I kept working on Thing 16 so I skipped writing about it but I guess it is time to get it all down.....
Well...I had decided to focus on my school website. Most of the design was dictated by my district trying to keep things cohesive. Probably a good thing to keep me focused!
I had a bunch of irons in the fire....I wanted to improve on my presenation to the staff about databases, ebooks, audiobooks and online sources. Then I wanted to create some professional development to share with my staff...."If your research paper can be answered with a google search then it is void of higher level thinking". LOL I have been inspired by the book RX for the Common Core: Toolkit for implementing inquiry learning! And then I thought I really need to develop a better web presence with links to all the sources I wanted to share. So that is where I began.
My web page: http://www.ichabodcrane.org/Faculty/jtwoaxe/www/index.php My hands are tied regarding the layout and colors but overall it does the job. The link on the left...looking for a book? a database? - click there and you will see a link all the way to the right for SYMBALOO. It is still a work in progress but I love symbaloo!! I had a tendancy to list links I thought students and teachers would find useful but they got long and cumbersome....so in comes symbaloo! Easy to use - visual - easy to organize and edit! My favorite link on Symbaloo is my JUST FOR FUN link...check it out!
Unfortunately I created my symbaloo pages and then found out that Symbaloo released a version developed specifically for teachers. SymbalooEDU, this new version comes with new features aimed to assist educators in gathering the best educational online resources. Educator's refer to this visual aggregation as a Personal Learning Environment (PLE). This is something I plan on revisiting.
In researching what to use for my bookmarking I came across StumbleUpon. It will ask for your interests and then select content based on those topics. But instead of scrolling through lists of links, you can click the "Stumble" button, and StumbleUpon will send you directly to a webpage that's relevant to one of your interests. Once you land on a page, you can vote to “Like” or “Dislike” the content, and StumbleUpon will take your vote into consideration when choosing future content. Lots of good information I wouldn't have found or stumbled upon on my own.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Thing 20 Pathfinders, Student & Professional Portfolios
I started this one with reading Joyce's list of what I read to be 20 things she wished librarians would learn and I instantly panicked!!! Luckily I reread the title and it was UNLEARN! I can breathe again!
I chose to look into creating an electronic portfolio. I saw it years ago for high school students and I thought what a great way to record their work, thoughts, interests etc... beyond what a standardized test, facebook, twitter and instagram can show! Keeping an e portfolio throughout high school will hopefully leave them prepared for marketing themselves for future endeavors...college, careers etc... and the creation of these e portfolios are not just for art students! I am hoping to approach my administrator about creating a class or having the creation of an eportfolio as mandatory for all high school students.
An article that got me started: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/e-portfolios-in-the-classroom-mary-beth-hertz
I spent a lot of my time looking at different platforms to create e portfolios - google, dropbox, evernote, foliospaces and pathbrite. I started one on weebly but I am struggling. It seems a bit too basic. I am still working on the resume and other content I am going to share but I have to pick a better platform. This is going to be a continuous project this summer...I am anxious to have a professional place to share who I am and what I am doing outside of the 4 walls of the library. We all know the importance of the librarian in schools and the effect we can have on student achievement. But I feel we are constantly having to sell ourselves...showing everyone just what we can do. Hopefully my eportfolio will help do some of that work for me...if I do it well! Instead of preaching to the choir...maybe I can reach more ears!!
Some other articles:
http://www.emergingedtech.com/2013/03/are-eportfolios-still-relevant-for-todays-students/
https://sites.google.com/a/brvgs.k12.va.us/senior-projects-2012-2013/mchs
I chose to look into creating an electronic portfolio. I saw it years ago for high school students and I thought what a great way to record their work, thoughts, interests etc... beyond what a standardized test, facebook, twitter and instagram can show! Keeping an e portfolio throughout high school will hopefully leave them prepared for marketing themselves for future endeavors...college, careers etc... and the creation of these e portfolios are not just for art students! I am hoping to approach my administrator about creating a class or having the creation of an eportfolio as mandatory for all high school students.
An article that got me started: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/e-portfolios-in-the-classroom-mary-beth-hertz
I spent a lot of my time looking at different platforms to create e portfolios - google, dropbox, evernote, foliospaces and pathbrite. I started one on weebly but I am struggling. It seems a bit too basic. I am still working on the resume and other content I am going to share but I have to pick a better platform. This is going to be a continuous project this summer...I am anxious to have a professional place to share who I am and what I am doing outside of the 4 walls of the library. We all know the importance of the librarian in schools and the effect we can have on student achievement. But I feel we are constantly having to sell ourselves...showing everyone just what we can do. Hopefully my eportfolio will help do some of that work for me...if I do it well! Instead of preaching to the choir...maybe I can reach more ears!!
