PLN#6 2/23 - 3/2

Glogster

I found Glogster when I was looking for alternatives to Thinglink. Glogster is a site where the user creates "glogs". I have never heard of the term "glog" until I came across this site. A glog is a digital poster that allows the user to import all types of media. The user can create a free account, but will have to pay to get access to more features. I plan on creating a glog for my Moodle in lieu of the Thinglink to provide some variety. This looks like another great tool that I can use to present information. Students can create this a glog when brainstorming and they can post all their ideas in media form on their glogsters. It can probably be useful as a project for the students where they can display all of their content on this visual poster. The site also states that the teacher can follow the students' progress of their glogsters, so I would be able to make sure the students are on schedule and to give them feedback.

Week 6 Blog

Blog #6
2/23 - 3/2

We continued going over the Moodle pages. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed because some people have a ton of content on their pages already. I need to start producing more content this weekend. I feel like I have the design and organization of my page down, so now it is just a matter of plugging in some content. It was beneficial to get feedback outside of class; Tisa noticed a couple of things that I did not. I probably would not have noticed it if she didn't point it out. Dr. Sponder gave me some ideas about changing my menu and I took his advice and changed the labels. I now understand fully the segmenting principle and it makes the Moodle look cleaner and more organized. I find that I can navigate my own Moodle much easier now that I have applied the principle to each section. In the second half of class, Dr. Sponder showed us some administrative functions on our Moodle pages such as backing it up and checking what users are enrolled in the course. He also introduced us to some apps to make some animated gifs so that we can embed into our Moodle. He also showed us an app to create comics and went through a quick demo on Ted.ed. I have already created a couple of EdPuzzle videos for my Moodle so I will try to create some content on Ted.ed and the other apps for my Moodle. I'm hoping to find some cool apps from the Periodic Table of Education Technology that I will be able to use for my Moodle, also.

PLN#5 2/16 - 2/23

Dotstorming

 

 Dr. Sponder introduced Dotstorming to us in class and recommended Maria and I use it for our PD on Tuesday. We are presenting with other colleagues and this can be a great way to get feedback on the presentations. I also think this would be good in our data team meetings and can be used as a tool to brainstorm. 

 

Basically, the user creates a bulletin board. This reminds me of Padlet; another online tool that Dr. Sponder introduced to us last semester. I guess the difference between the two is that Dotstorming allows the users to vote. 

 

The board is not limited to just posting ideas or voting on a subject. The site claims that the user can create boards to collect links, pictures and videos and post them on the board. They also gave examples of creating a board for grammar and vocabulary which I definitely can incorporate in my Spanish class. The user can also post assignments, reminders, updates, etc. It seems that Dotstorming is a versatile tool that can be used effectively by the teacher for many things.

I am going to require the students to use this app for their next project to collect their ideas and dump their resources into. This will make it easy for me to track their progress and the other students could also check on each others boards to get or bounce ideas off of each other. It will be interesting to see how this works out.

Week 5 Blog

Blog #5
2/16 - 2/23

This week we continued to look at the other Moodle pages. I've watched most of the videos other classmates have posted to their Moodle and they are good. It's just amazing to me that even in the early 2000's, recording a video was a cumbersome ordeal. One had to record on this huge camcorder and then if one wanted to watch it, one had to connect it to a VCR so that it could be shown on the tube. Now, recording can be done on a handheld device and uploaded to the internet: wireless. It's amazing how technology has come along. Dr. Sponder then re-introduced edShelf and I am glad he did. I signed up for an account a few weeks ago when he introduced it and I did not spend enough time to familiarize myself with it. He showed us some quick and dirty tips to get started and it was a good refresher to see him use it. I'll also make sure I get on the edShelf emailing list like he recommended. We also learned about Bitstorming and Maria and I are going to try and implement that into our PD on Tuesday. I have a better idea on what I would like to do for my Webex demonstration after hearing suggestions from Dr. Sponder and from my classmates. I have a couple of ideas, so now it is a matter of which one I would like to do. Finally, we were paired up to give each other feedback on our Moodle pages and were re-introduced to Google forms. I had to create a feedback form last semester for EDT 500. It was great to see Don demo how to create one because I had only created it once last semester and I forgot how to.

