Ms. Reighard's blog

MnLInk

2008-05-21T13:00:00.002-05:00

Hey there- I've been checking out MnLink and all of iti's great resources. I love how I can access all of the Mn public libraries from this one site. I live by the little tiny St. Bonifacius library buy it is part of the Hennepin cty library so I can access just about anything. But, with the Gateway link, I can access all the county libraries which is very cool.
The tutorials are great- I was thinking I could do a unit in my using tech classes about finding and using good resources but the tutorials would be perfect to put on my website or for students to access if they have been absent.

Thing 14

2008-05-01T13:07:00.002-05:00

Collaboration
I had the pleasure of doing a collaborative lesson with Connie and my using tech students on how to stay safe on the internet (Instant messaging, websites, chat rooms etc.)I found a presentation from www.netsmarz.org which has information from two students who met a person on the internet who turned out to be dangerous. The last part of the netsmartz presentation is an activity showing how easy it is to find out who you are and where to find you based on very little information posted at a 'myspace' or similar site. It is very powerful and the students seemed very engaged.
Upon completion of the presentation, Connie talked to the kids about 'to catcha predator.' Many of our students had never heard of it and were shocked when we told them the premise. Connie had some great analogies about using chat rooms. I'll let her blog about though.
Overall- a great experience and hope to do it each quarter. Thanks Connie!

sketchbook

2008-04-24T17:01:00.000-05:00

THING 15

2008-04-24T07:52:00.002-05:00

Collaboration-
I am going to do a collaboration project with the fabulous Ms. Nuss. I found this great DVD presentation for Internet safety. It's called Netsmartz. It's a DVD where they show how easy it is for a predator to find a child from just an email address. There are interviews from students who have been victims of abuse from a person he/she met on the internet.
The web address is www.netsmartz.org/
and it is totally free. I teach using tech once a day here at the freshman center. All of my students use 'myspace' and the like and seem to have no idea how to keep themselves safe.
Connie Nuss is went to an internet safety forum last night and is going to help me add to the lesson.

Thing 14 Reliable online resources

2008-04-14T11:19:00.002-05:00

There are really so many searching options available. Although, I am starting to like Google, students think it is the only way to find information. Something that stood out for me was at the Internet public library. I liked the huge list of search engines along with a review. I especially liked 'searchmash.' (I just realized it is powered by google, I just can't get away)

I also found some great resources at "teenspace" where teens can find anything from homework help to great sites for waisting time. There was even a Science project guide with tips on choosing a topic, completing the project and displaying the project. There really is no excuse not to have a great science project. This area is attached to hundreds of links organized in a way where a student is directed to the portion he/she is interested in and guided to a potentially amazing science project.

THING 13

2008-04-02T12:32:00.002-05:00

Subscription data bases-
I checked our the Gale subscription data base. There is a ton of science information. I found that I can find specific images that I can add to my notes or lectures to help students understand an abstract topic. I love that! It's kind of a pain to search through the millions of images in a regular search engine to find a diagram or animation that works. I will definitely use this again. (I had to look under "multimedia"

THING 6

2008-03-17T12:52:00.002-05:00

I have had my advanced Science students working on the research project. They are definitely struggling. It seems honor students really have a tough time if I don't tell them exactly what to write. (Coming up with topic was like pulling their toenails off) I'm going to give some of the worksheets a try to help them gather their information. I'm going to start with the 'evaluating websites worksheet'.

Thing 10

2008-03-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

I just took the quiz and totally bombed. I need to do some research on copyrights.

THING 7

2008-02-27T15:21:00.004-06:00

I have been working on a project for my honors science students. It is a research project where the student creates an essential question about one of the topics in physics. They will then research and create a lesson for the class. When I was at a Metronet meeting I remember thinking that I don't do a research project and I probably should. I'm pretty excited about it. Today, the students worked on finding a question and using the research project calculator. It worked out very smoothly.
I'm trying to figure out a way to link my project so others can check it out. Does anyone know how?

I'm back!

2008-02-20T11:11:00.002-06:00

Wew! Sorry for the long absence in my blogging! I coordinated the Extended Semester program at our school and had time for nothing else. However, in my classroom, I am using things I've learned through Metronet. For the first time, I had a student turn in a presentation for science class using google docs because she didn't have power point at home!

Thing 10

2008-02-01T15:18:00.000-06:00

I really think my students seem to need more information on copyright and plagiarism issues. I just assigned my using tech students to find some definitions about emerging technologies. About halfway through the assignment, I said ,"just reminding you, you can't just copy and paste, these need to be in your own words." I heard a collective 'sigh'. It just seems students think unless a teacher specifically tells them not to copy and paste, that it's okay. I have been checking out some of those recommeded links and I will be sure to share some of them with my students.

