CEDU 581 - Week 6

The two big activities to finish up the course:
Work on Computer Security (Malware) - Group Activity
Work on Computer Security (Disaster Recovery) - Individual Activity

This is it!!!!! For regular coursework anyway....still working on pulling all the pieces of the program together.

I really enjoyed this class. Now I actually feel like I have a grasp on how to purchase a computer and keep it running efficiently!

CEDU 581 - Week 5

This week we worked on our Build Your Own Computer project. Visiting Best Buy and a few websites that sell computers, were a part of learning process. Since my family is in the market for a new computer, this project was very beneficial. Here are the specs that I will require for my next home computer:


* Intel(R) Core i3-30M Dual Core Processor
* FREE upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory
* 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
* Intel(R) HD Graphics with 5-in-1 Integrated Digital Media Reader
* Wireless-N Card
* 15.6" diagonal High Definition HP LED Brightview Displacy
* Genuine Windows 7
* Microsoft Works 9.0
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* HP Keyboard
* No Modem
* SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* Webcam + Microphone

CEDU 581 - Week 4

Well, since this is Computer Architecture....How does a computer work, anyway?

The first step is to turn on the computer and start the boot up process. The process starts with the ROM (read only memory) telling the BIOS that it is time to run the operating system (OS) and the rest of the components, and to perform a memory check. The OS is really important because it interprets the software programs so that they are understandable to the user.

Here is a site that offers more detail on the boot-up process:
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/SandyTran1.html

CEDU 581 - Week 3

Continuation of Week 2 blog, "A reflection of all the OS activities completed thus far":
2 points. Watch "Pirates of Silicon Valley"

From wikipedia.org,"Pirates of Silicon Valley is a 1999 film based on the book Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine. It is a made-for-television docudrama written and directed by Martyn Burke which documents the rise of the home computer (personal computer) through the rivalry between Apple Computer and Microsoft. The film stars Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates and Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs."

Ths was the first movie that I watched in its entirety on U-Tube. Pretty cool.

My favorite quotes from the movie:
Steve Jobs on IBM, "They're a bloated enemy in a crumbling castle."
Steve Jobs to Woz, "Maybe fun is just fragments of existence with better packaging."

Other comments inspired by the movie:
* Berkeley in the early 70's....wish I had been there.
* I never knew what a major role Xerox had played...
* Good old Woz. Never judge a man on his appearance alone.
* Most disturbing scene: Jobs throwing frisbees to his employees.
* Bill Gates on skates reminds me of my pre-teen years at Skateland. While my friends were mocking him, I always felt bad for "that guy"...epsecially after I ran over his knuckles.
* Who never sees his kid but names a computer after her. Weird.
* Enjoyed the movie much more than I anticipated.

CEDU 581 - Week 2

A reflection of all the OS activities completed thus far:

Class Activities -
I viewed both the "Hardware and Software" and "CMOS, BIOS and other Mysteries that fly by on the boot up..." presentations and learned quite a bit. The first presentation was very helpful in that it listed a number of ways to rate a CPU. This was an especially useful summary because I have chosen the CPU for my Computer Component Research Project. The suggestions included the following: processor speed, maximum number of memory addresses, multiprocessing ability, special functionality, efficiency of programming code, bus speed, and memory cache.

The Most Basic Information on Operating Systems - The most popular are:
Windows (typically on PC only)
Mac OS (made for Macs)
UNIX (open source software for PCs)

Individual Assignments for Points -

2points. Investigate an alternative OS
An operating system is used by every desktop computer. The most popular operating systems are Windows, Mac OS, and Unix. Linux is a free Unix, it is an open source operating system available to everyone. I have never used Linux and have chosen to investigate it for this assignment.

* Conceived in 1969 and released in 1971, Unix was originally written in assembly language and then re-written in 1973 in programming language. The operating system was growing and being used in education and computer science but applications were still hard to use with each other for personal computing so Linus Torvald created the Linux kernel to handle process control, networking, and file system access.

