T3 Blog

This is a short clip about another alternative energy resource, hydroelectric power.  Now that I have figured out how to use Zamzar, I will be converting youtube videos into a format that is accessible in my school.

I like some of the podcasts I’ve seen.  I enjoyed playing around with some of the podcasts that teach basic Spanish.  I’m not fully onboard with using it in my classroom yet.  It seems like a neat concept, but I need to be sure that the identities of my students are protected at all times.  I think podcasting would be a great way to send messages to students and parents if we could get them online and have them subscribe to our podcasts.

Here is my Windmill Slideshow:

Here are the links to the individual pictures I used to create my slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flioukas/2902022970/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hdr400d/1460021898/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moosehead/544728785/

I chose this because it relates to the standards we covered over the past 6 weeks. My students learned about the pros and cons of alternative energy sources, and many of them liked the idea of using wind energy.  Flickr is a good resource for pictures of things I can’t bring in or take my kids to see firsthand.

• I like the idea of Creative Commons.  I use alot of resorces from the web, and my students do projects with some original content that I create (musically).  Creative Commons takes some of the guess work out of fair use.  I’m still a little nervous about putting classwork on the web at this point, but I’m warming up to the idea.

I like wikis.  I have benefitted from using them over the years, by getting quick information about things I’m personally curious about, and to focus my research on topics I wanted to present to kids.  http://reich-chemistry.wikispaces.com/

I like the Reich Chemistry wiki.  He uses this wiki page as a storehouse of everything he teaches.  Students can get help, and remedial work from the wiki.  He also uses it to communicate personal information to his students.

http://www.wikipedia.org/

I’m a huge fan of wikipedia.  All of the posts aren’t accurate, but they are a good starting point for knowledge.  I don’t like the fact that just about anybody can correct them.

I’m warming up to the idea of using wikis personally.  My issue, at this time, is having the ability to control the public’s access to my wiki.  I’m not sure I want to put myself on the web for everybody to access.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/nyregion/02skate.html

Here’s a link to an innovative idea.  I subscribe to the NYT Education section with my google reader, and I found this article.  I am a huge fan of taking things that interest kids and finding a way to teach the standards around their interests.

http://wanderingink.wordpress.com/2007/05/23/how-to-prevent-another-leonardo-da-vinci/

This blog was pretty good.  I am a very creative person, and I express myself through my creativity.  I would hate to stifle a child’s creative flow just because he/she doesn’t fit into the mold of a traditional paper/book/pencil learner.

I’m a big fan of Web 2.0.  I believe in engaging students by meeting them on their level.  My students spend hours on their computers and on the internet…why not open up the world to them instead of just a textbook.  I really love the fact that a Web 2.0 environment allows them to be a self-regulating group.  Students can teach each other way better than I could ever teach them.

At the risk of sounding overconfident, I don’t really think any of the habits are going to be terribly challenging.  I pride myself on being a lifelong learner, and would say that I put all of the habits into practice.  The easiest habit is “Accepting responsibility for my own learning”.  I am a very curious person, and I enjoy learning about things for my own personal gratification.  The most important habit for me during this T3 grant is to “begin with the end in mind”.  My plate is full at the moment, and T3 is one of those extra things on my plate.  I must remember to stay focused on the ultimate goal of this program!