Book Talk

For my TE 348 final I had to demonstrate a Book Talk on a favorite past time story. I decided to my final on the Polar Express. I hope you enjoy viewing and listening to it. Also I think this would be a great way for students to learn how to use technology and do a book report. ;)

Wikispaces

Wikispaces is yet another educational tool that we as future educators have in our arsenal. Unlike Weebly or my blog, Wikispaces allows anyone to edit the information on my page. Aside from the ability to post comments, the actual content can be edited, which poses interesting advantages, but also some disadvantages. The ability to make content private, in which only invited guests are allowed to edit is of major importance. This insures you don't just have randoms editing your pages. In an educational setting a wiki can be used for various tasks, including class trips/projects. The messaging feature is also a nice touch, as it serves as another form of communication on the site. Here is a link to my wiki. The many widgets that are at your disposal is also a positive of using a wiki, specifically wikispaces. Enjoy.

A Way to Tell a Story

For this week’s task I chose to write a short story about my trip to China with my family. I used picture of the places I saw and organized them in a power point presentation. I then upload it to myPlick.com to publish my story book. I like how myPlick was easy and straight forward to use and if I wanted to and music I could have to my story. I know this cite and especially this idea would be useful as a teacher for putting together a reflective story about a class trip or a project. Being able to make a story digitally like in myPlick helps the students see how a story can vividly come alive. I think a lot of students would enjoy even doing presentations more as they see that a presentation is just a story being told out loud.
The site I used was great for the short story I did, however it was more of a presentation site. I would encourage others to chose a different more interacting site if they wanted to make a story book. However if I was just uploading a presentation or story to tell the class then I did like how quick and easy myPlick worked. It was very user friendly.
Below is the story that I put together in myPlick.com. I hope you all enjoy.

My Trip to China

Student Success For Life

Reading Ira Socal's, "A Toolbelt For A Lifetime" encouraged me to think even more outside the box about technology and how it is, and can be used in the classroom. To often it seems teachers and administrators are thinking short term in relation to school and student success. Technology is often discouraged, as it can be a distraction. However, shouldn't it be more important for kids to learn how to be responsible with a device such as a cell phone? Cell phones aren't going to magically disappear, so it would be more beneficial for students to learn how to use them responsibly and respectfully.

The longer you hold students back from the real world the more lost they will be when they're thrown into the fire. Shouldn't school serve as an avenue to prepare children for life, rather than holding them back from it. Both parents and teachers can sometimes forget that children have to be guided, not forced. There has to be room for them to make their own decisions, experience their own failures, because this is what helps them grow. A correct balance is hard to find, but is essential to students learning, developing, and progressing. Technology must not be feared, but rather embraced as is a tool that can provide great benefit, and must be learned for success in today's society. We must teach children to be problem solvers, not do the problem solving for them. With our help, but not too much of it, we can be the people who ensure children will have success throughout their whole life...and that my friends is something that you can be satisfied with!

Budgeting Your Time

As I'm sure many of my classmates have noticed, trying to follow, create, and stay up to date with all of these different programs can be quite time consuming. I am trying to attack this as a crash course into learning many technologies that I will be familiar with and able to use in the classroom if I choose to do so. I am glad that I have had this exposure to these many useful programs, but I think it is a little unrealistic to maintain this same level of commitment year in and year out. Time is a valuable commodity, and while I am thankful for all that I have learned so far, and will continue to learn I think the most important thing to remember is to have a balanced life. Taking some time out of your week to explore and stay up to date with new technology is very important, but it is something that one must not let completlely consume them.

Everchanging Technology

Thinking about technology in general can sometimes just make my head hurt. This program does this, this application does that, there is a new update, how do I do that again? Trying to stay up to date with the latest and greatest can be a job in and of itself. That being said, it is easy for one to get comfortable with certain technologies, and shut out all of the new things out there. On one end, this may seem like it's making life easier for you, but let's look a little deeper. Not being familiar with current technology can be quite troublesome, especially for a teacher. Being able to help your students use current programs will give them more respect for you, and also make them more interested in the subject matter. It is not always the easiest thing to do, but staying current with technology will be quite helpful in the long run.

Jing is Bling

Here is a link to my first attempt with Jing (just click Lesson Plan #1 for the link to view the video.) The video is an overview of my Lesson Plan #1 with technology integrated. I really really enjoyed this form of technology and think that it would be great for a class and students. I find it easy to make a lesson and if I was to add the webcam feature to a lesson or an example it really allows the audience to feel connected. I know that in my feature I will most likely be using Jing not only in the classroom setting but also to within my home life. I think I also like Jing more than voicethread as it was quick and easy to understand. This would be a great tool for teachers who knew they needed a subsitute teacher for awhile, or for a teacher that had a student who had been ill for awhile. All the teacher would have to do is go over the lesson and make a video with their voice to explain the subject matter. I highly recommend anyone and everyone to check out jing at jingproject.com to learn more and explore.