June 7th

What great tool time demos last night.  We had something to please everyone - podcasting, polling, games, picture altering sites, word pictures and mapping.  I was so excited to try tagxedo, I went home, created one and attached it to a presentation I gave today at school for my coworkers.  I am sure I will "play" with all of these sites over the summer - when there are no time constraints or projects due. 

I did have a bit a down time this past weekend.  I attended a wedding at The Avenue which is located at Pier Village, on the beach in Long Branch.  It was a perfect evening with fireworks to top it all off.  It's refreshing to reconnect with friends you haven't seen in awhile.  It just makes me want the summer to come that much quicker!  Hang on all - just 1 more week to go!



 

May 31

I cannot believe that Memorial Day weekend has come and gone.  What a truly relaxing and enjoyable weekend it was.  I got to see and catch up with my "Summer Friends".  I did alot of biking and tanning.  Unfortunately I had to do a bit of waitressing also - the summer job kicks into high gear soon!

What an eye opener it was this morning to know that summer wasn't here quite yet and we had to function way too early this morning.  The countdown is on though - we all do deserve a break after working so hard over the past 5 months. 

On a side note, I drove past Southern on Friday morning - I had a class at the elementary school on Rt. 9- and saw that awesome display of patriotism!  It was breathtaking.  Kudos to those students!

 

May 23rd

Another presentation filled evening - with one being more informative than the last.  Well, being that I teach 4th graders, I think the flylab is a bit too intense for my 9 year olds but cool to be able to simulate something like that on line.  I could really see me utilizing both zunal and befuddlr, and did preview dvolver and storybird to my students today.  They all wanted to know when they could go to the computer lab and start to experiment.  It is nice to see that even at the end of the year, they are all still interested in learning! 

Not sure if anyone saw the email from Amy regarding our next few classes.  I was a bit intrigued by our Fall class so pulled up a bit more info on the subject of visual design.  Many strands being pulled together to create a cohesive tool to use to teach our students!  Looking forward to it.

May 16th

All groups did a great job on their presentations this past week - there was a common thread through all but each took a slightly different look at the history of IT. 

Wow, can't believe that we are more than halfway through this class.  Only 4 more weeks and lots of work to go!  Between having 20 days left of school and 4 weeks left of this class, I don't know what to do first.  I am definitely looking forward to June 17th when there will be a whole lotta sleepin in, relaxing on the beach, and just enjoyin' the good life!   

May 9, 2011

Felt like old times with folks demoing tools.  Found that ProProfs is a great alternative to flashcard maker and studystack with many more options, thanks Jane.  Cacoo reminds me of a supped up version of glogster.  I would think that glogster is more 4th grade friendly with all its cute applications where as Cacoo is geared more toward presentations, flowcharts, and mapping - thanks Colleen.

The History of IT presentation on edutainment was like a blast from the past.  I am definitely going to take a look into the Jason project info and see what I can apply towards my own science class.  I looked up edutainment games and found Mavis Beacon - where most of us learned how to type!  

After the midterm freeze, I will be looking to find some unexplored tool to present.  Any ideas?  Well, need to continue working toward achieving my 50 points!

Monday, May 2

It was comforting to know that others were a bit confused (or unsure) of what was expeced in our History of IT presentation.  BUT, as usual, once we were all assembled, we knew just what questions to ask Amy and worked with each other, to put each other at ease.  Now more work begins.  Thanks to all of you who were generous enough to take time out of your night to help with questions I had on the Wimba/BB worksheet!  What teamwork we have! 

I know that this is only our second class together but am glad that I will be taking this lone, 3 year journey with you all. 

Monday 4/25 Wimba Session

Oh boy, I thought I would never get signed into Wimba tonight.  I did run the set up on my desktop but was unable to sign in (for some unforseen reason).  So I fired up my laptop and after some challenges, was able to sign on and chat with the 7 or 8 of you that joined the discussion.  I am glad I did because I was made aware of the Wimba/BB practice sheet that I needed to start working on.  I also found where and how to post my assignments.  I will be viewing the videos and information on the discussion page along with examples of work prior work on the Home Page.  I am sure I will have plenty of questions for next weeks class.

Am really excited to see you all again in person next Monday! 

One last picture of Yosemite before the "Real World"  and work kicks into full gear again!

This picture is of Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite

Vacation Time

Just figured out how to create my blog and am ready to go.  I spent the last few days in Yosemite - what beautiful sites.  If I had the choice, I would much rather be experiencing life (and the outdoors) rather than reflecting on it - but we gotta do what we gotta do!  The rest of vacation will be spent enjoying the outdoors of California with my family.