Everything is amazing and nobody is happy
Need I say more.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Curriculum
As I am in my fifth year of teaching, only now do I feel comfortable enough to have a look at my courses and decide what can be changed or dropped all together. I ordered a new curriculum guide for my business classes only to receive one from 1994. Really, 1994! How can this be? I spent some time with it and there are still parts of it that are relevant. However, big parts are not. Core courses seem to be revamped every decade at least. The business world has gone global over the last 16 years, none of which is included in the curriculum guides.
Where do I go from here, well, I'm not sure frankly. The basic business concepts will and are taught, however, what are the guidelines regarding e-commerce?What are the expectations there? How is it possible that there have been no changes? Where do I go or who do I talk to about this issue? The technology curriculum and the business curriculum for some courses could be amalgamated together. The ICT curriculum is broad enough to encompass the change that is technology. But the business curriculum, wow!?
As I am winding down my Masters Degree, I have been given the opportunity to delve into a curriculum issue that I feel strongly about. Hello, paper topic chosen. Wow,an assignment that may actually benefit me in my career, who would have thunk it. As tech seems to be my niche in the school, maybe the business curriculum can be as well. It is only me in this area, I need to take this opportunity to do some research and maybe,just maybe make a change, even if it is only in my bat cave.
Once a geek...
Where do I go from here, well, I'm not sure frankly. The basic business concepts will and are taught, however, what are the guidelines regarding e-commerce?What are the expectations there? How is it possible that there have been no changes? Where do I go or who do I talk to about this issue? The technology curriculum and the business curriculum for some courses could be amalgamated together. The ICT curriculum is broad enough to encompass the change that is technology. But the business curriculum, wow!?
As I am winding down my Masters Degree, I have been given the opportunity to delve into a curriculum issue that I feel strongly about. Hello, paper topic chosen. Wow,an assignment that may actually benefit me in my career, who would have thunk it. As tech seems to be my niche in the school, maybe the business curriculum can be as well. It is only me in this area, I need to take this opportunity to do some research and maybe,just maybe make a change, even if it is only in my bat cave.
Once a geek...
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Academia
I often wonder if what we are teaching in school is really going to help our students. I recently read some research that indicated that the only thing affecting a students future is the people that they are surrounded by. The education they received had little or no effect on their futures. Could this actually be true? I cannot imagine that the schooling system that has been around for hundreds of years can be deemed utterly ineffective, it just doesn't make sense.
While taking a grad curriculum course I am painfully aware of the curriculum, its development and philosophy. There is a large amount of time, money and people hours spent on developing a curriculum that is effective and provides students with what they need. How can the brightest of the bright be rendered useless? I try and teach in a manner that will give students some sort of tools that will help them in the rest of their academic careers and maybe, just maybe, in their lives outside of school. Web tools are my major focus this year and I am pushing it hard in all classes that I teach. My hope is that one student will use prezi,twitter or wallwisher for another assignment in the next couple of years. There has to be an end result that we are all working towards, an achievable goal.
School is supposed to be the equalizer in a world of bad breaks and missed opportunities. If this equalizer is taken away, how will kids ever get out of poverty, how will they raise self supporting children contributing to the economy? It worries me that people outside of the education world value school so little. Life experience will teach a student skills, but what if those life experiences are horrible or frightening? In my mind, education is the basis for everything. How can it be any other way?
Once a geek...
While taking a grad curriculum course I am painfully aware of the curriculum, its development and philosophy. There is a large amount of time, money and people hours spent on developing a curriculum that is effective and provides students with what they need. How can the brightest of the bright be rendered useless? I try and teach in a manner that will give students some sort of tools that will help them in the rest of their academic careers and maybe, just maybe, in their lives outside of school. Web tools are my major focus this year and I am pushing it hard in all classes that I teach. My hope is that one student will use prezi,twitter or wallwisher for another assignment in the next couple of years. There has to be an end result that we are all working towards, an achievable goal.
