Thing 8 reflections

gts63
I thought this was a great idea. My team and I often find fun web sights during a search and it would be great to be able to share them so easily. I don't know how many of my teammates are doing this but I think I would see the value in it enough to set up an account.

Ana often shares websites with us that she has found and I could see her using it for that.

This "THING" is the one I find hardest to comment on because it just seems so straight forward that I don't know what else to say.

I'm not terribly worried about tagging because I would keep mine private initially. I'm sure I would only use it at school because I don't know very many people who are into computers outside of school. However, it seems to me that you would need to be rather specific and yet use a several words to hone in on your topic.

This is a great tool but it would be much easier to implement if everyone on my team had done this.
gina

Thing 7 Reflection

I thought using Google Doc was pretty easy and I can see how it would be very useful when working with a large group. I looked at some of the templates and though I didn't see any I would use with the kids, I saw some I could personally.

I can see using this in my team when one of us is writing a letter to go out to parents. Everyone could add information they wanted or we could share team information about other things. For example, if we did a book study we could share our notes all in one document. I think that would be great. Or if 2 of us went to a workshop and wanted to report we could talk about different topics and have it in one document. In my personal life it could be helpful when planning family events with my 11 brothers and sisters but I'm not sure how much input I would get from of them. Maybe I could start a new trend.

Students could certainly use with when learning to edit. However, at the 3rd grade level I would probably write what needed to be edited to begin with because it's been my experience that most 3rd graders find it difficult to find errors when peer tutoring.

Because changing someone's writing can sometimes be rather personal I could see where students might get their feeling hurt. For that matter, some adults might feel that way. People would have to understand that changes made their documents don't necessarily have to be something they agree with in some cases.

All in all, I like this THING and see how I could use it. Even people who haven't done the 8THINGS could quickly see how to use it. I believe most people would be willing to do this.
Gina

Thing 6 Lucy, Lucy, Lucy

I chose this video because I thought it would be a fun way to introduce a lesson on assembly lines. The kids would certainly get a laugh out of it.

I was very interested in podcasts before I sat down to do this but I hadn't really explored them. I looked at several. The ones I liked the best were the ones that had to do with education like Storynory. I could really see using that in my classroom. I loved that it had classic fairy tales because you would be amazed at how many kids aren't familiar with them. I looked at Mathgrad but I didn't find it to be appropriate for my grade level and it wasn't clear to me how to search a particular math topic. I went to Hoover Power Broadcasting thinking it would be something about energy or producing electricity so I was a little disappointed with it. I checked out NPR and I will definitely use that on a personal level but I'm not sure about children's broadcasting on NPR.

I enjoyed exploring youtube. I looked at most of the videos listed on 8Things web page. I had fun. I could see how you could use videos to enhance or introduce lessons. I actually used the Lucy video last year but I didn't think of it until after we studied assembly lines. The kids enjoyed it and many had no idea who Lucille Ball was.

I can see why embedding a video would have advantages to posting a link. I know I am more inclined to look at something if someone sends it to me rather me having to take the extra steps to find it. Lazy I guess. It was very easy to put videos on my post. If you had a blog for your classroom you could easily post videos of your students for parents to see. That is assuming you have made any videos of your students. Maybe some day.......

I looked at both Youtube and Teachertube. That are both great resources. I can see how Teachertube might be a little more limited but I liked that it had lesson plans with it. I can see using both of them in some capacity.

This was an interesting section. I will use some of this in my classroom and in my personal life.

Gina

Free Hugs Campaign - Official Page (music by Sick Puppies.net )

This video just made me feel good. What a sweet idea. Enjoy.

GIna

Thing 5 Reflections

Wikis are pretty cool and look like a great way to keep kids engaged but I'm not sure how it works in a classroom with 2 computers. I guess that's where computer labs come in handy or some collaboration with our technology teacher. Here are the observations I made while checking out Wikis.
I'm not sure that enjoy is the word I would use to describe wikis. They were quite impressive. Wikis in Plain English made them look so much simpler. The ones I looked out appeared to be pretty complicated.

Blogs vs. Wikis
It seems to me that blogs are more about people giving opinions and others adding their opinions. No one's words are changed or edited in a comment. They are more personal. A wiki, on the other hand, seems to be more about knowledge and people sharing what they know or think they know.

Wikis could be a beneficial tool. I am always looking for ways to engage my students and this certainly falls in that category. It gives everyone involved a way to share and gain information. Using established wikis gives students another place to find information.

I liked Mrs. Ibrahim's 2nd Grade wiki. It was closer to something a third grade class may do and therefore, I could relate to it more. I liked the Global Climate Change wiki. It was well done. I don't know if I would say I disliked any of them.

I have used Wikipedia a few times with my class to find information or see a picture of something. It often has excellent links to the topic we are discussing. I do have concerns about the fact that people can add things that might be more personal opinion than fact. My class has not used Wikipedia as a tool without me guiding them through it. We usually use library books or encyclopedias so I guess I would say that I'm cautious about using Wikipedia without other sources.

That's my word on wikis. I like the idea of them for vocabulary "word walls" and decomposing numbers. I think the kids would have fun with that.

Gina

Thing 4 Reflections

Well, I managed to save 2 pictures on my Flickr account and then saved them to a file so I could put them on this blog. I see a lot potential for fun with this. I am a little concerned with picking pictures that I can actually copy onto my blog. The commoms is where I got the golf picture but all seem to be old as the hills. I didn't know anything about the Creative Commons License. Good to know. Where do you find more up to date pictures that you are allowed to use that you might want to use in a lesson? I am not not very techno savvy so this might be something I would learn to use more efficiently with a human being nearby that can guide me more.

I had tons of fun with Image Chef. I could use this in class with pictures I or the kids take. We could certainly make some slide shows that might be a finished product for a project or unit.

I chose the golf picture on Flickr because my husband and I have recently taken up golf and we play a lot in the summer. It seemed appropriate. Flickr was fairly easy once I reread your instructions a few times but I'm always a little unsure about public or private. When you choose private and they ask for email and password is the password you give the one for your Flickr account?

Anyway, I could spend a lot of time playing with this but, alas, I have other things to do. I looked at Spell with Flickr. It was fun, too, but I didn't like the way the words got broken up.

By the way, the picture of Sam that looks like he's in doggie jail is one I saved to Flickr then saved in a folder.

All in all, this is a tool that would keep the kids engaged and be fun. Now, when............

Gina

Sam's not the only one having fun

This is a fun thing to do in High Rolls, New Mexico on a summer day. CHERRY PICKING!!



In the picture with me in it, I'm picking black cherries which will be good for snacking. I snacked while I picked, too. DELICIOUS :)













These cherries are Mt. Ranier(?) cherries and they will be used in a cherry pie when visitors come.
Have good day! Gina