Sheldon's Professional Development Class

DON'T FORGET!!

2010-01-17T11:37:00.001-08:00

Remember that I am sending the sign-in form for the class into Curriculum and Professional Learning on Tuesday Jan. 19th in the afternoon. So work on your final projects and get those done asap! You'll know you are done when I comment on your final project blog. Woo hoo-- almost there!!

December's "Class" and Lessons to be done by January

2009-12-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

For this month's lesson, I simply like you to browse around curriculum based websites, and find some gems out there that you can use in the classroom. There are so many sites out there on the internet that by the time you find a lesson plan or a website you could adapt into a unit, you've wasted hours on the computer! Well, I'd like to hopefully simplify that for you by directing you to my very favorite educational site. It's hosted by Kathy Schrock and it's found at the Discover School Website. Click HERE to view it.

Next, take a closer look at YouTube's educational partner TeacherTube. Browse around some of these educational videos. Might there be some videos you could show in the class?Math tutorials? Science demonstrations? History footage? Writing lessons?

Lastly, it seems that the district has decided to filter much of blog hosting sites like Wordpress and Blogger. This means that they will probably work fine on your computer but would look like a jumbled mess on a student computer. The only one they have guaranteed will not be blocked is a host site called EduBlogs, which is actually part of Wordpress. Create an account and a new blog at EduBlogs and see if it would work in your classroom setting. Click HERE to get to EduBlogs.

To be completed by January:

1. Go back to Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators. Find your subject area under "Kathy's Picks" and browse through some of these sites.

- Blog about 3 of the sites you find. What about the sites did you like? How could you use the sites in your curriculum?

- Link all 3 sites on your blog so I can see them.

2. Find at least one video on TeacherTube that you could use in your classroom. Blog about it. Why did you pick it? Do you find any other use for TeacherTube in the classroom?

- Make sure you link to the videos you chose so I can see them!

3. Create a blog on EduBlogs with one of your classes in mind. Add a few links or content to it.

- Again, make sure you provide a link to your new blog so I can take a look.

AND LASTLY...............

Since our meeting in January will be our last one, here is what we will do:

1. Create a unit (or a lesson that will last at least 3 days) incorporating the following web 2.0 features:

- At least 1 site from this list Best Web 2.0 sites

- At least 1 feature that Google offers, like Google Docs or Google Earth.

- Delicious bookmarks on a particular topic

- 1 video from Teacher Tube

- At least 2 websites from Kathy Schrock's Educational Picks

2. So pick a unit, or a lesson, that you teach and rework it so that the above features are added to it.

3. Your final post on your blog for this class will be a detailed description of that unit or lesson. You should include links to all the internet sites you will have the students go to, including a link to bookmarks on Delicious.

I strongly encourage you to start working on this as soon as possible. But we will also use our class in January to work on it as well. There won't be anything new I will show you. The entire class time in January will be devoted to creating this unit or lesson. I don't want this to feel like busywork so design this unit or lesson with practical application in mind! If you're going through the trouble of making it, why not actually give it a shot and use it?

Google Advanced Searching Tips

2009-11-16T10:33:00.001-08:00

Click HERE to get a great explanation of some of the features we learned about in class today. This might serve as a great "cheat sheet".

To Be Completed by December

2009-11-15T21:10:00.001-08:00

We were only able to glance at what Google has to offer in class. For this months homework, you will be delving deeper into Google's features to see how it might be a useful tool in building your curriculum. Then you'll be blogging about everything you find out! Let's get started:

1. Read over this web site called "You Can Do That with Google?" Play around with two of the features here. Blog about which ones those are and what you thought about them. Don't forget to link them in your blog so I can click on it and check it out myself.

2. Create an iGoogle homepage for yourself. Have fun with this and fill it up with features that you are interested in. You can send me the link ONLY IF YOU WANT. But be prepared to share your iGoogle page with one other person when we meet in December. Blog about what features your added.

