Comments for learning all i can

Comment on THING 21 Pageflakes - They’re greaaaat! by fruschen

fruschen — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:57:04 +0000

I thought that Pageflakes was fairly easy to use. But when I clicked on Paula’s Page all I got was Pageflakes home page. Got something to hide (;>?

Comment on THING 21 Pageflakes - They’re greaaaat! by Matt

Matt — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:41:57 +0000

Another start page website to consider is Odysen at http://www.odysen.com.

A couple of the key advantages include free formatting widgets, which allow you to make the size of the widget to whatever you want, and integrated news feeds, allowing you to integrate as many news feeds as you want in one news widget.

There is also a blog available that reviews key features and many page examples, located at http://odysen.blogspot.com.

Comment on THING 12 by msvg

msvg — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:08:51 +0000

Now there is something else I have to explore. Thank you for identifying it as something veryworthwhile exploring.
http://msvg.edublogs.org

Comment on THING 12 by baldy

baldy — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:13:29 +0000

Don’t jump the gun…it isn’t that easy for the masses! I am “sucking wind” trying to catch up with Thing 12 and 13….it’s killing me. And I’m already behind. (The faster I go, the behinder I get!) This is not something you do while multi-tasking! My brain is burning! Help!
No kidding…your comments are insightful and right on!
Shelley just may be creating a whole network of computer giants…
Great job. C

Comment on THING 13 - thank goodness for the freebies by stclair

stclair — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:37:03 +0000

Try skype with a webcam. I find windows messenger with a webcam be work better but Skype will allow easier cross platform use between XP and Mac OS.

Comment on THING 12 by class20wa

class20wa — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:06:57 +0000

Hello P,

I am impressed with how much you have done, your site, and the fact that you have done all the stretch tasks. I have had difficulty just finding time to do the regular tasks. I now know who to go to for help when I am running behind.

For my video, I saw Playing with Bounderies, and learned that although I thought I was decent with computers, I have fallen pretty far behind as far as technology. I learned that people need to take these classes as an ongoing thing, if for no other reason, than to stay current with the language.

Comment on THING 12 by wa20class

wa20class — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:55:18 +0000

I am very interested in sPresent you mentioned in your reflection. I do like power-point, but it sounds like a great alternative. In thinking about incorporating a blog in my classroom, it is nice to know that it can be embedded. Thanks!

Comment on THING 12 by Shelley Paul

Shelley Paul — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:01:14 +0000

Paula, you (with a little help from Mark Wagner), have absolutely hit upon one of the primary strengths of these Read/Write web tools — content can be king (as it should be), because the tools have so much less “learning curve” — they allow people to connect and publish and create and communicate quickly and easily. It saves time and frustration and allows the message to shine, rather than the medium! And since technology changes so quickly, it’s hard to justify spending a really long time learning all the nuances of a complex tool, when tomorrow you will need to use a different one… a huge part of technological literacy now is being able to quickly evaluate and “teach yourself” how to use a tool effectively for your purpose — a set of transferable skills.

I am also SO glad Will was able to come to WA — I refer to him as a Rock Star, too

Comment on THING 6 by dkoscik

dkoscik — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:49:53 +0000

I have been having the exact same issues as you regarding whether or not to have a blog. It seems like a great idea… the kids are on the computer all the time as it is, let’s capitalize on that. BUT, I really do not know how to grade it, and 70+ responses to everything? It is something I can do in class, on the Smartboard, etc…. I guess I’m looking for it to be easy and convenient, yet still hold educational value. Sometimes I wonder if that combination exists! Let me know if you come up with something!

Comment on THING 6 by Shelley Paul

Shelley Paul — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:26:49 +0000

There are a number of schools of thought about “grading” blog comments/participation. For something like the “Wordless Wednesday” idea, you could begin my modeling some examples of meaningful responses with a sample photo… give some basic criteria and then just give a participation grade for a “quality” response… you could post a picture per week but have them required to respond to, say, three per quarter… extra point or something for those who do more. You could also highlight the responses you think are well-done (a little affective motivation to write thoughtful responses), or even have a “comment hall of fame.” As to whether you could do it without a blog, sure, but we need to teach them to use these tools, and it’s a perfectly viable vehicle for getting them publishing beyond your classroom walls… you could even invite other classes to make comments, or partner with another school. Over time, students could be responsible for selecting the photos and writing a little rationale or a provocative question for others to comment on — in this way you are teaching them to take some ownership for course content and for expressing their ideas… what do you think?

On a completely unrelated note, you could use a blog for students to write “first person” accounts of historical events or to take on the perspectives of important historical figures… here’s an example: http://13colonies.wordpress.com/

(I take no responsibility for the quality).