Who is this guy talking about??????

Is he talking about us a few weeks ago? 

eportfolio

I have chosen to make the eportfolio for my final project. I think it will be an excellent way to keep a portfolio since I have not touched my hard copy version since I got hired. I chose the wiki format because my school keeps everything that you could possibly imagine on our new school wiki. Creating my own wiki will help me navigate around all those documents at school.

One of the first items I worked on was upgrading my resume. I am glad this project has inspired me and required me to do that. Since I just got moved to a new grade level, I had been wondering what the best method  was to keep track of all the different grades I taught in. I have heard of many veteran teachers say they have taught in MANY grades by the end of their career. I think the eportfolio is the perfect place for this type of record keeping.

I have created several technology lessons being that I had a technology coach the last year and a half and as a result of taking this class. I think my eportfolio will be great place to organize and showcase them. I feel that this creation project will help me keep on task as a teacher. My eportfolio will be an easy place to navigate to, to make sure I am  fulfilling all of my obligations as a teacher.

I really want to choose this option for my final instead of writing the paper. I don't understand why we have to go present it. The eportfolio is really self explanatory; just click and read. People who write a paper don't go and present their paper, so I don't see why the portfolio has to be presented. Regardless, I am excited about the creation of my very own self-created eportfolio!

Digital Story Telling

My group chose to create a Prezi to tell our story. Again, I think it is awesome to work in a group online and never leave the house. It is so hard for me to believe that we can all work on and edit the same project from our own home. The nice thing about working with a group is that you get help and you are all working for the same grade so you all put in your best effort.

I first learned about digital story telling last year through Tracy, the tech coach. My students, one small group at a time, made a digital story every week last year with the vocabulary words. They started off with making Power Points and then moved onto Movie Maker. All of the students loved doing this project.They had to gain an understating of the definition first. We also did an Explorer digital story telling project. I can truly say that they put more effort into digital projects than anything else.

There are so many ways you can incorporate digital story telling. If the kids are going to tell a story about a subject or topic, they must first really understand the topic, which is what we want. It is almost as if they become the teacher. Or you could make movies of the kids to show at Open House, or document a field trip and review it while the kids write a written response about it.  

The possibilities for digital story telling are endless and it can be done so that it is meaningful.

Check out some evidence here, and check out the link at the bottom of my blog.

Virtual field Trips

Schools Around the World

I have a sister who is a computer programmer, a brother-in-law who is a computer technician, and a nephew who designs computer animated games. They all attended college for 2 - 4 years to achieve the jobs they have. At this point in this class, I can see why they chose the field of technology, it is fun. I cannot believe the  amazing things I have created on the computer in such a short amount of time.  

Creating the Virtual Field Trip (VFT) was amazing in so many ways. I am amazed at how we can collaborate through technology; from all working on the same exact document to communicating on Pirate Pad. I think linking pieces of a project together is a blast. The Form is an excellent way to assess using technology and it can save time and money. The VFT project helped me understand how to incorporate technology into lessons to make it meaningful.

I can't believe I can do all this with just 4 nights of class.

Microsoft Office Alternatives

I have been trying out some of the tools on Zoho. I really like the calendar. The calendar comes in handy for me right now while I am taking two classes. I just put all the due dates from both classes on it. Its not hard to get due dates mixed up, which I did do. And then there is the Zoho Show which is a lot like power point. This is all good stuff. There is so much to consider it makes my brain feel  like this web.

I have a feeling there is a good organized place out there to write weekly lessons plans on one of these tools, but I haven't found it yet. Does anyone have a good tip?

Google Here, Google There, Google Google Everywhere

I it is astonishing how much there is to do on Google. Google Docs, Google Maps,  iGoole, gmail......

Goggle Docs is an amazing tool for class. I absolutely love how we can work in a group, but never leave our house. Amy and I have been adding information to a document that we share. I love how it saves whatever we both type on it. It really does work.This is so much easier than emailing back and forth. At school, my team and I could use this to create and edit documents to share with other. I never thought of using the things we are learning about with other teachers until John suggested it. 

Google Docs helped solve some problems with my home computers as well. Sometimes I work on my laptop so I can sit in my living room with my husband in the evenings. Then I have to email myself papers and go back to my computer in the back of my house, pull up the document and print it there. Google Docs is so amazing and will solve this problem. I have tried to copy and paste some of the documents from my laptop to Google Docs. It appears that only text will work so far for me. Does anyone have any tips?

Google Maps: I never knew there was a world outside of MapQuest. I am excited to work with Google maps more with our virtual field trip. I guess what surprises me the most is that I can actually make my own map with markers, and directions to and from anywhere I want. I never I could that.

Gmail will be an asset too. I really haven't used it much yet, but I could switch all my school related email such as Scholastic News and Really Good Stuff to go there to clean up our family email. It can pretty messy at times.

Although I have discussed a bit about Google, I have to admit that I do feel a little lost at times. I am still not quite sure what to log into at first or how to get from one thing to the next. I don't understand how they are all connected together. I think I luck out when I get somewhere I want to be. Hopefully I will get more organized with this as I work more with Google.

1st Experience With Technology in the Classroom

I have taught fifth grade for the last three years. For the last one and a half of those years, our school provided a technology coach. The reason why is because our school had purchased a Smart Board for every Learning Support teacher and one Smart Board for one regular education teacher in each grade level. Of course this caused a lot of hurt feelings for those who did not receive one. Anyway, Tracy, the coach, conducted "Learning Lunches" in which she introduced various ways to use technology in the classroom. I tried almost every option she suggested.

One of the things I tried was making a wiki and having my students make a wiki. A wiki is similar to a blog. Tracy taught the kids and I how to make movies on Movie Maker. A group of students made a movie each week pertaining to the vocabulary words. This project really helped them understand the words better. We once used Power Point to create our own math test on fractions. By doing this, the students learned what a fraction is and isn't. This really benefits kids who like to be creative and active.

Below is a link to my school Blog which gives more detail about these projects and more.
http://www.smith505blog.blogspot.com/

I love using technology and allowing the students to use it. I feel that it is so important for them since the world seems to be going full speed ahead with it. I am so glad to be taking this class to brush up on my skills and  gain even more tech knowledge. The little things we learned already like how to use different buttons on the D2L make life so much easier. It is amazing and almost hard to believe what one can do on Google. I can't wait to learn more!