Reflection

My favorite tool that I learned about was tool #7 creating digital stories. It was a challenge to me and helped me to learn more about iMovie which is something that I have wanted to learn how to use. I would use this with my students and create a class movie to tell the story with a subject of their choice. Learning about all of these new tools has changed my thinking on how I can incorporate technology in new ways in my classroom. New ways that I can use technolgy and new ways for my students. No unexpected outcomes but I really enjoyed learning!

Tool #11

I LOVE BrainPop!! I've used it many times in my classroom. I found these three topics to be the most age appropriate for my students computer viruses, online safety and internet search. There are videos on each of these subjects on the regular BrainPop and these could be incorporated into a lesson about digital citizenship. BrainPop Jr. is a better website for the age group that I am teaching and they have a video on internet safety that would be great! I think that as the school experience becomes more and more integrated with technology that it is very important for our young students to learn how to be responsible on the computer and while using the internet.

Tool #10

I've had an iPhone since they first came out and an iPod before that. I think they are great products that can be a fun addition to the educational experience. Some of the apps that I reviewed ABC Phonics Animals and Google Earth. The ABC app seemed fantastic. It would be fun and engaging app while teaching young students beginning sounds. Google earth would be great for students to locate different areas that we study about. There is also a satellite view so that students can see the terrain fo a desert versus forest, etc. This technology is a great addition to any classroom.

Tool #9

I wish I would have known about Jing earlier! Last year I taught kindergarten and spent a lot of time explainging over and over again how to access different programs to my students. They would often times forget what to click or the order of what to do next. In my classroom this year I could definitely see myself recording "how to" videos for my students on different computer tasks. This would be a great time saver. Skype would also be a great application to use in our classroom. When learning about different cultures and parts of the world we could try to Skype with a classroom from that culture and interview them to learn more.

Tool #8

Parts of a Flower Video

Community Workers Video

I got the flower video from YouTube and the community workers from TeacherTube. Both of these videos would be a great to incorporate into a science or social studies lesson. It would be a great addition to a lesson for students that are visual learners. I have used many videos in my lessons before and TeacherTube is another great resource to have!

Tool # 7

I made this Video using iMovie. I used some of my personal photos from when I got engaged. I watched the Apple iMovie tutorial and that really helped me to understand how to a video. It didn't take me too long to make and I want to experiment some more to improve. One way that videos could be used in my classroom is it could be a class project. We could create a video about the class favorite subject or information that the students have researched.

Tool #6

I have had some experience with Wiki's before when I was in college. I was excited to learn about how I could use them in my own classroom. In my Pre-K classroom I discovered three ways that I could use a Wiki. First, I could have a parent involvement page where I post announcements and other important documents. Another, was a Wiki for student portfolios where we could scan work or post student created computer work. Lastly, we could create a Wiki to have contact with other classrooms.

Tool #5

I joined the social bookmarking site Delicious. I found two new websites!

1) Pics4Learning - I found this website using the tags "education photography." I think this site could be very helpful when trying to find school appropriate pictures for student projects or for my own use.


2) Edutopia - I found this website using the tag "education." As a educator I can use this website to find new ideas and strategies that other teachers have found successful.

Social bookmarking will be successful to my classroom by allowing me to bookmark helpful websites and be able to organize them easily and access them from any computer.

Tool #4

I think Google Docs is a great resource for educators! On a professional level I can definitely see the advantages of having one place where a document is altered and shared instead of being passed around and copied through email. We could use that when sharing ideas, resources, and curriculum planning. Google Reader is also a great way to keep up with my PLN and new ways to improve in my teaching.

Tool #3

I used Comic Strip Generator to create the 101 Dalmatian image. I could use this to illustrate CAP skills and help my students to identify the different concepts. The image could be used in centers as well. The collage image was created using Big Huge Labs. I used personal photos of my old students in their centers. I could use the collage as a focus when introducing centers to my young Pre-K students so they can have a visual example of what behavior in centers should look like.

Tool #2

As technology continues to be a driving force in our modern world it is changing how people communicate. It is exciting to start creating my own Personal Learning Network. I feel that this will give me the opportunity to learn new strategies and to continue to grow professionally. A good teacher is always a good learner, constantly trying to improve. A PLN is a great way to keep that learning going. One point that I appreciated from the commenting advice was that blogging is not an isolated experience and in order to learn and communicate you need to take the time to comment on other blogs and start conversations.

These are the blogs I am going to follow:

1) Technology in the Bilingual Classroom

2) Education is the key to a good future

3) Becoming Pro Tech

4) Hammer's PK

5) Spring Daffodils

Tool #1

I really enjoyed this first tool assignment. I was already familiar how to create a blog. While in college many of my professor's incorporated blogs and blog posts into their curriculum. However, I have never created an avatar before. I think that an avatar is a great way to convey a message or create a persona without having to use personal information which is a definite plus when using blogs in a classroom setting. I could see using a blog/avatar in my classroom by having the avatar give students verbal instructions for an activity. I could also use the blog for parent communication with updates and information.