Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! While it's not my favorite holiday, I do enjoy seeing pictures on social media of everyone's costumes.  I love the homemade costumes for adults and kids alike rather than the store bought ones; how about a little creativity people!? Thanks to sites like Pinterest, it's easy to get inspired.

Anyway, it's November tomorrow and the Christmas season will be sneaking up- as if it hasn't already. I found a really great list of tech tools that make holiday shopping easier.  I definitely plan to use some of these this year!

Organization

This week was all about organization, which is a beautiful, beautiful thing!

For Adult Learning, I created my E-Portfolio using Weebly.  Creating a portfolio online keeps things very neat and organized and it's been fun compiling all my projects onto one site.  Here, check it out!  I will be updating as the semester progresses.

I created my PLN (personal learning network) for IT21 using Pearltrees.  Also a first for me, a PLN is an awesome way to catalog your favorite web tools and resources.  I feel like I have one go-to place now instead of a million bookmarks.  Here, see what you think!

I even finished the week on this beautiful Friday, cleaning out and completely reorganizing my desk at work! Woohoo! Hey, I get excited over these things.  That is until I come back on Monday and forget where I moved everything to, ha!

Ohh, we're halfway there!

My theme song for this week is Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" as we are "halfway there" to the end of the semester!

No f2f in either class this week but I've been chipping away at contract work and staying busy!  I've found a couple great articles that I wanted to share with you all.

Adult Learning #ALMastermind friends:
check out these 17 Tips to Motivate Adult Learners

Instructional Technology 21st Century #MAIT21 friends:
Very interesting read on how Google Glass showcases the potential of wearable educational technology.  That's right, Google glasses on all your students!  Read more here.

Collaborative Learning

Last week I took the plunge and attended both of my classes synchronously online!  My Monday AL class I usually attend online but between all the other work I had to do and just being busy in life, I decided to check out IT21st from the comfort of my home.  I must say it is SO nice to be able to have multiple options for participating in class!  I would not say I will always continue to attend online because going in person certainly has its value but it's also convenient when needed.

I found a great article on collaborative learning that offers 20 free collaborative web tools to use in the classroom.  Check out this awesome resource here!

     

Tool Time.. and no, not the Tim Allen/Al Borland show...

I got to see some eye-opening Web 2.0 tools demonstrated in both classes this week.  In AL, we presented our root-tracing exhibits and I saw some really creative projects!  From different avatars that were created with Morpho, Powtoons, and Voki ( prior to this assignment I didn't even know where to begin creating an avatar) to some really neat powerpoint and prezi tricks, I saw a lot of new things!

The tools didn't stop there,  in IT 21st Century we have an assignment called "Tool Time" in which we have to select a web 2.0 tool to present to the class.  The name Tool Time makes me reminiscent of that 90's sitcom "Home Improvement" and well, my childhood crush of JTT! lol
Anyway, back to tool time, Rachel shared "Quizlet" which is essentially an online index card study tool.  Very cool!! It seemed easy to use and a great way to learn vocabulary.  It also incorporated a few game-style ways of studying, which to me personally sounds way more fun than plain-old flashcards.

I am already noticing a trend in that I will be learning a LOT of new tools each week!