BP03_Edmodo & Wix

Edmodo & Wix

First, I must say that this assignment should be labeled with a caution sign.  Students should be told to set an alarm and give themselves a set amount of time to browse and select.  Otherwise there is a bit of the “kid in the candy store” effect on a teacher.  I raced from site to site to check out the exciting tools.  Yes, some were not for me, but others will make my life awesome.

I had heard a lot about Edmodo – So this was my first choice.  As I was looking for the link, I came across Classroom 2.0.  It looked welcoming.  I noticed they also had a group of 365 members called “Second Life” with the logo of the familiar hand altered with an apple.  Hmmm… Just what I was looking for.  The first threaded discussion was bout Virtual Field Trips.  This is exactly what my Action Research is focused on.  This page must be my current project.  I followed the usual signing up, but then was told I was pending approval.  Maybe I’ll check back in the morning.

Oh no, bad move… The posts are all so old.  Back to Edmodo.

http://www.edmodo.com/mrsgruber

Signed up and uploaded by photo:

Great classroom page.  This is exactly what I had been nagging my IT guy about.  I have always wanted a place to have a discussion board on the novels we read as a class.  This will work perfectly.  I also wanted an interactive posting place where we could post class made videos, podcasts and interactive writings.  I don’t think this place offers all of that, but it will act as a great hub for other Web 2.0 tools.  We shall see…

I was looking for an interactive timeline next when I found Wix.

I couldn’t pass it up.  I have been looking for a more creative way to recruit for my project.  It would be cool to have a website that details the project a bit more for students and parents to access.  This would be the tool.  I have already set up the bare bones structure of the site I want.  It has a spot for students and professionals.  There will be space for Second Life snapshots from field trip locales.  There will also be a page to access my survey, computer requirements, and parental notification.

I’m not sure if I can connect it to my Edmodo or if I will have to use y own web site hosting service through Comcast.  Either way will be fine.  It will take much more work to get it up and running.  Here is the screenshot of my title page.  Wish me luck…

BP02_iGoogle_PLE

BP02_iGoogle PLE

I love iGoogle.  Since discovering the tool during the first month of EMDT, I have used it as my home page and adding as I see fit.  I have all of my links here.  Many times, I use it even though I am used to going to my page of choice.  It is just more time efficient to click <home>and then the link I want.  I was excited to learn some more options in this class.  Let me share…

My Homepage

My homepage used to be my go to location.  Primarily, because I did not know that you could add tabs.  One of my main complaints with the product was that my homepage was getting very lengthy.  I really like the feature that allows me to separate my resources by the different aspects of my life.  As you can see, on my homepage now, I have my box of links with all of my various emails and my other information resources that I deem important.  The To Do list is vital and I note everything there that crosses my mind.  However, due to assignment requirements I had to move my Twitter and Facebook to a more prominent location.  I preferred to have my pet tree frog…

My FSO/AR Page

Again, one of the better features is being able to separate the resources.  Most of the boxes on this page, I had already developed on my homepage.  To move them, it was a simple drag and drop.  I didn’t have to input all of the info again.  I create these boxes of links, as I locate new tools.  Many times I hear about a resource, I put it in a special box to look up and try out later.  I keep my “Pending” Toolbox on the last page, which I will show you.

Updates to this page include a specific AR To Do List, My research box, and my Writing Resource box.  These are all relevant to completing my AR Program.  As my project continues, I will also add boxes for my project assets. 

Resources Vs. Multimedia Tab

The last newly created tab is my resources tab.  This is the tab that organizes my various resources used in my ETC Class.  However, this is where I have issues with the assignment.  We began the assignment watching pretty impressive videos highlighting your own personal learning environment.  Immediately following the hype we are mandated to construct or reconstruct our space to exact specifications.  I understand the need for easy grading, but maybe one assignment could be ultimately unique to prove the power of the tool.  Perhaps maybe even have a peer evaluation rubric to speed grading.  Regardless, I followed directions…But…

I included my original page as well.  I called mine the Multimedia Tools area instead of resources.  I like mine because it organizes the various types of tools into boxes.  I have areas for my animation, my video creations, as well as my various toolboxes.  The toolboxes are then organized into sound, photo, and Web tools.  The last box on the page is my pending box.  Thus far, I want to explore Edmodo, Glogster, Funkified and Songified.  They don’t have links yet.  Once I examine the tool, they will earn a permanent place in a box of tools or disappear. 

