Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Delicious
At first I wasn't too sure about delicious. Since I started playing around with it I am starting to see the benefits to using it. There are many times when I am bookmarking sites whether it be for teaching or for my grad. classes. Now that I know about delicious I do not have to worrying about emailing myself the links or writing down the exact sites if I am going out of town. Also, my last computer "died" and I lost everything I had bookmarked. Now, if I use delicious I will not run into that problem. There was one educational site that had to do with math facts for elementary students and I loved it. I couldn't wait to show it to my kids but when my computer crashed I haven't been able to find the site again! I am curious to show this to my colleagues, have them join, and share my files with them. One lady I teach with is our building level technology facilitator and she has an abundance of fantastic educational websites. If I can get her join I will have access to all of that which is awesome!
One question to whoever might read this blog. I didn't know how to provide my link to my material without running into some potential problems. I linked my delicious account to my yahoo email. With that said, I was worried that if I posted the link others may have the opportunity to view my yahoo email. I will hold out on posting a link until I learn more about that. Thanks a million for any help.
One question to whoever might read this blog. I didn't know how to provide my link to my material without running into some potential problems. I linked my delicious account to my yahoo email. With that said, I was worried that if I posted the link others may have the opportunity to view my yahoo email. I will hold out on posting a link until I learn more about that. Thanks a million for any help.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Podcast Proposal
Final Project Proposal
Purpose of podcast:
The purpose of my podcast is to describe the elements of different types of poetry learned in class.
Podcast Description:
The intended audience for the podcast are fifth grade students at my school and their families. The podcast would be weekly. Each week, different students would share their poetry. The original podcast should last around three minutes. The format of the show will talk about tips to create five different types of poems. Then, students will read their own poems that they wrote.
Detailed Description:
I will have my students discuss the following elements of poems: personification, onomatopoeia, similes, alliteration, and repetition. After discussing each element, actual student examples will be read that portray the specific element that is being discussed. Our fifth grade team departmentalizes and I teach writing to all three fifth grade classes. With that said, I will utilize students from each class. After creating the poems I will choose a few that I think portray the element the best. If possible, I am hoping to create a video podcast that allows the students to show their final poem to whomever may view the podcast (if a concrete poem is shared I want them to be able to see the design of the poem). I am planning on posting a link to our MyElearning site (a site where parents can get on and view what goes on in fifth grade on a daily basis. Because of rules about showing videos of students, I will need to make sure that there aren’t any scenes that show just one student at a time.
Include any state/local objectives this podcast will address:
5.4-Multiple Literacies: 5.4.1f-Gather and share information and opinions as a result of communication with others (e.g., video/audio chat, interview, podcast, multi-media presentations)
5.3-Speaing and Listening: 5.3.1a-Communicate ideas and information in a manner appropriate for the purpose and setting
5.2.2-Writing Genres: Write considering tone/voice and typical characteristics of a selected genre (e.g., memoir, biography, report, persuasive letter, poem, essay)
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Animoto/Free Play Music/Picnik
I have actually known about Animoto for about four months now. However, I have never used it. I am so glad that I was asked to complete a project using it because it is fantastic. I couldn't believe how easy it was to use. It was also exceptionally fast which is great. Now that I am familiar with it I have already created an Animoto video of my son, and I will be creating some videos for my class as well. I can really use these videos in an educational way that I think will motivate my students to work to the best of their ability. I showed my teaching partners Animoto and told them that I think we should use it for our fifth grade graduation slide show. They were extremely excited when they saw how easy it was. To have something that creates all the transitions for you is excellent. They have both applied for a teacher account and have begun using Animoto for their classroom as well.
As for Free Play Music, I am very excited as well. Since I teach writing to three different classes there are so many times when my students want some soothing music playing while they are writing. Most websites that play music are blocked in my school and I don't really have these types of CD's in my collection. With this site, I have access to thousands of great song choices for my students to listen to as they write. I think they will really enjoy this site. It is so easy to navigate through and I can get exactly what I want but searching for it. I love how easy it is to upload to my iTunes library. I have actually spent some time uploading songs that I can use and am thrilled to do so.
Picnik is also a great site to have access to. I don't know how often I will use it but it is nice knowing that it is a free option for me. I do think that students would enjoy taking pictures with digital cameras and learning how easily they can edit these photos. I know there are many things that I didn't dip into that can be done using Picnik. My thoughts on how often I use it may change the more familiar I become with how it works.
In my Animoto slide show I used Picnik for two different photos. I really played around a lot with the photos to try and navigate the site and learn as much as I could. When I thought I was done playing around with it I noticed I could have done so much more (backgrounds, frames, etc). In the photos I used I played around with cropping them but didn't end up cropping anything out. The thing I changed the most was the exposure and the contrast of the picture. I also played around with the saturation and temperature. I couldn't really figure out why I would need to do those types of things with the pictures but learned you can really change focal points in the pictures. I loved the fact that it has a red eye function. I was able to add some text to one of my slides. I found that to be very valuable for an educational setting. I could easily label diagrams or do whatever I may to with this tool.
Overall, I loved all three things. Two of them were new to me and the one that I knew about is going to actually be utilized now.
As for Free Play Music, I am very excited as well. Since I teach writing to three different classes there are so many times when my students want some soothing music playing while they are writing. Most websites that play music are blocked in my school and I don't really have these types of CD's in my collection. With this site, I have access to thousands of great song choices for my students to listen to as they write. I think they will really enjoy this site. It is so easy to navigate through and I can get exactly what I want but searching for it. I love how easy it is to upload to my iTunes library. I have actually spent some time uploading songs that I can use and am thrilled to do so.
