This takes place in early May.
FINAL PROJECT-Create a discipline specific TEACHING UNIT (includes multiple lessons and spans several weeks) that integrates as many of the tools from this course as possible. Due on Friday of the last week of the semester.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Week 7 - Using Blogs to Foster Literacy
Having a "semester break" threw me off ... but I was glad to have a chance to finally get ahead of something for once!! The 3 readings for weeks 7, and those for 8 are a good start on wikis. I have had some experience doing the revision of our state library association's website with PBwiki but I want to check out Jotspot. I also have had experience doing our district tech plan using ProBroad - is that a wiki?
I just noticed the ppt is up, so I'll download and take a look.
I just noticed the ppt is up, so I'll download and take a look.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Week 5 - Podcasting and Audioblogs
The readings prompted me to try my hand at screencasting - something I have been wanting to try for months. I downloaded the trial of the newest version of Snagit and, with that great software, the screencast process was really easy. My product was the capture of my preparation of a Works Cited page. The file was really large - 9.51 MB - so I had trouble uploading to my website. I will try to upload to Internet Archives.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Week Four ... and Deliverable 2
Our eighth grade Language Arts teacher and I co-sponsor our school's reading club for teachers. We meet once a month and discuss one pre-selected title. It's a great group and we really enjoy our discussions. I thought a blog for the group would be a good way to expand our book discussions to include personal favorite, continue our book discussions in the summer, and acquaint our staff with the concept of blogging in general.
The blog is ready to go - http://teachersread.blogspot.com/
It is "invitation only", but I did send invitations to members of our blogging class in case you want to check it out.
As I said in my deliverable, I was glad to "test run" blogging with colleagues first to get the bumps out before I tried this with students.
I had two initial trial members and have just invited five more book club members as beta testers for their feedback before I send out to the entire book club.
The blog is ready to go - http://teachersread.blogspot.com/
It is "invitation only", but I did send invitations to members of our blogging class in case you want to check it out.
As I said in my deliverable, I was glad to "test run" blogging with colleagues first to get the bumps out before I tried this with students.
I had two initial trial members and have just invited five more book club members as beta testers for their feedback before I send out to the entire book club.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Week Three
This week's topics include
- How blogs are being used in education
- Edublog models
- The commercialization of blogs
The 2006 Edublog Award winners were humbling :-) There are so many really good educational blogs, but as I continue my blog search, I marvel at the greater number of "rambling" blogs. I even saw one that somehow had junk mail in the comments sections. I wonder how that happened.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Learning Blogosphere - Part 2
Look at the post below for Learning Blogosphere - Part 1. The order system of blogging posts is something to get use to :-)
Snow Day!
Very rarely do I get uninterrupted "web time." I am taking advantage of this extra time to continue my study of educational blogging.
Blogging for Professional Development
In addition to being a communication tool for classroom use, I also could see a blog being very useful as a communication vehicle for district professional development. Pre-readings/discussions prior to summer training sessions; post-training support; online book discussions; unit/lesson planning between buildings; sharing of district "best practices"; curriculum topic hotlists; topical discussions for tech user groups; "Ask the Experts" support, etc.
Our new tech supervisor is using a Pro-board blog to revise our district's technology plan in place of the traditional series of committee meetings. It is a method I definitely prefer, at least for the discussion stages. I'm not sure how he plans to conclude the process but it has been a real learning experience for me.
Our new tech supervisor is using a Pro-board blog to revise our district's technology plan in place of the traditional series of committee meetings. It is a method I definitely prefer, at least for the discussion stages. I'm not sure how he plans to conclude the process but it has been a real learning experience for me.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Using My Blog
Posting the blog was the easy part! Now I have to do the second part of the project --integrating of the blog into my classroom.
As a middle school media specialist, I technically do not have one particular group of students that I instruct on a regular basis. I do one major research project with all eighth graders (topics in American history), and one with all seventh graders (Renaissance artists). I also do several smaller projects throughout the year with special area teachers ... and anyone else who wants to work with me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
