Week 9

My favorites were Google Earth, Read Think Write, and Thinkfinity. So excited about those writing prompt ‘machines.’ Can’t wait to share them. I was surprised at how much I didn’t enjoy TerraClues – maybe I missed something – found it hurky jerky and kind of confusing. I have always loved the modern miracle of technology. One word that would describe this learning experience – reawakening. All fired up about the potential of the sites visited. I want and need to put together a real eye-catching blog for our library. It needs to be interactive, glitzy and engaging. Was also excited about the possibilities of wikis – I will use mine and encourage others to do so.

The first day we started some of the sites we needed to access were not available- a little frustrating but not traumatic. The slowness of some of the sites, losing connection – forgot how distracting and frustrating that could be. You’re on a roll and then blam the brick wall. Couldn’t take my pretest aughhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Even the frustrations were useful. Just made me remember that anytime you plan to use technology Murphy’s Law can be the theme of the day. So my advice to me and anyone else – plan, over plan, practice, and have plan B and C ready for backup. Maybe a link to the pretest would have helped me – maybe a check to make sure that everyone had permission to take it (was it me?). Having said that I think the voyage went smoothly and appreciate all the work that went into it. Once again thanks for putting this course together for us, glad to get fired up about technology again.

Week 8

I was unable to take the pretest- program won’t allow it. A little frustrating because I was on fire there for a bit, working hard and pushing ahead. Have emailed for help. If I don’t hear from anyone I’ll just go to the meeting on Tuesday and take it there. In the 21st Century Skills found a project that interested me – internet safety. A teacher set up an account on Ning to teach her students how to use social networking responsibly. It’s really something all our students need to know. Atomic Learning went through the process step by step. How to open a Ling account, set up (what do students have access to, how not to allow student comments to be published until the teacher has reviewed them). In order to carry this out effectively you would need to collaborate with other teachers and share responsibility of the account. This would be fairly time consuming and difficult if one person tried to attempt it alone. Every student would need an email account and comments would need to reviewed and posted quickly so that students wouldn’t lose interest. Would Ning or any other social network be available (not blocked) at school. All the resources that one would need to carry out this project were available on Atomic Learning.

With one click of the same project different subject button I learned how to adapt this project to other subjects – an interdisciplinary drug abuse project was one of the suggestions. This would be great during Drug Awareness Week (even a blog would work I think).

In the tech integration projects I worked my way through a Publisher project. I will definitely use this in the library because we need to make bookmarks and pamphlets on a regular basis. Definitely learned some short cuts, and it’s good to know that if I need a refresher course its there for me. There was also a project using PowerPoint to create a choose a path story that intrigued me. Believe there’s a way that I can adapt it and use it for games and lessons in the library.

Week 7

Kid Pix has been around for a long time; I have ignored it because I thought it was just for small kids. But after going through the Atomic Learning lessons I think I’d like to create a few lessons with it. Liked many of the backgrounds and the read aloud tool in small kids mode could be used in some interesting ways. It’s easy to use and would be a good tool to publish student work. Seems as if it would be easy for a teacher to manage and students to use – intuitive.

I have used Read Write Think and Thinkfinity in the past but had forgotten (or perhaps not explored it thoroughly). Really liked that neither required a password etc. Loved the student interactives. Both sites had a polished look and were easy to use; think that will appeal to students and teachers. Tried the Construct A Word game for younger students and was impressed with the look and speed of it. Also, tried the persuasion map which was basically a step by step writing prompt. This would really give a boost to students who have difficulty starting a writing project and staying focused. Found a character map in a story map and a great kid friendly definition of character.

These two sites are a treasure trove for teachers. There are webinars, lesson plans, PowerPoints, and even handouts are supplied. I played a flag game on Thinkfinity. Click links on a beautiful picture of a flag, read a passage, and answer questions correctly to collect stars for flag a flag of your own. All this free of charge. Below is a podcast about the Babymouse series – found on Thinkfinity widgets.

http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/podcast-episodes/podcast/babymouse-extravaganza-30555.html


The words in my Wordle project are thoughts about what a library should provide for its patrons.



I went on two scavenger hunts in TerraClues. Definitely want to share this with the teachers on our campus if they don’t know about it already. Our students could benefit from this.

