Thing 23

I have covered a ton of material on this journey and I can say that I am overwhelmed! I know that I need to spend a lot more time on this stuff and I look forward to doing so in the summer. I have some really good ideas that I want to implement for next year. I know that all of the stuff that I have learned about is tools that are going to help me become a better teacher. I think that it is important for us to incorporate technology as much as possble because that is what our students are all about! I plan to spend the summer checking more things out. There are definitely some things that I like more than others. I think the key here is staying organzied and that is going to take time! I am taking lots of new ideas from this experience. I had no idea that some of this stuff existed! I love the blog and I would like to create one for my class next year. I also love reading other blogs about ideas for teaching and the classroom. There are so many great ideas out there...just have to do the leg work!!!

Thing 22

My link is mmlane03@wikispaces.com I think that using a Wiki would be good for huge projects. However, I seem to still only like the idea of a blog. I think that I just need to spend some more time checking things out. I hardly know anything about what having a Wiki entails and I am sure that they can be pretty awesome! I didn't even know what one was until now! So I am learning TONS of stuff! I am not really sure of the exact differences between the Wiki and a blog, but the blog seems more personal where you can just post a comment and others can respond. A Wiki seems more formal, like maybe for a bigger project like a whole paper or something where others can go in and makes changes. I am not so sure. I need more time with this!!!

Thing 21

Well, I am not so sure about these Wikis. I think that I need to play around more and find some better ones that interest me. I liked Mr. Armstrong's US History Wiki that I found under the Educational Wikis link. I thought his wiki was interesting (and cool) because it was his class website. I like how he had things posted like the study guides and worksheets. He also had a way that students could hand stuff in. Interesting. Like I mentioned above, I need to spend more time looking around. I don't think that I would use a Wiki because I like the idea of a blog. It's so hard for me to keep all this stuff straight!

Thing 20

I was not having a ton of luck finding podcasts in the area of Language arts. I did subscribe to the CNN News and I like that. I could use it in my classroom while working with thinking about non fiction and writing. As I mentioned before, I liked itunes the best and I found it to be easiest. I actually did not have any idea that itunes offered podcasts and I look forward to checking it out on a regular basis to see what they have to offer.

Thing 19

I think that the podcasts were interesting. I have watched some of Mike Flanigans Podcasts about education. I was not super impressed with the topics but I did not spend a ton of time investigating. I do know of teachers that use the CNN podcast and I did think that could be used in the classroom. I liked it and I think the kids would too! I had problems with some of the programs needed to run the pocasts except when I used itunes. I found that to be the easiest plus I also have prior knowledge with itunes. At this point, there are some internet safety podcasts that I might use in the classroom but that is really all I found. I use the laptops almost daily and I think the students can ALWAYS use some reinforcement when it comes to being safe and making safe choices.

Thing 18

What Is A Folktale

View more PowerPoint from skhill

What great presentations on that site! I never knew that anything like that existed.  I really like the presentation that I found because it could be something that I would use in my classroom.  Teaching about Folktales can be difficult and often confusing for the students.  This presentation, I think, does a good just of highlighting the important information and leads the students right through the process of writing their own.  I also like that they gave some examples of good ones the students could find and read.  I would difinitely use this is my classroom and I am sure there are many more that would be great!

Thing 17

I looked at Flashcarddb and I liked it!  I know that flashcards are an invaluable tool that many kids kind of have forgotten about!  This kind of puts a new spin on it and incorporates technology.  So, maybe they will really like using it because of it being on a computer and kind of "forget" they are studying or doing homework.  I would have loved to use this when I taught 3rd and 4th grade!  There are so many different subject areas that you can use flashcards with!  I am definitely going to show my students and keep this sight bookmarked for myself in the future when my own kids start school.  Great idea and it seems fairly easy to use as far as I can see.