The following links were the additional subscriptions I chose for my Google Reader assignment:
- http://www.librarian.net/
- http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/
- http://www.readwritethink.org/
- http://interactivelanguagearts.com/
- http://www.trycuriosity.com/
- http://carolldoss.blogspot.com/
- http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/
My favorite blog was the "Try Curiosity" blog. As a graduate students studying for my master's in Library Science, this blog has an enormous amount of resources and ideas for my future library as well as my present-day assignments. The site, "interactivelanguagearts.com" and "readwritethink.org" makes for two great resources that I read and apply in my classroom now. I can not pinpoint a specific article that stands out above the rest, but considering what is most applicable to me now, ReadWriteThink is very beneficial to me and my classroom. I can find new literacy-oriented strategies to use in my middle school classroom, example lesson plans to implement, and most all are aligned with the core national curriculum standards that we as a state will soon be transferring to. Google Reader has become a great research tool for me to use and apply into my classroom. This will be a continuous project in my academic and professional career. Thanks for the exposure, ED505!
Happy blogging,
S. Garrett
P.S. Visit my Google Reader link at: My Google Reader Page
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Importance Of Being A Good Digital Citizen
Week 5: Why is it important to be a good digital citizen? What value does a good digital reputation have?
- Practicing good digital citizenship is very important in our age of limitless internet access, downloads, and social media. Being a good digital citizen leads to better safety, less potential conflicts, and a good representation of one's self and their interaction with others. Knowing proper security techniques and applications prevents viruses, worms, trojan horses, etc. from making costly damages on your computer or spreading the harmful problems to someone else. As the internet has become a society-wide tool, the Internet also has spawned its share of society-wide problems like innappropriate websites, online predators, fraud, and copyright and plagiarism issues. Being familiar with the appropriate rules and behavior can prevent these issues from happening. Also, when interacting with others on social media sites such as Facebook, it is vital to learn and apply good digital citizenship rules. A commonly accepted rule is the altered Golden Rule: Do unto others on the internet, as you would have them do unto you on the internet.
- A good digital reputation has great value within the internet society. More people are willing to work and communicate with a person who can be trusted with not spreading malicious viruses or software, making mature and wise decisions on social websites that do not run the risk of offending anyone, and not run the risk of fraudelent purchases.
- Practicing good digital citizenship is very important in our age of limitless internet access, downloads, and social media. Being a good digital citizen leads to better safety, less potential conflicts, and a good representation of one's self and their interaction with others. Knowing proper security techniques and applications prevents viruses, worms, trojan horses, etc. from making costly damages on your computer or spreading the harmful problems to someone else. As the internet has become a society-wide tool, the Internet also has spawned its share of society-wide problems like innappropriate websites, online predators, fraud, and copyright and plagiarism issues. Being familiar with the appropriate rules and behavior can prevent these issues from happening. Also, when interacting with others on social media sites such as Facebook, it is vital to learn and apply good digital citizenship rules. A commonly accepted rule is the altered Golden Rule: Do unto others on the internet, as you would have them do unto you on the internet.
- A good digital reputation has great value within the internet society. More people are willing to work and communicate with a person who can be trusted with not spreading malicious viruses or software, making mature and wise decisions on social websites that do not run the risk of offending anyone, and not run the risk of fraudelent purchases.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Social Bookmarking Experience
At the beginning of the term, we were instructed to create a social bookmarking list on a website. I chose the Delicious website as my portal for saving and sharing useful websites. After the initial headache of navigating the site and understanding the new terminology, I took off on saving, labeling, and tagging a series of websites and resources that I deemed important for both my graduate program and my classroom.
Social bookmarking has been helpful in providing me with a one-stop site for my bookmarks. Being able to access my favorite sites from any computer is a plus. Adding different tags helps me locate my information quicker and also allows me to search for other tags and sites from different Delicious account users. I plan to maintain my social bookmarking account for future use. Its easy organization and mobility is too helpful to pass up!
Follow the link to my Delicious account: http://delicious.com/smoney45799
Below is a tag cloud created from the most used words within my social bookmarking account:
Social bookmarking has been helpful in providing me with a one-stop site for my bookmarks. Being able to access my favorite sites from any computer is a plus. Adding different tags helps me locate my information quicker and also allows me to search for other tags and sites from different Delicious account users. I plan to maintain my social bookmarking account for future use. Its easy organization and mobility is too helpful to pass up!
Follow the link to my Delicious account: http://delicious.com/smoney45799
Below is a tag cloud created from the most used words within my social bookmarking account:
Happy bookmarking,
S. Garrett
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Roblyer book: Page 201 #1
After investigating simulations listed on thinkport.org, I chose two websites that would be valuable for my teaching in the classroom. These interactive websites would not only be more efficient for me to use, but would keep my students engaged and applying their higher-order thinking skills. The creativity and fun would benefit not just the students, but myself as well!
