Ninth Day of Class

Today we used Microsoft Word to set up a newsletter. This seems like a nice way to do this because we are all familiar with Microsoft Word, but almost all of us encountered problems with it today. There has got to be a better way to set up a newsletter because all of these problems would be quite detrimental to composing a weekly or monthly newsletter. I'll have to ask the teacher at my school what she uses to create such professional-looking newsletters.

Well, since this will be my last official post for the class, I just want to thank everyone for making these last two weeks so pleasant with great discussions and presentations. I wish you all the best, and perhaps we'll meet again :o)

Eighth Day of Class

Today we started out by putting our name into a google search. Now that my married name is a common last name, there were a ton of results found from this search, though I did not find myself on there. A few years ago, my first graduate professor had us do this activity but in a slightly different way. On the first day of classes, she put all of our names in a hat and we drew out a name. Not knowing anyone in the class, we then were asked to google the name that we got and create a brief biography of them. Lastly, we presented what we had found on the person we drew, and we were provided with many laughs as the person later told us what pieces of information (if any at all) were actually about them. It really was a fun ice breaker and showed us just how much stuff might be on the internet about "us", though I would not suggest it for elementary or secondary school since who knows what might be found!

On an unrelated topic, I loved the rapid fire piece on Inspiration, as it would be a great way to chart brainstorming in class.

Seventh Day of Class

Today we started class by wrapping up the presentations on emerging technology as well as begin working on our lesson plans that incorporate technology. With such nice work on the presentations, I am looking forward to what everyone comes up with for their lesson plans.

On a totally unrelated note but technology based nonetheless, I was watching a behind-the-scenes special on NBC Dateline's "To Catch A Predator". As I'm sure you are all familiar with this show, it really does make you worry about your children or future children. Although there are some great uses of the Internet, the ability of other people to take advantage of young people is heightened and quite disturbing. Finishing its third season, Chris Hansen (the journalist) says that he will continue the show as long as there are still potential abusers out there.

Sixth Day of Class

I really was able to learn alot of great things from all six of the PowerPoint presentations today. One topic in particular, digital storytelling, was completely new to me. Cindy did an excellent job with her presentation, and I can see how students would get totally wrapped up in digital storying telling. However, I wonder how I could use it with my 10th and 11th grade math students. I was thinking as a means to discuss mathematicians or applications of a mathematical concept. Does anyone else have any ideas?

5th Day of Class

I am sorry for missing the remaining WebQuests that were presented today, but I could not be in class this morning because of my grandmother's funeral. Knowing a few days ago that I would not be present today, I have been trying to work on my PowerPoint presentation a little bit each day. I picked SMART Boards as the emerging technology for this presentaiton because I figured this would be a great way to research this tool that I'll have in my classroom this upcoming September. Doing some exploration on the Internet, I have found some really great uses with SMART Board. I would love to share them with you, but you'll have to wait until my presentation ;o)

Fourth Day of Class

Today we will be learning how to set up a basic webpage. This is of great interest to me since I would love to be able to have a website where my students can download their homework if they are absent. I do have to say though that my one worry is that once something is posted on a website, it feels as though it is set in stone. Since I will be teaching two new math courses next year, it is often hard to gauge where lessons will fall for an entire month. I realize that it would be of the most benefit to post on a website daily, I wonder if that is do-able for newer teachers. Does anyone else feel this way or have this worry?

Third Day of Class

Today we began to work on our WebQuests, which I really can foresee my students liking this different type of lesson as it gives them an opportunity to go at their own pace. It also would be a great break for them from typical math lessons that focus on performing calculations to problems. In order to help me get my mind around the purpose of a WebQuest as well as how I could use it for my content in math, I found one of the listed links in our course information to be of great help.

www.bestwebquest.com

This site not only has examples of WebQuests categorized by content area, but it also has them listed according to the appropriate grade level. I recommend this site, so if you get some time (not like you have anything else to do...right!) take a look at some of the WebQuests from your content area.

Second Day of Class

Today our class centered around building our Furl Accounts as we browsed through articles relating to education and technology. Although I began class not having even heard of Furl, I can honestly say that my initial anxiety about it has dissipated as everything appeared simple after originally setting up our account. One of the articles in particular that I added to my Furl account caught my attention. http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/allen.htm

This article discusses how nanotechnology, which many of us have probably at least heard about in the news the last few years, is and will continue affecting our K-12 educational system. This very informative article spurred my memory, as I found myself remembering the first time I had heard of nanotechnology. During my freshman year of college up in Albany, the College of Nanoscience & Technology was built right down the street from my St. Rose dorm. It was right around that time that nanotechnology was thrust into the news and into the public's awareness. After reading this article, it was very interesting to see just how far it has come along.

First Day of Class

Good morning everybody,
This is my first experience with using Blogs, so please bear with me. Although I'm quite anxious about many of the activities that we will be taking part in this week due to my inexperience, I am also excited because of the benefits I will be able to reap within my classroom at the completion of this course.
With two other intensive online graduate courses through SUNY Albany that span from May 28th to August 17th, my summer has been all about coursework. My husband and I have planned a trip to Hawaii at the end of summer with my parents and his parents. None of us have ever been there, so when I saw the following article on CNN I was immediately interested.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/getaways/07/08/hawaii.hotels.ap/index.html

This article talks about how expensive it can be to stay at hotels in Hawaii. With many options such as bed and breakfasts or timeshares, visitors can save some money so as to spend it on more adventurous activities such as surfing or hiking amidst the many waterfalls that are present on the islands.