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!?!