School is supposed to be the equalizer in a world of bad breaks and missed opportunities. If this equalizer is taken away, how will kids ever get out of poverty, how will they raise self supporting children contributing to the economy? It worries me that people outside of the education world value school so little. Life experience will teach a student skills, but what if those life experiences are horrible or frightening? In my mind, education is the basis for everything. How can it be any other way?
Once a geek...
Saturday, November 13, 2010
I can't say enough about twitter and how useful it is for teachers. I am still on the fence somewhat about using it in the class. I introduced it to a group of grade 9's who then went somewhat crazy with it. Twitter is considered a social networking web 2.0 tool however, when used for professional or learning opportunities it is quite powerful.
I introduced twitter to a group of teachers and administrators within my division. I'm not sure how well it was received. They asked a lot of good questions and everybody signed up for an account. You need time to sit and look around in twitter to really understand what a great means of sharing and gathering information it is. Twitter and google reader go hand in hand for me. Any kind of website or blog that I find useful from twitter, I subscribe to in my reader using the rss feed. I also bookmark items using Diigo. It sounds all teched out, but once you use it, it makes all the sense in the world, to me anyways.
The fact that there was a classroom of teachers eager to learn something new was a pretty awesome site. It tells me that my colleagues at school love their jobs and are good at them and open to new ways of teaching and finding information. Anything that I have read over the last 2 years regarding integration of technology says that a teacher has to be comfortable and accepting of the tech. My colleagues proved that this week.
Once a geek...
I introduced twitter to a group of teachers and administrators within my division. I'm not sure how well it was received. They asked a lot of good questions and everybody signed up for an account. You need time to sit and look around in twitter to really understand what a great means of sharing and gathering information it is. Twitter and google reader go hand in hand for me. Any kind of website or blog that I find useful from twitter, I subscribe to in my reader using the rss feed. I also bookmark items using Diigo. It sounds all teched out, but once you use it, it makes all the sense in the world, to me anyways.
The fact that there was a classroom of teachers eager to learn something new was a pretty awesome site. It tells me that my colleagues at school love their jobs and are good at them and open to new ways of teaching and finding information. Anything that I have read over the last 2 years regarding integration of technology says that a teacher has to be comfortable and accepting of the tech. My colleagues proved that this week.
Once a geek...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Finally floating
Well I finally feel caught up. Most of my marking is fairly current and my coaching responsibilities are out of the way, at least until spring. Tech, Tech, Tech. What can I say about that. It is interesting that the more tech you use, the more you want to incorporate. It is extremely difficult to choose what fits best. The options are limitless when it comes to Web 2.0. Now that we are close to half way through the semester, students are starting to figure out the difference between a wiki and a google doc. When given the choice, they are choosing to share via google doc rather than a piece of paper. I just hope that they take this tool and use it in other courses throughout their academic careers. It doesn't even have to be a google product, but something of that nature.
Interesting thing occurred last week here in my school. The math department started their own wiki. When I say started, I mean jumped in feet first! The class wiki is working out really well for them as they have assignments and units posted along with video demonstrations. A sick student was able to keep up with help from the wiki. Once you start to look, there are so many things to use that are helpful. As far as I know, two tech teachers have wikis, a science and math teacher and one or two English teachers. That is awesome, as just a few short months ago, I was the only one that I know of. Tech is infectious that is for sure. It only takes one really good tool to get you started.
Once a geek...
Interesting thing occurred last week here in my school. The math department started their own wiki. When I say started, I mean jumped in feet first! The class wiki is working out really well for them as they have assignments and units posted along with video demonstrations. A sick student was able to keep up with help from the wiki. Once you start to look, there are so many things to use that are helpful. As far as I know, two tech teachers have wikis, a science and math teacher and one or two English teachers. That is awesome, as just a few short months ago, I was the only one that I know of. Tech is infectious that is for sure. It only takes one really good tool to get you started.
