Reflection

As this class is coming towards an end I am taking the time to reflect on the many things that I learned.  I'm amazed by how much I learned in this class!  I started out being very nervous while doing anything with technology and I am ending the class with the desire to use what I have learned and to continue learning.  I was excited to learn about google docs, google scholar, pirate pad, mixbook, google maps, cool tools for schools, and much more.  It will be nice to have these tools as I finish this masters program and continue on in my professional career.

Pirate Pad

I was really impressed with learning about Pirate Pad.  I can see this being used in a classroom setting for students to share their ideas.  I remember in class how us as adults were fascinated to see each other's responses on the screen and can only imagine how kids would feel.  This seems to be a good medium for students who are shy and may not want to share their ideas out loud.  Some practice would be needed as well as role play to explain what appropriate responses would be.  I also liked the idea as a teache that it is free and would take some time to set up but once that's done it can be used.  If you haven't already done so check out piratepad.net and start sharing!

Google Scholar

The other day I started a new class.  While I was sitting in class the professor was talking about all of the assignments and projects that we will have to complete.  As I was listening, I kept thinking about the different resources I learned about in my technology class.  It will be nice to use the resources I learned about to complete my assignments for a completely different class!  I am especially excited to use google scholar!  I can't believe I never learned about this before.  With one class left to go, my 2nd research class, it will be great to use this!  I only wish I had learned about this at the beginning of my journey as a masters student! 

Twitter

At our last class we talked about Twitter.  I was pleasantly surprised at what I learned.  I thought Twitter was just to be used to follow celebrities and what they were doing and thinking about every day.  I had no idea that it could be a resource for communicating with other professionals about professional topics.   Twitter might be something that I'll have to think about joining in the future!

Collaborating

Yesterday we learned about different sites where you can work with other professionals to create stories and books.  It was really interesting.  I didn't know you could work on the internet with other people to create something useful for a classroom.  There are many different reasons to use these sites.  They can be used to teach a new concept to the students, review a concept, and even have the students work together to create something exciting for an open house night.  There are countless reasons to use these sites.  The site that my group is using is Mixbook and I'm excited to learn more about it!  

Virtual Field Trip

Well, Jen and I finished our virtual field trip to Bar Harbor, Maine.  It went well.  My favorite part was the google maps section of the virtual field trip.  We were having a hard time completing the directions and as we were trying to figure it out 125 spots were plotted.  We had to delete each one individually and after found out that we didn't need the directions.  Except for that one hiccup it went really well and I actually enjoyed it.  I am just so impressed with the fact that you can zoom in on different spots in the world.  What a great tool for the classroom, especially for those students that have never visited anywhere!

July 16, 2011

This is my second time blogging and I can't believe how easy it was to come back to this and remember how to blog!  In my second technology class we were told that we were expected to create a virtual field trip.  I was very nervous to see what all was included and what was expected of us.  It turns out that it isn't so bad and its definitely something that I can do...I'm learning how to do so much in this class!  I am pretty excited to create a map of the four spots on the virtual field trip.  I am going to create a map using Google Maps and I can't believe what all you can do with it.  It was neat to see that you can zoom in on specific places in the world.  The field trip that I am doing is Bar Harbor, Maine so stay tuned for updates on my map!