I thought first I would review the SpanishPod to see what it was like. Not bad for an online option. Some information is too skimpy and too informal. It does offer dialogue, exercises, some cultural issues, false cognates and more. I still prefer attending a class like for French, the Alliance Francais.
For books, I was disappointed that the following did not make it. My daughter thinks it is a very good site.
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
This is what she wrote me, "The goal of project Gutenberg is to make available all books that haveentered the public domain. The start of the project was typing in theUS Declaration of Independence, and now includes such works as Beowulf, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Mark Twain, Jane Eyre,Oscar Wilde, Grimm's fairy tales, The Count of Monte Christo, and non-fiction works including Charles Darwin and Einstein. They are also working on archiving works in languages besides English, andarchiving video and sounds files.
Instead of SpanishPod, I have decided to revisit Picasa to check some of their "new" (to me) features. I created a slideshow of some of my favorite vacation pictures to imbed here. Some of it reminds me of the year we watched Lance Armstrong win his last Tour de France and then retire.
I like the many features Picasa offers. If I had all the time in the world, I would spend days becoming an expert Picasa user. I like the feature of saving to the web and creating a link for friends to view. Makes a much smaller email.
Other features?
-- Slideshows and movies
-- Star picture for visual stand out
-- Keep one picture in multiple albums
-- Add password to any Picasa collection
-- Edit
..crop, remove red eye, fix contrast & color, enhance digital picture,
..Go sepia, black&white or color, zoom & move focus, share (resize & attach),
-- post slideshow to own blog or multiple photos,
-- works with newest compact flash devices,
-- print at home or from an online company, burn CD/DVD for archive,
-- turn photos into movie clips,
-- make personalized desktop picture or screensave or screensaver rotation,
-- create a poster
-- make collages
I can see the students chronicling steps in a science experiment with pictures and then posting it in our class blog. This would make for a great project and many learning styles (visual, tactile, written....) and the incorporating of technology in our class material.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thing # 18 - Online Productivity Tools
Word, Power Point, Excel from Microsoft are all good tools. Like any tool, it takes time and practice to get used to the way things are done. It is frustrating not remembering how to do something you have done in the past because you don't do it often enough. This is how it is with any application. Since the Microsoft suite is not free, one is looking at spending close to a couple of hundred dollars for each one application. Just checked at http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=office&x=0&y=0
I am pretty much a Microsoft Office person and like creatures of habit, will probably continue to use it. It is the software installed in the district computers. My daughter, however, is constantly evaluating and experimenting with what is out there. As a computer engineer, she has a very inquisitive and open mind. She shared some of her insights for Open Office and Google Docs with me. So I am also sharing the information here.
Note that I was unable to download the free tools under my id. Don't know if it is already part of our software package, but do not want to take the chance of intalling under admn id like I did with GoogleEarth, then found it in web apps, deinstalled the downloaded version and lost both.
The greatest advantage of Open Office is that it is free. A disadvantage is that most everyone in the corporate environment is probably using and saving their documents as Microsoft type files. But this is not a great problem as Open Office provides the ability to save them as Microsoft files. Even users of the MS software encounter inability to open and read documents from other people with an older version. It happens to my husband when his college students turn in reports and he has to request they resend them as .rtf. Also, one would have to get used to different menus and names for some things, but pretty much everything one can do in Microsoft Office can be done in open office.
Google Docs does not have as many features as Open Office or MicrosoftOffice, but the features it has are probably all that is needed by 95%of the population. Additionally, because it is online you can access it from anywhere you have an internet connection. If you know you won't have an internet connection where you are going, you can download the file to your computer and take it with you. If you need to make a power point presentation but the computer you're using doesn't have the correct software installed on it, as long as you havea web browser you can still show your presentation. Additionally, if you have a document that multiple people need to work on, the web-based nature of it allows for easy collaboration. Much like Open Office, Google Docs is constantly evolving, adding new features, and completely free. Disadvantages of Google Docs? Some people are concerned about privacy. Your document is stored on Google's servers and presumably some stranger could figure out your password or hack the system and delete all your stuff or (if you keep sensitive information out there) steal your stuff. Don't put sensitive information out there and keep back ups on your computer if it is something you don't want to lose.
