Challenge #18!

So, I have been blogging like crazy the past few days as I found myself way behind! But, what I start, I have to finish.

This challenge could take me hours, maybe even days, if I let it! What a lot of cool resources!

I looked at Glogster, and it looks really fun! I could definitely see me using this for an assignment, maybe to go along with a novel.

Word Clouds is great too! It might be a neat way to introduce some vocabulary words or to, again, use as a project with a literary selection.

Animoto looks like a really easy possible alternative to iMovie-maybe too easy!

I think EtherPad would be really great if a person had a classroom set of laptops...probably not going to happen! It's something that I would like to think about putting to use though.

Blabberize might just be a fun little extra type of activity that could be given as a choice for students after reading a selection.

Not really the same, but I found Wonder Wheel in Google search. That's pretty neat too for narrowing down searches for students.

Although I didn't keep on top of this on a weekly basis, it really did give me a chance to explore the Web 2.0 tools that I probably would not have otherwise found the time to do! Thanks!

Challenge #17

I enjoy a blog by Dana Huff, an English teacher who has lots of great ideas. For this challenge, I went to her site because it seemed to me that I had seen a link to a wiki. Sure enough, there were a few! One that I know I will be going back to is hufflessons. It looks like lots of good stuff there!

Last year I did a correspondence class titled WebEDU. For that class I had to develop a blog and a wiki. Of course, neither went any further than the class...! Today, I tried to remember what my wiki was, but I honestly don't have a clue! I guess it's lost in cyberspace somewhere!

I think it would be fun to do a wiki for my classes. Unfortunately, right now I don't have the time to figure it out, but it is on my list of things to do. Thanks for the ideas!

Challenge #16

I really like Zamzar and have found it useful both for video and for converting PDF files. There are so many files that come in PDF form and if you don't have a program to make changes to them, they sometimes are not very useful. Zamzar really helps there. As for video, I haven't used that quite as much, but I did download the Beowulf movie trailer a week ago and used that with my Lit and Lang 12 classes. I could have shown it right through Youtube, but it's nice to have it on my computer!

Challenge #15

I have had Google calendar on my iGoogle page for quite a while, but I honestly have not really used it. I use my iCal all the time, but I think that I do need to start checking it out a bit closer since always seem to be on the run! It would be nice to be able to sync it with my other calendars.

Challenge #14

I think that Google Docs is going to be a great tool for my classes. I really hadn't done much with this before, but last week I had kids working on a small group project and noticed them using Google Docs. I was amazed by how they could both be working on the same project at the same time. I just need some time now to try it out myself a bit more so that I can get all my students to start making use of this tool!

Challenge #13

I'm definitely not a tech savvy as Reynolds here! I have, however, listened to podcasts before! When I was planning one of our trips to Disney, I subscribed to the Dis weekly podcast. It really was a great tool! I have also snooped around and listened to a podcast here and there, but I haven't really had the time to listen on a regular basis.

I do think it would be fun to have kids create podcasts, but right now I don't think I could manage it! I also believe that they could be useful if you know that you are having a sub and want to present some of the info yourself. Again, that would mean more time in getting the whole works figured out! Hopefully one day I will be there!

Challenge #12

I have added the following add ons: AniWeather, ReminderFox, Pixtr, ChromaTabs, and Highlighter. I have had add ons at home on my browser for a while but never did them here.

Challenge #11

I decided to use some of my pictures from our San Antonio trip for this challenge. I can see that work as a way of sharing pictures with others who may not know everyone or may need a little more explanation. Not sure whether I would use this in class or not.

Challenge #10

I have had a Flickr account for quite a while but honestly have not used it at all. I did upload a few pictures just to say I have, but I don't know that I will really use it.

As far as school goes, I could maybe see taking pictures of projects and loading them, but I honestly don't think I would. I think maybe I could use it for skating. It would be a nice way to share those types of pictures.

I guess I will see. I'm pretty proud of myself when I actually get the pictures off of my camera or phone and into iPhoto, much less uploaded to Flickr too!

Challenge #9

I did sign up for a Skype account a while back. At this point I don't really see myself making much use of it. It might be fun for my daughter to talk to her little cousin with it, but really, with life as busy as it is, trying to find a time when both can be at the computer isn't all that easy--I know, it's really quite a sad situation! The same goes for communicating with my sister and brother-in-law who are both in the military. It would be great to actually be able to see each other, but we have a hard enough time even finding the right times to talk using cell phones! Maybe someday...