The Little Soldier-Podcast

http://podcastmachine.com/user/accounts

The Little Soldier
1. This lesson is intended to allow the students to experience an excerpt from the Christmas play that they will perform. The purpose is to convey the mood of scene three of the performance, and to help the performers grasp the idea of a climax in a performance.
2. The target audience will be the third fourth and fifth grade classes who will perform to play.
3. First, I write a script of the action taking place in scene three. Next, I will make selected slices of narration to be introduced into selected areas of the music. The music chosen is named FUM, FUM, FUM (4:51) from the CD entitled Christmas Extraordinaire By Mannheim Steamroller.

The NXT STEP - LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Blog

http://thenxtstep.blogspot.com/

This has the potential of becoming one of my favorite blog sites.  I'm introducing my students to the Lego league in hopes exposing them to other uses for the computer and hopefully build an interest in robotics.

Bits and Bites

http://anncarnevale.edublogs.org/

Useful link for teachers.

SMART Document Camera with 60 Sec Phil - Podcasts

Watch this video on how to use a SMART Document Camera by 60 Sec Phil
Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5_XH_a5bTc&feature=search


When learning about document cameras in the classroom and other SMART products I subscibe to 60 Sec Phil podcasts.  I would them to be short, concise and informative.  I was able to share the videos with my teachers and help us determine if we should purchase cameras. 

The podcasts are also available in iTunes.

This is step one of a series of videos about how to create rough dash and pebble textures in 3ds Max. The blog for these videos can be found at http://www.mentalboutmax.blogspot.com/. I would use these videos as an enrichment for my advanced level two students. I am always in need of things like this for advanced students who find the projects in our curriculum too easy. I addition, I think it will expose them to "real world"scenarios, since these tutorials are done by professionals and they talk about real industry concerns in them. Sorry for the late post. But this part of the assignment got lost in the shuffle.

Carter Emmart demos a 3D atlas of the universe

TED Talks
Carter Emmart demos a 3D atlas of the universe

SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast

The goal of this podcast to share lesson ideas that use technology to engage students in learning with a focus on SMARTBoard Interactive Whiteboards between educators. Teachers can listen on lunch breaks or recesses as they mark papers or on their way to school in the morning via their iPod.
I love my SMARTBoard. I am still in the learning mode but I have acquired a wealth of knowledge just by listening to podcasts on youtube. I love it!

Blogger: Dashboard

Blogger: Dashboard

Creating Lifelong Learners

I chose Creating Lifelong Learners blog. There is a wealth of links and helpful information there that I can use to perfect what I am already doing as a teacher.

Charissa's podcast

I chose to view all about math podcasts. It was a wonderful site for students. it gave examples of how to find circle, center, diameter, pi just to name a few. It was a little try and the man had a different accent, which made it hard to follow at times. I was impressed on how good of a example they used for the podcast. I will definitely show my students this, however it is a bit dry like I mentioned before.
The site is: http://www.isallaboutmath.com/

NPR's Children's Books - Jamie Reynolds

I signed up for NPR's Children's Books RSS feed (the feed is at the bottom of the page). It has author/illustrator interviews, book reviews and stories. I know a lot of my little readers would be very interested in the question and answer session with Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Many of the clips are form All Things Considered, but they have many from other programs on NPR. I am excited to hear important/interesting book updates from NPR now and then.

Jacqui's podcast links

I subscribed to Teaching Ideas at http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/ . This site has TONS of ideas and examples of how to use podcasts in the class room. Also great links to other educational links.

Molly's Podcast Choice

I had a hard time finding a podcast that I found interesting and that was going to be beneficial to my teaching. I first thought the "All about Math" podcast was it-it is a video podcast that is animated and I thought that I could even show it to my 5th graders since it was supposed to be elementary math. After viewing a few it became clear that the material was way to high for my fifth graders and the animation was kind of flat and creepy. I would not recommend it.