Picnik is also a great site to have access to. I don't know how often I will use it but it is nice knowing that it is a free option for me. I do think that students would enjoy taking pictures with digital cameras and learning how easily they can edit these photos. I know there are many things that I didn't dip into that can be done using Picnik. My thoughts on how often I use it may change the more familiar I become with how it works.
In my Animoto slide show I used Picnik for two different photos. I really played around a lot with the photos to try and navigate the site and learn as much as I could. When I thought I was done playing around with it I noticed I could have done so much more (backgrounds, frames, etc). In the photos I used I played around with cropping them but didn't end up cropping anything out. The thing I changed the most was the exposure and the contrast of the picture. I also played around with the saturation and temperature. I couldn't really figure out why I would need to do those types of things with the pictures but learned you can really change focal points in the pictures. I loved the fact that it has a red eye function. I was able to add some text to one of my slides. I found that to be very valuable for an educational setting. I could easily label diagrams or do whatever I may to with this tool.
Overall, I loved all three things. Two of them were new to me and the one that I knew about is going to actually be utilized now.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
About Me
Hello everyone. My name is Matt McMurtry and I am a first year teacher at Manchester Elementary in the Elkhorn school district in Nebraska. I teach fifth grade and so far I have loved every second of it. I have been married for a little over three years and I have an 18 month old boy. My wife and I are also expecting our second child in May. I attended college at Minnesota State University Mankato where I played on the baseball team. I received a bachelor's degree in Sports Management. After college I was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 2006 MLB Draft. Unfortunately baseball didn't work out for me so I moved to Omaha where my wife was attending Pharmacy school. My Sports Management degree wasn't helping me get work in Omaha so I began an online education program to receive my teaching degree in Elementary Education at Western Governors University. Along with staying busy from being a first year teacher and having a young child at home I also coach a 12 year old traveling baseball team. We play approximately 80 games per summer. I thoroughly enjoy teaching and coaching and a big reason why is because the kids are great!
Despite being a rookie teacher I have had quite a few experiences with technology in the classroom. I have always been a PC person but was provided with a MAC and am still trying to become comfortable with how to operate one. It is amazing how different the two really are. I was lucky enough to stumble into a school that believes that technology can play a huge role in student learning. In one of our three fifth grade sections we have a mounted SmartBoard that is fantastic. Also, we have a mobile SmartBoard in the fifth grade wing as well. On top of that, I have my own projector and document camera. The document camera is new to me but its possibilities seem endless. I also have access to a laptop cart with about 25 laptops. These laptops sit right outside my room and are pretty much mine when I want to use them. Our fifth grade team utilizes MyElearning which is a collaborative website that is great. Essentially my students and the parents of my students can view everything that happens all week long just by going to the website. We can also post quizzes, study guides, textbooks, and so much more on their for viewing. Fortunately for me I have used IMovie to create a DVD of persuasive commercials that my students presented in class. I have also had some experience with IPhoto this year. The version of Word that I have access to is Microsoft Word 2008 for a MAC. I believe I also have access to older versions of Word if need be.
One big reason that I chose to continue my education was to try and become a Master Teacher. I know I have so much to learn and so much experience is needed to reach this but I wanted to do it as soon as I could. I didn't feel like it would be fair to my students if I were to put off all of this learning. The more I can learn now the better off my students will be. Because of the fact that I earned my teaching license from an online program I chose Peru State College. I am comfortable with the online process and have heard great things about this program. Another reason I am pursuing this degree is because of the paycheck. I am not going to lie, that did play a role in also determining why I am in school right now. Obviously, the more grad. classes I take the more money I get paid. We all know that at a teachers salary things can be tough at time so why not get as much as you can out of it? My degree is in Curriculum and Instruction and I plan to use this opportunity to learn as much as possible and guide me in fulfilling curriculum expectations and successfully managing a classroom.
Despite being a rookie teacher I have had quite a few experiences with technology in the classroom. I have always been a PC person but was provided with a MAC and am still trying to become comfortable with how to operate one. It is amazing how different the two really are. I was lucky enough to stumble into a school that believes that technology can play a huge role in student learning. In one of our three fifth grade sections we have a mounted SmartBoard that is fantastic. Also, we have a mobile SmartBoard in the fifth grade wing as well. On top of that, I have my own projector and document camera. The document camera is new to me but its possibilities seem endless. I also have access to a laptop cart with about 25 laptops. These laptops sit right outside my room and are pretty much mine when I want to use them. Our fifth grade team utilizes MyElearning which is a collaborative website that is great. Essentially my students and the parents of my students can view everything that happens all week long just by going to the website. We can also post quizzes, study guides, textbooks, and so much more on their for viewing. Fortunately for me I have used IMovie to create a DVD of persuasive commercials that my students presented in class. I have also had some experience with IPhoto this year. The version of Word that I have access to is Microsoft Word 2008 for a MAC. I believe I also have access to older versions of Word if need be.
One big reason that I chose to continue my education was to try and become a Master Teacher. I know I have so much to learn and so much experience is needed to reach this but I wanted to do it as soon as I could. I didn't feel like it would be fair to my students if I were to put off all of this learning. The more I can learn now the better off my students will be. Because of the fact that I earned my teaching license from an online program I chose Peru State College. I am comfortable with the online process and have heard great things about this program. Another reason I am pursuing this degree is because of the paycheck. I am not going to lie, that did play a role in also determining why I am in school right now. Obviously, the more grad. classes I take the more money I get paid. We all know that at a teachers salary things can be tough at time so why not get as much as you can out of it? My degree is in Curriculum and Instruction and I plan to use this opportunity to learn as much as possible and guide me in fulfilling curriculum expectations and successfully managing a classroom.
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