Thing #10: Online Image Generator

The generators were very simple to use and if I am ever working on a project that requires graphics there were lots of places to search. I posted one of the word generators that I played with. To be perfectly honest I do not see a lot of use for this in my curriculum and projects. While it is nice to know these are out there (I did not realize that), I hated this assignment because I could see no practical application to my daily life and felt decidedly uncreative. I keep trying to think what necessary skill set use of this tool adds to my curriculum and coming up blank. I could see how you could use these to spruce up presentations but after tracking down video clips, simulations, and typing in formulas that actually add to the skill set - finding just the right graphic is not a priority. Sorry to sound so negative - I really am trying to keep an open mind but this activity almost had me tossing in the towel. After abandoning the generator search to look for something useful, I did stumble across a great site (http://phet.colorado.edu/teacher_ideas/index.php) that had a ton of useful simulations with suggestions on how to best implement them in an active classroom.

Summerwork

Thing Thing #9 - Useful Library Related Blogs and News Feeds -

The Google blog search was the easiest to use. The Topix site and the Bloglines would round out my top three. None of the sites were confusing but some of the others required a lot more reading/thinking just to begin the search and that isn't really were I like to spend the time. I did finally manage to find the original site/video blog for the octopus learning to count in binary which I am looking forward to using this year.

Thing #8 - RSS Feeders and Readers

This was great! It was easy to use and an efficient use of time. Searching the web has never been one of my higher priorities. Since time tends to be tight it doesn't get done. It will be a nice way to keep an eye on ideas and projects for my engineering class. It also is going to be a great way to keep an eye on new ways to approach tricky physics topics.

Thing #7 Cool Google Tools

Finally something I was able to see a direct use for in my classroom. The Google Notebook will be very useful for any group research project. It was much easier to find useful images through Google Scholar than Flickr, but it was a little frustrating that reading more than the abstract usually cost money. Picasa Web Albums was much easier for me to use as well. The Google Docs presentation had several nice templates and inserting videos and pictures was a breeze. This might be a better tool than powerpoint since all the students can access it and their operating platform (Mac or PC) should be irrelevant. I will have to experiment further to find out for sure.

Thing #6 Mashups and 3rd Party Sites

There were a lot of really neat things you could do with the photos on Flickr. I could see lots of applications for geography, history, or language classes. Not so much so for my subject. One of the things that my students need to do is create a portfolio of their projects. The trading cards might be modified for that use. I also used this time to do a little research on poster templates. This is an other format that might be useful in portfolio development.

Thing #5 Explore Flickr

I went to the flicker site and did a search for several key terms from the subject I teach. While there were many pictures present, I did not see any that would enhance the educational value of my presentations. It is a nice site and very easy to use. Next time I am searching for a particular image I will definitely try the site again.