A lot of the math podcasts I found were higher level math, so I moved on to Smartboards-since I will be teaching with one this year. I finally found a site: Teaching with Smartboard and I have subscribed to that. It is hosted by two guys who are pretty funny. Each video podcast teaches you something new that you can do with the Smartborad and the Smartboard software. It also is very current, the last post was July 11th-so I think this will be a very active and helpful podcast to follow.

Chandra's Podcasts

I have subscribed to several podcast, but I’m finding that many of the education ones don’t post regularly. I can only conclude that some are taking a break for the summer.

I subscribed to http://theedublogger.com/. I think I’m going to really like this one. I already had a Twitter account for personal use. I created another one for education/professional purposes. This blogger gives very pertinent information on how to make Twitter useful and in an efficient way.

This one, http://web20classroom.blogspot.com/, seems to be a weekly post. I also subscribed to a fellow music teacher’s blog. http://www.musicteachershelper.com/blog/, this one is nice and is posting through the summer.

I have added a podcast which features jazz music. It is called straight no chaser-a jazz show. It looks really great and I'm looking forward to listening to the podcasts. It features early jazz right up through contemporary jazz. It also focuses on the different jazz festivals which should highlight some of the current masters in the field. The link to the site is http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/
There isn't enough jazz in rural New Hamsphire so this should help balance out some of my cravings for really good jazz!

Podcast Link

I have always been a big fan of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), but have never listened to a podcast. Matter fact, I did not even know that they included them. I found this link when I was looking through Apple's free podcasts. The subscription process is great. I can receive all of the most recent TED podcasts directly through my iTunes account and they will be sent directly to my iTouch... pretty cool stuff. Anyway, if you have never heard of TED then you should definitaly check the web page and podcasts out. Here is the link to all the podcasts:

TED Podcasts

2 podcasts - one active and one inactive

I have spent a great deal of time searching for some math podcasts that were solely audio. Math is a very visual discipline. However, I do believe that there is a place for audio podcasts in mathematics - introducing material, reviewing vocabulary, and asking some open ended questions where the students produce the visual they think is necessay. An audio podcast is quicker to put together than a video and students can listen to them anytime - you don't need a screen to view. Also, I am limited with my technology knowledge of getting the video to work for me. With that said I came across The Math Grad podcasts. It covers some higher level mathematics, which I believe my AP Calculus students will be able to follow. Consequently, I could use a few of these in class. Unfortunately, it looks like there are not going to be any additional podcasts. The last one was produced in May 2009.

I continued my math search and found a few other inactive podcasts. Consequently, I change my search to education and came across EdTechTalk - A Collaborative Open Webcasting Community. EdTechTalk has several podcast series all dealing with technology and education. I chose to subscribe to EdTechWeekly as I was intrigued by the last podcast "Facebook, Privacy, and Social Networking". This podcast included an 18 year-old who shared what she knew and didn't know about privacy on facebook and what is being taught in her school with regards to social networking - issues all school are dealing with. All the podcasts focus with the role of technology in education and I hope by listening to these podcasts I will be able learn new ideas and keep up with the incredible changes that are occurring.

Paulette's Podcast

I subscribed to Teaching with Podcasting. This site lists different ways to use podcasts in the classroom such as announcing school news, sharing stories the students have written, and interviewing grandparents. It also includes some podcast ideas (and tips) for kids to watch before venturing on their own. http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/

~Beth Shaw Podcast~ US Presidents

The podcast I subscribed to is for the United States Presidents at Learn Out Loud. This is a great podcast of ALL the Presidents. Each year I teach my 5th grades classes research of the Presidents and then they put the information into a PowerPoint. I usually have several students that have trouble reading the research, so this podcast will be so beneficial.

Dave's choice for Podcast

Like so many before me, I was sidetracked during a trip to YouTube. You had assigned a viewing of the YouTube video featuring Richardson explaining why blogs are powerful for life-long learning. Well anyway, I saw on the side a lecture by a man named Alex Wright entitled "The Web that Wasn't". The lecture examined what the internet would have been like if it were founded by a different group of pioneers. With piles of course work to do for class, I found myself listening to his lecture in its entirety.
My search for Alex Wright Podcasts led me to the Long Now Foundations website http://www.longnow.org/. This organization was established to foster thinking about the long-term direction that we are headed in. They have a series of seminars called SALT seminars (Seminars About Long-term Thinking). http://www.longnow.org/projects/seminars/SALT.xml This series of podcasts features lots of topics and they are not all necessarily about education, but many are. I am looking forward to listening to these Podcasters about the vision they have for where we are all headed.

