Creating my first website

Today's one and only topic is the creation of my class website in I.C.T. First, a list of ADJECTIVES (in no particular order) that describes the experience so far:

1. Aggravating
2. Interesting
3. Novel
4. Educational
5. Kinda fun (I begrudgingly admit)

A RANT

For me, the trickiest part of making a website was getting started. Since I am technologically handicapped, it took me about two hours to do something many people can do in two minutes (example: exploring the concept of "html" - and yes, I openly admit that I did not know what, exactly, that was until one week ago). Now that I am an entire week in, however, the greater of the two evils standing in the way of my finishing this assignment on time has reared its ugly head (yes, I am dropping cliches and idioms like its my job). So what, you ask, is more evil than the technological wildfire that is rapidly engulfing the entire world? The answer: My O.C.D. I am something of a perfectionist (example: it took me six hours to choose and edit images for the banners - yes, the banners - of my ePortfolio). If my website is not aesthetically awing by January 31st, I simply cannot hand it in. Social life, working out, outside world, goodbye. Sweatpants, junk food, living room couch, hello. 

A REALIZATION (a more relevant read)

Okay, so before this post turns into pity party I am going to shift gears (but only slightly) and talk about the usefulness of this website-in-progress. When I first started making it, I was going to design the entire thing as a mock-classroom website, since I don't exactly have a classroom at the moment. BUT, now that I've thought about it, I might as well make it useful for the me of the future sooner (2 months), rather than later (2 years). So, I am going to try (and when I say try, I mean reeeeally try) to alter most of the content to fit with my upcoming student teaching placement (at Crocus Plains). This means that I will have informational pages on topics and/or courses that I plan on covering while I am there. This being said, my knowledge of exactly what I will be teaching when I arrive at Crocus Plains is limited, so my website content will be limited as well - until I actually start teaching (which is definitely after the due date for this assignment). I don't think Mr. Nantais is expecting the link to some kind of fictitious wonder to arrive in his gmail inbox, so I think (hope) that it's attempting to make this assignment relevant to my life that counts... And besides, what I lack in content, I will be sure to make up in creativity... and aesthetics... :)

A REMARK

I very much hope that my ramblings about life and technological exploration are what I am supposed to be blogging about in my bloggety blog, since that is basically what I have been doing for the past three entries, and I'd like to pass. I would ask, but I average 3 questions a class (which is approximately 2.5 more questions than the average person)... so I think I'm just going to run with it for now. 

And now its time for the cool-new-tech-maneuver of the day: A link!

http://mshammondsclass.weebly.com/

But wait! There's more! I just learned how to "printscreen." Observe, the home page of my website. 

 Um, yes. I did just include two cool-new-tech-maneuvers of the day in my blog. You're welcome.

Until next week, bye bye. 

I don't have a specific topic so I will just ramble...

Well, as you can see by the title of my post, I have not yet come up with a topic for this week's blog posting. Because of this, I will take a stream of consciousness approach towards this week's ICT-related happenings. But first,
I shall brainstorm some TOPICS.
         
     1.  Digital Storytelling P.D.
     2.  Making a Website
     3.  Funny Little Videos

DIGITAL STORYTELLING/"We learn through Stories"

Yesterday afternoon/evening these two lovely fellows by the names of Darren and Andy came to Brandon University to put on a little show for students who are interested in amping up the way they tell stories. Between 3:30 and 6:00 p.m. I watched, listened to, and participated in Darren's ICT antics, and I must say that, for the most part, I was impressed. 

Now I'm certainly no technological wizard, but I know that there are millions of fabulous digital applications available to us as teachers, many of them free. However, I simply had no idea where to start. I attended this P.D. because: 1) as an assignment for my ELA Methods course I am required to create a digital short story (and at first, I had no idea what that was), and 2) Mr. Nantais said the presenters were outstanding - and I am glad I did because I now know about "Vocaroo," "iPhoto" (though I do not have a Mac *frown*), "SonicPics", "Audacity," and "Slideshare" - which are all tools with which a digital short story can be manufactured. Though there are many things I have already forgotten about how to use these applications, resources are always very valuable commodities and I look forward to experimenting with them in the future. 

MAKING A WEBSITE

While we were talking about making a class website in class (ICT) today, I thought about the personal website I manufactured in the ninth/tenth grades. I really wish I could remember the URL, or even what was on it, but I don't - it is lost... forever (dunh dunh dunnnnh *this is to be taken ominously). Anyways, what I DO remember is that website-making sure was a lot different then than it is now. It was all bad graphics and HTML boxes. Now, with sites like weebly, the template is already there, and you can change things like colour or font with the click of a button! 