Some other articles:
http://www.emergingedtech.com/2013/03/are-eportfolios-still-relevant-for-todays-students/
https://sites.google.com/a/brvgs.k12.va.us/senior-projects-2012-2013/mchs
Monday, May 12, 2014
Thing 19: Online Learning & DIY PD
I have to start by saying...I need more hours in a day or atleast some staff in my library to help with clerical stuff so I can develop some great PD for my department!!! In our district we are often stuck with PD/workshops that have nothing to do with the library. I have had the opportunity to teach some PD sessions and really enjoyed it. I have been able to open the eyes of my staff as to what the library can do for them. Some of the teachers really had no idea...technology, databases, ebooks....we have it all!
After I read the articles about 20% time and Genius Hour I have my motivation for my summer work. With all the talk about the importance of student directed learning I am going to develop a plan to incorporate this - using the book Passion-Driven Classroom by Maiers & Sandoval. Our day is based on four Blocks on a rotating Day 1 and Day 2 schedule and I believe it will suit this movement quite well!
As I looked into developing the DIY Professional Toolkit....my eyes were opened to Twitter! I knew how it work...I knew all my students were on it but I really just saw it as another social media network....like facebook and do I really need to know that you are doing laundry while eating hagen daas at midnight!!
But Twitter really has value...I was so thrilled to see all of the educators sharing their resources. I loved that you don't really need to participate...you can just lurk! It is such a great way to connect that I am writing a brief article for our teacher newsletter trying to entice teachers to sign-up on Twitter. I loved Twitter4teachers.
I also signed up for Emerging Technology and Tech Tools - again I don't participate but I am always finding things to try out and take a look at...I am starting to feel guilty about not adding my two cents! LOL
MOOCS is something that I looked into last summer and always seems like such a great idea but then when I found something the timing never seemed to work out. I love the idea and all the different avenues it opens up not only for teachers but for our students. I have tried out EdX...there was nothing library related but I did follow up on an art history course and a Jazz Appreciation course. Both were archived courses but you can view all of the materials - watch the videos and audit the course when you are done. Again...I just wish I had more time in a day!
So I am now writing a proposal to see if some of these fabulous opportunitites for meaningful learning will get us the PD credit they so deserve!
After I read the articles about 20% time and Genius Hour I have my motivation for my summer work. With all the talk about the importance of student directed learning I am going to develop a plan to incorporate this - using the book Passion-Driven Classroom by Maiers & Sandoval. Our day is based on four Blocks on a rotating Day 1 and Day 2 schedule and I believe it will suit this movement quite well!
As I looked into developing the DIY Professional Toolkit....my eyes were opened to Twitter! I knew how it work...I knew all my students were on it but I really just saw it as another social media network....like facebook and do I really need to know that you are doing laundry while eating hagen daas at midnight!!
But Twitter really has value...I was so thrilled to see all of the educators sharing their resources. I loved that you don't really need to participate...you can just lurk! It is such a great way to connect that I am writing a brief article for our teacher newsletter trying to entice teachers to sign-up on Twitter. I loved Twitter4teachers.
I also signed up for Emerging Technology and Tech Tools - again I don't participate but I am always finding things to try out and take a look at...I am starting to feel guilty about not adding my two cents! LOL
MOOCS is something that I looked into last summer and always seems like such a great idea but then when I found something the timing never seemed to work out. I love the idea and all the different avenues it opens up not only for teachers but for our students. I have tried out EdX...there was nothing library related but I did follow up on an art history course and a Jazz Appreciation course. Both were archived courses but you can view all of the materials - watch the videos and audit the course when you are done. Again...I just wish I had more time in a day!
So I am now writing a proposal to see if some of these fabulous opportunitites for meaningful learning will get us the PD credit they so deserve!
Monday, April 28, 2014
Thing 18: Digital Tattoo & Digital Citizenship
This is another topic where I feel we are failing our students. I first heard the term Digital Footprint a little over a year ago...from Paige Jaeger and realized what an important lesson my students need to be taught! After speaking informally with my high school students I realized how clueless they are about digital citizenship and how the life they lead online will follow them in the "real world". I love the term Digital Tattoo - it seems a little more permanent and I believe the students can relate to it.
