Reflections of a Great Year...

I've learned so much this semester about the things that can become possible when you integrate technology into the classroom. It opens up a whole new area that would've have been possible without technology, Internet, etc. I love the idea of virtual field trips, movies and slide shows for projects, review, or just for memories of a great time in the classroom. I also really liked the way the class was set up, giving us time to practice different Web 2.0 tools and work on things in class instead of just sitting through lecture. Jeff did a great job covering material and helping out wherever there were any questions. Overall, I really enjoyed this semester in the class and can't wait to take the information I've learned into the future!

Google Site

It was great to learn how to do a classroom website. I've never made a real site before, so it was great to learn how to do all the ins and outs with it. Now that I can embed the videos I've made, photos I've uploaded, documents I've created, etc., it will be so much easier to keep my future classroom updated. If I hadn't learned all of this information, I feel that I would be behind in the technology area of my future class.

Digital Stories

Doing the digital story was a great experience. It is nice to now be able to put together a short movie with photos that could be used to do many things in the classroom. I chose to do a movie about our trip to Zoo Atlanta. It could be used for memories, review of what we learned at the zoo about animals, or as a virtual field trip for those who didn't get to attend. Using iMovie was pretty self-explanatory and I found that it really didn't take that long. I will definitely try to incorporate movies into my classroom!

Interactive Spreadsheet

Making the interactive spreadsheet was probably not my favorite activity of the semester. I can see a spreadsheet's use in keeping grades or attendance, for instance, but not for this kind of activity. I feel like there are more interactive and engaging tools to use for students that would accomplish the same thing. Still, it is nice to know how to use it if I ever need it.

Storybird

Storybird was a new site that I have never used before today. I think it would be great, especially in elementary grades, to write class stories, give students practice books at home, as diversification for reading in the classroom, or as a project for individuals or groups. It is fairly easy to use and seems simple enough that students could do it with little assistance. There are so many options for pictures to use and they can give you some great ideas when coming up with your own stories. I can see myself using this one for sure!

Animoto

Animoto was a really neat video/slideshow site that lets you add music and text to your pictures with different graphics. I thought it was kind of limiting, but still a simple tool that would be great to introduce lessons to a class, remember class fieldtrips, or for a short 30 sec presentation. I did not like that the video took so long to load (one of mine never did). Otherwise, I think it'll be a very useful tool!

Google Forms

I haven't used Google Forms before this class, but it was very simple to put together, has lots of templates to use, and many options to arrange your questions into. I thought it was very user-friendly and something that would be a good idea to use as a ticket-out-the-door, a get-to-know-you activity, or some kind of assessment. There seem to be lots of different ways of going about integrating this into the classroom and I think it would be a great idea to do so!

Inspiration

Inspiration seems like a great tool for the classroom. There are lots of easy to use tools to customize many graphic organizers. I like getting the opportunity to learn how to use it and add in the practice of matching the web to Tennessee standards.

PodBean

PodBean seems like a really interesting way to introduce concepts or skills to students before they come to class. It also might be useful as an assessment tool, project presentations, introductions to a WebQuest, or differentiated instruction. Another thing that PodBean could be useful for includes having a story read aloud on a podcast that students could use to read along with or to post directions for students who are out sick. It seems like a pretty simple tool to use, especially having an iPhone that can record and upload the recording easily. I like that it can be as short or long as you want it to be and can be made private. I'd have to get used to using it as a tool for the classroom, but I think it could be very useful!

Scavenger Hunt!

Doing the scavenger hunt was so much fun! We found some interesting and creative things to use for our ABC slideshow. It also gave me some great ideas for things I could make into a slideshow for my classroom. Luckily, we didn't run into any problems with the photography, uploading, or making the slideshow with Google Presentations!

Fall In Tennessee

I picked Fall in Tennessee as the theme for my digital slideshow. I found pictures from Photobucket, a website with a screenshot, Google images, and a picture from my parents' house in Lenoir City. Making the slideshow and uploading it to Blogger was really easy and I can see how I could use similar things in my classroom in the future.

Picnik & Smilebox

Chelsie and I did Picnik for our Web 2.0 presentation. I've used it before, but hadn't thought of ways to use it in the classroom until doing this project. Letting students make post cards with images they find or providing the images they can use is a good way to use the site. I like that it is so easy to use and students could play around on it with ease.

Smilebox is one of my favorite presentations I've seen so far. I had never been on the site, so I was excited to see what it had to offer... I was not disappointed! There are so many cool layouts and templates to use for virtually everything. The fact that I can add photos and videos is also helpful, and the music is cute, too. I didn't like that some of the main words in the template can't be edited, but with so many options, I'm sure I could find something to fit into what I'm looking for.

Wordle & Timetoast- More Tools for Teachers

I really liked the presentation on Wordle. It was very informative and gave some good ideas I hadn't thought of to use it in a classroom. Pasting in the Constitution to see the common words or ideas from the form and printing it out to post in the classroom is a great way to use word clouds. Getting to know your students by letting them create one about themselves or creating one with the favorite colors or food in your classroom are also interesting ideas. It is unfortunate that you cannot create an account to save Wordles without sharing them publicly, and you won't be able to edit past Wordles. It is also a downside that you cannot pick the layout like you can on some more efficient sites like Tagxedo and WordSift. But all in all, the site is very easy to use, straightforward with instructions, and a good tool to have for some interesting word clouds in the classroom.

