I am always one to find new ways to engage my students. Wordle was one that my students loved. I was just introduced to Image Chef’s Word Mosaics. It works a lot like Wordle but you can change the shape and color. This is a great activity for the end of the year with my students of all ages. They can drag the picture to their desktop when finished. With Wordle they would have to do a screen shot. Check out my sample of what I plan on doing this summer:

I joined some of my DEN peers in doing a 365 blog.  This is where you let everyone see a year in your life through pictures.  I thought, at first, that this would be difficult for me, due to my busy schedule.  Now I am enjoying my evening updates.  It’s interesting to see other people’s 365 blogs.  You can read about where the idea for this came from here.  There are ways to decorate your blogs also. Blogspot is who I use for my 365 blog.  You can start now and just catch up with pictures.  It’s fun, so try it!

On March 18, 2010 my husband, friend and I went down to the Franklin Institute for the premier of Discovery’s new show, “Life”. It was during the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference. The evening started off with a brief speech from the Siemens Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency. We then sat with our popcorn and drinks and watched the first episode of “Life”. We were in awe as we watched this sequel to Planet Earth. All you heard from the audience was the oohs and ahhs as you really got to understand the animals that we share the earth with. We were able to see animals in their habitats that we wouldn’t normally see without the use of technology. After the show, we attended the reception and received a copy of episode we just watched. It was an enjoyable evening. I brought the DVD into my school and have a list of teachers already signing out Life from me. The students are so fascinated, that they are now setting up their DVR’s at home to record it every Sunday, as am I.

     Well the stars were out in force this year at the pre-conference workshop.  I attended the “Fizz” session with Dr. Lodge McCammon.  Very quiet man, but brilliant.  He talked about how you can have your students make simple videos to explain math concepts.  We realized quickly that it was all about understanding the concept and not about how well your video is produced.  Sometimes simple is better (and more fun).   We made videos, in groups, that Dr. McCammon put on his site.  Feel free to watch them.  I am in “The Base – White Morning” group.  We were in awe to find that Lodge wrote the songs we were creating videos for.  We had lots of laughs while learning to work together and be creative, which after all, is what learning should be about.
The afternoon went just as well.  I sat in my friend’s session on wikispaces in the classroom.  Jan Abernathy did a great job explaining how her 5th grade “Techno Tigers” maintain a classroom wiki. She Skyped a few of her students who eagerly talked about using the wiki and how it made learning fun and exciting. After spending some time with Jan I went to study hall with Christine Southard to learn about web 2.o tool that can be used with struggling learners. She discussed so many tools that can be used from comic creators to text to speech creators. This study hall was not like it was when I was in school.  Instead of taking a nap,  I dreamed of the possibilities.
The DEN offered a new concept this year; a recess session.  This is where DEN Stars were able to do a “Show What You Know” session.  I thought this was a great way to network and learn what others are using in their classrooms.  I did a recess session called, “Ecosystems With Ego” where my students used Discovery Streaming behind their green screened report.  It was a great time had by all!

Well school is about to start for me and deciding what to teach that first week of school is crucial.  I like to start off the year with a fun activity.  Let’s face it, today all the kids want is to play games on the computer or browse the web for pictures and videos.  They really are not taught the great programs and the education value of these great pieces of technology. I think this year I am going to jump right in with both feet and go right into multimedia (with the upper grades).  The lower grades I have to ease into this process.  I am also excited to test out some of the great web 2.0 tools that I learned about at DEN NI this year. I am hoping that my students are able to keep up with me!

My first year at the Den Institute was a blast. Besides the awesome tour on a motorized cable car through San Fran and the perks given to us, the networking is definitely a plus. There is little cell service and the internet is intermittent, but the conversations are definitely worth putting the computer and cell phones away anyway. There are people here from many states and with great personalities and amazing ideas. I am so glad that I was able to be here. Check out the pictures that I have collected.

Wow! The conference is getting close and I am preparing for my presentation on Glogster. I have to admit that I am a little nervous. While preparing for the conference, I decided to design a shirt to wear to the DEN. I am a lover of Dove chocolate (as well as Hershey’s). I guess it’s the little messages that are in the wrapper that I love the most. The message in one of the chocolates inspired me to create a shirt. I am placing the picture on this blog in case anyone else would like to wear the design (I hate ironing). I ran it through the printer on a t-shirt transfer it came out great. If you want it use it!

I was introduced this year  to the Magic Jack.  What a great tool.  You go to Radio Shack and pick it up for $40 (includes 1st year).  The jack plugs into your usb port of your computer then you plug a phone line into the other end.  Voila! You have an instant phone line that you can travel with.  No cell service? No worries.  All you need is an internet connection.  You get your own phone line with your area code.  It’s free long distance and only $20 / year. It gave me a phone line in my classroom so that I don’t have to use my cell phone minutes.

A new school year has just started and I’m already exhausted. I had to set up two labs and a new server. Because of all the glitches I couldn’t have my students save any work for the first two weeks of school. What was I supposed to do with my students when I am the technology teacher and the technology was unreliable? I was introduced to Wordle. What a great way to do character webs (thanks KTI Traci)! I had my students write down as much as they could about themselves using only one word answers. We described school as an example. We put it into Wordle and created beautiful works of art with words. My students had a great time with it. Imagine the possibilities! I did an example using Discovery:

Life just keeps getting better and better since DEN came into my life!  I was invited to Alma de Cuba restaurant in downtown Philadelphia, Friday, May 30, 2008.  The Animal Planet Expo was kicking off and Jeff Corwin was the man of the hour.  It was a meet and greet put together with the help of Discovery and Comcast.  There were only a few star Discovery educators invited and I was able to go as a guest.  We get to the third floor of the restaurant to find many hors d’ouvres and drinks being given out.  It was a small room which was filled up quickly. Dave, from Twenty for Tech, was able to get a few minutes with Jeff Corwin for a podcast (episode 12). I felt honored to be interviewed for his podcast also.  Jeff Corwin mingled, autographed pictures and posed for some pictures also.  He talked about his work with amphibians and his new project “The Vanishing Frog,” which deals with frog extinction.  It was a very enjoyable evening.  

| View | Upload your own