Once a geek...
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Computer Crashed!!
My school computer crashed this morning. I just finished with the lesson when my tower went down. Not sure why, just did. I thought it was the monitor but no, its the tower. Lucky for me, we have a computer in the teacher office behind my room. I changed it out and pressed start. The LCD projector had to be reset, my downloads to run my mimio have to be downloaded, the security running in my room has to be downloaded as well. Technology is a gift that, at times, makes my job easier and more enjoyable. When crashes occur, the enjoyability factor sinks.Sadly I am a little lost without it all, and certainly more comfortable with an interactive whiteboard than writing on a whiteboard. Weird. 18 months ago I didn't have any of these tools, how quickly I forget.
I am trying to integrate as much technology as I can into daily lessons. I geeked all summer finding resources that would fit into my plan. After 6 weeks of class I can conclude that more technology isn't necessarily better, but meaningful tech is. So far we have used google docs, wiki's and blogs fairly extensively. Kids are still getting a little confused when having to sign into one tool or another. I think focusing on these 3 will be enough for the semester. There is so much to choose from, I want to work it all in but know I can't.
Once a geek....
I am trying to integrate as much technology as I can into daily lessons. I geeked all summer finding resources that would fit into my plan. After 6 weeks of class I can conclude that more technology isn't necessarily better, but meaningful tech is. So far we have used google docs, wiki's and blogs fairly extensively. Kids are still getting a little confused when having to sign into one tool or another. I think focusing on these 3 will be enough for the semester. There is so much to choose from, I want to work it all in but know I can't.
Once a geek....
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Is technology making me dumb?
As I try to digitize my classroom as much as possible I find myself completely dependent on the tech for my daily presentation of my lessons. I use an LCD projector which is hooked up to a mimio board that acts as an interactive workspace. I absolutely love it. I can show a class step by step how to set up a wiki or a blog and also have them come up and show me a new web tool they found. Then, the light bulb on my LCD burns out, OMG!!!! Now what am I going to do, I have a video planned for class. Yikes! I go back to the textbook and muddle through the class, all the while panicking about my LCD.
I have only had the LCD for about a year. I have taught without it and a mimio. When I lost both (it was only for a day) I felt that I had to rework my plans. The video got put off until a later date, I had planned to start a class in blogs and did that while circling the room continuously to make sure everyone was supposed to be where I wanted them to be. I was a mild disaster. Miraculously, most got their blogs set up.
That night I was with my daughter at her swimming lesson and it occurred to me that I could have used the TV with the DVD player hooked up to it. This piece of technology is stored about 20ft away from my desk. I was dumbfounded. I could not believe that it didn't even occur to me to use a TV, which I used for 2 years before receiving my LCD and mimio. Sometimes technology does make you dumb, I proved it (sadly) this week.
I have only had the LCD for about a year. I have taught without it and a mimio. When I lost both (it was only for a day) I felt that I had to rework my plans. The video got put off until a later date, I had planned to start a class in blogs and did that while circling the room continuously to make sure everyone was supposed to be where I wanted them to be. I was a mild disaster. Miraculously, most got their blogs set up.
That night I was with my daughter at her swimming lesson and it occurred to me that I could have used the TV with the DVD player hooked up to it. This piece of technology is stored about 20ft away from my desk. I was dumbfounded. I could not believe that it didn't even occur to me to use a TV, which I used for 2 years before receiving my LCD and mimio. Sometimes technology does make you dumb, I proved it (sadly) this week.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Week 3
The transition towards a paperless classroom is less difficult that I originally thought.The students are very used to the pen and paper and are struggling with google docs at the moment. Once they submit more work digitally, I am sure they will buy in.
In my last post, I mentioned that sometimes technology poses problems in class that I don't encounter when planning. Setting up all of my students on gmail was a good example of this problem, though 3 weeks later, 95% of students are on gmail. Yeah!! Along with gmail of course we have calendar, and docs that I want to utilize. A few growing pains there too but easily fixed.
