Reflection: Google Sites

This week our assignment in class was to use Google Sites to create a classroom website.

Being the type of person who is "afraid" to explore technology, I had absolutely no idea that Google Sites even existed. I was shocked to learn how easy it was to create a website...I finished mine in less than an hour! I named my website "Mrs. Faye's Classroom Corner" and had a blast decorating it with school themed clip-art.

Here is a screenshot of my homepage:

 I found this technology so simple and so fun! Using Google Sites, or any website creator for that matter, is a GREAT way to stay connected with students, parents, and even other co-workers. I would use my site as a way to display important events in my classroom so that there is never any question as to what is going on. I will be creating a classroom website!

This assignment is an example of NETS-T standard 3, objectives B and C.

Reflection: Windows Movie Maker

For our sixth assignment, we were instructed to make a short movie using Microsoft Movie Maker.
I had never used Movie Maker before; however, I found it to be extremely user friendly.  I think Movie Maker would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom to document the year.

This assignment relates to NETS-T Standard 2.C.

Reflection: Google Groups

For our fifth assignment, our class divided into groups in order to create a story on Google Groups.

Google Groups resembles both a word processing document and a discussion board.  When logged in, anyone in the group can contribute to the project instantly and in real time...NO WAITING! Whatever the person types, everyone in the group sees the words as they are being typed, also.  This allows members to work together no matter where they are.

Our assignment was to create a story using Google Groups, topic of our choice, one paragraph at a time. We chose to make our story about a family party,and it was very neat watching our ideas unfold in front of each others eyes. I included a screen shot of our story below:

I feel that Google Groups would be a great resource for any teacher. It could be used to allow students to build writing skills while working in groups.

This activity relates to NETS-T standard #2, objective A.