One More Thing

On my first post I said I would share a picture of the Grand Canyon if I learned how to do it.  Here is a picture of the bottom of the Grand Canyon at Lees Ferry.

One Last Thing

Thank You!  When I signed up for this as a favor for a friend, I thought, " Why not?  I need to update myself on some computer info."  Ha! If I had only known ( maybe not because then I may have not signed up).  When I saw the 23 list of things I began to wonder what I had signed up for.  At the beginning, I thought about dropping out, more because I would get frustrated with myself when things didn't work out. But I am not a quitter.   I thought that there should have been more help available.  BUT then I would tell myself, this is by design...it is so I can begin to explore what is available to me.  Slowly, I did begin to do that and I realized something at the end.  I wrote about in the beginning how I was afraid to push any buttons because I did not know what would happen.  I found out through this class that it is through pushing those buttons that I am learning.  Much like in life, by pushing ourselves we begin to open our minds more.  While it was frustrating and brain overload at times, I do think this class is well worth taking and set up well.  You have given me a wealth of information and I am looking forward to implementing some of these techniques when school starts. I have taken wiki classes before but in short demonstrations and I walked away more confused than when I walked in.  I feel like I know what I am doing now, or at least enough, to get started...which is always the first step.  I may turn my blog into a travel blog now and share my travels with friends & families.  So...one last thing...the Adventures are only beginning.

Thing #19

I was not familiar with Voicethread and I left it for last because I thought I was going to need a lot of time to understand it.  The introduction videos really helped to explain what Voicethread  is and how it can be used.  When exploring the videos I can see how useful it would be in the classroom as a feedback tool.  Students can submit their critiques & thoughts on a variety of topics.  I also liked the A to Z book made by the kindergarten class.  That is a good introduction into computer literacy for little ones.  I can see how this would also be a good discussion thread for required English readings.  I also think this could be used in ESL classes.  You could post different pictures and have students interpret the pictures.

Thing #18

Thing #17

I had no idea what podcasting was  and was a little afraid of it.  My nephew is a techie and works in the film industry so he tries to explain all this to us every Christmas.  After listening to the podcasts I understand what they are now.  I listened to Tech Teachers, Radio Willowweb, Why? The Science show for Kids Podcast and Dansmathcast.  I preferred the latter two.  I thought the science podcast was interesting because he takes the children's questions and then answers them.  His voice is a bit animated so I thought it would keep the children engaged.  Dansmathcast had a video which I think would help students in understanding math computations & vocabulary a little better.  I don't know how I would use podcasting in the counseling center but I think it is a wonderful tool in the classroom.

Thing #23

Browsing through Classroom 2.0 on Ning was almost like attending a conference.  There were so many subject areas to browse through I didn't know which one not to pick.  I started in the forums and read through some of the comments.  I noticed they have hosts that will offer suggestions.  I also read through some blogs but soon realized there were numerous pages so I read a few on several pages.  One was from a biology teacher from Lake Jackson.  It appeared she had taken her students on a field trip.  She used Animoto to make a slideshow.  I also found a video on Voicethread.  I have still not done #19 so I watched it for more information.  Watching the video helped me not be too afraid of approaching it now.  I certainly was not aware of how much was on this site. I did not join but will consider joining later because I do think this is an excellent resource.

Thing #15

Delicious was not a very appetizing activity for me.  I had a very difficult time logging in and getting the tabs to show ( bookmarks & extension buttons).  I think I finally got it but I didn't know how much of this is how my husband has the computer set up.  I am reluctant about some stuff but he is 10 times worse.  Suffice it to say that I have had to enable cookies and allow restrictions to be lifted just so I can download everything for the class.  I did find the site useful and can see where it could really be an efficient way to find career & educational information when advising students.