Today however, we started with blogger. Blogger is tightly connected to google. If when setting up a gmail account you don't need a verification code, good for gmail, not so good for blogger. Should be a seamless transition to blogger right, WRONG!! Spent almost an entire period getting 13 students set up with a blog spot. Most needed verification codes and most students didn't have a cell phone on them. What to do, what to do, ah ha, find another student roaming the school (probably texting in the halls). That was the easiest part of the period. I borrowed a student from another class whom I am familiar with in terms of their habitual cell phone use. As we were walking back to my classroom, I commented on how this was an ironic situation, I have taken the student cell phone a couple of times during class this year and now I was needing help. Anyways, one person in the class went without getting signed on to blogger, but all the students did. Google sends a verification code to a cell phone as a text. The cell phone number can't be used more than 6 times. Without enough cell phones, we can't verify accounts. I even phoned husband at home to check the cell for a code, wouldn't you know it, I had too many verifications attached to my number. Ahhh!! Hopefully tomorrows class will go a bit smoother.
Until next time...
In my last post, I mentioned that sometimes technology poses problems in class that I don't encounter when planning. Setting up all of my students on gmail was a good example of this problem, though 3 weeks later, 95% of students are on gmail. Yeah!! Along with gmail of course we have calendar, and docs that I want to utilize. A few growing pains there too but easily fixed.
Today however, we started with blogger. Blogger is tightly connected to google. If when setting up a gmail account you don't need a verification code, good for gmail, not so good for blogger. Should be a seamless transition to blogger right, WRONG!! Spent almost an entire period getting 13 students set up with a blog spot. Most needed verification codes and most students didn't have a cell phone on them. What to do, what to do, ah ha, find another student roaming the school (probably texting in the halls). That was the easiest part of the period. I borrowed a student from another class whom I am familiar with in terms of their habitual cell phone use. As we were walking back to my classroom, I commented on how this was an ironic situation, I have taken the student cell phone a couple of times during class this year and now I was needing help. Anyways, one person in the class went without getting signed on to blogger, but all the students did. Google sends a verification code to a cell phone as a text. The cell phone number can't be used more than 6 times. Without enough cell phones, we can't verify accounts. I even phoned husband at home to check the cell for a code, wouldn't you know it, I had too many verifications attached to my number. Ahhh!! Hopefully tomorrows class will go a bit smoother.
Until next time...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Week 1-survived without casualty
I made it, thank goodness. The first three days of classes are over and I survived along with the students. It is always a mish mash of activity in the first couple of days. I want wiki's set up, gmail accounts opened and remembering your password is also important. A new experience for me this year was the number of students attending that were not on my list.In one class I had 4 new students. That makes me a little frantic but we managed. The biggest concern was that they didn't have passwords to get on to the network. But we muddled through that hurdle as well.
I geeked a lot this summer and hopefully all that time will pay off this school year. I plan to bring my classes into the 21st century with 21st century learning tools. Web 2.0 is my focus for my computer classes.But along with the use of technology also comes pitfalls that you don't see coming when planning quietly on the laptop with a yummy cup of coffee at your side. For instance, I had a cool lesson planned, we watched a tech video and the students were to note down 20 terms from the video about technology. Then they were to put them in a Wordle and post it on their wiki. Worked for me on my teacher computer, should be no problem right? Wrong! The flash player hasn't been updated. All they could see was a blank screen, it would have been ok had the html code showed up, but of course that didn't work either. Think, think, think. I had them choose a wordle from the gallery about tech and post that.Not what I had hoped but worked. I also let them post their favorite video on their wiki's as well, they really enjoyed that exercise.
In another class, I had them set up gmail accounts, the set up site was down. Ahhhhh. Could have been that we had too many people trying at once, but I have done it in the past. Solution, I asked them to set them up at home over the weekend and we moved on to photoshop.
