Reflections.......at last....:> :>

You might say that things are starting to "click" for me. (Just a little computer humor.)

This training has been great for me. I have really enjoyed it and I have learned a lot. It was kind of like a break through for me. If this had not been a required course I would never have spent this much time playing around on the computer, but I would also never have learned so much. Thanks to someone for creating this great training. I feel more empowered to use technology in the classroom. I now have more resources, ideas, and several forms of help for when I get stuck and don't know what to click next.

My favorite tools are Wordle, PhotoShop3, and i Pod Touch. I plan to use PhotoShop3 to create a video using pictues of students working in the classroom or pictures from a field trip. Students can describe the photos and select music for the video.

The very first 2 videos in Tool #1 kind of wowed me. We have already moved away from traditional forms of communication like newspapers and magazines to computers and technological devices. To me it's a little scary to rely so much on the internet but I have learned that there is so much you can do and learn from computers and the web.

It is clear to me that we all have to learn this technology stuff to keep up and to function in the future. There really will not be much of a choice.

Tools #11 blog Digital Citizenship

Digital citizenship means being responsible with technology and it is very important. I would talk with my students about moral issues, legal issues, and privacy issues. I think they are not too young to begin to know about and think about these things.

Tool #10 i Pod Touch and Apps

Looks like there are lots and lots of opportunities to use the i Pod Touch in PreK and all grades. A few that I reviewed are working with tangrams and spacial relations, name writing, etcha sketch for drawing, working with pod casts, spelling words, word salad to create words, wooden labyrinth, and fling free puzzle game. I will know a lot more after my training on the i Pod Touch. Looking forward to that.

Tool #9 blog Jing and Skype

New words and new applications for me. Jing looks fun. A good communication tool for teaching using visuals. A good application would be for teaching "how to". Skype could be used for professional development and really fun to use with a guest lecturer.

Tools #8 blog Video resources

Videos are great for PreK because they are so engaging and they can be used across the curriculum. I am looking forward to when I get a flip camera so I can make my own videos to post.

I found some cute songs on http://www.youtube.com. This ones shows PreK students singing and acting out There Were Ten in the Bed. On YouTube do a search for DaddyRossPreschool.

I moved it to the very bottom of my blog because it is oversized and was covering up my blogging space.

Tools #8 Video Resources

I searched for a video at www.Blinkx.com. I searched within that site using Prekindergarten Math and found a video called Pre-K Pages Math Die with math activities for number concept and one to one matching using a gift box and ice cube trays. To watch the video go to this link: http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/pre-k-pages-math-die/yKlihpZ6ICCldG8C7NG5fw
I also found out about a new web site for PreK; www.Pre-KPages.com.

Tools #7 blog Digital Stories

I definately had more fun with this than anything else which means I will try to find a way to use it with students. I loved creating my video of my summer vacation.I used Photo Story. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx. One PreK teacher blogged that she created a video of her students to show parents as they arrived for a PreK program.
Like they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

My vacation to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

Tool #6 blog Wikis

I would love to have all PreK teachers in the district sharing on the same wiki, especially since we are getting the new technology in PreK, i Pod Touch, etc. What a great sharing tool!!!!

Wikis would be really cool to use when we are brainstorming in faculty meetings; for example, discussing all the activities we do in a year when planning the school's yearly plan or giving input about what kinds of trainings we need in each grade level and coming up with a master plan for the whole school. It reminds me of a gigantic dry erase board that everyone gets to write on.

Well, if I keep side tracking like I am then I will never get finished with the 11 Tools training. I sneaked over to the blogs of PreK teachers to read what ideas they are coming up with and I found some cool ideas. Now I am starting to get it; click, read, learn, click, search, read, learn, post, click, blog, click, tag, click, read, learn........and before you know it, it is 10:30 PM and time to stop clicking.

Tool #5 blog Tagging

I joined Diigo and added some favorites with tags. This would have been a good tool when planning my trip toYellowstone. I could have shared web sites with my boyfriend Ted so he could see what I was seeing. Also, it will be great to use when I research author studies. I can share web sites with Diana and Kinder teachers.

Tool #4 blog Google docs and google reader

Google docs will be very useful for the grade level collaboration. Google reader does not seem as useful right now. I will just have to give it a try.

Tool #3 blog Generators and Mash ups

Finally I get to blog. It seems like I spent a lot of time playing around with photos and generators. Adding my photos was fun. Trying to figure out the web sites with photos and generators was not so fun. Thanks to Karen Justl for all the help through email and some in-person training!!! Once I figure out how to do something it seems easier and I want to do it over and over, like create those crazy word collages at http://www.wordle.net/or add my own personal photos from my vacation. In the classroom......I can see doing some things with words and photos.

Tool #3 blog Generators and Mash ups

I think using photos can be a lot of fun since I like taking photos. This is a photo of a Monarch butterfly I got off of the Flickr website. Beautiful, isn't it?

Tool #2 blog Community of Learners

Lots of thoughts about personal learning networking.
1. I think blogging can, at times, affirm oneself and give a more secure sense of self. Sometimes we are thinking, "I wonder if anyone else feels this way" or "I know this sounds crazy but...." when in truth there are lots of people out there thinking or doing the same things we are. We find out that we are not so strange after all. It's like, MY THOUGHTS COUNT.
2. I also like the way people use blogs to problem solve. Someone posts a problem, about technology, for example, and they get a response from someone who has figured out how to make it work. I love the help that people are more than willing to provide.
3. I like the way we can connect and learn from people all over the world. You can learn how other people live or see something from someone else's point of view. And with photos you can see other parts of the world first hand. That's kind of mind boggling.

Tool #1 blog Creating a blog

I could create a blog page with student input to show them how fun it can be to blog. I could add some cute avatars and photos of myself and of the students.

My vacation

I have really enjoyed the great outdoors this summer. I took a vacation to 2 very beautiful national parks in the US; Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. It was awesome!!