Teachers plan their own lessons for the labs. We have used the portable computer lab in the library. I was so impressed by Read Write Think and Thinkfinity and will definitely use many (and share) lesson plans that I found. The interactive writing prompts would be great for the teachers to use in the computer lab or with the portable lab. They should make writing so much easier for our students who struggle with it. There were soooo many great writing aids on these two sites – can’t wait to share. I will use Kid Pix. Not so sure about TerraClues – need to work with it more. Might be able to make a scavenger hunt based on a book we read.

Week 6

I can see myself using ScribleMaps and Google Lit Trips. When we read a book in the library I like to show the setting on a map (think I’ve mentioned that already). I could use ScribleMaps for that purpose. I especially liked that it measured and showed the distance traveled as the arrow was moved. Google Lit Trips was probably the most visually appealing site mentioned in this lesson. It could be used for a book talk , and teachers could use it for reading books in class – it even supplied questions. Liked the author’s picture and comments. Loved that it contained icons to click that revealed pictures (and facts) of places of interest on the trips. It will take some practice to become familiar with all the features and how to use them properly. It took quite a while for the math manipulative program to load, and it had a very basic, no frills look. I can see a problem trying to use it in school if it’s this slow at home.

Had no trouble navigating KidsZone, and the timing was good. Our kids could use some of the math problems for practice but I felt it would probably work better for older students. I will share WordSift with our LA teachers; it seems to be the ultimate writing prompt. Think it would really help to get students involved.

We use Son of Citation Machine in the library – still think it’s a miracle that in a matter of seconds it can produce the perfect bibliography entry. Another favorite is the Merriam Webster online dictionary. The kids love it because it will pronounce words.

Week 5

I can see that using a wiki could be very helpful for research projects. Teachers and librarians could work together to come up with lists of books, websites, and other appropriate materials that students would need to use. They could also post links to citation machines, show examples, and provide students with rubrics that explain how their projects would be graded. Completed student products could also be posted. The material would always be there, and students wouldn’t have to worry about losing papers and wasting time trying to find replacements. Students could also ask questions and have them answered on the wiki. That might take some of the anxiety out of the process.

I’ve had more experience with blogs; they just seem more appealing. Blogs serve one purpose, wikis another. Blogs are like virtual newspapers on a particular topic produced by one person (or a few) that allows feedback. Wikis are more about collaboration and cooperation. A wiki is constantly changed by the people who use it.

A wiki would be perfect for cadres, team meetings, planning field trips, planning fund raisers, etc. Much more efficient than trying to get everybody to attend several meetings. I have a wiki that I must confess I have used very little but I will incorporate a wiki in our first AR meeting next school year. They would serve us well if we would just get accustomed to using them.

Week 4

This is a video about book care from TeacherTube. I have used videos form TeacherTube in the library in the past and will continue to do so. The kids love the Dewey Decimal rap song and ask to watch it again and again.



This a book trailer I made with Animoto.




I downloaded this video from TeacherTube because it shows a library using all the 21st Century Skills we've been talking about. The library depicted seems dynamic, vital, and all the students are engaged. Great!



Last year I used Animoto and Photostory to make book trailers for the broadcast system. The students really enjoyed them, and the books that were promoted flew off the shelves. I need to use them more this coming year for lessons and to advertise the arrival of new books. Photostory and Animoto are also great ways to publish student work. I can envision endless possibilities where students can have a blast using those higher level critical thinking skills.

Week 3

Google Earth is a great tool, and the kids love it. Went through the Atomic learning and even watched the YouTube video about Google Earth. Have an older version on my laptop but could not download the newer version today. I could use the trip feature in the library. Whenever possible I like to show where a story is taking place in relation to where our students live. There is soooooooooooooo much information............ being able to access it quickly and consistantly during a class period is always the problem. Checked out Google Reader and added a few subscriptions. Blogs can be the true definition of 'too much information'; anything that will help me access pertinent information more efficiently will be helpful. Was having some angst about classifying graphic novels. Found a PowerPoint from OCLC on one of the new feeds. Hooray, all my questions have been answered.



I've had an iGoogle account for a couple of years. There's so much. There's just not enough time to use it all.