EDU 6000 Post #10

I honestly did not have much to do this week.  No one has needed help with their Shutterfly website and the only real technology issues I had was with my student teacher.  We discussed various ways for students to conduct research online and I requested that she search for appropriate websites that the students could use.  I also plan on downloading the Dropbox webapp for my personal and professional use.  I will also discuss this with my student teacher and encourage her to use something similar.

Article Review: TeamGantt: Stunning Project Management with Gantt Charts

App Storm: TeamGantt: Stunning Project Management with Gantt Charts
http://web.appstorm.net/reviews/project-management/teamgantt-stunning-project-management/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+webappstorm+%28Web+AppStorm%29

I chose this article for review because I am always struggling with time management.  App Storm acknowledges that there is a plethora of management apps available.  Gantt charts allow users to drag and drop projects onto a calendar and share them with other people.  They also provide a short tutorial about using the chart.  I didn't see much that was innovative with Gantt charts, especially for the $10 monthly fee for the starter version.  I honestly believe that there are better and cheaper apps out there.

Article Review: Jolicloud Me: Making Your Own Personal Cloud From All the Other Clouds

http://web.appstorm.net/reviews/media-reviews/jolicloud-me-making-your-own-personal-cloud-from-all-the-other-clouds/

I was inspired from another class to work on my organizational skills.  I found this article about something called Jolicloud that allows a user to create their own personal cloud.  I have been intrigued about the idea behind a cloud and I am happy to find this app.  Jolicloud is currently in beta according to Web.appstorm, but it allows a user to collect links to information that they have shared on social networks.  Twitter, Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, and Instagram are all supported.  The idea behind a personal cloud is a good one, but I am more interested in a cloud designed primarily for educators.  I plan on looking for information about such a cloud.  Has anyone come across one?

EDU 6000 Post #9

This week I started to set up a TCAP prep section on my 6th grade team's website.  I plan for this section to include the different content areas and information that parents can use to help their students prepare for the TCAP assessment.  I discussed this with my team and we had a few ideas, mainly links to websites and wikispaces that parents and students can access at home.  I will continue to work on this portion of the website over Spring Break.

Tech Review: Student Centered Collaboration

http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/9-pbl-on-line-resources-that-put-students-at-the-center-voice-input-contribution/

This article identifies several different web applications that allow students to collaborate.  I chose this primarily because I have planned on using a few of the apps in my classroom.  Surveymonkey, Google Forms, and Kidblog are all resources that I have heard and thought of using.  The only one that I have had any real experience with is Google Forms.  The blog post goes into little detail on their use in the classroom and mainly just identifies the resource.  I would have liked to see a more in depth study on how they could be used (i.e. examples, lesson plans, etc).

Edu 6000 Post #8

In-service!  I was finally able to teach my in-service about creating a website.  It turned out very well and everyone enjoyed the class.  I went over the basics of creating a website through shutterfly and showed how to edit, add, and remove various pages.  The class took about one hour and I will be working with several people throughout the semester on their websites.

EDU 6000 post 7

Google docs...this is an app that I have only really begun using in the past few years. I spoke with Mrs Taylor about using Google docs to allow teachers to make substitute teacher assignments available to other teachers. I have had several days when I was sick and unable to make it to the school. I had to call one of my co-workers and beg them to print copies of an assignment that I sent in an email. Google docs would allow moe and others to store and use assignments easily. The next week I will be working with my fellow six grade teachers in using Google docs to this end. I will also be receiving a student teacher within the next few weeks. I can also work with her and teach her many of the Web tools that I have used!