Digital Image Scavenger Hunt

This week in class we worked with digital images and were sent in groups on a scavenger hunt around campus.  My group had to take pictures of opposites like hot and cold, short and tall, etc.  Afterward we resized the images and created this Picasa Web Album slide show:

As well as this Google presentation:

Things that went well:

• I enjoyed the group work component and we had a lot of fun walking around and trying to find creative pictures to take.
• Uploading the images, resizing them, and renaming them was fairly easy once it was explained to us in class.
• I like the way the Google presentation turned out.  I find it very visually appealing and it was very similar to Powerpoint which many students will likely be familiar with, only with the added benefit of online sharing capabilities.

And not so well:

• Figuring out how to embed the videos on our blogs was frustrating.  There were several unclear steps and it took a while to figure it out.  Also, once I did so on Picasa Web Albums I assumed I would be able to figure it out on the Google presentation, but ended up having to Google a solution.
• It was a bit tedious renaming, resizing, tagging, adding captions, and adding every picture to the slideshow.  I can see why several of these steps would be beneficial in the future, but it did seem time consuming.
• I do not necessarily find the Picasa Web Album slide show very appealing so I will likely not opt to use it in the future.

Potential uses in my future classroom:

• I really enjoyed the scavenger hunt activity and that it was assigned in such a way that we could easily recreate the activity with our students.  The list given to my group would be specifically useful for a lesson on opposites, but other groups had topics such as colors, social studies concepts, etc. that I could also use.
• I can use the knowledge of Google Presentation or Picasa Web Albums to create slideshows for various lessons in my class.  
• I can have students create a slideshow using either tool for class presentations, group projects, etc.

Overall, I enjoyed the scavenger hunt and actually taking the digital images.  The process of making the slideshows however was not as enjoyable.  Hopefully with practice, it will become a quicker process and something that I can integrate into my classroom.

Web 2.0 Artifacts

Wordle:

Glogster:

Delicious:

http://delicious.com/stacks/view/MlHEyW

Timetoast:

Picasa Web Albums:

Smilebox:

Mmm Mmm Delicious!

For the Web 2.0 assignment, my partner and I researched Delicious, a social bookmarking site. 


What went well!

• Delicious was easy to sign up for and did not take much time to create an account.
• Once I figured out the function of Delicious, I really liked the concept and found it useful.
• Creating a "stack" was very user friendly with the button they provide for your toolbar.  
• I actually found some stacks that I want to "follow" and we even gained a follower on our artifact as well!

And not so well.

• Initially figuring out the purpose of Delicious was difficult, but once we did it was easy to get used to.
• Finding a video explaining the step by step of Delicious was difficult, and they did not provided and the website does not provide an overview or step by step instructions beyond the registration process and adding the button to your toolbar.

Things I would do differently next time

• I would have gone right to the "In Plain English" series to see if they had a video to help us grasp the concept of the tool.
• I would have looked through more examples of stacks and user advice before trying to create my own.

Potential ways to use Delicious in my classroom.

• Saving informational websites that will be useful for future lessons that I stumble upon before that unit comes around.
• Filtering websites for my students to use for research and projects by organizing credible websites into stacks.  This will be especially useful with students who have not mastered good research skills.
• Assigning groups of students to various topics in a unit and having them create a stack to share with the class. 
• Looking at stacks that other teachers have created about topics I am teaching to get ideas, websites to use, articles to read, etc.

Overall, the experience was a good one and I enjoyed learning about Delicious.  I am excited for everyones presentations to build my knowledge of Web 2.0 tools!

Wiki What Nots

Hello Blogger World!


This week in class we worked on using Wikis.  We used PB Works to introduce ourselves to the class via a wiki that our section contributed to.  We were responsible for decorating the front page and making individual introduction pages about our teaching experience, interests, etc. as well as include a picture.  We also used a KWL chart to explore our understanding of wikis and their potential uses in the classroom.


Feel free to check out my About Me page here!


