Wordle

For this wordle I used words from a website created by Duen His Yen. He and his students created a list of words and sayings to use when encouraging each other. I used some of the words found on his list to create my own wordle. A larger version of my wordle can be found on http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3362073/Encouraging_Words. My encouraging words wordle can be a great addition to the classroom as an inspirational poster. Also, the students will learn to recognize these words and from the use in class they will know how to properly use them.


Many teachers have put out numerous ideas on how to use wordle in the classroom. One particular example that I found interesting was having students create a wordle by using famous speeches. Wordle recognizes the words in the text that are used more often and makes them larger, because of this students can easily recognize what words were meant to stand out to the audience. Another example that I found creative was to make a father’s or mother’s day gift. Students can type in words that describe their parents and can print it out and give it as a personalized gift. One last example of using wordle in a class is to have students use it for a report. In the case of a state, students can type in particular dates, people, animals, etc that are important to the state and it is a wonderful way for the students to highlight the important information. As you can see wordle is an amazing software that should be taken advantage of.

Motivational Posters

Photo by: Sara Sebring

When creating my motivational poster the hardest part for me was choosing a photo and a motivational saying. After determining those two the process of creating the poster was very simple. I used the website http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php to create it and it was EXTREMELY simple to create. I can picture a classroom full of children creating their own motivational posters. They would have an amazing time.

Students would use a motivational poster maker like the one I used very easily. Each student could come up with a different word to “live by” for the month. Hanging them around a classroom would be very inspirational for the students because they would be a constant reminder to act positively in class. Students would be more interested in poster that they created compared to ones found over the internet. This is a great project that should be included in every classroom. After all who doesn’t need some motivation every once in awhile?

My Favorite Teacher

Everyone has a teacher that has inspired them to do something or just simply liked them for who they are. My favorite teacher is Carolyn Campbell and my podcast gives a little information on why she is my favorite and how her commitment to her students inspired me to continue my dream of being a teacher.

Making a Voki

When I first read that we were going to be making a voki I had absolutely no idea what that was. Surprising it was VERY easy. It would be a great thing to use if you are going to be teaching younger children. In the case of the script that I created today I feel that younger children would be very excited and interested in watching an animated person speak.  This is a very interesting and cutie way to add things to your blog page and by using the same voki avatar it would neat to  do updates on what is coming up in the class for your students to watch.

MY FIRST BLOG :)

                With this being by first blogging experience looking at other teacher’s blogs will be a great resource for information. One particular blog I took an interest in was by Cool Cat Teacher.  I found her blog interesting because she blogged about technology advances that are coming up in the future for educators as well as students. One particular post I took an interest to is about how students have mobile devices more than laptops and the free math apps that will available for students in the future. This teacher is an advocate for technology in the classroom.

                Another blog I took interest in is by Fascinate-Educate. This blog was interesting to me because it looked like it would be a good resource for both parents and teachers. A summer project was given, and also a video to teach students about vowels was posted. For major holidays she gave crafts and questions to ask students that pertain to the select holiday. As an example for Valentine’s Day she gave writing ideas for students to complete.

                Blogging I believe will be a great resource for ideas in the classroom as well as a great way to give parents an idea of what is going on in the classroom.  By the time I am a teacher I am sure that majority of the parents of the students I will teach will be blogging. By simply blogging homework assignments or just letting the parents know what activities their children are doing will get parents more involved. With the growth of technology, as teachers we must grow with it and try different things. Blogging is one way to expand on the never ending excitement of the technology era!