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Nancy's News: http://nancywinship.blogspot.com/

Life as an ELAR middle school Title 1 teacher:  http://johnpcsilva.blogspot.com/


Mungwari on Blogger:  http://mungwarionblogger.blogspot.com/


Mrs. Junk

WallWisher and Our Classroom 'Collaboration in Reading'

I had never heard of WellWisher until I saw the link on ECAP.  I was curious and clicked the link to see what it could. be.  I was surprised by what I found.  A new way to collaborate with students and introduce units in a technologically advanced way.  I love the idea of uploading these boards to my website and allowing students to collaborate and share known and new information with each other.  For those students who need a little extra time to absorb information, these boards would be an amazing way to give them the support they need.  We are starting a new unit soon, and I plan on using the board I created to get my students started on the right path with their learning.  The boards also put more responsibility on the students.  Allowing students to make changes and identify their changes allows me to see which students are participating.  I think that WellWisher will be a wonderful addition to my classroom management while keeping students engaged and ready to learn.  

Animoto in Motion

I had been introduced to Animoto by another teacher during my student teaching. I had saved the link, but I had not gone back and investigated the sight further. When I saw the link on ECAP, I immediately knew what I wanted to do with the sight, and how I wanted to use it first in the classroom. I am starting a book club for my 7th and 8th grade students next year, and I had not yet decided how I wanted to introduce the concept to the students. Animoto was my answer. We do daily announcements, and I think that the students will enjoy being able to watch the announcement. It will impact the majority of the students, and everyone will have the information they need, including teachers, to answer any questions students may have. I thoroughly enjoyed working in Animoto and purchased the upgrade package, so I could create longer videos for my students. I also think that Animoto would be a wonderful tool in the classroom to have the students create their own mini videos about our current curriculum. It would also be a wonderful to tool to have to introduce new units to my students. I am incredibly excited about the idea of utilizing Animoto in the classroom. I believe it will be a fun way to hook the interest of my students. Mrs. Junk

WIKI in the Classroom

     I am very excited about integrating WIKI into my classroom.  For the remainder of this school year, I planning on using it in small doses for grammar review while planning to use the program more effectively next school year when I have had time to plan my lessons further.  My English classes will be using the program to correct grammar sentences in teams.   I have found that my students will try harder during class if the assignment moves quickly and allows them to compete against each other.  I am going to have them team up, and each group will correct sentences together using any resource they can find.  The first group to complete their sentences wins that round.  We will play as many rounds as it takes to fill up our class time, or for the students to understand the material.

Link to class WIKI:

https://modernenglish2.wikispaces.com/home

Pinterest and It's Uses in the Classroom

What can I say about Pinterest that you do not already know.  IT IS AWESOME!  It has been incredibly helpful in finding amazing lessons that get my students out of their seats and involved.  I have already used several ideas that I have pinned in the classroom, and I have several more on planned on my calendar.  The best thing about Pinterest for me is that it is easy.  I can surf for ideas while catching up on other things, or simply watching television.  It allows me to be multitasking and not feel like I am wasting time.  I have also been able to find some very interesting ideas that I would have never come up with on my own, and Pinterest allows me to keep all of my ideas for use now or later in one organized place.  I have been able to make a board for every aspect of my class, and utilize all of my pinned ideas to the fullest extent.  I have had more fun working on Pinterest thus far than any other teaching tool I have used. 

Mrs. Junk

Google Docs and My Experience

I have used Google documents before and was quite familiar with the process when I began this section of the training. However, I had not considered it a valuable resource to use inside my classroom. I will be working Google Documents into my lesson plans for next year for sure. I am excited at the possibility of having my students complete their English essays in Google docs.  Then I can go into my students documents and correct them individually without the use of paper and without the hassle of students loosing their paper before it is due.   The ability for my students to be able to look up their Google docs at home as well as on the road is vastly appealing.  I have many, many students who loose their assignments and need second copies.  Our school district goes through copious amounts of paper each week, and Google Docs could drastically decrease my paper footprint throughout my district.

One of my concerns with Google docs is that my school system has computers that run slowly and poorly. They frustrate the students as well as myself.  I will have to gauge how reliable the computers will be for performing the tasks at hand. I am hoping to find many other uses for Google docs to use next year and some I can incorporate during the remainder of this year.

Delicious Experience, No pun intended...

I like the idea of the Delicious accounts, but I am already severally addicted to Pinterest.   From what I can tell, Delicious is similar to Pinterest in that they are both considered social bookmarking accounts.  One of my concerns is having my name pop up on google searches. I am strict with myself about what I allow my students to be able to find.  I do love having a new way to search and save possible interactive lessons for my students.  I do occasionally surf the web without the use of Pinterest and come across sites I would like to keep track of.  I see myself using my Delicious account for logging and keeping track of pictures and visual aides I find and want to use in the classroom.  I find that my students respond well to visuals such as pictures and videos, and I will most likely use my account to fit this need.  I will definitely be keeping the accounts I have created for ECAP, and will discover where I can use them in the classroom.

Mrs. Junk