Week 13 - A Post Converting PC Users

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. My evil plan.

No, I'm pretty sure there will be no converts - you just have to like Mac.

A little background on me - I grew up a PC, but always knew I wanted a Mac. Sleek body, cool symbol, simple complexity, sweet name, rad programs, built-in webcam; they were the Swarovski Gems of computers. Although I grew up obsessed with right click and "alt-tab," I knew the grass was greener on the other side.

And it was.

I got my MacBook last August. It was a gift (of sorts) for free, from my boyfriend's dad. Praise Jesus I didn't have to buy my own! I have since learned the general ins and outs of my beloved Mac (aka MacDaddy). P.S. you don't need a mouse to right-click on a Mac - just hold "ctrl" and click. "Alt-Tab" (to toggle windows) has been exchanged with "apple symbol-tab" and "apple symbol-tilde" (apple symbol = command key). It took me a month to readjust to my new key-commands, but it was worth it. My Mac was 4 years old when I got it and still works PERFECT. Yes. Perfect. I only had to get my battery replaced - which, by the way, the Mac Store did for free: free battery and installment. Amazing.

Ok. Awesome customer service is something else to add to my list of "likes" about Macs. The "Genius Bar" at the Apple store really know their stuff. Amen.

Three programs I love on my Mac:

1. Photo Booth: Pshhhht. Anyone that has a friend that has a Mac understands the joy that Photo Booth brings. 16 different effects and an unlimited amount of fun. For school, it could be useful for documenting projects, self-portraits for assignments or journals, and overall classroom enjoyment - "Best Photo Booth Picture of the Week" (that'd be a sweet contest).
2. DASHBOARD:

I freaking love my dashboard: calculator, Michael Scott quotes, games, calendar, STICKY NOTES, Sudoku, weather, dictionary, clock (currently at Sydney, Australia where my friend is). I have dozens of other "widgets" downloaded for my dashboard but those are the ones I currently have up. Endless hours of fun and convenience, all you have to do is click "F12." Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

3. Okay, some little simple things that I appreciate: the "dock" - yes, Windows 7 now has this, but know, understand, and be in awe, Mac had it first; don't be surprised, Mac has everything first. I can personalize my "dock" and put whatever programs I use the most in it. Love it's simplicity. Next, "system preferences": everything you need to personalize, configure, change, update, destroy, and otherwise control your MacBaby is in ONE place. That's right people, ONE place - bahahaha! Last, convenience and cohesiveness: yes, iTunes is an Apple manufactured program; yes, iPhoto is an Apple manufactured program; yes, your iPod and iPhone are Apple manufactured; yes, Mac's are Apple manufactured. My point: all these are so easily configured and combined that it blows my mind! They are so intricately woven that everything is easier! Gosh, if only all of you could experience the joy that my Mac brings me.

Side note: don't be confused, Mac had all the ideas first. PC/Windows 7 is a far cry from Mac and is still lagging behind even after its near identical changes to its programming. A comic to make my point - bahahahahaha.

P.S. I'm the only Mac user at my house - it's okay to set yourself apart, people will still love and accept you, even if your laptop is a MacBook and therefore infinitely better than anything they have. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, I am that proud of my Mac and yes, I am that ridiculously and illogically immovable and un-persuadable as to any inkling of "better" that the PC MIGHT, hypothetically have. I'm a Mac lover and I'm proud of it.

P.P.S. if God had a laptop, it'd be a MacBookPro.

Mac, FTW.

Week 12 - A Post Re-digesting "Moogpal in Action"

"Moogpal in Action"

Welcome to Moogpal - Moodle + Google Apps + Drupal.

I was unbelievably confused when I watched this video, not to mention that I found myself bored for a while. But then Chris Fitzgerald Walsh started talking about it with the direction of education. It was AMAZING.

Moogpal is still in developmental stages and will be a free, open source internet program for teachers and students. The home page will be similar to the Facebook home page, in that it will provide a "News Feed" that announces assignments, test dates, notices, reminders, etc. from each class that the student/teacher is a part of. It's single-sign-on and connects to each class and teacher. There will be multiple apps available just like in Google Apps. It won't be an open community, meaning that people who aren't registered for the program and such won't be able to view things.

OKAY, OKAY - I know you're like, "Jordan, I don't really care, what you're saying doesn't really make sense, and it seems really lame." WAIT! THERE'S MORE! Haha.

GRADE PORTAL - yes, "oooooo" and "ahhhhhh". Grades by course, grades by SKILLS, recent activity, colored grades, feed of activity. Yes, that's right - Grades by SKILLS. So not only do you tell the student their grade, but you then grade them according to more specific behaviors, work, techniques, etc. So cool. What brilliance!!!

Watch the video. DO IT!

