Pinterest in the Classroom

Pinterest can be used in so many ways in the classroom. A teacher can find great ways to decorate their classroom or even find lesson plans on Pinterest. Pinterest is also a great place to bookmark and keep up with all the great sites that you have found.

I used Pinterest to help me come up with a lesson plan for a high school PE class. I used one of my standards that states that students create a personal fitness plan. Below you will find the link to the lesson plan I created and the steps of creating a personal fitness plan:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B37iwFkk40Z-dXd3UFRLcXhJTjQ/edit?usp=sharing

1.     Binder must have a cover page with an image, your name, class, and title on it.

2.     Student’s will research the five fitness principles: overload principle, FITT principle, specificity principle, rest and recovery principle, and the use or lose principle. After the student researches principles and has an understanding of the five principles they will base their fitness plan off of these five principles.

3.     Tab 1: Student’s will create a fitness profile. Your fitness profile should consist of your name, weight, height, skin fold measurement, flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance. After two weeks, students will make another fitness profile.

4.     Tab 2: Student’s will choose from a variety of different physical activities (cardio, walking, running, lifting, yoga, dancing, etc). After choosing physical activities the student will create a 2 week lesson plan.

5.   Tab 3: The student will make a food pyramid and then make a nutritional plan for the two-week period.

6.     Tab 4: List what fitness principles were used in your plan, why

you picked them, and what they are.

7.     Tab 5: During the two week period you will be keeping track of any changes made in your fitness plan in a daily journal, what worked and didn’t work, and what you learned from creating your personal fitness plan. In tab 5 you will write a short essay on your experience and what you learned and then place your daily journal (notebook paper) behind the essay. Your daily journal is for your learning purposes and can be formatted in what works best for you. Just remember your essay is written from your daily journal, make sure you keep good records. Under tab 5 you will also have a sources cited page listing any cites that you used to create your plan and find information. Sources cited will be the last thing in your binder.

Web 2.0

Elizabeth Travis
Edu 3043: Instructional Technology
Web 2.0 Assignment

Chirbirt: http://www.chirbirt.com
Chirbirt is a great free online tool that is used for audio sharing. Using Chirbirt you are able to record directly and put it with text or an image. It is easy to use and easy to upload your own audio file. Using Chirbirt in my classroom would be very useful because I could have my students listen to lectures at home before class and then spend class time working on "homework". Chirbirt would be a great tool to use to have a flipped classroom.

Class Tools: http://www.classtools.net/
Class tools can be used to create games, activities, and diagrams. After creating something on class tools you can post them to your own blog or website. Class tools is a great way to create activities to get your class involved. I would like to use class tools in my classroom as fun way of learning math material. Fun games that quizzed their knowledge would help them excel in class.

Auditorium: http://www.cipherprime.com/games/auditorium/
Auditorium is a site used for problem solving. Auditorium is great in that it helps you use both sides of your brain to problem solve. There are no explanations and you have to figure out what to do yet its intuitive enough to figure it out. I think auditorium would be great to use in a math class room. Math is sometimes just focused on wether a student can get a correct answer the right way instead of using their own intuition. Auditorium would help them hone in on those skills and know how to use them.

Haiku: http://www.haikulearning.com/
Haiku allows you to create online lesson plans with articles, images, audio and more for your class. Classes can also have online discussions through haiku. Teachers can track scores through grade book and use auto-grade on quizzes and tests. I could use Haiku in my class to put extra homework help or have an area that the students can get on and ask each other questions about the lesson or the homework. I could also have them take online quizzes that would better prepare them for the test.

Phuser: http://www.phuser.com/
Phuser creates an online chat room for students to use privately. They can share photos and files securely and the teacher chooses who can join the chatroom. The discussions can be tracked by the teacher also. I could use phuser for my classroom so that they can ask each other questions on the homework assignments. It also allows me to see the questions they are frequently having and be able to go over them in class or change my instruction to help them understand the material.

