Google Reader

This assignment required me to follow educational blogs and read the posts. The blogs that I followed were:

a. CoolCatTeacher Blog-- http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

b. Will Richardson-- http://willrichardson.com/

c. Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day-- http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

d. Free Technology for Teachers-- http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

e. A Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/

f. Will Richardson http://willrichardson.com/

g. Ed Solutions: Teaching Every Student http://teachingeverystudent.blogspot.com/

My favorite blog was Ed Solutions: Teaching Every Student. I was drawn to this blog because it always great to learn new ways to teach every student in my classroom. The website discussed a dialogue of how parents can discuss their child's day. If your child says his or her day is boring have them explain how or why it was boring. Instead of reading each blog, the author recorded herself reading the blogs and thoughts behind the posts. My favorite blog post was when the author wrote about: He's Lazy, if only she tried harder. This blog discussed how sometimes as teachers we say those things about her students. Those things are said without knowing all of the facts such as: he or she could having a rough time at home, student is not understanding the lesson, but is afraid to ask. The blog asks us all to think back to when we were a student and ask ourselves did we struggle as student. There is a link on the blog that has a quiz and it required me to think a struggling student. I struggled through the test and realized how some of my students must feel. So instead of telling them to try harder and making them feel like they are not doing their best I will discuss with them what problems they are having and then find a solution to assist them.

Digital Citizenship Project

I tried to upload my powerpoint for the Digital Citizenship Project. However, I was unable to. Please check your e-mail. I sent it to each of you. Thanks

Digital Citizenship

Being a good digital citizen is extremely important. Everything that is put on the web will never go away even if you erase it. Posting certain pictures or information can cause harm in the long run. At a workshop I went to over the summer, the presenter discussed social networking. He discussed how he posted that he would be gone on vacation for a week. Well, while he was gone his house was robbed. So many times on social networks we tell all of our business which can lead to bad results. Posting the wrong picture can lead to job loss or not being hired. Being honest on social networks is very important. Do not lie about age or lead people on this can cause harm. Many schools block websites that students should not access. This can be done at home and it can help eliminate sites our children visit.

Think Technology

The website that was listed in the textbook was broken. However, I was able to click on tabs to view other sites related to the main page. Think Classroom and Think Technology are the two simulations that would be valuable for teaching in my classroom. Think Classroom provides lessons plans, professional development information, and interactive tools to use in the classroom. Think Technology provides PBS teacher blogs, simulations, podcasts, and graphic organizers. All of these are helpful tools to use in the classroom to boost student interest.

Week 3 pg. 105 # 1

This week  I had to use the textbook written by Roblyer to navigate some websites and answer questions. The sites listed were: http://www.evalutech.org/, www.clrn.org/home/, http://www.superkids.com/, and http://www.educationworld.com/. Education World had alot of titles to choose from. Some of the titles were: Early Childhood, Elementary, Secondary, and much more. All of the webistes were recently updated for users to acquire various information. Education World allowed visitors to preview information and it also provided reviews for visitors. The reviews were positive and it coincides with my thoughts about the website. This website provided alot of good information tnat I could use in my classroom. The site that I would use to learn about software would be: superkids (provides beginning key board practice). Since I teach kindergarten, my students would benefit from this site because it teaches parts of the computer and keyboarding skills. This website would assist my students greatly during center time when they are using compass learning. Evalutech was not an easy website to navigate because I had a hard time locating the actual site because it had been updated.

Web 2.0

This assignment taught me a lot about websites that I did not know existed. I enjoyed working with Glogster. However, the pictures were for teenagers not kindergartners. Animoto was a really cool website. I enjoyed making the slides. Uploading music was a challenge, but I finally figured it out.
I completed my unit on the Five Senses. This is a unit I really enjoy teaching my class. My concept map depicts the five senses and examples of each. My blogster has scientific explanations for how our five senses work. Animoto gives pictorial examples of the senses. On blabberize, I created talking videos that explained the five senses with a song.

Concept Map

Glogster: http://howardb5218.glogster.com/my-five-senses/?

Animoto: http://animoto.com/play/AtqcI1qj8TIO5y0As3xkXQ

Blabberize:

                                            http://blabberize.com/view/id/606396

                                             http://blabberize.com/view/id/606378

                                               http://blabberize.com/view/id/606370