Friday, March 27, 2009

Entry 41: Metaphor Poems

Today my students wrote and posted some metaphor poems comparing their family to either a zoo, circus, or items in a refrigerator. They really seemed to enjoy it and some have even started their own blogs. I am quite excited about the results so far. If you want to see the poems click below.

Metaphor Poems

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Entry 40: Photostory

Next Friday I am going to be giving an inservice on using Photostory. If you haven't used this software before, you are missing out. It is a program that allows you to use pictures and make a movie. I use this in my classroom quite often for my students to show some science processes. I will put in 4-5 different pictures and have them place them in the order they occur. Great way to study for tests. You can see my presentation below.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Entry 39: Assistive Technology Podcast

I recently found this podcast posted on my facebook group page and found it to be quite good. It is done by a guy who just talks about the latest assistive technology that is out there. Check it out.

Assistive Technology Podcast

Entry 38: Classroom Blog

It has been about 5 years since I last taught a communication arts class, but this year I finally have the chance. So what my big plan is right now is to have the students help update a classroom blog. The blog might be anything from what we are doing in class, sharing some writing that they might have done, or even what book they might be reading at the moment. The plan right now is to have one student update the blog every Friday. I think this might be another great way for them to get excited about writing. If you would like to follow or even leave comments the link is below.

Room 118 Blog

Friday, March 13, 2009

Entry 37: Zoom It

I found a great new free download from Microsoft called zoom it. What this program does is that wherever your mouse is it will magnify that part of the screen. It does this just by hitting ctrl and 1. What an awesome screen magnification tool and again it is free where some products cost hundreds of dollars and do the same thing. The link to download it is below.

Zoom It

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Entry 36: TechNet Conference

Today I am attending and presenting at the TechNet conference. It is a great conference and I am really learning a lot. One thing that I found today that I am going to use is a free program from Microsoft called Zoom It. This program with the click of a mouse will zoom in to any part of the screen you like. I will download it later and give m thoughts on it.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Entry 35: TechNet Presentation

On Thursday I am presenting a session at TechNet titled Technology and Special Education. You can see the whole powerpoint below.