Ahh I love Weebly too and this was also my first time creating a website! I think Weebly has so many great features, it's always fun to make, and watching your screencast makes me want to create another one! haha, too bad you can only make two before having to pay :(
I thought your Weebly looked great and your "About Me" page was excellent. It seems like you really care about your audience gaining an understanding of who you are as a person and as a teacher. I also liked how your Jing video is like an informational video for Weebly. If someone didnt know how to use Weebly before they could just watch your video and learn about all the great features!
I also liked how you explained to your audience how to go about the different pages at the top of Weebly and what information you used for those pages. Your lesson pages look great and I had never heard of Photo Peach before now but now I'll have to try it out. Also I think it's a great idea for you to put a link to your blog on the webpage because I know as a fact that you enjoy writing and you keep up with all your blogs :) Parents are going to love a teacher who updates their blog frequently about information and activities happening in the classroom. Overall, awesome job, and I really hope you do stay updated with your blogs next year while student teaching. I'll definitely be following you and commenting!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Jenica's Showcase!
Great job! I thought your showcase highlighted some great things you learned throughout the semester and I especially liked how you talked about making a Wiki (this was one of my low areas). I have been frustrated with Wikis ever since I first learned about them a couple years ago and I just havent had a good experience with them since :( It's good to know that you really enjoy this style of technology because maybe I just need to spend more time using it. I thought it was an AWESOME idea for you to put your 301 project into a Wiki.. that's something I would have never thought to do. That project of mine is huuuge and I definitely wouldn't want to carry that around either. I will have to keep in mind next semester while student teaching that your "Ten Components of Literacy" Wiki is available to the public!
One of my favorites technologies from this semester was also Google Docs. I think you did a great job informing your audience about all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) aspects of Google Docs and how it's great for accessing and editing one document from any computer. Like you said, especially for college students this is such a great technology that allows us to work from our own homes and our own computers while still doing something TOGETHER (which is what group projects are about). I definitely agree with you that group members should schedule a time and also use Facebook or Skype while working on their projects from their own home. The purpose for a group project is to work together, which doesn't work out well if people just add their own thoughts and ideas at random times.
Overall, great job and I hope you stick with your Wiki! Like I said, I will keep in mind your available resource that I might resort to next year!
One of my favorites technologies from this semester was also Google Docs. I think you did a great job informing your audience about all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) aspects of Google Docs and how it's great for accessing and editing one document from any computer. Like you said, especially for college students this is such a great technology that allows us to work from our own homes and our own computers while still doing something TOGETHER (which is what group projects are about). I definitely agree with you that group members should schedule a time and also use Facebook or Skype while working on their projects from their own home. The purpose for a group project is to work together, which doesn't work out well if people just add their own thoughts and ideas at random times.
Overall, great job and I hope you stick with your Wiki! Like I said, I will keep in mind your available resource that I might resort to next year!
Kristy's Voicethread
Kristy,
I thought you did a great job with your Voicethread presentation! Reflecting on your blogs was a great idea and I felt as if I was learning new things while listening to you! I too felt very overwhelemed with this course in the beginning of the semester but once things started progressing I definitely felt better about the class. Being introduced to so many new technologies in a small period of time is not easy, even for teachers! You sounded very fluent in your presentation and you really proved to your audience how much you learned and love blogging. I was also forced to use new technologies in my 402 classroom and I couldnt have been more excited to use something I was recently introduced to in CEP.
I thought it was a great idea for your first graders to use blogging but I might be a little hesitant at first because they are SO young. Having them all put their thought down on a blog would be really beneficial for the class especially if you have the resources available. I also thought it served a great purpose for children who may have missed that day. Like you said, instead of them miss the material they can jump right onto the blog to see everything!
Overall, great job this semester and with your presentation. I hope you stick with blogging because you seem like you really enjoy it and it is a great place for us to voice our opinions. I hope I can keep up with it but I feel so overwhelemed from other classes. I think once things slow down I'll be able to update/add some new posts but not right now :)
I thought you did a great job with your Voicethread presentation! Reflecting on your blogs was a great idea and I felt as if I was learning new things while listening to you! I too felt very overwhelemed with this course in the beginning of the semester but once things started progressing I definitely felt better about the class. Being introduced to so many new technologies in a small period of time is not easy, even for teachers! You sounded very fluent in your presentation and you really proved to your audience how much you learned and love blogging. I was also forced to use new technologies in my 402 classroom and I couldnt have been more excited to use something I was recently introduced to in CEP.
I thought it was a great idea for your first graders to use blogging but I might be a little hesitant at first because they are SO young. Having them all put their thought down on a blog would be really beneficial for the class especially if you have the resources available. I also thought it served a great purpose for children who may have missed that day. Like you said, instead of them miss the material they can jump right onto the blog to see everything!
Overall, great job this semester and with your presentation. I hope you stick with blogging because you seem like you really enjoy it and it is a great place for us to voice our opinions. I hope I can keep up with it but I feel so overwhelemed from other classes. I think once things slow down I'll be able to update/add some new posts but not right now :)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Integrating Technology
Well, now that I've learned tons about technology it's time to put it to use. I will be starting my student teaching this fall and now that I have experience creating lesson plans with technology I should probably start creating more!