Live and learn I guess. I have a lot of boys this year compared to girls. I will have to make some changes to lessons that account for this dynamic. Girls are content to sit and listen and then work, boys in general are less likely to do that. We will have to do a lot more hands on work to keep them engaged.
Goal #5 adjust lessons to engage the accommodate a more rambunctious class.
Until next time...
I geeked a lot this summer and hopefully all that time will pay off this school year. I plan to bring my classes into the 21st century with 21st century learning tools. Web 2.0 is my focus for my computer classes.But along with the use of technology also comes pitfalls that you don't see coming when planning quietly on the laptop with a yummy cup of coffee at your side. For instance, I had a cool lesson planned, we watched a tech video and the students were to note down 20 terms from the video about technology. Then they were to put them in a Wordle and post it on their wiki. Worked for me on my teacher computer, should be no problem right? Wrong! The flash player hasn't been updated. All they could see was a blank screen, it would have been ok had the html code showed up, but of course that didn't work either. Think, think, think. I had them choose a wordle from the gallery about tech and post that.Not what I had hoped but worked. I also let them post their favorite video on their wiki's as well, they really enjoyed that exercise.
In another class, I had them set up gmail accounts, the set up site was down. Ahhhhh. Could have been that we had too many people trying at once, but I have done it in the past. Solution, I asked them to set them up at home over the weekend and we moved on to photoshop.
Live and learn I guess. I have a lot of boys this year compared to girls. I will have to make some changes to lessons that account for this dynamic. Girls are content to sit and listen and then work, boys in general are less likely to do that. We will have to do a lot more hands on work to keep them engaged.
Goal #5 adjust lessons to engage the accommodate a more rambunctious class.
Until next time...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
...and the clock keeps ticking
I have put in a lot of work this summer researching different web tools that I could use in class this year. I've narrowed it down and have vowed to become a master with a small number of tools rather than over extend myself by using too many. I mentioned the 30 goals challenge in an earlier post. I have set 3 of the 30 with no hope in sight of completing them in one month, a school years seems a little more realistic.
I have been in school a couple of times and have things set in stone for the first 3 days of class. I have been having difficulty deciding what order I am going to teach my units. Digital citizenship and managing a digital footprint is important, but we need to look at google docs which leads into blogger to display some of the student ideas about this topic. I like the creative nature of prezi, glogster or slideshare. Should I start with that first. There are so many things I want to do and will do, but deciding on an order that makes the most sense is difficult. Goal #4 Present topics in order that makes most sense, flow seamlessly if possible.
I have been in school a couple of times and have things set in stone for the first 3 days of class. I have been having difficulty deciding what order I am going to teach my units. Digital citizenship and managing a digital footprint is important, but we need to look at google docs which leads into blogger to display some of the student ideas about this topic. I like the creative nature of prezi, glogster or slideshare. Should I start with that first. There are so many things I want to do and will do, but deciding on an order that makes the most sense is difficult. Goal #4 Present topics in order that makes most sense, flow seamlessly if possible.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
OMG School is starting
I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how I want to approach things this year. First, I want to make what I teach more meaningful and useful. Second, I want it to be a lot more fun. I think what I've done in the past is OK, but I am sure it can be better. I have also joined a twitter group focusing on setting goals. It is called #30goals. I have set two goals so far
1.use meaningful tools-hopefully done(twitter, google docs, wiki, glogster, prezi...)
2.spread the tech word to other teachers-will work on
I'm still working on the other 28.
3.Have more fun in class-I have read some tweets and they eluded to "if students aren't having fun, neither are you" philosophy.-will work hard on.
The catch to the challenge is that you have to try and get it done in 30 days. I know that won't be happening, I'm still on summer vacation. Accomplishing 30 goals is doable but maybe not in a month. I am going to discuss it with some teachers at school. Once the year gets started, it is difficult to collaborate with other teachers, as we all get going in our own area of specialization. I am re-working a lot of how I teach this year. I am excited about it but also a little worried. Will figure it out. I have posted the link to my prezi and glogster. Until next time...
