Oregon Technology Conference

I went to the Oregon Technology Conference in Forest Grove on Saturday, September 26th, 2009. I learned a lot about how to incorporate technology into a classroom. What I learned is summarized in the following voice-accompanied slide show.

Cloud Computing 9-22-09

Web 2.0

Online web-based applications. "Cloud computing"


Examples:

• Picasa--for photos, email photos, edit and crop photos
  
• Catchvideo--can move online videos around, such as to teachertube or even locally
• Delicious tagging (delicious.com)--online bookmarks
• Doodle.com--great for scheduling meetings with multiple people
• google forms--great for surveys, as well as collecting data and analyzing
• scribblar--online whiteboards, can be shared, opening a new page makes "a new whiteboard"
• blogger.com--create a free online blog site
• Yodio--use cell phone to record sound and save in the cloud
• 4shared.com--5G free storage any files, can share, could be great for musicians
• tinyurl.com--makes a short URL and connects the long URL to the short one
• Ustream--live broadcasting, could be used for podcasting
• wordle.net--makes fun collections of words, "a must see"

Great ways to use these in the classroom

• tokbox-record a lecture or assignment so students can listen to it again at home.
• wordle.net- Make a collection of student names in a fun way to develop a feeling of a family as a class.
• Screentoaster- Show students how to find something on the internet
• Blogger.com--great for parent communication*
• 4shared.com--share lesson plans with other teachers*

*My Favorites



Reflection
Using Web 2.0 tools means that work is not attached to a particular machine. There are two big applications I see with that. First, teachers do not have to worry about losing all of their work if a computer crashes or needs to be moved to a computer lab. With Web 2.0, lesson plans stored on a computer for 10 years can still be used after the 10 year old computer breaks. The files are not lost. 4shared.com can store up to 5G of files for free. Lesson plans can easily be stored for protection from losing a computer, plus they can easily be shared with collaborating teachers. Second, Web 2.0 tools can easily be used for effective parent communication. Students will not have to worry about remembering to bring letters home to their parents, because they can just go home and look something up on the internet. Homework assignments, classroom discussion summaries, lesson outlines, and many other classroom papers can be put onto the internet for children and their parents to access at home. Parents can even be updated about classroom happenings through a blog.

Ways to use blogging in the classroom!

1. Take a class poll (like the one at the bottom of this blog page)
2. Class can be updated over winter or spring break about cool new things that might happen in the classroom
3. Students can share with one another what they are doing during winter break
4. Children can make comments about a picture
5. Showcase student work!

Backgound Information

Why I want to teach

• All children have the ability to learn. I want to help foster every child's desire to learn.

Why I want to use Technology while I teach

• Technology is going in today's rapidly changing world. I want children to be exposed to technology to become comfortable with it, especially when they grow up. Technology can also be a great way to involve more children into lessons. For example, recording a child reading can be much more active than just reading aloud. Children can even make their own books on tape after they write creative stories!

Passions

• Teaching and caring for children
• Basketball, volleyball and throwing the javelin
• Laughing loudly
• Not getting enough sleep/overachieving on blog assignments
• Staying physically fit

Favorite Animals

• Penguins
• Polar Bear
• Bottlenose Dolphin
• Commerson's Dolphin
• Puffins
• Common Murre
• Bull Shark
• Nurse Shark
• Octopus
• Rhinoceros
• Manatee
• Otter
• Squirrel
• Chipmunk
• Hippopotamus
• Eagle
• Sting Rays
• Shamu!!!

Hobbies

• Crotcheting
• Biking
• Looking at waterfalls
• Playing the guitar
• Writing creative stories
• Traveling

Favorite Foods and Drinks

• Mushrooms
• Steak
• Shrimp
• Pepperjack cheese
• Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
• Guacamole
• S'mores over a campfire
• Dinner Rolls
• Ravioli
• Milk
• Orange juice
• Milkshakes
• Water
• Coffee
• Tea
• Apple Cider

Random Things I like

• Stickers
• Magnets
• Laminating
• Stars
• Tea Parties
• Making To-Do lists
• Crossing things off of To-Do lists
• Writing down random things I like onto blog posts
• The Zone of Proximal Development
• Tea Cups
• Post-It Notes
• Writing in Cursive
  

My Weird Habits

• I like to stir my tea with a fork instead of a spoon
• I write about my weird habits on the internet for everyone to see
• I have to check multiple times before I go to bed to make sure my alarm is set correctly
• I tuck my shoelaces into my shoes before I ride me bike