I made a site using Google Sites, and I wasn't too happy with the experience. I chose Google Sites because I had been exposed to it this Spring. One of my colleagues at school used a Google Sites template for the students to use. They used it to put together portfolios to showcase the work and progress they made over the school year. It seemed like a nice way to do that.
As far as using a template to make my own website, I found it to be very restrictive and not user friendly. I could not find a way to embed my Prezi that I made last week. It seems that I can only really embed things from other Google sites. I was unable to view the HTML of the page I was working with, instead I could insert an HTML box, but that box could not contain code to embed presentations or videos.
I made do with what was available and tired to put together a workable site. I think it could be a good jumping off point for me. I set up the site so that I could use it as a class website for my computer science class. I don't know if I will end up using it. We are moving to a new online learning management system (LMS) at school. From what they have been able to show us, it looks like it will be very versatile and user friendly, but I'm happy to have something started with Google in case our new LMS doesn't preform as advertised.
It was interesting to look through some of the sites at Live Journal. I posted to a few that I want to explore a bit more on my link sharing page.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
PowerPoint or ...
This week I was tasked with investigating alternatives to that ubiquitous presentation tool: Microsoft PowerPoint. I don't use PowerPoint everyday in my classroom, but when I want to organize some information visually for my students, chances are I am doing it with PowerPoint. Occasionally I have something that I want to easily share or allow others to edit, so I have used Google Slides. I like Google Slides, but it seems to be just an online PowerPoint (much as how Google Docs is an online Microsoft Word).
I checked out a few sites, that offered some alternatives. I thought Haiku Deck looked intriguing, and was about ready to dive in to the open source slide tool Reveal.js. Instead I went with Prezi. I knew about Prezi, and I had seen quite a few presentations given using Prezi. I liked that the slides could be organized in a visually stimulating way and things could be given more context than just "this comes after that." At first I was hesitant to try Prezi because I thought it was not a free tool. Luckily I had a colleague mention that they have a free plan available for educators. So I went for it.
I was happy with Prezi. They had some useful tutorials and some visually pleasing templates to start. It also seems like there are many ways to customize the presentations. There is a bit of a learning curve. I fumbled around trying to figure out how to get the presentation to zoom in on different parts. I tried adding new frames, which worked. Towards the end of my creation, I realized that there are tools that let me add my current view to the path. This will be useful for next time.
I made a presentation about some major parts of a computer motherboard for my Computer Science class. I used the Subway Map template, which actually worked pretty well as a flow chart showing how some of these parts connect with others. I may go back to this and place it on my own custom design that looks more like a motherboard, but it was still fun to mess around inside a template that already exists.
Here it is: Enjoy!
I checked out a few sites, that offered some alternatives. I thought Haiku Deck looked intriguing, and was about ready to dive in to the open source slide tool Reveal.js. Instead I went with Prezi. I knew about Prezi, and I had seen quite a few presentations given using Prezi. I liked that the slides could be organized in a visually stimulating way and things could be given more context than just "this comes after that." At first I was hesitant to try Prezi because I thought it was not a free tool. Luckily I had a colleague mention that they have a free plan available for educators. So I went for it.
I was happy with Prezi. They had some useful tutorials and some visually pleasing templates to start. It also seems like there are many ways to customize the presentations. There is a bit of a learning curve. I fumbled around trying to figure out how to get the presentation to zoom in on different parts. I tried adding new frames, which worked. Towards the end of my creation, I realized that there are tools that let me add my current view to the path. This will be useful for next time.
I made a presentation about some major parts of a computer motherboard for my Computer Science class. I used the Subway Map template, which actually worked pretty well as a flow chart showing how some of these parts connect with others. I may go back to this and place it on my own custom design that looks more like a motherboard, but it was still fun to mess around inside a template that already exists.
Here it is: Enjoy!
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Establishing My Personal Learning Network
I am taking a class at Fontbonne University called Instructional Technology Tools for the 21st Century as part of a masters program in Learning Technologies. I am just completing my first year in this program and have been very satisfied with the curriculum. The highest compliment I can give it is that every class I have taken so far has supplied me with something new that I can (and have) used in my classroom. I am also part of a new program they have added on to this program for Computer Science teachers. Find out more about that here: Teaching Computer Science Certificate Program. With more schools looking to prepare students for the ubiquity of technology, computer science teachers are more in demand and more needed. It is a very cool program.