1.use meaningful tools-hopefully done(twitter, google docs, wiki, glogster, prezi...)
2.spread the tech word to other teachers-will work on
I'm still working on the other 28.
3.Have more fun in class-I have read some tweets and they eluded to "if students aren't having fun, neither are you" philosophy.-will work hard on.
The catch to the challenge is that you have to try and get it done in 30 days. I know that won't be happening, I'm still on summer vacation. Accomplishing 30 goals is doable but maybe not in a month. I am going to discuss it with some teachers at school. Once the year gets started, it is difficult to collaborate with other teachers, as we all get going in our own area of specialization. I am re-working a lot of how I teach this year. I am excited about it but also a little worried. Will figure it out. I have posted the link to my prezi and glogster. Until next time...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The count down is on
Where has the summer gone? Three weeks from today there will be eager students sitting in my class, demanding me to teach them something! Yikes! Always a panic at first.
Day 1-go over class rules and class wiki, watch cbc's Web Warriors video (awesome!!)
Day 2-hopefully have computer access, set up google accounts
Day 3-start with google docs(my favorite web tool so far) collaborative nature
ahhh-weekend!
I have been collecting cool web tools all summer and have just started to really get into them this week. It's difficult not to get caught up in the tool and realize that there has to be some sort of meaningful use for it. So far glogster, wallwisher and prezi are all good to go. I love Livebinder, but don't it is a download and downloads take days to complete in the lab, maybe next year. I am going to try and use twitter, however, will have to wait and see how the backchannel approach works. I just set up tweetdeck yesterday and see a lot of good uses for that as well.
I went to school yesterday and it is always so exciting going back. There were a number of teachers there already so it was good to catch up on the summer. I will head over today as well and actually try to work instead of just visiting. I will post my new prezi and glogster on the blog. Until next time...
Day 1-go over class rules and class wiki, watch cbc's Web Warriors video (awesome!!)
Day 2-hopefully have computer access, set up google accounts
Day 3-start with google docs(my favorite web tool so far) collaborative nature
ahhh-weekend!
I have been collecting cool web tools all summer and have just started to really get into them this week. It's difficult not to get caught up in the tool and realize that there has to be some sort of meaningful use for it. So far glogster, wallwisher and prezi are all good to go. I love Livebinder, but don't it is a download and downloads take days to complete in the lab, maybe next year. I am going to try and use twitter, however, will have to wait and see how the backchannel approach works. I just set up tweetdeck yesterday and see a lot of good uses for that as well.
I went to school yesterday and it is always so exciting going back. There were a number of teachers there already so it was good to catch up on the summer. I will head over today as well and actually try to work instead of just visiting. I will post my new prezi and glogster on the blog. Until next time...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The list goes on and on and on.....
Throughout the summer I have been jotting down different websites that have interesting tools. I have spent a little time playing but not enough. As I start putting my course outlines together, I find myself a little overwelmed by the amount of material out there. Putting the pieces together will be a challenge, however I am committed to changing what I've done over the last three years.
I have not come across too many teachers that actually teach computer courses. As there is a push on integrating technology into all classes, teaching it specifically does not seem to be too common. At my school students are required to take 1.5 credits of computer technology specifically. Without these two classes they cannot graduate. I want to provide them with meaningful tools they can use throughout their academic and professional careers. Twitter and blogging are up there on my list. I have to get into the technological trench to really see how all of these ideas are going to piece together. Hopefully what works will be meaningful and what doesn't work will be easily fixed.
Technology is changing so fast and web 2.0 is quickly becoming 3.0. Some teachers are still not convinced that these tech skills are important. I feel like it is my job not only to teach students some skills but also introduce new opportunities for teachers to be advocates for change.