Thing 12- Other search engines etc.

2008-01-23T15:30:00.000-06:00

I love ask jeeves. I love it for students because students have a difficult time coming up with correct search words. In ask.com, students can type in an actual question that the search engine recognizes. ex. "What is a chemical reaction"
Also, I have been using Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. It has been amazing. When I'm 'surfing' the web, some sites just seem to work very well. I will go to the same site using Firefox and it will work much better. My example is Webkinz.com. (Anyone who has a younger child probably knows about webkinz.) Kids can buy a stuffed animal that comes with a code. The child then goes online and plays with there animals in a virtual world. It's pretty cool actually. Anyway, internet explorer doesn't allow my daughter to navigate very well.

Thing 9 Streaming

2008-01-10T12:58:00.000-06:00

I tried out 'United Streaming' for the first time. I can't believe how many videos I can access from there! I was teaching a unit on atomic theory and incorporated two videos that I found at that site. I just saved the two video clips into a folder and hyperlinked them to my notes I was giving in class. It worked great! I like to add things like that when giving notes to students so they don't fall asleep. I think I'm going to send an email to our staff letting them know that our school owns a membership to United Streaming because I think most aren't even aware of it.

Thing 3-

2008-01-04T13:05:00.000-06:00

I set up my bloglines account and it was very simple. It's fun to read blogs from people. When I write my own, it seems like no one will read it so I like commenting on other blogs from our group. Bloglines was really simple to set up. I can't believe how many blogs are out there to which I can subscribe. I have subscribed to a couple of 'sciency' blogs but I haven't found one that I feel comfortable commenting on yet.

Thing 5 revisisted Thing 11

2008-01-04T12:34:00.000-06:00

I spent a couple of hours on my teacher website yesterday. I uploaded pictures of my students working in th lab. The students were thrilled to see themselves. We are using Front page and I hear this is the last year we will be using it. I like Dreamweaver so that would be great for me. I have all of my worksheets and notes hot-linked on my website. The problem is, many students tell me they are unable to open them at home even though they are adobe files. I wonder if it is a 'cookie' issue??
Thing 11 --I assigned my students an autobiography using Google Documents. There are quite a few limitations. One larger limitation is picture size. Students are unable to insert a picture larger than 2mb. This forced me to teach them about changing file names which is a bit over their heads. I love the fact that it is free and it can be accessed anywhere although I haven't quite figured out how I will access them to grade them. I think I will have them email me the link?

Moodle

2007-12-19T10:35:00.000-06:00

I have been doing some research on moodle. It's a free download for educators that is for the purpose of online classses. http://moodle.org/

I have also been hearing the praises of Firefox as opposed to Internet Explorer. I'm going to try using it for a couple of weeks. I let you all know what I think.

Scary eagle

2007-12-14T10:54:00.000-06:00

This is me at a class learning about becoming an adminstrator. "Administrator as Eagle" You can think about it...

Thing 5--Teacher Webpage

2007-12-13T10:30:00.000-06:00

I have been working on improving my teacher webpage recently. I do update just about everyday. I added a link for students to down load the Adobe reader so hopefully they can open my notes and worksheets. THING 5

Check it out;
http://www.district112.org/prc/Departments/Science/Reighard/

Thing 4 -getting to know your public library.

2007-12-13T10:22:00.000-06:00

Thing 4 Yesterday, I emailed the public library to see if someone from the library would be interested in speaking to my students about the benefits of a public library. Hopefully someone will get back to me.
I love the public library system. As a Mom of three little kids who is home all summer, we use them often. We like to go to the free shows held at the libraries and check out new books weekly. We have gone to the Chaska, Chanhassen and Waconia libraries. (Of of course, little tiny St. Bonifacius as well.)

Thing 11- Google

2007-12-06T11:25:00.000-06:00

I just check out google docs and can't believe I didn't know about it before. So many of our students have a computer at home but do not have Microsoft office. (It's expensive) I can't wait to share it with my colleagues.

metronet_reighard

2007-11-29T12:24:00.001-06:00

metronet_reighard

2007-11-29T11:21:00.001-06:00

Thing 2--Heather's Metronet

2007-11-29T11:12:00.000-06:00

Alright, so I'm thinking about what I'm doing with this Sludge thing. Where should I start. My class will be beginning in about a week and half. I'm trying to figure out a way to make this project more "rich". I'll try doing a little research about what other teachers are doing with some of my new ideas I learned at my Metronet class. :)