Topic 16

Tonight's class was very fun. I can see Wikis and Podcasts being fun to use in all parts of my life, school, family, church, work, fun.
pbworks.com seems like a really good website. I'm going to work on it this week. Wikis seem a bit open for all kinds of unwanted intrusion. I think, for myself, blogs are more secure and safe. I wouldn't feel quite so open to people adding or taking away things I wanted in it. With blogs they can add, but they can't change what was written before. I can though. We also learned that Wikis are not good for short periods of time where more than one or two need to edit.
I also learned that there are over 100,000 free podcasts I can download from the itunes store. That was very good news. So much information for free. I like!

Topic 11 Website Evaluation

Evaluating web sites was interesting. I really liked the CyberGuide Ratings form. It was easy to read, easy to circle an answer, in other words, quick and easy to use. Midlink Magazine's form was easy to use also. The only thing I didn't like about them was no room for notes. The forms I didn't like as well were NCTE form and Kathy Schrocks form. These weren't bad, I just liked the others better, faster.
I found that sometimes it was hard to find author information. Sometimes it was hard to know who the site was made for and who the sponsor is. Otherwise, I liked going through and seeing what sites had and didn't have. Most of the sites I checked had almost everything. Author was the hardest to find.
Website evaluation guides are great for making sure you are using an unbiased site, one that has what you need and easy to use. It is so important to know if the author or sponsor is qualified to present the material. I found that out in Physics. Some sites are just not as good quality.
I would use a formal evaluation when I need to make sure the information is up-to-date and correct, when I'm passing the information on or writing a paper on the subject. I would not use one if I know the material well and can tell if it's not correct or I'm in a hurry (just being truthful).

Topic 10 Spreadsheets

I learned where to go to learn how to conquer spreadsheets. Zoho was good for this also. It had helps for learning and templates.
NumSum was another good site for tracking classes, teams, data etc. I thought this one seemed easier to use, but I didn't get to try Zoho, it may be just as easy.
My husband uses spreadsheets all the time for work, scouts, etc. Now I can learn to do at least as good as he does and keep track of on-going things.

Topic 9 Word Processing

I found that Zoho.com had a lot of word processing and other program helps. This is a site I will use.
Yesterday we also looked at many different sites that would or could be useful to us at teachers. One of my favorite of those was Swith Zoo. You could create your own new animal. You could learn facts about real animals.

Family Photo

This is the Dunbar Family from 2004. This was taken just before the young man, third from the left in the back row, left with his battalion for Iraq. This is the last really good family photo we have. Front row: Ginny, Wayne and Jarom Back row: Randall, Juliann, Doug and Braden.

Topic 12 Digital Photography

I really enjoyed getting to know the Picasa program. Going through all the steps of fixing pictures to our personal liking was fun. I enjoyed the redeye feature the most, because it was so dramatic. I went home and practiced and hopefully the photo I put on this blog will turn out just the way I want.
My husband just got a Flip Cam for Fathers' Day. This program will come in handy when we go to share our videos and pictures with others. It's hard to believe sometimes how far technology has come since I was a child with my first Kodak instamatic Camera!

Topic 8 WebQuest

I have looked over some of the information on WebQuest.org. I think it would be fun to do. I am anxious to try creating a WebQuest. It seems a little daunting at first, but once we go through one and I do the steps, it will not seem so scary. I enjoyed looking and going through a Webquest on Gardenquest. I typed in the word moon and got several different webquests for varying ages. I read through the Space Treasure Hunt. It sounded interesting, and a bit tricky. I think it would be a fun one to do. It was for 6-8 graders. I looked at Dinosaurs After Dark webquest for 2nd Graders. That one included filling out a journal after looking up about certain dinosaurs. What a great way to make connections with the book and reality. I am looking forward to class next Tuesday to make a webquest.

Topic 7 Copyright

I can't bring up the copyright quiz, so I can't remember the questions exactly. I'll do the best my memory will let me. Doing the copyright quiz was eye-opening. I knew most of the answers, but there were a couple that threw me. I thought 'Happy birthday' was public domain, not Congressional things. I didn't realize that once something is written down copyright is in force. I didn't know that under the Fair Use Doctrine that teachers can make copies of copyrighted material, to use in class. What I found out is that there are things I had no clue you could do and couldn't do.

Topic 6 Power Points

This is the second time I've worked with power point. I love doing it. It took me just a little time to get back into the swing of the program.
I enjoy the creativity it affords me in presenting material. I learned the first time that using too many little gimmicks and flashy things distracted people from the message. This time I just used a few. I now have the power point program on my own computer so it's even more fun. I can just sit and experiment.
Great way to present material that can be a bit boring or lengthy. Helps you to break it down into bite sized pieces.

Topic 5 YETC

YETC resources are really spread across the board. I found links to everything from art to science to reading and lesson preparations to how to get programs started like the Laptop for each child.
Some of my favorites today are:
Virtual resource site, Nasa Resources
http://www.artic.edu/artexplorer
http://www.readwritethink.org/
I haven't seen even half of what this link has to offer. I will be visiting this site quite often.

Topic 4 Lesson Plan

I sat down last night, after I found out that my lesson plan was due that day. I thought, no problem, I'll get this done in no time. Was I ever wrong! I had a great time looking things up on UEN, and other sites. I loved looking at all the things I could make a lesson plan for. The hard part was narrowing the choices down and actually picking one. I made this project much harder than it needed to be. Once I decided, I could put it together much easier. I found lots of funs sites, lesson plans, and ideas. The next one, I hope, will be much easier.
Some of the good websites I found were: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFC/kids/hh/goplaces/article/0,28376,60303/2,00.html
www.mongabay.com/peru/highlights/machupicchu.html

Topic 3 Blogs

What fun. I enjoyed the learning process of creating my own Blog page. Learning how to interact with other bloggers took a little more time and I'm still trying to get it down. I have had many people send me their blog sites and I just didn't have time to look into doing it myself. Now I know it is not very hard or time consuming. I look forward to learning more "techy" stuff.

Topic 2 UEN

Wow! What a wonderful array of information. Anything an educator might need in one stop. I loved the Lesson Plan helper and Rubric maker. Those are handy tools. I was amazed at the amount and variety of information available. The info. for finding jobs, learning opportunities and new ideas. I played on this site for way longer than I had planned. I was reluctantly forced off by a previously made appointment. I have this site on my favorites list and plan to use it often.

Assignment 1- Watching the videos was really interesting. It helped me to see how good it is to teach children with the technology they are using. I really liked it. I think it is a good idea. I was wondering what good was to come from all the game playing and texting and such. Now I know what good things we can do in education with them.
Ginny

Kassie,
How was the family water trip? Hope you had a great time. See you Tuesday.
Ginny

Just Me

Howdy!
My name is Ginny Dunbar. I live in Vernal. I have five already grown up children, one girl, 4 boys. I am finally finishing my education. I love to learn. This should be fun.
Ginny