Hanna Anderson

Old Dogs Must Learn New Tricks is a presentation on the K12 Online Conference site. This presentation is presented by two teachers with over 90 years of experience combined. They know the importance of keeping up to date with technology and to use resources that are available to them. The presentation is stating the importance of technology in the classroom. The children are more engaged and they enjoy this way of learning.

My two favorite tools that I will definitely incorporate in the classroom are Animoto and Wordle. I really liked Animoto because it was fun and easy to use. There are some concepts that would easier to understand if they on a slideshow. The slideshow is engaging to students and it does not take a lot of time to produce or to show. Wordle is used to let the students use their creativity. I really like this tool and will use it the future.

The two favorite resources from Edudemic. The first one is the Teaching Channel. The teaching channel is used for educators to help teach students. There are many topics on the Teaching Channel that can help the teacher understand a certain topic that they are not comfortable with or need some extra advice about. I found one that is titled A Personal Assistant for the Holidays.  This shows a video of things I can do to help improve learning around the holidays.

Testmoz is a website used to make online test. It is an easy way to see if the students understand the concept and what needs to be worked on. It does not take a long time to make a test, and is set up in a simple manner. It is not confusing to make and I can see me using this in the future. Since technology is becoming a big part of the classroom.

This second fun with text was made by using Wordle also. I decided to use this tool again to experience more on how it works so I can become experienced with it so I can teach my students how to use this tool. Wordle will be used in my classroom because it is a great tool for the students to use their imagination about a concept and then they will be able to express it in a unique way.

Edutopia is a great resource for teachers and parents who want ideas on how to improve a certain area. I watched a video titled After-School Social and Emotional Learning Gives Kids Wings.  This video was about a school in a low class area having a nonprofit after school program where students can come to learn about making right choices. There are many schools in America that have problems of students not making the right choice but if they got on a program like Wings, they can change that.  Edutopia is a great tool that I will use in my near future.

Never using Google doc’s before I was skeptical if I would like it or not. We were supposed to add 3 resources that would be beneficial in the classroom. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gmGsEyFIwQeT4bJ2_pJ6ZQl9ERKppMBEvUpZRfKq4Cc/edit?hl=en_US.  By adding my favorite resources to the document my fellow peers can easily access that website for their use.  I actually thought it was easy to use and efficient, since everyone can be on at the same time. It is easy for everyone to be working on a project without actually being side by side.

I made this fun with text in Wordle. I could see me using this in my future classroom because I was entertained in doing this project so I think the students will really enjoy it. It is a great way for the students to use technology to make a personal picture.  Most of the time it is hard to create an item that is personal while using technology.

After you have read and done these tasks you may delete this post if you want.  But you are encouraged to keep it, since you may need to refer back to it at some point for instructions.

1. Choose a theme from the ones provided, Dashboard->Appearance->Themes and UPLOAD your own choice from the Install Themes tab.
2. To Install themes, make sure your tweak the search a bit.  Under Feature Filter, check Custom Menus before you tell it to Find Themes.
3. After you have found a theme you want to use, click Dashboard->Appearance->Menus, then on the left near the top, look for Theme Locations and select Primary menu or Main menu depending on which choice you are given.
4. Give your site a TITLE,  Dashboard > Setting > General, for example, mine is called Technology Bits, Bytes & Nibbles.  If you don’t have an idea right off the bat, just use your name. You can change it later when you have a better idea in mind.
5. To change your Password from the default password, Dashboard > Users > YOur Profile.
6. If your theme has a default photo across the top that you wish to change, Dashboard > Appearance > Header.
7. Add a picture of yourself and a little bit about yourself to the About Me page.
8. Each reflection and thing we do in class is a New Post.
9. Each entry will need to have a category assigned from the preloaded list of categories as well as the corresponding tags.  This is how your posts end up on the right page of your site.
10. Categories are: DED 318 Projects, Lesson Plans, Reflections, Resources, Block, Contnet, Methods, Classes. But you may add more categories and tags and most posts will have multiple Categories and tags.

What are Categories and Tags Exactly

1. Tags & Categories are case sensitive.  Use the appropriate categories and tags based on the template pages as well as any other tags or categories that you find to be appropriate.
2. Categories are things you create ahead of time and only have a limited selection, they are broader. Imagine them like sections of your site. For example. the signs on aisles of grocery stores.
3. We have preloads the categories for this class. DED 318 Projects, Lesson Plans, Reflections, Resources, Block, Contnet, Methods, Classes.
4. Tags are keywords attached to a post. You may add a tag to a post that you might never use ever again.  Usually, you will have multiple tags.  Take a look at my blog and how I do this. I normally have a couple Categories and many tags.  Tags are more specific.  I have pre-made a cloud of tags, but you will need to add to this.
5. Categories are meant to be permanent, tags are ephemeral.
6. Need more explanation: Tags Are Not Categories – Got It?http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/03/01/tags-are-not-categories-got-it/
7. Make sure each entry has multiple specific tags and categories that are appropriate.  But make sure additions for this class use from the following list so your posts end up on the correct page of your WordPress site.
8. You will add more categories and tags as we proceed through the semester, but it will not add more “pages” to your site.  Adding them will just gives you AND your site visitors way to search for things on the website/Blog. Look at my blog Technology Bits, Bytes & Nibbles to give you a better idea of the Category/Tag thing.Each post/entry has them both.  I only have an iPads and an About Me pages, I use the category iPads and I also add a tag iPads.  That way every new post with those 2 labels go to the iPad page.

• Add a link to Technology BIts, Bytes & Nibbles
• Add a link to CDK’s Education Technology Place
• Add a like to the KSU College of Education
• Add a link to your HIgh School or Home Town
• DED 318 Technology Resources LiveBinder Link
• Content Area LiveBinder Link
• Kansas Educators Diigo Group Link