Creating a Website

One of our big projects this semester was to create a classroom website that will be useful to us in the coming years. To do this, we used Google's free website tool. I did enjoy this process because I like to be creative. However, the tool only let me go so far with customization. I suppose this can be expected with a free tool. I was very exciting about creating something that will be useful to me in the future, and a classroom website is definitely something I wanted to have anyway. My classroom website will be used as a tool to help parents stay up-to-date and provide them and students with useful references. Overall, I am happy with how my site turned out. I think it is visually appealing and useful. Next time I work with creating a website, I would like to be able to be more creative with my layouts and custom details. I found a cool site called moonfruit.com that also allows you to create free sites. The customization it allows is much more than Google, and it also lets you have a blog right on the site. Parents can also sign up their emails to notify them about updates. I have only started creating a site there, but I plan to try to develop one.

Here is a link to my site.
Here is a screen shot of the site I created using Google sites:

StoryBird

StoryBird allows you to create your own stories using their collection of artwork. This is a screen shot of the cover of the short story I create for practice. Teachers can use this tool to create any type of story, which can be used electronically and read to the children or printed off to create a physical book. I think this is a fun tool, but I had some trouble with it. I found it hard to search for pictures that fit the topic you are looking for, and I wish that we were not limited to their images only. It would be useful to be able to upload my own images. On the other hand, it was easy to assemble the story once I found images to use. It was very quick, which would be useful for a teacher balancing activities. I think I would use this in my classroom to create stories to read to my class, and display it using an overhead. Next time, I will try to create a story with more in depth text and more pages.

iMovie

I created this video as a mini-tour of Cades Cove (a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

iMovie is a tool that you can use to piece together photos, videos, sound, and other elements to create videos. Videos are great additions to standard curriculum, which can draw the interest of your students. I decided to create a mini-tour of Cades Cove, a part of the Great Smoky Mountains. This can be used as a virtual field trip that shows the highlights of Cades Cove. This video would be a great supplement to environmental lessons, sections about national parks, or any other nature and wildlife lessons. One other way I might use a video in my classroom is for an ABCs video. This could include slides for each letter with images that relate to that letter. I really did enjoy the process of creating my first video. I didn't know that it would be so easy as it was. I do wish I had used more than one sound clip, which I will try next time. I also think it would be interesting to narrate the slide I had text on. It would be useful for younger kids, who may have a hard time reading quickly. So that it something to try in the future.

Excel Spreadsheets

We are currently learning how to use Excel spreadsheets to make interactive worksheets for kids. Excel is a tool made by Microsoft that is used to create spreadsheets for a variety of purposes. For teachers, the spreadsheets can create interactive worksheets. The students can enter their answers electronically and the computer can check the answers automatically. This is a great time saver for teachers. I would most often use this tool to practice math questions because they have cut and dry single answers. I did enjoy my final product, but it took awhile to create the worksheet. I'm sure it would be more useful when I become more familiar with the process. Next time I create a worksheet, I think I will try using math questions.

This is an example of what the children would see:

This is a view of what I see when working on the spreadsheet (includes correct answers and scores):

Inspired by Inspiration

Last week we learned about Inspiration. Inspiration is a tool that enables you to design your own diagrams to supplement classroom topics. You can create a diagram of any topic and customize it to your needs with organization, colors, fonts, etc. I created a diagram of the Life Cycle of a Butterfly, which meets the curriculum standard of GLE 0207.4.1 for second grade. I found Inspiration fun and interesting to use because I was able to make what I wanted from scratch and really customize it. I could make it look like I wanted it to and focus on material I wanted to focus on at the same time. One thing I found difficult was making the arrows for my life cycle. My instructor, Don, and I were unable to find a way to rotate images and/or arrows. Therefore I did not have arrows that fit into my cycle correctly. I had to use arrows from Word Documents and work on them in Photoshop before they were usable. I think it would be a great idea to make diagrams with empty "symbols" attached to the main ideas, so that I can print them and let the children fill them out. Diagrams and flow charts really help children to organize concepts and comprehend the content. I would definitely use Inspiration for this use in my classroom. Next time I would like to try making a web diagram instead of a cycle.


This is the diagram I made using Inspiration:

PodBean

Scavenger Hunt: "Opposites"

We split into groups to go on a scavenger hunt! My group had the theme "opposites". Scavenger hunts are such a great way to get students involved in learning and moving around! I enjoyed the time out of the classroom and the chance to work together in groups. We didn't really get the best photos, so next time I would work harder to get nice photos. I think I would use scavenger hunts in my classroom to supplement any themed topics like colors, opposites, shapes, nature, leaves/plants, etc. It's interesting to the kids because they can get involved in the experience. It also builds team skills, since the children will have to work together.