I did start with searching myself on Spokeo and other such sites and was shocked at the detail and how many years back these sites went with my personal information.
There is so much information out there on this topic it is staggering and yet we have students that are living their lives online not realizing the full impact...their online sharing will have on them.
The presentation I created for my upcoming 9th graders included:
A great video on youtube....Youth & Media Digital Dossier....it is a quick 4 minutes video that opens their mind to have is put out there and how it is used.
I also referenced an article in Time Magazine about Data Mining - Your Data for Sale March 2013. Some students were shocked to find out that their information was for sale...and that Facebook made 3.2 billion in advertising revenue.
Two books I found helpful were Digital Citizenship in Schools - Ribble & Bailey and Born Digital - Palfrey & Gasser.
I reviewed with my students some of the fine print details of what they are agreeing to when using things like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other apps.
We also reviewed the Stephentown House Party last August that made the news because of pictures that were posted on social media sites.
Students were shocked to find out that employers and colleges want full access to Facebook! For many students this was the eye opener!! Or the pictures that they send via Snapshat that are supposed to be only viewed for a few seconds are never really "gone".
We touched on cyberbullying and the shocking statistics of students that have taken their lives because of such activity.
There is such a need here that I feel we are missing the boat on. Our students are living their lives out on social media with blinders on. We as educators need to fit this into the curriculum....somewhere between the common core and testing.... Many of the teachers believe someone else will cover it with the students and instead we are doing them a huge disservice.
When I did my lesson with my 9th graders some of the teachers were shocked at some of the information I shared and were unaware as well....so I think my next move is creating some inservice class for my teachers.
I did start with searching myself on Spokeo and other such sites and was shocked at the detail and how many years back these sites went with my personal information.
There is so much information out there on this topic it is staggering and yet we have students that are living their lives online not realizing the full impact...their online sharing will have on them.
The presentation I created for my upcoming 9th graders included:
A great video on youtube....Youth & Media Digital Dossier....it is a quick 4 minutes video that opens their mind to have is put out there and how it is used.
I also referenced an article in Time Magazine about Data Mining - Your Data for Sale March 2013. Some students were shocked to find out that their information was for sale...and that Facebook made 3.2 billion in advertising revenue.
Two books I found helpful were Digital Citizenship in Schools - Ribble & Bailey and Born Digital - Palfrey & Gasser.
I reviewed with my students some of the fine print details of what they are agreeing to when using things like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other apps.
We also reviewed the Stephentown House Party last August that made the news because of pictures that were posted on social media sites.
Students were shocked to find out that employers and colleges want full access to Facebook! For many students this was the eye opener!! Or the pictures that they send via Snapshat that are supposed to be only viewed for a few seconds are never really "gone".
We touched on cyberbullying and the shocking statistics of students that have taken their lives because of such activity.
There is such a need here that I feel we are missing the boat on. Our students are living their lives out on social media with blinders on. We as educators need to fit this into the curriculum....somewhere between the common core and testing.... Many of the teachers believe someone else will cover it with the students and instead we are doing them a huge disservice.
When I did my lesson with my 9th graders some of the teachers were shocked at some of the information I shared and were unaware as well....so I think my next move is creating some inservice class for my teachers.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Thing 17 ....Coding
In my opinion, coding is like learning a foreign language...it is so much easier to learn the younger you are! I was very excited about the Computer Science Education Week December 9-15. There is a newer math teacher in our district that started offering a beginning computer programming course and I was happy to support him in this venture. During the computer science week we asked teachers to please show the 5 minute promotional video from the code.org website. We then picked a day during that week to close the library and open only for students interested completing an Hour of Code. We had a great turn out....some teachers even joined in during their lunch and prep times. I worked on quite a few but had a bit of frustration the longer I worked. I tried Angry birds, Lightbot, the Dog and the ball. I truly believe we are missing the boat when it comes to computer science and our students! I was thrilled with what code.org offered through their website.... http://learn.code.org/ - it is a k-8 Computer Science class for 15-25 hours. I wish I could offer it as a class.....or maybe as an after school program....the wheels are turning. The computing occupations are among the highest paying for new graduates but fewer than 3% graduate with a degree in computer science!
An interesting article:
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21601250-global-push-more-computer-science-classrooms-starting-bear-fruit
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Thing 15: App-palooza!
