Free technology for teachers

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
I really like this blog.  There are so many useful links on this site that any educator can use.  I really liked the section "You might enjoy reading".  This had some really great resources to use and look through.  The blog gets updated very often which is nice to see also.  There were several links I clicked on, but one I enjoyed was about the "draft" collaboration writing tool.  This is something I could definitely use in my writing class.

Mar 31, 2017 8:32 PM

This is my second screen cast and I realized that math is a little harder to do this way.  Teaching math requires a teacher to really get in there and work through the problem with the students.  Just explaining the process will make it a little harder for students to understand.  I think this could be a good way to review a concept that has already been taught.

Mar 31, 2017 7:22 PM

I could not get the other video to show up, so there are two blog posts!  This screen cast I made is all about the RACE strategy that can be used in any class.  The strategy is something that I have recently taught and is a great strategy that I use all the time.  I really liked being able to go through this step by step like I would if I was teaching this in person.  I feel like this could be a good resource for my students.

Edpuzzle

I really love this site!  I used Edpuzzle to create a video link for students to watch.  Setting up my account was super easy.  After I set up the account, the site had me search what type of video I would like to use.  This process was awesome, because I just typed in a topic and it searched youtube for me and found a large variety of videos for me to use.  The videos ranged in lengths which was nice to have.  I found my video and I had the ability to cut the video down, add audio, add my voice or add in questions.  I really enjoyed the question feature and the adding of your own voice.  I was able to add questions into the video for my students to answer as the video is playing.  I was also able to add my voice in giving students directions as to what to do.  For example, I would pair my video with a map and my vocal instructions told them what to do on the map as the video played.  I think this is something I could definitely use in the classroom.  It is not something to really use whole group, but I think it will be a great tool to use for homework assignments.   Using the voice tool would be an easy way to teach the students while they are watching the video.  I really think this is a great resource to use and is super easy to use!

https://edpuzzle.com/assignments/58cc9201e7e2443e576b8de8/watch

Animoto

https://animoto.com/play/NHBWg0YAT07eqor2PUf0ag

The link above is to my Animot about the battle of Themopylae.
This is a lesson that I taught in my class recently and thought it was a really great topic for me to jazz up a little.  When I first taught this lesson, I just went along with the book and basically story told about the battle.  I think presenting this lesson this way would make it so much better.  I like the idea of having the visuals to go along the story.
The only problem I have is that I really do not enjoy using animto. I found it hard to use and very hard for me to fit in the information I wanted to about the battle.  I don't know if I will use this site again, but I will however use this style of lesson for sure.  I will search for other ways to create a useful presentation like this in the future.

Introduction

Greetings!  My name is Chelsea Goodman and I am currently a sixth grade social studies/language arts teacher at McMillan Magnet Center in Omaha Pubic Schools.  I got my bachelors degree at The University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2013.  I spent my first three years of teaching at Central Park Elementary teaching sixth grade.  Recently, my district decided to start transitioning sixth grade into middle school and I decided to make that transition with them!
I went to college during a time where education was really pushing technology in the classroom.  The only problem is that they did not mention how hard it could be to get technology in your classroom sometimes.  I currently use technology in the classroom daily an have my students use technology when they do station work due to an insufficient amount of laptops in the room. 
I wanted to pursue a masters degree because as an educator, I am constantly learning.  When starting grad school, I was looking to find new and improved skills and ideas to improve my teaching. I am always trying to find ways to improve my teaching and interactions with my students and the classes I have taken have definitely provided me with useful skills to apply immediately.