Week 2 - Post #1
Wow!! What a journey we have taken in class this week. We have been exposed to so many new avenues of attaining information more efficiently and some really exciting ways to communicate using the internet and PowerPoint. I must admit that I have always been very conservative when using the internet for fear of personal information getting into the wrong hands. Well, look at me now! I am a blogger. I have subscribed to numerous sites and found them to be reliable thanks to Dr. Wickersham. I’d like to share some of them with you.
First we were introduced to www.bloglines.com which is a Rich Site Summary, (RSS) that allows you to view all new entries from sources that you have selected from the internet. These sources must have the RSS symbol displayed on the site to work correctly. The host site is referred to as the aggregator and the sites that you choose to add are called feeds. What a time-saver! I have included several web sites that show new gadgets as they become available. Each day I immediately view the new additions without having to search through all of the things that I have already seen in the past. I can see Samsung, Dell, Ipod, and Sony products all at one site. I am not searching for them, they are finding me! Talk about keeping up-to-date! I will be able to recognize the new Bluetooth watch on “John’s” wrist before he uses it to text message during class! Another use for bloglines as a teacher would be the ability to instantly see only new postings on student’s blogs. I plan to have each student in my math classes post at least once during each chapter and describe something new they have learned in class. My big dilemma on this site is whether or not I should share it with my students or let them think that I am working many hours to seek out this information. :)
Next we were lead to www.photobucket.com, a site that allows you to upload and store photos to share in your blog, email, portfolio or personal website. I was able to upload, store and create 2 slideshows using pictures of students in our class in just a matter of minutes. They had some great formats and designs to choose from and then I quickly sent them to post on this blog as you can see above. The site also allows you to create an avatar. Many students in class created some outstanding likenesses of themselves. Keep an eye out for mine, it should be showing up soon.
Our next stop on the internet was del.icio.us. No www needed just http://del.icio.us/ . This is a social book marking site. It allows you to store all of your favorite websites on the internet so that you can access them from any computer with internet access. I was able to categorize my special sites with meaningful names that are called tags. I created a tag named ETEC-524 where I am storing the URL’s of all of my newly acquired resources just in case I forget in the future.
I have been giving more thought as to how to use PowerPoint in the math class besides the obvious explanations of each lesson which I think will be very effective. I want to create a timed multiple choice quiz to be used at the beginning of class. I just run the slideshow and it tells the students to number their paper and gives them a minute or two and then the quiz begins. Five more slides will appear that contain 5 questions that cover the material from the previous class. Each is timed for one minute. I can take roll during these 5 minutes!
Our final tool that we were introduced to is the electronic portfolio. I find this assignment to be the most challenging so far because it can be such an asset if done correctly. I want to have the perfect design and format. I want it to be informative but draw the viewer’s interest. I predict that mine will be a work in progress always. The main purpose for a portfolio for me would be for professional growth and discovery, but I would want it to be adaptable for use in job hunting or for acceptance into an academic program if necessary. It can include text, photos, illustrations, graphic design, interactivity, audio and video. I want it to reflect my personal goals, my personality and values.
The only thing that I find missing in all of this is a website that would allow you to store all of your usernames and passwords and associate them with the correct sites. I guess that would not be such a great idea – too risky.
Looking forward to this week’s journey~TinaMo
First we were introduced to www.bloglines.com which is a Rich Site Summary, (RSS) that allows you to view all new entries from sources that you have selected from the internet. These sources must have the RSS symbol displayed on the site to work correctly. The host site is referred to as the aggregator and the sites that you choose to add are called feeds. What a time-saver! I have included several web sites that show new gadgets as they become available. Each day I immediately view the new additions without having to search through all of the things that I have already seen in the past. I can see Samsung, Dell, Ipod, and Sony products all at one site. I am not searching for them, they are finding me! Talk about keeping up-to-date! I will be able to recognize the new Bluetooth watch on “John’s” wrist before he uses it to text message during class! Another use for bloglines as a teacher would be the ability to instantly see only new postings on student’s blogs. I plan to have each student in my math classes post at least once during each chapter and describe something new they have learned in class. My big dilemma on this site is whether or not I should share it with my students or let them think that I am working many hours to seek out this information. :)
Next we were lead to www.photobucket.com, a site that allows you to upload and store photos to share in your blog, email, portfolio or personal website. I was able to upload, store and create 2 slideshows using pictures of students in our class in just a matter of minutes. They had some great formats and designs to choose from and then I quickly sent them to post on this blog as you can see above. The site also allows you to create an avatar. Many students in class created some outstanding likenesses of themselves. Keep an eye out for mine, it should be showing up soon.
Our next stop on the internet was del.icio.us. No www needed just http://del.icio.us/ . This is a social book marking site. It allows you to store all of your favorite websites on the internet so that you can access them from any computer with internet access. I was able to categorize my special sites with meaningful names that are called tags. I created a tag named ETEC-524 where I am storing the URL’s of all of my newly acquired resources just in case I forget in the future.
I have been giving more thought as to how to use PowerPoint in the math class besides the obvious explanations of each lesson which I think will be very effective. I want to create a timed multiple choice quiz to be used at the beginning of class. I just run the slideshow and it tells the students to number their paper and gives them a minute or two and then the quiz begins. Five more slides will appear that contain 5 questions that cover the material from the previous class. Each is timed for one minute. I can take roll during these 5 minutes!
Our final tool that we were introduced to is the electronic portfolio. I find this assignment to be the most challenging so far because it can be such an asset if done correctly. I want to have the perfect design and format. I want it to be informative but draw the viewer’s interest. I predict that mine will be a work in progress always. The main purpose for a portfolio for me would be for professional growth and discovery, but I would want it to be adaptable for use in job hunting or for acceptance into an academic program if necessary. It can include text, photos, illustrations, graphic design, interactivity, audio and video. I want it to reflect my personal goals, my personality and values.
The only thing that I find missing in all of this is a website that would allow you to store all of your usernames and passwords and associate them with the correct sites. I guess that would not be such a great idea – too risky.
Looking forward to this week’s journey~TinaMo
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