Pixlr

I used Pixlr to edit this picture of me and my dog. It was so simple and easy. Plus, they have so many different editing tools and effects that you can use. This would be great for students to use for projects because they can they can get as creative as they want. Then, they could use one of our other Web 2.0 tools to make them into a slideshow! I absolutely love this site and would definitely use it in the classroom.

Resume

I learned a lot by completing a mock resume in class. I learned how to make a normal resumes in previous classes, but I never knew how to make a resume for a teaching job. It has similar aspects of the common resume but there are a lot of things that I wouldn't have even know to do or to put on there. For example, I didn't know what type of things counted as qualifications. I have a lot to critique and add to my resume but doing a sample one has been very useful.

Digital Scavenger Hunt

I had a blast doing this activity. I think it is a great way for students to do a project or group/class activity. Students could browse around their school, home, or even the internet to find images and create a slide show. I think I would want my students to use Picasa over Google Presentation to make their slideshows because their are a lot more creative and colorful aspects in that program. Also, they could even use Pixlr to get even more creative with the pictures before posting them to Picasa or Google Presentations. I would definitely use this activity for quite a few projects in my future classes.  

Resource Wiki

Our resource wiki is for Special Education/Deaf and Hard of Hearing/ Interpretation, and I have learned about some wonderful websites that I could eventually use in my classroom thanks to my group members. I really like the idea of a resource wiki, but I'm not a big fan of having such a large group participating on the wiki. This is because there has been a lot of confusion and things that people have posted have randomly disappeared. However, if this was used in a classroom where the teacher would be closely monitoring the wikis then I don't think it would be a problem. I think it would be a great idea for group or even individual projects where you have to have resources for some type of annotation section of a research project. It is an easy way to keep up with it and make quick changes.   

Four Seasons Glogster

I made this interactive poster by using Glogster. The poster is about the four seasons and if you click on the middle, it will take you to another website about the four seasons. There is so much that you can do with this program. You can get as creative as you want! I am hoping to use this in my classroom as an alternative for certain projects.

Inquiry Based Activity

I decided to do my Inquiry Based Activity on the Great Depression for a 5th grade classroom. I found a really great website, http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/depression.htm. It had the major points of history about the Great Depression, including the New Deal and the Dust Bowl. I created 6 questions that were not difficult to find within the text. I hope I get to use this for my real class some day. I actually found this website on a WebQuest, along with many other useful websites for other subject areas.

One Minute Essay

I'm really enjoying the class so far. I never knew that there was so much technology that you could use in a classroom or how to even use it in the first place. I love that we get step by step instructions because sometimes I'm technologically challenged. However, it's a little overwhelming because I have 2 other classes, and trying to keep the due dates straight with everything gets a little confusing. This is definitely one of my favorite classes so far. 

Wordle

This Wordle is of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, and I made a Wordle on this because I think it is one of the most influential speeches in history. I think Wordles are great to use in a classroom by using them as polls, reviews, and history and literature projects. I would definitely use this in my classroom. 

Web 2.0 Project: Picasa

I am working with Breia and our project is Picasa. I really like our tool because it is very easy to use and easy to explain to others. The project is going well and Breia and I have worked very well together. We divided the responsibilities between the two of us and communicated well through Google Docs. I did the Overview and Uses in the Classroom, and she wrote out Step by Step and the example Artifact. We both made artifacts to put on the Wiki, she made one of her engagement pictures and I put the step by steps into a slideshow. Then I posted it all onto our Wiki page. I'm having trouble embedding our slideshow onto the page though. I guess that's something else I'll have to learn how to do!  

Weather WebQuest

The WebQuest that I found looked and sounded like an exciting activity/lesson that I would LOVE to teach in class. It is a very interactive, hands-on, minds-on lesson. The activity is used to teach students about weather and how to predict weather conditions. The creator of this used a character named "Drip" in order to better interact with the students. I think students would like this better than listening to instructions from the teacher. It is very easy step by steps and has links to every aspect of the lesson. It also has a link to the weather journal that the students will have to fill out during the lesson. This WebQuest is easy to follow and I think students could understand it without the teacher explaining it. There is a teacher page, as well, that is very helpful and even connects the standards. I would definitely recommend this to teachers to use in their classes.     

Wikis

I love using wikis for class because they are very easy to use and to share information with everyone. However, I'm not sure yet that I would use this in my future classroom. These reasons include: 1) The classroom may not have a class set. 2) If I were assign things involving the wiki as homework, it's not guaranteed that every student has access to the internet or even a computer. However, if I were not to use it for homework purposes, then I think it would be a GREAT classroom tool and would definitely use it. I think it would be useful for projects, group assignments, and to keep track of what we do in class. I think wikis are great classroom tools as long as they are used appropriately.  

Fun Brain! (website evaluation)

I came across a great educational website called Fun Brain. This site has games for each subject area, and has popular books and comics that children can read online, such as Diary of A Wimpy Kid. The games range from kindergarten to eight grade. These games could be an extremely useful tool for teachers to use in the classroom, especially with struggling learners or students in special education programs. In my opinion, it would be most effective if the teacher has an interactive whiteboard in the classroom. This can allow children to come up and play the game. Also, students with limited fine motor skills can use this with the interactive whiteboard instead of gripping a pencil, which can cause them pain. This makes it hands-on, minds-on.  

Class Expectations

In this class I expect to learn how to properly and effectively incorporate technology into my classroom environment. I also want to learn about the programs that could benefit children with disabilities, especially kids that have not fully developed fine motor skills. I feel like these programs, like interactive whiteboards, that are touch screen could help these students become more successful in the classroom. I want to learn every aspect of the programs that we can possibly learn in this short amount of time. I also expect to learn about other programs that are helpful for Special Education that we may not use in this particular class, but that I can use for my future classroom. 

Welcome!

My name is Kayla Wyatt. I'm a Special Education major at The University of Tennessee. I plan on graduating in May 2013. Then I will be starting my intern year. Also, this up coming Fall I will starting my first semester of practicum and I am so excited but nervous. I'm a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and a member of Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority, so community service is very important to me.