This week, ironically, we focused on computer viruses and Netiquette.
It's ironic because I have just experienced a situation which caused my MacBookPro to crash, and I had to purchase a new iMac. While it wasn't due to a virus but my own stupidity (laptops + water = disaster), it was still a very traumatic experience, and I'm sure that it will be on my mind for a while!
While completing my undergraduate degree, I worked at Best Buy as an Epson representative. I saw person after person rush to the Geek Squad counter with a computer virus. It's one of the reasons we have Apple products instead of PC's.
Reading the article, "How Computer Viruses Work" was very informative. Despite having experience working in the computer industry, I had never looked at the psychology behind the person creating the virus. I also liked the comparison between a computer virus and a biological virus; they really do work the same way.
The type of virus which I have experienced the most is an e-mail virus. Everyone who has an e-mail account through a Kentucky school will have seen emails from the district tech supervisor warning of specific e-mails that are viruses. I know several people who have experienced viruses via e-mail. If you have Facebook, you've probably encountered viruses sent via messages. My cousin downloaded a .jpeg picture over Thanksgiving break, and it infected her phone. Every single contact received a text that had a virus attached to it. Thankfully, she sent out a text to almost everyone before they opened it. There were a few people who got the virus, though.
The Netiquette website was missing a plug-in to complete the quiz. I wanted to take it before viewing any of the information, but a pop-up prompted me to download something and gave a warning that it wasn't responsible for the content of what was downloaded. Having just viewed the article about viruses and purchased a computer that took a huge chunk out of my emergency fund, I decided to pass on the quiz. Ha!
One of the things I liked the most from this website was that it's really hard to understand your correspondent's meaning. I have a great example of this. While I worked at Best Buy, I also worked at Walgreen's as a pharmacy technician. Our computer system was set up so that we could send a message to notify a patient's doctor when they were out of refills on a maintenance medication (like insulin for diabetes). I had job shadowed a doctor while in high school, and I had to send her a notification. I sent a message that said, "Hello! Patient X needs a refill auth on Drug Y. Thanks so much, and have a great day!" The doctor had had a really difficult day, and she assumed that my message was sarcastic rather than overly friendly. The system didn't automatically send an enclosure, so she didn't know who had sent it. She called to speak with my boss about it, and was very unhappy. Once she realized that I was who sent it, she knew that my tone was meant to be polite and friendly. Point being that it's very hard to convey tone through messages. I experience this with texts all the time. My husband will text me something and I will give up trying to interpret his tone and just call him instead.
I also liked the part about asking whether or not you would say it to the person's face. Without getting into the bully zone, it's important to know that you definitely shouldn't say anything that you couldn't/wouldn't say face-to-face. Especially when you consider the fact that once it's in print (or type as the case may be), it will always be there. It's virtually impossible to erase something that has been sent.
I think that both of these articles would be great resources for schools. Perhaps at a PD given by the media specialist? Or, a middle/high school classroom? Students would benefit from having this information as they are the ones most likely to encounter and understand the ramifications. I can't see a primary classroom benefiting from it; most of the concepts are above their heads. But, the teacher could take it and convert it to their level. I think that these two resources are a great way to end our technology explorations!
As far as security measures, I seem to go overboard because of past experiences with computers. While I haven't had a virus (knock on wood), I have had a power surge fail and a computer's hard drive get fried during a lightening strike, and, most recently, I left my bag open while walking to my car during a heavy rain. Water got between my computer and skin protector. When I got home, I took out my computer and sat it flat. As soon as I did, the water (unknown to me) drained into the keys and flooded it. I have two external hard drives. I do photography on the side and had been editing two weddings. Thankfully, I still had the originals (i NEVER delete anything on my memory cards) and back-ups of the main files, but I had to redo all of the edits. The ironic thing was that the only reason I had my computer with me that day was because I was afraid that, with my luck, my house would catch fire while I was at work. I always back up files, but a fussy 19 month old and a stack of papers led me to put it off a day. Had I just left it at home, all would have been okay.
I keep all of my online passwords in a home maintenance binder that stays in our fire safe. At one time, they were all very generic and all the same. Now, I can't even remember them. I pay my life insurance premiums online annually, and I always have to get the binder out to find my password.
