Other Bloggers

As part of an assignment for ECAP, my alternative certification program, I'm commenting on other blogs. Here are the three that I found that had interesting posts of their own, so I left comments there:

http://piquecuriosity.blogspot.com/2013/03/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html#comment-form

http://modernenglishisd.blogspot.com/2013/03/wallwisher-and-our-classroom.html?showComment=1367679509723#c1897699469138143865

http://cwulfsbe.blogspot.com/2013/05/wallwisher-20-source.html?showComment=1367679928501#c9118661490782306110

Check them out!

My Other "Web 2.0" Applications

For my class currently, we use the following:

Edmodo.com - I post assignments, updates, and files here. It's set up like Facebook but for education. It also has the ability to administer quizzes and polls.

ClassJump.com - I use this as a more static place for assignments. Much of what I do here overlaps with my Edmodo groups, but it provides students with another option to accessing notes and updates.

Educreations (educreations.com) - This interactive whiteboard platform has a website and app, and it's a good option for creating/recording lessons that can be shared online. There is a significant drawback in that you have to create and "publish" the lesson all in one sitting. If you create half a lesson and want to save it to finish later, you're out of luck. Which is why I have now begin using...

Doceri - A website and an app, this platform provides not only a more full-featured method of recording/editing/sharing lessons, but it makes for a great in-class interactive whiteboard. You can link to your computer, and while the computer screen is projected in your classroom, you can walk around the room and control the computer from you iPad. (Beats the heck out of those presentation clickers.) You can record your lesson too, for later use.

Digital Storytelling
I decided to try out Animoto. Pretty cool! I think of it as a video version of Prezi. Easy to use, and with fairly high-quality templates that make basic stuff look more polished and engaging.

Earlier this year, my wife and I took some of our AVID students to check out what Texas State University had to offer. I decided to use a few pics from that trip (since all of those kids have signed photograph waivers).

From Animoto: JSHS to TSU - March 2013

Wiki Like a Flash

Wiki-wiki-wiki!

https://mcobb12.wikispaces.com/home

So I understand the basic idea of Wikis, but I'm not sure it's something I'll actually use. I've been using technology in my classroom, and although I could see how someone might use a Wiki, I'm not sure I see a place where it fits in with my own technology use.

Google Reader

Is dead.

So I used Pinterest instead for my assignment. Here are the boards I created:

http://pinterest.com/mcobb12aisd/writers-worth-reading/
http://pinterest.com/mcobb12aisd/in-the-classroom/
http://pinterest.com/mcobb12aisd/shakespeare/

This could be useful for finding materials for my classroom.

Need help with grammar? Here's a great resource.

Grammar Girl's "Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing" is a wonderful resource in plain English. Check it out here.

Like Shakespeare? Videos? Videos OF Shakespeare? Awesome, so do I! Here's something for both of us: