Thing 19

I had heard the word podcast many times, but honestly did not have much information about what they are. The videos and searching around definitely helped to open my eyes.

A podcast I want to subscribe to and explore further is devoted to learning disabilities: http://ldpodcast.com/ I liked that there are the interviews available for listening, but there are also additional resources (e.g. links, accommodation guides, info. on dyslexia and ADHD, books). Overall, it appears to be kept up to date (when searching through, I did find a few did not have recent podcasts available) and would be a beneficial resource!

Another podcast I found to be intriguing was Colonial Williamsburg Past and Present. They discuss various topics connected to Colonial Williamsburg (e.g. events that took place there) and offer additional resources to students after they listen, which I really liked. I thought it could be a neat supplement to social studies topics that students more often than not find to be "boring."

Finally, I noticed there are quite a few "book talk" podcasts. I especially liked Hopkinton High School Library Booktalks because each of the books is chosen by middle school aged students and is part of the Isinglass Teen Award Read Award project: http://www.hopkintonschools.org/hhs/library/podcast.html The books discussed are for older students (ideal for our 7th/8th graders) and some of my students are younger, however, I liked the idea that books are student chosen and that they are discussed. I'm sure that there are podcasts available discussing literature for younger students. I need to do some more searching! I overall like the idea of "book talks" because I feel that they could be a fun way to introduce a new book to students. If there are author podcasts available, I also think it would be another fun way for students to get into a book. Students could actually hear the author of the story share details and answer questions.

One last thought on podcasting.....not only could our students learn from others through listening to podcasts by adults and other students in different schools, but I also think that it could be very doable with the right resources for our own students to do as well...share with others through their own podcasts.

Thing 18

Key Reading Strategies

View more presentations from Michael Klingensmith.

I chose this presentation because I absolutely loved the content! It's what we all try to teach our students...to become active, independent readers who use strategies. It's my number one goal for my students to use these strategies and we work on building these pieces to the puzzle each day. It's an ongoing process as I learn and they learn, but my hope is that with practice the strategies will become more automatic for them as they grow. I also liked that the presentation was straight forward and to the point, without too much clutter.

I think Slideshare would be a beneficial tool for both students and teachers in sharing presentations and lessons. We could pull up a presentation in a classroom, the tech lab, the library etc without searching a flash drive. On another level, I think many good ideas could be generated and "ah ha" moments could be had through searching topics from others in education.

Thing 17

I explored 30 Boxes online calendar. It did require a sign-in, but you can limit the amount of information you want to share (e.g. location, blog urls, and privacy settings etc.), which I liked. I'm usually pretty on top of things date wise...I have a traditional calendar hanging in my kitchen and make lists all the time. The neat thing about the online calendar, however, is that it can be shared with others that are registered for 30 Boxes or it can be placed on blog sites. This could be a way to share important dates with family members and keep up with them as well.

I was initially drawn to the calendar because I thought it may be a possible way for students to keep up with assignments and activities online and for parents to as well. The only issue, however, which seems to be the looming issue, is student access to email.

Thing 16

I was a little nervous about getting into Google Docs because of one little word associated with it...spreadsheets. I'm not as proficient in using spreadsheets as I'd like to be. However, once watching the video tutorials and exploring Google Docs for myself, I feel much more comfortable with the options Google Docs offers.

In my personal life, Google Docs could be useful in sharing work with my sister who is in Pennsylvania. She sends me her college papers through email attachments to proofread and it's back and forth that way. With Google Docs, it'd be a time saver.

In regard to school, I could see Google Docs being beneficial for me when I am creating special education schedules at the beginning of the school year. I could share the individual schedules on Google Docs and teachers could log in to see if the weekly times I have scheduled for their students are suitable and do not interfere with their specials schedules. This would be a wonderful time saver instead of individually emailing each teacher back and forth or walking around to each teacher who is busy in her/his own classroom. Another benefit could be sharing the Wordly Wise or spelling lists on Google Docs. I either hand deliver the lists or send an email attachment. Once again, this could be a time saver. I'm really looking forward to testing this out next fall.

In regard to students, if email addresses/accounts are not an issue, I could see the peer editing process becoming more appealing (Could a school email somehow be incorporated for use with Google Docs?) I was working with a student yesterday afternoon who was reading about the benefits of the freedom of expression in her social studies book. One of the benefits involves individual growth....if others can share opinions, you may have an "ah ha" moment and learn/discover something you hadn't thought about yourself. I could see Google Docs providing that opportunity for students. Someone may offer a suggestion that students had not thought of themselves.

Thing 15

I like the idea of RSS and the ease of using it. I was really excited to check out the news feed piece. I added some options that will be useful in our classrooms (e.g. headline news) as well as feeds I'm personally interested in (e.g. sports....I'm a life long Tiger fan). I also liked the ability to subscribe to tags through Delicious. I of course searched the tag "special education" and am excited to have that option available on my bloglines! I unfortunately have not been keeping up with my feeds on a regular basis. It definitely needs to become more of a habit because it is such a useful tool. I find that when at home and sharing a computer, my computer time at times is limited. I'm looking forward to having more time to explore through the summer months and having it become a habit, which in itself will be a time saver and idea generator :)

Thing 14

My Delicious user name is meg79....I like that I will have all of my favorite websites at a few clicks of the mouse no matter where I am, be it at home or school. I think the site will be a useful organization tool as I discover more websites related to special education, reading, and math. It will be valuable to check out tags related to these topics because our fellow teachers may be able to introduce me/us to new sites. New sites may trigger new ideas. New ideas may inspire our students.

In regard to our students, the site may prove useful for students as they write reports or complete projects. I have worked with students who need to complete an activity and cannot remember which site they were on previously. If there are reliable sites for our students to bookmark through Delicious in regard to social studies, current events, science etc..., they may see the site as a beneficial organizational, time saving tool as well.

Lesson Learned

I learned a lesson this past week.....a very common sense lesson. I was unable to sign into my Yahoo account to complete Thing 14. My ID and password were not being accepted and I was unsure of the reason. I had used the ID and password to sign up for my Flickr account to complete Thing 7 so I was concerned. I emailed Yahoo customer care back and forth several times throughout the week to solve the mystery. When I registered with Yahoo on April 10th that was my 1st Yahoo experience. Yahoo is not my regular personal email account. In previous account experiences I have written down or printed security questions and have listed an alternate email account. On April 10th during my Yahoo registration I did not. Error number 1. Long story short, they could not verify the Yahoo ID and password as mine, even with creating a Flickr account using that ID and password on April 10th.

Error number 2 was just discovered when I signed into my gmail email and had a Yahoo email asking me to verify the new account I created yesterday. When I originally created an account I did not provide the alternate email address and I did not sign into my new Yahoo account because I honestly didn't think of it at the time. It was not my everyday email account and I just didn't sign in, which was a mistake. Had I signed into Yahoo immediately after creating my first account, this whole confusion would never had happened because I would have verified my account.

So with my lack of common sense, I bring you these important common sense things to remember:
~Always print/write down security questions
~Always provide an alternate email account to ensure easier communication and verification if needed
~Always check to see if an email needs to be verified to continue it's use

With my lack of Yahoo sense behind me and lessons learned, I'm ready to get into exploring Things 14-23!