Events for each month

This website has a detailed, liberal amount of activities and facts about each month during the school year.
 

Recipe for slime

What you will need to get started

1.       2 bowls

2.      Teaspoon

3.      measuring cup

4.      food coloring

5.      Borax (a certain type of laundry powder)

6.      4 oz of white glue

Directions:

Bowl #1

1.       Empty glue container into a bowl

2.      Fill glue container with warm water

3.      Empty water into the same bowl as the glue

4.      Add food coloring

5.      Set aside

Bowl #2

1.       Measure ½ cup of water

2.      Measure one teaspoon of Borax

3.      Add borax to water

4.      Mix!

Here comes the SLIME…Mix both bowls together 



Answer Garden Question :)
 
Movie made by 4 teachers about Project based learning. Enjoy! :)
pbl.wmv.wlmp
File Size: 33 kb
File Type: wlmp
Download File

 
what did you learn?
Getting started on what I learned is impossible! I learned so much that I do not even know where to start! One of the ongoing things I learned and will continue to use is delicious. I love that it provides the opportunity to use it from any computer. It is also so easy to use. As all of my tags are educational ones if a lesson falls through I can always turn to my Delicious tags and pull something from there. The simplicity of utilizing it in the classroom is fabulous.   

Below I have added a simple HOW TO video about Delicious. This video provides a short introductory on how to use Delicious.
 



       Another thing that I learned that I can see utilizing in the classroom regularly is google docs.
This form of technology is going to be useful because it can be used in a variety of ways. I love how an assessment can be created and the results are reported to you. I love how anyone with the link can change the document although, that in the same token is one of its down falls in my opinion. As far as social learning this is a great tool because the students can work together and have one outcome that is technology advanced and incorporates the classroom lesson of the day. 
      Outside of the classroom I had seen google doc's before but I did not understand or take the time to learn how to use them. This class has opened my eyes to that and now if I know I am not going to be able to work from my laptop for some reason I save my document to my google doc's and can pull it up from any computer. I have also turned some of my co-workers and fellow classmates to this same strategy. By doing this it also ensures that your document is never going to be lost or deleted. For example if your computer crashes and you loose all of your work. If it was saved to google doc's it is still going to be there. 

   Below I have provided a simple HOW TO regarding google docs.
    I have honestly have taken something away from every class meeting that we have had but the final 2 technology that I do and will be utilizing in the classroom is voki and jing. With the little time it took in class to create my jing video about :how to use voki" I went to school and during our computer lab time showed the students the video and they created a voki and we are going to use if for plays and story telling during our language arts time.
  I loved the idea that voki could be used for substitute teachers on how to use the attendance software or provide the lesson plans for the day. As well as children, educators also learn in different ways. By providing another educator with a visual and an auditory lesson plan they might take more away from what you provide. 
  As a special educator I love the idea that they voki can be repeated. As some students have troubles following multi step directions or may forget the first direction that was given to them they can watch the voki over and over! This is an amazing  tool so the regular classroom teacher does not have to spend an outrageous amount of time creating a special lesson plan. 

  I have provided a video introducing voki and a HOW TO video below. 
  Jing is the final technology that I am going to write about. I am so happy that this piece of technology was introduced to me. Jing is FREE screen capturing software! 
   Jing is amazing because you can create your jing video and then upload it or send it to whoever or whatever you would like to and anyone that clicks on it can watch it. I can see myself using this within special education if I know that I am going to be out for the day. If I would like my learners to complete a task online or even find their way to a google doc I can provide them with a jing video that they can watch as many times as they need to in order to complete the task. This is going to be extremely useful for special learners. I have like stated earlier used this software to introduce a lesson. The time is takes to create is so minimal and saving time wherever possible is one main goal of an educator. 

   Below I have provided a HOW TO use jing video.
  •    Refection:     I have created my final reflection is this format as a reference for myself and others if they forget or loose focus on how to use some of the things we have learned in class. I have also designed it this way so that I do not forget how I have planned to, or already use some of these technologies in the classroom. I have taken more from this class than any other I have taken at any university whether it be graduate school or undergraduate. I have learned that the uphill battle is not going to be understanding the technology but transferring it from understanding to implementing in the classroom. I have learned that technology is the future of our learners and if we do not teach it to them or provide them with the opportunity and the tools they are not getting what they deserve out of their free and appropriate education. I feel as though educators loose tract of that due to the overwhelming responsibility educators face today. That is why I set up this final blog in this format. I do not want to loose tract of what is really important. And if it does happen I have my own website to refer to as a reference to the possibilities of implementing amazing technologies in my classroom.   
 
Wikis space is software that is available for anyone to see online. Anyone can edit something on wikis.  My wikis account.....

Wikis is a useful account because the space is basically endless and the possibilities in utilizing it in the classroom are endless.  As an educator you can create a wikispace is free of charge. By clicking on this link...you can create your own wikispace for education. On about.com I found 10 ways wikispace can be used and some of them were news to me. CHECK IT OUT!  



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I used my wikispace to create a lesson plan. The lesson plan integrates a variety of technologies, and collaboration among learners. CHECK OUT my wikis lesson plan!

 
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Skype is amazing software that could be used in the classroom for social learning. Skyping to other classrooms around the world would provide learners with the opportunity to teach one another and give them another students perspective. However, setting it up and implementing it for educational purposes can seem overwhelming. As long as it is explained simply it can be very versatile and since it is free it can be used by anyone with an email address.  