My students are writing novels for NaNoWriMo. We're using Google Drive, and despite telling them to sign out of the iPad each day, a few of them don't. Just after Thanksgiving break, one of my students came to me in tears, holding her iPad up for me to see the message. "Sucks to be you! You should have logged out!" The entire paper was deleted. She had about 6,000 words and had been working on it for 3 weeks. Talk about a life-altering experience. She now goes around class making sure that everyone has signed out of the app before putting away the iPads.
I think it's important to have security measures in place, especially in a large network. If one teacher gets a virus, it can spread to thousands of people within a few hours.
Again, this was a great note to end on for this class!
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Week 7
Delicious
This website acts like a bookmark bar. It reminds me of Pinterest because this is how I use Pinterest sometimes: I find a website that I want to remember, and I "Pin" it so that I can come back to it for reference. Sometimes, it's hard to Pin things with Pinterest, especially educational resources because they often don't have any images. With Delicious, you can bookmark any resource. Similar to Pinterest, you can access your account with any device (computer, iPad, Android device, etc.) thus have access to your favorite websites. I think this would be great for any teacher to use. Actually, anyone in any profession that requires they have access to websites could benefit from Delicious. The reason that I can see it working in the classroom is because I previously worked in a district that blocked Pinterest. I would "Pin" sources to use (lesson plans, worksheets, etc.), only to have them blocked. I would have to login on my phone (secretly because even though it was for technology and before school, my principal wouldn't have been happy were he to find me with my phone out) and email the pinned link to myself. This was a 10 minute process that should have taken about 30 seconds to login to Delicious, click on the bookmarked page, and wait for it to load. I will definitely be sharing this resource with my colleagues at our next PLC!
HistoryPin
HistoryPin was the next source we reviewed. I love this concept! Basically, it is a map (associated with Google maps) that has thousands of photos pinned to locations throughout the world. You can pin photos from the same locations, which enables you to compare the past to the present. You can look at your neighborhood (assuming that there are photos of it) from back when it was a corn field and compare it to the way it looks today with lots of houses. I kept thinking of this subdivision in Scottsville, which is where I grew up. The Extension agent took a photograph of this gigantic farmhouse that sat on top of a hill. It was surrounded by farmland and woods. The main road (Bowling Green Rd.) out of town went by this farm, and everyone in the entire county knew the house. The photograph was on the cover of the county survey book (I don't remember exactly what it was called, but we used it in high school ag classes all the time). Taken just 10 years earlier, it looked completely different than the same location did when it was used on the cover. If you had stood exactly where the photographer stood, you would have seen about 50 houses completed, and a dozen more being built. That was 10 years ago. Now, there are even more houses. I am sentimental, so I really enjoy comparing things now to how they were. I also think about how things could be destroyed due to fire, water damage, or fading (Epson printers didn't offer 100 year fade-resistant photographs in the 1920's). By putting the images online, it will provide a way to preserve the history for generations. Also, it provides a more realistic example of a specific place than just reading about it. I think this website would be great to use in a social studies or science classroom. Math teachers could even use it to demonstrate population growth. Language Arts teachers could do unlimited free writing prompts based on the photographs and how they have changed over time. The photographs featured on HistoryPin have stories/captions with them. The people uploading the images can put as much information as they want to include in them, so it's like a mini-history lesson (a great way to review bias/author's purpose, too!). I highly recommend this site!
Talking Calculator
Next, we viewed Talking Calculator. I wasn't impressed at first; I thought the voice was very obnoxious, and I pictured having 26 kids using the calculator at the same time and broke out in hives. Ha! In all seriousness, I can see that the calculator would be great for primary grades where they are just learning basics like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Even younger students could benefit from hearing the numbers read aloud (although, there are much better apps for that like Monkey Mathschool Beach). Once I investigated the website more, it's a great resource for young primary students. CyberChase is ran by PBS Kids, and it's packed with fun educational games, videos, and activities. This would be a great tool in any primary classroom!
Big Simple Talking Calculator
One thing that I noticed instantly was that this calculator read the number exactly as it would be spoken. Instead of saying, "Nine Four Two Six," it says, "Nine thousand, four hundred and twenty six." This would be wonderful for students learning to read large numbers aloud. I remember my niece having a lot of trouble with this skill, and I know that my sister-in-law would have loved having access to this to help! The calculator would help with ESL students, as it speaks in several languages. Also, for those of us who hate the thought of 28 calculator voices going at once, it has a mute button.
2write4math
The first math wiki we reviewed was 2write4math. It is a wiki that is made for math teachers and is aimed at helping incorporate writing skills in the math classroom. It is very easy to navigate and has lots of great resources to be used in the classroom. There are even math poems that I could use in my poetry unit! I think that this is a resource that could be very helpful in any math classroom (particularly upper primary/middle grades). It's free to view, so be sure to check it out!
