Blog Blog Blog

Wow – it’s over! That went by really quickly. I really feel like I learned a LOT in this class. I mentioned the wiki and the blog in my voicethread because these are things I have already begun using in my classes. I think the way we used these tools in the class was great – instead of just using them once or twice in isolation, the constant practice of wiki-ing and blogging made me feel comfortable with them. I know I am currently using them in very simplistic ways, but I hope to keep learning more about them.

I also really liked learning how to do the slideshows, the Google Docs, the Google Reader, the Pageflakes, and I have become a podcasting fiend.  I’m not going to lie – it is a relief that it’s over, but in the end, I am glad I did it! Really, the three PLUs is just a bonus.

I spent a decent amount of time surfing around the Classroom 2.0 and Ning sites and found some interesting things. I think it’s great that there is a forum where teachers can go and get new ideas, see what others are doing, or simply vent about what is going on. I found a few pretty cool forums and groups for middle school, and I even looked for information/groups for coaching ideas, but I sort of struck out there. I wonder if there are any of those out there…?  But that’s a different blog post.

As much, however, as I think these sites are helpful and informative, I didn’t sign up for an account. I can see myself going occasionally, reading the posts and questions and answers, but it’s not something I see myself doing. It’s partially a time issue – and that’s lower on the list of my priorities. But it’s also that it’s not really my thing. It may be a comfort-level thing (or lack thereof!). I will stay open to it, and I’m glad I know about it.

Pageflakes was really fun! I have played around with iGoogle, so I was familiar with the adding of widgets, news feeds, and so forth – but I love the sharing aspect of this. I actually made two pages – one for me and My Stuff, and one called 8th Grade where I added things my students might be interested in. I had a lot of fun searching for things – and could’ve kept adding flakes and adding flakes. I made it public and here’s the link to my pagecast.

I just finished exploring Google Docs & Spreadsheets & Presentations. I have used these things before thanks to David Widener in the middle school. He has kept track of our middle school track & field roster via the Docs, and it has been a very easy and convenient way for all of us coaches to add, delete, and basically keep track of all of our athletes.

Until now, however, I haven’t created my own document. I began one and shared it with another English teacher, and we are going to collaborate on an English exam review document. I am looking forward to that – it’s so much easier than emailing the doc back and forth. I also played around with the Presentations, and seems very convenient to add images and links, etc. And again, there’s the easy-access benefit. So that leads me to…

Ways to Use Google Documents in the Classroom

1. The first way I think is to do what we are currently doing – utilize the tool to collaborate and create documents between teachers. Again, it is much more convenient than emailing a single document back and forth, and there’s obviously not the problem of forgetting a document on my school/home computer.
2. The second way, and a way I am really looking forward to trying, is to use it for my students’ essays. I currently utilize teacher share, which is obviously convenient as long as we are at school. I have them save their documents there and then I can pull them up and make comments, etc. However, if the document needs to be worked on at home, the problems begin. They forget flash drives, email passwords, etc. Google Docs would solve all of these problems. It would give us all access to the document at all times. Perfect!
3. Finally, I really enjoyed creating the form as part of this “thing’s” stretch task. At first, I was like, oh, okay, this is kind of neat. BUT, I didn’t realize that it would compile all of the information into a spreadsheet for me. This is awesome! I give the students’ surveys at the beginning of the year, and then file away the papers. I often have them keep track of their errors on tests, but again, they file those forms away. I could make up a form that asks questions like “How many did you miss in the grammar section?” and so forth. The spreadsheet could then become a valuable tool not only for them, but for me in deciding what I want to emphasize or review in my teaching.

PS. I added the link above after Carolyn and I worked on our document. I have to say that although I love the sharability aspect, it isn’t as user-friendly as Word. We had trouble centering the table, and the numbering component was hard to manage. I am sure in the future, they will work out these kinks. I hope!

