Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Popplet

So for my last web 2.0 tool to look at for this month is something called Popplet. I heard about this from my last Web 2.0 class this past weekend. This is a great way to organize information. What I liked about this is that you can upload pictures in addition to You Tube videos. I was also able to upload a Google map. This tool reminds me of a paid software called Inspiration. You just cannot make a bubble into any picture. Thank you Tina for bringing this tool to my attention. I am going to be sure to use this in future planning.


Thursday, March 17, 2011

Elementary Classroom Visit

Today, I had an opportunity to observe a 2nd grade class in a music class.  Students used a website called Morton Subotnick's Creating Music Wesite.  Here students explored what it meant to hear good sounds versus good music.  Students got to play around with sounds of different instruments to see what it would sound like.  They then tried to create 'good music' and shared it with the rest of the class.  It was interesting to see what the students came up with.  The music teacher uses this website to prepare them for when they get to 3rd grade when they use Hyperscore (a free download software to create songs in a more meaningful way). 

I am glad that I was able to have the opportunity to observe and participate today.  I was reminded yet again about how much you really do not know when it comes to technology and what is available.  (Until today, I did not know that these programs existed prior.)  It was also interesting being apart of the elementary environment again.  It is such a big difference from what I do. 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Little Bird Tales Adventure



Last night, I completed my very first digital short story about a boy by the name of Charlie and his rain gauge.  Basically, he wants to see his new rain gauge in action so he wants it to rain, but it doesn't.  He learns about what a barometer is so that he can figure out when it might rain again.  It sure was fun to put this story together.  I will say it made me step outside of my comfortable limits as I have never done such a thing before.  It is challenging putting the elementary teacher hat on.  I made sure that I incorporated different voices, use language that students would know, and paused at appropriate times.  Hope you enjoy listening!

When Will It Rain?

Monday, March 14, 2011

Teachers Really Do Inspire

The teachers at BHS were surprised by the student population this morning before school, as there were hundreds of hand made signs from students expressing their appreciation for their teachers.  It was really touching.  I am not someone that expresses their feelings but it really did hit me.  Better yet, I found a personalized note from a couple of my students.  They made a sign with a QR code...HOW COOL IS THAT?  They got this idea from an assignment that I experimented with in class but I did not show them how to create one.  They figured this out on their own.  When I scanned the QR code, it was a very heartfelt message.  (I really needed that!)  You just do not know how and when you affect your students.  This is why I do what I do!  Teaching is a great profession!  (You never know what the day is ever going to shape up to be!)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Prezi...giving it another chance

So, today, I decided to give Prezi another go at it.  If it were not because of my Web 2.0 class, I probably would not have gone back to this tool.  To my surprise, I was quite pleased with some of the changes.  For some reason, I felt as though it was much more friendlier to use.  I created a prezi on rain gauges. (click to view it online...I did make this public for anyone to copy and use) This was a bit challenging for me to do seeing as though it is geared towards 3rd graders for an environmental science class.  Seeing as though I have always been a high school teacher, it was a challenge to think how an elementary teacher would give the information.  I tried to make the words a simple as I could.  I also made sure to include lots of pictures and a video on how to actually make their own rain gauge.  In the future, I would like to see what it is like to collaborate with someone else on meeting tool option.  Basically, in a nut shell, I will using prezi again!

(Oh, and it is always interesting to see what you learn when you do these type of things.  I really never did research on rain gauges so I learned a few things.  I did not know that they are typically measured in millimeters.  Also, I saw some interesting rain gauges.  If you want to see a cool one, click here

Reflection on Assessing the Web 2.0 World

Today I listened to a podcast on Assessment in a Web 2.0 World (If you would like to listen to the podcast yourself, feel free to click on the link Eudcause podcast: Assessment in a Web 2.0 World) Over the course of my eight years of teaching, assessing student learning as been a big focus.  I remember when the word rubrics was new and realized that we should be providing students with the information pertaining to exactly how they were going to be assessed on a graded assignment.  This is the right thing to do and to think that it was not done prior, seems crazy.