What I learned??? I DON'T KNOW. I didn't even know there was such a thing as Drupal or Moodle - so I learned that. I learned that developers could combine programs! And I learned that those developers love me, because they're taking care of my needs as a teacher; future teacher. Yes, they love me. And I love them. :)

Anyways, the screen shots that they've developed make Moogpal look fairly simple and easy to use. Which is good. I'm excited to see where this all leads. I'm especially excited about the Home Page and the Grade Portal.

Until next time.

Week 11 - A Post Commenting on "Edutopia: How to Make Research Papers Relevant for Students"

Edutopia + my comment

I learned that even when teaching the fundamentals of English (one being research writing) that it is still important to integrate technology. But I suppose I already knew that. But it was encouraging because I haven't heard much discussion about research writing which was disappointing because I especially love that.

I wrote about an idea for a lesson that I had - which will be written about in a reflection here sometime soon. I hope it was supplementary!

Overall it was just generally encouraging.

Until next time.

Assignment #4 - Technology Project; Part One (required)

Alright-y.

For my final project I will be using the following Web 2.0 tools: Weebly.com (to make a website), Box.net (to convert normal word documents into files for a website), Vocaroo.com (for podcasts), and Delicious.com (for resources).

I will be creating a website on Weebly.com that is dedicated to a lesson unit that I'm basing on the life and works of Lewis Carroll. I am creating the unit for my Childhood Literature class and decided to use this project to supplement that project. The plan is to create links from the website to Delicious lists and different podcasts as well. Also, for the Childhood Lit assignment I will be creating assignment documents and rubrics that I will then convert, using Box.net, into files to put on the website. I really want the project to be all-encompassing and if it turns out anything like I think it will, it should be fabulous.

Until next time.

Part #2 - Friends' Blogs I've Posted On

Bethany P

Matthew W

Sarah W

Shayna P

Daley L

Week 10 - A Post Preparing for Tonight's Panel Discussion (required)

Well, here I am again. Just writing out my thoughts and concerns. More like, writing out my questions. And so, without further ado, my three requests for knowledge:

1. Based on my knowledge of the SMARTBoard Software, it seems a rather daunting task to create your own activities. Has this been true for [fill in the blank]? And what would you suggest as far as decreasing the amount of terror the idea of creating my own idea brings? A.K.A. what works best for you?
2. As far as your students' responses to using technology in class, what would say has been the biggest, technological success?
3. If you could add one more piece of technology to your classroom what would it be, and why? OR If you could integrate one more piece of technology/online program into your classroom what would it be, and why?

There you have it folks, my three inquires into the lives of today's educators of tomorrow.

Until next time.

Assignment #3 - Teacher Resources

For my toolbox I used the ever-so-trendy Diigo.com. It was relatively easy to use and had some pretty handy-dandy tools (highlighter for online text, sticky notes you could put on the web page, etc). I think if I had more time I would have dove deeper into the odds-and-ends of the site… but oh well! I think I’ll probably end up using this site for a different class project so I’ll take more time to get to know the site then… unless I decide to use a different site – WHO KNOWS!

Here’s my toolbox.

I decided to put up sites that would be resources and sites that I would send my students to. Basic criteria: none. I just went through different elements of Language Arts and looked for sites that I thought would be useful AND enjoyable for the students: vocabulary games, essay outlines, MLA citation sites, punctuation helpers, etc.

The links/resources are organized by "tags." My list contains 32 different tags - the top tags are: Reference, English, Literature, Reading, Book List, Tools, Writing, Grammar, Essay, and Punctuation. That's basically my organization.

Use of toolbox: I don’t really have anything specific in mind. Right now I think I’ll just use it to help me gather information and sources for my future classes. I want to store helpful and fun resources for teaching on this site. That’s my current goal or use for it. Sorry that’s not more interesting.

Sharing is caring. How could I share it with other teachers? Well, technically, I would share it through the same means that I share it with my students - through the direct link to the toolbox. Creatively though, I’m not super sure. I could definitely post it to my blog and if I have a future class blog or website then I could put it there too. I think there’s a way to print off a condensed list of the sites and that could be helpful to other teachers – just print it off and hand it out. Yeah, that’s all I got.

Three Sites + Annotations:

1. Purdue OWL - This is a great site that has been recommended to me by a few of my professors here at NU. It contains a vast amount of information covering a plethora of topics. There is a special link (the one provided here) that is specifically for Students and Teachers in grades 7-12, which just so happens to be what I want to teach. The site is laid out with links to more information but it's all really easy to find. Everything is true and perfect. Oh how I love thee, Purdue OWL site. :)
2. Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus - Unfortunately this site costs money! BOO! BUT, it's so amazing! It's somewhat like the option on the Google search to make a word "web" so-to-speak. But in this case, it's a word web consisting of words, synonyms, antonyms, and definitions. It's a tangled web of woven vocabulary goodness. CHECK IT OUT!!!
3. Essay Template - This is an excellent essay template! It's big enough to fit in notes and information, but not so detailed that you feel crammed into a box. Although I would say that essays normal could and probably should have more in them than the outline gives you, but hey, it's only a template... :)