Final Course Reflection

Hi everyone! Here are my final thoughts on EDUC 584. As you can see, I used Voki and really had some fun with it! I wish I could spend my summer at the beach, but I'll be starting a Summer Session I course in just a couple of weeks, then right after that a Summer Session II course, so I'll be pretty busy over the next couple of months. I only have four classes left, so I'm sure I'll see some of you over the next year! Until then, relax and have some fun!

Literacy Project

I was away for our April 12th class, so I had a lot of catching up to do. I had an idea in mind for my literacy project, but hadn't yet begun it. During our April 19th class we had the chance to play around with Weebly, which I liked at first and thought I would use as the platform for my project (I was in awe of all the background options). I started typing in some of the research I had done on my project (fairy tales for second grade) during class, but then when I got home I realized it wasn't as easy to work in as Blogger is. I had trouble linking to other websites, formatting pictures, and so on. So, I created a new blog--Lisa's Fairy Tales Blog--and transferred all of my information on fairy tales to it. I like this platform much better, probably because I'm so much more familiar and comfortable in Blogger because of this blog.

I can definitely do a lot more with the fairy tales blog, but I'm feeling stressed out that I haven't finished the entire project yet. I included four fairy tales for students to read/have read to them through a cool site I stumbled on called "Speakaboo" (I shared it through Diigo). I didn't realize there is a subscription attached because the stories I listened to were provided. I'm guessing the first few are free as demos. I provided links to related sites as well as collaborative activities. I still need to complete the lesson plan in the preferred template, add a rubric, and get reaction from students (actual second graders or from our class). I also came across some great activities to use on a SMART Board (fairy tales Jeopardy!, a vortex game with "Real" vs. "Fantasy," a fun concentration game, etc.), but I have no idea if I can cross-link smart notebook activities in a blog or how to get that information across on this platform. If I was doing this unit with a class, I would simply put the activities up. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

From fairytalesforsecondgraders.blogspot.com
Image credit: Google Images

Using Google Reader

I love using Google Reader to read classmates' blogs; it makes everything much easier to access. Before I felt comfortable using Google Reader I would fall back on the Google Doc from our very first class where we all had to create a blog and put our URL and name in the table. I went back to that document over and over again until I realized there was an easier way (there usually is, isn't there?). I finally discovered what everyone else already knew--that I can see at a glance what everyone is up to (and how far behind I am compared to my colleagues!). Once I started using Google Reader my life got a little easier. I try to keep up with everyone's blog, but I especially admire Brianna for creating a separate blog about cooking (click the link for this week's tasty recipe for Cheeseburger Egg Rolls). I try to follow that one, too. I also follow a high school friend's blog that I saw on Facebook: Tom Boutell's Innards.

Digital Story - Let's Learn About Time! A Guide to Learning How to Tell Time

Okay, at long last I've finally completed my digital story in Photo Story 3 for Windows called "Let's Learn About Time! A Guide to Learning How to Tell Time." I uploaded it to Google Docs in the .wmv format (sorry; I forgot that the Photo Story file couldn't be viewed on Macs). I also finally figured out how to upload it to You Tube:


The story will work best with grades K - 2. It can be used to help young children understand the concepts of time to the hour and the daily routines of their week. This was quite a challenging project for me--it took me a while to figure out the narration and music selections, but I think it came out pretty well. Please feel free to post your comments once it actually loads; I look forward to your feedback!

Voice Thread

Our class was fortunate enough to experience first hand the voice thread tool a couple of weeks ago. As I was browsing through the site I found a really good example of not only utilizing that particular technology but also a tutorial for high school students on blogging. How fortuitous--a two-fer! Check it out:



I think this could certainly be used to introduce kids to voice thread as well as help them get their feet wet with blogging. I love it!

SlideShare

Take a look at the fun Flat Stanley presentation I found in SlideShare:

Flat Stanley

View more PowerPoint from irishlassie7

My family is taking a vacation to Florida in the next couple of weeks to visit my in-laws, so this particular Flat Stanley adventure really caught my eye. I think it would be fun to use with kids, and SlideShare is easily accessible and a cinch to use.

Google Reader

Good news! At long last (now that our class is about half over) I have finally figured out how to use and access Google Reader! I'm not sure why it didn't click the first class--or any subsequent classes--until recently. I couldn't figure out how to share my digital storyboard, so I did mine in PowerPoint instead. It wasn't until last week's virtual class where I had to figure it out for the assignment that the light bulb finally went off. Check out Megan's most recent blog post here where she talks about the importance of letting kids use trial and error to figure out how to do something new. That's exactly what I had to do before it sunk in. My dad used to say, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Well, look at that, Dad, this old dog has learned plenty of new tricks!




Image credit: Google images: kristinelowe.blogs.com