Creative Commons

To view a photo of my own that I licensed through Creative Commons, please click here. 

Photo Attribution:

Original image: "Butterfly"
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/162571826_074896307b_m.jpg

By: Bob Rayner

Released under an Attribution License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

I chose to use this particular image because it is one that I would consider using for my current butterfly unit. There are beautiful images available through the internet. I incorporate images into my own curriculum daily in many ways. Since I teach first grade, visuals are extremely important to the learning process. Before the students can read, they often times generate stories based on photographs and this would be one way that I would bring images into the classroom. I also use images for digital storytelling and by using Creative Commons, I could legally take advantage of a wide variety of images available online. I use images in science and social studies so that the students can visualize the topics being presented. For example, we are currently studying butterflies and the students would learn a  great deal from comparing and contrasting photographs of different butterflies. I also tie these photographs into the mathematical concept of symmetry, as we look at the markings on each butterfly. In social studies, I use images to supplement all of my teaching. Whether it is showing the students images of individuals in other states or countries, their learning at this age is directly tied to visual representation. I have a classroom SMART board, and often find myself using images for mathematical equations as well. There are many ways that I use images across the curriculum, and I am excited to cite and use these Creative Commons images in my future teaching.

PC Maintenance and Security

The first tutorial that I chose to watch in the “PC Maintenance and Security” workshop was “Installing RoboForm,” which I then followed up with watching   “Managing Your Web Passwords with RoboForm.”  I have always had trouble keeping all of my various passwords organized but I never wanted to write them down in fear of someone finding a list to all of my private documents. One thing that I learned from this tutorial and will share with others is that RoboForm can be used to store and organize all passwords. I just downloaded RoboForm and am amazed by how safe it appears to be. There is a master password that, if requested, must be typed in before entering each website. I found this to be a wonderful precaution so that others using my computer cannot access all of my information. I was surprised to learn in this tutorial that Internet Explorer automatically remembers many passwords, and these can be imported into RoboForm with the click of a button. I would highly recommend this program to anyone struggling with remembering many passwords!

The third tutorial that I watched was “Using Sandboxie for Browsing Safely.” As I search for various websites, I constantly worry that I will accidentally come across a virus. I learned that Sandboxie eliminates these worries, in that it holds all read information so that it never reaches my hard drive. I will definitely be sharing this new knowledge with others, because I know many of my colleagues have this same fear. This makes surfing the web much less stressful, and I am not as concerned about downloading viruses. I was actually surprised to learn that all of the websites that I visit are read by my hard drive. I had no idea just how dangerous surfing the web could be to my computer before watching this tutorial. I am excited to use this in my future searches, as I have just completed the download process. This not only is a wonderful precautionary measure, but it also gives me peace of mind while online.

The fourth tutorial that I viewed through the “PC Maintenance and Security” workshop was “Using PCPitstop” From this tutorial I now understand the purpose of PC Pitstop and how to use it to my benefit. I had never before heard of using PC Pitstop, but I will now be visiting this website on a regular basis. I learned that by running PC Pitstop, my computer is scanned to make sure that it is running at optimal performance. If any area of my computer needs to be corrected, I am notified and provided with a link to remedy the situation. I will be absolutely sharing this website to all of my friends and colleagues so that they may run updates on their own computers. I did not realize that there were so many systems running on my computer that might need to be corrected or updated. I was surprised to learn that PC Pitstop was not intended for Mozilla Firefox, which is what I use on a daily basis. It is possible to use PC Pitstop with Mozilla Firefox, and I simply had to download the Neptune plug-in.

Although I visited many of the other available tutorials, I found that I learned the most from the four listed above. I would recommend these tutorials and programs to anyone who wants to keep their computer running smoothly. I very much appreciate the opportunity to watch these tutorials, and I am excited to use these programs on a more regular basis.

Getting Things Done

As a teacher and a student, I find myself constantly making lists in my head. Between report cards, parent letters, homework assignments, and house chores, it often times seems like there is not enough time in the day to get everything done. I chose to make a workflow process to help organize all aspects of my life. I started out scribbling everything down on a piece of paper. Looking at a disorganized paper, however, created more anxiety. I then decided to make the process using a Google Doc. This not only appeared to be more organized, but I could also add more tasks from any computer.