I LOVE the idea of "Library in your Pocket". I am in the process of creating my list to share with students and staff but I feel like every day I come up with something new to add. I have decided to do an APP of the week! My staff at the HS is so excited with new Apps...almost as much as I am...my students...not so much. They want to stick to Tumblr and Twitter - they are a hard sell...so far! I have added to my "Library in your Pocket" YALSA's teen book finder, StudyBlue for flashcards & study tools, Teen hotlines, Shakespeare in Bits, EasyBib, Videolicious, MyCongress which allows studetns to follow closely what is going on in Congress...links to each member's website, news articles, Twitter feeds. That is just a start!
I believe this will be much more productive when all of the students have ipads which is what we are all hoping will happen in the near future. The teachers were given ipads this September....and there has been quite a learning curve for some of us. There are so many Apps out there - I feel like if you have an idea...just look online there will be an App for it! Kathy Schrocks Bloomin' Apps and Ipads4education are just amazing resources as well as OVERWHELMING!!! I love the graphic of different Apps which support the different aspect of Bloom's Taxonomy. So helpful when planning lessons and wanting to implement technology.
I tried out the speech to text apps...they come in handy for classnotes etc.. but I have been on a search for a text to speech App...something free as we are not allowed to purchase Apps on school ipads...we are still working out the kinks on that!!
I did spend which a bit of time on the Apps in Education Blog. I wish it was better organized...scrolling through loads of stuff got tiring but there was some great information...I loved the writing prompts, the art and music app suggestions were great as well.
There were some apps used as icecreakers that I thought my HS students would love...plinky, socrative, polleverywhere. I can't wait to try them out...One of the teachers was looking over my shoulder asking what I was doing....so I quickly explained Plinky. Her thought was too bad they kids don't have ipads so we could use this...many teachers don't realize that many of the apps that are available today can also be used through a web browser! Let the apps continue!
I believe this will be much more productive when all of the students have ipads which is what we are all hoping will happen in the near future. The teachers were given ipads this September....and there has been quite a learning curve for some of us. There are so many Apps out there - I feel like if you have an idea...just look online there will be an App for it! Kathy Schrocks Bloomin' Apps and Ipads4education are just amazing resources as well as OVERWHELMING!!! I love the graphic of different Apps which support the different aspect of Bloom's Taxonomy. So helpful when planning lessons and wanting to implement technology.
I tried out the speech to text apps...they come in handy for classnotes etc.. but I have been on a search for a text to speech App...something free as we are not allowed to purchase Apps on school ipads...we are still working out the kinks on that!!
I did spend which a bit of time on the Apps in Education Blog. I wish it was better organized...scrolling through loads of stuff got tiring but there was some great information...I loved the writing prompts, the art and music app suggestions were great as well.
There were some apps used as icecreakers that I thought my HS students would love...plinky, socrative, polleverywhere. I can't wait to try them out...One of the teachers was looking over my shoulder asking what I was doing....so I quickly explained Plinky. Her thought was too bad they kids don't have ipads so we could use this...many teachers don't realize that many of the apps that are available today can also be used through a web browser! Let the apps continue!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Thing 14: Book Tools & More to Explore
I have been a huge fan of GoodReads for a while now. I basically use it to keep track of books I want to read....so handy to be able to whip it out on my phone on a moments notice...whether I am recommending a book to someone or in a book store and can't remember a title. I did try something new with it....keeping in touch with my high school book club members through out the summer. We were told by the district not to use Facebook so Goodreads was a good option for us. I hope to be using it more as this school year comes to an end. I am also setting a goal for myself to start writing reviews. I am so quick to use the star rating....so in my free time LOL I am going to start reviewing!
I have been a fan of Overdrive as well...a while back Overdrive I thought was a hot mess but they have come a long way! I access ebooks and audiobooks through my public library and also through Questar III. They have some some fabulous updates and keep getting better. I would use it more at school if we had more devices!!! Currently I only have 5 nooks...three of which don't work. Although most of my students have phones....most do not want to read off of them.
I checked out LibraryReads and loved it!! I have added quite a few titles to my to read/to purchase list based on these recommendations. I signed up for their monthly newsletter....LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
I also went a little crazy with NetGalley!! I browsed through the list of advance reader copies and was approved for two so far....I better getting working on my reviews!!
