The podcast that I decided to subscribe to is called Meet the Author - Reading Rockets
This podcast had various top authors and illustrators of children's books. The purpose of the podcast was to interview the authors and illustrators to introduce them to children. One particular author I viewed was Marc Brown. Marc Brown writes the books about Arthur and D.W. and he talked about how various people he knew in his childhood became the people in his stories.
I think the interviews with the authors would be a great experience to share with my students and help get them excited about reading and writing.
Out of the three different ways in Thing 20 about finding and subscribing to Podcasts, I liked the itunes. I liked how you could store all of the podcasts in the same area. It also got me thinking about finally learning how to use my ipod.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Thing 19 - Learn About Podcasting
Which Podcasts did you find interesting?
The one that I spent the most time on was a health podcast. It was a monthly podcast that addressed different health issues.
The second one that I spent some time with has the web address listed below. I tried to put a link, but I could not get it to work.
At epnweb.org I watched several podcasts on the Smart Board. Our school got a Smart Board a year and a half ago. There is only one for the whole school to share so I have not used it this year. I would like to use it more, but I have already forgotten many of the things I originally learned so I think the multiple podcasts on Smart Boards will help me.
http://epnweb.org/index.php?request_id=2024&openpod=7#anchor7
The one that I spent the most time on was a health podcast. It was a monthly podcast that addressed different health issues.
The second one that I spent some time with has the web address listed below. I tried to put a link, but I could not get it to work.
At epnweb.org I watched several podcasts on the Smart Board. Our school got a Smart Board a year and a half ago. There is only one for the whole school to share so I have not used it this year. I would like to use it more, but I have already forgotten many of the things I originally learned so I think the multiple podcasts on Smart Boards will help me.
http://epnweb.org/index.php?request_id=2024&openpod=7#anchor7
Thing 18 - Slideshare
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
What did you like about the presentation you embedded?
I thought this slideshow was a good presentation to share since it is relevant to what we are learning about. The 23 things we have learned in this class are all at the top of the list of the 100 most important things for learning 2009. I thought it may be of interest to the other participants in the class.
How might Slideshare be useful in the classroom?
I think this would be helpful because there are already so many well put together slideshows that we could share with our students. Why re-create if it is already available?
Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009
View more presentations from Jane Hart.
What did you like about the presentation you embedded?
I thought this slideshow was a good presentation to share since it is relevant to what we are learning about. The 23 things we have learned in this class are all at the top of the list of the 100 most important things for learning 2009. I thought it may be of interest to the other participants in the class.
How might Slideshare be useful in the classroom?
I think this would be helpful because there are already so many well put together slideshows that we could share with our students. Why re-create if it is already available?
Thing 16 - Google Docs
How might you use this tool in your personal and professional life?
I think professionally that Google Docs is a great resource for colleagues to collaborate on a document. Just last week another grade level teacher and I were working on making a math assessment. She made the assessment at home and then e-mailed it to me at home. I caught a few errors in the wording. I had to e-mail her back and have her make the changes. In Google Docs we would have been able to work on it together.
What issues come to mind about using this tool with students?
The biggest issue that I see is that not all students have internet access at home. With an e-mail address being required for log-in this may pose a problem.
I think professionally that Google Docs is a great resource for colleagues to collaborate on a document. Just last week another grade level teacher and I were working on making a math assessment. She made the assessment at home and then e-mailed it to me at home. I caught a few errors in the wording. I had to e-mail her back and have her make the changes. In Google Docs we would have been able to work on it together.
What issues come to mind about using this tool with students?
The biggest issue that I see is that not all students have internet access at home. With an e-mail address being required for log-in this may pose a problem.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Thing 17 - Online Productivity
After viewing the first couple of online productivity tools, I wasn't sure if I would find one that I would use often. After using LibraryThing, I found a tool that I will use all the time. I spent hours on LibraryThing. LibraryThing allows you to put in all the books you have read. I put in forty of the books that I have read most recently. After you add each book, you rate the book and can write a review if you want. Based on the books you have read and the rating you give it, the site comes up with a recommended reading list. I noticed that several books that I have been considering buying came up on my recommended list. Now I have less reservations about spending money on them or maybe I will even go to the library to check them out.
The site also finds other users who have similar lists as yours and shows you other books they have read.
The users of this site in general give pretty good reviews of the books. I was excited to find this tool. With summer coming up, I will be reading a lot and now know where I can find some good book recommendations.
The site also finds other users who have similar lists as yours and shows you other books they have read.
The users of this site in general give pretty good reviews of the books. I was excited to find this tool. With summer coming up, I will be reading a lot and now know where I can find some good book recommendations.
Thing 15 - RSS Revisited
Is RSS becoming easier to understand?
Yes, RSS is becoming easier to understand. The more I use it the more comfortable I am becoming.
Do you recognize new benefits of this tool?
I do see more benefits of RSS. Initially, I did not put any news feeds in my subscriptions. My first subscriptions were mostly for my classroom. I liked the news feeds in Reuters. I also liked that I could bring in blogs from Delicious. I like how you can find the most popular blogs and have those directly sent to you in your RSS feed.
Do you remember to check your feeds regularly?
No, I have not been checking them on a regular basis. I have been doing it on the weekends only. I guess that is as regular as it can be for me right now with my crazy daily schedule. I can see how the news feeds might be something I would want to check more frequently.
Yes, RSS is becoming easier to understand. The more I use it the more comfortable I am becoming.
Do you recognize new benefits of this tool?
I do see more benefits of RSS. Initially, I did not put any news feeds in my subscriptions. My first subscriptions were mostly for my classroom. I liked the news feeds in Reuters. I also liked that I could bring in blogs from Delicious. I like how you can find the most popular blogs and have those directly sent to you in your RSS feed.
Do you remember to check your feeds regularly?
No, I have not been checking them on a regular basis. I have been doing it on the weekends only. I guess that is as regular as it can be for me right now with my crazy daily schedule. I can see how the news feeds might be something I would want to check more frequently.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thing 14 - Bookmarking with Delicious
Wow! I definitely spent a lot of time with Thing 14. Delicious.com was new to me and I spent a lot of time looking at the tagged websites.
My delicious user name is:dawngray99
I think this social bookmarking will be very helpful to me. I often find a site and use it once and then forget about it, even though I could have bookmarked it. Now that I am more aware of the capabilities of tagging I think I will keep better track of sites I am interested in. I really liked how Delicious showed how many other people have added sites to their bookmarks. This helped me filter through the sites and pick the best ones.
I think Delicious will be a tool that will enhance my productivity. I can quickly look to see what sites I have on a given topic and then choose which one will best meet the needs of my students at the time. I also think it would be helpful if my colleagues and I shared their bookmarked sites with each other.
I am glad to put all of the information I need in one location and that I can access it anywhere I have an internet connection.
My delicious user name is:dawngray99
I think this social bookmarking will be very helpful to me. I often find a site and use it once and then forget about it, even though I could have bookmarked it. Now that I am more aware of the capabilities of tagging I think I will keep better track of sites I am interested in. I really liked how Delicious showed how many other people have added sites to their bookmarks. This helped me filter through the sites and pick the best ones.
I think Delicious will be a tool that will enhance my productivity. I can quickly look to see what sites I have on a given topic and then choose which one will best meet the needs of my students at the time. I also think it would be helpful if my colleagues and I shared their bookmarked sites with each other.
I am glad to put all of the information I need in one location and that I can access it anywhere I have an internet connection.
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