Final Presentation

I just finished creating my final presentation at prezi. What a cool website! It is way cooler than a powerpoint presentation. I like the way your ideas pan in and out and it is quite easy to add images. I would have liked more formatting options when it came to text and colors, but I was able to find a pretty cool design template. I had to visit the website and watch other people's prezi's three times to really get the hang of creating the presentation, but I am happy with my final product. I hope my teacher likes it. Last TechEd class tomorrow. It seems like just yesterday I was introduced the wonders of a Mac Book Pro. Time sure does fly!

My Website Has Landed!

So, last time I talked about creating a website on Weebly for Education. Well, once I began working on it, I wasn't very pleased with the limited options that come with the free account. (The designs were quite boring, actually.) If I wanted more design options and so forth, I would have to pay $39.00. So I decided to go back to the website host I really liked, Teacherweb, give them my money and get to work. I put a lot of time into my website because #1. I am anal and want my work to be the best it can be, and #2. I have never done anything like this before, so I was way out of my comfort zone, and #3. I want this to be a website I can actually use in the coming years. Luckily, the FAQ area of the website had the answers to most of my questions, so I just printed all of the pages I needed with directions on how to create pages, make pages, upload images & documents, etc. and kept them handy so I could refer to them as I worked. I had a question about the spacing on my Announcements page that couldn't be answered on the website. I e-mailed my question to the support center, received a reply the next day, and fixed my page. I have had great fun creating my pages. The designs you can choose from are fun. I plan to change them as the year progresses according to monthly or academic themes. They also have a Classic design page which looks like the old-school web pages of yore. I am really excited about my website. I have added all sorts of pages to it and will continue to add more with time. I also want to add photo galleries, once the permission forms from parents are completed. I really hope my principal likes what I have done, because if she says I can't use this in August, I will not be a happy camper. If you have time, check out Mrs. Gonzalez's Classroom and let me know what you think!

Working on a Webpage

I am really excited about creating a classroom web page/website to use this school year. I envision putting my weekly newsletter, homework information, class schedule, discipline policy, curriculum highlights, websites/resources for parents to use at home and all kinds of other information. I'd like parents to be able to use it to find information about the class and school policies and procedures, and to see what we are doing each week. I would also post all sorts of pictures (with parents' permission, of course!). So, I have been looking and looking for a place to set up my website. I was really happy with zunal. Their services were free, easy to use, and the web page sample was simple and clean-looking. Alas, it turned out that they were full and were no longer accepting new members. Teacherweb looked promising, but they charge $39.00/year, and I already spend so much of my own money on the classroom. Plus being a mother of 2 boys under 2 years old, $39.00 can buy you a lot of diapers. I continued looking and finally settled on Weebly for Education. It looks promising. I watched a tutorial and really liked the drag and drop feature, especially when adding pictures. I am going to give it a try. I will let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!

Zooburst Fun

If you want to make a fun, pop-up book with your students or at home, check out Zooburst . Zooburst allows you to create a 3-D, pop-up book using your own pictures or public pictures. It's very easy to use once you create your account. Just so you know, it will take a few days to create your account because Zooburst is accepting new members on a rolling basis. When you express interest in using zooburst, they will ask you a few questions and then e-mail your account information to you a few days later. Once your account is set up, you can begin your creations. It is very easy to start your book. The website takes you step by step through the creation process. Adding pictures is fun. I added some of my own photographs. It turns out that my pictures were too large (they have to be under 200K). So I went to this nifty site called picnik and resized my pictures. I made a sample book about my little guy, John. You can check it out here;




Well, I am experiencing a few technical difficulties with the embedding process. However, technical difficulties aside, if you know how to copy and paste, you can embed your book into your blog or website. Very handy if you want to share your fabulous creations. I plan to use Zooburst next year to help my kindergartners make a book about their field trip to Tony P's Dockside Grill . I know they are going to love it!

Spelling City, Here I Come!

If you are looking for a great way to begin a new spelling program or manage your current spelling program, look no further than Spelling City . This website is an amazing resource. You can input and manage your own spelling lists, keep student records, and take advantage of the many printables they have to offer. Spelling City also has a large number of spelling lists that they have created for your use. There are grade-level lists, thematic lists, and even geographic spelling lists. The printables for the spelling lists are fabulous. They offer many printing options such as letter style (traditional print or D'Nealian), upper or lower case letters, and different font sizes. You can also watch teacher training videos to see how the various features work. Students will love this website because they can take their spelling list, type the words where it says "Start Here" and then choose Teach Me, Test Me, or Play Games. And I have to say, the games are pretty fun. I especially like Speedy Speller and Letter Fall. It's a great resource to use in the classroom and recommend to parents for use at home. Spelling City has two types of memberships, the freebie, basic kind (which is what I have) and a premium membership, which involves moola ($49.99 a year for up to 30 students). The premium membership allows you to keep records and print reports and certificates among other things. I don't really need to do that sort of stuff in Kindergarten so I am sticking with the free membership. So teachers, if you're looking for a fun and innovative place to visit during your summer vacation, be sure to stop by Spelling City. You'll love it!

First Grade Fun Project

When planning my project with the kindergartners, I assumed that they had had some experience with keyboards. I was surprised at how much help most of the students needed finding letters, using backspace and remembering how to use the space bar. I had planned to let the kids type more independently, but they needed my help, so in lieu of actually pointing out the letters/keys they needed to type their sentences, I gave them clues, i.e., middle row, top row, space bar, etc. I also told the kids that they could help each other find the letters and keys to encourage teamwork.

The students definitely met my understanding goal. They were able to pick up clues from the photographs that they chose to make sensible predictions about first grade. They also were able to check their work to make sure they were writing their sentences correctly (begin with a capital letter, spaces between words, finish with punctuation), and they did a great job working with their partners.

The technology did help the students achieve the goal. They enjoyed watching me cut and paste pictures into their documents ("Wow! How did you do that? It's like magic!") and the project gave them good practice with the keyboard.

I really liked watching the students work together to type their sentences. Not only did they help each other think of the sentences to write, they also helped each other find the keys and sound out and spell the words. The students loved using the computer. They really liked seeing their names on the document after they typed them. They loved seeing the finished page come out of the printer.

I would like to begin projects like these sooner in the school year so the students can get more keyboarding practice. I think they mainly use the mouse at home and in our computer lab. They could definitely benefit from more keyboard practice!