I am beyond excited to start student teaching and I hope my mentor teacher enjoys the ideas I bring to the table. Now, many of these ideas are going to include technology, and being placed in Waterford Public Schools I think I just might have the opportunity to explore some of these resources (I didnt get to in Lansing). Technology integration has become really important to me, and just recently I was asked how I am going to differentiate instruction to my students. You know what I said? Yup! I am going to use technology to enhance my lessons and differentiate a lesson that might usually be dull and boring. I have witnessed several times the ability of technology to make a lesson more interesting and meaningful. Students at any level are going to connect more with a lesson that involves auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners, and thats exactly what technology does!
I am beyond excited to start student teaching and I hope my mentor teacher enjoys the ideas I bring to the table. Now, many of these ideas are going to include technology, and being placed in Waterford Public Schools I think I just might have the opportunity to explore some of these resources (I didnt get to in Lansing). Technology integration has become really important to me, and just recently I was asked how I am going to differentiate instruction to my students. You know what I said? Yup! I am going to use technology to enhance my lessons and differentiate a lesson that might usually be dull and boring. I have witnessed several times the ability of technology to make a lesson more interesting and meaningful. Students at any level are going to connect more with a lesson that involves auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners, and thats exactly what technology does!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Google Docs
Of course the week after we discuss Google Docs I find a great website which goes through some of the features of Google Docs. The article starts out by saying "As college students, we survive by collaborating. We work together on group projects, form study groups, and share advice about the toughest professors. Despite all this, it occurred to me that nobody really works together to take notes. I'm not talking about sharing notes with your buddy who was too hungover to make it to class, I'm talking about actually working simultaneously on the same set of notes during a lecture. Some of us are slow typists, others have moments where we tune out the teacher to daydream (or check Facebook), most of us struggle to keep us with fast-talking professors. So why limit our class notes to what we as individuals are capable of writing down? Aren't two brains better than one?"
Check out this link: http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/3/30/use-google-docs-to-tag-team-class-note-taking.html to get some extra tips when using Google Docs. It's such a great tool!
Check out this link: http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/3/30/use-google-docs-to-tag-team-class-note-taking.html to get some extra tips when using Google Docs. It's such a great tool!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wiki Vs. Weebly
I was never fond of wiki’s because when I was first introduced to them there was too much content and I felt very overwhelmed. I think I was first introduced to a wiki (besides wikipedia) last year when I took another online class. It was a lot more difficult for me to find what I was looking for because I felt like I had to click through a lot of other stuff to get to where I wanted to be. Now, after using wiki for this class I feel a lot more confident and I enjoy it more than I used to. The material for CEP is more organized and straightforward than what I was used to.
Recently, another class had us use wiki for a project, and again, I was overwhelmed with content. There was too much stuff for us to click on and I could never find the instructions or the information I wanted. Good thing we only had to use the wiki for a week because it was too much for me to handle.
After making my own wiki and comparing it to Weebly I think I still enjoy Weebly more. Because of CEP I have had a lot of experience with Weebly and I still have fun creating and editing websites. I also introduced Weebly for the class project I mentioned above. Weebly is very self-explanatory and it’s not hard to add content to the page. I also like how you can choose your own colors and template which makes every website look completely different. When I tried adding a template to wiki there were only a few choices, and the one I chose was still plain and boring. Although I thought it was quite easy to make a wiki I would still choose to use Weebly in the classroom.
Recently, another class had us use wiki for a project, and again, I was overwhelmed with content. There was too much stuff for us to click on and I could never find the instructions or the information I wanted. Good thing we only had to use the wiki for a week because it was too much for me to handle.
After making my own wiki and comparing it to Weebly I think I still enjoy Weebly more. Because of CEP I have had a lot of experience with Weebly and I still have fun creating and editing websites. I also introduced Weebly for the class project I mentioned above. Weebly is very self-explanatory and it’s not hard to add content to the page. I also like how you can choose your own colors and template which makes every website look completely different. When I tried adding a template to wiki there were only a few choices, and the one I chose was still plain and boring. Although I thought it was quite easy to make a wiki I would still choose to use Weebly in the classroom.
Twittterrr!
My love for twitter has grown tremendously and I’m so glad I was introduced to this wonderful tool. I still follow many educators and they tweet about the most amazing things that are happening in their classrooms and in the education world in general.
I try to tweet a few times each day because I like updating my followers with interesting information. Usually I tell people where I am, what I’m doing, I’ll post a picture, or I’ll tweet about a link that’s caught my attention. I think I understand the basics of twitter but I am excited to learn more in the following years.
There is one question I have and it’s about retweeting. Sometimes I retweet others but I don’t know how to add my own comment into the same tweet, and then retweet it. If someone were to say “I’m going to the Tigers game!” I would like to retweet it and say “Me too!” but I’m not sure how. I’d appreciate it if someone could explain this to me Either way, I’m happy I learned about Twitter because it’s keeping me updated about more important stuff that Facebook doesn’t cover.
I try to tweet a few times each day because I like updating my followers with interesting information. Usually I tell people where I am, what I’m doing, I’ll post a picture, or I’ll tweet about a link that’s caught my attention. I think I understand the basics of twitter but I am excited to learn more in the following years.
There is one question I have and it’s about retweeting. Sometimes I retweet others but I don’t know how to add my own comment into the same tweet, and then retweet it. If someone were to say “I’m going to the Tigers game!” I would like to retweet it and say “Me too!” but I’m not sure how. I’d appreciate it if someone could explain this to me Either way, I’m happy I learned about Twitter because it’s keeping me updated about more important stuff that Facebook doesn’t cover.
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