I am pretty much a Microsoft Office person and like creatures of habit, will probably continue to use it. It is the software installed in the district computers. My daughter, however, is constantly evaluating and experimenting with what is out there. As a computer engineer, she has a very inquisitive and open mind. She shared some of her insights for Open Office and Google Docs with me. So I am also sharing the information here.
Note that I was unable to download the free tools under my id. Don't know if it is already part of our software package, but do not want to take the chance of intalling under admn id like I did with GoogleEarth, then found it in web apps, deinstalled the downloaded version and lost both.
The greatest advantage of Open Office is that it is free. A disadvantage is that most everyone in the corporate environment is probably using and saving their documents as Microsoft type files. But this is not a great problem as Open Office provides the ability to save them as Microsoft files. Even users of the MS software encounter inability to open and read documents from other people with an older version. It happens to my husband when his college students turn in reports and he has to request they resend them as .rtf. Also, one would have to get used to different menus and names for some things, but pretty much everything one can do in Microsoft Office can be done in open office.
Google Docs does not have as many features as Open Office or MicrosoftOffice, but the features it has are probably all that is needed by 95%of the population. Additionally, because it is online you can access it from anywhere you have an internet connection. If you know you won't have an internet connection where you are going, you can download the file to your computer and take it with you. If you need to make a power point presentation but the computer you're using doesn't have the correct software installed on it, as long as you havea web browser you can still show your presentation. Additionally, if you have a document that multiple people need to work on, the web-based nature of it allows for easy collaboration. Much like Open Office, Google Docs is constantly evolving, adding new features, and completely free. Disadvantages of Google Docs? Some people are concerned about privacy. Your document is stored on Google's servers and presumably some stranger could figure out your password or hack the system and delete all your stuff or (if you keep sensitive information out there) steal your stuff. Don't put sensitive information out there and keep back ups on your computer if it is something you don't want to lose.
Thing # 17 - Rollyo
I found setting my searchroll quick and easy:
.
There are so many search engines and different ways to add and get to the url's. Again, my qualm is coming up with a descriptive enough title of 20 or less characters and then, remembering what I called it.
As a chocolate lover (dark chocolate), I thought it would be interesting to see what I would pull up. Will probably find this one in one of those yummy patisseries in France next week and more. mmmmmm....... :)
As a chocolate lover (dark chocolate), I thought it would be interesting to see what I would pull up. Will probably find this one in one of those yummy patisseries in France next week and more. mmmmmm....... :)
photo source: flicker naoko123
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thing # 16 - Wikis
Wikipedia - the largest wiki with millions of entries. The things we can share and create when we have where to store it. And everyone can use it. Better yet, contribute to it. WOW!
It wasn't hard to get into the sandbox to add a comment. Having a wiki for lesson plans and group projects is definitely an improvement to the emails with reply to all. I can see updates being more synchronized as registered members get to see real time others comments. With emails, sometimes while you are sending a comment, others are in the process of doing the same and may or may not have seen prior emails re subject matter.
My one concern is the delete function and the possibility of others to easily delete ones well thought out contribution.
It wasn't hard to get into the sandbox to add a comment. Having a wiki for lesson plans and group projects is definitely an improvement to the emails with reply to all. I can see updates being more synchronized as registered members get to see real time others comments. With emails, sometimes while you are sending a comment, others are in the process of doing the same and may or may not have seen prior emails re subject matter.
My one concern is the delete function and the possibility of others to easily delete ones well thought out contribution.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thing # 15 - 2.0 and the Future of Libraries
Photo source (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewickie/347385304/)This talk of the evolution of the library as we know it, reminds me somewhat of a Star Trek episode. All information, or most, is retrieved from the computer. The computer even talks. Artificial intelligence is a done deal. The members of the ship can live an adventure without leaving the spaceship in this special room. Yes, I share the opinion of this section on library 2.0. The way we did business in the past is changing and needs to continue changing, books and libraries included.
Dr. Wendy Schultz article, To a temporary place in time, ( http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/6.htm ) was quite a sneak into the future. To this I add some questions. How far will we go? How fast will it be? What will we have to leave behind?
