RSS Feeds

I can see where RSS feeds would be valuable to helping to find creative instruction for my classroom.  I can also see how using Netvibes would allow you to monitor a lot of information in one centrally located spot, saving you time and energy.  The things I would be most interested in following would be different newspapers and Podcasts off of iTunes.  The iTunes stores has a lot of different Podcast to follow, including educational Podcasts.  Glancing through some of the Podcasts that were available, I could easily see myself listening/following different sports Podcasts.  Because there are so many ffeds or posts to sift through, it is a good idea to use something called a filter.  It will allow you to filter all of the posts with keywords to help you find information quicker, plus it helps you sift through all of the unwanted information, again saving you time and frustration.  As far as how often I will look for information through RSS feeds, probably not very often to start with, at least during the school year.  I will play around with them more over the summer, and if I find a couple I really enjoy and see a direct application in my classroom, then of course I will use it.  Once the school year gets going I as so busy, and probably won't have much time.  I'm hoping over these last 6 weeks of summer that I'll be able to find a Podcast that works for me and my classroom, and then I know I will a valuable spot to check for resources.

Data Analysis & Visualization

Wow, there are a heck of a lot of online programs and software to help you make a table or graph.  I really liked Gapminder.  The site gives you hundreds of combinations to set up a graph on your own, or use information already made available.  The fact that the data tables are interactive allows you to see change from one year to the next a little easier, and it is a lot more entertaining to watch, making it more likely for your students to pay attention and remember the information your trying to present. At the end of this paragraph is a link on my web page of a Gapminder interactive data table for the math achievement of 8th graders per country based on income from 1995 - 20007.
 8th grade achievement
information from www.gapminder.org

I also liked the word clouds.  I was a little more familiar with them and know exactly how I would start to use them, at least until I became more comfortable and creative with them.  Looking through the assessment course, I planned to use Socrative to get a better understanding of how my students were grasping concepts during and after a lesson.  I also was going to use Socrative to have students list out problem numbers from the homework so that I could get an idea of which problems most students struggled with, and it cuts down on having to raise your hand in class and "feel stupid" because you couldn't figure out a problem.  The point is that a word cloud would also help me out because the more the problem number appears, the bigger it would appear.  Not really the best use, but for now it is what I will do to get used to word clouds.  I also added a link at the end of this paragraph to a Popplet mind map.  I set up a list of all of the math teachers in the high school and made a map of what classes they teach.   It is a very basic mind map, but I could see how it would be helpful for any sort of flow chart design.
List of Teachers and Classes They Teach 

I can see where infographics would be great for a Statistics class.  I think of that class right away because of all of the data analysis that they do.  Algebra II also does some data analysis in its statistics section, but not nearly as much.  Overall, I picked up some good uses and more tools to enhance my teaching.  Like a lot of other things I have picked up with these courses, I will use them sparingly, until I get more confident with everything.  And like a lot of the other classes, I still have a lot more to look at and into when it comes to data analysis and visualization.

Mobile Devices

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I have never used mobile devices in my classroom before, but after looking over this course, I am going to find ways to sprinkle it into my class.  I am far from a tech wizard, so I won't branch out too much just yet.  I do see myself using QR codes for a few different things.  I am planning on my students filling out exit slips on an online website called Socrative, a site I learned about in the Assessments course.  I could easily give them a QR code to scan just before they leave my room.  I was also planning on having students fill out a quick online survey of how the homework went that night.  I could easily put that QR code on my webpage for them to use if they forget the website.  Another way that I can see myself using QR codes right away is for my practice test review.  I usually give them 8 or 9 questions to practice for the next day's test.  We quickly go over the answers at the end of class.  I have been asked by students who were absent to post my practice questions and answers, and QR codes would be quick and easy.  I always leave the answer key out for students to check their work, but a lot of them complain they don't have time to come in and check their answers; another problem that I can solve with QR codes because they would be able to access the answers anywhere.  

Some teachers may worry that encouraging students to use their phone more in the classroom might lead to more problems, but my students use them all of the time for their calculators.  I have firm expectations on when cell phones can be used, and I have never had a problem before and I don't anticipate this being a problem either.  

Assessment

I liked Socrative as a good site to quickly assess how my students are understanding the material during a lecture.  It offers a lot of options.  Students can respond using an iPod or cell phone, which most of them have.  The results can be sent to a Google or excel spreed sheet, and I can get instant feedback so I will know where to spend a little extra time if needed.  I can also get a quick understanding check at the end of a lesson to see how they felt the lesson went.  I could even set up a check later in the night to let them respond as to how the homework went.  That would give me an idea first thing the next morning as to which problem numbers gave them the most trouble and which areas of the previous lesson I need to make sure to back over.

I kind of liked Moodle as well, but there was a lot going on with that site.  It appears to offer way more than I need, and I like to keep things as simple as possible.  Not only that, but I don't ever see myself using any website or program for a summative assessment; I prefer the traditional method which allows me to see common errors, allowing me to more accurately give feedback as to exactly what a student did wrong instead of just telling them they got #4 wrong.  Not to say Moodle wouldn't be a very valuable tool for a lot of teachers; it just isn't for me.

I don't see myself using Socrative for summative assessments.  With math, I really like to look at and go through their work.  Multiple choice quizzes/tests don't allow me to see the errors that each student is making which is so important, so i see myself using Socrative to get quick feedback on how my students are grasping concepts during the lesson, after the lesson, and hopefully after/during homework.

Socrative Quiz Results

Online Bookmarking

One of the biggest advantages of online bookmarking, as opposed to browser bookmarking, is your ability to highlight and make notes on the web page.  It makes finding the information you want quicker and easier if you are going to share on online resource with others.

Diigo is great for the classroom because it allows you and your students the opportunity to create a classroom group where the class or the teacher can share valuable web pages and resources with notes as to which parts of the resource to focus on.  With time, a teacher could supplement their textbook with online resources.  It is an obvious fit for how it could be used by students to collect and store research materials for papers.

It is absolutely wonderful that Diigo allows the opportunity to share whether it be through email, facebook or, twitter.  It makes us all truly connect with the opportunity to have others sift through all of the material to find the true value, saving us time which we can all use more of.  Overall, using an online bookmarking website like Diigo is far better and allows more freedom than your old fashion browser bookmarking.

Customizing You Browser

I never realized the differences in the different web browsers.  I was always stubborn, unwilling to change from internet explorer, except at school where I had to change.  I am currently using firefox at home, but after looking at chrome I think I will be making the switch.  I like that I can transfer "my chrome" on any device and everything updates automatically.

The first add-on that I tried was Pocket.  I can see where this would be an extremely useful tool, especially for students.  There are many time I stumble across a webpage that looks interesting, but I don't have the time to look at it, or it is a site that I would like to quickly find again.  Well, pocket lets you do just that.  It is easy to use and is great for collecting research or storing a webpage to view later.

The second was CouponsHelper.  This is wonderful.  CouponHelper will automatically show you coupons that are available for any retailer's webpage that you visit.  The coupons appear on a yellow bar near the top of your screen, very simple.

The third was Quick Translator.  This isn't an add-on that I would use very often, but I think this add-on would be very useful for students.  It was simple and can translate many languages.  I didn't spend as much time looking at this add-on, but what I saw looked useful for someone learning a new language.

Overall, I am surprised how little I actually knew about web browsers.  Although I feel like I know quite a bit more than I did before, there is still a lot to discover and I look forward to playing around with them a little bit more.