Module 4, Assignment 7

     Whew, I'm done with Printerest for the purposes of this class, but I'm now officially addicted.  I could spend all day on this site.  I have used Pinterest before to find lesson plan ideas and resources, but this is the first time I have had my own account.  I'm afraid, really afraid.  I will spend way, way to much time on Pinterest this summer. 
     I followed two people in our class on Pinterest.  Jodie Rakes and Terese Slate are the people I followed.  Jodie and Terese both had some wonderful recipes on their boards.  I love to cook; however, summer and the holiday season are the only times I seem to be able to find or make the time to do so.  I loved Jodie's board on prayer.  Prayer has become so important in my life.  In my home, we join hands and pray every morning before we leave the house and go out into the world.  I also turn off the radio, CD player, or iPod and pray on my drive into work every day.  This has been a habit of mine for the past few years, and it always starts my day off with such peace.  It has helped me be thankful for the good times in my life and get through the bad.  I chose to follow an inspirational board. 

Module 3, Assignment 4

     I must stop spending so much time on Pinterest.  I don't seem to be able to get on this site without spending an hour of my time.  I followed Rosanna Munoz, and pinned four new pins on my preschool math board.  I teach math, but I don't feel it's my strongest subject.  This is why I seem to be pinning so much on my math board. 
     One of my favorite pins in this assignment was to the website, "Preschool Powol Packets, Teaching Math Skills to Preschoolers Through PLAY!!"  This site has many wonderful ideas for teachers and parents.  The site has freebies that you can print and use.  However, some of the content must be purchased.  I teach High / Scope.  This is a curriculum for preschool that stresses hands on learning and teaching through play.  The use of worksheets and flash cards as used in the traditional classroom is discouraged.  This site has so many play based games and ideas, and it is perfect for any High / Scope classroom. 

Module 3, Assignment 3

   I have become a bit more enthusiastic about Twitter, but I'm not sure if I will ever be one that tweets constantly.  I'm just learning the many uses of this site.  I just don't see why anyone would be interested in the mundane happenings in my daily life.  It would be wonderful bedtime reading. 
     I did enjoy the GreatQuotes page.  I'm now following this.  Sometimes a person just needs an uplifting message from time to time.  I believe so many people, especially public figures and sports teams tweet today because it's a tool to get name recognition and your views in front of the public that costs nothing.  In our cyberspace world today, most of these people can not afford not to be on Twitter.  Let's face it, newspapers are shutting down and going online because our society gets their news from their smartphones, laptops, and iPads.  Many sources credit Barack Obama's early use of Twitter and social media as a key factor in his first election.  I just wonder what the new online craze will be next. 

        

Module 2, Assignment 7

     I just spent another hour on Pinterest.  Wow, I love this.  I made a new board for preschool math ideas and followed another person.  All of the pins for my preschool math board came from Christine Gretz.  I'm convinced she must be and elementary math teacher somewhere.  She has so many great ideas. 
     I added five pins to my board.  My five pins for math were one for number poems, directions for making number bean bags, a carrot crunch number game, the race to the top number game, and a site on learning math in the outdoors.  Both of the number games are free to print out, and the race to the top game can be changed for use in teaching letters or sight words. 
    

Module 1, Assignment 9

     I finally got into Pinterest and it works.  I'm glad I just now discovered the joy of pinning on my very own board.  This is addictive.  I have just spent an hour looking at pins and repining.  When I have more time, I will get nothing done if I don't limit my time on this site. 
     I created a new board about learning letters.  I found five pins to add and followed one person.  Three of the pins could be used at any time of the year.  The pins are one from drjean.org with instructions and free activities to make letter vests, another with five great resources for learning ABC's, and the third gives fourteen ways to explore the letters in your child's name.  I will make these letter vests over the summer. 
     Two of the pins I added to the board are for use during the Christmas season.  The first of these pins gives you all of the instructions and recipes needed to make scented letter ornaments.  The second one is how to make letters with candy canes.  These look like fun. 

Module 4, Assignment 8

     In this assignment, I created a new folder and uploaded some preschool lesson plans to share.  I will say that for text documents, I prefer to use Google Drive because of the simplicity of use compared to Dropbox.  However, Dropbox outstrips Google Drive when sharing presentations or graphics. 
     I added two lesson plans into my preschool lesson plans folder.  I have one differentiated lesson on letters and letter sounds inside the folder that most early elementary instructors my find useful.  It is typed into the Henry County Public Schools Form, and it could be modified if necessary.  Preschool teachers would find my basic preschool lesson plan for early dismissal useful, but teachers in other grades would not.  Preschool teachers in our county have to use a different lesson plan format then teachers in higher grades.  I will continue to put lessons, especially differentiated lessons within this file. 
     I will continue to use this file in Dropbox because I have already created it and many teachers throughout the county use this application.  I do feel that Google Drive is much easier to use and upload to, one click and you're done.  That is what I don't like about Dropbox in comparison.  To me, Dropbox isn't as user friendly and simple.   