In Rick Anderson's Away from icebergs, ( http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm ) I can't think but that the 55% drop in circulation is because people spend more time on computers (surfing the web, playing video games, etc.) and much less time going outside to visit the library, play sport, walk, engage in face-to-face communication. Recent health news cover children lacking vitamin D (more bone fractures) and increased percentage in diabetes. Yes, there are libraries poorly equipped today, but won't learners that do fall outside the technology learning style, be poorly equipped for what is coming? And then we have the issue of accessibility, and power source, and newer technology.
I believe and agree that what is going on today is an extension of the same key principles that have been in place since the 19th century. Todays technology is making things possible that weren't possible before. It easier, better, more effective to improve and provide the services using state of the art technology and tools. It was is the same with the advent of the radio, the TV, the telegraph, the telephone, to name a few.
I still prefer to curl up with a good book. It is very difficult to do so with even the most streamlined laptop. Posture is important to view the screen. And then there is the issue of going back a few pages. Not as easy to flip back and forth with one computer screen. I get frustrated having to scroll up and down or in and out of articles and even get confused. But being able to browse a list of my books or books I have read...that is great! Being able to not only see the titles but the book cover online, priceless!
Library 2.0 is great. I like all the features it has made possible especially the communication to and from the users. I hope, though, that books will still be around in what is left of my lifetime and more. :)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Thing # 14 - Technorati and Tags
Tags? I thought I pretty much knew what this was all about after del.icio.us and an exercise in creating own electronic library list. Then comes Technorati.
I did a search on school library learning under blogs. Got 17 blogs. Used their search.technorati.com and came up with 1,777. I am not good at narrowing my search criteria or figuring out what someone would tag something as. I am sure I will get better as I use the product, talk about it, listen to other people's experience. But right now, I am way over my head.
So much technology...so fast...so soon. Need some time. Like oodles of it. In the programming industry where I worked for more than 2 decades before going into teaching, there was a stable environment. There were only a handful of computer languages used, the databases were hierarchical or relational. Online applications were mostly screens populated with data. The important thing was to use the tools in an efficient and effective manner to do business. I saw with graphical user interfaces the mushrooming of languages and applications. These came and went, versions after versions, and continuing today, new applications to do some of the same things, improve some processes, add functionality. Getting stuck is no fun unless you know others using the same tools. There is the old saying, "Use it, or lose it".
I did a search on school library learning under blogs. Got 17 blogs. Used their search.technorati.com and came up with 1,777. I am not good at narrowing my search criteria or figuring out what someone would tag something as. I am sure I will get better as I use the product, talk about it, listen to other people's experience. But right now, I am way over my head.
So much technology...so fast...so soon. Need some time. Like oodles of it. In the programming industry where I worked for more than 2 decades before going into teaching, there was a stable environment. There were only a handful of computer languages used, the databases were hierarchical or relational. Online applications were mostly screens populated with data. The important thing was to use the tools in an efficient and effective manner to do business. I saw with graphical user interfaces the mushrooming of languages and applications. These came and went, versions after versions, and continuing today, new applications to do some of the same things, improve some processes, add functionality. Getting stuck is no fun unless you know others using the same tools. There is the old saying, "Use it, or lose it".
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Thing # 13 - Tagging and Del.icio.us
Successfully setup my del.icio.us account and added my icons on the icon bar. Same name: FrAsianLat. Not much in it yet. I want to take my time so that it does not become just another unused list.
It is simply overwhelming the quantity of printed (books, articles, magazines) and electronic (videos, blogs, you name it) material out there. The professional books and articles being churned out, not to mention personal interest material, is mindboggling. Then there is the fact that there is only so many hours in a day, so many days in a week, weeks in a month, months in a year. I dislike what information overload does. I am trying to cultivate quality over quantity.
I like being able to tag information. I like the fact that I can use del.icio.us from any computer. Thank you Joshua Schachter* for tags. The list in my Favorites is already quite long. I like being able save part of the information in my description box. I still get confused with some of the terminology and get lost once I exit a topic. All these user ids and passwords.... Will have to navigate through and decide what will be of use to me.
Students can look at material by searching the tags and refining the search under del.icio.us. I know that for some it may be a daunting task at the beginning as it may be for me. But with practice, I think we will all benefit from the tool.
