Voki and Mandy

My aunt blogs religiously. Nearly everyday she posts about her life, her family, her dreams, etc. I love to read her blog because it is just like talking directly to her. Recently I noticed that on her blog, she had put a Voki on several different occasions. A Voki is an animated avatar character. You can make them look as closely to yourself as possible. You then pick a voice and type something for your Voki to say. At first, it is a little creepy, but also fun. I thought that as a teacher, you could use this one your blog or on a class website to relate messages to students or recount the assignment for the day. Below is the Voki homepage and my aunt's blog, in case anyone is interested.

http://www.voki.com/

http://dothedishesfirst.blogspot.com/

Technology Tips and Jumpin' Jack Flash

I came across this website for teachers. It is all about technology and website that teachers could find useful. It has different catergories such as Stuff you gotta try, Handouts, Fun Powerpoints, Tutorials, Articles, and Interesting Tech workshops. If you go under Stuff you gotta try, the author of the website-Marilyn Western- has different site that you can go to for your specific subject matter. There are tons of great website and just some fantastic ideas. I was so impressed not only with this website, but also with the amount of time and energy spent on finding all this information for other teachers!! I am definetly going to use this website in the future!!!

http://www.edzone.net/~mwestern/

Mind Google and One Song Glory

I was surfing the Web earlier today and I came upon this article.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7032011443887998212

It seems odd to me to compare the human brain to a man-made Internet search engine, but the article makes a rather convincing argument. Any thoughts?

Old Friends and My technological experience

I have had one actual technological experience while at King's this semester.

I was able to teach one class and I decided that I wanted to make an overhead of a photograph by Robert Capa. This photograph is surreal and incredibly gripping. I thought that it would do go very well with the unit that I was teaching. You can see it directly left.

But, I had no idea how to make an overhead. Yes, it is a simple process, but I had never done it myself. Using the help of my cooperating teacher, the school secretary, and the school librarian, I was finally able to make my overhead.

I have had such a respect for those who a technologically savvy. I wanted in those moments to impress these women with my technology skills. But I have a long way to go. But at the same time, I have learned so much this semester that I will take with me.

King's High School and My Love

This semester, I did my practicum at King's High School. It is a rather prestigious school, known for both sport and academics. I was in awe by the school buildings themselves. They are rather stately and grand. There is much history behind the school.
I was also suprised by the verocity that the students attacked school studies. I have been in an Advanced English junior class and nearly every student gives 100% in every class. They are also very active in SAT prep and the like.
But almost most shocking to me was the lack of technology throughout the entire school. In my classroom, there is a tv mounted to the ceiling with a VCR and DVD player. The teacher has a computer, and the only other technology is an overhead projector. I have been in other classrooms and they all have virtually the same equipment. In the library, there are several computer stations, but they are older computers.
It is just interesting to me how technology is downplayed so greatly at King's. But students do incredibly well, so something must be going well.

Smart Boards and Sexy Back

I was doing some research on Smart Boards. Before this semester, I had never even heard of a interactive classroom board. I thought such things were just shown in space televsion. But once I saw and actually touched the board, my mind was blown. Honestly, I was rather afraid of the whole thing at the beginning. I always seem to break technological things. But I was shocked at how easy the whole things was to do. I am by no means a master, but I would like to integrate a Smart Board into my classroom someday. As such, I did some research on Smart Board grants and such. I found them all very interesting and informative for a future teacher.

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Classroom+solutions/Get+SMART+in+your+classroom/Grants+Funds/Find+grants/US+National.htm

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