Over the course of the next 12 weeks (excluding breaks, of course), I'll be sharing a variety of technology tools and resources with you. I'll be using this blogging format to post a new "lesson" each week (on Tuesdays). Along with reading and following the directions in each week's post, I'll prompt you to offer a comment related to that week's lesson.
Since we're using a blog for this class, this week's lesson is intended to help you become familiar with how blogs work. Begin by watching this short video from the geniuses (I think) at Common Craft:
If you liked the way the Common Craft folks explain things, check out their other Explainations in Plain English; you'll be glad you did. (I particularly like Zombies in Plain English, but I digress.)
So there you have it! This week's lesson is nearly complete. But before we're done, you need to post a comment. Since we're just getting started I'd like your comment to introduce yourself. Include why you're taking this class and what you're hoping to learn. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.
Just a reminder, comments are due by Monday morning, 8:00 a.m. Have a great week!
48 comments:
Hi,
I'm Kerstin Feist and I teach digital graphic arts and fashion design on gold days at TSHS. I have one week until I have a baby. I hope to use this opportunity to stay connected while I'm out on maternity leave for the next 9 weeks. I'm not sure what I'll learn but hopefully it will inspire me to incorporate technology in the classroom in new ways.
Hello, let me introduce myself - my name is Marie Page and I teach in the Career and Tech Education Department. I currently teach floral designing, Animal Science, and Plant Science. I have been teaching at the high school for now 27 years. I am taking this class to learn what blogging is all about. Also I would like to learn what all the fuss is about blogging. Plus I also like the fact that I receive 3 clock hour credits. So there you have it - my first blog. ~ Marie Page
Hi. I'm Anne Hobson. I like any venture where a brand new word becomes a verb. You know, like google -- becomes googling and blog -- becomes blogging. For those who don't know me, I teach English at THS, speak English everywhere and I am always trying to become savvier in the tech world.
My name is Lora Gillingham and I am the librarian at the high school. I am a TTTL and enjoy learning anything and everything that relates to technology. I am familiar with blogs but lazy about participating. As a result of this class, I hope to get in the habit of reading and contributing to blogs as well as participate in other types of technology tools that can be used to help students learn.
I'm glad to see so many folks commenting right away! Welcome! Just a clarification . . . we'll be using a blog for communication in this class, but the class itself is not entirely about blogging. It's not a "how to blog" class. However, by participating, you will gain an idea of how blogs can be used. Perhaps we need to offer a "how to blog" class . . . if there's interest, I can certainly make that happen. :)
Hullo, I'm Gavin Lees and I'm currently enjoying (?) my first year in the district, teaching English and Alternative Ed. I've used blogs with classes in the past, so I'm looking for new ideas and ways to enhance integrating technology into learning.
My name is Joelle Tweit and I teach 7th grade math and science at Tahoma Middle School. I don't feel tech savvy and therefore I hope this class helps me understand more about different technologies. I would love to be able to integrate technology into the classroom if it fits.
Hi, I'm Hilary Hall. I teach French part-time at TSHS. This is my first year teaching, and I'm always looking for more ways to make my lessons more dynamic and interesting!
My name is Bill Cooper, I teach autoshop at Tahoma High School. I am taking this class to fulfill my 21 hours of the technology requirement. This course will be usefull for me to communicate with parents and other staff members.
I am Penny Blair and I am grateful to read about others participating in this class. I teach Family Consumer Science at Tahoma Junior High. I enjoy using technology in the classroom and at home. It is easy to rely on the things I know, so I am going to take advantage of the opportunity to learn new technology skills and share them in the classroom and use them through out my life.
Hi, my name is Kevin Hurt and I'm addicted to technology. I tweet, write a blog, have an iPhone, take my laptop with me to the bathroom, build my own computers and am a TTTL at TJH. I'm taking this class to learn new strategies for getting my English students hooked on reading and writing by using technology. I'm also looking forward to sharing some of my own successes (and epic failures) using technology in the classroom. Oh. One more thing. I love the Huskies.
Hey there! This is Dan Nelson & I'm taking this class because: 1) I want to get more "tech savvy"; 2) I hope to find ways of connecting with my students, both in HW and in classroom interest; & 3) I want to "test" the waters before taking other online classes and this seemed very user friendly.
Bonjour! I am Nathalie Norris, and I teach French at TSHS. I am taking this class because I like the "outside-the-box" format and I learn best when working with people.
