Thing 22 Share Something New

     As a novice user of Edmodo, I found this session of information to be of great use to me.  I joined Edmodo a couple of years ago and never really “caught on” to the site.  I had many questions and wasn’t sure how to get the answers. I am glad that these sessions are available for teachers, such as me, to stay current with the site and all the benefits that it has to offer.  When watching the session “How to Enhance Your Edmodo Experience” I was quiet taken by the fact that the support is constantly there for the user if needed.  As a Technology teacher I am constantly looking for ways for my students to flourish and stay up to date with the growing trends in today’s technologically based society.  I am looking forward to have my older students joining Edmodo and for my classes to start benefitting with what the site has to offer.

Lisa Collins

Technology Teacher

Baileysville Elementary

Thing 20 Share, Remix and Reuse - Legally!

Khan Academy is an obvious site with a Creative Commons license for educators to share, remix and reuse legally, but I wanted to find a site more unknown. Music is something my students sometimes have to find to add to projects. http://freemusicarchive.org/ is a site I was so excited about running across. The Free Music Archive offers free downloads under Creative Commons and other licenses. They offer a very large collection of different types and styles of music students can use in their projects.

Thing 19 Skype

My Skype username is teresa.k.maynard. I have tried to use Skype and FaceTime between our schools. I have not tried Google Hangout, but I plan to try that. The best I could get so far is voice only. They are not blocked, I'm thinking our problem is bandwidth. I don't think our bandwidth can accommodate Skype. A friend of mine that works in a different county has a daughter that teaches in New Zealand, they Skype with their classes quite often academically, culturally and whatever else they can collaborate on. Their classes come to feel as if they are classmates of one another. I think that is so great.

I love the idea of students being able to communicate in real time about cultural differences, discuss a given piece of literature and even work on a project together. Actually get to interview a published author. I hadn't even thought celebrity Read Aloud, but that would be so awesome. Especially a celebrity from their own state. Wonderful management tips from Google Hangouts that are great for any real time collaboration program.

Thing 18 Talk the Talk

Content Management System (CMS) is designed primarily to manage content of an online course while a Learning Management System (LMS)  is designed primarily to manage a blended learning environment between a traditional classroom with online resources. LMS is a platform to manage the learners.

Schoology is considered a Learning Management System because it provides a platform for managing learners.  It is an instructional platform while a Content Management System is an instructional tool used to present and manage course content. Our county uses OdysseyWare which is an example of a Content Management System.  The content has to be managed to meet the student’s needs. Both provide for adding groups and students, learner collaboration and course or project mapping.

My school system had me do some research on blended learning programs before we chose to go with an asynchronous program called OdysseyWare. I learned at that time the difference between a synchronous and an asynchronous blended learning tool or program. Asynchronous is when a student works at their own pace and communication with their teacher and peers is not in real time. Communication is done in one’s own time for both the student and the teacher. In contrast, a synchronous blended learning program calls for communication in real time. Students can get real time help and instruction. Some programs may offer both asynchronous and on request may also provide synchronous delivery.

23 Things are asynchronous in the aspect that we are working through them at our own pace. While doing them however, we provide student with synchronous blended learning by giving immediate feedback when using a back channel or collaborating on a Google Doc. But for our learning within this TIS program, it is asynchronous.

Thing 17 Organize

Actually my Notes are automatically synced between my iPad and phone. I really like that because I can make a list on my tablet, which is what I mostly use at home and access the list anywhere I go on my phone, which I almost always have with me. However, Cozi is so much better because now I can share my lists with whomever I choose to give the family password to. I love this.

Thing 21 Reader of Blogs

I follow a couple of educational blogs already and one of them is http://techwithtia.com, Tia Cooper. I love that she has both resources along with lesson ideas on her blog. Her site is easy to navigate and looks great. The content of her blog is always relevant to current apps, sites and lessons for today's students. I also follow her on Twitter. One thing I like is that she updates often.

Thing 13 Reflect

My TIS journey so far has been extremely enlightening in many ways. Web 2.0 tools are more plentiful than I ever knew. I love the way that we bring a new tool with us for smackdown at every meeting whether it be online or in person. I have learned so much that I can’t seem to keep it all in my mind. There are programs and ideas that when I first learn about, I cannot wait to use them. Students get so excited about anything different and electronic. Teachers are for the most part accepting of new ideas. This training has enhanced what I do with teachers and students.

I have enjoyed meeting colleagues that have the same interest as I. One of the best parts of TIS training is the people. Connecting with other teachers across the state can be reassuring that I’m not the only one with issues in my job, friends that give wonderful suggestions and have ideas I would never think of, and best of all an opportunity for collaborating with amazing innovative teachers.

One thing I do regret for missing out on is the PLC meetings for October, November and December. I cannot believe I have let myself do that. I went to the meeting in October that was cancelled. Started the Intel eLearning class and totally forgot about them from that point. I hate that!! I did watch videos and wrote a summary. I learned a lot from the webinars, but I do not plan to miss any more because it regenerates me in this journey.

Our leaders are supportive and by no means leave us out there to fend for ourselves. I appreciate them so much. They are so good at making sure we stay on track. I know Bodie thinks of us, just as we think of her often.

I checked out several blogs. Erica's videos she posted are so catchy and I know kids love them. I know I did.

Thing 12 New Web 2.0 Tool

Artpad is a tool that allows students to paint a picture, frame it and hang it in a gallery. There is a replay option and students can watch their painting being painted from the beginning. They can electronically mix colors, etc. I did a project with a fourth grade class with a geometry/art connection. We allowed students to paint an art piece on canvas as one activity, they also got to paint on artpad. They really enjoyed using this program. Especially the part of watching their artwork replay.

Thing 11 Learn from a video

OMGeeeeee!!!! I just love the crash course videos on TED. A fourth grade teacher and I developed a lesson plan about the colonization of the United States using "When is Thanksgiving" video series of two. We used a whiteboard and responders to do the Think section. This section has six multiple choice questions per video. We did this in November before Thanksgiving. We all learned so much. Next Generation standards SS.4.H.CL.1.1 and SS.4.CL.1.2 were met with this project. After doing some other activities the teacher regularly does to teach this topic, we had the students file each other recapping information they had learned. They enjoyed watching themselves.