Thing 21

I created a Google Calendar and listed all of my events for this week and next. I added some events that repeat weekly and every Tues and Thursday. I have some events marked as private. I did make it public. I am not sure how others view it. But I clicked the 'Make Public' button. This tool can be used to keep parents informed of events going on in the classroom. Here is a link to my calendar. http://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=5vyRjBaBvD5xuPc__4pNRQ


I also played with Google Alert. I used Mesquite, TX as my keywords. I left and went to lunch. When I came back, I had an email alert. It had several listings of things happening in Mesquite. It was cool. This tool can be used to keep up with new information on a topic for a project. http://www.google.com/alerts/manage?hl=en&gl=us

Thing 20

I have used Google Docs at school. My administrators started using it last semester. We filled out surveys and information forms. I could use Google Docs to have my parents fill out the Student Information form that we send out at the beginning of school. Power Points could be shared with teachers to include their class information on a school wide project. Spreadsheets can be shared within a school to view assessment scores and class lists. There are so many ways to use Google Docs. I am going to go play some more. :)

Thing 19

Voice Thread was very cool. As I was reading the introduction, I thought it would be hard. But it really isn't. I found a VoiceThread that would be great for my classroom. It is Pre-K Alphabet What Comes Next? by Jody Maxey. It is embeded below. Voicethread could be used as a talking photo album or as an interactive lesson as shown in the presentation.

Thing 18

I love YouTube. When we are bored, we will sit as a family and play on YouTube. We pick a subject (comedy, favorite comedians, songs, etc). We can play for hours.

On YouTube, I searched PreKindergarten and found many classroom videos. Some included teachers teaching a lesson, PreK graduations, and fieldtrips. I also searched "making jewelry" for my how to video. There were over 4,000 videos. Wow! For my fun video, I found "The Mom Song". I love this song. It is so appropriate for a mom's daily life.

When I searched TeacherTube for PreKindergarten, I found only 3 videos. Two of the three were informational. One was an orientation to PreK. One was a video on how to complete PreK homework. The last video was of a PreK Easter program.

These sites can be used in the classroom to teach and reinforce skills. I would probably trust TeacherTube for use in the classroom over YouTube. It is a little safer.

Below is the Mom Song by Anita Renfro.

Thing 6

I love this Reader. I have been looking at my Reader pretty much on a daily basis. Not much has come through it over the last few days. Of course, I have a lot of items from PreK teachers. They are enjoying vacation right now.

One item I did see and like was the article The Courage to Say No by J.M. Holland. http://blogs.preknow.org/insideprek/2009/07/the-courage-to-say-no.html

This article talks about a subject that most parents deal with but don't want to talk about - Saying no to their children. The article emphasizes that it is ok to say no to your children. It is ok not to give them everything they ask for. Instead of watching tv and playing video games, kids should be outside.

I agree with this statement. It is hard to get kids out these days. It's hot. They have to be careful. And we (parents) have to watch them more closely. Make sure they are not in the street or too far away. When they are in the house, we know they are ok.

I can see how the Reader is a plus in education. So much information is out there. It is hard to see it all. The Reader brings it to you. Thanks Google.

Thing 17

I use podcasting to listen to the sermons that I have missed at my church. With an infant, I usually miss the sermon as I am walking the halls trying to get my son to be quiet. I can hear most of what is being said. But I miss some things. So I listen to the podcasts that are available at www.rcmesquite.com. It's a great way to catch up.

I tried to search for some PreK podcasts and didn't have much luck. The items I found were long and didn't really apply to me at this point. I did enjoy the Just One More Book podcast. I am an avid reader and like to hear book reviews.

Podcasting can be used in the classroom in many ways. For me, I can play my Circle Time music without having to worry about scratching cd's and play books in the Listening Center. I am interested in other ways to use podcasting.

Thing 16

LibraryThing -- What a concept. I like it. I love to read (hence the need to become a librarian some day.). I enjoyed browsing LibraryThing. I am always looking for my next good book. This will help me to see what others are reading and if they enjoyed them. On a professional note, I can let my class create a page for when we are doing Book It! They can put all of the books they are reading in a catalog. We can also use the 50 Books Challenge to challenge the parents to read to students. They always like a contest.