PicLits
This website is amazing! I can see it being used in an ESL/ELL classroom frequently. PicLits provides an image and a list of words categorized by their part of speech. The image I saw first was a closeup of a hawk's face. There were words pertaining to the bird, and words that you had to use your imagination to make them fit. The goal was to choose the right words to describe the picture and compile a sentence that tells the story of the photo. It would be a great bell ringer to use for review of parts of speech during any language arts class. I can also see it being used in an art class. My favorite part of the website was the definition for edutainment, which was found under the FAQ's section. Edutainment is the act of learning through a medium that both educates and entertains. In this definition, learning is the key. I think that this definition embodies the entire core of this class, and it should embody our views on utilizing technology within our classrooms.
Web 2.0 Tools: Grammarly
My extended language arts students have been doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) since the middle of October. The main purpose of NaNoWriMo is to publish a novel/novella. My students have worked independently, and they have done an excellent job. The main problem I have had so far is that it is SO time consuming to edit the novels. Part of the students' assignment is that they peer edit, but for many students, grammar isn't a strength. That's where Grammarly comes in. As a language arts teacher, this is one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools. Students simply copy and paste part of their novels into the box and click, "Check your text." It's that simple. Grammarly checks the text for over 250 types of mistakes There are over 3 million users, and it's been featured and recommended by Wall Street Journal, TIME, FOrtune, U.S.News, and Forbes. It's $29.95 a month if you do independent months, or $11.66 per month if you pay for an entire year. There is a 7-day free trial, which is what we used in my class. However, it would be worth $140 a year to not have to check all of the papers myself! One of the main challenges I faced using this tool is that it is somewhat advanced. Several of the grammatical errors it listed were way above my students' heads (parallelism isn't really a 7th grade concept). However, for checking basic usage and mechanic errors, it's great. Grammarly also checks for plagiarism, and it can work within Microsoft Office apps, so you can check while you type. I know that I am awful about ignoring the "suggestions" made by Word because they often are incorrect. It would be great if Grammarly provided mini lessons for their suggestions; that way the students could add to their independent learning logs while using the site. Overall, I definitely recommend Grammarly for the free 7 day trial, and I think it would be worth the money if you were dealing with a lot of papers; my time is definitely worth $140 a year!
This website acts like a bookmark bar. It reminds me of Pinterest because this is how I use Pinterest sometimes: I find a website that I want to remember, and I "Pin" it so that I can come back to it for reference. Sometimes, it's hard to Pin things with Pinterest, especially educational resources because they often don't have any images. With Delicious, you can bookmark any resource. Similar to Pinterest, you can access your account with any device (computer, iPad, Android device, etc.) thus have access to your favorite websites. I think this would be great for any teacher to use. Actually, anyone in any profession that requires they have access to websites could benefit from Delicious. The reason that I can see it working in the classroom is because I previously worked in a district that blocked Pinterest. I would "Pin" sources to use (lesson plans, worksheets, etc.), only to have them blocked. I would have to login on my phone (secretly because even though it was for technology and before school, my principal wouldn't have been happy were he to find me with my phone out) and email the pinned link to myself. This was a 10 minute process that should have taken about 30 seconds to login to Delicious, click on the bookmarked page, and wait for it to load. I will definitely be sharing this resource with my colleagues at our next PLC!
HistoryPin
HistoryPin was the next source we reviewed. I love this concept! Basically, it is a map (associated with Google maps) that has thousands of photos pinned to locations throughout the world. You can pin photos from the same locations, which enables you to compare the past to the present. You can look at your neighborhood (assuming that there are photos of it) from back when it was a corn field and compare it to the way it looks today with lots of houses. I kept thinking of this subdivision in Scottsville, which is where I grew up. The Extension agent took a photograph of this gigantic farmhouse that sat on top of a hill. It was surrounded by farmland and woods. The main road (Bowling Green Rd.) out of town went by this farm, and everyone in the entire county knew the house. The photograph was on the cover of the county survey book (I don't remember exactly what it was called, but we used it in high school ag classes all the time). Taken just 10 years earlier, it looked completely different than the same location did when it was used on the cover. If you had stood exactly where the photographer stood, you would have seen about 50 houses completed, and a dozen more being built. That was 10 years ago. Now, there are even more houses. I am sentimental, so I really enjoy comparing things now to how they were. I also think about how things could be destroyed due to fire, water damage, or fading (Epson printers didn't offer 100 year fade-resistant photographs in the 1920's). By putting the images online, it will provide a way to preserve the history for generations. Also, it provides a more realistic example of a specific place than just reading about it. I think this website would be great to use in a social studies or science classroom. Math teachers could even use it to demonstrate population growth. Language Arts teachers could do unlimited free writing prompts based on the photographs and how they have changed over time. The photographs featured on HistoryPin have stories/captions with them. The people uploading the images can put as much information as they want to include in them, so it's like a mini-history lesson (a great way to review bias/author's purpose, too!). I highly recommend this site!