As stated in previous blogs google docs are user friendly and yet again simple for utilizing in the classroom. With the opportunity for the students to change the doc and work with one another with out having to meet they can get more work done. As an educator I like the fact that you can make a variety of different documents that will work best for your students. Learners with special needs google docs can be used to keep tract of assignments and the educator can check to ensure progress from any computer. 
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Voki

3/30/2011

2 Comments

 
/Users/labuser/Desktop/Jing video.swf
Voki's are pretty cool. It was hard for me at first to think of some way they could be used in the classroom. But fortunately after collaborating with fellow educators I thought of a few ideas that we have actually used in the classroom. In our class we had all the children that could, make a jing character in their free time and they are going to use them in several different ways. One of the ways they are going to use them are to read the stories they have written to the class. Me and the other teacher said that we would help them type their story into jing and they could play if for the class. We also discussed utilizing it for a classroom play.
Being able to have the power and knowledge of utilizing software like JING in the classroom is amazing! This can be used in the classroom in multiple ways. First it can be used to show learners directions visually.  It can also be used for special learners if they are going to require the educator to repeat themselves.  Finally, another great idea to use screen capturing software in the classroom would be to provide directions for substitute teachers.  
 
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According to Wikipedia a podcast (or non-streamed webcast) is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication. The word usurped webcast in common vernacular, the word podcast is made famous from iPod due to rising popularity and the innovation of web feeds.

Podcasting was simple, fun, and educational!  As soon as my partner and I began to use the software we were immediately engaged. We both came up with so many ideas and the pod cast just took off. I would say that we spent the majority of the time mapping out exactly how everything was going to go. Actually creating the podcast was the easy part. As I was so concerned and excited about the podcast I was creating I missed the portion of the lesson on how to do the podcast from a regular PC. I had a blast creating it and would definitely utilize this in my future classroom.

As I am going to be an intervention specialist I could utilize podcasting for my children with special needs. Podcasting could be versatile for all different children that embrace a variety of disabilities. As pictures and different types of music can be added (if desired) I could target my learners from all different aspects aiming at a variety of learning styles. For the students who are distracted easily or cannot handle an abundance of stimulation I could simply create a podcast that does not contain any of those add-on’s that could potentially be a distraction. A great feature that podcasting offers is its longevity. Once you make the podcast it is around forever, as long as one has the means of listening to it.    
Check out my podcast!   

 
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     Answer garden is a useful quick polling tool. You simply go to the website and create your own poll using your own question. The question must be simple as the answer must be pretty basic. This sort of tool can be used in the classroom as en "exit card" situation, or to get an understanding about the most learned information among the class. As the participants answer, the words that are keyed in more frequently become larger as the words that are not are smaller. Providing a visual, and a tool for the educator. 
This could be important in my classroom due to the fact that I will be working with individuals with special needs and I can see this as a useful visual tool. The students are not required to use any sort of new or challenging technology and the visual results can aid them. One of the ways I would utilize answer garden among my students would be for a KLW.
Podcast about inquiry based learning and Constructivist Classroom.

Inquiry-based learning  in simple terms is providing learners with the opportunity to learn the way that they want. As the educator you must let them use the tools that they learn best with. Do do this, inquiry-based learning can be utilized. Provide students with a task and ask them the question after they have had an opportunity to figure it out on their own, then ask them a question. All of this is explained simply in the link to the podcast above.
Constructivism says that students bring their personal experiences into the classroom and these experiences have a tremendous impact on students' views of how the world works.  Students come to new and preexisting learning situations with a variety of knowledge, feelings, and skills, and this is where learning should begin.  This knowledge exists within the student and is developed as individuals interact with their peers, teachers, and the environment.  Students then mold thier understanding or meaning by making sense of their experiences and fitting their own ideas into reality

 
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Lines, Rays, quiz...FOLLOW THE.....GOOGLE DOC!!


Volcanoes Powerpoint Google doc.


Google docs are an online way an educator can assess, collaborate, and teach learners. This link provides a short overview of what google docs offer and how to use them. I can personally see myself using google docs to assess students and utilize them as an online version of saving lesson plans, power points, assessments, word documents, and much more. By doing this I will be able to access anything saved to google docs from any computer at any time.

The technology aspect of using google docs is very versatile. Information one is working on is saved automatically every so often, leaving the stress of saving or loosing anything you are creating or have created. Utilizing google docs from an educator’s perspective is going to be simple. Students are allotted with the opportunity to work at their own pace, and assessing them is simpler than ever.  Having the opportunity to see what is changed, what time it is changed can give the educator an idea of when their students are working on their homework and who is actually benefitting from your style of teaching. The students’ we are educating now are going to be more familiar with technology than ever, and I believe that it is imperative that they have the opportunity to learn using technology more than ever. Google docs provide everyone with that opportunity. All one needs is an internet connection and they can create, or work on one of their previously existing google doc.

    Google docs can be an asset to the classroom by providing students to work at their own pace with still, assess them in various forms, and teach them using a visual. As far as being an asset to the educator utilizing the google doc technology, the educator has the convenience of being able to access any document they have previously made through any computer with no worries about flash drives or specific software. Educators can also make so many different forms of documents that teaching and assessing students is simplified.    


    Lindsay

    Currently pursuing a graduate degree in Intervention Specialist. Planning to graduate Spring 2012!
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