Podcast

http://boilermary.podbean.com/mf/web/df3nmq/EDUCMultimediapresentations.mp3
I really enjoyed learning about creating a podcast. I did not realize that they could be only sound. I thought that podcasts were always video and sound together. It was neat to think about all the ideas for how students could use podcasting in the classroom. I found podbean to be extremely easy to use. With a few clicks I was able to upload my podcast and was set to go. My students just finished a procedural writing unit where they created how to videos. It would have been really great to have had the students use the video to create podcasts instead of just a video that we shared in class. I think that even the younger students would be able to create a podcast. Our first graders are taking a field trip to the Childrens' Museum and I am considering ways that we may be able to use podcasting to create a project when we return from the museum. If any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

Back to School Night Prezi

Here is the prezi I created for Back to School Night! It took me a bit to get familiar with prezi as it has been a while since I have used it. I like how you can create different pathways to present your information! It provides a more interesting presentation then simply using powerpoint, which we all enjoy but has gotten a little on the boring side over the years. I always like to have a visual up for parents as I am going through the information! This allows them to see the main points I am going to be speaking about. With prezi it is easier to keep the text short so that you don't put too much information on each frame. I enjoyed using prezi and am thinking that my student of the week may be able to create an all about me presentation using prezi just as I did.

Pixton Adjective Comic

I used pixton to create a comic to introduce adjectives to my first grade students. We worked on adjectives the second grading period but it was boring and students didn't incorporate them into their writing as I would have liked. Using a different tool to introduce them to the topic may increase their attention to using adjectives in their writing. We will be doing a comic/graphica writing unit in several weeks. This program will be great to have students who have created thier comic on paper first to publish their comic for others to see. I will also use the pixton to introduce the students to how comics look and the set up with different panels, characters, speech bubbles and even props. I am so excited to see how I can continue to work with this and have my students create some comics to share with others. I know my students will be excited to use this free online tool at school!

Picture Editing

I chose this picture because it represents one of my most favorite places to vacation. This is a view from my cabin in the Smokey Mountains. You can see that the mountian's look "smokey" in the background. The picture also shows the distance and height of the mountains from my view.

This is the orginal picture of my parents and I!

This is the edited version of the picture that you see above. It's pretty clear that I don't really have a clue as to how to edit pictures to make them look better. As I was working to edit this picture I quickly found out that this was a poor quality picture to start with. I used several of the tools available to me however I found that I really did not understand what all the tools were and very clearly made the picture worse than the original! Pixlr would be a difficult tool for my first grade students to use. One must know a lot more about digital photography in order to use this tool and by looking at my new picture I think that I need more information too. I would need a more simple program, or more user friendly program for my little students to use. Even though students can sometimes be more tech savvy than us adults this tool was much too complicated. A more user friendly tool would allow my students to use the program. I have a great deal of technology available for use in my classroom. Students have access to Smart Boards on a daily basis as well as laptops so we could use these programs to create presentations on a variety of topics. In first grade right now we are creating procedural writing. I can evision my students creating a group presentation using picture editing tools to show a variety of "how to" topics that range from brushing your teeth to making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich all using pictures. With a little more experience on my part I think that this is something that could work well for my class. In fact I'll get on it and see how it works!