Google Reader

     I had a great experience completing this assignment.  It was a new experience for me but it is something that I will continue to use in order to stay up to date with the most recent ideas about educational issues affecting students as well as educators.  It was amazing to read about issues that other schools are concerned about that relates to some of the same issues we face at my local school. This made me aware that schools no matter where they are located share some of the same concerns.
     My favorite blog was Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day.  I enjoyed following his blog because it gave daily valuable information about one issue or the other.  His blog offered eye catching information on many interests of education,.  The blogs provided useful information, lesson plans, videos, websites, and many more resources that would be beneficial to a classroom teacher preparing to deliver educational and motivational lessons to his/her students.
     My favorite blog post was Teaching Literacy in the Early Years because it actually provided  valuable information and ideas about how to integrate technology into educational instruction.  It I am looking forward to introducing and integrating the new and improved technologies into my instructional lesson plan.

Free Technology for Teachers
http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=wy#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Ffreetech4teachers%2FcGEY

Will Richardson
http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=wy#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwillrichardson.com%2Frss

A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet
http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=wy#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FAMediaSpecialistsGuideToTheInternet

CoolCatTeacher Blog
http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=wy#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FCoolCatTeacherBlog

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day
http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=wy#stream/user%2F15803063824464658649%2Fstate%2Fcom.blogger%2Fblogger-following

Asssistive Technology
http://www.google.com/reader/view/feed/http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/gVvh?source=ignition#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Fblogspot%2FgVvh

http://teachingliteracy.global2.vic.edu.au/

Social bookmarks are good for gathering valuable information to help enhance educational curriculum.  The biggest advantage of using social bookmarking is that all  your resources are only a click away.  At any point you need an extension or an extra resource to enhance your lesson, you can scan through your saved bookmarks, click and add to your lesson plan. 
http://www.diigo.com/user/ola_agee

Embedding a Video-Factivation! for Multiplication

Do you know enough strategies?  Strategies make solving multiplication facts easier.  Watch this video and you will have more strategies to add to your resource bag while at the same time added ways to make your job much easier when solving multiplication facts.  Good luck!  Sit back, relax and enjoy.

Factivation! for Multiplication-web address

What did you learn?

1.  What are the four factivation strategies?

2.  What is multiplication?

3.  What are some important words you need to know before learning to multiply?

Digital Citizenship-Are You A Good One?

  


  It is important to be a good digital citizen because it helps to protect you personally as well as other people.  It gives valuable information that help individuals to be mindful of how to communicate in a positive way.  When things are not functioning properly, it gives advice on how to handle certain online issues that may affect you directly or indirectly. 
     In my opinion, I think all individuals should be educated about online safety that is compatible with their age group.  They need to be made aware about the issues associated with interacting with the internet, whether it be for educational purposes or for personal reasons.  Digital citizenship gives great advice on developing strong passwords to protect against hackers/predators, rules on using the internet with consequences for not abiding by the rules, how to avoid viruses that may attack the computer, copyright/plagiarism rules and many other ideas that will assist you in protecting yourself, others and your computer all in one.
     It means a lot to have a great digital citizen reputation.  It is important to present yourself respectful when interacting with the internet because you never know who might be inquiring or reading your personal information for employment purposes.  Each time you log in, be professional and mindful that you are not the only subscriber to the issue. 

Thinkport Review

After reviewing http://www.thinkport.org/Technology/simulations.tp, I saw several tools that would be beneficial to me as a classroom teacher.   The interactive tools and the graphic organizers both caught my attention as great technology attributes that could be added as an ehancement to regular classroom instruction The interactive tools consisted of four tools that could be used by students to motivate their learning as well as increase their knowledge of technology.  For example, two of the tools that stood out to me the most were the pattern maker and the timeline builder.  The pattern maker can be incorporated into a math lesson teaching patterns.  After delivering the lesson whole group, the teacher can use the interactive tool, pattern maker, as an assessment tool to determine whether or not the students grasp the concept taught.  The interactive tool, pattern maker, will allow students to create their own patterns and trigger their critical thinking skills by asking a question about geometric techniques used to create that pattern. After observation of the students' work, the teacher can determine whether or not the objective was met. Graphic organizers are used to help students organize information for further understanding.  I would use the W's graphic organizer during a small group instruction lesson on a nonfiction story with my struggling readers.  This type of organizer will give my struggling readers an opportunity to organize factual ideas easier.  It will also allow my struggling readers to disect a story to a level where they can comprehend and understand the contents read.  I am looking forward to incorporating these new ideas into my classroom instruction to help motivate my students' learning and increase their technology experience.

Web 2.0 Resources

Glogster, Animoto,and Classtools

Glogster, Animoto, and Classtools was a great experience for me. It was my first time exploring with all three resources. I learned how to create glogs, videos, and games by using each of these websites. I also saw many ways that I could incorporate the three into my classroom in order to enhance and motivate my students through the use of technology.


Glogster address

Animoto Address

Free Choice

Age appropriate site address

Age appropriate site address

Concept Map

Software Review

After reviewing each suggested website listed, I was able to make some personal observations that allowed me to answer the following questions on page 105 in Roblyer's book.  The http://www.clrn.org./home/ and the http://www.educationworld.com websites evaluated the largest number of titles to me.  There was a wide variety of titles to review and useful information to help enhance my knowledge as a teacher in the classroom. In my opinion, the two websites listed above also had a reputation for updating their sites on a regular basis.  They were constantly updating information according to the current issues and skills associated with education. They were also recognized for having site visitors that would leave reviews about the content found on the websites.  As I was reading the reviews, they revealed that the visitors of the site spoke highly of the information found on the site.  They found the information to be very helpful in one way or the other.  I felt the same way after visiting the sites and reviewing the software and information.  I will definitely be revisiting these websites and using some of their ideas and information as an add on to my desk of resources to help enhance my knowledge as a teacher.  I would consider using http://superkids.com, http://www.educationworld.com, and http://www.clrn.org/home/ to learn about software for my children.  I found all three websites to be useful.  I am looking forward to learning more about the software associated with these sites.

Introduction

Hi.  My name is Ola Shuronda Agee.  I am the mother of one terrific son.  I have been teaching for eleven years in the elementary field.  I taught 4th grade and 6th grade reading my first year.  I taught 3rd grade for seven years and second grade for three years.  I coached varsity girl's basketball for eleven years and I retired from coaching this year.  I am currently working on my Master's degree in elementary education.