Mind-mapping

I was surprised at how uncomfortable I was using all five of the sites at first. I am generally excited to play around with new technology and sites, but this wasn't my forte. I could seem to get anything to work in my favor! The two sites that I had the most luck with were Popplet and MindMup. I felt most at home using Popplet, mainly because of how simple, fast and user friendly it seemed to be. It reminded me of Prezi, which I am a big fan of. I liked the dashboard that was present and how simple it was to change the color and to embed a video. I was frustrated with MindMup at first because I couldn't seem to figure out the "child" and "tree" pieces. Once I figured it out, I had a good time creating a family tree. I feel like I could read FAQ's and watch online tutorials for hours and still not know the majority of abilities these online tools have.
I think I could use this approach in my class, but would not give [all of] my 3rd graders the opportunity to try.

1. Popplet
2. MindMup
3. Text 2 Mind
4. Bubbl.us
5. Lucid Chart

To blog, or not to blog... that is the question!

As you can see, I used to blog semi-regularly. I did so for personal reasons and enjoyed it! I felt like it was an easy way to send a blanket message to my family and friends when I set out on my first adventure as an "adult". I was tired of fielding calls, text messages, e-mails and other forms of communication (ungrateful and selfish, I know). I have some family and friends who blog regularly and I really enjoy following them and reading about their lives. I have a handful of blogs saved on a Pinterest board that I check in with for ideas, but don't follow religiously.
I don't think that I would use this approach for anything with my 3rd grade students. I don't think that it would be an effective tool for my particular class. However, I do think that parents would enjoy using it. I currently have a class website, which is required. I am very comfortable updating it weekly with information, assignments and photos. So I don't see myself switching to using a blog for school-home communication. In the future, perhaps I will :)

TET 732 Emerging Technology

A lot has changed in my life since my last blog post!
During my second year of teaching I took on the position of after-school coordinator and teacher. I also moved to a different town, thus adding a commute to my daily routine. My time was spent pretty much anywhere that was not my computer.
When I saw the assignment for this week, I dabbled with the idea of starting a new blog but figured it was just as well that I utilize this old space. Perhaps I will have to spend some time updating...