Throughout the semester I found myself saying wow many different times. I have learned so much in such a short period of time and it encourages me to continue growing as a professional educator. One of the most memorable articles I read explained the Askvox website. I was surprised when I discovered that there was a web site I could go to and get the direct answer I was looking for by asking a real person. I went to www.askvox.com to check out the sight and it is accurate, fun, and interactive! I think this is a great way for students to search for information on the internet.
The next a-ha moment I had was when I began listening to podcasts. I was oblivious to the fact that podcasts exhisted so when I began listening to them, it opened a whole new field of information. I particularly enjoyed Room 208 because it made me realize that there was so much a class of students could create by using podcasting. They were practical and fun to listen to.
The last wow moment I had was when I was introduced to social boomarking pages- delicious and portaportal. I had over thirty pages that were boomarked on my computer but in no particular order which made it difficult to locate. I had no prior knowledge about either of these sites but after using them for a few minutes, I realized it was simple to navigate through and locate bookmarked pages. I will continue to add my favorite and useful web sites to delicious and portaportal in the future!
6 classmates' web sites
Kerrie- I enjoyed the colorful backgrounds on your site. The pictures you incorporated from your classroom are great, and using the students' projects for your ABC book was a good idea- what a treasure for you and the students! I also like how you separated your links into teacher/student/parent categories. I would double-check your podcast because I couldn't get it to work. Some links took me to different pages than it said. Maybe change the second text colors when you click on GO TO buttons so the text is still readable on the background color. Other than that, everything looked awesome!
Chris- I thought you had a great idea for you abc book but I noticed the text wass difficult to read; maybe make it larger. Some of the pages were linked to the home page instead of what the button that it said it linked to. Did you save all the pictures into your projects folder- the home page looked like it was missing something? I liked the simplicity to your buttons and it was easy to locate everything!
Roger- I like the consistency in buttons and color because it made your site simple and easy to read. When you have a chance, maybe add more to your delicious/portaportal sites so we can use the helpful links! I thought your home-page was very organized!
Jessie- The site was easy to read and had an eye-catching home page-Fort Hays colors?! I like your welcome statement- it flowed naturally and did make me feel welcome to be looking at the site. I couldn't get the podcast to work but it might have been my computer. You included great pictures that show so much about you and will help your employers and future students get to know you better! I noticed that when I clicked on anything from a frame other than one, it took me back to frame one to navigate through the other pages. This wouldn't take long to fix and might make it easier to navigate throught. Otherwise, great web site and I am REALLY looking forward to watching your iMovie.
Ashley- I love your picture slideshow. It was a great idea to incorporate into your website- how fuN! Your travel ambassador movie was awesome too! I can't believe it's possible to put together such a fun and interesting movie by using pictures. I also liked that you included a shedule in your website but I thought the text would have been easier to read if it were bigger or black. Fun movies, fun pictures, fun web site!
Joan- I really enjoyed your awesome ABC book and I learned so much about you! Your students will also be able to learn about you by reading your ABC book. The only suggestion I had was to put a rectangle behind the words and change the opacity so the words would stand out more and be easier to read. Your web site was simple to navigate through and I enjoyed your pictures. I also thought your iMovie was great!
As of now, my web site has a firm foundation, but if i were to create my web site again, and especially if I have my own class, I would incorporate a class schedule so parents and students know what to expect on a daily basis. Also, I would create a calendar for the school year reminding parents and students of upcoming events. In addition, I would seperate my links into categories such as parents/teachers/students. I thought this was a great idea and adds some organization to the links page. My site would be much larger if I had my own classroom because I would create pages for students' work and add pictures of my students. This would allow them to show their family members and friends what they have been working on in the classroom and what they are proud of. I forgot to include my management plan which is an important part of my teaching philosophy so I would also add that to my web site. Besides adding depth to my web site, I think the overall look and organization is well thought out. I did not want it cluttered or difficult to read and I think I accomplished that. I am excited to get my mac so I can continue adding to my web site.
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