To Tweet or not to tweet?

My students have all said that Twitter is for the birds, and since I initially began my technology education because of them, I didn't look too closely at the Tweeting initiative. I have had my Twitter account for some time now. I began, became concerned and left. It wasn't until recently a fellow educator/ innovator brought tweeting back to my attention. She piqued my interest by stating about 90% of professional reading and growth could be obtained from following tweets. Being a naturally curious person, I decided to check it out again with a different set of eyes and oh how my eyes opened! In the past 24 hours I have changed my profile, design, started following about 50 people, gained a follower and made my first tweet concerning education. Hmmmm, there is something to be said about the ease of information that Twitter provides.

So to answer the question, "To tweet or not to tweet?" --Heck YES!!

Oh, and if you want to follow my tweets look for hbhbottoms2, I'll be there.

Bonus Points: Fun Video

So, check out this video that asks Brits to be aware of cyclists on the road. We have recently had a week of texting and driving awareness, which I believe runs along a similar vein. I would love to offer a bonus to my Sophmore students. Please comment concerning these two questions for two points on your exam from 10/8/10. (I will allow points until the end of the nine weeks: 10/15/10.)

1. What were your reactions to this video?
2. What statement would you write at the end to make it into a catchy texting and driving awareness notification?

Here is the link that will enable you download the video to your computer if you can't see the video on this blog.


Awareness Test: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0cAVzXMR7pBZDljM2NmMWMtNmUwYS00NzIzLTliYzItYmZiYWI3ZTQwMzJk&hl=en&authkey=CNH-pLUM

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4

Answer Garden Demo

Check out Answer Garden: (http://answergarden.ch/create/)!

It creates a space for people to answer your questions. It can easily be embedded or linked to your site. If the actual program is as simple as it's application, I could teach my grandmother how use this tool. I am already thinking up classroom starters. Please, try making your own for your page.

Type directly below or follow this link: http://answergarden.ch/view/4114.

If you had to choose, what is your favorite part of a autumn?... at AnswerGarden.ch.

Your Personality and The Group

So today I want the class of 2013 to learn about their personalities and how they may interact in a group. My objective for this lesson is for students to comprehend different personality types and write a paragraph concerning how their personality may tie into to other's personalities. I believe it is important to get a feel for who you are and how you interact with others. The test we will take is the short Jung test. It is approximately 50 questions and shows us insights into our personality. We will then study what it means to be the four letters and write a short paragraph explaining what our letters mean and how we will relate to our groups. No full names should be used in this exercise. We will talk about how I will identify you. This is a 10 point project. 4 points for explaining your letters. 5 points explaining how you will work in a group (includes what jobs you will want, problems that might arise, and how others will see you) 2 points for actually posting the comment to this blog entry. Sounds like fun? I think so; let's make it happen!! (For the lesson and SLEs go to my website.)

P. S.

If you want to know what I am. . .ENFJ (I have been an ENFP, those letters fluctuate.) I have leadership qualities and only 2.5% of the population is an ENFP.

A Teacher's Wish Wordle

At the Arkansas Leadership Academy's Teacher Institute, Forum 19 (a group of selected educators) was asked to give a one word response to the question, "What is one quality or value you would give to all teachers?" Many teacher leaders created good words to send out to other educators. I went to Wordle, which is a site that creates artistic layouts from word choices, in order to illustrate the words used. The larger the word in the Wordle equals the more times a word was used. Enjoy!!

A Teacher's Wish


ALA Teacher Institute First Impressions

Technology Tools for the Classroom

I discussed different technology tools that can be used in the classroom at Corning, Arkansas. Some of the tools reviewed included: Prezi, Glogster, Voicethread, and Wikispaces. If anyone is interested in the presentation you may find it on prezi.com. Look for the title "Practical Technology Tools to Drive Instruction".

If you were in the professional development at Corning, Arkansas, it would be great if you could fill out this survey.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGpITFg1d2pfOFI2aHhodDQ4ZU1FUmc6MQ

Grammar and an iPod Touch: Take 5!

I have created a lesson using two iPod Touch or iPhone applications: Grammar Up and William Shakespeare Quotes. The lesson has three objectives: 1. comprehend a segment of grammar, 2. analyze the incorrect responses and 3. evaluate the grammar structure in a Shakespeare quote. My full instructions to this lesson should be available as a podcast in iTunes-U Arkansas around August. However, you can also view the written lesson plan at iPod Lesson Plan. It is a bit different from the podcast, but still effective.