It was brought up that not only do educators need to think about how they are going to grade students on a particular tasks, but they also need to complete the task themselves to see what the finish product might look like.  It all comes back to the teacher 'being a role model'.  If the teacher does not know what the final product might look like, then they are unable to truly think of a way to assess the students.  I can relate to this as I have been in a situation where I either gave to few or too many points on  particular component on an assessment and I think to myself, "Well that was dumb of me...Why did I do that?"  Yes, it will take time to complete the task, but it is worth it in the long run.  Plus, there are some students who need to see a model of what something could look like.  It is a win, win.

Additionally, the speakers made a comment that at times some teachers say that they do not need to see a hollywood production (in regards to a video assignment).  Well, it could be hard then to see if the students understood the assignment that was given to them, which means it may become difficult to assess the students learning. 


Also, it was mentioned that the teacher needs to collaborate with the instructional technology teacher as they have ideas of how technology can be infused into the curriculum to better enhance student learning.  One of the roles of the classroom teacher is to be an expert in that particular subject, so they may not know the technology world and what it has to offer.  This is ok.  This just reminds me that it is very important for the IT teacher to be very open minded, willing to collaborate, be available, as well as making sure the staff trusts them.  If this is not happening, then the collaboration efforts will not be made.  This podcast also made me realize that the IT teacher also really knows what the curriculum is like in the whole school since they work with all of the teachers.  This means that the IT teacher can also link classroom teachers with other classroom teachers if they are teaching connecting topics. 
(This role really seems exciting to me and I cannot wait to get my hands wet!)


It was interesting to hear the speakers talk about whether or not students going to college should be required to take a course in digital literacy.  To think that this was never thought about years ago when I was in school, and now it could be.  It is true that students do need to become digitally aware and I really think that this would be a good idea.  It will help when students are required to do work in other courses electronically.  It will also help with group work and collaboration skills.  (I think that one goal of mine would be at some point to teach a topic with one other teacher at the same time somewhere else around the world.  What a great way to collaboration with others so that the students can see the richness in it.)  This just makes you wonder what will be next, as technology changes yet again!

Lately, it appears as though there has been a shift of learning in education.  We are tending to switch from strictly learning by means of rote learning to experiential learning.  I myself have made sure that students are able to participate in said situation.  In fact, as a result of this, I feel as though I have become a better learner myself, as well as educator.  I, however, believe that students need to be able to experience both worlds, especially when it comes to mathematics.  If students do not know their basics, they will not be successful in any experiential task that is put in front of them.  I am asking those big idea questions to my students which makes them truly see why they are learning what they are learning.


I know that I have said this before, but teaching is not an easy job.  But I like not know what the day may turn out to be!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Reminded Why I Teach

Tonight, was a great ending to a very rough week.  (I think that it was one of the toughest ones that I have been through in a while.  We as teachers are going through a lot as we will be teaching on the same contract for the second year without a raise or step increase.  Needless to say, morale is low and teachers like myself do not feel valued.)  I participated in the annual pasta dinner party with the new Habitat for Humanity group who will be going to Houston/Nashville to help those that are less fortunate during spring break this year.  This group of 30 students are a great group.  I was rejuvenated yet again.  I was reminded why I do what I do.  I know that these students will get a lot out of the experience and I look forward to what lies ahead.  As one student told us at our gathering, we only have 37 days left until we board the plane.  I cannot wait! 

Interactive YouTube Video

Just when you think that you have seen it all, you are informed that it is not true.  Over the past week, Benware and I created an interactive video for students to participate in.  (This reminds me of the time when I would read books when I was young were I was able to decide my own adventure.  Depending on my path depended on what page I had to flip to in the book.  I remember this being a lot of fun for me!)  The lesson has to deal with quadrilaterals and parallelograms.  While it took some time to create, we were able to complete it in far less of time than what we thought.  I would say in all, it took about 5 hours tops from start to finish.  This was because we had to learn how to actually make YouTube videos interactive as well as dealt with some camera issues.  Even though this was some work, it was a great time to share ideas, and most importantly, laughs.  There was one video in which we could not stop laughing.  Can you see which one that was?  Hope that you have fun watching this adventure.  Benware and Sheil Adventure

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Collaboration

So, it has been a couple of days since I have last written.  Tonight's topic is about how dishartened I am to hear that some teachers are still not accepting of the fact that collaboration is very important in the education world.  I am very fortunate to be working in a school that values common planning and makes sure that teachers who teach the same course have the same time block off for common planning.  What is important to know is that this is NOT the same block as my own personal planning time. 