I have known about YouTube for some time now – who hasn’t, right? I’ve done some sharing and surfing and watching. People put the craziest things on there. I often hear my students discussing the latest video over and over again. I searched for some educational videos and found some interesting things. There were several “Teacher Rap” videos. My favorite is here Teachers Rap About Teaching. Another one was a combination of Shakespeare and the old Abbott & Costello “Who’s on First” skit. This was creative. This also satisfied my search for fun & nostalgic because I remember watching the original as a kid. Watch. [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/BaGHVWKrcpQ" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /].

Then I searched some How-To videos. You can find out how to do just about anything. You can learn how to eat more healthfully, how to speak French, train your dog, make peanut butter and jelly, and evidently, I’ve been showering incorrectly for years. Good times.

Finally, TeacherTube. I actually experimented with this this past week in my classes. We just finished studying Romeo and Juliet, and my students had to memorize passages. I videotaped them, uploaded them to TeacherTube and embedded them on our class wikispace. Here is my favorite. This young man is playing both Romeo and Mercutio in Mercutio’s famous death scene. Enjoy! Download Video: Posted by dkoscik at TeacherTube.com.

I just completed my first podcast using Evoca. I thought of three ideas – very basic, boring ideas! – to use podcasts in the classroom. But boring or not, I did it and am looking forward to doing more! I have a Mac at home, so I’m going to experience using GarageBand because I noticed on some of the sites I perused, the Mac users seemed to like that program.

Listen to my podcast!

I have to confess, I am a podcast fanatic. A brand new fanatic, but a fanatic nonetheless. I originally started podcasting – listening only – when I added the Grammar Girl podcast on my Google Reader for Thing 5. I listened to a few episodes, but then got caught up with other things and didn’t really think about it anymore. For some reason though, about two weeks ago, I added a few podcasts through iTunes to my phone and iPod. I am now completely addicted. I love the show “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me” on NPR, but never seem to catch the show live. I found it on iTunes and now can listen to it whenever I want. I have found it makes Atlanta traffic jams more bearable. I have even started listening to it while I run. Who knew? I also subscribe to other NPR shows, like the Books Podcast, Story of the Day, and the Sunday Puzzle. I also subscribe to some French and Spanish language learning podcasts. iTunes makes it so easy and there are so many choices. I love it!

Now that I have begun listening to them, I feel more comfortable about the possibility of using them in my classroom. The Grammar Girl is something I can have my students subscribe to, for sure. But I want to experiment with creating my own, possibly grammar lessons, literature lectures, notes on books we’re reading, etc. that the students can upload to their iPods and listen to them if they are absent or need review. I know that iTunes has Sparknotes podcasts on some of the books we read and for a small fee, my students could purchase them. There are so many options! I can’t wait to start my own… thing 18!

An online goal setting (hopefully reaching) site. This was interesting to me. I am not one of those people who set life time goals, and I’ve learned the hard way to avoid absolutes. I am also not one of those people who put things about myself out there for everyone to see. SO, obviously I wouldn’t partake in this site.

In the classroom, I can see using it as a beginning of the year activity – one of those ‘set five goals’ sort of thing. The students could sign up, set a few goals (making the baseball team, gold eagle, completing all homework, etc.), and then maybe get a few cheers for their efforts. This might help some of them achieve them. Like I said, interesting!

This was a fun activity. I found myself getting caught up in the search for books I’ve read and authors I enjoy. This type of activity makes me realize how much time I DON’T take to read. But it’s motivating. I did the stretch task and felt like the “add book” process took longer than I had hoped. I’ve read series of books by authors and would like to be able to add them all at once. This didn’t seem to be an option. As an English and reading teacher, I can see how this can be utilized in the classroom, particularly in the Independent Reading segment of middle school reading. Overall I enjoyed it, the groups, and the contests. 

I have been using Delicious on and off for about a year. I’ve used it for class projects, and it’s really helpful. But honestly, my comfort zone is still to add my bookmarks on my individual computer. I’m trying to break out of that comfort zone! Prior to this task though I hadn’t noticed that other people had saved links for me, nor did I realize I could subscribe to a tag and my account would be frequently updated. New goal: to start using Delicious instead of my own computer’s bookmarks.