Podcasting Training

We had our podcasting training. Voicethread is very interesting. It allows you to post comments on a podcast prepared by another person whose podcast has been made public.

As I was thinking about how it could be used in the classroom, I could already envision how it could help students in special education with expressive language IEP goals. It could boost their confidence and enable them to speak more clearly.

MICCA Conference

Initially, it really didn't matter to me if I attended the conference or not. I thought everything would be over my head and I don't need anything else to stress me out :) But I am soooo glad I went! It was good just to see what's out there in terms of technology and hear how it can be used in the classroom. As always, as an early childhood special educator, I have to figure out how to modify the information I'm given to apply it appropriately to the population I teach. I really enjoyed the presentation on using EXCEL. The presenter, Mr. Zuke, did an EXCELLENT job presenting EXCEL for Infrequent Users. The title alone told me this was the class for me!! I appreciated the step-by-step instruction and the PPT handout depicting these steps. I walked away from the conference with new ideas.

Podcasting

This was a wonderful training on podcasting. I can't wait to use it.

MICA Conference Experience

STEP registered us for the MICA Conference in Baltimore. Unfortunately, I could only attend the first day of the conference because of a scheduled articulation session with the teachers from other schools who will handle my present students next school year.

It was my first time to drive to Baltimore. I have been to the place once before but I still felt enchanted by the city. The sessions I went to were awesome but there’s one particular session I liked most and that was the session on powerpoint. The facilitators shared many websites that the teachers could use in the classroom.


Thank you, STEP for the MICA conference!

Photo Story with the Digital Camera

I'm really excited about using my Cafeteria Photo Story at the beginning of next school year with my new class! As a teacher of four year olds, I will have students that have moved from a half day 3 year old program to a full day 4 year old program. I will have to teach the children many routines they'll be experiencing for the first time, including eating in the school cafeteria. I think Photo Story will be a fun way to teach new routines, keeping the students interested and engaged. I look forward to sharing this Photo Story with other teachers in my school.

April 23, 2009
I am truly enjoying STEP. I have been introduced to great technology tools. My favorite is the digital camera and the photo story. Today I narrated on a photo story. Hearing my voice still sounds strange but I enjoy it more with the photo story than with the podcasting.

Using Powerpoint to post my document Camera artifacts

Working with powerpoint was not as difficult as figuring out how to upload the finished project. I had many issues trying to figure out how to make my uploaded project work, but I finally figured out the problem. When you upload the powerpoint, or any file, into wikispace, you have to SAVE and close the editing window, and all the things you uploaded will work. I tried to get my stuff to work while I was still in editing mode, and all I saw was this grey square that said 'file' that did nothing.

There is no preview in your wikispaces. You can always go back to edit mode to correct whatever mistakes you make, but you have to save it in order to see if the project is functioning as you want it to. A simple lesson I learned the hard way.