Mary Kuritz's photostream

Mary Kuritz's photostream on Flickr.

Final Relection

I read my first blog about fear being my motivation.....the same fear as when my parents asked me if I want to go to summer camp. Fear of the unknown. I did not participate in summer camp as a kid, but I can say I participated and enjoyed Summer Camp 2.0.

 I left the introduction to Summer Camp 2.0 feeling unsure and overwhelmed. How could "I" ever complete all the assignments! I read other people's blogs and they seemed to be doing "just fine." I was struggling. Then, I completed my first assignment.......maybe I could become a blogger....

 The reassurance that I could go to the lab and ask an "expert" increased my confidence. I attended many Wednesday labs and all my questions were answered without judgement.

I started to complete assignments at home......what was happening to my technology disability?  The more tools I discovered, the more I became excited.  I thought about how I could use Prezi, YouTube, screen casting, study tools, forms, polling and collaboration in my classes.

I could use Zooburst to introduce the concept of heart disease or first aid. I am planning on adding other videos of the units I teach in Physical Education to MY YouTube channel (yes, I have a YouTube channel). I will continue to use Tagxedo for the motivational sayings I have around my classroom (I used MLK's speech in the shape of a dove). The Quizlet vocabulary cards I created, will be located on my teacher webpage. I will encourage my students to use the games/activities that go along with the cards.

As a seventh grade Middle School Health teacher, I already use cloud computing to work on common assessments district-wide.  I can see a screencast helping a sub teach a lesson. But I still don't understand how the sub would access the site. Like I said in my blog, I would like the Physical Education Department to use InfoGraphics for the Presidential Physical Fitness scores. I actually think that would be fun to set that up! I found the Form tool to have potential as well.....talk about feedback.

This once "technology newbie" is finding her way. I even helped a couple people with assignments!?!?!   Summer Camp 2.0 gave me tools, helped me find tools and gave me time to practice (and fail....and then succeed). Most of all, it gave me some confidence that I can implement some new technology in my classes.....and have fun doing it.

I look forward to a Summer Camp 3.0 next year.......yeah camp!  :)

Choice - photostream (Activity #10)

see above for photos

 I used family photos, but I was wondering what kind of photos I would use on my website.......class photos of kids in action (Phy Ed)? I have to give this some more thought. The Animoto I may use for Health class presentations. It seems like a better choice. I am interested in self-correcting Google Forms/Presentations. My question is, does the data import itself in to a gradebook? .....that would be AWESOME! I did not find RubiStar.4teachers.org anything to rave about. I do not need a template to create a rubric and the rubrics listed were not of any help.

Forms (Activity #9 - part 2)

Wow, do I like this tool! Here is my form: It seems like a quick way to get data..... data that you can actually use for your instruction.

Polling (Activity #9 - part 1)

I read other people's blogs saying how easy polls everywhere.com was.......I could NOT, for the life of me, figure out how to embed the poll. So, I went for Wednesday's help session. Here is my poll about the Olympics: I found out that it is difficult to embed a poll with more than one question. My original poll had three Olympics questions. There is a saying that says "Keep it simple." So, simple it is.

Screencast (Activity #4)

I practiced recording a screencast of me explaining my webpage.......wow, that was a kick!  I'm thinking how can I use this tool in my classroom?  Well, I was so deep in thought, I deleted the recording......it wasn't that exciting anyway.

Attempt number two, I screencasted (if that's a word) the answers to a Nutrition test that is a common assessment for 7th grade Health. Here it goes.....

Right at this moment (it is late Friday night), I don't know how I would use this tool in my classroom.  I know there is a place for it............

BYW....by the way......I did this at home on my Mac........AND put it on my You Tube channel.......I think this Summer Camp 2.0 has given me new powers that I never knew I had!  :)

InfoGraphics (Activity #8)

I am going to play around with these tools a bit more. I want to create charts for each area of the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. Students will be able to look at the 50th percentile and the 85th percentile for each physical test. I do not like the look of my first attempt at Infogram.com. It is NOT clean and neat........the way I like it :)

I am going to spend some time playing around with the different tools and come up with something creative for our department.