Increasing effectiveness using blogs

How can a blog increase my effectiveness as a teacher?
I am a specialist in my school as the technology teacher, so I have the unique position of only seeing my students once a week. With much of my time spent helping to troubleshoot and answer immediate questions during class, there is little to no time for students to discuss topics of technology interest with me or their peers. By establishing and utilizing a blog, students can find time between our classes to interact and collaborate with one another. Blogs also give a safe place for students to voice their opinions. This can be especially helpful for students that don’t like to contribute to discussions during class.
Since I am in a very unique position of being the technology teacher at the elementary level, I wanted to find a blog that was specifically about elementary technology education. I found bit by bit. It is a blog created by Bob Sprankle. He is an elementary school Technology integrator. He teaches locally in Maine so the demographics will be similar to my school.
http://bobsprankle.com/bitbybit_wordpress

Two Podcasts for Two Different Reasons

I've used podcasts before and found them extremely informative and very useful. When studying for my MTEL to become licensed in Massachusetts I found The Calculus Lifesaver by Adrian Banner found on iTunesU literally a lifesaver.

For this assignment I set out to find two podcasts that 1) I could immediately use in class with students and 2) I could use as professional development for the move to my new technologically first school.

For use with my students I found an absolute gem in The New York Institute of Photography which will allow students to hear professional conversations about photographs using the vocab and techniques they are learning in class. I'm excited for them to use it and hopefully start creating something similar within my photography class.

For the professional development side I chose Teachers Teaching Teachers which seems to address many of the problems I suspect I will face in the next year and can look back on others solutions when I run into those problems. The podcast interviews teachers who have made a transition to a completely tech school and also offers tips and trick for integrating technology in education.

Podcasts I Subscribed To

There is a lot out there for both teachers and students. I immediately subscribed to Grammar Girl. I really liked the sound of her voice and the content was great.

Also, for my own use I chose "Teacher Created Materials" which is Dr. Kathy King and Mark Gura discussing Educational news, views, research and resources. Their podcasts are centered around technology in education.

Another neat podcast I found was http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com. These podcasts are a discussion amongst teachers about a given topic for example; vocabulary instruction, applying differentiation strategies, increasing fluency, etc. Their goal is to help teachers stay current about educational topics.

I wanted to find something that students could use and listen to. I found Dr. Dave Brodbeck's podcast where he answers real questions about science from real kids. His podcast are only about 5 minutes long so I was thinking you could incorporate a daily science podcast of his to jumpstart more discussion in class. Also, students could send in their own questions to him via email or Skype. Check it out at: http://www.youthscienceforum.ca/view.php?id=17

PodCasts I will use

I found all sorts of useful sites with ideas for podcast uses in the classroom as well as actual podcasts for my students to use.
Yesterday I did a lesson with my TOEFL class using the following podcast at NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128514329


My students really like to do current events so we have chosen stories together to ready and discuss from various online news resources. Yesterday we listened to 3 podcasts which are part of a 5 part series on the stat of the European Welfare State. The podcasts were a wonderful way for students to listen to a topic of interest and then to discuss as a class. I also had them listen to the final podcast and write their thoughts about the economy in their own words.

