KPeel's Blog » Uncategorized

Thing 23

Kelley Peel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:47:36 +0000

I signed up for this course, because I wanted a guided learning experience. I know that I will need to continually participate in these types of courses to not only maintain what I have learned but also keep current.
I learned that all the offerings out there are not an all or none deal. Some tools may be great for the classroom teacher, but not the most useful tool for my position. I definitely understood that my technology “lackings” was confining my ability to communicate and collaborate.
I plan on refreshing myself with the tools and experiment with my blog on the RP site. I would definitely take the next course, because I learn best with coaching. I would not have even know where to start without the guiding.
My experience: “Worth the risk! Go for it!”

Thing 22

Kelley Peel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:19:43 +0000

I found it pretty easy to create a wiki. I even uploaded a logo and a document. The only difficultly I had was realizing that I was to type on the page with the instructions.

I think the Wiki will be a much easier way to communicate than my group email I have been using. I experimented by only inviting a few people then will expand to the whole group when I get feedback.

Purple Game Wiki

Thing 21

Kelley Peel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:18:39 +0000

We have started to use Wikis at RPMS. In January RP is hosting a Purple Game which is a basketball game with all proceeds going to Van Andel Institute for cancer research. Before the game the middle school is going to have a Pride Assembly. There are several activities planned for the Pride Assembly including relay races and the speaker will be a scientist from VAI. We decided that a Wiki would be a good experiment for all of us to collaborate. Emails were a bit of a zoo. Although we are all new to Wikis, I think it is working well.

Thing 20

Kelley Peel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:27:58 +0000

Love and Logic

I have worked more on embedding the video after the email saying it would work. I just can not figure out how to embed. January, 10

I can not figure out how to embed the video. I feel like I tried every combonation of buttons. I successfully saved the file from Youtube to Keepvid to my computer. I just can only link it.

Thing 19

Kelley Peel — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:13:03 +0000

I found this to be an assignment that captured my attention. I discovered that Love and Logic has a downloaded video. I think I need to link that to my blog. I spend my own money on materials to loan to parents and don’t get them back. This is a money saving site for me. Parents can check it out and see if the class I offer at RP is for them.

Thing 18

Kelley Peel — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:00:25 +0000

Voicethread I was familiar with, so I explored slideshare. I really appreciated the information on both, though. I voicethread example was hilarious with the mom and kids.

I signed up for Slideshare and uploaded my first presentation. I was really surprised at how long it took. I would bet it took 5 minutes. I grabbed a presentation I use with the EA program. Because there are so many pictures, is that the reason? I can see where having this link on our EA web site would be very useful. Right now we send out CDs. I also think this would be useful to have the parenting ppt. on my school blog. I could send parents to the site before they come in for a conversation.

Thing 17

Kelley Peel — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:24:59 +0000

I played around with bubbl.us. I have so many details for a Purple Game coming up. I thought the visual would be a nice way to keep track of all the details, but did not find it as nice as the inspiration software. I couldn’t drag the bubbles around very easily.

I also experimented with 30 Boxes. I liked that program, but would like a program where I can enter dates and tag them for different audiences. i.e. family bdays or a specific Endurance Adventure calendar.

Thing 16

Kelley Peel — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:02:19 +0000

Creative Commons is a great Uh Ah for me! Right now Endurance Adventure is writing up its by-laws deciding on copyright issues for the 501 ( c ) 3. I feel like I will be able to add a lot to our next conversation. As painful as I find all of this technology, I know I need it. I am working on the curriculum and the school “kit” that we are going to be selling to other areas. i.e. EA has a big interest in Oregon and Ann Arbor. We have been struggling with the balance between wanting many kids involved and protecting all of our work. We want to protect the integrity of the program and any financial windfall to go back into the program.

I have just had 3 logos created this year for 3 different programs. I would have used the cc on 2 of them had I known this info.

Thank you.

Thing 15

Kelley Peel — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:24:17 +0000

EPN seems like a more useful site for work, but sometimes I hear programs on PBS and am only able to catch part of the show. I will look forward to using my ITunes account to catch whole broadcasts. I listened to a podcast on different careers. With all the requirements for high school students, some programs have moved down to the middle and elementary levels. i.e. I need to start introducing careers and colleges to our younger students. I think these podcasts might be a nice “sprinkle” for them.

For the first time I down loaded a Pod Cast to my iTunes account. www.ricksteves.com seemed like an interesting place to start. With my Calling All Colors group we were working on traditions and how they impact our view on life. I downloaded his broadcast on traditions around the world.

Thing 14

Kelley Peel — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:34:56 +0000

I was amazed at what some teachers are doing with their classrooms. A couple of applications I found for podcasts given my limited knowledge was for my learning and my children’s learning. I thought the chemistry example from Eagen, MN to be very fun and engaging. My 7th grader just finished a unit in chemistry and I found it a chore to help her with it and very dull. That site would have made it really fun.
I also really appreciated the professional development site. The “Brain Drain” phenomenon was a huge discussion in the 80’s in Iowa. Now with corn prices up, that discussion is not with Iowa but with Michigan. What do I need to be aware of for our students and how can I prepare them for a productive career? Very enlightening.