Scenario

I have wanted to be a teacher since I was very young. When I was in second grade, we did a musical about what we wanted to be when we grew up and I knew exactly what I wanted to be. So, I borrowed a pair of my mom's glasses and made myself a nametag: Ms. Ehmke-Teacher. Since that second grade musical my path to finding my passion has had small deviations, but I have always come back to my desire to be in the classroom. I really feel like the attributes I have are those that would help me to be successful as an educator. First of all, I am passionate and excited about what I want to teach. My concentration is English and I feel like there is a certain magic that comes with that subject; it truly has the ability to transcend time and geography. I am personable and enjoy being around and talking to different types of people. I feel like I'm fairly creative, which will help me to come up with interesting lesson plans as well as give me the ability to help differentiate my teachings to the different types of learners that I will undoubtedly have at one point or another. I'm a quick learner and try to stay up to date on the happenings in my content as well as with the educational realm in general. Finally, I love being around students. They say that if you go into teaching with a love for the kids, that'll get you through the majority of challenges that come your way.

However, I understand that there are challenges that I will have to face as a future teacher. My subject is one that can very easily become boring based on how it is taught. It will be a constant challenge for me to present the information in a way that is new, fresh, and in such a way that will relate to my student's lives. I am the kind of person who had a hard time delegating or asking for help so I will need to make sure that I am constantly and consciously using my co-workers as resources for advice and ideas.

Everyone has an idea of where they would ideally like to be in their teaching careers at certain points. Ideally, my dream job would be teaching English back at my high school, Frisco Centennial High School, in Frisco, TX.  I was lucky enough to have an amazing high school experience there and I feel like the staff and administrators all have the same ideas about how they want the school to be. Frisco ISD is a great school district and I realize that to get there, I will have to make sure I continue to do well in finishing my college education and really taking advantage of all the lessons I will learn when I student teach. I will most likely have to sub for a couple months when I move back there after I graduate and hopefully that will help me to get my foot in the door there and closer to my dream job at my dream school in my favorite city.

 Technology is something that is quickly becoming a major player in curriculum's around the globe. With the kids who are in schools today, technology is a major player in their everyday life. The International Society for Technology in Education recognizes that there are different standards now concerning education than there were even ten years ago. They know that societies and expectations are changing, teaching is changing, and that educators must lead the way. As an educator, I understand that it is part of my job to make sure that I am keeping up with the changes and growth in technology so I can relate to my students. Integrating that technology into the classroom will not always be an easy task. In my college career, I took an Education Technology class taught by Cyndi Danner Kuhn. The way that she taught the technology were learning about is the way that I would introduce it into my classrooms. She would give us multiple examples of the tool before we even started and would then help us, step-by-step, to create a practice product in class. For homework, it was our job to create a different product from the tool in a way that would relate to our content. I feel that the way that she did it was easy to follow and ended up being fun to use when we got to create our own projects using the tools. I feel that if I followed her  recipe, hopefully my students would come out of my class with multiple new tools in their belts like I did with her class. I learned how to use so many different tools in her classroom. The few that I feel the most comfortable with are VoiceThread, Google Docs, Prezi, and Animoto. However, there are different applications that I knew before this class that I feel would be helpful in "going global" with technology in my classroom. For instance, if we wanted to conference with a writer in another state, we could do it via Skype. Applications like Skype give them a first hand learning experience as well as a look into other cultures. It's these types of tools that would prepare our students to be "21st century ready" as The Partnership for 21st Century Skills states. I'm also familiar with Apple products including the MacBook Pro, iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad.