Module 4, Assignment 6

     In the article, "Google Drive VS. Dropbox - In Depth Review," the author is a graphic designer who works with large picture files and graphics.  This may explain his preference for Dropbox over Google Drive.  While both programs have sharing capabilities, Dropbox works better with pictures and graphics whereas Google Drive interacts with documents better.  However, this man needs a basic writing class.  I'm no Robert Frost, but I just wanted to take my red marking pen to my computer screen when I read this.  However, I am the woman who did take a red grading pen to a former fiancé's letter and corrected it before reading it.  He was not amused.  He never wrote me another letter again.  Now, back to the subject at hand. 
     The writer points out that the user can organize folders in both Google Drive and Dropbox.  Google Drive is more user friendly in it's organization and navigation of these document folders.  Google Drive also has more options to manipulate files and a better search feature.  Dropbox is not as user friendly when searching for and manipulating files.  You must go through steps with Dropbox that you do not have to when using Google Drive.  With Google Drive, storage space is not an issue because you don't need storage space when sharing documents with this application.  With Dropbox, the person must have the storage space to use files that have been shared with them.  This could become an issue if you are manipulating large amounts of graphics or data.  As for usability with other devices, Dropbox has been around much longer than Google Drive, so it works with more devices.  Google Drive, at the moment, doesn't work on as many platforms.  I'm sure this will be remedied soon, as more apps for Google Drive are developed. 
     In my opinion, your decision on which program to use will depend on what you are using it for.  As the article pointed out, Dropbox works well with graphics.  I found this out when making my end of the year slide show for preschool.  Google Drive didn't want to upload a 200 slide show filled with pictures.  Dropbox was much easier to use when going between my home computer and school laptop.  However, I love Google Drive for its form feature and the ease of sharing and sending documents.  My conclusion, Google Drive is a better system for using documents, but I prefer Dropbox when manipulating graphics. 

Module 4, Assignment 5

     I'm very proud of myself.  I played with twitter.  The hash tag is great.  I love the way it brings up so much new information.  I'm finally getting a better idea of how useful this may be.  Although, I am not one to broadcast some of my deepest thoughts on the internet.  I love how with a simple #, a person can bring so many sources of information right to their finger tips. 
     These new social networking applications are not going away.  In a few years, there will be another huge, new craze in social networking like Facebook and MySpace were just a few years ago.  One of these articles points out that Twitter brings the world into your classroom.  The only problem with this is that Henry County will not allow teachers access to the site.  I find myself googling things in my classroom at all times.  Small children ask so many questions, and I admit freely that I don't know all the answers.  With Twitter, a teacher can type in a key word with a hash tag and get real-time updated information.  Where was this when I was little?  This sure beats the response of because I said so that I received as child.  The article also pointed out how easily twitter helps communication between school and home.  I am seriously considering using Twitter in this capacity next year.  Thirdly, Twitter can give the educator real-time professional development.  The only problem I could see with this would be the validity of the source.  You would have to be sure that the person you are following has experience and the qualifications to present the information because in cyberspace, you never truly know who you are talking to.  The twitter user and educator can create a customized professional network.  You can easily communicate with your co-teacher down the hall.  This is a wonderful idea because many of us find that by the end of the day, you are so tired and busy that it's sometimes hard to collaborate with co-workers.  This would be a wonderful way to do so.  If you have an idea in the grocery store checkout line, you can just tweet it to your colleague.  Finally, Twitter captures conversation and centers it to the classroom and the learning at hand.  This is especially true in the lives of middle and high school students.  Instead of forbidding this new technology, embracing it would get these students more involved within the classroom.  As my father always said to my mother in my teen years, "Be careful, the more you try to forbid it, the more they will do it just because it's forbidden." 
     Some of these applications may not be applicable to preschool.  However, this is a tool that would help build better communication with your parents.  Many of my parents no longer have home land-line phones.  They live through their smart phones.  They might read a tweet before a letter in a folder. 