This is the feature that I like best, individuality.  You can create whatever you want and will use.  If I don’t use it, I can lose it and not clutter up my learning environment.  I am a big one for keeping my immediate area (my desk, computer etc.) clean and organized.  If I don’t the clutter seeps into my mind and I cannot focus.  Early in my career I was nuts about folders, files, and binders.  Now, I am converting to everything digital.  This is the answer to my problems – A True digital binder.  Yeah!

BP01_Welcome to my blog

July 16, 1999 was the day John F. Kennedy Jr. was reported missing.  It is this event that caused my self-reflection and the first major turning point in my life, to pursue a career as a teacher.  Let me explain…

My name is Cherylee Gruber and this is my first attempt at blogging.  So you are about to read probably more than you ever thought about my time on this planet.  I was raised in a California National Forest.  My parents were part of the Silicon Valley boom of the early 70s and wanted out.  They sold everything and moved our small family to the mountains to live off the land.  I emerged from that forest, barefoot, with the clothes on my back, alone, at the age of fifteen.

I married at age sixteen and divorced by age twenty-one.  As a single mom, I worked in a small electronics store and climbed the employment ranks to a managerial position.  My knowledge of electronics grew and I worked in home entertainment, sales and marketing.  At the age of twenty-five I married my second husband, also in sales.  Our mutual interest in sales and marketing and our combined ambition propelled our life.  Money was quickly attained and easy to spend.  My early hardships were quickly surpassed with success and wealth.  And we lived happily ever after… Or maybe not…

It was in July 1999 when I was twenty-eight years old, when I was lying on the deck of a large ship in the warm Caribbean sun.  The smell of coconut suntan oil and tropical drinks filled the air.  The Jamaican steel drums faded to the background as I began to hear gossip erupt on deck.  John-John was missing.  After retrieving the details, I returned to the deck and peered over into the beautiful blue of the Caribbean Sea.  His plane was somewhere below.  And although we were unsure of his passing, I knew his life was over.

It is odd how questioning another’s life ends with questioning your own, however, before I left that ship I had already vowed to make my life more meaningful.  All the money, planes, and vacations seemed unfulfilling and empty.  I wanted to do something with my life before I too disappeared into the dark.

Before the end of 1999, I had quit my career, returned to the university and dismissed my husband.  I decided to become a teacher and pretty much everyone around me thought I was crazy.

I became a successful High School English teacher of ten years.  The career I had chosen was difficult work, with long hours and sleepless nights.  The biggest difficulty was trying to help my students with personal issues that I would have found unbearable.  Yet, this career felt right.  I felt fulfilled.  After changing careers in the middle of my career lifespan successfully, I thought I could do anything.

At the age of thirty-three I married my partner for life.   We support each other in our crazy endeavors and encourage one another to grow.  He is a musician and artist who inspects wind farms.  We decided to have a baby girl when our sons went off to college.  Life… What an adventure.   

With our California small town family, I decided I needed to be more involved in the local community.  You know, PTA, bake sales, and car washes.   I resigned from my job to try my hand at Middle School.  Let’s just say, I found something that I was not successful at… Middle School Algebra.  My student’s test scores plummeted faster than my self-esteem.  The test scores bounced back, but my reputation did not.  I was asked not to return.  Which leads to a second life-changing self-assessment…

So here I am, Full Sail University.  I decided that since I had some time to think about my life, I might as well get some work done.  Little did I know that the Educational Media Design and Technology program would be so inspirational.  Currently, I am collecting an arsenal of tools and techniques to use on my comeback tour of the classroom.  I began the program questioning whether I should continue to be a teacher.  Now, I know that I am a teacher… A teacher who wants to teach differently.

Welcome to my journey -