Here are other PodCast sites which I joined:
The Podcast Directory Here is a wealth of information on podcasts.
http://www.podcastdirectory.com
http://www.podcastalley.com/
http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/info/podresources.php

The World Language Classroom and English as a Second Language classroom can certainly benefit from the possibilities of the use of the IPod for podcasting, video capabilities and audio recordings. Students are already tuned in to their MP3 players, so why not explore the use of these devices in the language classroom? Teachers can create pronunciation guides, audio books, lectures, notes and many culturally authentic audio recordings as a way to provide more meaningful learning experiences for their students. Students can use their cell phones to record messages and incorporate their recording into a podcast for the classroom as well as beyond the classroom.
Podcasts allow students to extend their learning time beyond the face-to-face classroom. For example, a podcast can be posted on a website for a student to listen to and share with anyone. Imagine a student in a language class speaking in the target language and sharing his or her interview with a native speaker of the target language. Podcasts give learners a chance to “learn out loud”
There are many learners that also benefit from an audio version of notes or a story. to provide the learner with a MP3 version of a story being read for a course. Students could hear as well as read the story, providing another dimension to learning to enhance understanding. Their “coolness factor” would also still be intact, because they will simply be using their MP3 players to listen to what they want just as all their peers!
Opening up the use of electronic devices that students already use for entertainment opens up the possibilities of enhancing students learning. Incorporating the use of MP3 files and players creatively will provide more options for student motivation and active engagement in their learning.

I plan to use all of these resources for authentic podcasts to listen to as well as audacity for my students to create their own podcasts. We already use Audacity in the classroom but i have not used it yet with students to create podcasts.

Podcast Trifecta

In my search for podcasts I came across the useful and useless alike. There seems to be a lot of podcasts out there surrounding every facet of education. After several hours of listening and watching podcasts, I decided to subscribe to three podcasts that would be helpful to my journey as an educator.

First, I subscribed to the NPR Education Podcast. Since I listen to NPR everyday and appreciate their articles focused on education, I thought that this would be a nice way to keep up with the episodes on education without having to sit through the fundraiser advertisements every few months.

Second, I found some wonderful podcasts on TED Talks, a video podcast from the TED "think-tank." TED is all about the sharing and collaborating over ideas that are important to our society. According to the website, TED describes itself as a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED website). As educators, the ideas that TED tackles affect how we approach our jobs and teach in this ever-changing world. Plus, some of the speakers are pretty cool.

Finally, I choose to subscribe to a podcast created by two teachers from St. Louis, Missouri. The show is known as The Tech Teachers, and the two hosts of the show put together a great program. As a teacher new to podcasts, it was wonderful to see how these two teachers could make a podcast informative and appealing to audiences. I figured that this show could serve as an example of what a person might work toward in creating a show of one's own.

Although all of these podcasts serve more as professional development and information resources on technology and ideas, I doubt that they would be very useful for my students. Thus, I created a link and RSS feed to Grammar Girl on my English class blog. I am hoping that the podcasts from this site would help my students with additional information concerning grammar usage. Plus, it would probably much more interesting for them anyway.

Adobe Creative Suite Podcasts

I had subscribed to G-Cast, for a previous course, but it appears the account has been closed and they are accepting no more new applications.  After reading over some of my fellow students' choices, I opted to go with Adobe Creative Suite Podcasts because I already half an Adobe account. I've never used Adobe podcast before and am truly interested in learning how to do video podcast because I find them an exceptionally useful learning and teaching tool.

Shepard - CNN Student News Podcast

I decided to subscribe to CNN Student News podcast/video since I will be teaching Government next year for seniors and would like to incorporate current events. This podcast is a 10 minute, commercial free, daily news program for middle school and high school students. These are produced by journalists and educators at CNN. The podcasts are easy to understand and follow and do not use a lot of political jargon. At http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ you can find a bunch of teacher materials and daily transcripts for each show. You will also find the podcasts at this website and can subscribe to it easily.

Super Why PBS kids

SUPER WHY is an animated television series on PBS Kids. The podcast you can find at this site: http://www.learnoutloud.com/podcaststream/podcast_vedio.php?url=http://feeds.pbs.org/~r/pbskids/superwhy-video/~5/mmK4O1LfS8k/SW_101_Three_Little_Pigs.mp4&title=LearnOutLoud%20Podcast%20Video, is aimed for children ages 3-6 to help enforce reading skills through interactive storybook adventures. Some of the key reading skills that are the main focus are the alphabet, rhyming, spelling, and reading comprehension. There is also a "lesson" in these podcasts too, like one of friendship or honesty. That's always helpful and important for the young children I teach! The podcasts are about an hour each and come out monthly (which is kinda a downfall as I like weekly routines).