With this model, I have found it very rewarding as an educator.  In all honesty, I feel as though I have become a much better educator.  I have learned quite a bit from my peers.  If it were not for them, I in fact probably would still be teaching by sections in textbooks rather than teaching with big ideas.  There were times where I would just spit out algorithms for my students to use and apply.  Little did I know, I was doing them a diservice.  They were not learning or knowing why they were even learning the concept.  Working with other teachers also lets you see how they teach the material or approach and idea that maybe completely different from what you do.  Also, in order to make sure that students get the same type of experience in a course no matter what the subject, common planning must be a priority. 

All schools need to get on board of this idea of providing teachers an opportunity to work with one another to help one another.  If we expect that collaboration is an important 21 century skill, then we as educators need to be modeling this!  (This goes along with what David Rosa was talking about in a video.  He mentions that we need to be modeling to our students our expectations.  It is ok that we are not the experts in the front of the room.  It is ok to show students at times that we are humans and we will get back to them.)

This conversation appeared tonight as a result of participating in the #edchat conversation on Twitter.  It was sad to see the wide range to statements.  Some teachers have never even had the opportunity to talk to another teacher.  We need to change this!

What are your thoughts?

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Wi-Fi

Seeing the new iPads (I want one!) have made me think of the issue with wi-fi.  While on a vacation last week, I was reminded how people still have to pay for access to wi-fi in hotels, airports, restaurants.  I just feel that this day in age, it should be provided for free.  A lot of people have mobile devices and laptop computers that people would like access to the internet.  Not that people should constantly be connected...it just surprised me that we still have to pay a decent amount of money. 

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

You should really follow #edchat on Twitter

Last night, I participated in my second online #edchat conversation through Twitter.  Last night's topic was about what it means to give feedback to students.  People were explaining how they do it and why feedback is important.  What I was surprised to see was that these conversations do not and will not necessarily have a connection to technology.  I think that I was caught off guard seeing as though I am going back for my masters in technology and the first conversation that I followed pertained to tablets versus textbooks.  It is good to have conversations that do not always have to deal with technology.  This was great!  Technology really is changing the way that we do things.  To think that I was commenting and reading with people from all over!  I never thought that I would ever do this when I first started studying to become an educator.  Very, very cool!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Twitter and what I have learned

One of my tasks was to follow twelve people. Here is who I have come across over the past couple of weeks:

Web 2.0 Tools
Rmbyrne: @rmbyrne

This guy is from Maine and provides a lot of free ideas for teachers to utilize technology into their instruction. He manages a blog where he keeps all of his suggestions. I have referenced some of his tips on managing a google site. When I have more time, I also want to learn more about Google labs, as the teacher mentioned it in his blog.
Evernote: @evernote
Evernote is a web 2.0 tool where a person is able to keep their notes all in one location, no matter what device that one has in their hands. Today in fact, I learned how I can send tweets directly into my evernote account. This is really, really cool.
Mary Marotta: @mmarotta
Mary is my instructor for my web 2.0 class. She is another person who is constantly in the know of new technologies that can enhance learning in the educational setting. Just this weekend, she learned about how people can create their own green screen to have their own backdrop.
Patrick Larkin: @bhsprincipal
If I want to read something technological, Patrick will have the article for me to read. He seems to always know what is going on. One of his tweets was about the top 35 web 2.0 tools that are used in the classroom. I was happy to see that I knew most of them. I also read an article about iPads and how some districts are implementing them.
Will Richardson: @willrich45
I have learned quite a bit from him. He is just like Patrick in that he constantly finds some good articles and web 2.0 tools and really makes you think about things. Not too long ago, one of his tweets pointed me in the direction of tag galaxy, a place to find pictures based on the tagging feature. It was very cool.

