Webquest

Webquests are another great teaching tool. Doing a webquest gives the students an opportunity to explore websites and do activities based on a certain topic. I made a webquest on exploring Australia. Throughout the webquest there are different links that allow you to explore Australia and learn about it's culture, wildlife, and layout. The website that allows you to make a webquest gives you a free one month login. To actually subscribe to the website is also very inexpensive. 

Podcast

Podcasts are becoming more and more popular. Podcasts can be used to listen to a lecture or a presentation. You can download them on itunes and listen to them on your iPod. Podcasting is a great teaching tool because if a student is gone and misses a lecture or presentation, they can download it on itunes. This will help them from falling behind in class. You can listen to podcasts whenever and where ever, compared to watching a video where you are stationed at a TV or computer. You can be working out, shopping, biking, etc. and learning all at one time!  

Different Google Applications

Out of the four applications I experimented with, the calendar and iGoogle were my favorite. I like the idea of using the calendar on the Google website because I now use my gmail account. Calendars help keep me organized and when I program an event into the calendar it sends me an email on the day of the event. I also liked iGoogle because it's a customized homepage and I get to choose what I want to put on it. Picasa and knol weren't my favorite. The knol reminded me of flickr. It's a nice was to edit photos and what not, but I wouldn't use it because my camera has it's own software that allows me to edit pictures. I wouldn't use the knol because I'd rather use other ways to search for information. This is because I'm more comfortable with ask.com and general google searches. Overall all of the applications are useful in their own right, I'm just more interested in iGoogle and the calendar.  

Wiki

1. What did you find interesting about the wiki concept? 

* I like the idea a Wiki because anyone can add material to a document. I also thought making a Wiki using PB Wiki was quite simple, just like the name states, "PB Wiki: easy as making a peanut butter sandwich". Wikis have positives and negatives. I like the idea of editing information, but the wrong person could do it and the information wouldn't be accurate anymore. 

2. Banning Wikipedia/ Practice of limiting information by format?

* In high school and college we were recommended not to you Wikipedia because it is not a credible source. We could use it if we had other resources that stated similar facts. I would use Wikipedia to start researching a topic to get some general information. I would also use Wikipedia as a source if the information matches up with other sources. I would not use it if I was doing a formal research paper because the information can be edited by anyone. 

Moodle, Blackboard, and D2L.... My Thoughts.... :D

Well... I researched Blackboard and learned some interesting info about it. 

* Blackboard provides technology that improves the students experience outside the classroom. It also makes the lives of students more convenient and secure. 

* Similar to SCSU's D2L

* Has SafeAssign, which allows the teacher to access the individuality of each students work and prevent plagiarism.

* Very expensive!!! $25,000 to $50,000

I didn't personally research Moodle or D2L, but these are some of the important points I learned about them.

* Desire 2 Learn can be used by schools, colleges, and corporations. The mission of D2L is to improve human potential globally by providing the most innovative technology for teaching and learning. 

* Moodle is open to universities, schools, companies, and independent teachers. Moodle is FREE! On Moodle you can find information, free downloads, and detailed community discussions about installing, using, and extending Moodle. 

Overall, all of the sites are good, but some are better than others because of cost and features. 

Google vs. Yahoo!

Yahoo and Google have both come up with ways to use word documents and spreadsheets online. Having these documents online is great because you can access them from any computer and it can save people money. It will save people money because then they wont have to buy the application from Microsoft or Macintosh. 

When comparing Google Docs and Yahoo Zoho writer, I found Google Docs to be easier to use. Google Docs had the same set up and applications as my computer. I could navigate my way through the word document and spreadsheet very easily. The problem I had with Zoho was printing. I couldn't get the spreadsheet to print the chart and table on one document. Also, I wanted to make a pie chart on Zoho and it would not apply the pie chart to the table. One thing that Zoho had that Google Docs didn't have was little faces you could insert to your document. I thought they were kinda fun! Overall I think both websites have amazing word documents and spreadsheets! 

Using RSS feeds in my personal and work life

I like the idea of RSS feeds. They are useful because you subscribe to articles or websites you want information from. RSS feeds are nice because they cut down on the time it takes to search for articles. They would also be helpful in work settings. This is because everyone at work could subscribe to the work website and get updated information everyday. It is easy to set up RSS feeds on a blog and email account. They are also easy to use once they are set up. 

Trading Card

Lindsey and I
Originally uploaded by Becca 1234

Making trading cards would be a fun activity to do in class. There are a few things I would worry about. There could be a potential problem with the kids wanting to print them. This could be a problem because most schools don't have colored ink, so the cards wouldn't look as nice. You would also have to make sure the pictures the students wanted to use were appropriate for the school setting. Making the trading cards would be another way to get to know your students better.

Sharing photos online

What do I think of sharing photos online...? Well, I think sharing photos online has its positives and negatives. 

Positives: 

*Storing them online gives you more storage space on your computer for other things. You also wont have to buy more memory cards for your camera.

*Easy to access.

*Your friends and family can find your pictures, without you having to send the pictures to them.

Negatives:

*Anyone can access your photos.

*Someone could find your personal information.

*If the site goes down you could lose your pictures.  

Using Flickr in the classroom!

Flickr is an amazing way to find pictures and to share them with other people. It would be a good resource in the classroom. It could be used to find a variety of pictures for projects or to show pictures for presentations. I like the idea of using Flickr compared to just searching on Google images because it narrows the search down and only gives you pictures of what you are looking for. Overall I think Flickr is very useful!

Ballet Dancers

Nutcracker Suite - Waltz of the Snow - Ballet Dancers in Ballet Jumps
Originally uploaded by WB - CMH

I like this picture because I was in Dance class for 14 years!

Social Networking

Social networking is used by many different people for many different reasons. I personally use a social network called Facebook. Facebook can be used by anyone who has assess to the internet and it is free to set up an account. There are many different applications on Facebook. One that would be useful in the classroom or a school are the groups. A teacher could set up a group and post assignments and activities on it. If a student is gone on an activity day, they can assess the activity on Facebook. The groups can also be used as a means of communication between a teacher and their students. 

My first blog!

Today was my first IM class and we started with making a blog! It was a pretty exciting new experience!