Talking Calculator
Next, we viewed Talking Calculator. I wasn't impressed at first; I thought the voice was very obnoxious, and I pictured having 26 kids using the calculator at the same time and broke out in hives. Ha! In all seriousness, I can see that the calculator would be great for primary grades where they are just learning basics like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Even younger students could benefit from hearing the numbers read aloud (although, there are much better apps for that like Monkey Mathschool Beach). Once I investigated the website more, it's a great resource for young primary students. CyberChase is ran by PBS Kids, and it's packed with fun educational games, videos, and activities. This would be a great tool in any primary classroom!
Big Simple Talking Calculator
One thing that I noticed instantly was that this calculator read the number exactly as it would be spoken. Instead of saying, "Nine Four Two Six," it says, "Nine thousand, four hundred and twenty six." This would be wonderful for students learning to read large numbers aloud. I remember my niece having a lot of trouble with this skill, and I know that my sister-in-law would have loved having access to this to help! The calculator would help with ESL students, as it speaks in several languages. Also, for those of us who hate the thought of 28 calculator voices going at once, it has a mute button.
2write4math
The first math wiki we reviewed was 2write4math. It is a wiki that is made for math teachers and is aimed at helping incorporate writing skills in the math classroom. It is very easy to navigate and has lots of great resources to be used in the classroom. There are even math poems that I could use in my poetry unit! I think that this is a resource that could be very helpful in any math classroom (particularly upper primary/middle grades). It's free to view, so be sure to check it out!
PicLits
This website is amazing! I can see it being used in an ESL/ELL classroom frequently. PicLits provides an image and a list of words categorized by their part of speech. The image I saw first was a closeup of a hawk's face. There were words pertaining to the bird, and words that you had to use your imagination to make them fit. The goal was to choose the right words to describe the picture and compile a sentence that tells the story of the photo. It would be a great bell ringer to use for review of parts of speech during any language arts class. I can also see it being used in an art class. My favorite part of the website was the definition for edutainment, which was found under the FAQ's section. Edutainment is the act of learning through a medium that both educates and entertains. In this definition, learning is the key. I think that this definition embodies the entire core of this class, and it should embody our views on utilizing technology within our classrooms.
Web 2.0 Tools: Grammarly
My extended language arts students have been doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) since the middle of October. The main purpose of NaNoWriMo is to publish a novel/novella. My students have worked independently, and they have done an excellent job. The main problem I have had so far is that it is SO time consuming to edit the novels. Part of the students' assignment is that they peer edit, but for many students, grammar isn't a strength. That's where Grammarly comes in. As a language arts teacher, this is one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools. Students simply copy and paste part of their novels into the box and click, "Check your text." It's that simple. Grammarly checks the text for over 250 types of mistakes There are over 3 million users, and it's been featured and recommended by Wall Street Journal, TIME, FOrtune, U.S.News, and Forbes. It's $29.95 a month if you do independent months, or $11.66 per month if you pay for an entire year. There is a 7-day free trial, which is what we used in my class. However, it would be worth $140 a year to not have to check all of the papers myself! One of the main challenges I faced using this tool is that it is somewhat advanced. Several of the grammatical errors it listed were way above my students' heads (parallelism isn't really a 7th grade concept). However, for checking basic usage and mechanic errors, it's great. Grammarly also checks for plagiarism, and it can work within Microsoft Office apps, so you can check while you type. I know that I am awful about ignoring the "suggestions" made by Word because they often are incorrect. It would be great if Grammarly provided mini lessons for their suggestions; that way the students could add to their independent learning logs while using the site. Overall, I definitely recommend Grammarly for the free 7 day trial, and I think it would be worth the money if you were dealing with a lot of papers; my time is definitely worth $140 a year!