Module 4, Assignment 4

     For this assignment, I had to add 5 more book marks to my delicious account.  I'm happy to announce that this is becoming much easier the more I do it.  I did this in record time.  It only took around a half an hour to find my book marks. 
     The five sites that I added to my delicious account were www.nea.org, www.educationworld.com, teachers.net, www.teach-nology.com, and animoto.com.  I use nea.org a great deal.  Now, I have it saved where I can get to it on any computer.  It contains some great free lesson plans and resources to the general public, but if you're a member, you can access all lesson plans and resources or apply for grants to fund classroom projects.  On www.educationworld.com, they have resources for teachers, administrators, parents, and students.  The information you could find on this website are endless.  The site teachers.net is very similar to www.educationworld.com, but they have some links that are not on the later site.  The site www.teach-nology.com has your standard lesson plans, free worksheets, and tips but it also has a free interactive worksheet maker and rubric maker for teachers.  Animoto.com is a site that could be used to make great video type presentations to use for open houses. 
     What I like best about putting all of these sites into delicious is that I won't lose them.  Now that I'm getting better at using delicious, I will be using it a lot more.  I have had to replace my computer so often for one reason or another, I like the idea of not having to search for and book mark my favorite sites each time. 

Module 4, Assignment 3

     I found ScreenChomp and FaceTime were already loaded onto my iPad.  I loaded Dragon Dictation onto my iPad in a previous Web 2.0 class.  I can see how ScreenChomp could be very useful for teachers in upper grades.  I just can't think of a use for preschoolers at the moment.  I will have to get inventive on that one.  I can't think of a way that I could use FaceTime either, but I will keep trying.  I did try out Dragon Dictation, but they really need to come out with an English to southern translation patch or something.  The word for comes out fur when I speak and the word southern comes out southin in the dictation.  Dragon Dictation was not designed by someone with my accent. 
     The app that I down loaded and played with was 123 Fun: Write & Learn counting numbers.  I had downloaded so many apps for reading and letter recognition that I decided it was time to get an app for math.  This is not a free app, but it was only $2.99.  This is a great price for all the games the app contains.  This language in this app can be switched between English and Spanish, or several other languages if you need it.  This makes it wonderful for use with your English Language Learners.  This app includes 5 categories of number games with three game choices in each category.  The five categories of games include number fun (for numbers 1-20 and counting), writing numbers (gives stroke by stoke animation, template of the number children can trace with their finger, and disable tracing feature so children can practice drawing the numbers independently), recognizing pattern games (it has a number sorting game and 3 different pattern recognition games), Square Face Games (these are multiple choice games to learn number identification and name and symbol relationship), and Matching Games (or memory games). 
     As I have stated earlier, I do not have an iPad in my classroom, but I did purchase the 123 Fun app in my iTunes account.  Maybe I can use it later, if I ever do get an iPad.  That may be a few years. 

Module 4, Assignment 2

     In this article, they discussed several ways that the iPad could revolutionize education.  There ideas were electronic textbooks, new mobile computing labs, virtual field trip guides, mobile data collection, and new ways to create content.  Many of us are already seeing these very uses in our classrooms, or if you don't have an iPad in your classroom, at least in your building. 
     This new technology of the iPad is here and will not be going anywhere soon.  As a matter of fact, we have already seen many of the ideas in this article come to pass.  This article was written three years ago and some of the issues the writer mentioned have already been addressed by Apple.  The secret in new uses of the iPad rely on future apps and Apple's ability to address product output issues. 
     There are two things I would love to see for use with much younger children in the iPad.  One, I would like to see a program or app that would promote easy text use for very young children.  Sort of like a note taking program, but for small children, typing text isn't very practical.  What I envision would need to be a little similar to Apple's Koala Pad.  Wow, this goes way, way back, but I remember my librarian in elementary school had an apple with this on it.  I would beg to go back to that little room where she kept the computer to play on this.  Hooked up to the computer was the Koala Pad that had a primitive stylus like device attached to it.  You could draw, write, doodle, and all kinds of things with it.  I would love to see Apple make a tougher screen that could hold up to the use of a stylus.  The children could use it to draw or write in class.  Also, I would like it to have the capability of a simple camera for young children that is very easy to use.  The children should be able to save their work and all work could have a date or time stamp.  All teachers in our county have to keep four writing samples per year to put in a child's writing folders.  The teacher could review the work stored in each child's account and simply print out the samples to place into their folders.  Or better yet, save the samples to some type of storage device and each teacher every year could just add new samples to the storage device.  Wow, just think of the trees we could save. 