* Linux is unique because the Linux kernel and other components are free and open source software that runs on the PC platform.

* According to howstuffworks.com, Linux appeals to a variety of people: People who already know UNIX and want to run it on PC-type hardware, People who want to experiment with operating system principles, People who need or whant a great deal of control over their operating system, and People who have personal problems with Microsoft.

* "In general, Linux is harder to manage than something like Windows, but offers more flexibility and configuration options." howstuffworks.com/question246

* Here is a great site for the hardware requirements needed by Linux:
http://www.roseindia.net/linux/linux-basics/HardwareRequirement.shtml

* Check out this explanation regarding the "latest version of Linux" from wikianswers.com:
There is no one "current Linux operating system" due to the fact that Linux is developed and distributed in various forms by many different individuals and corporations. The current version of Linux depends on which of these "distributions" you are interested in installing.

For example, a popular distribution of Linux tailored for use as a Desktop system is Ubuntu (www.ubuntu.com), which is distributed by the company Canonical. The current release of Ubuntu is 8.04, which was released in April this year.

There are literally hundreds of distributions freely available online, but other distributions which are of note in the desktop arena include Fedora (www.fedoraproject.org), openSUSE (www.opensuse.org) and Debian (www.debian.org), each of which have their own advantages and disadvantages. Each distribution has its own release schedule, but you can find out what the current version is (and download it) from the official websites.

1 point. Learn 5 new features of your operating system.

The operating system I currently use is Windows, specifically Windows "eXPerience" - aka Windows XP. The 5 new features I explored, as well as the sites I checked out are listed below.

* Parental Controls - www.windows-help-central.com/parental-controls-in-windows-xp.html
* Change Desktop Color in Windows XP - www.helpwithpcs.com/tipsandtricks/change-desktop-color-win-xp.html
* Windows Hotkeys (keyboard Shortcuts) - www.helpwithpcs.com/tipsandtricks/keyboard_shortcuts_windows_xp.html
* Accessibility Wizard See description below from http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1477&page=11 VERY COOL for me to know as a special education teacher!

Windows XP comes equipped with a large variety of what Microsoft calls 'accessibility options,' tools to make Windows easier to use for people with visual difficulties or other problems and disabilities.

These can be accessed most easily from the accessibility wizard, found at 'start/programs/accessories/accessibility/accessibility wizard.'

Through this program you can manually change the default Windows text size, scroll bar size, icon size, choose a high contrast colour scheme and mouse cursor, activate captions for supporting programs and visual indicators to replace sound effects for the hard of hearing as well as activate a range of other options by indicating to the wizard where your difficulties using the system lie. Besides above options, the various accessibility features you can enable are:

StickyKeys: Allows any key combination that includes CTRL, ALT or SHIFT to be entered one key at a time instead of simultaneously.

BounceKeys: Windows will ignore held down or rapidly repeated keystrokes on the same key.

ToggleKeys: Windows will play a sound when any of the 'lock' keys are pressed, such as Caps Lock or Num Lock. Very useful this.

MouseKeys: The numeric keypad can be used to control the mouse pointer.

Magnifier: Opens a window at the top of the screen that displays a magnified view of the area around the cursor.

Narrator: Narrates the contents of system Windows, including the status of things like checkboxes and options, for the visually impaired. Rather difficult to use, and reminiscent of Hal 9000 in voice.

On-Screen keyboard: Provides a keyboard option for users who cannot operate a physical keyboard.

* More Accessibility Resources http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windowsxp/default.aspx

CEDU 581 Week 1

This week in class we watched a History Channel video which focused on the high points in the history of computers and we discussed the hardware of a computer. First, making a list of the all the hardware components we knew and then categorizing the items by whether they were an input, process, or output device. The Under The Hood assignment asked us to open up a computer, and there were a number of videos linked to the wiki to watch. I particularly enjoyed "Triumph of the Nerds", "How a Computer Works" from howstuffworks.com, and the "Lab Rats: Mac-vs-PC-video" episode (the one on performance upgrades was very interesting, too).