Until next time...
I have not come across too many teachers that actually teach computer courses. As there is a push on integrating technology into all classes, teaching it specifically does not seem to be too common. At my school students are required to take 1.5 credits of computer technology specifically. Without these two classes they cannot graduate. I want to provide them with meaningful tools they can use throughout their academic and professional careers. Twitter and blogging are up there on my list. I have to get into the technological trench to really see how all of these ideas are going to piece together. Hopefully what works will be meaningful and what doesn't work will be easily fixed.
Technology is changing so fast and web 2.0 is quickly becoming 3.0. Some teachers are still not convinced that these tech skills are important. I feel like it is my job not only to teach students some skills but also introduce new opportunities for teachers to be advocates for change.
Until next time...
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Time to start gearing up
I've spent a lot of time this summer researching different web tools. I've tweeted, joined social networks for teachers, and blogged among other things. What is my class going to look like? I've got the tools, now I need to put it together and develop a picture. Where to begin, where to begin....I think we will start off with opening gmail accounts, learning about google docs and then blogs. These three tools will be the foundation for student information. Instead of teaching the basic microsoft office I am going to substitute a web tool (or two or three) for each.
Word-google docs, wordle,
powerpoint-slide share
Excel-google docs
publisher-glogster
photoshop-picnik
digital citizenship-digital footprint
web search skills
There is so much out there to choose from. I would like to use Moodle as my base, but I'm not a 100% sure how to go about it. I will continue with the class wiki but have the kids use a blog instead of a wiki to store information. At the end of the semester, they will have the beginnings of an e-portfolio. With day 1 fast approaching, setting up the course outline, deciding on a time frame and assessment strategies will be my main focus. I'll let you know how it is developing. Until next time.
Word-google docs, wordle,
powerpoint-slide share
Excel-google docs
publisher-glogster
photoshop-picnik
digital citizenship-digital footprint
web search skills
There is so much out there to choose from. I would like to use Moodle as my base, but I'm not a 100% sure how to go about it. I will continue with the class wiki but have the kids use a blog instead of a wiki to store information. At the end of the semester, they will have the beginnings of an e-portfolio. With day 1 fast approaching, setting up the course outline, deciding on a time frame and assessment strategies will be my main focus. I'll let you know how it is developing. Until next time.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Becoming an Active Blogger
I spend a lot of time reading blogs pertaining to education, specifically technology and education. There is a vast amount of meaningful information out there for teachers to utilize, an exponential amount of info. Sometimes it is difficult to sort through all of the available options. I have signed up for numerous webtools, only to find myself redirected to another tool. Even though my google reader only has about 15 blogs/sites that I follow, it is sometimes a two hour job to get through it. I'm not complaining as it is very interested, there is just so much. I have found that there are a lot of tools and very little specific examples of use. I need an example of how I can use that tool in class. From there I can evaluated whether or not I can use it. Even if the example is in a subject that I do not teach, I can probably modify it to fit. However, taking the time to find these specific examples is growing. Soooo much good info, need soooo much time to figure it all out. Until next time.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Movie Maker
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Wikispaces
I have been using wikispaces for a while now and use it on a daily basis.It is a great tool that helps me organize my classes. It is also good for those students who miss a class or two, they can go to the wiki and see what we did on that day. I have a link set up for each class. I have used it for collaboration, however, when you have 25 students trying to add to one wiki, the last one to save is the only one that gets posted. I can see who has contributed but most posts don't show up. It is a great tool for organization though. I like to change things up to add visual interest and change.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Unconnected!!AHHH
I haven't been online since thursday night and I'm feeling a little disoriented. I was away coaching at a track meet. Spent the night sleeping in a gym with 65 students and other coaches. It was delightful!! Anyways I haven't twittered, checked my reader, blogged or even good ol'email! Glad to be back.
Found an interesting blog about our connectedness. I sympathize with both sides of the issue. Thought you might like a read.