One of the amazing things about technology is that it is incredibly versatile. As a teacher, I understand that I will have all different kinds of students that will all have different types of learning styles to which they'll respond. I might have students who shine best when they are allowed to be creative and express themselves in a way that is different than just an essay. For these types of students, I could give them the option to create a presentation using VoiceThread or Prezi as opposed to writing an essay. Technology also gives me the ability to reach the students in my class who might have special needs. Using a Text to Spoken Language feature on a Mac could allow students who have a harder time reading to complete the assignments with more ease. I know that technology didn't have that big of an impact on my education because the teachers in my schools were not as up to speed with the different types that were available. We did use a clicker system for tests and quizzes but that was about as advanced as our technology got. I want to make sure that, especially since technology is so prevalent in society today, students that I'll teach learn how to use it in my classroom so they can then move onto using it in the real world. I think the easiest way to do this is integrate things that students use on a daily basis into the classroom. For example, almost every kid today has some kind of cell phone that can take pictures. I could design an assignment where they have to go on a scavenger hunt around the school, take different pictures, upload them, and create a presentation from them. This way, I'm not fighting the kids on using their cell phones, I'm molding using them to my lessons. This way, they aren't a distraction, they're part of the lesson. This is only one example of how easily technology can be integrated. Hopefully, showing the different members of the staff how integrating the technology works better than banning it will encourage them to use it in their classes as well.

My Wow Moment

 At the beginning of the semester, I was very intimidated by this class. I would consider myself a pretty tech-savvy person, but I wasn't as familiar with some of the new programs that had come out and I was nervous that was something that was going to hurt me in this class. However, as we began working, I discovered that I was not as far behind the learning curve as I thought. Most of my classmates were in the same boat that I was, which made me feel MUCH better and allowed me to relax and soak up all the information I could. My WOW moment was about halfway through the first part of the semester when we had really started to design our websites. The fact that I had a website PERIOD was something that I was really impressed with but my WOW moment was when I found that I really enjoyed working on it! It was so gratifying to be able to see all of my hard work out there for the world to see. I began showing my website to EVERYONE: family, friends, etc. I used iWeb to design my site and because I chose that program, designing my site was easy and fun. I never imagined that I would really enjoy my homework from class but I did from this class! So, my WOW moment took place when I finally realized that I was getting to work on something for a class that I was really proud of and really enjoyed working on!

Podcast Favorites: Tech Chick Tips

Over the course of the semester, I listened to many different podcast. Some were very interesting, some were only mildly interesting, but I learned something new from all of them. I learned how to integrate different types of technology into my classroom including the use of cell phones, iPods, iPads, laptops, etc. With how quickly technology is becoming integrated into the curriculum around the U.S., this was something that I needed to be very familiar with. After listening to all of the different types of podcasts, I did develop a favorite: Tech Chick Tips.

Tech Chick Tips is run by two women from Texas (definitely hit close to home since I am from Texas!) They are both educators so they bring first-hand knowledge about using technology in the classrooms to their podcasts. Another great thing about their podcasts is that they discuss new and inventive tools that I probably wouldn't have learned about otherwise! The seem very passionate about getting kids involved in the real world and finding real world application through technology. One of the tools they talked about was Secret Builders. It's a tool that allows the teacher to create a virtual world for their student to navigate. The site combines the student's interactions with famous historical characters with different quizzes and activities. The majority of their tools they discussed in the podcasts that I listened to were a lot like Secret Builders: tools that were interactive for the student yet also allowed real world application.

One of the main things I learned from the different podcasts that I listened to over the course of the semester is that technology is always changing and getting better. There will always be a new tool or program that is available and as a teacher, it's our job to stay up to date on them. As teachers, we need to make sure we are doing everything possible to get our students the latest and greatest programs and technology. Listening to these podcasts in the future will help me to do this!

Semester Favorites: Google Docs, Prezi, and VoiceThread

Over the course of the semester, we've learned how to use so many different tools it was hard to choose my favorites. Each of the tools we used could be helpful in the classroom in some way. However, there are three different tools that I really took a liking to: Voicethread, Prezi, and Google Docs.

One of the first tools that we used was Google Docs. When my professor introduced it to us, I had never heard of it before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. However, once we got to tinkering around with the different tools, I realized that there are so many different types of documents that can directly be used in the classroom. I like the fact that the documents can be easily accessed by multiple users who are in different places. It would make group projects even easier because the different students could access the documents even if they are in their homes. The Forms application of Google Docs was one of my favorite things that came out of this tool. I think that it's great that we can make these quizzes, tests, rubrics, etc. right there on Google Docs so, again, students can access them where ever they are. Along with their accessibility,  the forms are incredibly easy to create. So, because of the accessibility and ease of use, Google Docs is definitely something I plan on using constantly in my classroom.