    

Module 4, Assignmet 1

     For this assignment, I uploaded a word document from my computer that I had already created to my Google drive account to link to this blog.  Really, I uploaded two documents.  That's me, the constant over achiever.  No but seriously, I thought those teachers out there in cyberspace could use both of these documents in a thematic unit on the book, "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom."  This would be a good unit for a Kindergarten teacher to use at the beginning of the year.  For Preschool, this unit is usually something I use closer to the end of the year. 
     The documents I would like to share are great to introduce letters to your children.  The first document is a song based on the book, "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom," but the words have been modified to take your class on a tour of your school.  Each verse sends you to a different area of the building for you to introduce your children to the people within your school.  The second document is an alphabet journal I created for my children to use and add to throughout the year. 
      To share the song, I uploaded the document to my Google drive, highlighted the word song in this sentence, clicked link above, and pasted the URL to the lyrics that I had copied from Google drive in the box. For the second link to the alphabet journal, I went into my Google drive account, copied the URL for the document, highlighted the words alphabet journal, clicked the word link above, and pasted the URL into the correct box.   Great, it works. 

Module 3, Assignment 7

     For assignment 7, I followed the link to bighugelabs.com and created a JPEG.  There is just so much I could do with this website as a preschool teacher.  Because of the new quality standards in preschool, we have to have a certain percentage of classroom photos from class activities, field trips, and parent workshops.  I should get some type of rewards points from my neighborhood pharmacy for all the pictures I have developed in a year.  Never mind, I think I already get awards points for this. 
     For special occasions like Christmas and our end of the year preschool stepping up ceremony, I like to give the parents a gift.  For Christmas, we usually help the children write a letter to Santa and go visit Santa.  The children get writing practice and real world application of the use of a letter in this activity.  I always take a picture of the children with Santa and put it in a frame for the families.  This is my Christmas gift to my parents.  I also send home all the pictures of their children that we have used in the classroom at the end of the year after the preschool stepping up ceremony.  All of my parents love the pictures. Usually, their child's Christmas photograph is displayed front and center somewhere in their home when I go out to do my spring home visits. 
     I could use this web site to make a mosaic for each child, frame it, and wrap it in graduation wrapping paper to be presented to each parent at the end of the preschool graduation.  Many parent's want a picture of their child with me holding their preschool diploma after the ceremony.  Maybe, I could take a picture of each child holding their diploma with me, upload it to the site, add a few more good pictures of their child and order prints.  I'm not sure how much the prints would cost or how long it would take them to be shipped, but if the cost isn't too prohibitive, this would be a great gift to the families.  I need to go stock up on picture frames from dollar tree.  The dollar tree for gifts like this are a teacher's best friend. 

    

Module 3, Assignment 6

     In assignment 6, we had to create our own student survey and send it to our class.  I decided to use a survey that the teachers in our county collaboratively created in training a few years ago.  All preschool teachers in our county distribute this survey to their student's parents on family business night.  Then, we read the results and make notes.  
     I like the idea of having all the information in one spreadsheet after it has been filled out.  Many of the questions on this survey are especially geared for preschool children and their parents, and I am already required to distribute it to the families on business day.  Also, I think I have already figured out how to distribute this survey to my parents.
     Using the computerized version of my beginning of the year survey would streamline the process of collecting the information so much.  Most all of my parents have a email account now.  I could make a mailing list of their email addresses and send it to them the day after business day.  Also, I could embed the survey on my teacher web page and have the page up on all the computers in my classroom on business night.  The parents could fill out this survey while they are waiting or after they have finished meeting with me.   

    

Module 3, Assignment 5

     For this assignment, I made a copy of a pre-made class survey and edited the content.  All teachers do a class survey at the beginning of the year for their children.  The survey would be great for older elementary, middle, and high school students. 
     As a preschool teacher, my surveys about the children are answered by the parents.  Some of the question on this survey were not appropriate for four and five year olds.  I customized it somewhat with questions that would be more appropriate for a preschool aged child.  Most preschool children really don't have a favorite band at this age, but you never know.  I edited the form to have a similar question, but I'm not sure my preschool parents would answer this question. 
     Preschool teachers in Henry County must participate in three to four days of training every July as  a job requirement.  I actually enjoy the training.  I feel it makes me a better teacher, introduces me to new teaching ideas, and helps me to think about ways to constantly improve within the classroom.  A few years ago, preschool teachers collaborated on a beginning of the year survey for our parents to fill out on parent business night.  For assignment six, I think I will put that survey into this format.  I may use this to distribute the survey to my parents next year. 

