Week 8 Blog

Twitter,
I have learned a great deal about twitter in this class.  I never had an account and never really payed much attention to it before this class.  I did have to step out of my norm for twitter because I usually don't post many things about myself electronically due to various things that may result from posting certain items.  I have really started to pay closer attention to twitter especially after a few chats with the class and #edchat which have been interesting.  I kind of just jumped in on the second chat because the first one I was trying to read everybody's tweet and it was just very confusing to me personally.  Since then I have discussed with a couple other social studies teacher in other states and mainly focused on whats going to happen at my school in the near future.  Overall, I think that twitter is going to be a valuable tool in the future and I have received some great advice from some people. 

For education the most interesting individual I have followed is RIchard Byrne because of all the stuff he offers.  In regards to non-educational I would say Kenny Mayne from ESPN because he is always posting stuff that makes me laugh. 

I will continue to use twitter in the near future and would like to keep interacting with current students in EDU 552 and others as time goes on. 

Voice Thread EDU 552

http://voicethread.com/share/3528202/

Curriculum Video Election Unit

This is my curriculum video for my American Government Election Unit.

Week 7 Blog

After searching through the Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne I have found numerous items that could be used in the classroom.  I especially liked the Google for Teachers downloads because I am always trying to continue to educate myself on Google.  My school is going 1:1 in the very near future and using the options Google has is going to be our foundation for many of the interactions between the teachers and students.  I definitely need to continue to educate myself and the links that are provided can be of great service to myself and I will share this with other teachers in my school as well. 
I think blogging can be a good tool to use in my classroom and is something that I will use in the near future.  I want students to interact and communicate about the items that we are discussing in class.  Students can blog and do summaries of information we are covering in class and they can also link their assignments to a blog just like blackboard.  I think that I still need to explore and experiment with many items in technology and finding the time is the next major aspect of implementing a blog.

Favorite Podcast

CNN Student News Podcast
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cnn-student-news-video/id179950332

I show CNN Student News everyday in my classroom and discuss it all the time.

Other Podcast that I enjoy are as follows:

TED TALKS
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tedtalks-video/id160892972

What you missed in History Class
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/stuff-you-missed-in-history/id283605519?mt=2

Mike and Mike in the Morning (Sports -Personal Enjoyment not curriculum)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/espn-radio-best-mike-mike/id154597838?mt=2