Friday, June 17, 2011

How come I didn't know about this???

Somehow today I stumbled upon Google For Educators.  The path that led me here was full of twists and turns.  I think it started at my delicious page then took a left turn at a blog that I really like which led me to a list of people I might want to follow on Twitter and I landed at the Google for Educators page.  There are tools for the classroom, posters, quizzes, and more.  I love it when I find something new (even though it's old)!  So I figure I should share in case I wasn't the only ostrich with my head in the sand out there!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Playing around with Web 2.0 Tools

      North Carolina is in the midst of some pretty nasty budget negotiations.  Regardless of the outcome, public schools are going to suffer in many ways.  One of the many ways that concerns me is the lack of funding for technology.  So how can teachers' meet the needs of 21st century learners without money for technology? Well, they have to be creative! Thankfully there are many FREE  Web 2.0 tools that teachers can use to enhance instruction.
     Today I've been playing around with some Web 2.0 tools.  I'm hoping to do a research project on using Web 2.0 tools to motivate reluctant readers so I needed to see what was out there.  I've had a ton of fun just trying a couple of them out. 

Kerpoof Studio is so much fun! Kids can create a movie, write a story, make a picture, or spell a picture.  The studio has backgrounds, characters, and ideas to spark kids creativity.  It is user friendly for both kids and adults.  It also has lesson plans and ideas for educators.  I highly recommend this site for elementary teachers and librarians!

Storybird is another really cool site.  They provided the art, you provide the story.  You can even send stories like greeting cards.  

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Let's Get it Started

Here goes nothing! My first adventure in blogging begins now.  I consider myself to be very tech savvy but mostly as a consumer of information, not a producer.  For my educational technology program, I need an online professional web presence and I'm assuming my Facebook profile doesn't count!  I'll be using this blog as a way to share some of the great things I'm doing not only in my online courses, but in my role as an elementary school librarian.  I'll also share other blogs, websites, and articles that are interesting and relevant to the ed tech field as well as document my journey towards my Ed.D.  I titled the blog Tech Trip because I feel like I'm on this really cool journey that is fun but causes me to stumble every now and then.  Kind of a corny play on words but so true! Enjoy!