Prezi was another tool that I really enjoyed learning how to use. I was an adamant Power Point user and have been for years. However, I also didn't know that there were really any alternatives for presentations besides power point. Prezi is a new and fresh way to present information to students. While there are different aspects about Prezi that I am not very fond of, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. The final products from Prezi are presentations that will keep students attentions longer than a normal power point would because of the fact that the creator has the ability to have their presentation move in different directions. It's also much easier to upload videos and movies onto a Prezi presentation than it is to a power point; the movies will also immediately start playing on a Prezi which is a great time-saver.

The last tool that made the cut for my list of favorites is VoiceThread. VoiceThread is a tool that gives you the ability to create presentations or digital stories with pictures while being able to add your voice to them. We had to do a "Celebrate Kansas" presentation using VoiceThread, so we got lots of practice with it! (I was allowed to do a story about someone from my hometown because I'm from out of state.) VoiceThread also gives other users the ability to comment on different presentations. This would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom because I, as the teacher, could post a presentation online and have the kids leave comments as participation. This would also give them the ability to access it where ever they were which makes it easier on them. Overall, just like Google Docs and Prezi, the accessibility and ease of use are the two aspects of VoiceThread that I liked the most.

Podcast Reflection #12: Learning in Hand-Educational Applications

For my final blog reflection, I chose to do a podcast by Learning in Hand about Education Apps for iPod products. The main podcaster talks about how many different products and applications that Apple has come out with/is still coming out with. He talks about how there are different applications that can go along with your lessons. You can limit your search to only free apps too. He also talks about how there are people outside of Apple who have made lists of educational applications. For example there's EAR.org which allows you to pick  certain grade levels or lessons under Lockers. There's Recess Duty Blog that has tons of apps for iPod touches. There are even sites that have apps that can create digital storybooks that can be shared online. He discusses how there are different apps to make movies like Movie Pop. However, some apps are not free and can have certain limitations and quirks that can be troublesome. Overall, I enjoyed this podcast, especially because it had video along with audio. I am a Mac user, so any applications that I can use in my classroom will be especially helpful.

Podcast #11: Moving at the Speed of Creativity-Integrating Podcasts

For this podcast I chose to listen to one from Moving at the Speed of Creativity. This particular podcast is about integrating podcasts into the classroom. He first discusses a conference held in KS and this is where he got the idea to do the podcast I listened to. The discussion was titled "How to integrate podcasting into the classroom using Moodle".  Both of the presenters had a long list of accolades and had been involved in the education circuit for many years. For the presentation, they discussed the different aspects of how a podcast can be used in class and how it will help the students. They talked about how time is so of the essence in schools and how simple this kind of tools is for them. It's simply creating an assignment and having them upload it. He talks about how students already have cell phones and how to integrate those into projects by having the students take pictures and videos on them. Overall, his main point was that students already have the tools to make podcasts and take pictures/videos, so why fight them? Instead, integrate them into your classroom so that the students are having fun while getting to use technology they understand. I liked this podcast a lot because I'm a firm believer in somehow integrating the technology these kids use everyday into the classroom and this podcast gave different ideas for that.

Podcast Reflection #10: Kevin Honeycutt " School as Life-Practice"

For this podcast reflection, I chose to listen to/watch a podcast done by Kevin Honeycutt. In this episode, he skypes with Ginger Lewis who is the director at Turning Point Learning Center in Emporia, KS. They are a 1 to 1 laptop school and a school that has technology completely integrated into their curriculum. One of the interesting things that she wants is a "Life-Practice Model" which is where all of the classes are integrated together. She wants school to be a preparation for life and wants to be able to teach the kids lessons and tools that they can use later in life. They also have a program called "Global Nomads". They provide lessons and lesson plans that you can buy over a variety of subjects. She uses different methods and tools to get the kids empowered and get conversations started between them. She says they're used to talking to each other but the chat tool she uses is an equalizer and a great teacher to her kids. Overall, I really liked this podcast because it showed what a school can look like when technology is greatly integrated into their curriculum and hopeful this school is an example to other schools of the great methods and tools that can be used to further help students learn.