Previous knowledge:
My knowledge of computer achitecture was very limited before this course. I would not feel comfortable purchasing or recommending to someone what computer to purchase.

What did I learn:
* Computers seemed to evolve from the needs of the government, from counting census information, to breaking German code, to winning the space race.
* 1 billion bytes = 1 gigabyte
* The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is also known as the processor or chip. It sits beneath the heatsink fan on the mother board.
* Microsoft XP was famous for viruses. Vista is much better.
* PC= good for business applications and gameplaying. Mac= good for multimedia editing, videoediting, creative projects.
* Viruses are basically non-existent with a Mac.
* Intel created the microprocessor and the laid back silicone valley working style. Today Intel powers 85% of the world's computers.
* Altair 8800 was the first personal computer - available January 1975.
* Need 512MB for photoediting and to have multiple windows open. Upgrade to 1GB or 2GB if doing heavy duty photo or video editing.
* Check out Crucial.com to figure out your system specifications.
* #1 Upgrade with no pain: RAM (NOT THE CPU!!!!!)
* #2 Upgrade: Graphics Processor (aka video card)

Questions I have regarding the material:
Can I use my household vacuum cleaner to clean the insides of my computer?

CEDU 534 - Week 6

This week was our final class and we had the opportunity to view each others video messages and wikis. I enjoyed having class and being able to see first hand how others have used what they learned in this class to create a product to enhance their teaching. Not being as savvy with technology as some, it was really beneficial to view their wikis and get a better understanding of what I can do to enhance mine.

CEDU 534 - Week 5

This week I continued working on my very first Wiki! It's going pretty well. I definitely see the benefits for myself and my students of using a wiki and will continue to enhance it after this course is complete. I'm looking forward to getting it in prime form and using it with my students at the start of the next school year. At this point I am uncertain whether I should have just one wiki site or to create multiple sites for each class I teach (Basic Communications, Exploratory, Basic Technology). I think having just one might work best, but I'm not sure at this point.

Also this week I learned more about Tokbox by viewing Louie's message to me, creating my own message and adding it to the forum, and by conducting our team meeting through it. I found it to be both easy to use and a great way to communicate with people from a distance. It is nice to have visual, audio, and be able to write responses. I look forward to having other opportunities to use this technology.

CEDU 534 - Week 4

Week 4 provided further exploration on a number of topics such as Social Bookmarking, Podcasting & Screencasting, Ning/Wiki, Twitter/Plurk, and Facebook.

Because of this class I have created a Delicious account and will continue to use this social bookmarking site both professionally and personally. I have discovered it to be a great way to save sites that I find useful in an organized fashion, rather than simply marking them as "my favorite" and then still having to search to find them and/or forgetting they were ever discovered in the first place. Also, I like that Delicious has its own "Search" feature that I can utilize. Rather than simply googling everything, it's nice to search in Delicious and find sites that other educators already found to be worthwhile. The final reason that I am now a Delicious fan is because I can provide my students with my account and direct them to a tab I have created specifically for them and a current project we are working on. This will save them much time and frustration...and the best part is that they can access this information from any computer that has Internet...it can't be left in their locker or the backseat of their friend's car! ;)

CEDU 534: Week 3

Week 3 focused on RSS Feeds, Photosharing Sites, Creative Commons, and the video "Education 2050: Neural and Networked". For me, the experience I had in setting up a Flickr account will most benefit me professionally at this time. Photosharing sites are so popular now that I feel they are something I should hit on with my special education students when I am teaching them a unit on "Technology for Real Life". Though everyone else I know has been comfortable with Flickr for quite some time, I had to take the time to stumble through it. I found it easier to locate and upload pictures on my friend's laptop than using my school computer, so the whole process of creating a Flickr account was really very easy. One small step...eventually I will catch up with everyone else. ;)

CEDu 534 - Week 2

This week we spent more time discussing Blogs and Wikis, which is good. Though these Web 2.0 tools were introduced in earlier classes, I enjoy getting a little more exposure and better understanding.

