way to change a flat tire is to call AAA) and I found a really easy to follow video about how to do it! Coolness. My fun, nostalgic videos kind of meshed with my classroom teaching videos. First, I wanted to see if there were any vintage Sesame Street videos out there. of course there were hundreds of them and I spent most of my evening last night oohing and aahing and saying. “Omigosh, I remember that!” Then I remembered how much I loved Electric Company and I did a search for that. Wow! What a blast from the past! Last week, Jose sent me a clip from a current PBS show entitled,”Between the Lions”, and showed me how he used that to teach a reading skill. As I perused the Electric Company’s clips, I realized how well done that show was (especially for its time) and I found some really good clips that I can and will use to reinforce reading skills in my classroom. Here is one of my favorites: I am not sure about how I would use a You Tube video that I had produced for classroom use. I feel funny about the idea of including kids on the internet in a way that displays their identity. I am really curious to hear what ideas other people have.
Okay, I finally figured out how to embed my podcast (thank you Sarah!) Evoca was really easy to use, and I often have trouble with new technology!!! It was really fun!
I liked Thing 17 because it forced me to check out some podcasts, which I have been meaning to do for some time. I have an iPhone, and I already subscribe to iTunes, so it was easy for me to search for and download podcasts. I looked though many of the podcast directories and two useful ones were NPR and PBS because the descriptions were very good and these sites made it easy to find out quickly if a podcast was of interest. The least helpful directory was probably the Learn Out Loud Network. I didn’t find much on the way of early childhood education and what I did find did not seem to be free. My absolute favortie was iTunes. My friend (and colleague) Jose taught me that once I knew what podcast I wanted, I could go into iTunes and search in the directory for it. It had everything I was looking for and it was so easy to subscribe to. In terms of incorporating existing podcasts into my classroom, two ideas have come to mind. I downloaded a podcast called StoryNory, which are audio recordings of children’s stories. This is something we would use during lunchtime, as our kids enjoy listening to a story while they eat lunch. I might also use Dragonfly TV, which teaches kids about science. If I were to use this podcast, I would preview it and use an episode that was relevant. Most of my postcast listening will be for my own personal growth. I am currently enjoying the Oprah podcast entitled, “A New Earth”, where a book (of the same name) is discussed Oprah and by author Eckhart Tolle. I also like NPR’s Talk of the Nation, Car Talk, and Webster’s Word of the Day.
I love this entire series about social tagging. I just love it. 43 Things is cool, but I am not sure if I would want to share my entire list with everyone. When I began Weight Watchers in November, I really didn’t want anyone to know (in case I failed) As I began to lose weight, I realized that I didn’t mind people knowing that I was losing weight. The fear of failing kept me from wanting to share my goal. As I began to share this goal with others, I began to see that many people had the same goals. I know at least three people who have started to change their eating habits because I shared my story with them. It may not seem like a lot, but it is very empowering for me. In addition, we have continued to support each other and keep each other committed to our goals. I wonder if 43 Things would work like this or if it would seem to impersonal. Since I love lists, I am going to give it a try, if I can remember my password and id. Is there a website for that?????
Coolness. Library Thing is so very cool. I love being led to sites that allow me to feed my burning desire to create and maintain lists! The other thing I love is that I can get suggestions of books to read based on what I already know I like. I love this for the possibilities of finding great read alouds for my class. I also really appreciate that there is nothing for sale. How refreshing. This is a wonderful site.
Del.icio.us is really scrumptious. I just want to devour it! It is so much fun to search for sites and create tags. Here is a look at my teeny, tiny delicious list. I can’t wait to keep adding sites to it. I also really want to go through my (too) long list of unorganized bookmarks and tag them all and add them to delicious. I would love some kind of rating system. What I have done instead is look at how many people have bookmarked a site as a jumping point. If five thousand people have saved a site, then it must be a site at least worth checking out, right? I can see all sorts of ways that I can (and will) use delicious in my professional practice. One way that comes immediately to mind is ideas with lesson planning. I am always looking for different ways to teach reading and math. I love hearing about what other teachers do and I am beginning to feel challenged to share what I do with others. What I really loved about del.icio.us is how easy it is to use. My frustration-o-meter was very low with this task and I really appreciate that!
I watched/listened to a presentation about Flickr. It was actually helpful for me because I have not had much experience with Flickr and it was nice to have the information presented in a simple, easy to understand way. I really like the visuals. Without them, I would not understand much of what was going on! It was not too long or too short.
I used Bubbleshare to create this very brief slideshow. It will be fun to play around with this when I have more time (ha, ha, ha.) Bubbleshare was very easy to use and it was a good thing, too, as I was becoming discouraged after the Creative Commons/Flickr disaster.
If you are task oriented, then here is a site for you! The Ta-da List website is really cool. It allows you to make list for every topic imaginable, and then check off tasks as you complete them. You can also share lists with friends. I am a listoholic and I admit that I sometimes spend more time making lists than accomplishing the tasks; heck, sometimes I even complete a task, then add it to my list just so I can check it off! Speaking of which, each task has a nifty little box that you can check off once the task is completed. It feels so good to do that! Check it out (or off!)
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