Thing 8

I think delicious will be a great asset. I find websites put them in my favorites and then forget about them later. It is difficult to keep up with all the new websites and things from worksheets to make them useful later. It seems that once school starts and everything becomes more hectic it is hard to remember everything. I think this will be a great tool and quick search for me to keep ideas organized.

http://delicious.com/mkcraig269

Thing 7

I got a little frustrated with google docs because I could not find the spell check and when I tried to click on certain menus it just kept opening a new page.

Can you use Microsoft office and just upload your documents? Also, how can you incorporate this with the blog. I would like for my Pre-Cal students next year to keep up a blog to discuss what they are learning in the lessons in class. They need to have access to google docs to create discussions on topics. It would be nice if they could access the document from their blog page because it has a built in equation editor. Microsoft office 7 or 10 has a much better equation editor but I know some students do not have those applications on their computer.

Also, is there a way for them to have a message sent to me each time they work on their blog? I would like some kind of notification so that I know when to check them. I think I am going to begin to use this for their six weeks exam grade on the grading periods that we have semester exams and extra points on the other six week periods.

I like the idea of uploading my school related documents so that I have access to them anywhere I am. I always seem to be emailing documents to myself and having several copies between home and school.

I think this is a great editing tool for students to collaborate and edit each others work. I am concerned about students deleting papers just to be hateful. That does not happen often but can be a problem. Is there a way to keep a file of the last person logged in to deter this kind of behavior. I am excited about the use of these tools. I am still not sure how they are using them in the math classroom as much as History, Science and English. I think our district needs to find a way to provide more access to technology for our students and for full classrooms. I think more of us would incorporate technology if it didn't take so much planning and effort just to get into a lab or to get our one cart into the room with working computers. I know I would use Geometer's Skectpad more often if I did not have to spend so much time making sure that the program had not been deleted and that there were enough working computers so that the lesson does not become a flop.

Thing 6

I listen to Joyce Meyers video podcast and several of the educational podcasts. I enjoy the video podcasts more than the audio podcasts. I like the fact that I can download them and listen on my time schedule rather than theirs.

I think it would be a great way for students to complete projects rather than just power points. It makes their presentations more versatile.

I have used videos on YouTube several times in my classroom. It livens up a lesson. I try to throw one in every now an then to gain the students interest. The only problem I have with it is that there is a lot of garbage on YouTube that teaches things you do not want your children to learn. Sometimes it is very time consuming trying to filter through the garbage to find things that are useful for the classroom.

The advantage to embedding the video is that it plays within the same window rather than having to jump back and forth and opening many windows at once.

Our students are bombarded with technology and it is difficult to keep them engaged without trying to use some of these items in our classrooms. It gives us a way to help all learners connect to the content. I enjoy using videos and the students appreciate the change.

Thing 6 video

Thing 5

I am excited about the idea of Wikis for student collaboration and discussion. I think it would give reluctant learners an opportunity to discuss ideas and give input when they do not feel comfortable speaking out in class. How can you tell on the wiki who has participated and who hasn't?

I think it would be great for students to discuss what they have learned, plan projects and answer questions about the content they are learning.

I would love to incorporate this into my classroom next year and learn along with the students. My concern as it has been all along is having the technology available for all students to participate. Our school is so limited on access to technology for all classes.

I am having difficulty understanding the differences in Wikis and Blogs and which one would be best to begin with.