Clickers, Search Engines, and Website Oh My!!

Today was a fun day that was relaxed and very interesting. We started out by working with clickers, a great addition to any classroom. We read the article "Media Literacy: Eight Guidelines for Teachers" and then we were all poised 2 critical thinking questions for each guideline. This was a great way to get us thinking about the article and using the clickers. Clickers are a great tool to have in your classroom to check comprehension when you are teaching.


Next we looked at different search engine. I looked at DogPile, which I was actually impressed with. I might not switch over from Google, but I might use it once and awhile. I also learned that DogPile draws results from Google, Yahoo, and Bing so you are getting the best of three worlds.


We also looked at websites that are fake and I research one that sold you a piece of land on the moon for the low low price of 24.99, I thought it was a great deal, but without transportation how would I get there!


See you next week!!!

Google Earth

Today was fun and scary. I thought when I came into this class that I was computer savvy, but I have decided it might not be true. Or maybe I am just not Mac savvy. Anyway today we worked in Google earth which was really fun once you figured out exactly what type of computer code you needed to use. 

This class opened my mind to how many different ways we can use mapping in our classrooms, and remember mapping does not just have to be a map of a place it could be a map of a play i.e. football plays.

Anyway I used Google maps to create a video tour of 5 of the regions in Oregon. I featured Crater Lake and the Wooden Show Bulb Company as a few of my places in Oregon. The little pieces of useful information I learned were.

-To add a picture to you thumbtack you must write: <img(space)src="website"> (and you must find the picture's website to write this code.

-To add a website you must write: <a(space)href(space)"website">your tag</a>

-Adding a description was easy all you had to do was add text.

-Then you hit a picture of a folder and it recorded your tour.

-To save you went to file and then save place as and saved it on the desktop so from there we could turn it in.

Now that the whole process is over I feel much better about it. It is not very hard it is just a lot of information to take in at one time. But once I have processed all the information I seem to be able to repeat what I learned and understand what I need to take away from the class.

Video

Here is my groups video: Come to Oregon!

iMovie

iMovie is awesome! It almost makes me wish I had a Mac, almost. Well why did I love iMovie? It was so simple and easy. Really all you had to do to create a movie was, import your file, and then edit in what pieces you wanted in your finished project. After that you could add in transitions, music, and text. You could even get a little tricky and add in more then one clip at a time, so part of the movie could be someone talking and you could add a clip of whatever in a corner of the person talking or across that bottom. This is very nifty when your movie can only be 30 sec, and let me tell you 30sec goes by WAY faster then you would think. Anyway as soon as we get it all edited you may see it here on the blog, you will just have to stay tuned.

Photoshop Overload

I was so excited about todays class because I love Photoshop. After todays class I still love Photoshop, but I have a whole lot more to love. I was amazed at all the little aspects of Photoshop I have never used. I have Photoshop Elements so some of the things we learned about I do not have. Surprisingly most of what I learned today I have, but have never utilized. Just a small list of Aha moments from today:


-You can use a magic wand to select a portion of a picture.
-You can erase around an object and then move it to a background.
-Scanning has come a long way and looks great.
-I FINALLY know how to move a part of a picture onto another picture.
-You can transform one layer of a collage.
-Adjusting to a Mac is going to be hard, so just roll with it.


Well that is the report for today. As you know you can check out my photo collage on Flickr, but since I have one very special non-school follower I will also post it here:

By the way this is made up of three parts. I scanned in the background, took the picture of the boy, and got the tiny pie in his hand off the internet.