Semester's End

Wow, I cannot believe that this semester has flown by so quickly. I feel like I have gone from being completely illiterate when it comes to computers and what you can do with the internet, to feeling pretty confident in the systems. I have learned about some awesome programs that I cannot wait to use in my classroom. I will admit that I was a little intimidated coming into this TPTE 486 class and thought I would fall so far behind, but I really did not. I thing so many of the websites and programs will be forever useful in my classrooms. I think that all of these new ideas could only make a classroom more lively and interactive. Students are going to love being able to watch iMovies of their class activities or field trips and being able to make their own Animotos. I only wish that this was a part of my classroom when I was growing up in school.

My Very First Website

Believe it or not, I created my very own website! My website is called Ms. Lombardi's Classroom and you can come check it out at http://sites.google.com/site/mslombardisreadingcorner/.
It is intended for parents and students of my future k-2 classes so that they can get information about class activities, special events, and announcements. As complex and in depth as some websites may be, they are so easy to create. The process is a bit time consuming, but it is fun! I thoroughly enjoyed picking colors, fonts, pictures, etc. to make it fun for my visitors. I hope you will come visit.

Army Life iMovie

This is my very first iMovie and I had so much fun putting it together. It describes how my life in the military came full circle. I started in the ROTC battalion as a cadet in college, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, and finished my military career teaching at the same battalion where I commissioned. iMovie is an easy and fun way to creatively share stories and history.
I definitely plan to create more of these to use, not only in my classroom, but to share with friends and family.

TeacherTube.com

Lady Liberty Tells Her Story

TeacherTube is an awesome website! It is very similar to YouTube, yet rather than playing music videos, it plays educational videos. I watched a few that were extremely interesting, but this one in particular called "Lady Liberty Tells Her Story" is one of my favorite. I have attached the link for you to be able to see it also. (Click the link above) I think this website is fantastic to use when you have a subject to teach your students that may need a little something extra to keep their interest. Once you login and become a member (for free) you can even create and post your own educational videos. I think creating a video with your class or having students create one as a project would be a blast!
I will definately be a frequent visitor of this website!

Spreadsheets

I have never seen someone create a spreadsheet, let alone created one myself.  I can officially say that I feel like a pro.  This is so easy to create and it is a great classroom tool.  This can be used to give quizzes or just extra practice to your students.  This is one of those projects that, once you have the template created, you can easily switch words around and use it for different subjects.  I am excited to create other assignments for my students using this template.  Woo Hoo!!! :)

Inspiration

I got to use this phenomenal program called Inspiration which allows you to create web diagrams and great visual additives for your classroom.  I will be able to use this for my classroom when teaching diagramming or brainstorming.  The fun thing about this site is that you can brainstorm and create a web and then allow this program to put it in an outline format.  I think this will help students greatly when they are learning the writing process.  I always had trouble with creating the outline format, so I know it will be helpful for at least some students!
This is also fun to use.  It has a plethora of colors, images, shapes and fonts to choose from.  I think most students would enjoy it.

Amsterdam Animoto

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Animoto is sooooo easy and so fun! I will definitely be using this in my classroom. I think this is something the kids will love. It would be great to take photos of all of our fun activities and then put them to music and show them to the class. Another good use for the video would be to post it on my classroom website for parents to see what we did in class. I think it will make the event unforgettable if they get to see it in video fashion. Also, it is easy enough to let the students make them with a little help from some extra supervision in the classroom. It could even be an activity that we do by allowing an older grade (around 4th) to come in and work on it together with the younger students.

Opposites Scavenger Hunt From Original Photos

This presentation is from a scavenger hunt activity that we conducted in class. It is such a great idea and look foward to trying it with my kids. It is a way to get them up and out of their seats, looking around for certain objects, and still incorporating technology and different techniques. I think this is fantastic and fun! This hunt makes a student feel independent and accomplished when they complete the project. It is a great way to break of the monotony of the everyday classroom setting.

