Ashley k12

I liked using Google docs, but the text formatting options (unlike Word) were somewhat limited. l thought the spreadsheet option was pretty useful as well. I think a Google doc would be a neat way to send newsletters or information/general forms to parents. The teacher may or may not want parents to be able to edit the doc, but they could ask questions or leave appropriate comments, which the teacher could then address. It would really be cool if Google wanted to have a database app that could be shared with others; everyone could edit or add information as needed.

I think that I’ve definitely learned a good number of new skills, such as linking/embedding videos, which I think will be a great asset to add to my classes (actual videos of musicians/performers/performances). I was able to put together a presentation on Animusic, using a large number of embedded youtube videos. I think the Classroom 2.0 forums will be extremely helpful as I continue my journey with technology in my classroom. It seems like many of my questions could and would be answered with the large community online. I hope to continue to add and expand on my technology resources in my classroom.

Have you heard about this story? I think I first heard about it on the Clark Howard radio show (yes, I know!), and it happened to be on mustech.net. Very interesting. How much power do we as consumers hold? I think we’ll just have to see.

United Breaks Guitars

Not a fan of Pageflakes. I think that Pageflakes is a great tool for the general classroom, however, I don’t see much of a use for me. I find the setup to be more troublesome and less user-friendly than I first realized.

Youtube is awesome. I mean, you can really find just about anything. You know you watched that crazy wedding party dancing down the aisle this summer! I would love to eventually put student performances on TeacherTube; I think YouTube would be a bit much.

You must watch this. If only I were a high school science teacher….

Podcasting was ok, but I would have liked a little better quality in the end. I podcasted quickly about selecting a class on a music software program. I think this would be helpful for a substitute teacher. I always run into trouble making sub plans–most subs either don’t want to or cannot teach my subject matter effectively. So I end up leaving an easy task like busy work or a movie for the students. This is ineffective for me and the students. I think if I could leave a brief podcast explaining a particular task on the computer for the sub, then she would be able to play games with the students or teach lesson in this software. Will definitely give this a try for my next absence.

I use podcasting frequently, more as a learner than a teacher. I do have itunes, an ipod, and an iphone, so I am pretty familiar with listening to and searching for podcasts. I get a Hebrew lesson weekly on podcast; it’s pretty good quality. I think the popularity of using podcasts in the classroom will grow significantly. Teachers could post podcasts of entire lectures or lab demonstrations on class websites, and then students who missed class or needed to review a concept could easily download and listen to the podcast. I think podcasting some of the songs that I teach could be used at home, especially if students want to get extra practice. I also have several parents ask me every year for the kindergarten songs I teach at the beginning of the year; these could now be released with students performing them on a podcast for future use.

I REALLY like LibraryThing. As a total book nerd, this is right up my alley. Personally, I would use it to help catalog all of my books. I think the book suggester is the best feature. How many times have you bought a book that looked good, only to stop 50 pages in? No more. On a professional note, this would be cool to use as a music library.

I wasn’t too impressed with Delicious, since I really don’t feel like this is something that I can really use in my classroom. I did, however, use it for personal gain (literally)–I really like to bake, and had a bit of fun tagging a bunch of baking and cooking sites. I also happened to find many a good recipe. Here’s my bookmarks.

So have you tried Google Chrome yet?

I LOVE Firefox, but we got two new computers over the last month, and I’ve started using Google Chrome on one of them. Pretty cool stuff if you’re a Google fan like me, AND I think it runs pretty fast.

Instructify has a new post on Google Chrome extensions; I like the Remember the Milk feature. Check it out.