Module 3, Assignments 1 and 2

     For my PhotoPeach slide show, I created a slide show about problem solving in the preschool classroom.  We use problem solving with our preschoolers and some parents don't seem to understand the process sometimes.  I thought I could share this slideshow with my parents or show it during open house on my Smartboard. 
     To make my slide show, I searched for pictures to illustrate each step of the problem solving process.  I saved these pictures to my computer and then uploaded them to PhotoPeach.  Second, I added the title and captions to run along the bottom of each photo in the slide show.  I didn't want to add any music, but I could if I wanted to.  Finally, I sent the slideshow to Mrs. Bazak. 
     I really like PhotoPeach.  I always produce a Power Point for my preschool graduation at the end of every year.  However, I can't add music into Power Point, so I just burn a CD and play it simultaneously while the presentation is playing.  With PhotoPeach, I can add music.  Also, many parents always want a copy of the slide show with the music, but I can't give them one.  With PhotoPeach, I could email them the link.  My parents would love this.  I only wonder if they could save the presentation to their computer.  I'll have to go play with this program and see. 

Module 2, Assignment 6

     For this assignment, I looked at iTunes U, downloaded a few podcasts, and found more apps to use in the classroom.   Educators can use iTunes U to build a complete online course for free.  This was awesome.  This would be a wonderful homework helper, especially for older students because teachers can add lectures and resources into their courses along with quizzes and documents.  In iTunes U, many major universities have courses with free podcasts you can download to your iPad or iPod.  I downloaded the Spanish course and textbook from Arkansas State University.  I have found that Spanish has become one of my most useful tools in the teaching profession.  I am very glad that my degree required a Spanish minor.  I use the language in some form every day.  I only wish I had paid more attention in class.  I have downloaded this onto my personal iPod touch so I can use it to brush up on my Spanish. 
     Some apps I discovered in this assignment are Brain POP Featured Movie, Professor Garfield Cyberbullying, Story Kit, The ABC Song, and Geoboard.  I liked Brain POP Featured Movie because they have movie clips on many educational topics that I cover in the classroom.  I am going to try and use this on my Smartboard.   I won't use the quizzes but the videos would be great for my little ones.  I might not use Professor Garfield Cyberbullying in my classroom a great deal, but I believe it is a great resource to use in the classroom today.  Story Kit is not an app my children would be able to use independently; however, I could let them chose pictures and type in their stories for them as a journal activity.  My favorite free app was The ABC Song because it had nine games that taught letter recognition both lower and upper case, letter sounds, alphabetical order, and keyboarding skills.  This app also had pleasant voice that gave directions and could be used independently by young children.  I would like to use Geoboard with my interactive Smartboard as a tool when the children are learning about shapes. 
     I would love to have an iPad to use in my classroom just for the great apps like The ABC Song.  Preschool doesn't usually get the latest and greatest tech items until the last, but maybe I could write a grant for one.  I'll have to check on this. 

Module 2, Assignment 5

     I made a Tagxedo for this assignment.  These are really simple to make with any text document and only takes a few seconds to complete.  The only thing difficult about this assignment is trying to come up with three paragraphs to write about it.  It's just that simple. 
     To make my Tagxedo, I found a document on my computer and copied it to my clipboard.  Then, I pasted the document into Tagxedo.  I chose to copy and paste one of my differentiated lessons that I wrote for use in my preschool class this year.  Second, I chose the colors I wanted to use for my Tagxedo.  Finally, I picked the shape of an apple for my Tagxedo.  I reasoned since it is a lesson plan, I should use the apple shape for teaching. 
     You can tell that this was a lesson on letters from the words that show up most prominently in the Tagxedo.  I love all the shapes and colors you can use in this program.  You could make many different kinds of visuals for use on a website or classroom with this program. 

Module 2, Assignment 4

     I just can't seem to make myself tweet.  I'm such a square.  I know the whole premise of tweeting is to let your friends know what you are doing in simple everyday activities, but I feel ridiculous posting about these types of things.  Twitter is also hard if you are a shy person.  I'm fine speaking one on one with people or even small groups of people, but I'm not one to advertise or broadcast myself to the masses. 
     However, twitter would be a great tool for parent communication in my preschool classroom.  I could tweet reminders and updates about field trips, reminders about what the children are learning in class, or just use the direct message feature to write a kind note to a parent about their child.  I could use a hash tag like #12-13youngft to identify field trip reminders to my parents.  I really like the idea about using direct messages to send a quick message to a parent about something their child did well in class.  I try to write good notes to my parents as often as possible.  Sometimes, during the day, it is hard to write them and get them into their folders by the time the children go home.  I think it's very important to say something kind about every child to their parents as often as possible.  It just makes for a better home - school relationship. 
     Since my preschoolers to the most part are pre-readers, I'm not sure how I could actually get the children to use twitter in the classroom.  I could possibly let the children dictate something that I could type into twitter for them about a field trip or classroom activity.  This could be very similar to their journal activities. 

