Cruise

Scavenger Hunt

Digital Collection

Picnik and Glogster

I found Glogster to be exceptionally helpful! I can't wait to introduce this into my classroom, it's much more conventional than the old poster board. I actually made one for a presentation that I have to give. It was easy to use and fun to create!

I didn't especially like picnik, I found it confusing. I get that you can edit pictures and add things to them, but I don't see how it would be helpful in the classroom, other than making name tags. I guess since I have never been into photo editing, I don't find it particularly interesting. Of coarse I won't let my interests deter my students, I plan on introducing all of the new technologies and websites.

Here is a glog I made:

http://shay25.glogster.com/reed-430/

http://shay25.glogster.com/reed-430/

WebQuest Activities

The following are collaborative activities that can be used in the classroom.

Where is my hero?

Grow School Greens

Unraveling the Underground Railroad

We all Scream for Ice Cream

Ancient Egypt WebQuest

Wiki's

 Learning about wiki's has been helpful in learning and understanding various ways I can use technological resources to help students in the class. I learned that wiki's can be used by students as well as teacher. In early elementary school it's probably better to just have teachers and parents use wiki's.

The following are websites that are helpful in understanding wiki's better.



http://www.educause.edu/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutWikis/156807

http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-more-collaborative-and-interactive-classroom/

Website Evaluation Part II

Reflection on Evaluating Websites

The website I evaluated was apples4theteacher. 

This was a very interesting and informative activity. I can't even begin to discuss how many sites I have used in researching in which I didn't consider the accuracy of the site.

This site is useful for some educational purposes. The games are education and could be used by students if they choose to use the computer as their free-time activity. I wouldn’t necessarily use this site as a teaching tool, but possibly for worksheets and other educational printouts the site offers. The site would also be useful for certain geography lessons because it provides interactive lessons.  These lessons include an electronic talking book with very educational pictures and maps. The site wouldn’t be useful for parents because the site only offers articles for parents. If I use a site in my classroom, I would like to be able to share that with parents. Since there is no verifiable information on the site, such as biographical information about the author, I cannot be sure that all the information on the site is accurate, an important characteristic teachers need before teaching a topic or subject.

Website Verification

The following site is very helpful in determining whether a website is legitimate. There are step-by-step instructions to follow that help guide you in determining the validity of the site. One of the great features of this site is that it recommends testing a website against the Better Business Bureau's website to see if there are any claims against the site.

I found the article here.

Bio and Expectations

Biography and Expectations

Short Intro

My name is Shannon McCool. I am a senior majoring in elementary education. I want to teach 3rd grade because it was my favorite and I like that students are still new to the school environment, yet know what to expect and how to behave in the classroom. I enjoy reading, no favorite book, but I like to read various books that people recommend me.

Informal Introduction to Class

I was born and raised in Michigan. I moved to Tennessee about 4 years ago with my best friend. She wanted to attend UT’s criminal psychology program. I moved just because. I currently work at Loomis, an armored car company, so I work with millions of $ everyday. Pretty cool job to have while a student. I just got engaged (like a week ago). I’m very excited, but have no clue where to start as far as planning a wedding. In my spare time my fiancee and I travel back and forth to Memphis (his hometown) and Michigan. I enjoy outdoor activities, such as hiking, swimming, and camping. I just discovered ziplining, it’s amazing! As far as technology, I know very little. I check my facebook and e-mail often as well as write papers on Word documents. My fiancee is exceptionally well with computers, so when I have an issue he fixes it. I am looking forward to finally learning about computers and technology.

Course Expectations

I am hoping that this class gives me a better understanding and use for technology in the classroom as well as out. I have very little knowledge of computers and technology, but I hope this class changes that. I hope to discover shortcuts to doing basic documents and profiles. I hope to feel confident enough to create a website that I can use to communicate with my students and parents.



http://shay25.glogster.com/edit/glog-4290/