Thing 20:
I enjoyed searching YouTube for science experiments to try in the classroom. What I don't like about YouTube is there are also a lot of useless videos making it very time consuming to find good content. Here is a link to a hot topic in the news: NASA finds proof of water on Mars.
Thing 21:
I looked at a few of the websites for podcasts, found some I was interested in, and then searched for them through my Google Reader account to add them. I added "This Week In Science" to my newsfeed. I'm not sure how often I will listen to the weekly show online, but I did listen to one as I was working on my blog. I guess I might listen to more if I had an iPod - hmmm, great gift idea. I can always catch up on ones that I miss - it really is like Tivo for radio.
Thing 22:
I'm excited to learn that there are so many free downloadable eBooks online. I like that the top 100 downloads by title and top downloaded authors are shown for today, the last 7 days, and the last 30 days. I will definitely be downloading and reading some. I will look more closely to find some audio books that may be useful in my STAR class.
Thing 23:
I really enjoyed being a part of Web 2.0. I learned a lot about the web and hope to use many of the things I learned in my classroom. My favorite discoveries were del.icio.us and Google Reader. I hope to create a wiki for sharing with colleagues, and possibly another for working with students. If another program like this were offered in the future, I would definitely want to participate. The web is constantly growing and changing, and I want to be able to keep up!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Week 8
Thing 18:
I looked at Zoho Writer and Google Docs. I prefer Zoho Writer because of the easy toolbar. I also like Zoho because it has all of the same applications as Microsoft Office. I had problems when I imported files that I created in Microsoft Word. The images did not show up in Zoho as they appeared in Word. Does anyone know how to fix this?
I like the idea that a document (or presentation, or whatever!) may be shared with colleagues and that they can be given Read or Write permissions to it. What a great way to work on something together without having to actually find the time in our busy schedules for all of us to meet in person. I also really like being able to add tags to the document so that it is even easier to find when you need it. I have not tried to print anything that I created in Zoho. I hope that isn't a problem. Any comments on printing?
Thing 19:
I joined LibraryThing. I added a few books. I do not have very many books in my home collection. I do like that you can get recommendations from books that you have rated on the site. Are you supposed to add books to your "library" that you have just read and don't actually own???? If this is used just to catalog books in my own library I will not use it - I do not usually buy books. I have a lot of books in my classroom library but I don't think I'd use it for that either.
I looked at Zoho Writer and Google Docs. I prefer Zoho Writer because of the easy toolbar. I also like Zoho because it has all of the same applications as Microsoft Office. I had problems when I imported files that I created in Microsoft Word. The images did not show up in Zoho as they appeared in Word. Does anyone know how to fix this?
I like the idea that a document (or presentation, or whatever!) may be shared with colleagues and that they can be given Read or Write permissions to it. What a great way to work on something together without having to actually find the time in our busy schedules for all of us to meet in person. I also really like being able to add tags to the document so that it is even easier to find when you need it. I have not tried to print anything that I created in Zoho. I hope that isn't a problem. Any comments on printing?
Thing 19:
I joined LibraryThing. I added a few books. I do not have very many books in my home collection. I do like that you can get recommendations from books that you have rated on the site. Are you supposed to add books to your "library" that you have just read and don't actually own???? If this is used just to catalog books in my own library I will not use it - I do not usually buy books. I have a lot of books in my classroom library but I don't think I'd use it for that either.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Week 7
Thing 16:
I like the idea of using a wiki for book reviews. I read several reviews on the Princeton Public Library's wiki that made me want to go find that book! That would really help students find books that they are interested in reading. I hear students complain about not being able to find books they really want to read.
I also like the idea of using a wiki as a hub for the classroom and projects, but I'm not sure how well that would work with students in middle school, especially ones that do not have a computer or internet access at home. If we were able to use a computer lab on a regular basis as a class, that might solve the problem.
I like the idea of using a wiki for book reviews. I read several reviews on the Princeton Public Library's wiki that made me want to go find that book! That would really help students find books that they are interested in reading. I hear students complain about not being able to find books they really want to read.
I also like the idea of using a wiki as a hub for the classroom and projects, but I'm not sure how well that would work with students in middle school, especially ones that do not have a computer or internet access at home. If we were able to use a computer lab on a regular basis as a class, that might solve the problem.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Week 6
Thing 13:
Of all the things I have learned about in Classroom Learning 2.0 so far, this one is my favorite. I will definitely use delicious.com as a tool for presentations in my classroom. Last year I started doing more teaching using online resources, and this will make everything much easier to find when the time comes to teach on a particular subject. I especially like that I can see how popular certain websites are with other users - a very good research tool! Once I have a site bookmarked, I can add my own tags to make them that much easier for me to find later on. In addition to using this in the classroom I will also be using this from home. It is so much easier than searching through my long list of "Favorites"!
Thing 14:
I did the different searches on Technorati.com - popular blog, tag, and then used the Blog directory. I got different results by using the Blog directory.
When searching popular blogs I found some that were interesting, but this is not something I will likely use on a regular basis.
Thing 15:
Library 2.0 seems like a wonderful source for finding the information you are looking for - not just quickly, but in an easy format. That is what technology is all about, right? Look at what Windows did for computer users of all ages. Library 2.0 can do the same for people of all ages in libraries.
Of all the things I have learned about in Classroom Learning 2.0 so far, this one is my favorite. I will definitely use delicious.com as a tool for presentations in my classroom. Last year I started doing more teaching using online resources, and this will make everything much easier to find when the time comes to teach on a particular subject. I especially like that I can see how popular certain websites are with other users - a very good research tool! Once I have a site bookmarked, I can add my own tags to make them that much easier for me to find later on. In addition to using this in the classroom I will also be using this from home. It is so much easier than searching through my long list of "Favorites"!
Thing 14:
I did the different searches on Technorati.com - popular blog, tag, and then used the Blog directory. I got different results by using the Blog directory.
When searching popular blogs I found some that were interesting, but this is not something I will likely use on a regular basis.
Thing 15:
Library 2.0 seems like a wonderful source for finding the information you are looking for - not just quickly, but in an easy format. That is what technology is all about, right? Look at what Windows did for computer users of all ages. Library 2.0 can do the same for people of all ages in libraries.
Week 5
Thing 11:
I had heard of Craigslist but never used it. I love finding good deals on things and this website is perfect for that. I may use it in the future when selling large items myself! I saved the list of the Award Winning Websites to my Favorites, and I will look more into the other websites later.
I did not join a Ning network. I looked at over 50 and was not interested in joining any of them. Did anyone find a good one that I missed? There were just too many to search through. I would be interested in creating one with other science teachers at my school as a website that our students can explore.
I played the Travel IQ game and did better than I expected to!
Thing 12:
I created a searchroll with Rollyo.com. I added a few trusted websites but want to add more later. I can see my students using this for a science projects on many different topics. Here is the link: http://rollyo.com/kimawalker/6th_grade_science/
I had heard of Craigslist but never used it. I love finding good deals on things and this website is perfect for that. I may use it in the future when selling large items myself! I saved the list of the Award Winning Websites to my Favorites, and I will look more into the other websites later.
I did not join a Ning network. I looked at over 50 and was not interested in joining any of them. Did anyone find a good one that I missed? There were just too many to search through. I would be interested in creating one with other science teachers at my school as a website that our students can explore.
I played the Travel IQ game and did better than I expected to!
Thing 12:
I created a searchroll with Rollyo.com. I added a few trusted websites but want to add more later. I can see my students using this for a science projects on many different topics. Here is the link: http://rollyo.com/kimawalker/6th_grade_science/
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