What went well!
-I became comfortable with PB works by the end of the assignment, learning how to add links, upload pictures, and properly format the text.
-We were given several helpful websites to explore for inspiration on how to effectively use wikis in the classroom.
-Our class made a visually appealing front page for our wiki.
-I enjoyed learning about other members of the class during their about me presentations using the page they created for the assignment.


...and not so well.
-I am still contemplating the most efficient ways to use wikis in my classroom, especially in the special education population.  Assuming that my classroom will not have a computer per child for use during the day, I am not sure I am comfortable assigning work on a wiki for them to do at home unless I can familiarize their parents with the process so that they can help their child if needed.
-It was tricky learning to upload, retrieve, resize, and properly place photos.
-I had never edited a wiki, webpage, etc. except for adding basic text and information into some google documents and surveys so learning a new skill always takes patience.


If I were to change anything about the wiki experience, I would have liked to see a few more specific wikis in action during class.  Once I figured out PB Works it was not too hard to navigate, but I would expect there to be others out there that are a little more user friendly.  I felt that some of the tabs and the many lists and sidebars were confusing at times, especially to a brand new user who was not sure what to look for.


As I expressed above, I still have reservations about using wikis in my classroom unless it is in a setting that I can supervise and assist my students.  I know the confusion I experienced when working in PB Works for the first time, so I would want to provide the necessary knowledge and support for them to succeed.  If I do use wikis, I think that choosing a specific topic and assigning different subtopics for the students to explore and post about would be effective.  An example would be to choose a country and have various students create pages for food, culture, population, etc.   I could also see myself using a wiki as a class webpage that parents can view from home or as a way for the students to introduce themselves which I enjoyed in our class.  Finally, I think that wikis might be a good suggestion to give my students for organizing their thoughts and responsibilities for any group projects I might assign.  I think it will honestly depend on my individual classes, their abilities and interests, as well as access to computers and necessary materials to make using wikis worthwhile.


Overall, I am glad that I am now more familiar with wikis and will continue to explore potential ways that I am comfortable using to incorporate them into my classroom.

Website Evaluation

In class on Tuesday we began the process of evaluating an educational website that we can potentially use with out future students.  From my evaluation I used Exploratorium, a website that is associated with a museum in San Francisco.  You should check it out here!

However, this blog is about the actual process of evaluating the website and achieving the objective of being able to do so.  The rubric we used to evaluate the website was very thorough and guided us to complete an effective evaluation.  I may not have realized the importance of some qualities we were required to investigate without this guidance.  While I may not use such a vigorous process with each website I pursue for classroom use,  I will be more aware of the big issues and what makes a good choice for an educational website.   


I found it especially interesting to learn the reasoning behind alt tags on pictures.  For those of you who are in the dark like I was, marketingterms.com defines an alt tag as "HTML tag that provides alternative text when non-textual elements, typically images, cannot be displayed"- or in our case, viewed by an individual.  I did not realize these were meant to assist people unable to visually interpret the webpages content and used some sort of audio device to assist them in doing so.  Unfortunately, the images on my webpage did not have good examples of this.  Being a special education teacher, this is something I will now keep in mind when selecting websites I can use in my classroom some day.  


Overall, I think this was a good experience and I can now add at least one reliable website to my teaching resources!

Blog Post #1- The Start of Something New!

Hello to anyone who stumbles upon this- my first real blog post ever!  This blog will be specific to my TPTE 486 class about integrating technology into my future classroom, but who knows- maybe I will enjoy it and keep up with one after this class is over.

I am excited about taking this class and increasing my knowledge of technology.  I am especially excited about the (free!) Web 2.0 tools that we are going to be learning about that I can one day use in my classroom.   Because children today are growing up with constant exposure to technology, using it as a resource in the classroom will be a good strategy to spark their interest.  I am hoping that by the end of this semester I will be prepared to do so. I expect to learn about many programs and tools that I am unfamiliar with.  I am also excited that we are learning on Macs because while I have had my MacBook Pro for about three years, I know that I am not using it to its full potential.  Here's to a successful, exciting semester in the journey to becoming teacher tech savvy!  

Testing, 123!