Tool 5: Tagging and Social Bookmarking

The tags that I used to find the following sites were: teaching and
education. I am always on the web looking for resources and when I come accross something that I want to go back to I bookmark it, so I can see myself using social bookmarking as a way to organize it all.

http://www.readwritethink.org/

http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-more-collaborative-and-interactive-classroom/

Tool 4

I love google doc. It makes life so much easier. As teachers, we can really work as a team more efficiently without sending a document over and over again many times just to come up with a final copy. We can share the same document and everyone can add to it without the necessity of cutting and pasting. Now, we can concentrate on contributing on getting things done at one time rather, than sending emails back and forth and making revisions. The possibilities of using this tool range from working together to prepare materials, roadmaps, etc. to parents presentations for open house, math/Literacy night. etc.

Google reader is also a great time saver tool. It does the search work for you to keep you updated. It allows you to get the latest posted information on particular subject areas, or to keep you in touch with a network of interest.

tool 3

Briefly explain how these samples would be used and how they might add to the learning process in your classroom.
I created a brief movie using Animoto, which I can foresee using this tool in my kindergarten classroom as a way to incorporate visual information throughout the subject areas, specially in math, science and social studies, where my students need lots of visual support. I also created a word cloud using Wordle. This tool will certainly allow me to present vocabulary in a more innovative way. As kindergartners, my students need exposure to various types of text and fonts, and yet realize that regardless of how the text is presented, the letters needed to make up words are still the same even though they have a different color, size or slightly different shape.

tool 2

I think it's a great tool for communicating and diversifying information very efficiently. The comment that I found meaningful was adding a link if pertinent when posting a comment. It is truly indeed a way to build a community of bloggers. I have posted comments to the following blogs thus far: the tales of a fifth grade teacher...

It's been an great experience.