             

I have always been one to make multiple “to do” lists. I make one for school, one for home, and others for various pieces of my life. Using this process for the first time, I found myself feeling instantly less stressed. All of my tasks seemed much more manageable even though the week before I felt overwhelmed. By listing my obligations, organizing them, determining what I could accomplish in a given amount of time, and completing the tasks I felt more organized and felt that it was possible to accomplish everything. Initially I was a bit nervous about switching the way in which I organize my tasks, but I quickly found out that this was a much better system for my life.

             

This process was extremely helpful to me in that it allowed me to remain focused and organized in a week of chaos. In a time of field trips, grading, family obligations, housework, and homework, I was able to approach each and every task in a calm matter. This, in turn, allowed me to remain focused and put forth my best effort. Although I found this somewhat similar to my previous lists, it was wonderful to have everything in one central location that I could add to at any given time. Using a Google Document was very helpful in that any time I was feeling overwhelmed I could simply log into my account to determine what needed to be done and when it was due.  I would recommend using a Google Document as a workflow process organizer to anyone who feels comfortable using technology.

           

I am certain that I will continue this process in the future. As my schedule appears to get more hectic by the day, I have finally found a way to organize all of the things that I need to accomplish. I am not only more relaxed and confident about getting everything done, but I am also much more organized which allows me to focus more on the tasks at hand. Although in the past I would have stuck with using a pencil and paper, after using Google Docs I think I have found the perfect solution for me. I cannot wait to use this process more and I am excited to accomplish more tasks through this workflow process.

810 Social Networking Lab

Professionally, there are many ways in which I use social networking on a regular basis. One way is to stay connected to other teachers. For example, through joining the MAET group on Facebook, I am able to receive updates regarding the program and can remain in contact with others in the group. I have also used social networking for job searching. Since I have spent time in various classrooms, I have found that staying connected to these contacts allows me to quickly find out about job opportunities in the education field. Lastly, I am also a part of a group centered on technology. My colleagues and I work together to update one another on new technologies that can be incorporated into the classroom, and I have found this to be a great way to work with others to improve my own teaching.

          

 Personally, I tend to use social networking to keep in touch with friends and family members. Social networking is a great way to remain in contact with others, post updates about our daily lives, and have discussions with people we may not otherwise see every day. In addition, I have used social networking to join groups that I am personally interested in. An example of this would be the book club that I am a part of through Facebook. This group allows me to discuss what books I am currently reading, questions I may have, and make connections with others. There are many ways that social networking can be used, and these are just a few of the ways in which I use it in my daily life. I would argue that many of my peers use social networking for the same reasons as me. Although I would argue that many use it purely for personal reasons to stay in contact with friends and family, I know that a lot of my peers also use it for either job searching or discussing ways to improve in their education with others, as well as for many other reasons.

          

 As a first grade teacher, I do not feel that many of my students are currently using social networking (unless they are looking at a Facebook or blog belonging to a family member). I would like to introduce my students to Skype, and give them the opportunity to talk with students around the country (or world!) about various topics. This would be a networking site that I could set up for them and the students could run the session. For older students, I am very interested in the idea of keeping students updates on academic and sporting events through social networking. As an educator, I envision students in the future using social networking to complete projects with students who attend a different school. This allows them to better understand the world around them, and realize that there are more individuals in the world who share the same interests as them. If I were teaching an older group of students, I would love to have them use social networking for various activities such as book club groups. This would allow them to work together while interacting with technology. I do feel that with all of the new technologies that are constantly being introduced, the sky is the limit for educators willing to integrate social networking. I understand that some may be a bit apprehensive to include these types of technologies, and though I may agree in some aspects, I also feel that it is important that the students learn to adapt and interact with the technologies available to them.  

CEP 810 RSS Lab

I chose to make my RSS feed using Google Reader. This is a snapshot of my RSS feed:

Below is a close up version of the required CEP 810 feeds, as well as the additional feeds that I have added to follow.

The following is a comment that I made to a blog that I follow. Click here to view the blog post.