And of course I forgot one part of the question: I hope to figure out some new ways to get students engaged and passionate about learning French , and also ways to take advantage of Digital Backpacks.
I am Jennifer Roesch and I teach the developmentally disabled at the high school. I am taking this class to get clock hours and hopefully learn something new.
I am Laura Bennett and I teach 7th grade Social Studies and Language Arts at TMS. I am the Social Studies tech leader and am taking this class to find new ways to easily integrate technology into my classes. I am also trying to build up my overall tech knowledge so I can better help people in my building.
this is sooo cool--blogs have always scared me because i didn't know how to start. my name is Suzanne Gardner and i teach ceramics, drawing and painting, and AP Art studio with traffic safety after school. i really want to learn more about all kinds of technology so i am ready to be more comfortable with new tech stuff. ithink this is going to be fun---here it is Thursday already and i am just reading this. i really liked the tutorial by the way--real directions for the newbie. thanks Kimberly for doing this.
I am Connie Shelters and teach Special Ed Reading and Math at the high school. I'm the grandma in my department. Like most of you I love technology, but don't know as much as I'd like to about reaching out to others to learn and share. I hope to use this forum to stretch in that area.
I am Kathleen Kinney. I teach ELL at TSHS and ELL. I am very social and look forward to meeting this need via blogs. I love learning from others, and believe this class will teach me necessary tech skills to better meet the needs of my students while stimulating my need to be social!!
Hi, I’m Tom Milligan and I teach Health and Fitness at THS. I am excited to learn about new tech tool for myself and for use with my students.
I'm Renee Stroup and teach 7th gr Language Arts at TMS. I am excited to learn some tools that I can use along with my students.
Greetings! I'm Jen and I currently teach 7th grade Language Arts and Social Studies. I'm taking this course to earn clock hours and advance my tech knowledge. As students become more and more savvy in this area, I'm hoping to "keep up" by learning new ways to incorporate technology, and in turn, build the interest level of students in both subject areas.
I'm Barbara Gholston and I teach 7th grade Language Arts at Tahoma Middle School. I'm interested in using what I learn with my students.
Hello. I'm Brett Thompson and I teach Global Academy and American Studies at THS. I'm interested learning new tech applications for the Global Academy students who all have laptops. I would also like to learn of some fun tech things to apply in American Studies where they do not all have laptops.
I am Rhonda Ham, Assistant Principal at Tahoma Junior High. As Theodor Geisel said, "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think if only you try." I am excited to discover all the new "thinks" people have regarding technology in the classroom.
Hi! My name is Kathryn and I teach math and science at The River, otherwise known as CRMS. I like the idea of learning about technology tools in a structured environment and having time (the week) to try them out. Of course a few clock hours never hurt!
Hi! My name is Melissa Corby and I teach Language Arts and Drama at Tahoma High School. I took this class because (like others have mentioned) I'm interested in learning how to use new technologies in the classroom, but also improving my existing skills in programs/applications I've already used.
I'm Rich Young, or as I dubbed myself years ago "two out of three." (I used to introduce myself to speech classes with a story of a supposed survey asking what women looked for in a husband. The highest responses were someone who is (1) rich, (2) young, and (3) handsome; consequently, I was "two out of three.") As a no-longer-young man at age 60, I truly feel out of touch with current technology. I'm certainly open to learning new things, but the amount of time for my learning curve is way longer than that of my students. I hope to learn some new ways to inspire them, perhaps even learning some things they don't already know. (Is that wishful thinking?) At the very least, this class will give me the motivation to do some things that I wouldn't normally take the time to do. Can't wait to see what comes along?
By the way, I teach English 10, Film as Lit., and Advanced Composition this year at THS.
Hello, all! I'm Jamie Vollrath, and I teach Language Arts at the high school. I'm looking forward to this class because I'm looking forward to being exposed to more potentially valuable technological tools that I can use in the classroom - or personally! My wife and I have been keeping a baby blog going for the past five months, and I love how easy it is!
Yeah, my first blog. I feel so techy! Actually, I don't feel like I know very much about all the new advances in technology and that is why I've signed up for this course. I would like to learn more about how I can integrate technology into my math and science classes. Oh, this is Cheri Merrill and I teach 7th grade at TMS.
Hi,
My name is Patty Stillmaker. This is my third year at Cedar River Middle School teaching 6th grade math and social studies for the Dream Team. I have had the opportunity to integrate several new technologies into my classroom. I look forward networking with others who are interested in bringing technology to are students and helping them to become active learners.
