Tech Task #3 - Connecting through ETMOOC Webinar

The last portion of Tech Task #3 is to attend a webinar or twitter chat. I decided to attend an ETMOOC webinar, but failed horribly at it the first few times! I had some problems with the time differences and I actually wasn't able to attend a live one, so I found that they archive the webinar, so I watched it pretty well just after the session was over. 

I tuned into Student Blogging: Getting the most out of blogging with your students by @suewaters. I am glad I tuned into this sessions because it was one that I feel interested me the most! 

She began by speaking about edublogs.org. It is basically a blog hosting site where you can create blogs for your classroom and students. Here is her website, TheEduBlogger, where she talks about Educational Blogging and resources. A great website to subscribe to! 

She talked about getting the students  blogs set up when they are ready to have blog opposed to just throwing them into it. You also need to set up a scaffolding for them to become independent learners with their blogs. There also needs to be family involvement, creating connections with the rest of the world and connected to the curriculum. 

Sue went on to talk about Digital Footprints and talked about never using full names of students (which is important) and also to educate the family on it so that they are able to understand. Someone in the chat posted this video and gets you thinking about where your Digital Footprint comes from.



The session goes on with lots more wonderful information about student blogging, so I don't want to give it all away, but I encourage you all to watch the session yourself, especially if you are wanting to set up student blogs. Here is where you can watch it: T1S7 - Blogging with Students. You can also check out other sessions that have been recorded where there are also really good discussions. 

I enjoy the ETMOOC sessions as it gives me the opportunity to learn so much from others while sitting at home on the couch. They discuss many great topics that are important to educators. 

Tech Task #3 - Connecting through Blogs

This section of Tech Task #3 is to find three new educator blogs to subscribe to. My Google Reader has long been filled with wonderful educators who update their blogs regularly with content and updates from inside their classrooms. Some blogs that I am currently following enjoy are:

A Teacher's Plan
Fun in First
PS22 Chorus
The Teacher Wife
Rockin' Teacher Materials
Tales of a Teacherista
Stellar Students
Oceans of First Grade Fun
Lesson Plan SOS

If you are in Early Childhood Education, I would highly recommend adding these to you Google Reader subscriptions. 

I chose to follow three blogs that offered regular posting and are related to technology in Education, so here they are:

Cool Tools for 21st Century Learners - I like this blog because it has SO many different technology tools for teachers. It is filled with many gadgets I've never seen before and tells how you may be able to implement them into your classroom. 

Free Technology for Teachers - I really enjoy this blog, especially the page "Free Downloads." This page alone as so many great resources to use in the classroom. I quite liked the "Google Earth Across the Curriculum" article that they had as it got me thinking on so many ways to use Google Earth in different ways! So exciting!!

Ask A Tech Teacher -  I thought this blog would be a good one to subscribe to.  It has lists of great apps, websites, blogs, and resources for teachers. I found that this blog will be really helpful when I am out in the classrooms. 

Tech Task #3 - Connecting on Twitter

For Tech Task #3, one of the components is to follow 5-10 new people on Twitter. I decided to follow more educators and teacher communities. Here is the list of the most recent people I have decided to follow and why.

@SmartEdServices  This account tweets teacher tips, resources, and tricks to use in the classroom. They also link to their website where you can find teacher resources and other helpful links. 

@ecce1 I wanted to follow Barb Mathieson as she has some good tweets and participates in Educational twitter chats. I also like that she is passionate about ECE and Technology.

@KarenNemethEdM Karen Nemeth has a passion for technology and  early childhood education as well as dual language learners. She also participates in a #ECETechChat which I think would be a little controversial but interesting. 

@mpowers3 I followed Margaret Powers as I enjoyed scrolling through her tweets. She helps teachers integrate technology into their classrooms and also participates in different ECE and technology twitter chats.

@astrang I enjoyed reading Anita Strang's tweets as well as her blog. She is a Canadian Elementary Special Education teacher who uses Ed Tech to differentiate. She shares some great thoughts and links.

@TWRCtankcom I followed Julie Niles Petersen because she has many good tweets and posts great, helpful links. She also has a wonderful blog dedicated to teaching reading with helpful resources.

