Tool #5

I joined both Delicious and Diigo. I also added the add-on toolbar to my Firefox browser. This way I can easily tag and bookmark sites I visit to access later and share with others. I really like that I can save my favorite websites and then find them from any computer I use. I don't have to email myself links or forward links to colleagues and friends if I want to share.

The two sites I found on Delicious are:

http://www.catawba.k12.nc.us/c_i_resources/Foldables.htm

and

http://www.readwritethink.org/

The first link is a site from Catawba County Schools that has pictures and ideas for all different kinds of Foldables. I think it will give me lots of inspiration for ways I can have my students display information learned in all subject areas.

The second link is a website that I am just beginning to explore. It just has so much on it, but I liked it because it has language arts lessons, interactives, calendar activities that you can filter by grade level, learning objective, or theme.

Tool #4

Google Docs is a wonderful tool to use when collaborating with colleagues and friends. I love that I won't have to save a document, attach it, send it, wait for a response, receive it as an attachment back, re-save it, and so on and so on! This simplifies things so much and at the same time gives every person who I share with instant updates. I can see using this to share lesson plans, roadmaps, flipcharts, and any other file. This would have been a dream come true last year when doing the RGE Newspaper!! The students could have all used google docs to save their articles for me to edit without me having to have them send them to me as an attachment or worse, saving each file off of each of their computers onto my thumb drive (yes, I really did that!)

Google Reader is a great way to have every blog that I follow in one place that gives me their updates all at once. It reminds me of facebook's home page where you can see each of your friends' status updates all at once. I think this would be great for students to use to follow various educational blogs, or even a way for teachers to collaborate and have their classes reading each others' blogs.

Tool #3

This tool was so fun! I had to finally stop myself from creating images and adding more gadgets to my blog! I hope that my enjoyment of these tools is contagious and my students can enjoy this all as much as I have. I think any time you add a personal element by allowing them to use pictures of themselves or their friends and family, then you have their interest. Also, I think it would be great to use these different sites to allow them to create a project about something they are learning in the classroom. For example, I am thinking that in science they could take pictures of weathering and erosion around the playground/school and then create a mosaic of the pictures. Another thing is that they could use Wordle to create a brainstorm of different nouns or verbs or adjectives as a prewriting activity. The sky's the limit for how creative they can be!

Tool #2

1. What are your thoughts about building an online education community and participating in a PLN? I love the thought of building an online education community. I just worry that some people may be left behind that are either confused or stuck at certain points in this process. Once everyone is on the same page and familiar with everything (with all the kinks worked out!), I think this could be a valuable experience and way to share ideas.

2. What point stood out to you from the commenting advice? I am so guilty of being a "lurker"!!! I have often been a reader and taker of information on blogs and online communities, but have rarely left any feedback or posted my questions. I agree that often I am just lazy and when a site requires that you create an account just to leave a comment, I say forget it! Now that I have this account with blogger and my own blog I think I will be more inclined to leave comments on other blogger accounts. I like the point about asking questions in my own posts to invite comments from others. I also like the advice to interact with the comments left. I know I always like when I read blogs and I see that the blogger answers questions left by those posting comments. I think if readers see that the author is answering questions and interacting with his or her readers, then people are more inclined to comment.

3. What five blogs did you select for your comments? (you may need to come back and add this information later by editing this post.) Sylvia Alaniz, Marie Casamayor, Nancy Jackson, Maureen Martinez, Doreen Ryan

Tool #1

I just created my blog! I think I'll play around with the colors later. I really like being able to learn as I go by doing things on my own at my own pace. Last summer I took a course on blogging in the classroom during Teacher U and regret to say I never fully used it on a regular basis in my classes. I think this is the push I need to fully integrate a classroom blog.

It was fun to create my Voki, too! I know it's something my students will really enjoy doing.