*Tagging was invented by programmer Joshua Schachter, who launched a Web site, Del.icio.us, pronounced "delicious," that uses tags to organize content - http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu_tagsjun14,0,3843733.story?page=2&coll=chi-business-hed
It is simply overwhelming the quantity of printed (books, articles, magazines) and electronic (videos, blogs, you name it) material out there. The professional books and articles being churned out, not to mention personal interest material, is mindboggling. Then there is the fact that there is only so many hours in a day, so many days in a week, weeks in a month, months in a year. I dislike what information overload does. I am trying to cultivate quality over quantity.
I like being able to tag information. I like the fact that I can use del.icio.us from any computer. Thank you Joshua Schachter* for tags. The list in my Favorites is already quite long. I like being able save part of the information in my description box. I still get confused with some of the terminology and get lost once I exit a topic. All these user ids and passwords.... Will have to navigate through and decide what will be of use to me.
Students can look at material by searching the tags and refining the search under del.icio.us. I know that for some it may be a daunting task at the beginning as it may be for me. But with practice, I think we will all benefit from the tool.
*Tagging was invented by programmer Joshua Schachter, who launched a Web site, Del.icio.us, pronounced "delicious," that uses tags to organize content - http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu_tagsjun14,0,3843733.story?page=2&coll=chi-business-hed
Monday, June 23, 2008
Thing # 12 - To comment or not to comment
What is the point of a blog if we receive no comments? Are we just writing to ourselves? These are the messages I kept getting from the various articles appearing under item #12. So I think that one of the most important point is that the blog is intended to create communication, knowledge transfer. Having grown up in a family of very private people, myself included, a blog is a drastic deviation from my norms. Can be stressful to publish to the "world". In time, maybe this phobia of having my identity stolen will subside.
Another point that is reiterated in the readings is that comments have to be meaningful and polite. Reminds me of people talking on the cell phone loudly in public places airing their personal problems, conversations, etc. as if the people around them were made of stone and could not hear. When commenting to a post, even if we disagree or want to share a different point of view, we need to share it in a responsible and polite manner. Refrain from commenting, if this will cause us to be rude.
I know someone in New York City working for a major financial institution and part of this person's responsibility is to surf for blogs on people they interview. I was told some of the candidates have actually not been hired because of their blog contents. Blogs are two-edge swords. We can reflect positively or negatively in them. Thus the importance of the Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting.
www.brownbaron.com/blog/2007/07/17/the-ten-commandments-of-blog-commenting/
Another point that is reiterated in the readings is that comments have to be meaningful and polite. Reminds me of people talking on the cell phone loudly in public places airing their personal problems, conversations, etc. as if the people around them were made of stone and could not hear. When commenting to a post, even if we disagree or want to share a different point of view, we need to share it in a responsible and polite manner. Refrain from commenting, if this will cause us to be rude.
I know someone in New York City working for a major financial institution and part of this person's responsibility is to surf for blogs on people they interview. I was told some of the candidates have actually not been hired because of their blog contents. Blogs are two-edge swords. We can reflect positively or negatively in them. Thus the importance of the Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting.
www.brownbaron.com/blog/2007/07/17/the-ten-commandments-of-blog-commenting/
Thing # 11 - LibraryThing
This is neat. It was very easy to input my books and choose the right one from search results. I can list my books and tag them to indicate what I have, need to read, liked, etc.
This tool will help me find books by my favorite authors and/or topics. I can see adding to my list, books that I don't have, but have read. I can create a tag that would indicate where I can get the book if I need to reference it (for instance, the teacher resource library at school). In the classroom, it will be of great help for me to quickly access material that I want to use for lesson planning.
This tool will help me find books by my favorite authors and/or topics. I can see adding to my list, books that I don't have, but have read. I can create a tag that would indicate where I can get the book if I need to reference it (for instance, the teacher resource library at school). In the classroom, it will be of great help for me to quickly access material that I want to use for lesson planning.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thing # 10 - Online Image Generator
It was fun picking out a cartoon to add my own words to. Tried to upload the
image, but kept getting upload error. So I cut and pasted the HTML code instead.