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Week 5
I have been a SLACKER. Not by choice. Things have been crazy for me these past few weeks. I bit off more than I can chew, and it is finally catching up with me. I am treading water, barely, and I think I might wind up flipping fries at McDonalds for a living. Not that there is a thing in the world wrong with that. But, with $60k in student loans and 2 kids to put through college, it's not the most promising career move.
Anyway, if you're still here, you are either the most pathetic person in the world, you are my mother (hi, Mom!), or you are in my Ed. Tech class and have to read it. Either way, welcome! I'm glad you're here. Now, on to the good stuff!
Here are my tech reviews for week 5. It's late, I know. But, I just had to shell out $1500 for a new computer after drenching my beloved MacBookPro. Being without a computer was the most awful experience, and it just added to a year that has been classified as the worst of my life. Thankfully, all systems are finally a go, and I am ready to work hard to make up for lost time. Now, who wants to bring me Starbucks?
Without further ado, here are my reviews!
I learned so many things that were new to me this week! I can see me using Spicy Nodes and Edmondo in my classroom immediately. I plan to revisit Prezis. I think the students would really enjoy seeing those more frequently in the classroom. Anything that aids in instruction is a great resource to use, so I will be using them to incorporate key concepts and strategies. Hopefully, you learned a lot from reading this post!
Anyway, if you're still here, you are either the most pathetic person in the world, you are my mother (hi, Mom!), or you are in my Ed. Tech class and have to read it. Either way, welcome! I'm glad you're here. Now, on to the good stuff!
Here are my tech reviews for week 5. It's late, I know. But, I just had to shell out $1500 for a new computer after drenching my beloved MacBookPro. Being without a computer was the most awful experience, and it just added to a year that has been classified as the worst of my life. Thankfully, all systems are finally a go, and I am ready to work hard to make up for lost time. Now, who wants to bring me Starbucks?
Without further ado, here are my reviews!
Prezi
My students love Prezi. It’s a great way to incorporate content and graphics in a way that engages them. Prezi is similar to a PowerPoint presentation, but it is formatted similar to Dropbox (the slides are hosted on the website instead of having to email the presentation or save it to a USB drive). One of the things that I like most about a Prezi compared to a PowerPoint is that the Prezi engages you by pulling you into the presentation. The difference is comparable to seeing a movie in 2-D vs 3-D. While making a Prezi, you can actually make certain portions of your background act as an independent slide. By clicking on the “next” arrow, the page zooms in to the assigned area and presents the next slide. One of the best presentations I’ve seen from my students was by a boy who was presenting his book project on Eragon. He made the slide with the “boring” details part of the dragon’s nostril. The entire class jumped back and made 7th grade noises when it zoomed to that part. One of the things I like the most about Prezi is that it is free and accessible to everyone with an internet connection. Unlike PowerPoint, you don’t have to buy any expensive software in order to gain access. One of the downfalls is that it isn’t very fast if you have a lot of images (the load time is lengthy for a 7th grade class; they get terribly impatient, and when they get impatient, they get loud). I think that it is great as long as you keep in mind that you need to have it pulled up and ready to go (which isn’t always possible for students doing back-to-back presentations). I think that every age group would benefit from Prezi in moderation (as with anything).
Spicy Nodes
I had never heard of Spicy Nodes until I looked at it for this class. I think it would be a great way to review material or ensure that students gained the material you want them to for a specific skill or objective. The website was very user friendly, and I quickly made a (free) Nodemap for the short story Three Skeleton Key. It was very simple to create, but it wasn’t very user friendly beyond that. I am not sure if it was due to my browser (Safari), or if I just had something off in the settings. But, when I clicked on one of the nodes, it opened them beyond the edge of the window and cut off the arrow links to get to them. I could navigate the window to the new nodes, but it wasn’t very easy. I think I will try the website again on my computer at school; it would be much easier to move on the ActivBoard than it is on my iMac at home. I think that this would be great to use in any classroom for a teacher-centered lesson, but I don’t know how well primary students would be able to navigate through it. Older kids would love it. I am going to share it with my students. It reminds me of Prezi a lot, but I personally like Prezi more. I will give it a chance, though!