Podcast Reflection #9: Google Forms as an Auto-correcting Assignment

For this reflection, I listened to PPSInstructionaltech's podcast about Google Forms being used as an auto-correcting assignment. Because we've used Google Docs so much in class, this was a podcast I was really interested to listen to. As a future teacher, grading is something that I've concluded is inevitable but that doesn't mean I look forward to it. This not only grades the assignments for you but you can also change the template but you can save it and change it whenever you want/need to. So, for instance, if a teacher wanted to use an exam a couple of years later, they would have the ability to do so with this tool. The sharing option is also a plus. You can share these forms with other educators as well as students. Say one student was absent the day of an assignment. You could just have the access the assignment from wherever they are and they can still complete it. Overall, it's a tool that I think will get bigger and bigger the more that technology is incorporated into the classroom.

ToonDo Reflection

I actually really enjoyed using the ToonDo website to create a comic. I created a play on some of Shakespeare's lines so that it would make it easier for my students to understand. I could see myself using this to introduce new content and subject areas. I could also see myself having my students creating their own comic for a project. They're a versatile tool and I plan on using them all the time because they are free and easy to use.

Podcast Reflection #8: Tech Chick Tips-"Podcasting Even as we Speak"

For this podcast reflection, I did another Tech Chick Tips podcast. I know we are supposed to do different podcasts for each one but I've found that I really enjoy these women and feel that they present the technology in a positive and easy to understand fashion. In this podcast, they discuss a 21st Century Article about Education. The article talks about how the constant need for "reform" in the educational society causes people to overlook the teachers that are positively influencing their students and who are good at their job. They also discuss Pindax which is a cool alternative to message boards. It's set up like Post-Its which makes it fun and visually pleasing. Another great aspect of it is that it's free!! The last aspect of their podcast that I'll discuss is Google Flu Trends. At first when I heard this, I rolled my eyes a little. I thought, "Why would they discuss this?". But then I got to thinking, as a teacher, I'm going to be around so many kids a day, I need to be aware of their health, even if they don't look sick. Google Flu Trends shows flu activity from around the world, so even teachers who don't live in the United States could potentially use it. Overall, I think Tech Chick Tips are my favorite podcasters and I hope to continue listening to them even after this class is over.

Classroom 2.0 Site Reflection

For this reflection, I will discuss how I explored Classroom 2.0. Classroom 2.0 is a free website that is community supported. It's basically like Facebook for teachers. It's a social networking site that allows teachers to share ideas and lesson plans with other educators in a fun and easy way. I found the Forum to be especially helpful because it offered such a variety of topics and I really feel that this would make it easy to find something that would relate to what I'm teaching in my class. There were also different groups that you can join based on certain topics. I really feel like this social networking site could be useful to a new teacher because when we're just starting out, we are basically starting out classroom from scratch. It is up to us to decide how we want to teach and having this resource would give us new ideas on how to do this as well as give us a place to spread our own ideas that we come up with. I think it's very inventive and will be a valuable asset in my classroom.

Eduteacher Site Reflection

For this reflection, I will discuss how I explored the Eduteacher site. The main page was very visually pleasing but not in such a way that it was overwhelming or messy. There were three main areas to look at: explore, share, or contribute. Explore had links for all of the different content areas. I clicked on the Language Arts tab and up came 76 different sites that I could go to for ideas for language arts. This was incredibly easy and beneficial. The Share aspect had different buttons one could push (Twitter, YouTube, etc.) to share a lesson plan or idea from the site. The Contribute link brought up a window that allowed the user to contribute a lesson plan, comment, or idea to put on the site. The site itself also had tabs for conferences, the library, eduTeacher TV, and many more. The three resources I found through it were 4Teachers.org (a site to help teachers integrate technology into their classroom), Books Should Be Free( a site that offers thousands of audiobooks that can be downloaded in different formats), and Conjugation ( a site that allows students to type in a verb and have it conjugated for them). Overall, I really enjoyed exploring the site and feel that it will be a valuable tool in my future classroom.

