Sunday, January 31, 2010
Google Docs
Just logged on to Google Docs. Pretty impressive stuff. Basically you can make any document into a web based document. Any document from spreadsheets to word processing can be converted to a web based document... and easily. I think this will have a big impact on my career as a teacher. My district has already started to use Google docs for a lot of things including only surveys about the climte of schools and curriculum choices. As we move forward i can see google docs becoming and even bigger part of my career.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Web 2.0 Awards
I'm probably a little behind the times here, but the list at SEOmoz's Web 2.0 Awards amazed me. The first thing I found is that if Google doesn't run the world now, they are well on their way. Is there anything that doesn't come from Google? Google Docs? Google Maps? I also found some other pretty cool sites. One of them was SpanishPod This is a website where you can learn to speak Spanish on your own terms at your computer on your own time. There was also another website that might come in handy tonight, cocktailbuilder.com Guessthegoogle.com looks like a pretty cool site to just sit at all day long and waste time while in a trance. Might have to do that some day, but not today, got work to do!
RSS
What a week... first I had a little stomach virus, was able to get through it and actually went to work. Then it spread... my wife, my son, my wife's family. So I had to take a day off from work, not because I was sick but because my wife and her family were sick!
Anyway, I am now a subscriber to bloglines.com It is really pretty cool. I am able to basically bring all of the websites that i might want to read on a given day to me rather than looking for them. I was even able to have folders for different types of sites. SI.com and ESPN.com among others are in the sports folder. I have a news folder, and a politics folder. I also have some other folders from other websites like celebrity news, music news, and even one for my classmates news. It was real easy to set up and I am sure it will help me find some articles that I want to read, and probably some I don't. either way I won't have to waste as much time looking for those articles. This internet thing is actually pretty cool. i think it might stick around.
Oh and here is a the link to my blogrole... www.bloglines.com/public/prock19
Anyway, I am now a subscriber to bloglines.com It is really pretty cool. I am able to basically bring all of the websites that i might want to read on a given day to me rather than looking for them. I was even able to have folders for different types of sites. SI.com and ESPN.com among others are in the sports folder. I have a news folder, and a politics folder. I also have some other folders from other websites like celebrity news, music news, and even one for my classmates news. It was real easy to set up and I am sure it will help me find some articles that I want to read, and probably some I don't. either way I won't have to waste as much time looking for those articles. This internet thing is actually pretty cool. i think it might stick around.
Oh and here is a the link to my blogrole... www.bloglines.com/public/prock19
Sunday, January 24, 2010
J! E! T! S!
Jets! Jets! Jets! Lets hope this is not a repeat of my life as a Jets fan. They always do this to us. They take us to the brink all the time. They have us all think, no they make us believe, and then they rip our hearts out. Hopefully not today, hopefully Rex and the boys will be able to complete a great season. I'm going against prior knowledge and every ounce of common sense I have in me, but I KNOW they can do it!
If not, there is only a month left until pitchers and catchers report!
If not, there is only a month left until pitchers and catchers report!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Technology in the Classroom
I have always tried to be up to date with technology in the classroom. Of course some things always hold me back. My ultimate goal is to have a paperless classroom. For that reason my students are usually working on projects which they can hand in on line. One of the newer (well to me at least) websites I found is called www.xtranormal.com This site lets kids make movies of some of the things we are doing in class. The student in this picture is working on his project for the settlement of Ancient Greece.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Social Networking and MicroBlogging
It’s Friday again and time for another update. This week I have read several articles about Social Networking and MicroBlogging and there uses in the classroom. The first article, Examining Social Software in Teacher Education made some good points about social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Writely. What I really got out of this article is that these sites have many uses in the classroom. One of the points that really stuck with me was, “Social software acts as a space in which collaborative and cooperative learning can occur.” I could not agree more. Most people see social networking sites as a way of wasting time, or playing on the internet, and it can be. But, used the right way social networking sites can have a profound effect on students. It is pretty easy to say that kids like technology, the internet, social networking, and of course their friends. Why not put all of those together to achieve the highest level of engagement. I know when I am teaching a unit and we are using sites where kids can interact with each other, the engagement level goes way up and the student work goes way up as well.
The second article I read this week had to do with how technology is changing the way libraries work. It discusses the different uses of social networking such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts in a library setting. For instance, it discusses the uses of blogs and how different libraries are using them. Some are using them strictly as informational services. These informational services include library announcements, closures due to holidays, library events and lists of new books. Some libraries have begun to use blogs in other ways such as in library service, and a feedback tool. I think this is similar to the way that blogs are used in education; some are just starting out, posting assignments and such, while some are having students write their own blogs.
The third article I read again deals with the issue of social networks in the classroom. I found myself chuckling a little while reading this article, especially when it talked about how readers on the internet navigate their way through information. They use such strategies as looking for key words, and links. My “LOL” moment came when I found myself reading it online doing the same things the author spoke of. Of course I then printed it out and read over the whole article again to make sure I didn’t miss anything!
The second article I read this week had to do with how technology is changing the way libraries work. It discusses the different uses of social networking such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts in a library setting. For instance, it discusses the uses of blogs and how different libraries are using them. Some are using them strictly as informational services. These informational services include library announcements, closures due to holidays, library events and lists of new books. Some libraries have begun to use blogs in other ways such as in library service, and a feedback tool. I think this is similar to the way that blogs are used in education; some are just starting out, posting assignments and such, while some are having students write their own blogs.
The third article I read again deals with the issue of social networks in the classroom. I found myself chuckling a little while reading this article, especially when it talked about how readers on the internet navigate their way through information. They use such strategies as looking for key words, and links. My “LOL” moment came when I found myself reading it online doing the same things the author spoke of. Of course I then printed it out and read over the whole article again to make sure I didn’t miss anything!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Friday
Finally Friday!
An I-pod Friday as well. This is where my students in my classroom get to listen to their music while they finish their work. It is extremly quiet, maybe because I have my I-pod on as well. Only one ear though, so I can hear the cries for help!
Tony Gwynn spoke at the Baseball Coaches Clinic last night, unfortunately I wasn't there. Would have liked to hear him speak.
My wife is amazed at our son... my 2 year old knows our phone number. I think he learned it from listening to me order breakfast and dinner on the weekends. He is a smart little squirt.
Three day weekend coming up, lots of work to do. Gotta switch out some light fixtures, fix the sink, and complete some school work for my masters. Monkey Business tonight with the wife and son, gonna be fun, he loves that place. I'll post some pictures when I get to it this weekend!
Have a good weekend and enjoy!
An I-pod Friday as well. This is where my students in my classroom get to listen to their music while they finish their work. It is extremly quiet, maybe because I have my I-pod on as well. Only one ear though, so I can hear the cries for help!
Tony Gwynn spoke at the Baseball Coaches Clinic last night, unfortunately I wasn't there. Would have liked to hear him speak.
My wife is amazed at our son... my 2 year old knows our phone number. I think he learned it from listening to me order breakfast and dinner on the weekends. He is a smart little squirt.
Three day weekend coming up, lots of work to do. Gotta switch out some light fixtures, fix the sink, and complete some school work for my masters. Monkey Business tonight with the wife and son, gonna be fun, he loves that place. I'll post some pictures when I get to it this weekend!
Have a good weekend and enjoy!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
1st Post
Hello out there! My name is Pat Rock and I am starting this blog! In this blog I will post weekly updates about my life, including my professional career as a teacher and a high school coach. So stay tuned for updates!!!
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