It is a bit difficult to read my post to iLearn Technology through the screen shot. I wrote the following: "Thank you so much for sharing this website! It is absolutely amazing! I love that it includes live classes, and it works perfectly with the SMART board that I have in my classroom. I also enjoyed using the interactive stories with my class because we could read through them as a large group. I teach first grade and this is the perfect site to integrate into my lessons. Thank you again!"

RSS Page Reflection

From my required RSS feeds, I have learned a great deal about technology in general. Through the EduTech page, I am updated on any new events, changes, tips and tricks, and more. Through ISTE Connects, I read about ways to use Twitter in the classroom and cannot wait to try it out! NCTE was constantly updated with articles related to literacy, and NPR feeds are related to current events. Techlearning informed me of products for sale and ways that technology is being incorporated into the classroom. Lastly, Weblogg-ed was full of fascinating articles about the teaching and education.
When I completed the RSS Lab, I chose to add six additional feeds to my Google Reader Page. I was concerned that not all of my feeds would continue to update, and I am grateful that I chose to add two more. As I followed my feeds over the last week, I noticed that two of my feeds had not once been added to! Fortunately, the other web links were updated multiple times a day. These websites were not always added to by the same author, but were always centered on one main topic. I have chosen to discuss what was found on each website, along with what I learned from following the feeds over a week time span. 

On the “First Grade Smarty Pants Blog” I learned of many different hands-on activities that my first grade students could take part in. From mathematical scavenger hunts to science experiments, I was shocked by the amount of content that was updated continuously throughout each day.  One of my favorite links on the website included summer activities for kids. I have learned many ways for my students to continue their learning on their own outside of the classroom. I am currently in the process of creating a parent letter centered on all of these different activities, and I cannot wait to share them all with my students so that they can better understand that learning takes place outside of the classroom too!

On “Steve Spangler’s Blog” I was updated each day on activities and events related to science. Although many of the activities were not local, it was interesting to read about the main concepts so that I may one day host a similar event for my school. Since I team teach social studies and science, I shared this blog with a second grade science teacher who loved this website! He will not only be following the blog, but he is considering starting his own to share activities, events, and science lessons with other educators. I learned that Steve Spangler creates science videos for students, and he has hundreds of free science experiments available on his website. His goal is to keep learning hands-on, fun, and engaging for students and this is the same goal that I have as an educator. I did find many of these experiments to be a bit too difficult for first grade, however, I am considering teaming up with an eighth grade class and allowing my first grade students to assist. I have learned that what is the most important in learning is for the students to be engaged, especially in science where all learning can be hands-on.

My favorite web site that I added to my feed was “What the Teacher Wants!” This website is filled with fun, educational activities for students. It also incorporates information for teachers as well, that might help them or their students with various aspects of learning. For example, the most current feed was an article about dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias, and atlases. The author explained that since she was confused by the different resources, the students were probably questioning the purposes of each also. She then made an extremely helpful chart for her students that I will be sharing with my colleagues. She also updated a classroom planner that I will be adapting to fit the needs of my students. I learned so much from only following this site for a week, and I cannot wait to read more classroom tips, tricks, and lesson ideas.

The fourth website that I followed was “iLearn Technology.” Although I found many of these feeds to be more applicable to the older students, I am also looking for ways to adapt this information to my first grade classroom. I did send this website out as a mass email to the staff at my school, and have received a lot of positive feedback from the older grades. They are using it for the “Eyes on Earth 3D.”  From this website, I have learned of countless online resources to introduce to my students for various subject areas. More specifically, I have learned of new ways to bring technology into the classroom. From this site I learned how to use SnipSnip.It which is a tool to crop online videos so that teachers can share certain parts of videos with students. I love this website and would recommend it to any teacher using videos in education!

I have learned so much in a week of following my RSS page that I have decided to create one for my own classroom to share with others. I will include pages full of online activities, technology integration, organization and more. My plan is to create one feed for my students and parents and include it on our school website. I also want to create a feed that can be shared with other teachers in my school so that we can all continue to add resources. RSS feeds are extremely helpful for anyone who wants to learn valuable information in an organized fashion. I am excited to integrate RSS feeds into the classroom setting, and I am confident that I will benefit from sharing and discussing my RSS feeds with colleagues to improve as an educator.