This week we started working on our classroom websites. How fun! And, Google Sites is amazing. The program is, mostly, very easy to use. I love how you can personalize the background color on everything. The main problem I had was realing myself in; I ended up using a light gray background for the main font instead of aqua like I wanted to (sob, sob). I kept telling myself,"It may be pretty, but they can't read it." Other than that, I'm very pleased.

I'm especially pleased with the overall functionality of the site. It's so helpful for both parents and students to have access to important, upcoming dates and be able to comment on the classroom in general. Overall, this makes the teacher more accessible and the class more interactive.

Get Inspired!

So far, between the Wiki, Voice Thread, iMovie, and Inspiration my favorite would have to be the latter. Inspiration, unlike all the rest, is intuitive. You just drag things around. Even if you get confused, less than two minutes later you'll figure it out. If not, your neighbor will know what to do. This time-friendliness is priceless in a classroom. Teenagers have far less patience than we do. I could only imagine the chaos that would ensue if iMovie were used. Half the class would be spent on entering subtitles for slides.

In iMovies defense, the program is probably easy once you use it more often. So, as a teacher with technology charging forward everyday, should I force myself to become a proficient user? The answer of course is yes. Students do not respond to a lecture you rehearsed over the weekend nearly as well as an iMovie you created (or VoiceThread for that matter). The Inspiration software is amazing, but I feel I'm going to have to mix it up to keep their attention. After begging and pleading with iMovie for hours, I've learned that iMovie is best left to teacher creation and hopefully student enjoyment.

Finding the World in Your Wiki

I have been using the web for sometime now, and honestly, I've always viewed it as a very two-dimensional entity. Most of the sites I have been using just look like a newspaper/magazine on a screen. Even sites boasting unbelievable, exotic images have always appeared just like that, a photo on a screen. Then, this past week when searching for Geography sites for the Social Studies wiki, I found a site that honestly made me feel like I was going somewhere. It is called the Degree of Confluence Project.

The Degree of Confluence Project's goal is to have every latitude and longitude intersection in the world documented. And, it isn't the site's founders who are doing it. It's pretty much anyone with a love of geography. These contributors/adventurers take pictures from the point and submit a journal entry documenting the experience. All of this, honestly, makes you feel connected to more than just a keyboard. With almost 6,000 successful primary confluences and over 81,000 photographs in 181 countries, this site is a sure way of connecting not only yourself but your students with the world. Just think how amazing it would be to add another point with your class.

Scavengers!

Today in class we documented a scavenger hunt using VoiceThread. Below is our creation.



Overall, I loved the experience. It was nice to get out of the classroom; stretch your legs. However, this application could also be used right in the classroom. A sort of book come to life if you will. For a middle school reading or english class (even high school for that matter) it would be so much fun to take pictures of students acting out scenes in a play/book. After inserting the images in Voice Thread, the students could record the audio.

This would also allow all students to be involved. Those who did not want to act could take pictures, insert the images into Voice Thread, or even look for images on the web to enhance the story (images to better illustrate setting, time, etc.).

Voice Thread would be especially useful for this assignment after "production" is complete. Students could answer questions by leaving comments on characters' actions and emotions for each scene. So, they would not only act out the literature but would analyze it as well.

Digital Image Day

Earth to Courtney!

We've started wikis this week. To be honest, my head is still spinning. Each key I pressed (during the practice exercise) felt like the coordination of a moon landing. I'm sure it will come to me....eventually. I do love the final product, though.  The idea of having a living, breathing resource space is pretty comforting. I know it will be beyond helpful during our internship year.

I can already see ways in which this blog can be used with students. One of my concentrations is geography, so I can deffinately see using a blog as a travel journal exercise. Students would write about an experience in a region we were currently studying, incorporating important key terms/concepts while using their creativity to imagine how they would react to unknown environments.

On a Mission

486, to me anyways, seemed a bit nerve-racking.  I love the old-school paper and pencil combo (find them quite useful), so you can imagine how surprised I am to be experiencing joy.  Apparently, the technology I have been avoiding for practically two decades is not only useful but fun.  Who knows, this blog may run forever.  Probably not.