I hope I’ve done this right…

Groups like the Eagles, Chicago and many more are what I grew up enjoying … now I still love to play them as often as I like and share them with my kids and grandkids … Everyone is rocking! Thanks to Nicole for creating a video to show us “how to” create and embed a playlist of our favorite artists!




I have already developed a Flicker site ….the uploading of the photos was so easy!  I have attempted many times to embed a Teacher Tube video into this blog with very little success. It will embed, but there is some problem that keeps it from actually following through on the process…it just sits and spins. So I have decided to try one more time with a You Tube video and see if the ads on Teacher Tube are what is causing the problem during the uploading process.

This little 3 year old just cracks me up …. as my oldest grandson has just turned 3 … I am anticipating some memorable moments just like this one! Watch and see if you don’t think this is the cutest!

This is the simplest and best tool I have seen thus far … very easy to put into use and I intend to do just that with both my campuses! My ITS group has been the best inspiration to me for starting a collaborative wiki with the teachers at school. A great resource tool, a webquest tool …. so many uses for sharing information and learning! I don’t want to forget how to upload items to the wikis so I’d better start one so I can keep practicing!

Adios amigos!

For me, wikis are a simple way to share information …. be it text, audio, video or just more great Web 2.0 tools we have found to make use of while we explore the internet and the world around us. The collaboration that can be accomplished with a wiki makes me wonder why I was so hesitant to start one with either of my campuses in Round Rock. My colleagues in instructional technology have been pointing the way in word and in deed for a long time.  The ability to allow many different contributors on one wiki, yet at the same time to control and track who changes the content seems ideal for my purpose of sharing information quickly with teachers and students.

I found plenty of inspiration from Mark Kania and the simple wikis he has started with his RRISD campuses. The teachers should be/I am sure they are, really pleased at the quick and efficient way they can share websites with each other and plan lessons for their students in many different curriculum areas with so much less hassle and emailing back and forth. I know the ITS wiki for RRISD is invaluable as a one-stop-shopping site where we can find loads of answers for our FAQ’s.

I liked the Welker’s Wikinomics site …. complete with Rules of Conduct … the students knew what was expected of them and found the site a great study guide as well as a place they could “chat” with their professor about the course of study. This reminds me of the description given by Robin Young about the wiki she started this past year at Ridgeview MS. Constraints on student contributions, to make the study more serious seems a perfectly normal way to engage the students in study but not have them get lost in the use of the “cool” Web tool.

The Marstons Mills’ All About Math wiki …. wow, that could be like the ARRC on a wiki … lots of people putting ideas and lessons together … sure spreads the work around, yet with what ease did they communicate with each other … The wiki became a file of lessons… shared by all, researched by all, saved by all and used by ALL!

How crazy easy and fun is this! Since I’m without my microphone, I had to explore all the voices and howl over everyone! Angie’s been having all the fun! Since the Voki site says you must be 13 years of age to create a Voki, I don’t think I will be advocating this for my younger elementary students …. but I bet some of them would love creating the characters and dialogue.

I just changed my Header image to the sunset from Rancho Banderas where I am currently staying …. this is fun to do! I’m so busy viewing and adding blogs to my site …. but I have to go eat some Mexican food now! All the class blogs are so inspiring and so interesting…. as this observer feels she can learn from nearly anyone!

OK, now I’ve taken the short classes at TCEA and listened to others, but I still always thought podcasting was just an audio or, sometimes, video file you could access from the ‘net. Debby made me see podcasting as a sustainable communication tool, instead of just a onetime magic show! The Coley Cast showed the way I was the most familiar with podcasting …. a showcase of learning online with audio files. As I began to explore the breadth of sites listed I could see the archival uses for podcasting, as well as the LearnOutLoud directory filled with resources I couldn’t wait to download to my mp3 player.

ITunes is a “podcaster” or an aggregator where anyone can go to choose a podcast to view or listen to and then store the podcast into their mp3 player or ipod. Organized by categories, many aggregators specialize in certain content areas such as, Science@NASA Headline News, which keeps you abreast of all the new NASA research (something my husband particularly loves to listen to and discuss at length). Podcasting is seemingly easy to create …. but only with the right shareware and know-how can you bring your demonstrations and stories to the web for perusal by the general public. Computer, headset or microphone, software and the know-how to upload your creation to the internet is all it takes to get started producing podcasts of your very own or those of your students!

I have been using iGoogle as a homepage since February of this year …. the calendar is saving my bacon on all kinds of levels. My husband and I started up at the same time so we have several integrated calendars that keep the organization going all the right direction. That being said, I chose Google Reader to use for my RSS subscriptions. I have several already appearing on my homepage like RRISD’s, the church where I attend, and Fox News. After adding all my classmates…. whew! I had to take a dip in the ocean for some relief, but decided I needed to add TechHintz by Angie, Robin’s Tech Tips, Debby’s Engaged Learners, and Greg’s Tech Ed Know as well. Mark K. is correct about ITS wanting to see all the fabulous things our cohorts are doing on their campuses. I really like the idea of a reader as a homepage so students can be directed to pre-selected sites without the danger of typing in unfamiliar URLs.

One thing leads to another, so I have been exploring all the useful tools, Google Analytics, etc, Sue at Edublogs is recommending and I’m not getting this assignment finished. Or perhaps I have finished this particular assignment….Greg just keeps opening more doors to what’s out there to see and know so I must go check out some more feeds and blogs…this is getting addictive!

What have I learned???? Never get behind…. but as that invariably happens… work hard and checkout all my partners who have great ideas!

I really feel I will use this tool to communicate with my teachers and pass along technology how to’s and tips when school resumes. The applications for personal use, however, are unlimited. I can see me using this later to keep a dialogue going with my son who is overseas…the straight text-guy in the family.

I ended up watching several short videos created by Sue at Edublogs and learned some of the problems I was encountering was because of the updating of the edublog site …. so the main changes alleviated my stress about uploading pictures and then I read more from Angie, Jessica, and Nic about uploading pix so I’m sure I will improve. It is also nice to know there are so many people out there trying to help and answer questions!