3. Check out Google's site for Educators. Find some interesting curricular ideas on this site and blog about it. Definitely check out the link called Tools for your Classroom on the left of this page. Please link the sites you visit on your blog so I can look at them, too.

CHOOSE EITHER #4 OR #5. You don't need to complete both. Although you can if you want;)

4. Browse through Google Books OR Google Scholar. Share at least 2 sites from either of these features and blog about your experience using either one. Make this activity curricular- based. In other words, search for something you could use in the classroom. Again, link your findings on your blog.

5. Add something you learned about Google to our class wiki. Add a page dedicated to sharing Google features, add a discussion on something like advanced searching on Google v. Wikipedia, etc.

To Be Completed by November

2009-10-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, everyone-- let's really get into the social networking world by signing up and USING the both Twitter and Delicious. Here's what you'll need to have completed before we meet in November:

1. Sign up for a Twitter account.

- find at least 3 people/organizations/groups to follow

- blog about your experiences with Twitter. What did you like about it? What are some of the uses of Tweeting? Is this something that could be used with your students?

- Post that your using Twitter on your blog so people can follow you.

2. Sign up for a Delicious account.

- once you have this account, go to Google and start searching for some websites that interest you. Once you have done this, bookmark them using Delicious. Find at least 3 websites to bookmark.

- blog about this social bookmarking site. What are your impressions of it? How could it be used in the classroom?

- Post your bookmarks on your blog= THIS IS OPTIONAL !

3. Visit the Professional Development wiki and add a page, discussion point, document, etc. Add anything you don't mind sharing. Remember, this is to help us get used to wikis. What you add does not have to be perfect. It's just a start and a place to learn. You must be "invited" by me first. Once you accept the invitation, you can start editing the wiki. The web address is http://sheldonteachers.wikispaces.com.

- blog about using the Professional development class wiki. Was it hard to navigate? Has it changed your mind about using wikis?

- Want to learn more about wikis? Click HERE for a great TeacherTube tutorial on wikis. THIS IS OPTIONAL. But if you do view the video, blog about it!

An extra wiki to look at

2009-10-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

If you don't already know who Nancy Pearl is, she is the librarian's librarian. She has written a number of great books as well as very informative websites about great books. Here's a wiki that she started. Take a look and see if you can add to it! This is not a requirement-- just something interesting. Click HERE to view it.

What about Wikipedia?

2009-09-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here's some links about Wikipedia that talk about it's reliablity. Interesting.........

1. Opposing Viewpoints Opinion page

2. Wikipedia for Dummies

3. Suite 101 Realiability of Wikipedia

Let's get started!

2009-09-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Sheldon High School's Professional Development class on web site evaluation and internet searching strategies! We will also learn about the following during our 5 week course:

- blogs and wikis and potential classroom use for both

- all things Google!

- social bookmarking

- facebook and twitter

- fun sites specifically for each curricular discipline

Here's how the class will work: I will demonstrate and/or show you about a particular feature or a particular strategy. You will have time in the lab to play around with what I've shown you. Then, before we meet for the following month, you'll have 4 activities to work on at your leisure. You will find these activities on this blog. After you've complete each activity, you will post your thoughts about it on a blog of your own! So let's get started!

To be completed by October:

1. Play around with your blog. Add at least one picture and one other layout feature. For your first blog post, discuss how easy or difficult setting up your blog was and discuss how you could see blogs being used in the classroom.

2. Visit Web 2.0 winners websites. Choose two sites to browse through and blog about what you liked and/or disliked about the sites. Is there a classroom connection with any of the sites you browsed? Don't forget to include the site you browsed and make sure it is linked in your blog.

3. Visit the Google blog search. Enter in a subject that you are interested in and find 2 blogs that pertain to that subject. Blog about it! What did you learn? Again, provide links to the blogs you perused.

4. Take a look at the Education Wikis. Blog about what you like about them or didn't like about them. Could you use wikis in your classroom? Why or why not?