The first thing I noticed as I browsed through these was that a good majority of them didn't have a whole lot of application for me in Kindergarten.  So the 3 I chose are the 3 I could figure a way to use.  (I also had a little trouble getting some of them to load, so maybe I missed some.)

EMedia:
I LOVE this tool.  I have been using it for awhile now.  There are some really great videos for Kindergarten on here.  I love the animated stories.  There are many that we have already read in class, so it is fun to go watch the movie afterwards.  They also have Magic School Bus, which my kids absolutely love.  This is a great resource when we are getting a reward or something. 

NatGeo:
I liked this tool because I noticed that there were some resources for searching different grade levels.  These are subjects that are hard to apply to Kinder, so I love any free ideas for lesson plans I can get!  The problem is finding time during my half day to teach them...

Wonderopolis:
I just liked the idea of this site.  I don't think I could ever use it in Kinder because most of it is above their heads, but it was interesting. 

Thanks for sharing!

I almost forgot that I am supposed to be taking notes for my blog!  But no worries, I am back on top of it J  We started out talking about some of the different online presentation tools.  I was very intrigued with Animoto.  I am all about easy, and that definitely seems easy!  Not quite so intrigued with the Museum Box tool, but it seemed alright.  I think it would be cooler if the blocks were more interactive. 

On to Glogster….I have never heard of this tool before.  I liked the comparison to the poster projects.  That definitely helped me to understand what the purpose of the tool is.  I can’t really imagine using it in Kindergarten, but I could use it myself to create presentations to show to the Kinders.  On the other hand, it might be interesting to let my students attempt to create their own.  They would need help and a lot of supervision, but it could be fun to see what they could come up with. 

Here is the link to my Glog!!  http://missshanda.edu.glogster.com/kindergarten-habitats/  OR it is embedded on the site.  Just click the Glog!! page. 

Ed Tech Class

So tonight we are beginning with a review of Twitter and using the app “TweetDeck.”  I understand it all pretty well, but I am still not so convinced that I want to use it.  Following hashtags is a lot easier when using TweetDeck, that is a definite plus!

Talking about Wikipedia.  I see the value as a source as long as it’s not the sole source.  So I pretty much agree with what was being said. 

Collaboration:

Creativity involves action.  Applied Imagination.  Process of having original ideas that have value.  

-       I like the idea of collaboration serving the purpose of achieving more together than they could separately.  That isn’t always the case during collaboration though. 

-       I am now frustrated that I can’t get the lesson plan that I found on one of the wikis that was shown.  Not sure why!

DropBox-

Easy collaboration!  I like the idea of just having extra storage.  I definitely can use that on my IPad.  2GB isn’t too bad.  So that is a great idea!  I am having fun playing with it. 

I even got my homework done!  Kindergarten teachers unite on DropBox!  J

GoogleDocs:

This one confuses me a little bit.  Dropbox is very straightforward, and I am hoping I will feel the same way about GoogleDocs when we are done. 

--Ok, I admit that Google Docs is making more sense now.  I can see different uses for both GoogleDocs and DropBox.  I am glad that I now have a better understanding of each! 

Skype:  I would love to have a pen pal/skype buddy class.  I think my Kindergartners would absolutely love that!  We would have to plan it really well, and make sure some good ground rules are set, but I think it would be so fun!  I do worry a little about sharing information about my class/putting pictures out there because of parents privacy etc.