glogster

I actually really like Glogster I think it can be an extremely interesting and creative way for students to express themselves. I would have students present ideas through glogs. They could then put their idea across through images which is another way for students to think about whatever they are learning. The only reason I would worry is because when searching for Glogster students could forget to put in the edu version and find a multitude of inappropriate Glogs. I would have to make sure that students did not make this mistake. but other then this I see this program being very useful in the classroom.

Elluminate

I would not use Elluminate in my class because of what occurred in our class during the presentation. the students literary took over the session and threw the presentation off course. I fear that this program is not worth the chaos it could ensue. I feel as though there are better programs out there that can do the same things this program does.

jing screen shot

http://screencast.com/t/0UudV2nxhj

my woordle

My Poll

Make a live audience poll at Poll Everywhere

Second Life

Hello Parent/Guardian,
  I am writing you all this letter in order to announce that we will be using the virtual world Second Life in our 10th Grade English Class this year. I am for this program because I feel it can be an interesting addition to our classroom environment. Students are constantly living in virtual worlds during their free time, why not allow them to learn through one in school as well?  This world will only be for our classroom with our students only, so you do not have to worry about their safety whatsoever. I feel that this can be a wonderful addition to our classroom because the students can learn on their own terms in a way that they feel comfortable. They do not have to worry about being shy or having any judgements against them in this world because it is not reality, it is a different place where they can feel free to be who they are. I have done a large amount of research on these types of worlds and have even dabbled in a few myself. I truly believe that students can get a lot out of an experience like this because they can learn from interacting and actually enjoy doing so. I feel that this type of experience teaches so many different types of skills that are vital to students growth as learners and as people. Of course it will not be used all the time, only at certain points in the year in order to enhance certain aspects of our learning. I think this can be an incredible experience and I hope you are all on board with me. If you have any questions, comments or concerns do not be afraid to contact me at any time. I promise to keep you updated on everything we do within this world and maybe if it works out well you all can join us for a day of class in our "Second Life".
Sincerely,
    Ms. Bragas

Things that I have found useful

My personal favorite has to be the Smart Board. I am sure that most of us agree that this tool can really help make a boring lesson more interesting and exciting for our students. I personally hate the thought of teaching grammar lessons, it is hard for me to think up ways to make it meaningful. The Smart Board doesn't necessarily do that, but it can really spice up one of those simple and necessary lessons and make it more fun for the students. I also feel that by using a tool like this and having the students be more creative with simple lessons, they will more likely then not learn more from them and grasp the information better. It is much easier to learn something when the students are not tuning out left and right because they are bored. I hope that whatever school that I teach at in the future has Smart Boards even if they are only in a few classrooms because it would be nice to bring this fun technology to my students and allow them to play and explore the way that I have over the past few weeks. I would love to have students make projects through Smart Notebook and play with all of the different features. I know they would enjoy that very much. I am not exactly sure what else I would like to learn about. Everything we have done has been rather exciting and brand new to me. I think I would like to learn more about actual video editing. I want to work with that in my project and I am not sure exactly how to go about it. So instead of me fiddling around for a few hours trying to figure out what to do I could just go right in knowing what to do. I know that I will videoblog for my students when I am a teacher, I think it is a very valuable tool. I just have to figure out how to do it.

My Live Binder

               

   

Poe

I found this really interesting live binder that is a unit plan about Edgar Allen Poe. It has some great sources and articles about Poe. It even has the Simpson's episode spoofing Poe! I think students will love this when they are learning about this iconic writer. I also think this could be a really helpful and organized place for them to go when they have to do research or are just interested to learn more about him and his work.

Cyanide & Happiness #2215 - Explosm.net

http://www.explosm.net/comics/221
Love Comics about Grammer! With the help of Diigo, I was able to put this link here for all of you!

SAS Curriculum Pathways

Launch # -1242

The SAS activity I chose is an interactive activity called The Writing Reviser Tool Box. It is a really amazing tool that is downloaded to any computer and it actually prompts students on how to revise their essays. I felt that this could be very useful for students because it lays everything out for them that they need in order to make sure that they are writing a successful essay. It gives them statistics on possible run on sentences, grammar issues, wordiness and so many other things. It also tells students different things they want to make sure that they are achieving in their paper that would deem it successful or not. I like this because it is much easier and more interesting then just staring at a set of rules in a text book. Through this interactive activity they are guided step by step what to do with their writing in order to make sure they truly grasp what is being explained to them. I would use this in the classroom by asking students to put their essays into this program and follow the prompts to see how they can improve their essays before they came to me, to se if they could work it out on their own. This could really help broaden students knowledge on what a good essay looks like and what they can do in order to write well. I think this tool could make a big difference in our students writing. 