Kan-ed Portal Site Reflection with Netrekkerr and Thinkfinity

When we first went to the Kan-ed site in class, I'll admit, I was a little intimidated and overwhelmed. There were so many different areas to look at! However, after exploring the site and the different resources it offers, I feel like I have a better grasp of what the site can do for me as a future educator. I think it's great how the site offers examples of the different standards for each grade level. I'm a secondary education major so that means that I could teach any grade from 6th grade all the way up to seniors in high school. Because of this, I have to be familiar with whatever standards for whatever grade I teach, whether it's in middle school or high school. With Kan-ed, all of these resources are available to me. Another aspect I like is that it has the standards for both Reading and Writing all across the grade spectrum. Different assessment tests focus on different aspects of Language Arts/Literature so it will be important to me as a teacher to have all of these standards somewhere that is easily accessible. Another part I think will be really useful is the Lesson Plan area. Based on the grade you choose and the standard, there are usually lesson plans available to use. For example, in the High School Reading and Writing section, there are lesson plans available for everything from journal entries to uses of commas. The only thing I didn't like about the website was that the site itself was not very visually pleasing. I understand that it has an abundance of information to convey but the fact that it wasn't fun to look at it made the task of navigating it even more daunting.
After exploring the main Kan-ed site, I moved on to Thinkfinity.  I was absolutely blown away with the abundance of material for teachers to use in the classroom that Thinkfinity had available. They have everything from Lesson Plans to Interactive Assignments for students. My favorite lesson plan that I found was entititled: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Literary Humor. This lesson plan was located in Literature under the 9-12 section on the lesson plan page. It had questions to ask the students, activities, and even a section for extending beyond the lesson, which I think it really important in a Literature classroom. I think the site is very easy to navigate and I like that they have different sections for the different grade levels as well as different sections for the different topics.
The last part I looked at in relation to Kan-ed was Netrekker. While the main page for Thinkfinity was very easy to navigate, the Netrekker main page was a little confusing.  Netrekker is a search engine for teachers and academics that has access to a plethora of resources. I did like how Netrekker had a section for Professional Development. I think that most sites tend to overlook that part of education and teaching so it was refreshing to see a site that paid attention to that.
Overall, Thinkfinity was my favorite site to explore and Netrekker was my least favorite. I think Kan-ed is a great resource for future/current teachers and now that I've had the chance to explore it, I feel that it'll be easier for me to use it!

Podcast Reflection #7: Teaching Strategies for the Everyday Teacher--Answering (Irrelevant) Questions

In this podcast reflection, I'll discuss how I listened to a podcast from Teaching Strategies for the Everyday Teacher. This particular podcast focused on Answering (Irrelevant) Questions in the classroom. According to this podcast, there are three types of questions that a teacher might hear in the classroom. The first type are questions that are relevant to the topic and easy to answer. The second type are the questions that are relevant to the topic and a little more difficult to answer. The final type are the irrelevant questions that most teachers simply ignore and don't answer. If a student asks a type one question, give answer BUT don't imply that it was a silly question. You want students to feel safe asking questions because it helps you check where they are in the lesson. They then discuss many different strategies for answering these type one questions. After that, they discuss type two questions and how to answer those as well, including how to answer these questions if you don't know the exact answer. Finally, they explain how to respond to irrelevant questions and reasons why they might be asked in the first place. They also make the distinction between the student who might just be lost or the student who might be asking the question simply to get attention. The main idea of this podcast that they want the listener to walk away with is that every questions deserves some kind of answer. Overall, I really liked this podcast. It was short, sweet, and I feel like I'm walking away with tools I'll use in my future classroom.

Podcast Reflection #6: It's Elementary--Season 3, Show 6

For this reflection, I watched the visual "podcast" from It's Elementary. I was really surprised at first to see that it was run by kids but this made me all the more intrigued to keep watching. First off, the discuss what the ITBS test is. It stands for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and is offered through the College of Education. It can be given to students K-8th as part of the Iowa statewide testing. It's a standardized test and a "norm reference test". It's actually given to students all over the U.S., not just in Iowa. It deals with reading, language arts, math, and science. It's given once a year to all 3rd-8th grade students. Next, they discuss how to get ready for this test. It's a test over what you've learned up to that point in your education. They talk about how they need their bodies prepared with rest so they can focus, how they need a good breakfast for energy and fuel, that they need to use the strategy of re-reading the question and looking at all of the possible answers yet picking the best answer. The next strategy is to rule out the answers that they know aren't the right and then choose the best one from the remaining. One of the last ones they discuss is to NOT RUSH!! Lastly, they discuss about how their teachers spent the day learning about formative assessments. Formative Assessments are assessments for learning and the information they use is for teachers to learn how to form or direct their instruction. Cassandra Erkins discussed how to grade students work in a way that the students will get the most from it. The last thing they discussed was parent-teacher conferences. Overall, I really enjoyed this podcast and I liked that it was run by kids. It was a little slow at points but their enthusiasm made it enjoyable to watch and listen to.

