Week 9

I have definitely liked blogs and wikis. My Adventures with Humphrey blog has been very successful with my 4th grade students - one item on my to do list is to think about other creative ways to use a blog particularly with the 2nd and 3rd graders. I need to spend some time with those two teachers and brainstorm ways that we can incorporate a blog into their curriculum. I have created a leslabs wiki which I just introduced to my teachers. When I get a chance I will offer a tech workshop on this tool. We have discussed the fact that it could be a great "one-stop" shopping place for all those internet sites we keep finding but then forget the urls. We could design it to be grade-level and curriculum related in order to make it a tool that they 1) want to use and 2) want to help expand. That will be a challenge.

As school budgets get tighter and tighter and software gets more and more expensive, I will be looking for ways to incorporate Web 2.0 programs in the school. There are many creative avenues waiting to explore but of course, having time to sit and think about them is a major problem. However, through this program I have been able to explore websites that I know I will use. It will be at a time when I am brainstorming with a teacher and "the light will come on!" Like Rollyo. I know this tool will be very useful. I'd like to use it as a search engine for my students. Possibly an image Rollyo and then Rollyos for particular topics the kids are researching.

One thing I did learn is that our school needs to start using Web 2.0. When I mention Web 2.0, most of the time I get a blank stare. It will have to be one of my goals to educate the staff on the possibilities of this incredible tool.

My experience...enlightening. I am constantly amazed at the creative ways people are using the web. It seems like everyday there's a new "You got to take a look at this!" moment. It's endless and I am truly grateful for all those creative people!

Thanks for a great course! It was everything I expected and more.

Week 8

In order to catch up I sort-of combined week 7 and week 8. I used ZohoWriter to write my week 7 blog and then I uploaded it to my page - not too hard. Zoho Writer definitely could be a useful tool so I added it to my list of useful websites. Library Thing was another interesting tool. What I keep coming back to week after week is time. There is so many fascinating, extremely useful sites that I wish I could use them all. Over time I do believe that I will start to incorporate what I have learned and know I will come back to many of these sites.

Week 7 -wikis

Well I actually did this probably week 5 - I was anxious to try a wiki and I had an idea for my 5th grade class. It took a little bit of work but after a few problems, success! Last week I had the 5th graders try it out while working in pairs. For the most part, it worked fine, however, getting kids to read the entire directions (even as simple as they were) was a challenge. Repeatedly they were told, "read what it says." Once they got the idea that they really had to read the directions, they readily worked on the assignment. The link for the wiki is below:

http://leslab.pbwiki.com/

I will continue to use this wiki with other classes and will help teachers to incorporate wikis into their curriculum.

Week 6

Week 6

del.icio.us is a interesting site.  It is a fascinating and extremely creative - I wish I had know about it earlier.  In my job, I am always surfing the net and reading lm-net.  I always stumble upon great sites, bookmark them and eventually, for the most part, forget about them.  Having the ability to give the site numerous tags is ideal and I especially like the part that I can use them at home.  Many times I get home and want to go on a site and just can't remember the website addresss.  Very useful site!

Technorati has some potential but definitely not on the top of my list - much like RSS feeds.  Partly it's because there is no time in my day for reading the newspaper never mind logging on and reading a blog on the computer.  I spend too much time looking at a computer screen so blogs are at the bottom of my list.  The only positive aspect is that if I need to find a blog or a teacher asks if there are any appropriate ones, I now know where to look.

Web 2.0 - many, many possibilities!  Just wish I had time to start implementing all of them!  Web 2.0 is the avenue for creativity, collaboration and with funding getting scarce, a program with no cost involved!  Web 2.0 works with the changing nature of communication, learning, and for our students, their relationships with their peers.  It really has some awesome potential within the elementary settting and I plan to explore ways of using Web 2.0 more thoroughly.  Having a 20 something intern this spring is eye opening as she is very adept at the Web 2.0 applications.  As teachers and educators, we have to realize Web 2.0 applications will be an important part of our students' futures.  We need to think about news ways to meet their needs and work with the emerging technologies particularly Web 2.0.

Now let's see if I can move this document from Zoho to my blog....

Week 5 - I'm on a roll...

I decided to use bighugelabs for the online image generator. One of my hobbies is photography so I know I will be coming back to this site in the near future. Very creative site! Each year I create an end of the year photo show for the 6th grade parents - this site will help me create some great visuals.

Week 5 - I'm a little behind!

Rollyo is the best. I'm already thinking of great ways to incorporate it. The fifth grade teacher is just beginning his unit on Ancient Cultures and this would be an ideal tool for his students. One stop shopping is the ideal when kids are searching the internet. The possibility of clicking on a site that is not appropriate always happens even with the SonicWall filter. I also have search engines that are kid appropriate that I will use this tool for. It's the type of tool that the more you use it the more creative you will get. Definitely a keeper...unlike the RSS feeds.

Week 4 - Wow!

RSS feeds are they worth it??  Well, the jury is still out.  This was a lot of work.  First I started with Google Reader.  Finding feeds, not too hard.   Sharing them, too much work.  I spent a good deal of time in help menus that weren't that helpful.  Took a break and came back to try Bloglines.  Not as easy to find feeds.  When I did find one in the search menu, their Sub with Bloglines was useless.  I then went into google to search for the feed, found it, used the Sub with Bloglines and it worked.  Maybe there is an easier way but I don't have a lot of time to fiddle with it.  I decided to add it to my blog.  When I tried this with Google Reader, absolutely no luck!!  Much, much easier with Bloglines.  Will I ever use this?  Hmmm.  Maybe if I'm working on a blog that would lend itself to having a rss feed.  Maybe I just need more time with it...