So that was off topic.

Ok, classroom website. My website URL is mshammondsclass.weebly.com.... and that's about as far as I've gotten. But I am not too concerned about it, since I figure that once I get my ePortfolio finished (which is slightly further along than my website - I have gotten as far as choosing a theme), the website (I am using weebly for this as well) will be a cinch. I am a little nervous though. I can honestly say that I don't even know how to use HTML boxes, which I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) I need in order to add outside elements to my site (such as a calendar, poll, video, etc.). I guess I will just cross that bridge when I get to it though. More bloggage on this topic will come when I am further along. 

FUNNY LITTLE VIDEOS

Now this is the part of my blog posting where I am 

going to attempt to do something new. I am going to try to upload the video Darren showed us in his presentation that he got from "YouTube" and cite it correctly. Here I go.   

That was WAY easier than I thought it would be. However... now I don't know where I should cite it *confusion*. Maybe right here? This video was created by 50people1question in January of 2009. You can find this video at the following URL: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJAUGg4081Q). Hmmm I'm not sure that that's 100% what I am supposed to do. Help? I am also having trouble moving images, video, and text around in order to make my blog pleasing to the eye. I think I will have to consult Mr. Nantais and some of my peers for tips and tricks.

Anyways, I think my work here is done. "Talk" to you next week. Bye :)

P.S. whenever I preview this post, some of my words come up as orange and underlined. I am not sure why.

Meeting my cooperating teacher

Hello everyone (and by everyone, I mean Mr. Nantais)!

Yesterday after school I met with my cooperating teacher to find out what grade(s) and content I could be teaching during my March/April placement, and I had such a great meeting that I wanted to share it :) My placement is in Crocus Plains high school and my cooperating teacher is Ms. Cook. The meeting was exciting for THREE reasons...

REASON ONE
Ms. Cook and I decided that I will be teaching a novel study unit to her grade ten class. I am super excited because I have not yet taught grade ten, and also because we brainstormed some really great ideas regarding which novel I might teach. I will have to read each one before choosing and then going on to make a rough unit plan. The three books I'm considering are: 



    1.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (by Sherman Alexie)
    2.   Speak (by Laurie Halse Anderson)
    3.   Reasons Why (by Jay Asher)

Each one deals with very relevant issues, more specifically identity, rape, sexuality, teen suicide, bullying, and belonging. I am excited to teach one of these novels to grade 10 students because I feel that, through a study of any one of these, I will be able to pique their interest, cover several curriculum outcomes, and, most importantly, educate them in content beyond the curriculum - content that is important for these students to be exposed to, explore, and contemplate. 

REASON TWO

I will be observing and partially teaching a grade nine EAL class. Though I have taught a grade nine English class with a few EAL students in it in my previous placement, teaching a class dedicated specifically to EAL students will be a new experience for me! I think it will be a huge asset to me as I move forward in my "journey" as an educator. 

REASON THREE

My cooperating teacher is great! I went to her classroom with intentions of having a brief 15-20 minute meeting to discuss things like what grades I might be teaching, where she expects to be in her year when I arrive, dress code, etc, and I ended up staying for two hours! She seems like she is an excellent teacher. By this, I mean she seems like she can really relate to the kids, and focuses on building strong relationships with them. The material she teaches is current and relevant to teens today. As the meeting progressed, we found that our personalities and teaching styles are similar and we aren't TOO far apart in age. The fact that she is only seven years older than me excites me because I will be able to talk to her about her experiences in her first few years of teaching, and how it is to work with high school students when the age gap between teacher and student is so small (two issues that worry me a little). 

 I am very excited to work with someone who has some of the same views on education as me, who can offer great advice as to how to turn these views into a reality, and who has only been teaching for five years! 

OK, this is all wonderful and exciting - but how does it relate to ICT?

Well, in terms of my novel study, I am leaning more towards novel 3 (but nothing is set in stone, as I haven't actually read them all yet). Because it deals specifically with bullying and teen suicide, I would like to incorporate the story of Amanda Todd, since it is a recent and real-life example of what kids in high school around the world are dealing with today. I would like to show the video she posted a month before her death, as well as some online articles that tell her story. I am also thinking of having the students journal on some of the issues throughout the novel as we move through it. This could be done with pen and paper, or it could be done on a blog or some other computerized format, depending on the student's comfort level. As a final project for the unit, perhaps students could work on an anti-bullying project with they could broadcast online. Though I haven't decided exactly what I would like to do in terms of this novel unit, I understand that it is important    to stay current as a teacher, and that staying current means using technology in education.

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for next week's post :)