Time flies...Thing 8

Wow, I can't believe I have been working on this all day. I went to just get a few "things" done in order to catch up....and here it is 4 hours later!

Thing 8 was interesting. I was able to figure out how to get my "banner" made of individual letters on Flikr. I still am unclear as to how to get the size right the first time and I need more instruction as to how to use paint. While it was interesting, I have yet to figure out how using this idea could help me in my teaching.

Big Labs was fun. I could see all kinds of possibilities with this. The "trading cards" will be the application I use the most in my classroom. I could use this in drama and in science. In drama, students can take pictures of themselves showing different emotions. I could assign a different emotion to each student. They then have to write a little about it. In science, the ideas are endless. Students could do "famoud scientists", find examples of things, take pictures of them doing something at home that we are studying... I will have to really think about how I could use this one.

The "motivational" poster could come in handy as well. In drama, students could do "public service announcement" posters. (be respectful, don't run,..) In science, students could explain some "big" picture item. (Matter; anything that takes up space and has mass)

I am sure I could think of other things- but again, the issues come down to time and equitable access to the technology.

Flikr in the Classroom-Thing 7

I can see countless opportunities to use Flikr in the classroom.

For the Teacher:
*As a discussion starter (see Thing 6)
*As an assessment (what type of rock is this,...)
*To explain what something looks like if we do not have it in the room
*To use as an inspiration for creative writing
*to take pictures/videos in the classroom of labs- and upload for use for absent students

For the Student:
*To create their own discussion starter-based on a certain criteria
*To take pictures at home about a certain topic- (show an example of "chemical weathering" around your house,...)
*To create group projects on a topic (different types of rocks; places,..)

Drama Teacher:
*To have students create pictures of different emotions
*To create videos/pics of stage directions
*To create skits to share

Problems:
*Making sure everyone has permission to publish and possibly have their pic on the Internet. Need to make sure all parental consent forms are in and signed appropriately. Managing those students who do not have access- giving them something else to do is an issue

*Knowing how to "size down" a picture. I still do not know how to do this.

*Not all students have cameras and/or access to the internet. Classroom only have 2 computers.
*COPYRIGHT ISSUES.

I will definately think about how to incorporate Flikr into my classroom this next year!

Photo Opportunities- Thing 6

Wow- I am busy today! Catching up on my "things". No kids = work time!

I picked this picture because I was trying to find something to start a discussion when I begin my "Biography of the Earth" unit. I found it interesting, because it uses a common everyday item (an egg) to show the Earth-something that my students can relate to. Many observations and inferences can come out of the discussion....

*The Earth is fragile

*There is more to the Earth than what we see on top

*The insides are hot

*There are "cracks" in the Earth

*The inside of the Earth looks like a sort of liquid.

I think I will definately use this as a unit introduction!!

I never thought of using a photo site to upload photos to use in my classroom. I have searched for "images" on google and such, but this is so much more better as it only gives me pictures- (and ones I can legally use at that!)

I can see using this for science and for my drama class. Wow, I have a lot of things to do before the start of school!

RSSing my day

RSS makes complete sense to me. It is just like having the news delivered to my house- only I get to specify what type of "news" to read. I really do not have any questions about it.

I use an RSS feed on my son's Twitter account for his band. This keeps me posted to what he is writing and what is going on. I suppose I will find other sites I can use for personal use- like the news or whatever. I have to explore this first.

Professionally, I hope to find some feeds that give me ideas and hints for things to do in my classroom in regards to classroom management, organization and lessons. So far, I have found one that just gives me one technology-in-the-classroom idea per day- I like that. Not too much to swallow in one gulp. I either like it and use it or delete it. If anyone would like the link, send me a note!

I would like to figure out a way to introduce this to my students..and if there is any way to monitor this. I am trying to figure out how subscribing to a feed would be useful to my students. Perhaps getting them to subscribe to our own classroom blog- but I know I have many students without internet access at home. Perhaps we could create a class "bloglines" account- and keep current on whatever topic we are studying... hmm... I am starting to get a glimmer of how I could possibly use it.

Taming the Time Sucker...

Thing 4- RSS...Really So Simple?

Hmmm.. I question where everyone is getting all this time to read all of these blogs. Did they pass out more time and I didn't get any??

Information overload- I just had a discussion with my fiance' about this last night. We were sitting on the webcam and I started doing a bunch of other things- things like emailing my son's school, checking my work email, updating a webpage, reading about a city I may travel to, finding recipes for my mom's visit next week.... I ended up with a huge headache! It was just too much stuff. Information overload. We reminisced about the days when there were no cell phones, no computers or internet, no microwave, no texting..and no voicemail...and when you had to get a hold of someone you called or sent a letter. It seemed like life went at a slower pace. You had to wait for a call back; you had to wait for a letter... nowadays we get impatient if we do not get our answer within a couple of minutes!

I am not a blog reader. I do not have issues with the "sheer volume" of blogs to keep track of. This has not (and will not) be an issue for me. I have many other things to do in my life. I can see though that for some people, having an RSS feed would put everything into one place for them and they can just skim the title and decide whether to read it or not. It cuts down on time.

So, how to handle creating so many RSS feeds to begin with? It is simple really. Make sure to only subscribe to those sites that are useful. What is it that you want out of a feed? For me, it is not useful to read about what people feel or think about something. I want ideas; I want new things to try. Cut out the the dirt; give me the rocks. (okay, my son's twitter feed on his band is an exception!)

QUALITY not QUANTITY. Pick only those you use. When you find you have too many, weed it out- like your clothes closet. Do this regularly. Those sites you do not "wear" for a month or two, get rid of them. You will feel better aftwerwards- and perhaps free up some more time!