For the LiveBinders assignment, I chose to create my binders as if I were already teaching high school courses. My binders are named "Sophomore English," "Creative Writing," and "My Teaching Stuff." The first two are for lesson plans and resources for the classes I "am teaching" and the third is a place for me to gather information to improve my approach in the classroom. I chose to embed my Sophomore English Binder. It includes a document with a game board I made for pronoun bingo and a lesson about pronouns as well as passages my students can use for proofreading. This site would be useful both for me as a teacher and for my students. They could actually use LiveBinders instead of keeping a 3-ring binder (which no one likes after all). It could really cut down on paper waste, and it would make it easier for my students to maintain organization throughout a semester.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Stop #21: Animoto
RIP Grimace
Using Animoto was actually very easy. There were really only three steps and you can choose photos from social networking sites, flickr, or your own computer. I chose to make a video with pictures of my cat who passed away last month. The video turned out really nice and I am glad I was introduced to this website for a chance to memorialize him.
While Animoto is excellent for personal endeavors, it also has a place in the classroom. Rather than make photo collages on poster board for presenting, students could create 30 second Animoto clips that would catch the attention of their fellow students much more than a tri-fold would. It would also be cool to use for clubs or teams to recap an event or game.
Using Animoto was actually very easy. There were really only three steps and you can choose photos from social networking sites, flickr, or your own computer. I chose to make a video with pictures of my cat who passed away last month. The video turned out really nice and I am glad I was introduced to this website for a chance to memorialize him.
While Animoto is excellent for personal endeavors, it also has a place in the classroom. Rather than make photo collages on poster board for presenting, students could create 30 second Animoto clips that would catch the attention of their fellow students much more than a tri-fold would. It would also be cool to use for clubs or teams to recap an event or game.
Stop #20: Video Sharing!
To begin, I love YouTube and access it nearly every day. The video I chose is about choosing a type of school and a recruiter for teaching in Korea. Teaching English in Korea is something I would love to experience, so I spend a lot of time researching my options. This video is a little silly, but is full of great information. In fact, eatyourkimche (the creators of this video) make many helpful guides for working in schools in Korea.
Another video creating/sharing site I explored was Powtoon. While this is not necessarily a video site like we most often expect, it would be an excellent resource in the classroom. I could use it to create unique, fun lessons or assign a project to my students in which they use Powtoon to create a presentation of their own. I think the students would enjoy putting their lessons to work in such a creative way.
Stop #19: Other Social Networking
My feelings about most social networking are aligned with my feelings about Twitter. I use Facebook to keep my mother up to date on myself and the family and to keep up with my old friends, but I just can hardly see the use for it in the workplace. Sites like Classroom 2.0 make sense for teachers because they can share ideas and tactics, but the layout was very busy and hard to read. I just don't see what these sites can offer that my RSS feed and blog cannot.
Stop #18: Twitter
To be honest, I have never seen really any point in Twitter. Even after this discovery activity I don't see any reason for it in education. I gather that it makes it simple to keep up with people and news in education, but I can easily do that on the blogosphere I follow. Maybe this has to do with my initial reluctance to join twitter when it first came out, but it just seems like a pointless website for teen girls to keep up with the Kardashians.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Stop #17: Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking has many uses in the classroom. The first of these is organizing classroom resources for my students into one simple location using tags and links to put websites I want on my dashboard. Using social bookmarking in such a way will enable my students to access any website I reference in my course. These sites are also useful for organizing online applications for use in my own learning process. We even used a bookmarking website in class as a method for student presentations. I liked that concept and can see myself using that in my own classroom in the future.
Stop #16: Organize Schmorganized - Get your act together
For this discovery activity, I chose Symbaloo as my customized start page to explore. I decided on this one because of the simplicity of the tiles and the navigation. Netvibes and uStart both looked useful, but they seemed too involved for a quick-access homepage. Symbaloo even had a ready-made template with tiles for almost all of the websites I already use daily, and adding new tiles is extremely easy. The concept reminds me a bit of an iPad which makes it more recognizable and usable. Because of the simplicity, I would definitely consider using it as my permanent homepage. It is easier to operate than browser bookmarks and even comes with a Google search widget right in the middle. Since Google search is my current homepage, Symbaloo can give me what I already have and even more.
For an online calendar, I explored all the options, but again had to stick with my Google Calendar. While 30 Boxes is very customizable and easy to use, there is no way to access it from my phone save through a web browse. With upto, I had the opposite problem. The calender is accessible only via mobile apps and not through a browser. Google calendar is available on both mediums and can easily be shared using most applications (like upto). The only requirement for a Google calendar is a gmail account which most people have. I have a soft spot in my heart for Google because it conveniently put all of your most necessary only applications in one place (Blogger, Drive, Calendar, email, social networking, etc. etc.). The internet could not possibly get much easier than that.
The uses of online calendars are extensive. As a teacher, I could use them to organize my classes and update due dates or other information in an instant. If I were in charge of any clubs or organizations, I could keep the club calendar on Google for my students to access. In my personal life, I already use it to keep my family calendar in one place. Once I share my calendar, my family members can add their own schedules so that we have a comprehensive schedule in one place that is more easily editable and way less messy than a paper calendar or a dry erase board.
Another online organizational tool I investigated was Remember the Milk. I am notorious for creating to-do lists and then promptly losing them. About a year ago, I began using an app called EverNote that I am obsessed with and use daily. What caught my eye about Remember the Milk is that I can sync my lists to my EverNote account. Now my to-do lists will be wherever I am and immediately accessible. Another bonus (and a given) is that I can link Remember the Milk to my gmail account. I will definitely be using this application frequently from here on out.