Module 2, Assignment 3

     I can post about anything that I want on this blog post.  So, I think I could title this, "What am I Going to do on my Summer Vacation?"  I plan on staying close to family and getting my mother out of the house this summer.  My mother lost a nephew she raised since the age of 12 this year, and she has taken it very hard.  It's like she has lost a child, and I can't stand to see her upset.  She is going on a vacation this year, even if I have to make her go. 
     I'm taking her to the beach.  I will pack her things myself if I have to.  The last time I took her to the beach, she asked me what she would do for money?  Mom, I asked you.  You will spend my money.  That's what you get for years of college tuition to a private college.  You can spend my money on vacation.  I just don't understand why she asks those questions and why she doesn't seem to like it when I won't let her pay for everything.  I love her, but I wish she would let me do more for her without trying to sneak money in my purse when I do. 
     I'm also going to clean my house.  The only time my house is clean is on summer vacation.  Thank goodness that's also when all the out of town relatives come in to visit.  I visit them during the holidays.  They don't teach, so they have time to clean the house in the winter. 

Module 2, Assignment 2

     I added five more sites to delicious.  I do like delicious because you won't lose what you have book marked if your computer goes down, no matter what.  However, this assignment seems to take me two to three hours because so many websites do not have a picture, so you can't mark it on delicious.  This time I saved the sites www.kidsfront.com, www.kinderkirner.com, www.preschoolrainbow.org, www.designedinstruction.com/prekorner/, and www.Looledo.com,  to my delicious account. 
     All the sites I have saved are geared toward use in the preschool classroom, but some sites can be used by Kindergarten or possibly first and second grade teachers.  The site www.kidsfront.com contains mostly children stories that the teacher could make props for and tell to their children during circle time or story time.  This is one of my favorite times of the preschool day, so I will use many of these stories.  On the site www.kinderkorner.com, they have an alphabetical list of themes for any time of the year.  The theme plans have songs to teach the children during large group times (circle time), activities to use for lessons, and suggestions for stories and books to use for every theme.  However, if you want to use their printed materials, you must purchase them from this site.  The site www.preschoolrainbow.org contains the same type of thematic planning resources for preschool children and teachers.  However, some of their printables are free.  On the site www.designedinstruction.com, they want you to purchase teaching materials, but they do provide several good sample activity ideas for lessons in each subject area.  Preschool teachers are now being rated by the ECERS system and one thing the raters are looking for is a specific percentage of  3-demensional art in the preschool classroom.  The site www.Looledo.com provides many great ideas for 3-dimensional art that use common materials that are free and in every house hold.  I will use this site a lot in the coming year. 
     I found a few sites that I tried to book mark to delicious but couldn't because they had no picture.  I did book mark these sites to my favorites bar on my home computer however.  The first site was Shirley's preschool that had entire themes complete with printables for any needed activities.  Also, www.myffgames.com contained cheap printable file folder games for children in preschool to second grade.  Each game was in color, with all directions, and only one dollar or less per game.  Some children love these types of activities, so I keep some in my room just in case. 

Module 2, Assignment 1

    I added a page about me to my side bar today.  I just hope I did it correctly.  I may go in and add another paragraph because I only wrote about two paragraphs about myself.  I find it very hard to write about myself on any type of public forum. 
     I added several pictures to my page.  I'm a very visual person and find pictures to be much more important than words when you want to make something interesting to read.  Maybe this is the appeal that elementary education holds for me.  I still love to sit in the floor at the book store and read the children's picture books.  Oops, soon their will be no book stores, just ebooks. 
     I shared a picture of my favorite trip of all time.  My trip to Hawaii.  We took an entire day and hiked out to the green sand beach.  It's off the tourist tours, so you have to rent a car and drive yourself.  After driving several hours to the mostly unpopulated side of The Big Island, then you have to hike in for about two hours to actually get to the green sand beach.  This beach is so far off the beaten path that we were the only people on the beach the day we hiked in.  In Hawaii, that's very rare to say about any beach, but it was on my bucket list in life.  There is only one green sand beach in the world besides the one on Hawaii's Big Island.  It was a once in a lifetime experience. 

     I also, said a little about my educational background, hobbies, and that sort of information.  Wow, I've written more in my blog than I wrote on my page.  I wonder if I can cut and paste the paragraph at the top onto my page.  It's more interesting than anything I wrote on my page. 

