New Things

Gone are the days of having to hand tally those book order forms. You can set up book orders so parents can go on-line and send in their own orders. I've been afraid to try and set this up but it was so easy it only took me minutes and I'm good to go. If I can do this anyone can. I really appreciate the ease with which I could do this no if only I wasn't such a chicken I could do more fun experiments like this one! I think I'm becoming braver by the day!

Thing~facebook (can't remember)

I got an e-mail from an old friend that said she had joined facebook and had a link to her page. Well, it seems that it was the kick in the pants I needed to get out there and check it out. I even set up my own profile and downloaded a picture! I even did a search for people that I had graduated from highschool with. It was awesome to see some familiar faces that I hadn't seen it many years. I could see how this is a great way to stay connected with friends and reconnect with lost friends. Now I just have to figure out how to write on their walls. It's coming...

Thing 11

THe other day I was looking for a powerpoint lesson I thought was saved in our school folder. I couldn't find it and resolved myself that it was lost forever. So I went out to do a google advanced search and found I could look for specific file types including powerpoints. This may be common knowledge but I think it is pretty cool. What a great way to find resources. I think I need to keep looking, there is so much that I'm missing it's overwhelming. Don't give up on me. I'm working on it...

Thing 12

It seems I spend time each day searching the internet for interesting tidbits to use with my students. OUr school has a link to google right up on the screen so why not use it...Well, in my free time, I saw on t.v. a commercial for all that ask.com can do so I thought why not give it a try. I really like it. It offers a variety of websites as well as pictures, and maps, and blogs all on the main ssearch page. I had a more difficult time finding web sites I could use but I haven't compared the websites they give with the ones you would get on google...ah I see an experiment forming. I like the layout and will continue to try it out.

Thing 7

I had such a great experience at united streaming last time I went out in search of something for my math class. I realized that they have articles and worksheets and quizzes. I found a great video that goes along with multiplying and dividing fractions. The teacher's guide has great activities to go along with the video and practice for later. I'm very excited.

Thing 9

We are having fun in reading class with a story about Mt. Vesuvius and the city of Pompeii. I went out to United Streaming to find some information about volcanoes to help the students build background. It was interesting to find out how much they already knew from having done a unit in fourth grade about volcanoes. Students were excited to watch the action on the big screen. It was a great way to bring the story to life for the students and I loved that there were lessons and ideas available to use with the videos. It was also very helpful to be able to choose small snipits of video that fit with what I was teaching. I explored a little deeper and found videos about many other topics I teach this is definitley a tool that I will use often!

Thing 4

I spent time this weekend exploring the new Minneapolis Public Library. I'm wondering if everything I work on for this class will be overwhelming. It was a beautiful building with more resources than I could possibly mention. The collections of sheet music was something I hadn't seen before, wow! The children's section was incredible. I even got to your the stacks on the rails where they hide a gazillion older books. The teen center was packed. My guide shared with me that they had teens help design it and they must have done a great job. There was homework help, students researching, reading, and just hanging out. This space was very user friendly and the kids were obviously very comfortable. I need to go back and spend some more time checking things out. The details were amazing, little car mice on the kids computers and areas for all populations to hang out. The help available at all times to answer questions just look for the big lit up "i". I offer extra credit to my students who have a library card. I'm also considering a field trip to the libary here in Chaska. It is within walking distance to our school and what a great way to get students interested in the library. There is even a huge city park right across the street where we could have lunch! The ideas are flowing!