Jody Sandru Podcast

Check out the site http://www.learnoutloud.com/ for links to thousands of educational podcasts. I teach a business law class and I subscribed to a weekly podcast called "Legal Lad's Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life." I like Legal Lad because his podcasts are five minutes long, and not filled with legal jargon that would put high school students to sleep. Legal Lad reminds me of Grammar Girl, and his podcasts are free!

SMARTBoard Lesssons Podcast

SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast is an excellent resource for teachers who are looking for tips on how to use their classroom smartboards. If you go to the archive tab, you will find all the podcasts listed in date order. What I liked about this resource is that it tells you exactly what tip the podcast is going to explain, which is a great time saver for teachers. There are presently 150 Lessons for how to use the SMARTBoard in your classroom.

The link can be located at: http://pdtogo.com/smart/?page_id=28

Adobe Creative Suites Video Podcasts

http://creativesuitepodcast.com/

I chose to subscribe to the Adobe Creative Suites video podcasts. Although Adobe Premiere, InDesign, and PhotoShop have been used in the advanced computer applications class for three years and it seems like the students always have new questions each year.

The Adobe Creative Suite podcasts are done by a man named Terry White. He is easy to follow and since it is a video podcast I can show it on the SmartBoard and follow along on another computer. I think it will be useful not only for me, but as a teaching tool for the students.

There is current information as well as many years worth of podcasts, so a wealth of information is available for me and the students.

Podcasting Toolbox

I'm actually subscribed to two podcasting sites. Grammar Girl is also a blog, so I subscribed to it for the last assignment. I absolutely love Grammar Girl because it contains a plethora of writing and grammatical tips. I plan to embed some of the podcasts onto my classroom wiki.

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/

I subscribed to Podcasting Toolbox because of the immense amount of resources within the site. I had no idea there were so many different types of podcasting tools: video, mobile, advertising, etc. I am interested in mobile podcasting since so many of my students have cell phones. In addition, there is a how-to section, which is helpful in getting started.

http://mashable.com/2007/07/04/podcasting-toolbox

Dave's ESL Cafe

I just added this to my blog, having totally forgotten how much I like Dave's Cafe for English Language Learners. There are also great ideas to adapt for any language class as well here.

MusicTech Podcast

When looking for a Podcast to subscribe to, I knew I wanted to find one that combined the use of music and technology. The MusicTech Podcast, found at http://mustech.podomatic.com/ addresses all sorts of ways to use technology as a music teacher, including Skype, tools for mixing sound, topics like copyright (very important to know as a music teacher), and a lot more. It will be very helpful to hear ways to use technology in music from other people!

Free Technology for Teachers

I actually chose a few blogging sites. This site is very nicely organized and just seems to have so much in terms of tutorials, suggestions, and ideas.  I plan to use this blog to find some free technology as well as new ideas and uses of technology in the classroom. There are just tons of ideas here and I think that the many suggestions will be very useful in all of my classes.

Here is the link:

Mrs. King's Music Room

http://mrskingrocks.blogspot.com/

I have chosen this blog because it's Music!!!! Mrs. King gives a glance into her world. I can use this blog for myself as I search for different, more creative ways to present activities and lessons to my students.

I also, thought that it would be good for my students to see what other students are doing in music class. I have recently become acquainted with Mrs. King and we are Facebook friends and play Words With Friends. I think that sharing this blog with my students could perhaps foster a relationship between our students.

Teachers Love Smartboards

http://smartboards.typepad.com/

I decided to google "Smartboards" because I will be working with one this year and it is totally new to me. I feel like I need all the help I can get! This blog gives a ton of smartboard resources, training opportunities and new ideas on using smartboards in the classroom. I think that by following this blog I will get a lot of information that I can use in my lesson planning. Its posts are pretty recent, so it doesn't seem like a blog that will go ignored.