We Give Books - I love the premise of this - the more books you read the more are donated to those in need! My 5 year old was thrilled to see all of the books she had access to online! I think for Primary school teachers...the teacher resource - extension activities - reading guides and craft projects were a great addition to this wonderful resource!
International Childrens Digital Library - - a little frustrated with this site - not all the books were translated but this was a good resource for some multicultural titles...activities and projects as well.
Social Reading is something I felt was bound to happen but I'm still not sure I love the idea - even though I take part in what is defined as "social reading".
I tried out SubText since it was geared towards high school...I could see reading a book with a class this way! Super easy to use! I love the options included...the polls, the comments. The video from YALSA explains it quite well - I shared it with some of my English teachers and social studies teachers. I suggest taking a few minutes to view it. I don't have a class to use this with but I am going to try it out with my book club over the summer. As I looked at some of the examples....I have to admit I was a bit distracted by the comments in the margins. I had a tendency to read those before reading the page in the book....I think I would need to turn those off....and then go back to them?? I'm not sure I am going to love "sharing" the reading process with someone in that way! LOL I kind of enjoy jumping into a book...going for the ride and then sharing my thoughts. It seems like a really different experience sharing as you go. But again the problem would be students having a device to use it on.
I took a quick look at Readups....you need to have a Twitter account and I didn't want to sign up...but I might go back to it.
I might try to do some social reading with my mom....who lives in NH and see how it goes from there!
I have been a fan of Overdrive as well...a while back Overdrive I thought was a hot mess but they have come a long way! I access ebooks and audiobooks through my public library and also through Questar III. They have some some fabulous updates and keep getting better. I would use it more at school if we had more devices!!! Currently I only have 5 nooks...three of which don't work. Although most of my students have phones....most do not want to read off of them.
I checked out LibraryReads and loved it!! I have added quite a few titles to my to read/to purchase list based on these recommendations. I signed up for their monthly newsletter....LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
I also went a little crazy with NetGalley!! I browsed through the list of advance reader copies and was approved for two so far....I better getting working on my reviews!!
We Give Books - I love the premise of this - the more books you read the more are donated to those in need! My 5 year old was thrilled to see all of the books she had access to online! I think for Primary school teachers...the teacher resource - extension activities - reading guides and craft projects were a great addition to this wonderful resource!
International Childrens Digital Library - - a little frustrated with this site - not all the books were translated but this was a good resource for some multicultural titles...activities and projects as well.
Social Reading is something I felt was bound to happen but I'm still not sure I love the idea - even though I take part in what is defined as "social reading".
I tried out SubText since it was geared towards high school...I could see reading a book with a class this way! Super easy to use! I love the options included...the polls, the comments. The video from YALSA explains it quite well - I shared it with some of my English teachers and social studies teachers. I suggest taking a few minutes to view it. I don't have a class to use this with but I am going to try it out with my book club over the summer. As I looked at some of the examples....I have to admit I was a bit distracted by the comments in the margins. I had a tendency to read those before reading the page in the book....I think I would need to turn those off....and then go back to them?? I'm not sure I am going to love "sharing" the reading process with someone in that way! LOL I kind of enjoy jumping into a book...going for the ride and then sharing my thoughts. It seems like a really different experience sharing as you go. But again the problem would be students having a device to use it on.
I took a quick look at Readups....you need to have a Twitter account and I didn't want to sign up...but I might go back to it.
I might try to do some social reading with my mom....who lives in NH and see how it goes from there!
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Thing 13: Media Skills
OMG....I spent WAY TOO MUCH time exploring this one!! WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!!
I am an oil painter and very often take pictures of things I would eventually like to paint. 5 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter I switched from a great 35mm camera to digital...NikonD90...my life hasn't been the same! I am obsessed with digital photography, Photoshop etc... If you want to check out a really cool site try: www.worth1000.com....I'm already off topic!!!
OK so when this project started on Pinterest I knew I was in trouble!
I never used Pixlr before but certainly will again! So much fun and easy!! For a free resource - the editor was excellent and the express and pixlr-o-matic my kids loved playing around with.
Picasa - something else that was new to me. I have used snapfish.com for years to organize my pictures and get prints, collages, gifts etc... I was inpressed with everything you can do with Picasa but when every picuture on my computer downloaded to photoviewer on the google created site...I was a little freaked out! LOL There was a bit of a learning curve but it was easy to use and lots of fun. I was loving the special effects...I created a movie and a cute collage. We did a 1920s project last year with a class where they had to put themselves into a scene from the 20s and write about it....so I'm thinking this could help with that process! I need to come up with some ways to incorporate this into the classroom....my students will love it!
