Well today is the day the end of a very fast paced journey and now it is time to reflect on my favorite piece of technology. So, as I sit here at my computer, coffee in hand and look back over the past three weeks several things come to mind but my all time favorite is...
First, let me start with a few of the runner-ups.
Skype- this semester I was asked to use Skype in order to communicate and collaborate with my tech-group. I for one had never used Skype and it was quite an experience in the beginning, but after the initial getting used to organinzing groups and figuring out which conversation I was involved in, I learned to love it. I spent countless hours working with my tech-group via Skype. We worked on group projects, we wrote stories, we cheered each other on through some long and tireless nights. It was, by far the next best thing to being in a classroom. Because of Skype, I have some new found friends in places... Well, to be perfectly honest, I am not sure where they live, but that is okay.
Brainshark. Now, I really like this site. Brainshark allows you to take your powerpoints from ordinary to extraordinary. It is so simple, you create your powerpoint presentation, upload it into Brainshark, and then you follow the simple prompts that allow you to add music or audio and walla! You have a nice presentation that can then be uploaded to youtube or saved for your own use. You say that your computer doesn't have voice capability, no problem with Brainshark, use your telephone. Brainshark gives you a number to call and you key in the number that has been assigned to your presentation to add audio to your presentation--bada bing, bada boom!! That simple, how cool is that!
The Apps, all the cool Apps, there are really too many to name. I have enjoyed all of them; I have downloaded so many that it is almost hard to keep up with them all. But, I have to say that the 3-D interactive pop-up books are pretty amazing. I am an advocate for anything that promotes reading interest in children and these 3-D books are high impact/high interest. My advice for anyone interested in keeping up with the latest and greatest free Apps would be to download Apps Gone Free. One App that is certainly worth mentioning that I acquired during this class that is not specific to teaching alone is DocUScan Pro. this App allows me to scan and convert documents into PDF files anywhere at anytime. This thing is golden!
Okay, so now it is time for the big reveal.... My favorite technology from this class would have to be GoodReads.com. GoodReads is amazing, the possibilities are endless. With goodreads you can set up your own personalized reading account and store books that you have read on your bookshelves. You can keep books that you want to read on a different shelf so that you do not forget about them. Another great feature about GoodReads is the ability to form book groups and hold book talks with people who are interested in the same genre as you. GoodReads also sends out newsletters to its members featuring the latest book releases and it allows you the ability to search for books in a variety of ways; genre, title, author...
Educators can use book reads as a tool to motivate readers to reflect on their reading by having them respond to their reading in the spaces provided. Students can use the tools provided by GoodReads to report which page they are on and make notes about what is going on in particular parts of the book which cuts down on them finishing the book and then wondering 'what did I just read?' or 'what happened?'. I feel certain that there are even more great features in GoodReads that I have yet to uncover, for example just yesterday I noticed that I could link GoodReads to YourNextRead.com which keeps a map of your reading and book viewing history. The map that it keeps reminds me of a content map, sort of like mapping curriculum which is something that would be of no interest to anyone but educators, but still it is a neat thing. Trust me!!
So there you have it, my favorite
First, let me start with a few of the runner-ups.
Skype- this semester I was asked to use Skype in order to communicate and collaborate with my tech-group. I for one had never used Skype and it was quite an experience in the beginning, but after the initial getting used to organinzing groups and figuring out which conversation I was involved in, I learned to love it. I spent countless hours working with my tech-group via Skype. We worked on group projects, we wrote stories, we cheered each other on through some long and tireless nights. It was, by far the next best thing to being in a classroom. Because of Skype, I have some new found friends in places... Well, to be perfectly honest, I am not sure where they live, but that is okay.
Brainshark. Now, I really like this site. Brainshark allows you to take your powerpoints from ordinary to extraordinary. It is so simple, you create your powerpoint presentation, upload it into Brainshark, and then you follow the simple prompts that allow you to add music or audio and walla! You have a nice presentation that can then be uploaded to youtube or saved for your own use. You say that your computer doesn't have voice capability, no problem with Brainshark, use your telephone. Brainshark gives you a number to call and you key in the number that has been assigned to your presentation to add audio to your presentation--bada bing, bada boom!! That simple, how cool is that!
The Apps, all the cool Apps, there are really too many to name. I have enjoyed all of them; I have downloaded so many that it is almost hard to keep up with them all. But, I have to say that the 3-D interactive pop-up books are pretty amazing. I am an advocate for anything that promotes reading interest in children and these 3-D books are high impact/high interest. My advice for anyone interested in keeping up with the latest and greatest free Apps would be to download Apps Gone Free. One App that is certainly worth mentioning that I acquired during this class that is not specific to teaching alone is DocUScan Pro. this App allows me to scan and convert documents into PDF files anywhere at anytime. This thing is golden!
Okay, so now it is time for the big reveal.... My favorite technology from this class would have to be GoodReads.com. GoodReads is amazing, the possibilities are endless. With goodreads you can set up your own personalized reading account and store books that you have read on your bookshelves. You can keep books that you want to read on a different shelf so that you do not forget about them. Another great feature about GoodReads is the ability to form book groups and hold book talks with people who are interested in the same genre as you. GoodReads also sends out newsletters to its members featuring the latest book releases and it allows you the ability to search for books in a variety of ways; genre, title, author...
Educators can use book reads as a tool to motivate readers to reflect on their reading by having them respond to their reading in the spaces provided. Students can use the tools provided by GoodReads to report which page they are on and make notes about what is going on in particular parts of the book which cuts down on them finishing the book and then wondering 'what did I just read?' or 'what happened?'. I feel certain that there are even more great features in GoodReads that I have yet to uncover, for example just yesterday I noticed that I could link GoodReads to YourNextRead.com which keeps a map of your reading and book viewing history. The map that it keeps reminds me of a content map, sort of like mapping curriculum which is something that would be of no interest to anyone but educators, but still it is a neat thing. Trust me!!
So there you have it, my favorite