Not sure how to move it (center, right, left) using the code, though. www.txt2pic.com/comic-strip/
Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com
Yes! Discovered it is as easy as positioning cursor on the picture and right clicking to open a window to save it. This sure beats saving the HTML code. Used my own picture for this one. Can see it used for history/architecture subject. Very excited about trading cards possibilities in the classroom.
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php
I like this other image generator lots. It goes with the fortune cookies we so eagerly share when we eat Chinese.
http://confucius-says-it.txt2jpg.com
image, but kept getting upload error. So I cut and pasted the HTML code instead.
Not sure how to move it (center, right, left) using the code, though. www.txt2pic.com/comic-strip/
Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com
Yes! Discovered it is as easy as positioning cursor on the picture and right clicking to open a window to save it. This sure beats saving the HTML code. Used my own picture for this one. Can see it used for history/architecture subject. Very excited about trading cards possibilities in the classroom.
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.phpBut I am still anguishing over how not to have my latest image appear at the top of my blog. Only way I figured out to change the order, was to add the image (automatically appears at the top) and then go to the tab edit Html to then cut and paste the image code to the desired spot. Anyone out there has a different way? And while I am asking, how can I have my text appear around the picture (to the left, the right, left and right of the image? :) All it seems to allow is for before or after the image.
I like this other image generator lots. It goes with the fortune cookies we so eagerly share when we eat Chinese.
http://confucius-says-it.txt2jpg.comSaturday, June 21, 2008
Thing # 9 - related blogs and/or news feeds
The view of the Bassin d'Arcachon as the sun sets is beautiful.
The Col de Tourmalet viewed from the sky is spectacular. Still trying to figure out how to move pictures uploaded to the blog. Drag and drop doesn't seem to work. Anyone knows out there what to do?
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With all the tools available, it is easy to find out what is going on anywhere. Finding and listing them in the reader page makes it easier and faster to see and access.
.
I liked the way Topix comes up with all kinds of listings for the various areas one may be interested in. However, the list is so broad, that I spent far too much time delving into all kinds of interesting topics and before I knew it, hours had gone by.
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Google blog search was also too wide and I am not very good at coming up with "keywords" to narrow the topic in the right direction. Again, that may be something that comes with practice or maybe it is innate for those who live and breth this stuff.
.
I think I would like Technorati if I could relate the clicking of the folder tabs to the graphic in the box. I am still experimenting. Still confused. This may be due to being in the pre-GUI (graphical user interface) generation or just lack of practice. The free tools are always so cluttered with extraneous or just not directly related "stuff".
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Syndec8 led me to the site healthmadeeasy.com where I found all kinds of health information. Spent way too much time here. Could become addictive.
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I also found that if I look at other people's blog role, I can find sites of interest. Then comes the decision, how interested am I? I need to keep my life and reader page uncluttered. Maybe I will separate professional from personal. Still thinking....
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Don't understand why just doing twice does not skip a line. Had to actually put a period and again. So strange and annoying. grrrr....
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thing # 8 - link to reader page
I am not sure if just copying the URL that appears on the top of my page is good enough. But here it is.
http://www.google.com/reader/view/#overview-page
http://www.google.com/reader/view/#overview-page
Thing # 8 - RSS & Newsreaders
What is an RSS feed? I had never heard of it. "Really Simple Syndication" is what the google article for newbies said. So I continued reading and was delighted to set one up for myself.
Setting up my google reader was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I especially liked organizing my favorite sites by folders (and even some new ones) - news, sports , fun, blogs. Even Colbert made it in. This definitely saves time. And I don't have to keep a list of URLs to input at the top of my screen on the address line to launch them.
Listing the blogs I want to keep up with in one place is so convenient. I can see what is going on quickly and decide if I need to read further.
Then there is the plus factor of being able to pull up news clips. In social studies, current election issues; in science, articles on say new discoveries of plants and animals, new development in DNA mapping, or any other current research related to the class topic. All projected on the Activboard or used in a Flipchart.
Can't imagine not using my own customized RSS from hereon. :)
Setting up my google reader was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I especially liked organizing my favorite sites by folders (and even some new ones) - news, sports , fun, blogs. Even Colbert made it in. This definitely saves time. And I don't have to keep a list of URLs to input at the top of my screen on the address line to launch them.