Podcast Reflection #5: EdTechTalk-EdTechWeekly #186

For this podcast reflection, I listened to a podcast by EdTechTalk entitle. This is a discussion of education technology and how it can be integrated into the classroom. They give a four minute discussion of something that went wrong at a conference. It was a little difficult to follow because they were using terminology that I was not familiar with. They started out talking about Gephi. Gephi is a software that allows you to sort through a lot of different types of data. It can sort out information on different accounts and the example used here is Facebook. This can also be used by research companies who do a lot of analytic work with lots of information. Then they discuss how Facebook or social networking can be used in schools and if it is being used now. The consensus was no BUT that it will probably be incorporated soon. They discuss how a school in NY was using something similar but for it to be sucessfull, everyone has to be using it in a pretty uniform way. From what they say, they are using these systems to help people interact with one another. Towards the end, they start to discuss the idea of open resources to a K-12 level and how you "grow" a text book or an alternative to a textbook. Conclusively, they talk about how these open resources would be beneficial to students. Overall, this was a hard podcast to follow and has been my least favorite of the one's I've listened to thus far.

Podcast Reflection #4: Teachers Teaching Teachers-"What does passionate inquiry look like..."

For this reflection, I listened to a podcast by Teachers Teaching Teachers that was titled "What does passionate inquiry look like at a second chance school in Canarsie, Brooklyn?". It was their first podcast of 2011 and they started out talking with Charlie Freed. He now teaches at a new vision school in Brooklyn where his students have been using Youth Voices. It's a "transfer school" which means they serve an over-age, under-credited population. These would include kids who might have issues with truancy, had to leave another school because of childbirth, etc. Basically, they work with exceptional cases. The students come to them not really wanting to be anywhere NEAR school so what they do is try to re-engage their students by covering "traditional material in nontraditional ways". They have different classes like a Personal Finance class which teaches students to balance checking accounts as well as teaching them traditional math. However, instead of sending the students back to regular public schools after they get better, this school actually graduates students. They can get up to 18 credits in one given year. They have 55 minute classes for their students throughout the day. Charlie is a part of iZone which is a virtual learning environment initiative. The initiative said that a third of the day had to feature lessons with an online component and how they chose to do that was to take their students and have their first two courses of the day be online courses.  Later in the podcast, they discuss student's response surveys and if they think they're a good idea, especially in terms of finding out what students like to write about. Charlie also talks about how he incorporates website and the web into his lessons. Towards the end, they get into discussions about online teaching and how important modeling is to students. Overall, I thought this was a really interesting podcast and was inspired by the way this school has worked so hard to incorporate technology into their entire curriculum.

Podcast Reflection #3: Tech Chick Tips-"No Peanut Butter Required"

For my first podcast, I listened to "No Peanut Butter Required" by Tech Chick Tips. This reflection will cover three tools that they discussed including Secret Builders, Screen Jelly, and ABCya!.

The first tool that they looked at is Secret Builders. It's a virtual type world that kids can use, a lot like the different worlds that they can use with Webkinz or similar toys. The cool thing about this is thought that they can interact with different important people in history as well as fictional characters. Because this site is trying to combine the virtual world with an educational aspect, there are different quests, quizzes, and other activities that students can do along with interacting with these characters. There are different "social tools" that they can explore like malls, cafe's, etc. There are sections for parents as well as teachers and the privacy settings vary for age but the site doesn't offer ANY of the child's personal information, which is nice.