High School
Bedford High School Newspaper: @bhsunleashed
Bedford High School Counseling: @bhscounselingnh
I like to follow the two above as it is a way for me to quickly learn about what is happening in our school. Even though I work there, it does not mean that I know what is happening. It was great to get the tweets over vacation to learn about how the sport teams did. Also, with the counseling account, I am able to figure out important things that I need to notify my advisory students.
Bedford Education Assoication: @BedfordBEA
Just recently, our association decided to create a twitter account to make sure that all of its members were on the same page. Any information that is coming out through this means is correct information. This has been great, especially with our negotiations that are existing right now. I feel as though I am in the loop a bit more.

Elementary School
Nicole Tomaselli: @nicoletomaselli
Nicole is a former coworker of mine and now mentor. I make a point to follow what she posts as she is always thrusting for the lastest and greatest thing out there. In her most recent posts, she commented on a great way of assignment passwords to students who use glogster accounts in the elementary setting. She also notified teachers of the $1.00 deal going on right now with Scholastic. Seeing Nicole make the shift to elementary has been great for me as I am able to see what is out there in an elementary setting, especially when I do not think elementary.

News
WMUR television: @WMUR9
Barack Obama: @BarackObama
CNN News: @cnn
What I most like about these three is that I do not necessarily need to be home from 6 to 7pm to catch the latest news. I am able to check the news at any time. I found myself really using this feature over my vacation to Florida. I was constantly on the move and away from television, however, when I had a free moment and felt like doing something else, I was looking up what was going on in the world. (So, I guess you can say, yes, my vacation was not a true vacation as I still had technology with me.)
Keene State College Alumni: @kscalumni
Even though there have not been very many tweets since I have decided to follow them, I think that this is a great way to learn about what other KSC alumni are doing. It appears as though KSC spotlights what is going on.

Magazine
Tech & Learning Magazine: @techlearning
I was encouraged my mentor to get the tech & Learn magazine sent to my email so I decided to follow them as well on twitter. It is interesting reading some blog posts. Actually the last two that I read, I did not believe with the author. One was about how interactive white boards are a waste of money and are not used. The other was about how students feel more connected with their teachers who use facebook.

Hashtags
Aside from following people, I have also learned about some more educational hashtags that people use. I think that I will be following #mathchat, and #highered. I also liked seeing that there was a hashtag for new teachers (#ntchat). What a great way for new teachers to get some advice especially when it can be one of the hardest times of a teachers’ career.

Some other people that I am following are:
NHSTE: @nhste
Kathy Schrock: @kathyschrock
Dan Meyer: @ddmeyer
David Warlick: @dwarlick

Twitter as a Educational Tool

I must admit that I was not really a fan of using Twitter until recently. I will admit though that I do utilize Facebook quite a bit. Who doesn't right? Well, I will say that I am using Twitter for a completely different reason as opposed to Facebook. I am finding that Twitter is a great way to professionally grow.

Two Tuesdays ago, I participated in an online conversation through 'tweets' with other people interested in education. Each person who wanted to contribute to the conversation utilized a hashtag #edchat. This way, everyone was able to see each others posts. The particular theme that night was about textbooks verses tech devices such as iPads. It was an interesting conversation to follow to see where people are currently with the issue and what their thoughts are around the idea. What I really like about it is the fact that I am communicating with other people that I might not have followed previously. In addition, I have found people to follow as well as some blogs to follow (see my technology tab on my homepage to learn more).

Twitter has also opened my eyes to quick news facts. I am following CNN and WMUR (a local news channel). Throughout the day, I can learn about what is going on in the world.

Basically, for those of you who are not using Twitter, you should. It is a great, quick way to learning about what is going on in the world, other than knowing that Craig Sheil is sleeping. Just remember, if you are posting a comment, it must be done within 140 characters or less. Also, if you have a link that you think people would be interested in, you might want to use a website called 'TinyURL' so that it can shrink the url to the website. This way the url does not eat up all 140 characters!

Happy Tweeting!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Some Pictures From My Disney Trip

I just uploaded all of my pictures (484) that I took from the week and found a couple that you might enjoy.








Can you see a line of smoke in the mix with the clouds in the sky. (It is almost in the center of the picture.) If you can, this was from the Discovery Space Shuttle from its take off. It was really cool to see this in the sky for its last mission.


