Thursday, March 20, 2014

Thing #13 - Reflect

I have thoroughly enjoyed my TIS training so far. I have found balancing the TIS training with my other professional development requirements to be a challenge, but one I have been handling pretty well. I've had somewhat-intensive core professional development training this year to prepare for the new common core standards. This year has also brought a new High School Equivalency exam to West Virginia, and that has required additional training and preparation.

The good news though, is that I am crafty! I have always had a talent for seeing connections between things, and it has not been hard for me to connect my TIS training with my other professional development obligations. I feel almost lucky that I have had my TIS training at a time of such change and growth within the West Virginia ABE department.

As far as my TIS training goes, I thought I was farther behind until I started really looking at what I've done and where I've come. At this point, I've completed my teacher resource site, my blended delivery class and my digital imaging project. I am more than halfway through my 23 Things blog website (#13 to be exact!) and I've completed my extra professional development for the TIS credential (did I mention I am in a graduate school program about educational technology too???). My goals for the next month are to complete my Action Research Project & the Podcasting lesson plan. In the meantime, I will also be focusing on getting caught up with the webinars and virtual PLC meetings I still need.

My hope is to finish the bulk of my TIS training by mid-May. This training has been an adventure and I have learned a lot (about ed tech & about my balancing abilities!).

Thing #12 - Find something new Web 2.0

https://www.canva.com/

This is a template tool to create beautiful, eye catching graphic designs for several categories including posters, presentations, blog posts & other documents. It could be used for teachers to create engaging documents for students & for their classrooms. But, I think the true use of this as a web 2.0 tool is as a project-based learning tool. Students could use this to help them create a document that demonstrates their understanding of a lesson or concept.

In Web 2.0 fashion, students can also remix others designs, share theirs or post them to another website. There are also design tutorials students (and teachers) to help get started.

Here's some websites with lists of different Web 2.0 resources:

http://www.go2web20.net/
http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Finding+the+Right+Tool
http://www.graphite.org/

Thing #11 - Learn something from a video

I found this video on Ed.Ted.com:


Comma Story

I would use it to support a lesson plan I adapted called The Passion of Punctuation.
This video supports the CC standard of L 4.2 & 5.2  (The CCR Language Anchor 2)

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Thing #10 - QR codes



Good Luck!

Thing #9 - Podcasting

I listen to podcasts all the time, so the only thing hard about this "thing" was choosing which podcast to highlight. Instead of picking just one podcast, I thought I would instead list the podcasts that I listen to that I think would be most beneficial in an educational setting. In any of these cases, I would most definitely recommend that you preview the podcast before you play it to your students!

My favorites:

Radio Lab - science based but also have some social interest pieces. RadioLab is an hour long show on public radio, but the podcasts have RadioLab Shorts! that is usually between 15 and 20 minutes long. A great example of creative uses of audio effects to really engage a listener. This is a must-listen podcast!

Stuff you Missed in History Class - a history-based podcast (duh!) with a lot of great topics.

How Stuff Works - a broad range of topics that can appeal to many different interests. Could be used in a lot of different cross-curricular ways.

Grammar Girl - a sassy girl explaining grammar tips in a real-language kind of way.

All of these podcasts also have websites with additional resources on them, so I would definitely look to see what they have. In many cases, photos & articles accompany each of the topics and could be used to supplement your lesson (especially for those visual learners!).

Monday, March 10, 2014

Thing #8a & b

I created a video tutorial for Thinglink.com


I also created a Step by Step paper-based cheat-sheet for your reference:

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Thing #7

Creative Commons License
Time Management by Vanessa Clay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

I took this photo and used the PicCollage app on my Samsung Galaxy Tab to add special effects to it. I changed the coloring of it, and added the text.