So, it occurred to me that I've been forgetting to update my blog with class recaps. Let's make up for some lost time.
November 14th: after being absent for two class meetings, I returned to discover that everyone else had begun the podcast project. After talking to Mrs. Enlow about what I had missed, I joined the group of Bridgette, John (I think he goes by Jack?), and Yuran. The project they had started on was on Philadelphia cheesesteaks - a personal favorite of mine. While I helped mostly with picture scavenging, I also contributed my voice to the sound portion of the assignment. We didn't get a chance to finish the project in class, so we're going to meet on Saturday to finish it on-campus.
November 21st: unfortunately, I arrived to class rather late due to my step-dad being in the hospital. Before anyone panics, he's fine; he was having a procedure to remove scar tissue that had formed after they placed a defibrillator-pacemaker in his heart several months ago. Of course, I told him I'd hang out with him until the operation was finished; the procedure ending up taking all day. Ordinarily, I don't think he would have minded if I left before he returned to his room, but he (and I guess me to a far lesser extent) was aggravated from the contradictory statements the nurses kept giving us ("It's a really short procedure," "it shouldn't only be another hour," etc.). What made this even worse was the fact that my group and I couldn't work on our project on Saturday when we had planned, due to not having access to a computer with the correct version of Apple's GarageBand. So, not only did I miss finishing the assignment with my group, but I also missed the majority of a presentation on adaptive technology. I was, however, in attendance for the explanation of our final project: a lesson plan using instructional technology. I already have to create a lesson plan for another education class of mine, so I should be able to a decent portion of the work for both simultaneously. In addition to the adaptive technology and final project explanations, a few students also presented their Web 2.0 PowerPoints.
November 28th: today's class was mostly dedicated to presentations, but with the podcasts we worked on previously interspersed throughout the class. I was really happy to listen to my group's podcast - they did a fantastic job! I say "they," because I feel like I let them down a bit by joining the group late and was unable to join them in finalizing the project. On the other hand, Bridgette did assure me that the remaining work on the project didn't take very long, and I did try to finish the project that one Saturday before Thanksgiving. Perhaps I'm being too hard on myself. At any rate, I suppose I should discuss a few of the Web 2.0 presentations that I saw today. Let's see - I liked Wordle, presented by Lindsey. It's a Web site that allows a user to input text and have it transformed into a "word cloud." It seems like a fun tool to mess around with, but I don't really see it's practicality in the classroom. Andrew did Facebook, which I thought was an odd choice, simply because I never really thought of a Facebook, a social media Web site, as relevant to a classroom setting (unless you count using school computers to check your Facebook profile). While I wouldn't use it as a technological tool in my own classroom, I must admit that it can be invaluable to a teacher, provided they use the site correctly. Lastly, there was Engrade, presented by Yuran. It was difficult to understand what Yuran was saying in her presentation (I assume she speaks English as her second language), but because I got to know her a little while we worked on the podcast, I decided to look up Engrade on my own. Apparently, it's an online grade book that comes complete with Wiki pages, online quiz capabilities, flashcards, and so on and so forth. Being that it's a Web site specifically designed for a teacher to use, I can see the pertinence of it's classroom applications. The only addendum that I would make for Engrade would be to make sure everything placed on the Web site is backed up in a few different places, as technology has a habit of not working sometimes.