The word clouds I have done before using Wordle and I also found a nice elementary version for the teachers to use....http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm
My students enjoyed using sites like www.imagechef.com and http://bighugelabs.com/ when we were afterschool one day making Valentines....so check it out.
A great tool I used was clipping magic!! OMG....so easy! A great tool to take the background out of a picture...so easy and free!! I also LOVE tubechop! We use youtube all the time at school and so often we just need a few minutes of a video...again this was easy...bascially move the slider to the amount of video you want and it chops it! You can save the clip you want.
OK....I could go on and on...really want to try an animated gif....
I am an oil painter and very often take pictures of things I would eventually like to paint. 5 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter I switched from a great 35mm camera to digital...NikonD90...my life hasn't been the same! I am obsessed with digital photography, Photoshop etc... If you want to check out a really cool site try: www.worth1000.com....I'm already off topic!!!
OK so when this project started on Pinterest I knew I was in trouble!
I never used Pixlr before but certainly will again! So much fun and easy!! For a free resource - the editor was excellent and the express and pixlr-o-matic my kids loved playing around with.
Picasa - something else that was new to me. I have used snapfish.com for years to organize my pictures and get prints, collages, gifts etc... I was inpressed with everything you can do with Picasa but when every picuture on my computer downloaded to photoviewer on the google created site...I was a little freaked out! LOL There was a bit of a learning curve but it was easy to use and lots of fun. I was loving the special effects...I created a movie and a cute collage. We did a 1920s project last year with a class where they had to put themselves into a scene from the 20s and write about it....so I'm thinking this could help with that process! I need to come up with some ways to incorporate this into the classroom....my students will love it!
The word clouds I have done before using Wordle and I also found a nice elementary version for the teachers to use....http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm
My students enjoyed using sites like www.imagechef.com and http://bighugelabs.com/ when we were afterschool one day making Valentines....so check it out.
A great tool I used was clipping magic!! OMG....so easy! A great tool to take the background out of a picture...so easy and free!! I also LOVE tubechop! We use youtube all the time at school and so often we just need a few minutes of a video...again this was easy...bascially move the slider to the amount of video you want and it chops it! You can save the clip you want.
OK....I could go on and on...really want to try an animated gif....
Monday, January 27, 2014
Thing 12 Social Learning & Learning Management Systems
This was a huge assignment that I started and stopped numerous times....but I finally got my act together...visited quite a few the learning Management Systems/learning environments and was happy to see how many I was already a part of!
When I was the MS librarian I had a science teacher that used Edmodo and LOVED IT! I had checked it out looking over students' shoulders and thought wow...very cool tool. Fast forward a few years here it is again...better than ever. I did check out Schoology which I thought was a great tool as well but I'm leaning toward continuing with Edmodo. I liked that students did not need an email address to sign up....super user friendly and lots of bells and whistles. I am creating a class for my teacher book club so they will all become students and I can give updates because we only meet once a month...I can push them along with their reading and quiz them along the way! LOVE IT!
I have been using GoodReads for a few years now and my student book club uses it as well. It is a great way to keep track of what you want to read and what you have read. I love checking it out for suggestions and it comes in real handy when you are standing in the book store and can't remember what the next great book you wanted to read was. I think I am going to have my students book club switch over to using Edmodo for our discussion...especially over the summer! I love Good Reads but I always have a tendency to get sidetracked on their website
I love Edutopia....I have been signed up for their email updates...they always provide great articles and up to date news events in education. I very often find myself forwarding articles to teachers I work with. I highly suggest a look at it!
Just recently I started looking at MOOCS - I love the idea of it...very exciting opportunities but I need 30 hours in a day!! edX is the one I took a closer look at and would like maybe take a course over the summer when I have a little more time on my hands.
I have been a fan of facebook for years and I always felt it would be a great tool to touch base with our students but our district has unofficially let us know that they did not want us having facebook contact with students or facebook pages linked to the school. Recently our district switched over to gmail and all the tools that go along with Google. We are a bit slow with our technology...for a while google docs was blocked but we are coming along and I hope to see all that google has to offer.
I just came across www.remind101.com - a safe way to text students/parents...I'm thinking overdue notices!!! WOO HOO!
