Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Check out this link...
This is a great example of what technology, music and social justice can be when all put together....and created in a Manitoba classroom! Very impressive!
http://oddfellow-music.blogspot.com/2010/04/listen-song-mosaic.html#comments
http://oddfellow-music.blogspot.com/2010/04/listen-song-mosaic.html#comments
Class 12
Wow...where has the time gone? I can't believe we have come to the end of this course already? I'm actually kind of sad about that? I mean, I don't need another paper to write, but I will miss learning the various apps and discussing them with Glen and the rest of the group. This has offered me a tremendous opportunity to really dig in and play with all of these apps in a non-threatening environment. I truly am the best advocate for the course, because I have been singing it's praises to all of my colleagues. Despite this being a tech course, the knowledge is being perpetuated, the old fashioned way in discussions and conversations with other educators as well as through email, twitter, blogs and wikis. I do see myself utilizing the apps I have been exposed to, and plan to utilize my wiki in my professional life next year. I am a writer at heart though, and I am even contemplating a blog in my personal life. Thanks again everyone....it's been great! Have a wonderful summer! h
Monday, June 14, 2010
Class 11
It seems like this is the point in the course that everyone is scrambling trying to get everything done. Couple that with the typical year-end panic at school, and I think I am not alone in feeling just a bit overwhelmed.
I think I have completed all of the assignments, but I do want to go back now and play with them to become more comfortable. I need to keep using them because it is so easy to forget!
I have pretty much completed my paper. I mostly just have some editing to do. I did write it in Google Docs, and didn't realize there was a template for APA papers in Google Docs. Unfortunately, I didn't find the reference page very user friendly though, and the template indicated that it was not very easy to manipulate. I then went back and uploaded my references back into my original google doc that I had been sharing with Glen. Perhaps if I had originally started working in the template, it might have been easier? I do find it awkward when working in google docs, because it is just one long running document, and not broke into pages until you print it. I also miss some of the functions that I am used to using in a MS office document, but I am persevering. Maybe there are more functions in google docs that I just haven't found yet! Next class, Wednesday night I think is our final one. Where did the time go?
I think I have completed all of the assignments, but I do want to go back now and play with them to become more comfortable. I need to keep using them because it is so easy to forget!
I have pretty much completed my paper. I mostly just have some editing to do. I did write it in Google Docs, and didn't realize there was a template for APA papers in Google Docs. Unfortunately, I didn't find the reference page very user friendly though, and the template indicated that it was not very easy to manipulate. I then went back and uploaded my references back into my original google doc that I had been sharing with Glen. Perhaps if I had originally started working in the template, it might have been easier? I do find it awkward when working in google docs, because it is just one long running document, and not broke into pages until you print it. I also miss some of the functions that I am used to using in a MS office document, but I am persevering. Maybe there are more functions in google docs that I just haven't found yet! Next class, Wednesday night I think is our final one. Where did the time go?
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Class Ten
Well, it seems that I do a lot of my work on this course in the middle of the night, however, perhaps it's quicker to get work uploaded! I was not able to make class tonight, but with some difficulty have gotten my video created. I had thought I would do a simple one in Movie maker, however, since my video cam is an external one, movie maker had some issues with that. I then thought I would use my son's camera to record my own video, but after getting the software loaded on my machine, it would not recognize the camera! Apparently my son knew this was an issue....forgot to tell Mom!!! So, that camera needs to go back I guess. So my third attempt was borrowing a flip camera from one of the schools. I did piece together a rather shaky video and put it together in Movie maker, but then had some more issues converting the Mpeg files to AVI....finally complete and uploaded to Teacher Tube!!! I am waiting for Teacher Tube to approve the video and then I will link it to my blog.
Yikes, I like technology, and I was getting pretty frustrated, so no wonder those educators that are a little hesitant get very frustrated with technology when it doesn't want to cooperate! Oh well, video done, check, next stop, Wiki!
Yikes, I like technology, and I was getting pretty frustrated, so no wonder those educators that are a little hesitant get very frustrated with technology when it doesn't want to cooperate! Oh well, video done, check, next stop, Wiki!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Class Nine
Well it seems this crazy time of year is not slowing down any. My only regret with this course is that I kind of wish I had taken it during fall or winter term which would have given me more time to play, but let's face it, there is no down time in the school system! I have done a brief jing presentation, but when I went to upload it by embedding the code, it was really large and covered my entire blog so I then just uploaded the link. I need to go back and look at that again and see where I can alter the size. I would definitely use this in the classroom though. I would have many jing presentations on whatever we were studying so kids could constantly refer to them. I think it is a great tool. I am hoping to get my movie maker presentation done this week too, and even started on my wiki. My paper....well...it goes!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Class Eight...
Well, it seems that the June "craziness" is definitely evident in my world right now, and my "day job" is running into my nights, and thus competing with my time to be really active in my coursework. I did get my podcast uploaded on my site though. My own 2 teenage boys think their Mom is kind of cool that I can upload a podcast:)
Unfortunately I was unable to make Sunday's class, and have been trying to listen to the class, but haven't been able to get onto the Wiki from work today, so will try from home when I get there. My paper is getting there, but a long way from done. I hopefully will touch base with everyone later tonight!
