Monday, July 19, 2010

Thing #17: Podcasts.

A podcast is like a dvr where you can download programs on your computer, ipod or any mp3 player and watch them whenever and wherever you are. You don't need to be present on the time of the show to watch it, you can set your computer to record it so the next time you plug in your device or open up your iTunes Voila! you can watch it instantly. Some of the podcasts I previewed and subscribed are:
ESLpod
The Psych Files
Cody's Cuentos
Geek beat tv
I will incorporate the cuentos (stories) podcast to my reading time and will listen to the ESLpod, Psych files and Geek beat on my way home, to school or the spare times where we usually wait without any kind of learning.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Thing #16: Library thing.

So far, this is the favorite thing I have found in the last years. I absolutely love reading books and most of the time one book leads me to another or I have recommendations from different people but occasionally it is not enough and I stop reading. The Library Thing has reviews, recommendations and ratings that can help you decide in a deeper way whether if you want to read a book or to look for another one. We can also find recommendations that we would not find so easily otherwise. I also love the feature of saving the books that you have read so you can keep an online database for future reference or to share with other people.

Thing #15: Delicious.com

Delicious.com is a social bookmarking tool for sharing, saving and finding sites of interest. I have saved some bookmarks related to education, marketing and technology (my current biggest interest). I am planning on putting together the websites I regularly use and research for more useful ones to share with my team mates when we get back to school.
My saved bookmarks can be found at: http://delicious.com/livia31
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Thing #: 7a Google Reader

The Google reader tool have helped me find lots of different interesting articles thanks to the filter that chooses what I really like to know. This week, I found a very interesting article that talks about the "Bloom's Taxonomy". Everyone in education knows about his work and how to use it to teach our students think on a higher level. It is definitely something every educator should take a look at.

Thing #14:Web 2.0 tools.

There are dozens of different web 2.0 tools available for us on the Internet that can help us create, organize or communicate with our students in the classroom. I am planning on using 30 boxes to create to-do lists for my students, post plans of the week on the calendar view and print copies for my students and their parents to keep.
I will also use blabberize to have different images singing the happy birthday song on their birthday and to celebrate festivities that come along.

Thing #13: Image Generators.


You can find many different image generator tools on the web. One of my favorite ones was to create words with happy faces, you just need to go to click here! write your word, click the fancify your text button and it your smiley faces word is ready!

You can also create different Comic Strips at: click here! you can look for a particular cartoon or famous artist, write your text on the Text/Caption box, click on the button Customize your comic strip and ta-da!!!



The fun thing about learning how to use image generators is that you can use them with your students in different subjects in class. I am planning on projecting the morning writing prompts on the Promethean board using different comic strips to have fun and keep my students interested in writing. I am also planning to use the flikr mosaic maker on Science to show my students the different animals or ecosystems we will be studying that week.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Thing #12: Slideshows (Pictures found in Flikr)



My slide show has some of my favorite images found in Flikr. It contains amazing places which I would like to visit or places like the ones I would like to. With the airplane image, I want to say that I love traveling. The kid's eye means how I like to see things, from a very opened perspective and with the amusement that kids have when they see new things. The owl looking at the camera means that I would love to be seen on those places also, share, know people and also see the different kinds of animals according to the place that I go.