I am also following "Gavel's smart board blog" although it seems to be dormant now. I am interested to see what appears when school starts again and to read older posts to get some ideas.

http://smartboardchat.blogspot.com/

Weblogg-ed

Love this blog!!


http://weblogg-ed.com

I have added a handful of educational blogs but this one, by far, is the most interesting and engaging one I have read. Usually I tend to skim through posts, but I find myself reading each and every word this author, Will Richardson, writes. I find that I have a lot of the same views as him, I keep nodding as I read. This site, "is dedicated to discussions and reflections on the use of Weblogs, wikis, RSS, audiocasts and other Read/Write Web related technologies in the K-12 realm, technologies that are transforming classrooms around the world."

Subscribing to educational blogs is a great way to stay connected to other educators and stay current in all areas of the field. It is interesting to read others' opinions and ideas and interact and discuss with them if you choose. I think blogs are a great resource to connect with a variety of people from many different backgrounds and experiences. For students, I can see great potential for connecting them and their work to a broader audience as well as allowing them to find a voice as they determine what is relevant and important to post or comment on.

AP Lead Teacher's Blog

I have chosen to follow the "AP Lead Teacher's Blog" which is written by an AP Calculus teacher. Teaching AP Calculus is challenging and I am always looking for suggestions and hints regarding the content and teaching strategies. Also, it is important to stay up to date on all changes that are made by the college board regarding the curriculum and the exam. I anticipate being able to pick up a great deal of valuable information from this blog which I will be able to use in the classroom.

AP Lead Teacher's Blog

Special Education Laws

I chose to follow the special Education law blog, I am not currently teach special education. However, I teach Title 1 and many of my students fall into special education. I also, like to keep up with the ever changing laws of special education, incase I ever get the chance to teach special ed class again. The informatin is rather dry, but informative. There is a variety of categories to chose from to pick. I was very interested in the Child Left Behind part of the blog. I am excited to visit more of this blog.

Teacher Lingo

I ended up googling "elementary teacher blogs" because I had trouble finding anything in the top 100 that really seemed useful for me. I'm glad I did, because I came across Teacher Lingo, which is not actually A blog, but a collection of teacher blogs. www.teacherlingo.com\blogs

I liked this site because it shows the beginning of the latest post from hundreds of teacher blogs. That way I am able to decideif I want to bother checking one out, or if the blogger is just rambling today.

I planned on posting last night, but I found one blog that I enjoyed so much I went back and read every post from her and subscribed to the blog. The funny thing is, she's totally random right now while waiting for school to start up again. So instead of posting I read all night. :) It's anonymous, which leads to some funny stuff. Check out www.vodkamom.com

~Techno Tuesday~

The blog I chose to follow is Cathy Nelson's Professional Thoughts, "Techno Tuesday". She loves online videos in her presentations. This will be a great addition to my teaching technology and my students will be able to relate to the videos. This blog has some awesome links/blogs for librarians. I need all the help I can get!! LOL!! One of the blogs was about the ISTE conference that was in Denver June 27-30. She did not actually attend but did a blog. GReat information! Our last instructor was so excited about attending this conference so when I saw the blog, I was able to read about the conference. The instructor that I met with today face-to-face stated that Lesely is trying to be certified by ISTE. So, this blog will a great blog to keep me informed.

Where Tech meets Text

The blog that I chose to follow and recommend to others is Huff English, a site Dana Huff who is not only a secondary English teacher, but also a technology expert. The website showcases many ways that technology can be incorporated into the classroom, along with a number of recommended links. Each link that I have followed from the site has proven to be very fruitful, in fact, I learned about the sites GoWeb2.0 and Free Technology for Teachers through Huff's blog. Of course, learning about the latest resources and tech available on the web will help me to find ways of getting my students motivated to work and collaborate beyond the classroom, but on a more personal (selfish) note, because Huff is an English teacher, I can use much of her blog and website as a model for how to structure my own online work. Huff English is also integrated with a variety of great tools, such as Diigo and links to online and text resources, making her blog a must-see. Although Huff English is a definite plus for English teachers, it is also worthwhile for anyone who would like to see some of these Web 2.0 tools in action.

