Taking Time Out

After a hectic week I took some time out for myself. I enjoyed a very relaxing evening sitting in my hot tub while the snow fell gently on my head. It was great. No one calling out to me and asking me to do anything. Just some time to myself. I had the stereo playing and I just sat. Time for myself. Just Greatttttttt!

Back to reality and back to work. I had a chance to browse some of the blogs for our course work. I found the scratch animation and I located this stickman video. This was me and in many cases it is still me as I learn http://scratch.mit.edu/users/plumberry  It is the Stupid Stickman 8 I am sure that I am not the only person out there learning as we go and can relate to this. 

I have been playing with the delicious website and tagging a couple of sites. I must say that this is a lot easier than the bookmarking on my computer. The list of sites on my bookmarks is getting longer and longer. Now I have a way to sort and store. Thanks for the help everyone.

Now I am updating my skype contact list but I seem to be missing a few people. I will leave a message in your blog and hopefully you will get back to me.

Staying on Top

Tonight I took some time to visit some of the sites and add an entry for each site that I visited. I also added an avatar to my profile. I find that the only time I can really work is late when my wife and kids are in bed sleeping. I am constantly on the move for work or for family matters.

Some of the sites I visited have been changed since I last saw them and this tells me that people are learning new things and trying new tools everyday. This is the way I like to learn, explore, try and if I don’t succeed then try again, but differently. Its no good trying the same thing over and over. You have to do something different to get a different result.

Its late, the hounds are still chasing the fox who is very elusive. Someday the hounds will chase him up the tree but for now the chase is on.

Skype Contact Info

Please add me to your Skype contact list for the ICT 07.598 course. The Skype contact name is the: theburntone.

Using the Sites

As part of the ict course I am currently taking, I have downloaded several sites as well as skype. Skype, I have used to talk with my sister in Halifax and we are trying to get my brother overseas,  in Indonesia, and our friend in Austrilia, to get skype also so we can talk to them. I have found skype to be useful.

I need to take the time and explore the other sites to become famaliar to them and discover how best to use them to enhance communication between the school and parents/students.  One of the things that we have not ventured into is in the area of cell phones. Most of the students seem to have their own cell phones and they are constantly texting in school, in class and just about everywhere. I was watching my daughter use her cell phone and I noticed that she spends more time texting on the phone than talking to other people. I think that the only time she really uses it as a phone is when she needs to call me or her mom, or we are calling her to find out where she is or its time for us to pick her up.

Now is the time to explore and discover what these sites are capable of doing and the see if we can use them at the school and connect them with the school webpage. I hope that I can incorporate some of them into the school webpage. Tally ho! Its time to loose the hounds and chase the fox.

RE: Use

I was thinking about how to use the blog as a teaching tool. One way in which the blog could be used as a teaching tool: putting the class notes up on a daily basis. Parents could review the notes on a daily basis. Parents could view the blog to see what was being discussed in the classroom. This would keep the parents informed of what and when topics are being discussed in class.

Also, as a teacher you could post assignments and due dates on the blog. This would enable parents to find out if their child completed the assignments and handed them in. The blog would need to be linked to a gmail account. This would allow correspondance between the parents and the teacher and maintain the privacy between the parent, student and teacher.

When students are sick or they are out of town, this would allow for the students to stay in touch with the classroom and assignments. The google documents could be used as a way for students to submit assignments for a course. The students could use the blog to ask questions for clarification when uncertain of what the material being discussed is unclear.

I do realize that this could become cumbersome for teachers, especially at the the high school level, who have four or five classes with thirty or more students in a course. The time factor would become a major concern. It would take a huge commitment on the part of the teacher to keep up with the demands. To provide this in conjunction with a course could be a useful tool, but the how would still need to be worked out.

RE: Wiki

I know that this is not a big deal to a lot of people but today I set up a wiki account. This is all new to me, so I am learning as I go. There has to be a great number of people out there that are not used to the computer and all the advancements that have come with it. I find it a challenge to try and stay on top of this new technology. It is surprising how much my children know and do on the computer. They seem to have no trouble surfing and establishing web pages, MSN and creating other sites,. My children are only 12 and 14 years old but they are far superior to their dad when it comes to computers.

This ICT course for teachers is one way of staying in touch with my children and their experience on the computer, but it is also a way to learn new techniques and how to use them in an educational setting. This course involves new learning on a daily basis. Also, it is a hands on learning which for me is a great way to learn. Looking forward to other experiences as we move along in the course.

Reader

Today I set up a reader and connected the ict07598 course as a tag so that all the new post can be checked on a regular basis. The technology has really grown since the start of email. I sometimes wonder what will be next when I haven’t even mastered this technology. This is all new to me, so I guess I will have to learn as I go.

After reading the Teacher, a small news report printed by MTS and reading what happened to several teachers who were writing about their students and fellow staff members on their blogs.  The teachers were charged by their School Divisions and by their fellow teachers. I can definitely see security issues and other implications in a legal realm that can be an issue for discussion in this course. The proper use of blogs and what can and cannot be said.

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