Thing #18 You Tube Video

by creeves19
I plan to use this video in our study of Community Helpers. I found a video about weather, that I can use in our Science unit next week. You Tube has many nursery rhymes. I can select one that will be used in our curriculum and I could show it as a special treat when we reading from our fluency folder.

I hope to take advantage of the How to Tile a Bathroom Floor from Home Depot.

I reminisced through the 60's with the video of the Monkees.

Teacher Tube videos were not as well made or did not have audio.

Thing #17 Podcast

Podcasting can be a quick way to learn  new things or double-check something forgotten.

I listened to two podcasts, both were helpful in giving me quick information on specific topics. The podcast 60 Second Science gives research on various topics such as 'Fingers know when they make a mistake typing'.  I like the fact that the information was concise.

The second website I previewed was Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips. I searched the grammar and punctuation directories.  One particular podcast I listened to was "Is 'Got' Proper English"?  This website is a useful resource for quickly checking grammar rules.

I think I will use these websites because they are both quick and helpful in my personal and professional development.

Thing #16

Library Thing is a great resource.  I think it would be very helpful in searching for particular books to use as read a-louds for kindergarten.  I could do a lot of the leg work in Library Thing, looking for possible books to meet my teaching needs, then search on MISD library site and Mesquite City Library site to see if the titles are available.  Having input from other readers helps to determine if the book would be appropriate or worth reading.

Thing #15

 Delicious is great!  My teaching team is now WORLD-WIDE!  How wonderful to be able to search for websites targeted for my very specific needs and interests!  How even better to find sites that connect me with other kindergarten teachers who are willing to share their creative ideas.  We all win when we share. 

I will use my delicious bookmarks to find new ideas to teach different concepts.  I love how it organizes the sites I visit frequently.  I think I will benefit from tag filtering feature.  You can find my bookmarks at http://www.delicious.com/c.anderson7722.

Thing 7a

I found the following article in the Elementary Education Blog, eledblog.com.  It is very thought provoking professionally, in considering what we are doing in the public school system to prepare 21st century students for their futures.  It raises questions for me as a mom whose son is on ADHD medication. The title of the article is RSA Animate Changing Education Paradiagms.

Thing #14

I spent some time exploring Wordle.  I typed in the action words my students gave in our study of verbs.  I think it would be a great way to review.  The kids would love to see their individual answers shown as a poster or on the screen. I changed the font to one that would be easy for kindergartners to read and selected that all the words read horizontal. I changed the color to something bright and catchy.  The sad thing was that in the process of saving it, I lost it.  I'll have to do it again.

Whether I am using photos or samples of students' work, sharing that publicly in class affects the social and emotional development of the child.  As teachers, we have to provide safe and accepting environments where students will be comfortable sharing themselves (photos or work).

Things #13

It was fun experimenting with these image generators.  I really like Spell Flickr.  I spelled my name, my grade, and my school.  Since I can select what letter I like, I can do a combination of lower and uppercase letters.  I will have my students identify lower and uppercase letters in the words.



I usually decorate my room in smiley face theme so I was excited to see Happy Face Generator.  We usually discuss autumn and the changes we see during this time, so I made a smiley face with autumn leaves. I simply clicked on the sample text, typed in the new and saved.

Our school is undergoing renovations, so Happy Face Construction Worker will be a great motivator.  I selected the face I wanted, changed the text and size of font, and saved.

There were other generators I explored and have ideas how I could use them in the classroom.  Flickr Color Pickr will be a good resource at the beginning of the year when I teach the individual colors.  Mappr would be great for bringing geography to life with photos.

I am glad I was introduced to these resources.