The book reading focused on Chapter 4 - Wikis: Easy Collaboration for All. On page 62, "And the success of Wikipedia has spawned a wiki revolution." The paragraph goes on to discuss Wikirecipes, Wiktionary, Wikinews, Wikiquotes, Wikitravel, and Wikibooks...all of which I was unaware of until now. I especially enjoyed exploring Wikibooks; I discovered a book that I can use as curriculum for my Basic Technology class.

What else did I learn about that I can apply...?
I like how our work pages are set up in columns - task, time, and links to resources. I would like to set up my course in a similar manner.

I gained better insight and understanding of Microblogging and Photosharing, and learned that there are sites available to simply search for blogs! Who knew?! I now have subscribed to a couple blogs that deal specifically with the issues enveloping some of my students...bipolar disorder, ADHD, and attachment disorder.

CEDU 534 - Week 1

This week we read the first three chapters in our text Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms and the one idea that I most want to implement is a classroom blog in which students can post responses to my questions rather than each of them creating their own blog. I like this idea as a way to introduce my students to blogging. My current Basic Communications class is only five students, so the numbers of responses will be manageable. I surveyed my class and their knowledge and use of blogs is very limited, so I am excited to teach them something new.

CEDU 527 - Week 6

The following questions should be answered to conclude this class:

How has my definition of leadership been altered or reinforced? My definition of teacher leadership?

How has my opnion of my leadership potential changed?

Do I agree with our textbook's assertion about "improving education from within"? If so, what will I do to help?

CEDU 527 - Week 5

Week 5 In Class Activity: Systems Thinking/Systems Changing Simulation
This week we met at The Highland House for The Change Game. After two regular margaritas on the rocks with salt, here is what I could interpret from my notes scrawled on a napkin at the end of the night:

1. some people ----- no ---- no matter what.
2. need to discuss/get feedback regularly
3. ID those on board + use
4. Social info important
5. Have to get the majority through each phase to move on
6. Awareness. Preparation. Practice. Mastery/Integration. Renewal.
7. Slow moving at first - then move together
8. Keep moving + trying new things ------ Don't Stagnate
9. Once key players are maxed out in renewal-you still need them for key discussions
10. Seek out those on the fence + push up

The final chapter of the book How To Thrive As A Teacher Leader is entitled "Instructional Leadership - Improving Student and Teacher Achievement". Important points to remember from the chapter include:
+ If your teachers do not respect you instructionally, you will find it difficult to succeed as a leader.
+ Your lessons should exhibit best practices.
+ Your fellow teachers need to view you as a resource, someone they seek out for equipment, literature, and ancillary materials.
+ With the advent of No Child Left Behind, accountability is forcing teachers to examine their classroom practices. How to create an effective classroom: Observe and Coach Your Teachers, Map the Curriculum, Acknowledge Ability Levels, Differentiate Instruction, Reteach and Retest, Use Assessments as Teaching Tools, Establish Tutoring Programs, Consider Creative Scheduling, Teach Study Skills, Make Work Meaningful, Begin Homework in Class, Create Incentives, Cutlivate Community in the Classroom, Inform Students of Their Progress, Communicate Frequently with Parents, Involve the Guidance Department, Assess Your Assessments, Implement Sustained Silent Reading, and Be Aware of Cheating.
+ There were also tips on testing and data collection.
+ Resource 24 on page 200 was a nice "Student Remediation Checklist" to help document what was tried with a student as an intervention

CEDU 527 - Week 4

Another week of class using GoTo Meeting. Nice.

