Snap Shots

I have added Snap Shots to my blog. I tend to include links in my posts and also have my recent Delicious bookmarks on my blog. Snap Shots allows you to empower your readers with enhanced hyperlinks that display previews, text summaries, videos, etc. Readers just need to roll their cursor over the link to see how it works.

It was easy to add Snap Shots to Blogger. I just signed up for an account, customized the Snap Shot, and added it to my blog.

Delicious Linkrolls and Monetize Your Blog

I logged into my blog recently and noticed that My Delicious gadget or widget was showing someone else's Delicious account. All the sites were related to Java. I removed the widget and looked for another one on Blogger that fit my needs, but I couldn't find another one.

After Googling Delicious widgets and not seeing anything I liked, I went to the Delicious site and discovered an option to create HTML code to embed in your blog. My Delicious linkroll is back. Here is a link to add your own linkroll to your blog or site: http://delicious.com/help/linkrolls

Blogger also has a new option to monetize your blog by allowing them to display ads. Um, no thank you. I don't really care to use my blog to make money.

March and April Tech Activities

In March and April, I continued to integrate Google Earth into my lessons when appropriate. I also integrated videos from PBS and TeacherTube.

I also collaborated with teachers on teaching and integrating the Kids InfoBits database and other objectives from our technology curriculum into their curriculum.

February Meeting

I loved hearing about the future of technology. As I was listening, I was tagging the web sites that were mentioned into my Delicious account. Anything that I tag in class receives an E2T2 tag, so that I can easily review and find the sites that were mentioned.

Our guest speaker discussed the technologies from the Horizon Project Report, which looks at trends and innovations effecting technology and how it will effect education. I located the Horizon Project wiki, which has links to all of the reports. There is also a request and a link to tag resources for their Delicious account for the next Horizon report.

One of the technologies that was mentioned to watch now and next year are mobiles. I have an iPhone, which I absolutely love. Yesterday, I was at a bookstore taking pictures of book covers using SnapTell, which then linked me to reviews and other places to buy the book. SnapTell is also a great way to keep track of books that I am interested in for myself and the media center, but can't buy that day.

A technology that was mentioned to watch in the next two to three years is geo-tagging. When I used SnapTell yesterday, it asked if I wanted the app to use my current location. It then told me where I could buy the book locally. The same thing happens when I use my camera phone and some of my other apps.

Carl also did a presentation on virtual worlds. I downloaded and tried out Second Life about a year ago. I haven't logged in since. My first life keeps me pretty busy. I found an article called 50 Tips and Tricks to Create a Learning Space in Second Life in my delicious tags.

It was great to hear from our cohorts about how they are using Photo Story for Windows, Webspiration, and a wiki created in collaboration with the tech department to assist teachers in experimenting with new technology in their classrooms.

February Tech Activities

In February, I had the opportunity to present to staff in our district along with the other E2T2 cohorts from my district. The following tools were covered: Google Docs, Delicious, blogs, and aggregators. We talked about how teachers can use them professionally.

A couple days after we presented, I had one teacher share that she has started a blog and is really enjoying blogging.

I have been using Google Docs more this month. I even discovered that they have templates that one can use. One can log into their Google Docs account and look under the new menu for the templates. One useful template that I found was an academic calendar for the school year.

The fifth grade is currently studying the Civil War. I showed them a free Civil War video from the Brain Pop site. After the Brain Pop video, we discussed a picture of the Robert Shaw Memorial, which is a Civil War sculpture, from the Picturing America grant.

January Meeting

During our January meeting, we took a learning styles inventory and Jung typology test. It was interesting learning about our different learning styles and personality types. We need to keep these in mind when collaborating and working with others.

We also experimented with Elluminate. What a great way to web conference!

How to coach others was another topic that we focused on. We were given three tools to assist us in coaching others: pause, paraphrase, and probe. Everyone broke into teams to practice our coaching techniques. I certainly could use more practice.

Animoto

The third grade classes at my school recently read the book Yoko by Rosemary Wells. They were also learning more about Japan. I offered to do a short presentation on my trip to Tokyo. I used Google Earth to show were our city was and where Tokyo was. The students really liked Google Earth and were asking for the web site address.

I have a free Animoto for Education account, which allows you to create full length videos. I created one using my photos of Tokyo. I couldn't find music that I liked in Animoto's library, so I used a jingle from GarageBand. I had to import the GarageBand jingle into iTunes to convert it to an MP3 format.