Hi! I am Abby Smith and I teach fundamental American Expressions, resource room and Language Arts at the high school. This is my 3rd year working in Tahoma. I am excited about this opportunity to learn more about technology and how I can keep up with the changing tech world and be on par with the students' knowledge of technology. I started a blog last year as we went through the process of adopting our daughter, but stopped because I got nervous and wasn't sure about posting information on the web. I want to become more comfortable using technology so I can help incorporate it more into lessons and thereby provide more opportunities for students.
This is pretty exciting to network like this! I'm Laurie Harrington and I teach 7th grade Social Studies at CRMS. We've been bringing lots of tech tools into the middle grades for the last 3 years, so I feel pretty comfortable trying new things. I've been fortunate to be on the Technology Team as well. Still, I'm always looking for 21st century methods to try as ways to engage my students and assist other teachers in the building.
Hi! My name is Brooke Dillon, and I teach English...all to sophomores this year. I signed up for this class because, while I complain too often of being too busy, I certainly can't say no to fifteen minutes a week to learn more about the ever-changing world of technology. And, Kimberly is so passionate about technology and its unlimited possibilities, that she is pretty hard to say no to, as well :-). I hope to learn more ways to engage my students, helping them to embrace rigor because it's being presented in a mode or venue they enjoy.
Hi, I am PE teacher at TMS and I am taking this class because I have my own belief in, "No Teacher Left Behind!"
Hello: My name is Tracy de Leon and I teach math at THS. I am taking this class for several reasons...because of the flexibility, to learn new things to bring to the classroom and to earn clock hours. I feel out of touch with some facets of technology because I don't have a Facebook and I don't Tweet... I know, I know, so shocking some of you may say. But I do read most books on a Kindle now...waaaaaay cool if you don't have one!
This is Amy Doyle from TMS getting her homework done in the last hours! I am trying to stay current with technology and think about how we use tech in the classroom, as an administrator, and how to increase our efficieny. I think I know just about everybody in this class! It will be fun to take a class with my buddies from the high school and CRMS, in addition to my current buddies at TMS. (I haven't worked at TJHS, so all of you are my future buds - not to mention possible teachers of my kids.)
Hi,I am Peggy Campbell and I teach LA at TMS. I am taking this class to try to become more computer savvy. I've enjoyed reading the comments!
Hi! My I am Kelly Kim and I teach Special Education Math and Civics at the high school. I signed up for this class as I know nothing about blogging. I hope to learn a lot and I also hope to make this post by the 8am deadline. :)
Hi,
My name is Renee Macklin and I teach at Cedar River Middle School. I am looking forward to learning more about using technology in my classroom.
Thought I'd try to keep "teched-up" with some user friendly and some friendly users. The best way I know is to practice, so......here I am.
This is Mel Brooks - ART at tjh.
Other than that - and in spite of the fact that I have been called "babbling" in times past - I go along with the philosophy that you should not use two words, when one will do.
Greetings all.
I'm Kristin Edlund, and I work in Teaching & Learning after spending many wonderful years at TJH. I want to stay up to date on all the latest and greatest ways I can use technology to make learning most meaningful for our kids, and for me personally, as well!
Hi. This is Laura Granger and I teach math at the High School. I am taking this course for a couple different reasons. I need clock hours, it's very nice to be able to do this on my own time, and I want to keep up with at least some technology!
I think this would be a great way to break down an introduction to persuasive writing in baby steps for 6th graders.
Oops! This is Peggy Campbell.
A great resource for students while doing our poetry unit.
Barb GholstonWhat might be some ways you could incorporate online discussions into your class? If you’re new to this tool, what questions do you have for those who already use it?
Online discussion would be great for the students when we are responding to literature. We are going to start our Fantasy Reader’s Workshop in a few weeks and the students are reading several different fantasy books. Our discussion is basically focused on the elements of fantasy. It would be interesting to have students responding to questions about their books online. This would give them an opportunity to use critical thinking skills to answer high level questions about their books.
I am new to this tool and the major question I have is how to control the students’ responses. For example, if a student writes something that isn’t school appropriate how can you handle the situation if you aren’t monitoring the responses 24 7?
Barb Gholston
The 7th grade has for their rehearsal novel Jackie’s Wild Seattle by Will Hobbs that takes students to all parts of Seattle and the surrounding areas. Google Earth will allow the students to actually see some of these locations.
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