This is a drawing that I did when I was at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I did this in 20 minutes with a character artist showing the way. I must say that I am very proud of it!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Last Day

So I am in the process of packing right now getting ready to head back to New Hampshire. I understand that there will be about 4 inches of new white snow waiting for me! Bummer. It has been really nice walking around in 80 plus degree weather all week. Yesterday was a special day as it was my father's birthday. Who knew you could let Disney know and they will get you a birthday pin for the birthday boy to wear all day! We decided to spend the day at the magic kingdom. I hope that someday I will be able to spend my birthday at the most magical place ever! I think another cool moment was being able to say that I saw the Discovery space shuttle launch in the air for the very last time! It was cool! I Love Disney!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Technology even used at Disney...It is amazing how much technology has changed the way we do things. One prime example is that most people use a Disney app to let them know what the wait times are before even arriving at the ride. What have we done before this? This just goes to show how much we rely on a fast pace environment!
Good morning folks. I am now waiting for the monorail to go to Epcot. I am really looking forward to the Soarin ride. Yesterday i went to Disney's Hollywood Studios and i attended a couple of 3D shows. i realized that a couple of years ago that technology was really cool and different now you can get this experience everyday at the movie theaters. Soon we will see a different experience with what technology will be able to accomplish. what that will be, who knows! Now sitting on the monorail. Oh and an update on the family is that everyone is feeling much better! Thank goodness! The best part of yesterday was drawing tigger with a character artist.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

So yesterday was a very jam packed day. We spent the whole day at the magic kingdom. The park was busy but only waited in line once that was longer than 20 minutes. Space mountain was a 60 minute wait. After the light parade we took a bus to downtown disney for dinner and shopping. I just wish that the rest of my family was well. One has a stomach bug, one sever migraines, and two with a bad cold. REALLY? Oh well. We really cannot do much about it. Today is the animal kingdom. More to come

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Going to Disney World

So, as I sit hear next to my packed suite case waiting for a friend of mine to pick me up to bring me to the airport to spend the week at Walt Disney World, I think about all of my other trips I had had to the wonderful place. Everyone knows that Walt Disney World is the most magical place on earth.

I myself get excited once I enter the park. There is just something about it that I cannot explain. Is it because everyone is always happy? Is it because the park is always clean? Is it because you feel entertained while waiting in lines that you do not even know you are waiting in lines? Is it because you are reliving the story that you heard when you were a kid while you are riding the rides? Is it because you feel spoiled and are treated well?

What I am most excited about is spending the time with my family as an adult. It will be a new experience. I have also learned that there will be a couple of rides that I have not ridden yet. (More posts and pics to come!)

So, I ask you, why is Disney the most magical place on this earth to you?

Friday, February 18, 2011

ISTE 2011

Just realized that the program is now available for viewing for the 2011 ISTE conference. I am really hoping that I will be able to attend the conference this year as will be applying for a grant with my good old friend Amanda. This would be a great adventure for the both of us as we have never attended the national tech conference and are looking to see what is out there! Wish us luck...

If you are interested in seeing what the conference is all about, click on the link http://www.isteconference.org/2011/

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Just testing out the mobile feature with blogger. Tonight I spent my first time tweeting through #Edchat. Very interesting concept indeed. All should try it!

Tag Galaxy

I came across with this website from a tweet today. On this website you are able to search for pictures in cool new way. It is called Tag Galaxy. The task is quite easy. You type in the 'tag' of your choice. Then, the website searches flicker for all pictures that have been tagged with that name. All the pictures that fall under this category show up in what appears as a big sun. Any 'planets' that revolve around the 'sun' are pictures that have been tagged with that word. For instance, if you type in the word astronaut, 25665 pictures appear in the sun. Examples of other planets that appear around the sun are space, moon, NASA, Apollo etc. If you choose space, 11672 pictures appear in the new sun that have been tagged Astronauts + space. Again, this is just a fun, different way of searching for pictures. Happy tagging!
Website:

Saturday, February 12, 2011



This is a short Animoto of pictures from when I traveled with 18 high school students to Baltimore, MD last April during spring break. We participating in a Habitat for Humanity build. It was a unique experience as we were part of a demolition rather than a build.

Blogging for the first time

This is the very first time that I have ever blogged before.  I am so excited.