Whiteboards

Today was another illuminating lesson. I realized that not all whiteboards are "Smartboards". I am also realizing that their is some stiff competition to the Smartboard. Regardless of what type of board I might get, I believe these interactive whiteboards are clearly the chalkboards of the next generation. I can barely wait to get my hands on my own to use all of the new things I have learned in this class on them.

Podcasting

This was such a fun lesson. I have been wanting to create youtube videos for the longest time, and Trakax is an excellent way to do that. I look forward to creating my own podcast, and can finally create some youtube videos of some obscure music tracks I have. I can see how I could use this technology in the classroom, and have yet another tool in my arsenal to stimulate young minds.

Webpage Design

I learned a lot from this lesson. I am learning different ways to create websites.I am excited to use google sites. I did not realize that there were so many ways to have an internet presence. After this class is over I think I will use this site creator for myself. I could also envision each student setting up a page as an online portfolio.

Educational Resources

I really enjoyed all of the interesting resources found in today's lesson. I will use many of them, including timeliner, kidspiration, and others. I wonder why I still have not seen any of these tools used in the classes I observe. As a matter of fact, I do not think I ever see the teachers at the computers, other than checking the news. I am really looking forward to using all of the new tools available to teachers.

Scavenger Hunts/Webquests

This lesson was interesting because I never knew about webquests or scavenger hunts. I saw things like them before, but never knew they actually had rules and a template on how they should be designed. I think these type of activities have great potential for students to spark their interest. There is a gamelike quality to them that make them seem like more fun than traditional book and paper learning. I would like to learn to design my own webquests that are a little more attractive than the ones I have seen during this lesson.

Websites

I appreciated this lesson because there were many things I already knew, but put down in words. There are so many websites out there, so the first thing I think when I look at one is who is behind the whole thing. This lesson provided many tips to think critically when viewing a website. It also gave me great pointers on how to create a good website of my own. I am learning a lot from this class.

Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging

This lesson was interesting to think about how I could use the templates in my classroom. I did some of my own searching, and really enjoyed all of the different kinds of templates out there. I also liked the digital imaging assignment, because I found a great tool online to fix photos, Fotoflexer. I really like the fact that this tool was online, and did not have to download it to my computer. I think such programs will become increasingly popular.