Week 9

Thing #20



I had already been using You-Tube. It is a tool I used often either as a link in a presentation or just uploaded the video. It is a magnificent tool. This past school year a group of students uploaded their video project to You - Tube....The only word of caution is to always see the entire video before posting or showing it to an audience. This is to be done to avoid surprises...I have been surprised in the past. I surfed teachertube.com and absolutely fell in love with it!!!





Thing #21



I was also familiar with podcasts. iTunes is something my children use often. I surfed some of the other sites and came across an interesting podcast http://feeds.feedburner.com/coffeebreakfrench. I found this podcast @ alleycast. Just as in all the other sites I have visited there is and endless amount of information and interesting things to listen to, read and watch.



Thing # 22

Librivox and the other sites are also very helpful and interesting. One thing I found quite amusing is the number of free podcasts and online books available. With my son, last school year we downloaded several chapters from his geography book. As he was given a reading assignment, he read along with the podcast. Sometimes he even connected his iPod to the car radio and we would listen to the lesson. Simply AMAZING.

Thing #23

To be quite franc, I did not enjoy the first few lessons. I found it quite frustrating not being able to talk to anyone or to get immediate help. It was exasperating clicking on buttons and not being able to get the results I desired. As time progressed, I got better at it. I depended less and less on other people to answer my questions. I felt quite comfortable surfing by myself. I realized that I was becoming more computer literate and the terminology was beginning to "sink- in". I began to understand the words "tag, podcast, blogger, wiki" etc. I could say my brain and the all the information out on the web had not quite connected. I cannot enumerate the number of things I learned. I can list my favorite sites and they are: Zoho.com, teacher tube, flickr, google reader. I really learned what a "blog" is.

This course has also given me a whole new teaching perspective. My usage of the web was limited. I wasted time going from one site to another every time I signed in. But now, I used my time in a more efficient manner and now know how to get to sites that are helpful and instructional. I am ready to start my new adventure next yearor should I say this summer. I want to really plan and start a blog with and for my students.