Although it was not in the discovery activity, EverNote is an organizational application available on both the web and on mobile devices that I swear by. You can create several "notebooks" and you can share them individually with different people. I can have a family recipe book that my aunts, grandmothers, cousins, and siblings can add to; a work notebook that keeps my colleagues up to date on the goings-on in the work place; a personal notebook where I save webpages for later reading using the WebClipper add-on for my browser; anything you dream up, EverNote can do. I honestly cannot think of a situation where EverNote would not be useful. I urge everyone to give it a chance because it is life-changing.
For an online calendar, I explored all the options, but again had to stick with my Google Calendar. While 30 Boxes is very customizable and easy to use, there is no way to access it from my phone save through a web browse. With upto, I had the opposite problem. The calender is accessible only via mobile apps and not through a browser. Google calendar is available on both mediums and can easily be shared using most applications (like upto). The only requirement for a Google calendar is a gmail account which most people have. I have a soft spot in my heart for Google because it conveniently put all of your most necessary only applications in one place (Blogger, Drive, Calendar, email, social networking, etc. etc.). The internet could not possibly get much easier than that.
The uses of online calendars are extensive. As a teacher, I could use them to organize my classes and update due dates or other information in an instant. If I were in charge of any clubs or organizations, I could keep the club calendar on Google for my students to access. In my personal life, I already use it to keep my family calendar in one place. Once I share my calendar, my family members can add their own schedules so that we have a comprehensive schedule in one place that is more easily editable and way less messy than a paper calendar or a dry erase board.
Another online organizational tool I investigated was Remember the Milk. I am notorious for creating to-do lists and then promptly losing them. About a year ago, I began using an app called EverNote that I am obsessed with and use daily. What caught my eye about Remember the Milk is that I can sync my lists to my EverNote account. Now my to-do lists will be wherever I am and immediately accessible. Another bonus (and a given) is that I can link Remember the Milk to my gmail account. I will definitely be using this application frequently from here on out.
Although it was not in the discovery activity, EverNote is an organizational application available on both the web and on mobile devices that I swear by. You can create several "notebooks" and you can share them individually with different people. I can have a family recipe book that my aunts, grandmothers, cousins, and siblings can add to; a work notebook that keeps my colleagues up to date on the goings-on in the work place; a personal notebook where I save webpages for later reading using the WebClipper add-on for my browser; anything you dream up, EverNote can do. I honestly cannot think of a situation where EverNote would not be useful. I urge everyone to give it a chance because it is life-changing.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Stop #15: Wiki-wiki-whaaaattt?
Wikis had never been on my radar much before taking this educational tech class, so the concept is pretty new to me. It is a pretty neat idea, and although I have used my fair share of Wikipedia, I never gave much thought to how it was created. Creating a website that anyone at all could edit and revise means that the website could be exceptionally thorough, since everyone can bring different expertise to the plate. The problem I see with wikis is that someone could easily fudge everything up by being silly or rude.
I could see myself using a wiki as a classroom project, where students build their own class' website based on things we accomplish in the course. Students are often proud when the create things, especially when they can be viewed by a large audience, so a published wiki could be a motivating and creative project that would involve everyone. I look forward to finding new ways to use wikis, as there is so much left to explore.
I could see myself using a wiki as a classroom project, where students build their own class' website based on things we accomplish in the course. Students are often proud when the create things, especially when they can be viewed by a large audience, so a published wiki could be a motivating and creative project that would involve everyone. I look forward to finding new ways to use wikis, as there is so much left to explore.
Stop #14: Flowcharts and Mindmaps
For this activity, I chose to try Gliffy (flowchart) and Bubbl.us (mindmap). I chose these because I have used MindMeister before and wanted to try something different for a mindmap, and I think it is silly to have to request an invitation to use an application (looking at you, flowchart.com). Between the two, I prefer using the mindmap on Bubbl.us. The controls and connections are much more intuitive than the Gliffy flowchart. The flowchart would be easier for organizing ideas that have already been brainstormed.
In my future classroom, I could use these applications for students to organize thoughts for papers or projects or as presentations. The mindmap would be best for organizing the projects and the flowcharts would work well for presenting timelines or relationships between cause and effect. I remember being assigned handwritten flowcharts when I was in school, and the concept was very helpful for understanding. Now that there are easier ways to accomplish the same task, I will be sure to implement them in my future classroom.
In my future classroom, I could use these applications for students to organize thoughts for papers or projects or as presentations. The mindmap would be best for organizing the projects and the flowcharts would work well for presenting timelines or relationships between cause and effect. I remember being assigned handwritten flowcharts when I was in school, and the concept was very helpful for understanding. Now that there are easier ways to accomplish the same task, I will be sure to implement them in my future classroom.
Stop #13: Google Drive
GoogleDoc Blog Post
Students can easily collaborate via Google Drive for group projects. In high school, my whole class would groan when the teacher assigned group projects because it is so hard to find a time and place to get everyone together to make a plan or work on parts of the assignment. With Google Drive, students can edit documents together, negating issues with schedules or timing.
After comparing Drive to Zoho, I have decided I much prefer Drive. The applications are so similar to Microsoft Office that navigating them is almost second nature. It is also easier to use because nearly everyone nowadays has a gmail account and that is the only requirement for access. I am a huge proponent of Google and all it has to offer.
Students can easily collaborate via Google Drive for group projects. In high school, my whole class would groan when the teacher assigned group projects because it is so hard to find a time and place to get everyone together to make a plan or work on parts of the assignment. With Google Drive, students can edit documents together, negating issues with schedules or timing.
After comparing Drive to Zoho, I have decided I much prefer Drive. The applications are so similar to Microsoft Office that navigating them is almost second nature. It is also easier to use because nearly everyone nowadays has a gmail account and that is the only requirement for access. I am a huge proponent of Google and all it has to offer.
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