The first simulation site was www.schoolhousetech.com. On this site, I can create worksheet activities that build and reinforce important vocabulary skills in my language arts classroom. The worksheets can be used for a wide range of student levels and abilities, which would be a great advantage to me as I have a large amount of special education students. Also, as teacher who regularly creates my own quizzes and tests, the test generator sounded almost too good to be true. The test generator software provides a much quicker and more eye-catching software than my usual Word documents I create. It also creates an answer sheet as well as different versions of the test to curtail cheating. The bingo game creator was another great feature. I play review games at least one day a week to reinforce concepts and to make a day of review more fun and involving. With this software, the complicated logistics are already worked out for you. The generator prints out randomized bingo cards, and comes with call sheets that make it easy to call the game as well as check the winning combinations.
The second simulation site, www.readwritethink.org, has been a site that I frequent often. As a Language Arts teacher, I use several of their features, from the comic strip maker, to the story map, to the plot diagram interactive. With each tool comes accompanying lesson plans with the interactive being used. These provide great ways to get started with each interactive. It also has a section for parent resources and professional development; that way the adults both at home and in the school are benefited as well. I must admit, that due to time constraints in the classroom, I have never been able to fully search this site as intended. However, due to this project, I came across what is now my favorite aspect of the website. The ReadWriteThink Printing Press is a kid-friendly interactive that allows students to create brochures, newspapers, flyers, and even booklets. This format of this tool is better-suited for my students, rather than the usual Microsoft Office programs I implement in the classroom.
These simulators will provide great ways to incorporate different types of instruction into my classroom. They will not only make learning fun and longer-lasting, but will make the teaching even better as well. Can't wait to use in my classes!
Happy teaching,
S. Garrett
The first simulation site was www.schoolhousetech.com. On this site, I can create worksheet activities that build and reinforce important vocabulary skills in my language arts classroom. The worksheets can be used for a wide range of student levels and abilities, which would be a great advantage to me as I have a large amount of special education students. Also, as teacher who regularly creates my own quizzes and tests, the test generator sounded almost too good to be true. The test generator software provides a much quicker and more eye-catching software than my usual Word documents I create. It also creates an answer sheet as well as different versions of the test to curtail cheating. The bingo game creator was another great feature. I play review games at least one day a week to reinforce concepts and to make a day of review more fun and involving. With this software, the complicated logistics are already worked out for you. The generator prints out randomized bingo cards, and comes with call sheets that make it easy to call the game as well as check the winning combinations.
The second simulation site, www.readwritethink.org, has been a site that I frequent often. As a Language Arts teacher, I use several of their features, from the comic strip maker, to the story map, to the plot diagram interactive. With each tool comes accompanying lesson plans with the interactive being used. These provide great ways to get started with each interactive. It also has a section for parent resources and professional development; that way the adults both at home and in the school are benefited as well. I must admit, that due to time constraints in the classroom, I have never been able to fully search this site as intended. However, due to this project, I came across what is now my favorite aspect of the website. The ReadWriteThink Printing Press is a kid-friendly interactive that allows students to create brochures, newspapers, flyers, and even booklets. This format of this tool is better-suited for my students, rather than the usual Microsoft Office programs I implement in the classroom.
These simulators will provide great ways to incorporate different types of instruction into my classroom. They will not only make learning fun and longer-lasting, but will make the teaching even better as well. Can't wait to use in my classes!
Happy teaching,
S. Garrett
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Software Reviews: Roblyer pg. 105
As, a web-enrichment activity, we were asked to analyze specific software review websites and compare the information they presented. The websites were:
- SREB EvaluTech http://www.evalutech.sreb.org/
- California Learning Resource Network http://www.clrn.org/home/
- SuperKids http://www.superkids.com
- Education World http://www.educationworld.com
The following questions were to be considered in comparing the above-mentioned sites:
- Which sites evaluate the largest number of titles?
- Which sites are most recently updated?
- Which sites include reviews submitted by site visitors?
- Which sites would you use to learn about software you were considering for your students?
When I tried visiting the SREB software review site, I was redirected to a "test page." Apparently, SREB has their software site either under construction or has deleted it entirely. This resulted in an apparent inablity to compare this site to any others. On its "About" section it did mention that they had software reviews that were submitted by media specialists and teachers. This was not confirmed due to the site being down.
The sites with the most impressive amount of software information and reviews were Education World and the California Learning Resource Network. SuperKids also had a large amount of different software. Software titles were divided into subjects and grade levels. Education World had the most current updates on software reviews, even highlighting "Gadgets of the Week" for teachers to research. Next was CLRN, with the most recent update in November, 2011. SuperKids had reviews submitted by site visitors or members, but each review had to follow a specific testing protocol to obtain the most helpful information for readers to apply. As previously mentioned, SREB supposedly had software reviewed by media specialists, teachers, and other education administration. CLRN had trained Californian educators with specific content knowledge to conduct reviews. Education World used teachers as well as technology coordinators to conduct reviews on products. The sites I would be most likely to use would be Education World and the California Learning Resource Network. Education world had enourmous amounts of resources on software systems including strategies for the software use in your classroom, reviews, and common/related software products. Also, with Edu World being the most up-to-date, it would be the the best route for choosing the "latest and greatest" professionally reccommended software to use in the classroom. CLRN would be my next choice, with its easy-to-navigate web page and clearly categorized sections.
