The Future of Technology

Well my "what if" question about technology has been finally answered last night. The future of technology and how gizmos will be implemented into our daily lives has been answered, I must say that I like it ! The TED video gave us a glimpse of how a hand size projection camera and a small backpack is the start to a 3 dimensional interaction with technology. Taking pictures, making phone calls, researching around your area all seems to be Star Wars like. Also tonight the guest speaker Diane informed us on groups and seminars to join such as Community CUE. This technology community would be good to join because the future of education is slowly becoming altered by technology itself.

Google Doc lesson

The lesson I learned on this day is that by using Google Docs, it will allow you to use many great web tools, cloud organization , group work capabilities, and creating very your own website. Why is Google home page blank ? They really should advertise these great tools that they have to offer. I rarely use Google; when I do it is usually only for scholarly keyword searches. The benefits of storing documents in the cloud is it will allow you to work on them from any computer and you can allow other users to access that same document. I am really impressed with how technology can help me manage two-hundred plus students in a school year. This tool seems easy when Jason is teaching it... but when I have to do it.... my eyes get big and my head hurts. I honestly will pray that I can get the hang of creating and managing a website that my students can use. However ,the good news is Google Docs doesn't seem as tall of a mountain to climb.

Google is the new King

Tonight I learned how Google is can be used to help organize your documents inside and outside the classroom. Google documents allow you to keep all types of files such as word, powerpoint, and excel stored in the cloud. Google also offers another feature that allows users to work on one document simultaneously over the internet. Although I haven't mastered this feature yet, this is the best tool Google has to offer. Another great website I was introduced to was flubaroo which grades all your tests automatically with one click.

digitial citizen

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Cybersafety, Cyberbullying, and Copyright in the Classroom

Today I learned about the dangers and concerns on cybersafety, cyberbullying, and copyright infringement. Copying music,pictures, musical performances, and uploading images are all examples of how teachers can violate these laws. Teachers are protected behind the fair use clause that is meant to protect purpose, nature of work,economic affect, and the amount taken. We as teachers must be aware of how much copying of materials we do, the consequence can be costly !

Twitter Time !

Well today I learned that the fastest way for my students to get updates about lessons, good websites, or interaction is to use Twitter or Facebook. The benefits can out weigh the cons if you design you pages correctly and filter out language and friend requests. I believe that Twitter may be a better way to connect with your students. Having a limitation on the amount of words you can use really limits the content and purpose of tweeting.

What in the Health Podcast

What in the Health are you doing ?1?.egg on Aviary.

Understanding how to surf the internet

Tonight the lesson about surfing the internet showed me how important it is pay attention to where you research your information. I can't lie.... the tree octopus caught website took me by surprise that it was false information. I guess us digital immigrants are not as suspicious as the natives when it comes to surfing the internet.

The website trackstar.4teachers.org was really helpful in planning a way for my students to research and use trusted websites only. By doing my own internet research on the Civil War, I can incorporate such websites as the History Channel, Discovery, and OAH Historians onto trackstar and force my students to study the causes of the war from teacher approved websites. Not using this great tool can allow students to trust jaded websites that may have a pro north or south attitude about history.

This is my avatar....

Second class into the journey

Wednesday's class was taught by the head of our education department Neva. She gave us an informative and enthusiastic lesson about lesson plans and websites that we can use. The learning object for me defiantly was Thinkfinity by Verizon. I have seen plenty of websites thus far into my credential program, but trust me when I say that this one takes the cake !

Thinkfinity has a smorgasbord of information in a buffet style format that gives you valuable information for your content selection. Some of the information such as lesson plans, professional development opportunities, National and State curriculum standards, and students interactive lessons all can be used for free ! THAT'S RIGHT FOR FREE (And no annoying sign-up waivers are necessary)

This site will be used in various ways to help me teach my students history content. On the site they have an Inca lesson plan that will be used to show how ancient civilizations lived. Every civilization is affected by its geography. This influence was perhaps even greater in ancient civilizations. The use of this lesson plan and the internet will give a new perspective of the Inca empire to my students.