Thursday, December 4, 2008
What I activity I liked best. GOOGLE SITES
My favorite activity this semester was …I can’t narrow it down. I really liked a lot of them. If I had to pick my top two, I’d have to say I really liked Camtasia and interactive Google maps (and Google sites and Podcasting and Picasa 3 and social bookmarking). (and oh, I liked Wikis even though I’m still learning about them.) Okay that covers the favorites. Okay I’ll narrow it down. I like Google sites the best, but only because I can incorporate so many other technologies into it. I have spent the most time on Google sites. I’m using it to do my final project. I am going to test it out on this year's eighth graders. With the site, I am using Camtasia, Google maps, photos, and of course Google gadgets. I am giving the students access to a social bookmarking account and teaching them how to add YouTube. There will also be Camtasia videos for the students to learn how to do the things I am asking them to do. I like the Google sites because it is so easy to use, and it is FREE. I can give editing access to no one, or anyone I choose. My site can be public or private. (I actually used it this year to e-mail my kids Christmas list along with photo and links to stores that carried the items.) I really like the dropdown menus that help me put in whatever Google gadgets I need. It is very simple to put in links, extra pages, and photos. I really like that there are different types of “preprogrammed” pages to choose from. I can add a page that gives access to documents. This is very handy for all of those handouts and study guides the students keep losing. In addition, I can make it all accessible right on the main site page. Even people with little computer experience can navigate their way around a well-designed Google site. I think it will be easy for the kids to use. Also, parents will be able to see what their kids are doing in class. I love it. There are a lot of reasons to love Google site. One of my favorites is the editing setup. If I make a mistake and have saved it, I can go back to a previously save version. I don’t have to clear the whole thing and start from scratch. How could you not like this program? I hope my next class in my Master’s degree are as useful as this one.
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2 comments:
Wow... that's a unique idea as a take-away from the course this time of year... adding your kids' Christmas lists with photos and links. It's great that you were able to find a tool that you enjoy so much, (Google Sites), and so it sounds, will be making use of frequntly. I agree with you in that having such a tool is a really neat way for parents to stay involved in checking in on what their kids are working on at school, for example. Obviosuly, though, as you point out, such tools are great for personal use as well... which makes it all the more easy/enjoyable for teachers to incorporate them into their classrooms!
Once again you and I are on the "same page" with what we are going to do in our own class room with the information we learned in this master's class. I'm not sure that my students will be able to get to Google sites because of our blocking software at school but I intend on finding a way to post many of my class projects to the web for access by my students. It probably won't be as easy as Google sites though.
Happy Holidays!!!
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