This week I was given a few tasks to complete that might help me establish a personal learning network. We were given information about a few types of websites. Some of these sites I had heard of before or used before. Some I had not. The great thing about this lesson was that it reminded me that I had been using some of these sites at half power. I have a bookmarking page through delicious.com that I use in my classroom to disseminate links that we are using in class that day. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken the time to follow other bookmark pages that could be useful to me. This was a great reminder that although this had become a useful tool to help me connect my students to webpages they need in class, I had neglected to connect myself to other useful webpages. In some ways I was reinventing the wheel, instead of taking advantage of the work that others were already sharing. I have now started to follow some other bookmark pages that look to have useful and relevant links.
I also was tasked with exploring some social networking groups. I was very intrigued by ning.com until I discovered that they no longer allowed any free networks. It appears that they have some nice tools for connecting with others, but the price point was a bit steep for me to swallow. Next I checked out wikispaces. I set up a classroom page. I'm not sure how useful this will be until I am able to explore more about the new Learning Management System my school is moving to next year. I have made a page of videos that I made last year for my computer science class. If our school website doesn't work out, then the wikispace could be a nice alternative for my students (and others) to use as I develop more content and videos for the class. I have become more and more intrigued by the potential uses of LinkedIn. I have seen it used as a networking tool, and am probably going to take that next step and start a page for myself in the next year. I hope that this can deliver as advertised and that the networking available can help me connect with other teachers and educators who can help me become a better teacher.
Once again, with the blog task, like the bookmarking task, I had created a blog for a previous class, but forgot to take the time to see what others were blogging and sharing already. After perusing a number of blogs focused on technology and education, I have started a short blogroll to help keep myself and other readers more connected with relevant and useful content. In creating the blogroll, my rule was simple: If I could find something useful to me without scrolling too far down the page, it was going up. A few blogs looked interesting, but ultimately did not seem to have the practical links or posts I was looking for. Any educator interested in ways to more effectively use technology in the classroom should find the links to the right useful.
I do have a twitter handle: @smellyrebel. If this becomes more centered on technology and education, I may add a twitter feed on this blog, but as of now it does not. I have also curated content for a twitter feed and blog for our school's freshman trip to New Mexico. You can find those here: @PrinNMTrip and Principia School in New Mexico.
This week I was given a few tasks to complete that might help me establish a personal learning network. We were given information about a few types of websites. Some of these sites I had heard of before or used before. Some I had not. The great thing about this lesson was that it reminded me that I had been using some of these sites at half power. I have a bookmarking page through delicious.com that I use in my classroom to disseminate links that we are using in class that day. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken the time to follow other bookmark pages that could be useful to me. This was a great reminder that although this had become a useful tool to help me connect my students to webpages they need in class, I had neglected to connect myself to other useful webpages. In some ways I was reinventing the wheel, instead of taking advantage of the work that others were already sharing. I have now started to follow some other bookmark pages that look to have useful and relevant links.
I also was tasked with exploring some social networking groups. I was very intrigued by ning.com until I discovered that they no longer allowed any free networks. It appears that they have some nice tools for connecting with others, but the price point was a bit steep for me to swallow. Next I checked out wikispaces. I set up a classroom page. I'm not sure how useful this will be until I am able to explore more about the new Learning Management System my school is moving to next year. I have made a page of videos that I made last year for my computer science class. If our school website doesn't work out, then the wikispace could be a nice alternative for my students (and others) to use as I develop more content and videos for the class. I have become more and more intrigued by the potential uses of LinkedIn. I have seen it used as a networking tool, and am probably going to take that next step and start a page for myself in the next year. I hope that this can deliver as advertised and that the networking available can help me connect with other teachers and educators who can help me become a better teacher.
Once again, with the blog task, like the bookmarking task, I had created a blog for a previous class, but forgot to take the time to see what others were blogging and sharing already. After perusing a number of blogs focused on technology and education, I have started a short blogroll to help keep myself and other readers more connected with relevant and useful content. In creating the blogroll, my rule was simple: If I could find something useful to me without scrolling too far down the page, it was going up. A few blogs looked interesting, but ultimately did not seem to have the practical links or posts I was looking for. Any educator interested in ways to more effectively use technology in the classroom should find the links to the right useful.
I do have a twitter handle: @smellyrebel. If this becomes more centered on technology and education, I may add a twitter feed on this blog, but as of now it does not. I have also curated content for a twitter feed and blog for our school's freshman trip to New Mexico. You can find those here: @PrinNMTrip and Principia School in New Mexico.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)