Sites we were to review:

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)- This is a site that I have never checked out before. It was interesting that there is so much information out there avaiable to the public on our schools. Number of staff numbers broken down into categories, student/teacher ratio, number of students with IEPs, and the number of students who are eligible for free/reduced lunches was all information I could easily access.

Wisconsin Information Network for Successful Schools (WINSS) - WINSS is a site I have seen before, both in and outside of this grad program, but it was interesting to take another look at it with fresh eyes. It actually tries to do more than just provide the numbers; it shares resources on how to build more successful schools.

Asking the Right Questions from the MCREL Tookit - Too much information! This is a great website but I didn't know where to stop reading...link after link...some with 66 page documents attached. Regardless, I think there was some good information and it will be a good site to reference in the future, so here it is: www.mcrel.org/tookit/res/change.asp
Just a couple of the highlights, AHA moments, I would like to mention:
+ When Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb, he made it look like a gaslight to increase the likelihood of its adoption. He understood that human perception can be the biggest hurdle to implementing change.
+ Change pattern: status quo, awareness, exploration, transitioning, adoption, and dominance.
+ Before making changes, be sure to identify how it will effect other parts of the system.
+ There is the expectation, especially of principals, that they belong in the trenches with teachers. But what is needed is a balance between being on the balcony and being on the field.
+ The view from the balcony helps administrators to keep the domains (technical, personal, and organizational) of the school balanced so greater success can be achieved.

How To Thrive As a Teacher Leader - Chapter 5:
Statements to note -
+ Everyone loves positive feedback; be sure praise is related to performance
+ Support your teachers even when it is unrelated to instruction (ie Hawaiian shirt day)
+ Encourage collaboration
+ Srengthen Morale: recognize individuals, offer an extra planning period, relieve your teachers, gift the in-box, meet out, sponsor a pot-luck, bring food, host a holiday party, cancel a meeting, start a team newsletter, volunteer to photocopy, reward with gift certificates, provide extra supplies, design team shirts, make it up to your teachers (if one year their schedule is especially tough - acknowledge it and try to lighten the load), throw a year-end party.

CEDU 527 - Week 3

ASSIGNMENTS IN REVIEW:

The "Change" Presentation
Change is inevitable. Embrace it. Never assume anything will stay the same.

The "Who Moved My Cheese" Presentation
The Handwriting on the Wall = change happens, anticipate change, monitor change, adapt to change quickly, change, enjoy change, be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again.

Article "TUNE IN to what the new generation of teachers can do" Millenials are those born after 1978...what we can expect:
They expect to be praised more.
They enjoy being mentored.
They don't anticipate a 30-year career with one district.
They want to continue to learn and grow.
They are assertive and confident.
They have always negotiated in their home life = they desire leadership roles.
They want to develop friendships at work.
They are used to being overscheduled and multi-tasking.
They seem to have technology in their DNA.
They will follow the rules if they are clear - so update the technology policies.

Video Clip - A Change in Thinking: Systems Thinking
1. Systems are defined by their interactions, not their parts.
2. Gaining awareness of how we think is the first step in creating intellectual capital.
3. As we learn more about the interactions of systems we are better able to predict and influence systems behaviors.
4. Learning is literally the result of growing interdependencies.
5. You don't get more brain cells as you learn more. What does happen is the connections between brain cells grow.
6. Similarly, organizations learn by improving the interactions of their elements, not by improving the elements in isolation. AHA! AHA! AHA! Loved the analogy between the human brain and our organization (PWHS).

Video Clip - Leadership: The Need for a Change in Thinking
Systems Optimization. Reverse fragmentation with systems thinking. Reunite work&play&learning to create a more satisfying life.