- SREB EvaluTech http://www.evalutech.sreb.org/
- California Learning Resource Network http://www.clrn.org/home/
- SuperKids http://www.superkids.com
- Education World http://www.educationworld.com
The following questions were to be considered in comparing the above-mentioned sites:
- Which sites evaluate the largest number of titles?
- Which sites are most recently updated?
- Which sites include reviews submitted by site visitors?
- Which sites would you use to learn about software you were considering for your students?
When I tried visiting the SREB software review site, I was redirected to a "test page." Apparently, SREB has their software site either under construction or has deleted it entirely. This resulted in an apparent inablity to compare this site to any others. On its "About" section it did mention that they had software reviews that were submitted by media specialists and teachers. This was not confirmed due to the site being down.
The sites with the most impressive amount of software information and reviews were Education World and the California Learning Resource Network. SuperKids also had a large amount of different software. Software titles were divided into subjects and grade levels. Education World had the most current updates on software reviews, even highlighting "Gadgets of the Week" for teachers to research. Next was CLRN, with the most recent update in November, 2011. SuperKids had reviews submitted by site visitors or members, but each review had to follow a specific testing protocol to obtain the most helpful information for readers to apply. As previously mentioned, SREB supposedly had software reviewed by media specialists, teachers, and other education administration. CLRN had trained Californian educators with specific content knowledge to conduct reviews. Education World used teachers as well as technology coordinators to conduct reviews on products. The sites I would be most likely to use would be Education World and the California Learning Resource Network. Education world had enourmous amounts of resources on software systems including strategies for the software use in your classroom, reviews, and common/related software products. Also, with Edu World being the most up-to-date, it would be the the best route for choosing the "latest and greatest" professionally reccommended software to use in the classroom. CLRN would be my next choice, with its easy-to-navigate web page and clearly categorized sections.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Web 2.0 Resource Assignment
What a great assignment that I could actually implement in my classroom as soon as tomorrow!
Bubbl: My Web 2.0 Assignment stemmed from a unit on Figurative Language. I used "Personification" as my subtopic. The concept map explains the arrangement.
Glogster: A great tool to help students reinforce their skills on your subject's content, while learning important technology concepts like imbedding videos, pictures, links, and graphics. Take a look at my recent Glog on Personification:
- http://smoney45799.edu.glogster.com/personification/
Animoto: This is a great resource for student visual projects and presentations. Animoto is very user-friendly and teachers can easily assess for student mastery. Check out my first Animoto video on Personification here:
- http://animoto.com/play/22FOtHemvAvQ3v15GqWZXQ
Blabberize: Check out my (Southern-drawl) talking car explaining the personification definition:
-
Blabberize #2: Mr. Potato Head explain how he starts as a potato and ends as a gentleman through personification:
-
Blabberize #3: Thomas the Train asks students to explain how he is an example of Personification:
-
Hope you enjoyed my Web 2.0 on Personification!
Happy blogging,
S. Garrett
Bubbl: My Web 2.0 Assignment stemmed from a unit on Figurative Language. I used "Personification" as my subtopic. The concept map explains the arrangement.
Glogster: A great tool to help students reinforce their skills on your subject's content, while learning important technology concepts like imbedding videos, pictures, links, and graphics. Take a look at my recent Glog on Personification:
- http://smoney45799.edu.glogster.com/personification/
Animoto: This is a great resource for student visual projects and presentations. Animoto is very user-friendly and teachers can easily assess for student mastery. Check out my first Animoto video on Personification here:
- http://animoto.com/play/22FOtHemvAvQ3v15GqWZXQ
Blabberize: Check out my (Southern-drawl) talking car explaining the personification definition:
-
Blabberize #2: Mr. Potato Head explain how he starts as a potato and ends as a gentleman through personification:
Blabberize #3: Thomas the Train asks students to explain how he is an example of Personification:
-
Hope you enjoyed my Web 2.0 on Personification!
Happy blogging,
S. Garrett
Monday, January 16, 2012
Pay Attention Video
What an amazing video on using Technology in the classroom! After watching, answer this question:
1. How could you apply some of the technology listed into your classroom?
2. What are your "legit" concerns about being able to use the technology( listed in the video) in your classroom?
3. What resources do you know of that are out there to help us educators better implement these types of technology?
CLICK TO WATCH: Pay Attention
1. How could you apply some of the technology listed into your classroom?
2. What are your "legit" concerns about being able to use the technology( listed in the video) in your classroom?
3. What resources do you know of that are out there to help us educators better implement these types of technology?
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