Unfortunately I was unable to make Sunday's class, and have been trying to listen to the class, but haven't been able to get onto the Wiki from work today, so will try from home when I get there. My paper is getting there, but a long way from done. I hopefully will touch base with everyone later tonight!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Class Seven..
We looked at Audacity and although I have played with this app before, I hadn't used it for awhile, so was a good review. I will "attempt" in the next few days to upload a podcast of drivel....sorry, more for me to practice than anything real profound! I have also added a visitors to my site app...hope it works. I think kids find this kind of cool, but sadly I don't have any big aspirations of drawing in too many visitors! Unfortunately the weather here has been nasty, but on the upside, I am able to keep up with my coursework :) Unless I am off building my ark....I will re-connect with the class on Sunday! Until next time....
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Class Six
Well, I THOUGHT I was going to be missing this class, because I was going camping, but Mother Nature had other ideas :(
I did get my Mindmeister map built, and displayed here. I love this tool. I have used similar software in the past with kids, but this interactive group capacity would be wonderful for group work, or even in my capacity as a consultant, I can see using this with groups of teachers.
I am becoming a pretty faithful Twitter follower as well...not quite Geek status, but well on my way :) I have found such great links on here that it pretty much had me at hello! I am continuing to plug along on my paper. As always when writing papers, I really enjoy the research, and even the organization of an outline, but the writing tends to bog me down. I will forge on however! Until next time...
I did get my Mindmeister map built, and displayed here. I love this tool. I have used similar software in the past with kids, but this interactive group capacity would be wonderful for group work, or even in my capacity as a consultant, I can see using this with groups of teachers.
I am becoming a pretty faithful Twitter follower as well...not quite Geek status, but well on my way :) I have found such great links on here that it pretty much had me at hello! I am continuing to plug along on my paper. As always when writing papers, I really enjoy the research, and even the organization of an outline, but the writing tends to bog me down. I will forge on however! Until next time...
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Class 5
Hi Gang. I was able to participate in most of this class. For some reason, I was kicked off of the Skype call for the last few minutes of class, but was able to be there for almost the entirety. I appreciate that Glen saves an audio file of these classes, but I really find participating invaluable, so I hate to miss!
I have used Dimdim almost exclusively for bookmarking now, and did get my new Twitter account set up. I have used twitter in the past, and although I found it interesting, I didn't see all of the educational possibilities at that time, so now I am determined to really try and follow more educational accounts and checking out their links. I on the other-hand, I still am using it more of a daily update of "life", but I need to make that transition slowly.
I have tried the ccleaner, but after finding a number of errors on my machine, they then wanted $ for me to download the paid version to clean them all up? Not sure about that, because I thought Glen had told us this was a free version? I will check on that during class though.
I have settled on a paper topic though, and have done a lot of research in that area. I am writing about Cloud Computing and mobile devices (smart phones, touches, netbooks etc.) and the tremendous capacity this has for K-12 schools. The research is certainly current, and I am finding a wealth of it. I think it is all starting to fall together in my mind now how it will look. Technology certainly does have the engagement "card" because once I get working on this, I am lost for hours at a time! Is there any doubt we should be using ICT more with our students, particularly our reluctant learners??? Don't think I will make class tomorrow b/c we are supposed to be heading out, but in typical May long weekend weather, it is not looking great, so we'll see! Until next time...
I have used Dimdim almost exclusively for bookmarking now, and did get my new Twitter account set up. I have used twitter in the past, and although I found it interesting, I didn't see all of the educational possibilities at that time, so now I am determined to really try and follow more educational accounts and checking out their links. I on the other-hand, I still am using it more of a daily update of "life", but I need to make that transition slowly.
I have tried the ccleaner, but after finding a number of errors on my machine, they then wanted $ for me to download the paid version to clean them all up? Not sure about that, because I thought Glen had told us this was a free version? I will check on that during class though.
I have settled on a paper topic though, and have done a lot of research in that area. I am writing about Cloud Computing and mobile devices (smart phones, touches, netbooks etc.) and the tremendous capacity this has for K-12 schools. The research is certainly current, and I am finding a wealth of it. I think it is all starting to fall together in my mind now how it will look. Technology certainly does have the engagement "card" because once I get working on this, I am lost for hours at a time! Is there any doubt we should be using ICT more with our students, particularly our reluctant learners??? Don't think I will make class tomorrow b/c we are supposed to be heading out, but in typical May long weekend weather, it is not looking great, so we'll see! Until next time...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Class 4
Unfortunately I was not able to make this class, although I did listen to it, and viewed the video that Glen uploaded on the site for Google Reader. I have had a chance to play a bit in Google Reader, and I am going to get Diigo downloaded shortly, although when I checked it looks like there is a regular version and a teacher version, so wasn't sure which one we should be getting?