When I was the MS librarian I had a science teacher that used Edmodo and LOVED IT! I had checked it out looking over students' shoulders and thought wow...very cool tool. Fast forward a few years here it is again...better than ever. I did check out Schoology which I thought was a great tool as well but I'm leaning toward continuing with Edmodo. I liked that students did not need an email address to sign up....super user friendly and lots of bells and whistles. I am creating a class for my teacher book club so they will all become students and I can give updates because we only meet once a month...I can push them along with their reading and quiz them along the way! LOVE IT!
I have been using GoodReads for a few years now and my student book club uses it as well. It is a great way to keep track of what you want to read and what you have read. I love checking it out for suggestions and it comes in real handy when you are standing in the book store and can't remember what the next great book you wanted to read was. I think I am going to have my students book club switch over to using Edmodo for our discussion...especially over the summer! I love Good Reads but I always have a tendency to get sidetracked on their website
I love Edutopia....I have been signed up for their email updates...they always provide great articles and up to date news events in education. I very often find myself forwarding articles to teachers I work with. I highly suggest a look at it!
Just recently I started looking at MOOCS - I love the idea of it...very exciting opportunities but I need 30 hours in a day!! edX is the one I took a closer look at and would like maybe take a course over the summer when I have a little more time on my hands.
I have been a fan of facebook for years and I always felt it would be a great tool to touch base with our students but our district has unofficially let us know that they did not want us having facebook contact with students or facebook pages linked to the school. Recently our district switched over to gmail and all the tools that go along with Google. We are a bit slow with our technology...for a while google docs was blocked but we are coming along and I hope to see all that google has to offer.
I just came across www.remind101.com - a safe way to text students/parents...I'm thinking overdue notices!!! WOO HOO!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Thing 11 Mapping & Geolocation Tools
Yikes...nothing like starting the race in last place!! Better late than never. I have figured out a few things just trying to access the blogs of my colleagues (like I hate the filters at my school) and google's purchase of BlogSpot really screwed up my access. After much frustration....I am finally on!
Mapping & Geolocation Tools:
I loved google maps before...and I just fell in love all over again! Their tutorials are extremely well done but run hit or miss at school. I had done much of my research at home...found somethings I wanted to share with teachers at school and they wouldn't work. That is something I have to talk with IT about.
I really enjoyed the phototours - the street views of places I will probably never get to sucked up quite a bit of my time. Kind of like pinterest for me. I did share it with my dad who then spent hours visiting places he used to live and work...it was really fascinating.
I added Leonardo's Horse in Milan to the collaborative map...I am going to try and incorporate that into a project with the foreign language classes...haven't quite thought it all through yet but they all study a Spanish speaking country of their choice and I believe the geography of it gets lost. This piece might help!
I loved Sepiatown and whatwasthere.com! When looking up Valatie & Kinderhook there were no historical pictures...this could be a great opportunity for our photography class or anyone studying local history. The opportunity to contribute to the site is something my high school students would love. I plan on also introducing photo sphere from google to them. I think they would enjoy participating and making the world just a bit smaller! :-)
And when your kids need something to do...geoguesser.com is so much fun! It is tough but after a few you realize what clues you should be looking for to figure out where you are. Give it a try!
Mapping & Geolocation Tools:
I loved google maps before...and I just fell in love all over again! Their tutorials are extremely well done but run hit or miss at school. I had done much of my research at home...found somethings I wanted to share with teachers at school and they wouldn't work. That is something I have to talk with IT about.
I really enjoyed the phototours - the street views of places I will probably never get to sucked up quite a bit of my time. Kind of like pinterest for me. I did share it with my dad who then spent hours visiting places he used to live and work...it was really fascinating.
I added Leonardo's Horse in Milan to the collaborative map...I am going to try and incorporate that into a project with the foreign language classes...haven't quite thought it all through yet but they all study a Spanish speaking country of their choice and I believe the geography of it gets lost. This piece might help!
I loved Sepiatown and whatwasthere.com! When looking up Valatie & Kinderhook there were no historical pictures...this could be a great opportunity for our photography class or anyone studying local history. The opportunity to contribute to the site is something my high school students would love. I plan on also introducing photo sphere from google to them. I think they would enjoy participating and making the world just a bit smaller! :-)
And when your kids need something to do...geoguesser.com is so much fun! It is tough but after a few you realize what clues you should be looking for to figure out where you are. Give it a try!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)