I chose the Best-Laugh-Out-Loud Blog - loved the website address and who doesn't need a good laugh. I chose this one because she is a fourth grade teacher, as am I, and I am hoping to get some good ideas. The first blog that I read was about leveling the kids with humor attached. I also came across some good quotes that I can use ~ Listen, Think, Then Do. Looking forward to reading this blog.


http://regurgitatedalphabits.blogspot.com/

Shepard - Lifelong Learners

I decided to join the "Creating Lifelong Learners" blog (http://creatinglifelonglearners.com/). I decided on this blog because it provides up to date technology tools and how to use them in a classroom without all the technical jargon that can sometimes be hard to follow. This was important to me since this is my last semester at Lesley and I want to stay on top of the new educational technology tools out there. I think this blog will help me to bring these tools into the classroom and share them with my students. The blog also includes other educational topics like higher order thinking skills, classroom management, reading comprehension, etc. I have also decided to follow this blogger on twitter (mrneedleman).

My new blog is http://www.smartmusic.com/Blog/ This is a blog which is focused on a terrific music software program called SmartMusic. The program is a little like a legitimate version of Karaoke and Guitar Hero. Students see the notated music on the screen and they sing or play their instrument while being recorded. They can use the accompaniments that are available or they can choose to turn it off. There are many great ways to use this program and my kids love it. The blog will hopefully keep me up to date on any changes to the software as well as any solutions to problems. This should be very helpful and beneficial. The software has been changed each year during the summer and the September learning curve has been somewhat painful :-( I'm hoping the blog will help as we all share our common problems and solutions and/or discover some of the new additions on this years updated program.

Free Technology For Teachers

The blog that I chose to follow is Free Technology for Teachers. The URL for this site is http://www.freetech4teachers.com/. I chose this blog because of the variety of information available. It doesn’t focus on a specific topic of technology, but information regarding many types is addressed.

Another reason I chose this blog was that it provides current technology resources. I am currently taking my last two classes in the TIE program and want to stay connected to the latest technology uses in the educational setting. I believe by following this and other blogs, I will be able to stay current and up-to-date with technology applications which will allow me to provide students the opportunity to integrate technology into the daily learning activities.

The topic that caught my eye from the beginning was the free ebook section that covered Google for Teachers and making videos. However, I was soon watching the seven videos that every teacher must see and the clip of “The Big Bang Theory” that helps support the use of Google Docs. Although I didn’t check out all of the information on this site, what I did see was informative and presented in such a manner that it was easy to follow. Not only will I be able to gather information from this blog, but some of the videos that were posted would be useful for professional development activities or classroom activities.

Steve Dembo's Blog

I chose to follow http://www.teach42.com/ which is Steve Dembo's site and blog. I went to a workshop presented by Steve Dembo, and he has amazing ideas about how to incorporate technology into the classroom. I would not use this blog with my students, but use what I have learned from it in my teaching.

Creating Lifelong Learners

How can I use this blog to increase my effectiveness as a teacher?

I love the name of this blog: Creating Lifelong Learners. I believe that Learning does not stop until you die. As an educator, I believe that creating a lifelong learner should be my ultimate goal. Not passing the state test, not benchmarking students but instilling a love of learning. I want to show the students that learning does not stop when you walk out the school doors.

I am really enjoying finding blogs to subscribe to. This is new to me and very exciting. I choose this blog because I want to be a life long learner. This sites has some great thought provoking entries. It also has tons of links, some are humorous and some are links to other teacher's websites and blogs. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Jacqui LeCoure-Dinius

http://creatinglifelonglearners.com/

Welcome to NCS-Tech

The blog I found is Welcome to NCS-Tech at http://www.ncs-tech.org/. The author, Kevin Jarrett, is a K-4 Computer Teacher. This blog is full of ideas and web applications that can be used with grades K-8. I was particularly interested in StoryCove which is a free storytelling site with stories (and lesson plans) from around the world including Anansi stories. NCS-Tech has blog entries on everything from assessment to grants to differentiated instruction, etc. In his podcasts section he has a link to a free audio recorder Vocaroo, links to several math podcasting sites such as http://mathtv.com/, and children's audiobook podcasts at http://storynory.com/.