MY PREZI!

Prezi in the classroom on Prezi

Homework

Things that I like about Zoho Writer that makes it unique:

1.I love that you can put in emoticons!

2.Word is stupidly expensive.

3.it has a really cool name.

Things that I think Zoho Writer lacks in comparison to other word processors:

1.Google Docs is clearley better. 

2.The program is a bit glitchy.

3.I hate the spell check. 

I could integrate this program into my classroom by...

using it as a suppliment for word. I would have the students write up their projects with this tool and share it with me so I can help them work with it while they are still at home. 

 

Book review grades

I believe that the book review should be a group grade. I feel this way because I believe that the way the group works together is a major aspect of the project. Yes we all have to do our own part, but it is the responsibility of the group to make sure that we all have a schedule and are doing what is needed. I do not think it would be right to grade individually because I do not know how that would really be done. We all are working together to achieve a goal, and we all deserve whatever grade we get together.

WOO THINKFINITY!

Thinkfinity completely blew my mind last week. The amount of resources on this one site was just phenomenal. I was so excited to explore it and find all different things that I could use in my classroom I actually went back home and played with it for a few hours. I bookmarked many things that night. I think that this site can help promote higher thinking skills in the classroom simply by using their materials. They have so many different resources to introduce students to, it could completely open their minds to a whole new world. Having them watch a ballet performance, or making them make a Fairy Tale on a silly virtual Fairy Tale maker will enhance the students learning. Anything that will make them think differently then they normally do will promote higher thinking. Once students start to think about new things, it is difficult to get them to stop, and I would never want them to. Thinkfinity can really introduce new things that students will ant to continue to think about, and it is very exciting.

Podcasts!?

There are so many ways in which I feel that I could use podcasts in my classroom. First I think using already made podcasts would do well. I think students could pick a "english" podcast, with it being about literature or grammar or something having to do with our course work. Then then could listen to a few of the podcasts and do a project on what they learned from them. They could go into how learning from a podcast was more or less helpful to them then another teaching technique. I think this would be a good way to gage how podcasts would work within a certain class. I also think it would be a good way to introduce the idea of technology to them. The next idea would have me making a podcast. I think I would take my notes for the day or even a project that needs to be introduced to the students and have them listen to my podcast before class. Then I could either ask them to teach me what we were doing that day or I could start them on whatever project we were going to start in the beginning of the class rather than taking the time to explain it. This could be a nice way to show me how many of the students did their homework, how involved they were with said homework and if they got anything useful out of it. It could also be a nice saver of valuable time in the classroom. Finally I would make the students make their own podcasts. I believe it would differ depending on what we were doing in class at that time, but I think it would be an amazing way to have students use and play with technology. I love the idea of students making their own podcasts, it is a way to alter the same old day in day out routine they are used to in school. Also different students can show their strengths which before technology was used in classrooms, a lot of students missed out on. I believe that these ideas of course tweaked and diversified could really be interesting and exciting ways to make my classroom more rich and valuable for my students.

Teaching in the 21st Century

While I love the new direction teaching is now going in, this video brought up a number of points that I worry about as well. Teaching needs to grow as a profession, we need to keep up with what is going on around us because the students will be expecting us to. Schools are trying to do this but they are definitely behind. It is our jobs to use whatever resources we can get our hands on in order to help our students become more learned people. There is also a fine line. We cannot allow technology to take over our classrooms in a negative way. Students have access to to so many resources and so much information they technically can learn a lot of what we teach them without us being there. This scares me a bit, I worry that in a few years we may not be needed anymore. The video shows that it is our job to show them how they can use these resources in a good way that will benefit them in the future. Students may be more informed than ever before, but it will be very hard for them to be able to use this information without our help. Students will always need to be taught, if we do our jobs correctly we will always be needed. Hopefully technology will keep growing in wonderful ways and we will have more exciting things for our students in our classrooms. The 21st century school will be different, but hopefully it will be better.

Computer Anxiety

So as a member of my generation, I am expected to know everything about electronics and to be quite honest I am rather savvy with MOST technology. The problem is that I have been using a Mac since high school and have fallen very far behind in most new computer programs, (since Mac is not compatible with ANYTHING).  I only know how to use Microsoft office programs and paint, that is about it. I am nervous about getting frustrated with these new programs because I am used to being the one people ask when they are having trouble with things. Hopefully I will be able to pick them up easily or at least be humble enough to be patient. But overall I am so excited to learn all of these programs that will help me in my classroom and in the future period. I cannot wait to see all of the fun and exciting things that we do!

-Jenna

Hello class!

Here is my new blog! Hope you enjoy!