Listing the blogs I want to keep up with in one place is so convenient. I can see what is going on quickly and decide if I need to read further.
Then there is the plus factor of being able to pull up news clips. In social studies, current election issues; in science, articles on say new discoveries of plants and animals, new development in DNA mapping, or any other current research related to the class topic. All projected on the Activboard or used in a Flipchart.
Can't imagine not using my own customized RSS from hereon. :)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Thing # 7
I enjoyed very much learning about the notebook and Google Earth. I was so surprised to be able to get all the way into a street and zoom in on a specific home (mine, to be exact). This is in a way scary. But at the same time it is a very useful tool. I can see looking at a home that I may be initially interested in buying/renting without having to drive to the location. Using this option to zoom in on important places around the world is a useful feature in class. It would be like a virtual trip for students. They would get a kick to zoom into their school. That should get them hooked.
It was fun to check out if there were any images of myself and members of my family/friends. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
The Picasa Web Album is very easy to use. It beats sending large files of pictures to family and friends. Instead, all they need is access to the link and voilá. I found it easier to use for loading pictures than Flickr. Students can compile pictures of a field trip, share, and work together to create a project/report of same for the subject targeted.
The calendar and notebook would come in very handy for staying organized.
It was fun to check out if there were any images of myself and members of my family/friends. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
The Picasa Web Album is very easy to use. It beats sending large files of pictures to family and friends. Instead, all they need is access to the link and voilá. I found it easier to use for loading pictures than Flickr. Students can compile pictures of a field trip, share, and work together to create a project/report of same for the subject targeted.
The calendar and notebook would come in very handy for staying organized.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Thing # 6
It was interesting using the photoset in Flickr to create a mosaic. At the beginning I had difficulty creating it. For some reason it was coming up blank. After a night of sleep, I came back refreshed to realize I had to grant temporary permission to access the photos I had uploaded because I had made it private by invitation. I haven't been able to figure out in Flickr how to move the pictures around so that they show in a different order. In Activboard and Power Point, it is as easy as clicking on the frame and dragging it to the new location. That didn't work in Flickr. The same for the mosaic. How do one tell it which one to put in the large, middle frame?
I can see my students creating a mosaic with pictures related to their topic, say in social studies. If they are doing a presentation on a Texas personality, they can put the narrative in the middle surrounded by pictures that corroborate or enhance the information provided. The same with science. Instead of a narrative, they could have a mosaic of same size pictures that show the steps of an experiment.
I would love to use trading cards to create my rewards for my GLAD sessions. The cut and paste and copy (Xerox) is tedious, time consuming, and the results may not be as professional. The students could also use the application to create study cards for themselves. For example, in math, they' d create a picture and the actual mathematical representation for say, long division. In science, they could find a picture of rocks in a stream and include the definision of erosion. I even think the students would find it useful to create magazine covers for their project folders. My problem here was finding pictures that could not be shared.
At the moment, I can't see any use in my class for posters. But they can be used to post booth names for math and/or science night at school.
I would still like to find out how to reorder my photos in my photostream/photoset and pick the central picture in my mosaic.
It was interesting using the photoset in Flickr to create a mosaic. At the beginning I had difficulty creating it. For some reason it was coming up blank. After a night of sleep, I came back refreshed to realize I had to grant temporary permission to access the photos I had uploaded because I had made it private by invitation. I haven't been able to figure out in Flickr how to move the pictures around so that they show in a different order. In Activboard and Power Point, it is as easy as clicking on the frame and dragging it to the new location. That didn't work in Flickr. The same for the mosaic. How do one tell it which one to put in the large, middle frame?
I can see my students creating a mosaic with pictures related to their topic, say in social studies. If they are doing a presentation on a Texas personality, they can put the narrative in the middle surrounded by pictures that corroborate or enhance the information provided. The same with science. Instead of a narrative, they could have a mosaic of same size pictures that show the steps of an experiment.
I would love to use trading cards to create my rewards for my GLAD sessions. The cut and paste and copy (Xerox) is tedious, time consuming, and the results may not be as professional. The students could also use the application to create study cards for themselves. For example, in math, they' d create a picture and the actual mathematical representation for say, long division. In science, they could find a picture of rocks in a stream and include the definision of erosion. I even think the students would find it useful to create magazine covers for their project folders. My problem here was finding pictures that could not be shared.