I.Cringley
Found an interesting blog about our connectedness. I sympathize with both sides of the issue. Thought you might like a read.
I.Cringley
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Podcasting
I'm excited about the podcasting as it fits in nicely with a marketing unit I am doing with the Grade 11 Vision & Ventures class. The students are developing three advertisements for their products and one jingle. The jingle will be podcasted and their ads will be posted on their wiki's. Hopefully it works out.
I am getting a pretty good response to the research about internet blockages in schools. Of about 60 teachers, I have 20 responses so far. It is good to see that everyone that responded uses the internet in their teaching.
I've added the link to my brief podcast. It was quite a process. Luckily I had a 15 year old to help me. So much for being the teacher.
I am getting a pretty good response to the research about internet blockages in schools. Of about 60 teachers, I have 20 responses so far. It is good to see that everyone that responded uses the internet in their teaching.
I've added the link to my brief podcast. It was quite a process. Luckily I had a 15 year old to help me. So much for being the teacher.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
mindmeister
Mindmeister is a useful tool that could be used in a number of my classes and for my own grad classes. A collaborative way to organize thoughts, concepts and examples could be quite powerful in the classroom. I am using a mimio board so to have this concept up on the whiteboard and have students add to it while we are discussing things would be great. I am in the process of finishing a unit in my ICT class and this would be a great tool to use to introduce the next unit.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Gotta Love Tech
I was looking forward to last nights class, when my phone rang and kicked me off of skype. I never did get back on. Sometimes even a simple web tool has problems with it. I never think of skype being linked into the phone since we are all connected online. I have set up a twitter account but I am struggling with a meaningful use of it in the classroom. The other issue I have with Twitter is that it is blocked from the school. What to do, what to do. I really like Diigo, very similar to Delicious. Still plugging along with Voltero. I have managed to save some articles in there but not sure how I did it. I need a couple of hours to play.
Until next time.
Until next time.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Always more
With so many great web tools out there, it is difficult to decipher what is useful in the classroom and what is not. All of the tools used today can easily be incorporated into a class setting. I am a huge fan of google docs and will continue to use it with my classes.Jing is usable as is wiki.Diigo seems to be similar to Delicious. I have used delicious in my classroom, but never found a solid use for it that the students would buy into. Hopefully networking with the class and Glen will help fill this gap.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Web Tools
Used Jing the other day in an ACT class demonstrating some Excel functions. I then saved the video and put in on my class wiki. It worked pretty well, but I will have to tweek it a little. I didn't use the microphone option which I may seriously have to consider. All this technology I don't know how to utilize it effectively in my class.
I use google docs every day. I send assignments out via google docs and all of my students have an account. I also use google docs for all of my grad courses. It is easy to use and it is always handy, you never have to worry about printing anything. If your internet connection is down, then that would be a problem, but only a temporary one.
Until next time.
I use google docs every day. I send assignments out via google docs and all of my students have an account. I also use google docs for all of my grad courses. It is easy to use and it is always handy, you never have to worry about printing anything. If your internet connection is down, then that would be a problem, but only a temporary one.
Until next time.
Monday, May 10, 2010
I thought I knew something...
I've been using google docs for a while now and have all of my students use it as well. We have blogged and I am an active user of wikispaces as are my students. There is so much more out there. These couple of web tools change weekly, maybe even daily. To keep up with it, I would need time each day to check on new developments. Wow! Not sure where to go from here. The vast amount of information is staggering. Looking forward to Wednesdays class to see what else is out there.
If you want to see how I use wikispaces the link is
https://korchinski.wikispaces.com/
If you want to see how I use wikispaces the link is
https://korchinski.wikispaces.com/
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Week 1
I am really excited about the ICT course. I teach the ICT in my school and am anxious to learn and discover more. Already I have realized a couple of new uses for tools that I have been using already. The instruction along with the networking will only be beneficial for me.
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