Collaborize Classroom: http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com//
Collaborize classroom helps engage students inside and outside of the classroom. The teacher is able to keep good record of those participating and those not. You can also publish results so that students can se how they are doing. Many times in math classes because students don't automatically understand the material and they do not have enough practice at home they fall behind in class. I could use a site such as collaborize classroom to help my students be more interacted in class and I could monitor their use.

Edublogs: http://edublogs.org/
Edublogs is a site that helps teachers and students stay connected online through blogs. Blogging for teachers and students is made easy by using edublogs. Edublogs is also safe and secure. I could use Edublogs in my classroom to put class announcements and important events and test dates to come to keep parents and students plugged into what is happening on one site. A blog would be able to keep everyone informed and on the same page as we move through different online tools.

Elluminate: http://elluminate.com/
Elluminate is a 3 seat online interactive whiteboard. Videos, text and presentations can be uploaded on elluminate. Elluminate can be used to help students connect with the teacher. I would use elluminate and sign students up for certain times if they were having problems and work through the problems with the students. I would also encourage them to get on and work the problems with each other and maybe assign them in groups so they can collaborate with each other.

Scribblar: http://www.scribblar.com/
Scribblar is an online interactive whiteboard with real-time audio, document upload, and text-chat. Scribblar is the perfect online tutoring platform. Their is no limitation on how many students can join in on the chat. Scribblar would be a great tool to use on certain nights of the week for homework help or for test reviews. Math is a subject that many students have several questions once they get home and their parents are not able to help them, scribblar would help solve this problem as they can get online.

What2Learn:http://www.what2learn.com/
Ready-made interactive quizzes in game format are on what2learn. The scores are recorded and easy accessible by the teacher. Teachers can also make their own quizzes and games and it is easy to put them on your own website or blog. I could use what2learn as an easy way to quiz my students on their knowledge and keep track of how they are doing. I could post the quizzes from what2learn on my blog so that my students would have easy access to them.

Dinner for two!

Tonight Alex and I enjoyed a delicious roasted chicken and vegetables with a glass of sweet tea! The chicken was delicious and juicy and the potatoes and carrots were a nice touch.

First the carrots must be cut into thirds and the potatoes quartered. The chicken is filled with lemon (quartered), fresh rosemary sprigs, and salt and pepper. The oven is preheated to 425 and the chicken is cooked for 45 minutes. The dish is removed then lift he chicken allowing the juices to poor out. Brush the juices on the chicken and place back in oven for 25 minutes.

After taking the chicken out, carve chicken and your meal is ready to be served! This recipe is very doable and will impress any guest. The cleanup is simple and you can enjoy the rest of your evening!

Alex and I enjoy cooking in the kitchen together as we talk about the day and prepare our meal. Cooking beside him is one of my favorite parts of the day when we can just relax and focus on each other!

Flying Solo!

On Thursday, March 13 my boyfriend, Alex, flew solo for the first time! I'm so proud of him and all that he has accomplished in the aviation program and in life. I must say I was pretty nervous as he took off for the first time by himself, but he did fantastic! Now I can't wait to be able to fly with him!

Ready for takeoff!

After his solo, I'm so proud of him!

It's a mother-daughter thing!

Spa Weekend!

This weekend my momma came up to Arkansas and we spent Saturday morning at the spa and then walked around looking at antiques and ate at Angel's restaurant in downtown Hot Springs.

The day was a little overcast, but the spa at Austin hotel was perfect! First we spent 30 minutes in the tub soaking in mineral water. Then we had a mud wrap put on. Last we had an amazing 30 minute massage. The service was fantastic and we had the spa to ourselves! It was one of the best experiences I have ever had and it will definitely be a recurring mother-daughter trip!

We then had lunch at Angel's restaurant and both had a Mahi Mahi salad that had pineapples, mandarins, and an orange vinaigrette dressing. Angel's was a cute little restaurant and the atmosphere was great.

After lunch we walked around downtown and got white chocolate popcorn (our favorite) and some soy candles!

It was a fantastic day that I got to spend with my wonderful mother. She is such an inspiration to me and is my role model. She has always stood by my side through anything I have done and she took full interest in it with me. I consider her not just a mom but my best friend and I love spending time with her!