Module 1, Assignment 6

     The app I found and reviewed is called teach me toddler.  This is not a free app, but it only costs $0.99.  I  think it is well worth the money.  Also, for those preschool children who are more advanced, you can purchase Teach Me Kindergarten for only $1.99.  I loved both of these apps.  I wish I had an iPad in my classroom.  I would use these.  I purchased both apps in my iTunes account just in case I ever get an iPad to use in my classroom. 
     Teach Me Toddler is an app that teaches children to identify upper and lower case letters from A to Z, letter sounds A to Z, number recognition for numbers 1 to 20, shapes, colors, and how to count from 1 to 10.  Each child has their own log-in and you can put in up to 40 students before you have to purchase anything within this app.  I'm not sure if you can take children out at the end of the year.  I haven't tried that yet.  You can also customize the app for each child with a log-in by choosing specific subjects you want the child to work on within the app or you can even customize which questions the children are asked.  This app is very child friendly with its animated teacher Mimi Mouse.  The character reads all directions and questions to the child and gives immediate feedback.  The teacher can also review the performance history for each child and track their progress. 
     This app also has a customizable reward system for each child.  The children can earn stickers or coins for a determined number of correct answers.  The teacher can change the number of correct answers required to earn stickers or coins.  Also, the teacher can change the number of questions required to be answered correctly to mark a topic as learned in this app.  Their are over one hundred and fifty stickers that the child can earn to be used to create sticker scenes using six different scenes.  If a teacher decides to use the coin reward system, they can set the number of coins that need to be earned to receive a specified reward or possibly, use the coins earned and print it out to send home for parents to reward their children. 

Module 1, assignment 5

     Twitter, I can not say this is my favorite thing on the web.  I did tweet four or five times in one week, but that's no good.  I just can't seem to get the point of it.  I would probably love this if I were a high school student and all of my friends tweeted.  I could stay on the phone for hours as a teenager, so if this were around back then, I would probably live on twitter. 
     However, none of my friends tweet, and I am an essentially dull and boring person.  I just can't understand why anyone would want to read about what I'm making for dinner.  If I had a striking wit or some profound statements, yes I could see tweeting it to the world.  My grocery list, I just don't understand why anyone would take the time to read about it. 
     I know it is no excuse for not tweeting more, but if it is any consolation, I don't facebook either.  I do have friends on facebook, none of them that I know of are on twitter, and they have begged me to open a facebook account.  One of my friends actually read one of me tweets.  She asked me why my tweets were that dull because she thinks I'm hilarious.  She didn't understand why I couldn't just type up what I would say to her on the phone.  I talk about my life and things that are important to me on the phone, none of which would I want to share with the general public at large.  I can hear my father in the back of my head turning the channel away from, "The Jerry Springer Show."  He used to say, "Even if I did that; I wouldn't go out in public and tell everyone about it." 
     I'm generally a very private person.  I just don't like sharing anything in depth on such a public forum.  What you put in cyberspace is there forever.  I don't want my kids thirty years from now saying, "Mom, OMG.  I know you didn't put that on the internet." 

Module 1, Assignment 3

     Our laptops are being replaced at the end of the year.  This was a great way for me to upload documents that I am always needing to change and use.  I added several files to my drop box account.
I added files for my field trip forms, differentiated lesson plans, and letters. 
     What I liked best about putting these files on drop box is that I can get to the files I need from anywhere.  I can pull up a field trip document, make any needed changes, and send in the file from anywhere.  I can do this from my home computer, a computer in another part of the building, or even a relatives computer from out of town.  I also don't have to worry about losing the information. 
    I love drop box.  So far, it's my most used and useful item I have found to date.  I use it several times per week from home, school, or at other peoples homes.  I just have to sign in, get what I need, and use it however it is needed.  I absolutely love this account.  The only thing I am worried about is running out of space, but I do think it will be a little while before that happens. 

Module 1, Assignment 7

       For assignment 7, we watched three videos and thought about how to use an IPAD or IPOD in our classroom.  I have used my IPOD in the classroom for several years in some very low tech ways.  On my IPOD, I have all the audio versions of every Dr. Seuss book ever written.  During Read Across America, I hook my IPOD up to speakers and play the audio books during arrival and other times.  The children love this.  I haven't had as much experience with the IPAD. 
     I would love to have an IPAD, but I just haven't broken down and spent the money yet.  However, there are so many wonderful apps for small children.  An IPAD could be a center for children to use all by itself or some websites, such as ABCmouse.com, allow you to create lessons especially for specific students.  An IPAD could help with differentiation in this way. 
     In preschool, the only draw back would be that we are supposed to limit our student's exposure to computers to only twenty minutes per day.  In today's world, children have grown so accustomed to computers that they become easily upset when you try to limit their computer time to less than twenty minutes.  It's a very interesting balancing act, but we must expose them to technology.  Technology is a part of life, and I don't see that ever changing. 

