Becoming a nerd

So I have spent much of my spare time 'diddling' around on my website. I don't feel like I have actually 'worked' on it, just playing around, having fun, and making progress. I like it. A lot. I've always had a feeling that I was a nerd at heart. I first saw it develop in my science classes, specifically Bio and Chem, but I have never considered myself "techy"- I'm starting to change that assumption. I feel so lost on the web most of the time that I've never ventured much past research and Facebook. You mean there is other things you can use on the web? Cool, I like it. AND I think it will make lesson planning and classroom activities so much better and more engaging.

Check out my site!
katelynderemiens.yolasite.com

I think that I'm starting to get the hang of this...

I like to think that I'm becoming a little tech savvy here! A lot of my down time the last few days has involved doctoring up my personal website (assignment turned fun project). I haven't really included many personal facts about me or my teaching philosophies yet... BUT as I am deep in the middle of basketball season, I have created a page which showcases my team (roster, game results, practice/game/tournament schedules, basketball relevant website links) and under that page I included (password protected as requested by the girls!) a separate page for our plays. It's actually been fairly tedious and time consuming, but I'm really enjoying it and pretty proud of it! The girls seem to get a kick out of it!

I'm currently working on getting parental permission to have pictures of the team/video uploaded onto the website.

Here is a link to my pride and joy, work-in-progress: katelynderemiens.yolasite.com

I just came across a list of the top ten eportfolio websites:

1. mahara.org

2. electronicportfolio.org

3. osportfolio.org
Internet Laws, Internet Privacy, Laws, Law News, Legal

4. adobe.com
Featuring Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects

5. truveo.org
Online video search engine

6. eportconsortium.com

7. epsilen.com

8. digication.com
Digication provides e-Portfolio and Assessment Management Systems for K-12 and Higher Education Institutions

9. r-campus.com
Free membership and usage. Create your academic presence, faculty and student websites and ePortfolios

10. eife-l.org
GANDI is a domain name registrar and cloud hosting company. Free website, SSL certificate, blog, and e-mail included. VPS dedicated

I haven't visited each website, but the sites that included a brief description, I copy and pasted under the link.

Whoa, that's a lot of info...

I have learned so much already in the two weeks that I have been in this course. There are so many interesting websites and tools that can be used in used in the classroom. I've decided to start making an 'inventory' of the different websites that we have used:

1. Epearl
2. Blogger
3. Flickr
4. pixlr.com
5. yola.com
6. weebly.com
7. wordle.net
8. mindmeister.com
9. Face Swap (I've gotten far too much use out of already.)
10. wallwisher.com
11. compfight.com
12. www.easywhois.com - evaluate web site
13. diigo.com (new bookmarking tool)
14. prezi.com
15. ebooks.com
16. storybird.com
17. audacity.com


I know that there has been more, but I can't seem to remember them... which is basically my 'inspiration' for creating a list that I can refer back to and keep everything straight.

I really like the idea of the epearl website as means of organization. I, typically, bookmark webpages or copy websites down on a random piece of paper that I will never find again. The epearl website will allow me to 'bookmark' the gems that I stumble across and organize it into different content areas that are visually efficient. Now I just need to make an effort to use these new tools in  my everyday life!

This image was found and created using compfight.com and pixlr.com. Nothing too extraordinary, but a reminder of what these websites can do!

Back in computer class

It's been 9 years since I've been in a computer class and the only tools that I have really stumbled upon since then are social media sites... and I can't even navigate those very well. The rate of technology development is astounding. It almost seems pointless to learn about a new piece of technology full-well knowing that a brand new substitute will be on the market in 6 months. However, it is time for me to put my stubborn nature aside and get back into an open frame of mind and learn things that I have no idea how to do.

Even in the first week of classes, I feel that I've learned more new technological tools than I have in the past 6 years. I thought that the word splash was super easy to use and a great way to make visual appealing vocabulary list (which, in my experience with science courses, usually take somewhat dull concepts and display them in an even more boring manner). I think the wallwisher site is an amazing tool that could be used  for brainstorming in class; especially, with more timid students.

I'm excited to extend my ICT knowledge past Microsoft Office, Paint, Minesweeper and Facebook!