Chapters 5 & 6

I don't know about you all, but I felt overwhelmed with all the new knowledge and websites I gained after reading these chapters!!!  I was copying pages left and right because I decided to rent the book instead of purchasing!! BAD IDEA!  I'm also wishing school wasn't out, because there are so many neat ideas to use in the classroom, but they are being stored for next year!
     I'm already familiar with the online gradebook, as we use Skyward at our school.  It was so nice to not have to add up all the scores for each student, and I love making comments right on the report card.  It is much faster to type them than to handwrite them.  The clickers, or senteos as we call them, are a new technology tool I was able to use this year.  They are extremely handy, and the results are super fast!  I'm hoping to use them for more than just our reading quizzes next year.
     The concept mapping website is something I think I would really use.  We had a professional come in this year, and show us how to teach reading strategies.  Concept mapping was a skill she taught us, and the kids love it.  It is such a great way to take tough information, and simlify it through a concept map.  It also ensures that students are understanding what they are reading.
      Hypermedia is a new term I learned after reading chapter 6.  I have often heard the term multimedia used, but never hypermedia.  I do agree with the researchers that students writing and processing skills improve through the use of hypermedia.  Students are more apt to want to create a computer project that has writing along with pictures and clips versus a handwritten essay.  I couldn't believe how my students loved playing with clipart this year.  It's the second year we've had a moblie lab at our school, and the students just loved typing their essays on microsoft word.  I can't imagine how excited they would be if I let them create a website or even a powerpoint!
     Chapter 6 was an overwhelming wealth of knowledge! I just wish I knew how to do half of what they talked about.  I'm getting better with powerpoint, but as far as using a video camera and putting clips into things, I'm not so sure.  It is amazing to me how technological our world is becoming.  I'm wishing all of my students would show up on the first day with a laptop and a flashdrive!!