@cubeforteachers Cube for Teachers tweets K-12 classroom resources that are free! They also tweet some interesting articles for teachers. 

Why I like Google Forms

After using Google Forms to create a survey and collect responses, I have found this tool to be very useful. I am thought of many ways that I would be able to successfully use it in the classroom. 

Why I like it
-Free
-Easy to use
-Quick results
-No need to 'Log In'
-It can be anonymous
-You can ask varrying questions in different formats (multiple choice, text, scale, etc..)
-Results are collected into an easy to follow spreadsheet
-Results are automatically transferred into results
-You can embed the survey or send it through email

How would I use this in the classroom
There are SO many different ways that Google Forms can be used in the classroom. Here are some that I think I would find useful and would be able to use.

-Pose questions to parents on classroom blog or school websites. It could be to get feedback on an event like Open House. This is a quick and simple way to ask parents what they liked, what would they change for next year, etc.. or you could have parents fill out information on your classroom blog as to if they would like to be a parent volunteer, what days, etc..

-Collecting data anonymously during staff meetings.

-Exit Slips. Before leaving class, students can fill out what they have learned or respond to a posed question.

-Letting students make decisions for example, which book would they like to read for a novel study, or where would they be interested in going on a field trip, etc.

-Answering questions. No need for paper and pencil, students can type their responses to question through a Google Form!

-Getting to know students or what they did over Christmas break.

-Peer assessments.

The list goes on and on. I can for sure see myself using Google Forms in my future classroom. Its a great way to collaborate, gather information, and assess students. I am amazing at how many different ways you can actually use this wonderful tool! I can see myself using it, even with young students!  

Check out more super awesome ways to use Google Forms in the classroom:
85 Interesting Ways to use Google Forms in the Classroom 
80+ Google Forms for the Classroom

Google Form Results

The Google form I created was about YouTube and how we use it in our lives. A fun fact for you all is that YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google. That right there is fascinating! With my form, I wanted to understand how and why we use YouTube.

Here are the Results from 18 people:

Do you have a YouTube account? 

On average, how many YouTube videos do you watch in a day?

These results are pretty well what I expected with 1-5 videos being the majority.

What type of videos do you watch on YouTube?

How many subscriptions to other channels do you have?

 

I am very surprised with these results. I thought more people would be subscribers to channels but it looks like the majority do not subscribe to any at all! 

Why do you like YouTube?

It's a great tool to use in the classroom to help teach a lesson or show a video :)

There are tons of videos for personal use, educational use almost everything you can imagine is on you tube!

 Honestly, I like watching music videos and getting to know lyrics from songs. I also enjoy searching "How To" videos.

Lots of great communities!

The connectivity, the chance to put something out in the cyber space of youtube and have other connect with it.

I like that you can literally find out how to do anything.. it should be called the How To Tube. Also, it provides so many valuable resources not only in my personal life but also in the classroom. I find students love doing anything that relates to YouTube and like I said you can find almost anything relating to teaching.

Using it in the classroom

How easy and quick it is to find a fun video to share with students so they can understand a concept.

There is something for everything. No matter what type of video I want to watch it is there.

I like that it is essentially a visual representation of the wide variety of information that is available on the Internet.

It has a really user friendly search format and it has so much content! 

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewanalytics?formkey=dDlQZWxxNk8xcF9GUHJmcVBESWpCMVE6MQ

How to Make a Blog Header

Hi everyone!
I decided to make a video tutorial on how to customize your blog by adding a custom made header! I will take you though how to make one using photoshop and paint and how to upload to your blog! This is for blogger users but can benefit anyone who has a blog!

I made this video using Screenr and since they only let you record for 5 minutes at a time, I had to edit it all together. Somewhere along the way the video got all squished but I'm positive it will help you anyway! 

Let me know if this video helped you out!! 

Tech Task #2 - Google Forms

YouTube is probably on my list somewhere of the things I cannot live without! Watching YouTube has become part of my daily routine. I conducted this survey to find out how other use YouTube as I am interested in seeing the results!

Thanks for filling out my survey!