This is a slideshow that I created using Picasa.



This slideshow was created using a different tool, Google Presentations.

Smilebox

This is a collage I created using Smilebox.

Collage created with Smilebox

Delicious

Delicious is an online tool that allows you to view your favorite websites from any computer. Delicious is a great resource for teachers because you can access things in the classroom that you found while working at home. I really enjoyed using Delicious because it also helped me find other useful sites by sorting through other users' favorites. I can access the same things at school as I have at home. I also have used it on my phone. I did find, however, that I have not been using it quite as much as would be useful. I just do not think about it enough. I think for future use I will download the Delicious button to my browser so I can just click to add favorites. This will help me use it more. When I have a classroom, I will use this tool to save websites I want to use for certain lessons, so that I can easily pull them up when I get to school. The day can go by so quickly that it would really help to have these links in one location.

This is an example of what a favorites list on Delicious looks like:

Picnik

This is a collage of my husband and me that I created using Picnik. This is a free internet tool that enables you to create various collages and photo art projects. I linked with Facebook, and it transferred all my photo albums for me to use.

Glogster

Glogster is a tool that enables you to create collages using a variety of things including pictures and links.

TimeToast

This is my personal timeline I created using TimeToast.

Interact with my timeline here.

Wordle

I created this image using Wordle. Wordle is a unique and fun tool that enables you to make word collages like these with the click of a mouse. Your collage can contain any words and topics you have in mind. You can enter in the words you want to use yourself, or you can select a blog that you would like it to pull words from. I really enjoyed learning how to use this tool. I have seen these collages before but I never knew how to make them. I created the above collage from my photography blog. I think it will be useful when I advertise my business and products on Facebook and other places. I think when I do this again, I will enter in my own words so I don't have to delete a lot that don't make sense. When I have a classroom, I think I might use this as a "get to know each other" tool. I would let each kid enter in their name and words that describe them, each creating a unique "about me" wordle to share with the class.

Wonderful Wikis

The first week of class, we learned about Wikis and have been them using them rather extensively ever since. Wikis are free websites that can be created and edited by anyone. They can be made with an unlimited number of interconnected pages. I enjoyed being able to create my own space from scratch. I learned how to create links and take a screen shot picture to use on my Wiki pages. I think these are really useful skills. Next time I create a Wiki, I will try to add more aesthetic appeal and interest to it. After working with Wikis some, I wondered just how useful they might actually be to use with Elementary school kids. I could create a Wiki page for each letter of the alphabet, which might include pictures and words that relate to that letter. Kids can use this learn about the alphabet and how it relates to real words and items. In my classroom, I would probably use Wikis to add supplemental pictures and items about current topics we are studying. I plan to work with young children, so I think they would mostly have to just view pages and not actually make their own or edit them.

I thought of another idea I might use in a classroom. I thought I could make a generic account which all parents can access. On this Wiki I could create a classroom needs list and add items as my class needs them. Parents could delete items they plan to get, so I do not end up with duplicates. I'm not exactly sure this would work smoothly, but I thought it was a fun idea.

Website Evaluations

Last week we browsed the web for a site to evaluate. Websites must be thoroughly evaluated before they can be used within a school setting. I really thought some of the evaluative topics were irrelevant to my site because I chose a game website. To me, it really shouldn't matter who the author and publisher are as long as the games are fun, educational, and easy to use. I do think, however, it is important to evaluate websites used for information and referencing. You want your children to be viewing the correct information at all times. I believe website evaluations of some sort should be done with all sites before letting children access them in the classroom, just on a varying scale for different types of websites.

In my classroom, I think I would be sure to use website evaluations to ensure that my students are accessing safe and valid websites at all times. When I use this tool in the future, I think I would be less focused on some aspects of the process (like publisher, contact info, etc).



The website I found was ABCya.com. It has all sorts of games for grade K-5. The games are easily accessed by each grade level, so you can target important skills at each child's learning level. The games help teach skills such as math and language arts. I would definitely use this in my classroom as a fun supplement to instruction.

The Journey Begins

I guess I would consider myself somewhat tech savvy, but I certainly know I don't know how to use all that computers and the internet have to offer. I am currently enrolled in TPTE 486 at UTK, which is designed to teach me about technology and use it to teach my students in the future. I am excited to learn new things that I will be able to use to make learning easier and more enjoyable for kids. The skills I acquire should also prove useful in other aspects of life. I already have another blog that I use for my photography. I am hoping that I will learn ways to make that blog better as well. Today we signed up for DropBox, an internet resource that stores personal files which can then be accessed on an computer. I am excited for the next several weeks and what they have in store.