Staying Current

What a fantastic tool this blog is becoming. After last week's institute at ODU, I am determined to keep track of the ideas, tools, technology, etc. that I'm learning in this program. This blog is a logical place to "store" information. I did start adding blogs I liked a few weeks ago. But, with our current assignment, I added several more. Some blogs intrigued me simply for their "dialogue" while others seemed to have more concrete ideas or projects for schools.



I liked http://2cents.onlearning.us/ and http://willrichardson.com/ for their ideas. Both seem to write about and comment on thought-provoking (sometimes a little depressing) educational issues. I've added both to my blog roll so I can read them routinely. They have an editorial feel to them.

I can't leave out http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ - what teacher doesn't love free stuff? This blog seems to combine practical ideas with more theoretical discussions.


The AASL website list was chock-full of tools for librarians and teachers. As a first-grade teacher, I do wish even more of their choices were K-12. At any rate, here are a few of my favorite websites:


http://www.vocabulary.com/
As children move through school, one of the areas that can hold them back from comprehending is a lack of vocabulary knowledge. This website's goal is to develop and strengthen vocabulary. It claims to have a way of being able to predict words that a person doesn't know - and will target those words. It also seems to have a logical plan for introducing vocabulary based on a preliminary screening and how a student does on the activities. It seems like it could engaging.


http://www.powtoon.com/
I LOVE this application! It takes the information you might typically present via powerpoint or keynote and gives it some serious flare. I am going to give this one a serious investigation. I've been looking for ways to "jazz up" the presentation I give on back-to-school night. The parents always look so...tired when they arrive - and why wouldn't they be? They have also worked all day, run home, tried to organize/feed/bathe their children and get back to school. I think I owe it to them to be extra interesting. It seems like a useful, fun and engaging tool for any kind of presentation.


http://www.meograph.com/
This looks like another impressive tool for digital storytelling. I love how it can integrate media from seemingly any source (youtube, the cloud, social media, iPhoto) into a story of the creator's choosing. It allows the creator to add audio and music to the story. The sample on the website told an interesting and true story about college rivalries. It amazes me how there are so many apps out there that make it easy to create professional-looking presentations, digital stories - or whatever medium a person chooses.

My goal is to keep my blog going through the rest of my courses. As a matter of fact, I need to add another post that covers some of the cool tools I've learned and used this summer that I haven't talked about in a blog post. No rest for the weary. :)