 

Module 1, Assignment 4

     For assignment 4, we had to create a google doc and share it with Mrs. Bazak and several other people.  I could have created a simple grocery list or letter.  Who wants to see that?  I created a simple survey.  
     I have become quieter by nature as I've gotten a little older.  I rarely have time in my life to ask simple questions and get to know people that I see all the time.  This was just a survey to help me learn more about the people around me. 
    Those classmates that I shared with are free to share as little or as much as they wish.  This is just a survey for fun.  My answers to the question about what I like about teaching the best would be the children.  Preschoolers are the most enjoyable children on earth to teach.  As for what I plan to do on my summer vacation, I can not wait to travel of course.  I want to go scuba diving with the whales in Monterrey this summer.  My sister, and traveling companion, is completely opposed to this idea.  She keeps saying, "Melissa, they are whales.  You can not pet them like a dog.  Are you crazy?"  I'll keep trying to talk her into it.  Wish me luck. 

 

Module 1, Assignment 2

    In this assignment, we looked at an article and different blogs and thought about how we could use a blog in our classroom.  I liked the fact that you could share materials, websites, and ideas with parents to help them work with their children.  Blogs could get parents more interested in what is going on in the classroom and help children share their work.  Also, for children in upper grades, blogging would help get them accustomed to typing.  Now that most SOL tests must be taken on the computer, typing and computer skills have become a necessity for elementary students.  Blogging could give them real life, hands on typing and editing experience without it seeming like a chore. 
     I could use blogging with my preschoolers.  Preschool teachers work with their children on prewriting skills.  Some of your higher students that have begun to write could type some of their own posts.  For those children that are not quite writing yet, the teacher could upload student work and type dictation into their blog for them.  Then, we could read their blog back to them.  This would be a wonderful prewriting activity for very young children. 
     Some of the blogs I looked at and loved where, mscassidysclass.edublogs.org, teacher tom, and Miss Erin's Preschool Class.  I loved the individual blogs that Ms. Cassidy had set up for each of her children.  Many parents would love to see this, and they would feel more included and invested within their child's classroom.  Teacher Tom's is a male preschool teacher from Washington state.  The picture on the top of his blog is of him dressed as a superhero with a red cape.  He has many wonderful ideas and projects for preschool teachers to use within their classroom along with step-by-step directions complete with pictures.  On Miss Erin's Preschool Class blog, she had entire themes along with suggested books, posted work samples, songs, and hands on activities that could be used with your children in a preschool classroom.  I will definitely refer back to these blogs and sites in the future. 

 

Sorry, I loved this.  I just couldn't resist. 

Module 1, Assignment 1

     I saved 5 sites to delicious.  The sites I found were turtle diary, storyplace.org, 3dinosaurs.com, hummingbirded.com, and www.fun4thebrain.com.  I liked these sites because they were interactive in nature and could be used on a smartboard or as educational sites for the children during work time in the computer area.  There are so many wonderful sites you can use in class; however, you can only book mark sites that have a picture.  I found this frustrating. 
     My favorite sites that I found were turtle diary, storyplace.org, and www.fun4thebrain.com.  Turtle diary had many interactive educational games.  My little ones would love these activities and best of all it is free.  The site storyplace.org has interactive books that you can use with your class along with lesson plan ideas, things to print to go with the stories, and stories that give Spanish vocabulary and the English equivalent.  This site would be wonderful for my ESL children, and I plan to use it in the classroom.  The site www.fun4thebrain.com had many brain based games along with links to articles, other educational sites, and a blog. 
     I lost two computers due to the weather and bad electrical storms over the summer.  I wish I had known about delicious before then.  I lost many of the sites I use all the time on my personal computer at home.  However, I found other sites like Bristolvaschools.org, www.longwood.k12.ny.us, and www.rockingham.d12.va.us that had smartboard lessons, lesson plans, and interactive math manipulatives anyone could use from their websites.  I could not book mark these in delicious because no picture was available on their websites.  These sites had great materials, but I had to book mark them to my favorites, not delicious. 

Delicious

I created a Delicious account today.  I love this idea.  I lost two computers over the summer due to the weather and lost all information.  I will use this in the future. 

A Really Good Site

This is a really good site if you like to travel.  I added this site to my Delicious.  You can also get to this site by clicking HERE. 

Tagxedo

With tagxedo, we all contributed text to a document.  Then, we copied some of, or all of, the text, and copied it into the program to create a wordle.  We could change the colors, chose our own template, and create a picture JPeg.  This is my first Tagxedo Image. 

My first post

I'm taking the UVA web 2.0 class.  This is my first post on blogger, and my first blog ever.