At the moment, I can't see any use in my class for posters. But they can be used to post booth names for math and/or science night at school.
I would still like to find out how to reorder my photos in my photostream/photoset and pick the central picture in my mosaic.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thing # 5
It was exciting watching all those pictures using Flicker. This is a very good way for students to find pictures to spiffy up their projects. The search option is easy to use and lots
of pictures pop up. Saving them is not a problem. For science, students can look for pictures that can reinforce visually their understanding, for example of different ways plants get pollinated.I also found myself looking at places I had not been to in more than 3 decades. I was unable to save the photos, but here is the URL. Panama is a country with spectacular fauna and flora, not to mention the Panama Canal that connect the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. There is a project going on to expand the width of the canal to be able to accomodate larger tankers. It will be interesting to see how this will affect the natrual habitat of so many species of plants and animals.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/defaultuser/131741178/in/pool-zonalibre/
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Thing # 3
Whew! For a while I was very frustrated. I created my post for Thing #2 and everything went peachie. Well, not really. I couldn't understand why it wasn't showing up on my blog page. I looked and looked and looked. Minutes, hours, went by. Finally I called my friendly librarian, Susan, went through the motions of setting up a new posting, and got it to show up by clicking on the "publish tab" and not the "save now" tab. On further research, "show all", I found my first posting saved as a "draft". I just couldn't un-draft it, so I clicked on the delete word to the right of the entry.
I had a lot of fun setting up an Avatar of yours trully. I didn't have fun at all following the instructions to embed it in my blog page. The Avatar side was simple and to the point. But after the control C (copy) part, things went downhill. I couldn't find the LAYOUT label. I looked and looked. Somewhere I read that it is also the TEMPLATE (old version). I clicked on it only to be faced with a very long program of gobbledigook and could never locate the word HTML/JavaScript embedded in the program. Again, friendly Susan helped me out by having me get out of the current layout and getting into the custom feature to select a new layout. Then things started to fall into place for the second set of instructions. Phew!!!! Done. Yipee! I think I have put in half of my 18 hours already. :(
I am pretty sure that my synapses and neurons have gotten a lot of good exercise today. :)
I had a lot of fun setting up an Avatar of yours trully. I didn't have fun at all following the instructions to embed it in my blog page. The Avatar side was simple and to the point. But after the control C (copy) part, things went downhill. I couldn't find the LAYOUT label. I looked and looked. Somewhere I read that it is also the TEMPLATE (old version). I clicked on it only to be faced with a very long program of gobbledigook and could never locate the word HTML/JavaScript embedded in the program. Again, friendly Susan helped me out by having me get out of the current layout and getting into the custom feature to select a new layout. Then things started to fall into place for the second set of instructions. Phew!!!! Done. Yipee! I think I have put in half of my 18 hours already. :(
I am pretty sure that my synapses and neurons have gotten a lot of good exercise today. :)
Thing # 2
Lifelong learning..isn't that what we all do? Granted, some do more and some do less. The latest research on brain plasticity tell us that the more engaged we remain in learning new things, the more likely we can keep ourselves healthy and prevent the onset of Alzheimer. The old knowledge of neurons and synapses are continuously being revamped, some proven wrong. I guess it cannot hurt me to continue to be a lifelong learner, it can, however, do me a wealth of good.
In this quest, I find that setting goals and accepting responsibility for my own learning are some of the things I can easily do especially if I have the chance to single thread. But how often do we find ourselves single tasking especially in the teaching profession?
What do I find the hardest? mmmm.... After giving it much thought, I think it is making time to play. This is probably due to years of multi-tasking and trying to make every minute count while juggling full time career, marriage, and raising children. I have that feeling that I should be maximizing my time - "producing" something.
In this quest, I find that setting goals and accepting responsibility for my own learning are some of the things I can easily do especially if I have the chance to single thread. But how often do we find ourselves single tasking especially in the teaching profession?
What do I find the hardest? mmmm.... After giving it much thought, I think it is making time to play. This is probably due to years of multi-tasking and trying to make every minute count while juggling full time career, marriage, and raising children. I have that feeling that I should be maximizing my time - "producing" something.
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