November 7 - Photo Hosting and Sharing

Pictures, pictures everywhere!! I love taking pictures and using them for different things. I have actually been using my MySpace and Facebook to post pictures for a while, mainly becuase the kids love to look at themselves, and after our trip to Europe, I wanted EVERYONE to see what I saw. I have used the Kodak Gallery, Photobucket, Slide, and Snapfish before to make slideshows for my MySpace. Slide is probably my favorite becuase it's really easy to use. Now that I know about the $10 cameras at WalMart, I want to invest in getting some for my classroom so that the students can do even more creative things. I can't wait to get them to use the cameras and then respond to the pictures in writing.

I wasn't as big a fan of the wiki becuase I couldn't really figure out how to use it with my kids. Part of me is petrified to let them get on and change things without me being about to stop them. But then again, maybe if I play with it some more I"ll figure out some really snazzy ways to use it with the class.

Oct. 31 - Social Networking

I love MySpace!!! I know a lot of parents are scared of social networking sites, and with good reason. I myself have gotten some sketchy emails and friend requests, but if you steer clear of people you don't know and you make your profile private, you don't have too much to worry about. My kids love that they can hop on MySpace and leave me a message or send me a funny picture or something. I see it as another way to get to know who my students are. Do I agree that they probably post things they shouldn't? Absolutely. I don't need to know who got drunk last week or who's hooking up now, but it does give me a way to keep an eye out for trouble as well. If there is MySpace drama, then I'm aware for whatever is going to happen at school the next day. I have a MySpace and a Facebook, so for the new one, I created a Bebo. I like it, but haven't played around with it enough to really know what it can do. I've added a few things, put some music on, made a skin, that sort of thing, but don't have any idea what it's capabilities actually are. Of course, nothing is as stupid as the kids who trashed our condo, then posted it on Facebook, but hey, no one said high school seniors graduated smart.

Oct. 17 - Assistive Technologies

THe Write:OutLoud, Co:Writer, etc. programs were really interesting to play with. I can see how a student who had trouble writing could really make progress with something like that, especially when it reads it back to him so he can hear if there is something wrong. I wish I could give something like that to my own students, even those who aren't struggling readers, because they all need writing help. It's so funny how much trouble they have getting their thoughts down on paper when they text all day long! I especially liked the predictive word feature where you started typing and it suggested a word for you to use. A student who had trouble with voice and word choice could certainly gain a log from a program like that. I wouldn't take off the points for it either becuase the ideas would still be his own, he just had some help with the wording. I actually think that's where our testing gets things wrong.

Oct. 3 - Digital Texts

I had never really thought about using PowerPoint or multimedia to teach reading and improve literacy. Not thinking in that direction is probably one of my biggest technology weaknesses - I don't think enough about how to incorporate the technology in with the reading, not just the product. The digital books seem like a great idea, especially if you do one with a voice feature so that you're reading the book to the kid even if you're not there. That would be great for a busy classroom or even just low level learners who need that reinforcement of maybe hearing the story again or having it read to them while others read on their own. We've been using listening centers for years, now I guess we create computer literacy stations as well.

Peer-to-peer file sharing I've done a lot, mainly with music, but it makes sense to put your big files somewhere so that anyone looking for the information you've created can access them when needed. It sure is a lot easier than worrying about not having the flash drive or the disk not opening.

Internet Resources to Support Student Learning

I like having a social bookmarking site, mainly becuase I like being able to get to the websites I like from anywhere without having to constantly Google things. I didn't know how much I would like del.icio.us and its easy to use toolbar reference button until I had it. I love being able to add things right when I find them. It's just so easy! I'm not sure how I feel about having them public, but as long as I don't put anything embaressing on there, I guess it's ok.

I use the WWW all the time to supplement my lessons, but had never made a webquest before. I'm not sure that I like the format that Webquest.org uses, but I do like the idea of a webquest. The only problem I've had is getting my students to the computers to use them. More often than not, I pull the information off the websites and incorporate it into my own activities and lessons. I would like to keep revising my webquest, maybe create some more, and have them as resources linked to my website so that my students can really use technology along with the novels.

September 19 - Communication Technologies

Yackpack, Vyew, Gabcast, Voicethread. All different ways of communicating with students and having them communicate with each other. When we played around with YackPack in class, it was kind of tricky. It wasn't easy to get the program to work when you wanted to talk to more than one person and what worked on one group didn't work in another. At one point Wendy, Angie, and I were able to all talk and hear each other, but we could never figure out how we did it, nor could we do it again once it stopped working. I found myself a couple times in a group by myself, unable to talk to anyone no matter what I tried. I did not find YackPack user-friendly at all.

I do like the Voicethread as a way of creating digital stories or incorporating voice into presentations without having to be present to give the presetation. It seems like it might be a good way to do online reviews or lessons for students who are absent or working from home. If you can voicethread the lesson and notes, then they can read what you say in the lecture as well as hear it with the notes in front of them. I might have to try that out, or at least suggest it to some of our teachers who use powerpoint a lot.

I'm looking forward to trying Gabcast either on this blog or on the one I use at school. Sometimes just hearing the teacher's voice is more helpful for students. Also, I like the way the model website Koppenhaver had listed used the Gabcast as a way to include an interview on the blog. That'd be a great way for students to create digital scrapbooks or presentations and include an interview where you're actually hearing the inflection of the person's voice, not just reading what they say on paper. It would certainly make the interview and presentation more lively.

I don't really understand how Vyew works. I know it is for presentations and I can see its use for reinforcing student learning while they are at home, but I'm not sure how it really works. I will definately have to play around with it quite a bit before I'll be ready to use it with students.