The next tool is Screen Jelly which is a screen capture application. It has a 3 minute limit but you can capture what you're doing on your screen as well as record your voice as you work. It's very easy to share your information via Facebook or Twitter as well. It could be a great tool for teachers if their students are at home or out of class and they need to be shown what to do. The teacher could just demonstrate what they need to do and use Screen Jelly to record it and then send it to the student.

The last tool I'm going to discuss is the ABCya! which is a site with different education games for students mainly at the elementary level. The Tech Chicks talk about how the site itself is a little overwhelming but could definitely be used for an interactive whiteboard. One cool aspect of this site is that all of the games and activities were created by teachers for teachers! These activities incorporate all subject areas (math, reading, etc.) while trying to introduce students to basic and needed computer skills. Cool thing for younger grade elementary teachers: the kindergarten and first grade lessons have sound to help the kids as well! It's not really geared towards high schoolers however some of the concepts and lessons could be used for certain middle school classes.

My favorite tool that they discussed and the one that I think I would use the most out of the three would be Screen Jelly. Because I'm going to hopefully be teaching high school, if I have students that are absent or sick, I can still get them the information they need in such a way that they can see it done and hopefully it would make it easier for them to do the assignment outside of school.

Avatar Experience

For class today we learned how to create avatars using Build Your Wild Self and Voki. I've posted both of the avatars I made below; the first is Wild Self and the other is Voki. Hope you enjoy them and possibly create one of your own!

 

Animoto In My Classroom

I have had a really fun time getting to work with Animoto. I've never used it before so it was interesting to have another option for presentations besides Powerpoint. I like that the videos are simple to make, that Animoto provides lots of options for the users when making their videos (music especially), and that they don't take long to produce. I could see myself using this to introduce units and to have the students use this for presentations. Below are the two projects we had to do with Animoto for my DED 318 class. The first one is an About Me video and the second is a video we had to create having to do with something in our concentration area. Overall, I feel that Animoto is a tool that I will use constantly in my classroom.

Fun With Text Reflection

After seeing the Wordle example used in class, I was really excited to go home and try and make one. It looked like such a cool project and I kept thinking of ways I could use it in my classroom. I think that the more inventive we can be with technology in the classroom, the more we can attract and keep student's attention. After actually doing the project, I am even more excited. It was easy and fun to create the Wordle and simple to edit or change. I figured this could be used in as simple a way as a get to know you project and have the students do what we did and come up with words about themselves. On the other hand, it could be used as a book report project with the students coming up with words that they think describe certain themes in the book. Overall, I think this will definitely be a tool I use in the classroom.

Reflection #2: CDK's Education Technology Place

Website Reflection

            One of the first things I noticed about CDK's Education Technology Place was that it was engaging without being overwhelming. There weren’t any moving parts yet the type and organization caught my attention. It was also really nice to see how many resources you had readily available.

            Something I learned that I didn’t know before I visited your website was the bit about American’s being the least likely to be bilingual. I think that it is amazing that so many teachers at K-State are making it a point to learn a different language and really make global communication a priority. I think the quote you have by Nelson Mandela is absolutely fitting.

            Overall, I really enjoyed exploring your website. It made me look forward to creating my own and seeing all the great things I will be able to learn from you in this class!

       

Reflection #1: Technology Bits, Bytes, & Nibbles

 Technology Bits, Bytes, & Nibbles

            The article that I chose to write about from the blog was the article about eBooks and how they will either help or hurt the education circuit. This is a very interesting thought for me because I just received a Nook Color for Christmas and I absolutely love it. However, it made me think about when I was younger if not having physical picture or chapter books in the home would have hurt my development as a reader.

            My parents were both college educated and my mother was a high school English teacher so my passion for reading was developed at an early age. Whether it was reading for school or one of my parents sitting down with me before bed to read me a story, books always had a huge presence in my house. The article says that “having a 500-book library at home has as great an effect as having university-educated parents” which is an amazing statistic, yet I don’t understand how having all of these books in an eReader would hurt a child’s development. I understand the socioeconomic implications associated with having technology like that but if schools invested in eReaders instead of textbooks, they might even save money because the books themselves are cheaper in the eReader form.

            Overall, I understand that there is something nice about having the physical presence of a book in your hands. However, I think that integrating eReaders into education would offer more resources that the students could benefit from.