How To Thrive As A Teacher Leader Chapter 4 Adaptive Leadership
Interesting Points to Ponder:
1. Move together as a team by getting everyone on board, building their skills and finding ways to prevent them from feeling left out.
2. Develop trust with your administrator and earn their respect before tring to take risks.
3. Before criticizing your administrator, pick your battles and realize it is more difficult to "manage" a school than it appears. A "manager" cannot make all people happy all the time and are often following directions from superiors.
4. Let new administrators figure out some things on their own before sharing your biases.
5. If a situation has the potential to get out of control - parent or district office may be calling - let the administrator know beforehand so he/she has time to prepare.
6. Don't be afraid to ask for administrative help.
7. As a leader in your building, be prepared to first identify the leadership style and philosophies of a new administrator before being assertive.
8. When working with other teachers - play the role of good cop...let your administrator be the bad cop.
9. Administrators are busy. When morale is down they may not be aware - let them know.
10. Be honest and direct. Don't try to cover things up - if they blow, you will lose all respect and trust from your administrator.
11. Make your supervisor look good.
12. As a new leader, don't try to accomplish too much too quickly.
13. Expect disagreement. Be the bigger man.
14. Never bring a threat to the administration because you will never win. To avoid problems, when you first assume a leadership position, ask teachers their greatest concerns and peeves about the system.
15. If a staff member "bites" you, then don't let it happen a second time.
16. Identify your supporters. Find someone who believes in a program you support and have them present the information.
17. Have a majority...pull the train out of the station.
18. When mediating between teachers, don't be perceived as being on one side.
19. Don't ask teachers if they agree with something, ask "Are you comfortable with that?" This allows for more negotiation and avoids people from shutting down.
20. Develop a rapport with the LD Chair. :) :) :)

CEDU 527 - Week 2

Our class this week was held using gotomeeting.com. Now that we have had a few virtual classes, I have to say....I love them! Those of you who were there for the first one remember that I was just giddy...I was giggling each time I heard my own voice. How immature?! Now it has become less of a novelty for me and I was thrilled with how efficient I could be given the opportunity. The night of the class I had a student at school making up missed coursework, I cleaned out my file cabinet, and I was still able to be an engaged participant in the class. Nice.

Before class, we were to have read the article, "The Top 10 Great Things Technology Leaders Do". Here are some of the thoughts I had on how I believe I can implement these practices at PWHS in my department:
1. Raise the Bar. If I want my department to implement technology into their curriculum, I must be the one to teach them how to do it.
2. Set Goals. Make a list of the 5 most critical technology related skills our kids should have and include the instruction in our classes.
3. Never Ask Anyone To Do Something You Would Not Do. Help others with all tasks - not just the ones that I feel like doing.
4. Lead by Example. Be patient with both staff and students who are less knowledgeable about the basics of technology.
5. Create a Team. Figure out a way to more effectively use our media specialist to help my students.
6. Think Outside the Box. Create assignments that will challenge my students to think critically but that are broken into small chunks.
7. Empower. Take the time to teach others - and all will benefit.
8. Have Integrity. Model ethics and following the rules.
9. Treat People Better Than You Want To Be Treated. Share ideas and praise others for little successes and efforts at growth.
10. Have Fun. Engage all students by finding their niche using a type of technology.

Data, Data, Data. After reading through our blogs and discussion boards, there seems to be a common thread....we are gathering data - but the interpretation and relevant use of results is poorly done. Hmmmm.....solutions...where to start....???

CEDU 527 - Week 1

Technology Leadership

What I learned and how I can apply it:

Patrick Awuah's presentation - First of all, I learned about TED - a website dedicated to "riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world". Love it. Regarding the speech itself, here are some ideas that are worth remembering:
1. Reach for perfection and you will achieve excellence.
2. Africa needs enlightened leaders to transform.
3. The 3 major problems are corruption, weak institutions, and weak leaders.
4. African education puts little emphasis on ethics. There is more of a sense of entitlement by the educated than a sense of responsibility.
5. New leaders should be taught integrity, ethics, and how to tackle problems.