Good Ole' Tennessee

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Get your own

This is my digital collection of photos.  I collected them by scanning, taking screen shots, finding free, uncopy written pictures online, clip art, and origional photos that i took with a digital camera.  I never knew how easy it was to take a screen shot of a computer page before.  Now that I know how easy it is, I find myself taking screen shots for all of my class projects.  What a great way to show someone exactly what you are looking at on your computer screen.  If you do not want them to see the whole screen, you can simply crop and resize your image!  Easy as 1, 2, 3!!! 

http://picasaweb.google.com/111443284222987738967/DigitalCollection2010#

Dabbleboard

I have recently learned of this website called Dabbleboard and it is amazing! This site allows you to use your computer as if it were a white board or even like a smart board in a classroom. It is fantastic because it is easy to use and I KNOW children will want to participate if they can use this fun tool. I know this because...I can not wait to use it! Dabbleboard seems to be only one of many awesome free tools for the classroom that you can get online. How fun!

Inquiry Based Learning

I am in the process of creating my very own WebQuest! I want to focus on a science topic since my lessons of interest so far have all been about reading. I am excited to branch out and try something new. The TN State Standard that I have picked is Science, 1st grade. This lesson will be based off of GLE 0107. T/E.1 Recognize that both natural materials an human-made tools have specific characteristics that determine their use. I plan to give them an exercise that will open their eyes to objects that are natural vs man made objects that they use everyday.
I am excited to get into this, as it will be my first WebQuest!

WebQuest

WebQuests can be an excellent resource in the classroom if you find the right ones. After disecting a few of them that were geared towards elementary school aged children, I realized that there needs to be a fine tooth comb filtering process to ensure that it is right for your classroom. Just because there is a WebQuest available, does NOT mean that it will be appropriate for your students. However, when you do find the good ones, they are great way to teach your students about the internet while doing assignments that they would normally do out of a booklet. This goes to show how much more technologically inclined students are today then when I was growing up. It is great!

World of Wikis

Who knew what a wiki was or that it could be so much fun? Creating a wiki is like super sized texting. You can create a webpage, add pictures and comments, then wait for your friends to respond by adding to or changing it. Not only is it fun to create, but when I think about using it in my classroom, I realize how useful it can be to communicate with parents. It will be helpfull for parents who want to be involved in their childs schooling, especially if they do not have the time to come into to the classroom as often as they would like. I cannot wait to hear what the parents have to say about it!!

Wikkis

Ok, so now this is really getting interesting. Do you ever realize how much you love to do things that you KNOW how to do? Last week I was still a little hesitant when working with the new concept (to me) of Wikkis. Now that I am getting my feet wet and learning how to add links, backgrounds, pictures and modify the wikki, I am really starting to like it. I will invite you with a link soon after my team and I get our wikki looking presentable. Who knew it could be so FUN!?!

Starfall.com

I evaluated a website called Starfall.com. This exercise was brilliant, because it helped me realize what I need to look for in a site that I may want to use for my classroom. When I went to the site initially, I thought that it would be a fantastic website to use with my students. It was colorful, full of phonics lessons, and even discreetly separated by age/ reading levels.
With the evaluation sheet that I used to guide me in realizing what the important aspects are in a website, I realized that it was not quite as perfect as it looks to someone who does not know what details to look for. I feel that after going to different websites and picking them apart to ensure that they are “reliable, accurate, current, presented with no apparent bias and follow good design principles for accessibility,” I am more prepared to find websites that will be most effective for my students.
I never before thought to look for the date that the website was updated or for the author’s information. I now realize how important that could be when considering how frequently curriculum and the information that we give to children can change. If you do not emphasize the importance of updated information, you might be teaching children things that are outdated or no longer “the best” way to teach them. Also, all websites should have the author’s (or somebody associated to the website) contact information in the event that something is not working or the user is unsure of how to use it.
I not only enjoyed this exercise, but I learned a lot of things that now seem like common sense, but I had just never thought about before as important when it comes to using websites.

Howdy and Welcome!!

Hello and welcome to my blog!! Today is the first day of an exciting extravaganza called Technology Education. I am looking forward to seeing what this world of blogging has to offer my classroom and future students. I cannot wait to show you more about me and what I have experienced. Stay tuned...