week 2

I was concerned about missing week two of class, but I think I was able to catch up. There were some very interesting sites that I think that I will be able to use in my class, and surprisingly one that I already use. I currently use the Online Stopwatch as a behavior modification when my class is talking and I feel that they are wasting time. I have it saved to my desktop, so I am able to pull it up quickly on my smartboard and get it started. They see the stopwatch come up and instantly stop talking. I love this because I don't have to say a thing. I also use the stop watch during math, when we are time testing math facts. This one little tool as made my life much easier, and this students love using it. I was also really interested in Skype. The thought of communicating with students, on the computer, from around the world is very intriguing. We are teleconferencing this week with a school in India. The thought that the students can continue with this communication really excites me. The Dim Dim site seemed like something that could be used if I could not be in the classroom for an extended period of time. What a great tool to leave with a substitute teacher. Even if I was in the classroom, web conferencing could be fun to do to assess students while they are watching the screen. And lastly, with Dim Dim, if I needed to present at a staff meeting, this could be a very engaging way of communicating with teachers, not to mention the stress it would take off the presentation.