http://myfirstyearteachingat.blogspot.com/
http://piquecuriosity.blogspot.com/
http://mrdedios2013.blogspot.com/
The above are the great blogs I previewed and commented on from the forums. They had some great tools I didn't have and reminded me of sites like Edmodo. And even more basic things like remembering to directly embed videos.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Voxopop
Voxopop is something I experienced a lot on the student side. For several language classes, I did audio recording assignments.
Now I'm getting to do this on the educator side, and the website is extremely user friendly to set up. However, getting the mic to work can be a major challenge sometimes. Once the mic is up and running, the rest is far simpler.
I feel this is a great web app. There are hundred and thousands of videos, pages, and examples on the internet, but having something purely audio may be a great way to reach those auditory learners.
Now I'm getting to do this on the educator side, and the website is extremely user friendly to set up. However, getting the mic to work can be a major challenge sometimes. Once the mic is up and running, the rest is far simpler.
I feel this is a great web app. There are hundred and thousands of videos, pages, and examples on the internet, but having something purely audio may be a great way to reach those auditory learners.
Animoto
So I uploaded a project one of my classes worked on last year. Originally it had been done on a video publisher program, but I was interested to see how Animoto could handle the project.
While it was very easy and user friendly, Animoto did take a very long time to upload. Plus while the free version is ok for quick short videos, it's not the best for longer more detailed ones.
You can upload relatively small numbers of photos, and being unable to manage the pacing of the photo transitions wasn't ideal. There also aren't very many music choices, and trying to add your own music or sound effects might sometimes conflicts with copyright laws.
While it was very easy and user friendly, Animoto did take a very long time to upload. Plus while the free version is ok for quick short videos, it's not the best for longer more detailed ones.
You can upload relatively small numbers of photos, and being unable to manage the pacing of the photo transitions wasn't ideal. There also aren't very many music choices, and trying to add your own music or sound effects might sometimes conflicts with copyright laws.
Wiki
My district actually gives each teacher their own website to post assignments, files, and sorts of goodies. There are even places to submit work.
But what I do like about wikispaces is that it allows easy online collaboration for group projects.
But what I do like about wikispaces is that it allows easy online collaboration for group projects.
RSS Feeds- A Lament for Google Reader
I had used Google Reader in the past. It help consolidate all my news outlets. New York Times. Huffington Post. Star Telegram. Associated Press. BBC.
All of these were great sites, but having to move between every page and tab wasn't the fastest way, and on a phone, it was just annoying.
On Google Reader, it really was just like a magazine composed of all my major News Companies.
Unfortunately, it was shut down.
I have since moved on to Feedly. While, it really does everything Reader did and has made great improvements of arranging things. I really never got into all the apps it promotes.
Plus, (and this may just be laziness) following all these news sites on Twitter has given me a similar experience (and definitely faster with the 140 character limit).
All of these were great sites, but having to move between every page and tab wasn't the fastest way, and on a phone, it was just annoying.
On Google Reader, it really was just like a magazine composed of all my major News Companies.
Unfortunately, it was shut down.
I have since moved on to Feedly. While, it really does everything Reader did and has made great improvements of arranging things. I really never got into all the apps it promotes.
Plus, (and this may just be laziness) following all these news sites on Twitter has given me a similar experience (and definitely faster with the 140 character limit).
Google Docs (Drive)
Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) is something I can not laud enough. This web application I do endorse completely. Not only do you have the basic functionality of Microsoft Office anywhere, its free and synced across all major device JUST BY LOGGING IN!!!
My example was a Gradebook demo. With a few simple formulas, you have a functioning electronic gradebook.
While this would seem redundant considering the actual district gradebooks along with all the online gradebooks available, the great thing about this kind of setup is that SEVERAL tablets, phones, and computers will let you temporarily download your Google Doc Gradebook so that you can work on it without an internet connection. Then when you are able to find a connection again, you log in, let it sync, and your gradebook is updated even though you had no wi-fi.
Plus this allows you to always have a back up in case a paper grade book is lost, the district gradebook glitches, or you just can't log in/keep getting dropped because of internet connection issues.
My example was a Gradebook demo. With a few simple formulas, you have a functioning electronic gradebook.
While this would seem redundant considering the actual district gradebooks along with all the online gradebooks available, the great thing about this kind of setup is that SEVERAL tablets, phones, and computers will let you temporarily download your Google Doc Gradebook so that you can work on it without an internet connection. Then when you are able to find a connection again, you log in, let it sync, and your gradebook is updated even though you had no wi-fi.
Plus this allows you to always have a back up in case a paper grade book is lost, the district gradebook glitches, or you just can't log in/keep getting dropped because of internet connection issues.
Delicious
While I could see it would be fun to look around and explore new links, a lot of the pros that come from using this site can be found through using Google Chrome.
Out of the 10 Reasons to Use Social Bookmarking, about 6 or 7 reasons are accomplished through setting up a Google account and logging into Chrome which we have happily done so far in our web explorations.
Out of the 10 Reasons to Use Social Bookmarking, about 6 or 7 reasons are accomplished through setting up a Google account and logging into Chrome which we have happily done so far in our web explorations.
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