Cool Cat Teacher

I found "Cool Cat Teacher"'s blog to be interesting, informative, all while entertaining. Here's the link: http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/.What I liked a lot about this blog is that the author tells little antidotes from her life, ones that someone can relate to- this makes me know and picture a real person behind the writing, instead of just reading works written by a teacher I know nothing about. I like this personal connection and will make me feel that I can appreciate her opinions, views, and comments. The author goes to conferences and picks out the "meat" of the lecture and relays them to her blog readers. I also appreciated the mix of topics that included current news going on the the realm of education, new programs and technology that can be incorporated into the classroom, and links to other sites and blogs that an educator would find very useful. I subscribed to this blog because I think it's content is great, and the variety of what she posts can be useful to share with my students and colleagues. It was so cool that her Twitter account in embedded right in her blog homepage! I'm going to figure out how to do that...

Tech and Learning

I have been a long time subscriber to Tech and Learning Magazine, but have never spent any time on their website. I was really excited to see that this site was mentioned as one of the top 100. This site will be a valuable resource for me in the classroom as it does a great job of updating on the latest and greatest tech to be implemented into an educational setting. As a graphic design and computer application teacher, this site will be a must for regular reading.

Tech and Learning Website

Grammar Girl

The blog I chose to follow is Grammar Girl at http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ hosted by Mignon Fogarty. At first I was a little skeptical because the title reminded me of something a high school girl might create. After exploring the site I discovered that in addition to being a grammar guru, Fogarty was also a magazine and technical writer with a B.A. in English and an M.S. in biology.
The site provides helpful tips on how to improve writing. Podcasts are embedded throughout each section. There is also a section that includes daily grammar tips like lie versus lay and affect versus effect. This site will benefit me and my students.

Sue Waters

The blog I follows is Sue Waters. Sue writes about blogging and Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies. I started following her blog when I started by classroom blog. . The url is http://suewaters.com/

Teachers Love Smart Boards

I've been trying to make my math lessons more hands-on and visual. I've found Smartboards a key to aiding me in this endeavour. So when I ventured onto Teachers Love Smartboards I had a read and found several interesting things to help me.

Not only does it provide tips and exemplars it also has links to Smartboard Podcasts, training and Notebook resources.

I reckon when I either get stuck or need some motivation to come up with something new this blog will lend a hand.

Free Technology for Teachers

I subscribe to several blogs and nings.

I recommend
Free Technology for Teachers written by Richard Byrne (from Maine) and read by a daily audience of more than 21,000 subscribers.  Richard provides lots of great links, lessons and resources.

I also subscribe to Will Richardson's blog http://weblogg-ed.com/ which is more about the conversation of Web 2.0.

It's Not All Flowers and Sausages

The educational website that I chose to subscribe to is called "It's Not All Flowers and Sausages." Not only did I love the title, but the topics that the author, Mrs. Mimi, blogs about are very fitting for any elementary school teacher. From her educational experiences, Mrs. Mimi has a funny way of blogging about what I often feel daily. Besides a little humor, the blog does have great educational items that could help in the classroom. As a special education reading teacher, I loved how she reviewed a variety of different children books. Through my subscription to her blog, I hope to gain insight about a variety of different children literature that can be included in my classroom. It is also nice to hear that teachers really ARE in the same boat and often experience the same success stories and frustrations.

The blog can be found at: http://itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com/

Instructify

I subscribe to Insturctify because it has great ideas for technology integration.

Lifehacker

I also subscribe to Lifehacker. It's a blog by several commenters whose blog posts are about technologies that generally interest me. Many of the technologies can be directly or creatively applied to educational settings, professional development or personal productivity. I especially like the Lifehacker Top blog posts list.