EDCT203: Week 8

Week 8. Wowwwww where did the quarter go? Fastest quarter ever? I think so.

This week in class we played around on a program called Crocodoc. It was hilarious to say the least. People came up with some very, um, creative submissions on that one. Ha!

We also worked on creating podcasts, which I already had some experience with because that was the topic that our group had when we taught the class back in week 3. Seems like forever ago, right? There are many ways that you can use a podcast in your classroom. Some podcasts are educational and could be used to teach your students something. For example, there are some podcasts that talk about literature that could be used in an English class. You could also have your students create their own podcast as a means of creative expression and also to see how well they know the material.

We also made rubrics in class. Rubrics are a great way to evaluate students' work/performance. I was really impressed with the website, RubiStar and how user friendly it is. Anyone can use it! If you aren't sure what to put in your rubric, the website has many suggestions for you to use.

Some ISTE Student Standards used this week are:

• 1a, 1b
• 2b
• 3d
• 5(all)
• 6a, 6b, 6d

Some ISTE Teacher Standards from this week are:

• 1a
• 2a, 2b
• 4(all)
• 5b, 5d

In other news.... I have officially completed my 2nd full day of teaching! Wow.

EDCT203: Week 7

This was a fun class. We learned how to use a program called Voice Thread which allows you to comment on media created by other people. I clike that you can provide different types of comments such as video, audio and text. I also like how you can doodle on the slides to show exactly what you're talking about. I think that kids would really like the doodling part.

There are many ways that you could use this in a classroom. You could put some of your lessons on Voice Thread so that other teachers can give you feedback. You could also use it as a way to encourage the students to work collaboratevly with a group. You can also use it as a way to communicate with parents- if they have a Voice Thread account they can contact you via it.

On a side note, this is probably the most fun class we've had so far. My crazy friends make everything so much fun. Sure, we might have procrastinated a little a lot, but man did we laugh.We got it done in the end, though, so its cool!

Some ISTE Student Standards from this week are:

• 1a, 1b, 1c- yay for new ideas!
• 2a, 2b, 2d- we collaborated a lot this week.
• 4b, 4d
• 5(all)
• 6a, 6b, 6d

Some ISTE Teacher Standards from this week are:

• 1(all)- we used new ideas and collaboration!
• 2(all)- the different types of comments in Voice Thread allow us to adapt this to multiple learning styles
• 3a, 3b, 3c
• 4(all)- very important
• 5d

EDCT203: Week 6

This week in class, we used Movie Maker. I already had some experience with this, because we used for a tech class in middle school. I like all of the effects that you can add to the movie and the transitions that you can use between slides.

I think that there are many ways that you could use this in a classroom. You could make a movie to show the kids a concept in an interactive way. You could also have the kids (depending on their age) make a movie of their own to demonstrate their understanding and knowledge on a topic. Like I said for the week when we used Picasa, you could also take pictures of the kiddos working and put them together in a presentation to show the parents what you've been doing.

Some ISTE Student Standards used this week are:

• 1a, 1b
• 2b
• 4d
• 5(all)
• 6a, 6b, 6d

Some ISTE Teacher Standards used this week are:

• 1a, 1c, 1d
• 2(all)
• 3a, 3c
• 4(all)
• 5b, 5d

One Year.

Wow! Inside My Heaven is ONE year old today! I've really enjoyed having this writing outlet over the past year, even if I haven't always updated as regularly as I'd like to. I've especially enjoyed "meeting" many new bloggy friends and reading all of your stories. Thank you for reading with me over the last year. I hope you've enjoyed it! Here's to the next great year!

Update on Bella

I do realize that it's been awhile since I mentioned my pretty kitty, Bella.
She's doing great.

Better than great, actually.

She's been extra cuddly recently. I think it's because I'm gone all day with class and work so when I actually am home she's just so happy to see me that she wants to be right. in. my. lap.

I don't mind at all.

The other day, I woke up early to do some homework in bed. Sweet Baby crawled into my arms and just layed there purring like there was no tomorrow. I wish it would have lasted forever.

She got a kitty tower for Christmas. It's almost as tall as me. She LOVES it. I have it right by the sliding glass door and she just loves to sit on the highest level and look outside.

I love my girl!

EDCT: Week 5

Week 5. Wow. I can't believe that this quarter is halfway over! Since we're halfway through quarter 2, that also means that this year is halfway over. Now THAT is hard to believe.

Anywho. This week in class we learned how to make surveys on GoogleDocs. There are many different types of questions that you can use and it's a great way to collect data.

We also wrote stories as a group on GoogleDocs. See, if you're logged in together, you can type on separate computers and everyone sees the updates in real time. So we created stories with our classmates. We couldn't talk, and most of us were sitting on opposite sides of the room. Oh, man, this was so. much. fun. Our story was so crazy. It involved a unicorn, Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber and a bar. That's all I'll say.

I think that making a survey on GoogleDocs would be a great thing for a teacher to do. I know that a lot of teachers send home surveys at the beginning of the year to help them get to know the students. The parents respond to the survey with thier child's likes, dislikes, etc. I think that's a good idea, and the online survey would make it even better because it would save paper!

The storywriting on GoogleDocs would also be a good thing to use in a classroom because it encourages imagination AND teamwork. Not to mention, a chance to practice typing.

Some ISTE Student standards from this week are:

• 1a, 1b (the story was great group expression)
• 2(all)
• 3d (surveys make great data and results to report)
• 5(all)
• 6a, 6b, 6c

Some ISTE Teacher standards from this week are:

• 1a, 1d
• 2b (yay for creativity!)
• 3c, 3d
• 4(all)
• 5b, 5c, 5d

Unseasonably Warm

It is winter.

 In Ohio.

If you know anything about Ohio you know that we should be knee-deep in snow by this point.

But we are not.

It has been in the low 60s for the past two days.

At first, I was downright mad about this.

I wanted snow.

But then I went to class yesterday.

And we opened the windows.

And stuck our heads out of them to people watch.

And I realized that maybe,

just maybe,

this unseasonably warm weather wasn't so bad after all.

So I stopped being mad.

And got glad.

And today after school I took Bella the Kitty out on her leash.

Yes, my cat has a leash.

It has proven to be quite the conversation starter when we walk around the field behind my apartment.

She loved being outside.

And I love when my baby is happy.

So I am no longer complaining about this unseasonably warm weather.

I'm going to find the good happy times in every day.

Because life is too short to sit inside grumping about weather.

But I would still love some snow,

should it ever choose to arrive.