Timetoast seemed like a great Web 2.0 tool to use in the classroom. Chronological order is an important skill that students need to learn. Being able to insert pictures, links, and a description adds to the events that are being entered on the timeline. Social studies would obviously be a great way to use this tool. Some of the criticisms that were brought up included not being able to add video like other site can, not being able to enter 2 digit years, and more than one entry is made in a year, they will all show up when you scroll over that year. However, I feel like that pros outweigh the cons for this site and there are tons of uses in the classroom.

Delicious & Glogster - Tools for Teachers

There are some websites I've heard of but have never tried to mess around with. Delicious is one of them. I knew it had something to do with links, but that's where my knowledge ended. The presentation tonight was helpful, going a little more in depth and explaining what can be done with Delicious, for personal use as well as in the classroom. Saving links and making stacks seems like it would be a great way to organize the thousands of websites that are out there and make it easier to remember the ones I want to use in the classroom. Since I can search the links by tags, it's a quick and easy way to find what I'm looking for.
I think Delicious is something I will use in the future. There are always times when I wish I had my bookmarks with me from my personal computer, and Delicious keeps them all there for me.

Glogster was really interesting to me. I love the designs you can add to make a blog full of audio, video, and pictures that is more interesting than simple letters on a wiki page. I can see how letting students use this site could be time consuming because there are SO many options to go through and add. Then again, I can see myself spending more time than necessary on the site. However, I still think it's a great tool that would be useful in the classroom. I can't wait to play around with it some more and see how I can incorporate it in the classroom!

Chocolate Chip Cookies: To Eat or Not to Eat http://collier.k12.fl.us/weblessons/cookiewq/index.htm

This interactive webquest allows students to work in teams of scientists and researchers. Each group has a separate location in the "process" section of the site that takes them to their respective tasks. It is an excellent way for students to explore what is good about different brands of chocolate chip cookies, and why they can be bad for you, having them look up the history, ingredients, how much fat is okay to have, etc. In pairs, teams will make a presentation board to show the class their findings. A digital KWL chart, issue reports, idea/data/experiment worksheets, and other sheets allow students to record their findings using technology.

I thought that it was a great webquest. It wasn't too complicated or too simple, gave members different tasks to accomplish, but incorporated group work, and was very interactive. I would definitely use this particular one in a classroom!

Useful Evaluations

The Website Evaluation Wizard from 21st Century Information Fluency lets you enter the URL of the site, then is split into eight specifics that you should look for when evaluating a website: author, publisher, objectivity, links from, date, accuracy, evidence, and links to. For each specific category, there are two to four questions to consider when evaluating the site. There are also tutorials under each category that can help you find certain parts of the website.

The site is more geared toward adults. The layout is clear and organized, but very plain and the questions related to the categories are specific but may require a little digging around the site. It is extremely user friendly, allowing you to take notes on each area and save them with the URL and title of the site.

A to Z Teacher Stuff - Resources for Teachers

The website I reviewed, A to Z Teacher Stuff, featured lesson plans, thematic units, tips for teachers, materials for free and for purchase, and teacher forums. I thought the site could be a great resource for teachers that need some different ideas that they hadn't thought of. The tips for teachers had a lot of great ideas like how to get organized before the year starts, ways to do lunch count, ice breakers, and even tips for student teachers and cooperative teachers. Each idea has a link to another website that features that specific idea for lesson plans, units, etc. There was no author and no way to contact the person in charge of the site, which is a drawback, but all in all, had some good ideas.

By doing the website evaluation, I found there are a lot of things that can be overlooked when searching for a good website. Knowing where the information comes from is important if you want to know that it's a good website and paying attention the authors and publishers is something I had never really thought to do. This exercise reminded me that those things are necessary to remember when looking for a legitimate site and will help me to keep that in mind in the future when looking for resources or sites for students.

Wikis

I've used Wikis here and there in different classes here and UT. But getting to play around with it a little more, it is easy to use, pretty straight forward, and a tool that I feel could be something useful in the classroom. Whether students use it for assignments or reviewing or parents use it for who is supplying what for the class, it could be handy to have a place that members of the classroom community could collaborate.

Looking Forward

I love technology, using computers, and learning new things that I can do with the information I have. This class is something I was really excited about coming into. The fact that we're using Macs makes it even better (I love mine!). I'm looking forward to trying new things in this class, such as blogging. Blogging is completely new to me. I've never done it, for a class or otherwise, but am excited to see how it works and how I can continue to use it. I've used Wikis in a couple of classes, but never really got into it. I think it'll be a great way to collaborate and share information.  The other assignments and projects seem like they will be really beneficial and give me some great ideas that I can take with me into my classroom.

Because I plan to be an elementary school teacher (hopefully someday in the near future) it's a great time to expand my knowledge about technology. The students that I'll have in my classroom won't know what it's like to not have technology as a part of their day, so I think it's important to incorporate it in a meaningful way as much as possible.

My goal for this class is simple: Take in as much information as I can and use it to make my classroom and fun and engaging learning environment.

This & That About Kayla Yancey

I grew up in Lenoir City, TN in a very close knit family. I have three younger sisters and a younger brother and lived next door to my grandmother and aunt. I went to Lenoir City High School, cheered all four years, and was involved in peer tutoring, STAR (therapeutic riding academy), and volunteering at local elementary schools.  I also worked at an after-school and summer program, which helped me decide that I wanted to become a teacher. I love being around children and helping them to experience and learn new things. I am finishing up my last 17 hours of undergraduate and taking 3 graduate classes this year. I'm very excited about finishing my undergraduate and even more excited about interning in Knox County next year. I love reading just about anything. My boyfriend is a personal trainer/strength coach, so I end up working out several times a week with him. When I'm not at school, I'm usually working at Macaroni Grill.