PLN#4 2.9 - 2.16

Educlipper

EduClipper is an app that allows the user to organize classroom content; it reminds me of Edshelf and Pinterest. Like many websites, one has to set up an account and once that is set up, the user can search for content, clip websites, videos, images and documents. The user can search for lesson plans for many subjects and levels and one can also search for clips that offer answers to a problem that one might have.  

What I like is that each eduClip contains an image and some information about the clip. If you click on it, one can access more information on the clip. The user can fill their board like Pinterest and share their findings and lesson plans with other users and students if the teacher chooses to allow the students access. This can be beneficial for supplemental assignments that students can complete out of the classroom. It can also be useful if one is doing flipped instruction with their classes.

The only con I can think of is that their is so much content that one would have to spend a lot of time researching and creating an effective board.  Other than that, I think it could be a good resource for teachers.

Week 4 Blog

Blog #4
2/9 - 2/16


I felt a lot better about my Moodle after Thursday's class. I was able to add my banners/logos for each section and thanks to Maria, she helped me figure out how to remove the default name for each section. Who would've thought that by tapping the space bar a couple times would do the trick.  Once again, thanks Maria. Making a menu for the Moodle is going to be key; I agree that the Moodle by default should have the option of rearranging the topics by date, but it does not, so having a menu will make it much easier to navigate. If it weren't for the tutorial in class on how to make a menu, there is no way I would have figured out how to create one. To be honest, I didn't even think on including one in my Moodle. As I move forward and create my syllabus and menu, I have to keep in mind the Segmenting principle, and I am hoping the syllabus will help me stay organized. As I mentioned before, this past class has me feeling less stressed about the Moodle and I can now see it coming together. I look forward to learning more tips and tricks(hacks) for the Moodle.

PLN#3 2.2 - 2.9

Edshelf



After Edshelf was introduced in class, I created an account. I was looking to organize my PLN's into one place where I would be able to easily access them. I am able to organize my library of apps by creating "shelves". The user can label the shelves and then add the apps or web tools to that shelf.  The shelf is the same as a creating a folder on an iPhone, labeling it and then adding any pertinent apps to that folder. I was able to create a couple of shelves; I created one to organize apps that I have used or would like to use to create presentations and one for assessments. Another feature that I like is that you can follow other people and see what types of shelves they have created and what types of apps and tools they are using. Another feature that is very useful besides organization of apps and tools is that all of the apps are reviewed by other users. I always find it useful to read reviews before I purchase something, so I find that being able to read reviews from previous users makes it easier to narrow down options and make a better decision on choosing the right app for me for what I want to do.  There are more options that I have not explored on Edshelf, but I will update the PLN once I am able to navigate and get more comfortable with the app.

Week 3 Blog

Blog #3
2/3 - 2/9

Dr.Sponder introduced talked about EdShelf, a free website that not only organizes ed tech apps, but it also has reviews of the apps.  The user can create different "shelves" where one can put the apps on the shelf.  The shelf can be labeled and is a great way to keep all of the apps one uses in one place. It is exactly what I needed, because I have apps saved in various places and sometimes it is difficult to find one. It looks like Edshelf can help me put all of the apps that I have reviewed and used in one place. 

I enjoy reviewing everyone's blogs. There are some cool looking blogs from this class, and there is also some interesting content in many of them. It also helps to see other students' Moodles and I look forward to the finished product on everyone's projects.

Adding a logo should not be a problem; Dr. Sponder showed us a quick and simple way to use Microsoft Word to manipulate text to create a logo and labels for our Moodle page. I understand that Moodle is a free platform, but it would have been convenient to be able to create these features on Moodle instead of another platform and importing back to Moodle.  

I have some thoughts on what I would like my title to look like and some ideas on what each section should look like.  I have to go back to the drawing board and set up the sections correctly after reading the chapter on segmenting.