Edmodo
I loved the woman in the demonstration. She made excellent points about how using social media websites like Edmodo gave her credibility and made her seem relevant to her students. I think the concept of Edmodo is wonderful, and I can’t wait to use it in my own classroom. I created a free profile, and played around a bit with the features. I can set up classrooms and alert students via email when I have posted new assignments, quizzes, or polls. Students can upload assignments, take quizzes and polls, post questions, and interact with their peers. The layout of the website is similar to Facebook (several updates ago), so I think the students would buy in to the site. One of the things I like most about this site is that it is available anywhere that has internet. I have so many awful experiences with students who either forget their flash drive or save it as a file which can’t be opened. It is very frustrating to try to do technologically advanced lessons when there are constant problems. However, with Edmodo, students are able to upload things from Google Drive (which eliminates the file exchange problems). I can edit papers and post feedback similarly to how we receive feedback on Blackboard, only this is free. As I’ve said before, I long for a flipped classroom. This is a great website to incorporate in that model. I will definitely be setting up my classroom for 3rd quarter! I think that every upper primary class and beyond could benefit from this website! It would also be a great tool for schools to use for their staff. I could see administrators and curriculum coordinators utilizing this site.
Maths Charts
Maths Charts is a great resource for the math classroom. There are tons of interactive charts and diagrams to explain basic concepts. I learned a lot from looking at the website! I am sure that a math teacher could use this resource in his or her classroom. The concepts included range from number identification (lower primary) to geometry, notation, and economics (middle/high). The website is colorful, and it reminds me of the popular website, www.coolmath.com. I know that my students love playing on Cool Math, so I am sure that they would love this!
Glogster
I have a love-hate relationship with Glogster. I love the presentations (which are similar to PowerPoint or Prezi). But, I love them when they work. My Activ computer is outdated, and it doesn’t matter what web browser I use, they just won’t load correctly. I have several students who poured hours into creating very technically advanced Glogsters only to find that they had to present them in “edit” mode because the images wouldn’t load. Glogster is free to individual users, and districts can purchase licenses for their entire staff to set up classrooms for each student. For 10 teachers and 250 students, it is $390 a year. I am guessing that, if my district were to have access to Glogster, we would have had better success with loading presentations created in my classroom. I am sure it was a fluke, but I clicked on the “Tour” tab under the edu.glogster.com link provided on Blackboard, and it opened a website covered in inappropriate images and opportunities to meet “local” singles. I can guarantee you that not a single naked photo on the site was local; We eat a whole lot of meat and potatoes where I live! All kidding aside, I am using a brand new iMac (I just purchased it today after my MacBookPro crashed last week), and the only websites I have visited are Blackboard and the links given in the content section. There is no chance that the browser history would have caused that link to open unless J.Crew sold my information (trust me; these girls don’t shop at J.Crew!). My point is that, if I were to open this website in a classroom and students saw those images, I would have to answer to a lot of people. I think that is why so many are hesitant to try and be technologically advanced in the classroom; there are too many uncontrollable things, all of which could go wrong. While I am sure it is a fluke, it did make me leery to use it in the classroom.
Jing
Jing is another site that is totally new to me. I watched the video, and I am very intrigued by it. However, I don’t know how frequently I would use it in my classroom. I am going to share it with the STLP/yearbook sponsor. I think she would be able to use it a lot. I could picture her creating a step-by-step video of how to edit the videos the students produce for the school YouTube channel. In a regular classroom, teachers could provide specific tutorials of how to use certain programs. The students could access the videos from the class website (or Emodo!) I think Jing would be useful in a lot of situations. I just don’t think I would use it very often. The video talks about using the “print screen” to share/store and how it doesn’t actually store anything. I just send whatever I am wanting to Dropbox or I add a bookmark. It’s free, and seems very easy to use, so I may give it a try!
YouTube, SchoolTube, and TeacherTube
We use SchoolTube all the time in my school. The STLP students created a channel and produce bi-weekly news shows which are published on the channel. Several teachers use TeacherTube to post classroom lessons for students who have missed (especially in math and science). They can watch the videos during the bellringers or before school if they don’t have internet access at home. There are also lots of great videos that have been posted by teachers. I have used TeacherTube in my classroom before, though I have never created my own video. I think that there is something from these channels for every classroom, regardless of the student population. And, it’s free! In the teacher world, free equals fabulous!
I learned so many things that were new to me this week! I can see me using Spicy Nodes and Edmondo in my classroom immediately. I plan to revisit Prezis. I think the students would really enjoy seeing those more frequently in the classroom. Anything that aids in instruction is a great resource to use, so I will be using them to incorporate key concepts and strategies. Hopefully, you learned a lot from reading this post!
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