The articles we jigsawed -
I read "Leading Change From The Classroom: Teachers As Leaders" and found it to be interesting and informative. The article not only discussed the skills needed by teachers to be effective leaders, it also discussed the conditions necessary in the school to nurture leadership by its teachers. Those four conditions include: vision, structure, time, and skills(training).


The Four Frames of Leadership - The idea that a leader has a dominant style and that a good leader possesses qualities from multiple styles is a concept in which I am familiar...my first degree was a BBA in Business Management from UW-Whitewater. The terms may be different, but the descriptions are essentially the same as other models I have seen. I really enjoy learning about management, probably because I am passionate about psychology and so much of management is related to psychology and how you can motivate the employee/student to achieve a goal. :)


How I currently lead at my school:

1) In charge of board games for "The Games Club"...a very rewarding volunteer position.
2) Currently creating a "Basic Technology" proposal for a class I intend to teach next year.
3) A member of our district team of special education teachers working to improve the transition process for our students.
4) Step in to help throughout my department as needed when technology issues arise.

CEDU 533 - Week 6

Hooray!!! I am thrilled to have a created a website! I used the program, TeacherWeb, that Ryan recommended. I found it to be very user friendly...which is what I need. They even offered a webinar on how to use the features available on their site. It lasted 40 minutes, which is a bit longer than what I anticipated to spend, but it provided me with lots of useful information that helped me to more efficiently navigate through the process of creating my own page.

Here is the address for my site:
http://teacherweb.com/WI/PortWashingtonHighSchool/MrsRoss

Also to note...FINALLY the steps to embed a YouTube video and widget have been demystified! It's actually very simple, but one of those things that seems difficult until you complete the task on your own.

Lastly, the site that I found to be most helpful for getting widgets is www.widgetbox.com.

Thumbs Up to CEDU-533.

CEDU 533 - Week 5

During class this week there were many points that proved to be interesting and will be beneficial to use in the classroom.

The first was shown in Brian's project in which he used the site Voki and projected his voice through a snowman animation. I would like to try this site and put the end product on my website.

The handout on Web 2.0 Technology Selection Criteria was a thought provoking look at how to select 2.0 tools. Here is the criteria summary to find the "perfect" Web 2.0 technology:
Criteria 1: Access
Criteria 2: Usability
Criteria 3: Privacy & Intellectual Property
Criteria 4: Workload & Time Management
Criteria 5: Fun Factor

I also appreciated Kristine's comparison between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. It really helped clarify how to differentiate between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Essentially, Web 2.0 tools emphasize collaboration, have interactivity in them, are sent out to an unlimited/undefined audience, and include blogs/social networks.

With the money in my budget, I would like to purchase a video camera similar to Kristine's "Flip Video by Pure Digital" that can easily connect to the computer and upload to U-tube. I think it looked simple enough to handle - even for me. :)

Finally, I loved the visual web Kristine created "Technologies that Support Strategies that Work". How great to have a visual of a variety of resources. In an ideal world, I would go back through all of the tools we learned about throughout this program and are scattered about in my notes/blogs and create my own web as a reference guide.

Overall, despite the snowy night - good burrito from Qdoba and beneficial class.

CEDU 533 - Week 4

This week in class we spent some time reviewing Internet terms and checking out a variety of sites that offer assistance in creating our own websites. We also took our Mid-Term exam which provided an opportunity to show our knowledge in HTML.

The on-line website creator that I chose to make a classroom website is Weebly. I was excited by the simplicity of the process to set up the site and enjoyed trying out different features. My intent is to create a link from my webpage that is on our school site to this page. Unfortunately, the contact person at our district office that would be the person to go to for assistance was in a snowmobile accident over the holiday and will be out for the next 4-6 weeks. As a result, I may wait to update my school site and add this feature. Regardless, I will share my new web page address with my current students and teach them how to access the information on it.