I am continuing to research articles for my paper, and I am finding some, so I think I will continue along this path. I have found in the past that if I can get the research done, the actual writing is the easy part, well ok, not easy, but easier :)
I did pass on the Dimdim link to my administrators in the division, and they have passed on to their teachers. They are quite excited in the capacity of this tool, particularly for those kids looking for help in the evening who call the teacher, who tries to explain over the phone. The ability to share your desktop with the student is great! Gotta run, until next time...
I am continuing to research articles for my paper, and I am finding some, so I think I will continue along this path. I have found in the past that if I can get the research done, the actual writing is the easy part, well ok, not easy, but easier :)
I did pass on the Dimdim link to my administrators in the division, and they have passed on to their teachers. They are quite excited in the capacity of this tool, particularly for those kids looking for help in the evening who call the teacher, who tries to explain over the phone. The ability to share your desktop with the student is great! Gotta run, until next time...
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Class 3
Well, I had an opportunity to download Zotero and the new version of Skype. I have already emailed some of these links to the Admin team in our division, so I am already seeing the applicability. We have been anxiously awaiting the new version of Skype, and although there are some kinks to work out, I think this will be great.
As far as Zotero, I was not familiar with this. I have used Delicious, but I wish I had been aware of Zotero during my other university courses....would have been a huge help.
Google Docs has much more capacity than I earlier realized. I had apparently only scratched the surface previously. Interestingly enough, our Tech Dept. had us switch from Explorer to Firefox a few years ago, because he felt it was a more reliable search engine.
I am still trying to research for my paper. I haven't actually started it beyond in my head and searching for links. I am seeing what is available for research first. Although I am very interested in the applications of online learning and rural divisions, I am unsure that I will be able to find enough research.
My biggest struggle is finding the time to commit to "playing" with the programs. The weather is beautiful this weekend, and I have other commitments beyond my work day and this course, so....I may be doing most of my ICT work during the wee hours of the morning....but then that's the beauty of ICT! Until next time...
As far as Zotero, I was not familiar with this. I have used Delicious, but I wish I had been aware of Zotero during my other university courses....would have been a huge help.
Google Docs has much more capacity than I earlier realized. I had apparently only scratched the surface previously. Interestingly enough, our Tech Dept. had us switch from Explorer to Firefox a few years ago, because he felt it was a more reliable search engine.
I am still trying to research for my paper. I haven't actually started it beyond in my head and searching for links. I am seeing what is available for research first. Although I am very interested in the applications of online learning and rural divisions, I am unsure that I will be able to find enough research.
My biggest struggle is finding the time to commit to "playing" with the programs. The weather is beautiful this weekend, and I have other commitments beyond my work day and this course, so....I may be doing most of my ICT work during the wee hours of the morning....but then that's the beauty of ICT! Until next time...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Class 2...
Well, through the beauty of technology, I was able to log in to last night's class via my laptop from a hotel room! I loved playing around in Dimdim. I couldn't wait to get home tonight to try it out. Unfortunately we have not been able to budget dollars to support this kind of technology in our division, but I can tell you this free version is now on my radar....so look out! I see so many applications for any business or school division, but in particular, a rural one. In fact, the whole area of technology and supporting rural divisions to remain sustainable is a topic I am interested in studying for my final paper. I can see this being such an advantage for online classes, pd sessions and admin meetings. I will definitely be pursuing this further to see if we can incorporate it into our division. I do want to get delving into Google docs and get started on this paper, and that is my next venture!
Monday, May 10, 2010
And so it begins....
Hi everyone. I am very excited about this ICT course that we are starting! I think it is great that we have a variety of skill sets, because we can lean on each other throughout our journey. I feel like a sponge, albeit an old sponge trying to soak up all of the information that I can. Just staying one step ahead of my own kids is a challenge. In all honesty, if I have learned anything in my digital experience, is to no longer expect to be the one in the classroom that is the "expert". In every classroom, we are surrounded with many "experts", and at the touch of our fingers, we can certainly access a multitude of information. The way we teach will never be the same! We facilitate as part of a team, as opposed to lecture. I LOVE IT!
I am probably more excited about this course, than I have been for a long time. I believe it is just so applicable in our day to day jobs. One thing I have discovered in previous online courses (moodle, skype and even teleconference), that we do develop real relationships with our peers. I honestly had some misgivings that this environment would ever support the personal aspect, but I was oh so wrong. I have found we do get to know each other, and do support one another in the journey, I look forward to diving right in....deep end, or... maybe the middle end to start, but I am looking forward to this learning experience just the same! Second class....T minus 55 minutes! Talk to you soon!
I am probably more excited about this course, than I have been for a long time. I believe it is just so applicable in our day to day jobs. One thing I have discovered in previous online courses (moodle, skype and even teleconference), that we do develop real relationships with our peers. I honestly had some misgivings that this environment would ever support the personal aspect, but I was oh so wrong. I have found we do get to know each other, and do support one another in the journey, I look forward to diving right in....deep end, or... maybe the middle end to start, but I am looking forward to this learning experience just the same! Second class....T minus 55 minutes! Talk to you soon!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mother's Day!
Welcome everyone to my blog! It is a beautiful Mother's Day, with the sun shining brightly! I think it is too nice to be inside online though! A ballgame and my flower beds await!
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