Kaitlyn Linker's Zoho document HW

Note to the reader: I am basing y judgments here on my knowledge of using microsoft word, avast, and google docs. These are the only processors I've used.​

Things that I like about Zoho Writer that makes it unique:

• I like the "share" tab, because other processors  don't have this option, and it is useful for mailing or posting something quickly.
• I like that there are only a handful of text formats. Most downloadable processors have a lot, and it is tedious to scrolldown to "Times New Roman"; Times New Roman is all I want. 
• I like that it doesn't automatically autocorrect my spelling, as I like to do this manually.

Things that I think Zoho Writer lacks in comparison to other word processors:

• I do not like the fact that this processor will not automatically capitalize the first work of a new sentence, as I am used to this because of other, processors and find that I have to go back and capitalize a work manually when it has not been capitalized.
• This processor seems to lack paragraph formatting, which makes using it for formal writing impossible.
• I don't like how you have to enter an "edit" mode in order to alter your document. But this is the same for Google docs, so I guess it's permissible.

I could integrate this program into my classroom by:

I could probably use this in a similar way that Google docs could be used; that is, I could have my students use this to send me informal (or perhaps formal) writing assignments or responses. I could also simply suggest this to students who can't afford or don't have access to word processors.

Melissa's Teaching Assignment

Dalek, friends:
Dalek

How much?

Create interactive meetings at Poll Everywhere

Cyberman vs. Dalek

Replace your audience response systems with Poll Everywhere

2nd Life: Perhaps Not.

Dear Parents,

I don't think I would use second life for pedagogical purposes. A major reason is for digital safety. That there's no telling what kind of people are on second life from the outside world, and I'd want to prevent my students from both cyberbullying and cyberpredation. This might sound like a silly reason to not use it in the classroom, but both of these are very serious issues, and I wouldn't want to be responsible for putting my students in either situation.

Another more practical reason as to why I wouldn't use second life in the classroom is that it is a sandbox game, an open-world game. While exploration is a great thing, especially for learning something, it must be acknowledged that open-world games consume A LOT of time from a player. Just look at anything from Warcraft to Runescape to Oblivion and you will see what sort of time these games consume. Pair this up with students' attention spans (which I hate to admit, but it's true: they often have difficulty paying attention), and you've got an activity on your hands which will literally take weeks to complete.

Now, I myself am (or at least have been for years, if not at the present moment) an avid player of various kinds of video games. I know that some games would be more useful and realistic to use as pedagogical tools than second life (for example, Myst). The issue that comes into play, however, is student control. The point of using second life would be for students to explore a virtual world, choosing where their education takes them. This works similarly to the task system in Oblivion, or any sandbox rpg (or morpg); you have various tasks which you (or your character/ avatar) could work towards, and it is up to you to either accomplish or ignore them. This poses a problem, as for a classroom, all tasks must be accomplished.

Another problem arises with the task system as well: suppose your students have a main task (or a few) which they have to accomplish. Suppose they put off the main task in favor of a plethora of minor tasks (side-quests). As a gamer, I would always follow the route of side-quests, which is why it would always take my forever to complete a game (I'm looking at you, FFIX). It is probably more fruitful to follow a side-quest than to ignore it, because side-quests often give you rewards which make the main quest more easily accomplished. So if students have a main task to follow and are easily distracted from it in favor of accomplishing minor tasks, they may be right to do so, as it would ultimately give them a more meaningful experience in terms of learning. The problem with this is that there wouldn't be enough time in the classroom.

Sincerely,
Daniel de Sa',
ELA Teacher

There are three major things which have been useful for me, and which I will use, from this class. The first is the smartboard. While I am still getting the hang of this, the smartboard is a useful tool because unlike the traditional chalk- or white-board, the smartboard offers many opportunities for interactivity. the other tools which I've found useful are windows movie maker and audacity. Both of these tools can be used in a variety of multimedia projects, which is mostly how I would implement them in my classroom. I might also use them to present particular things to the class, such as video segments related to a unit.

I cannot think of anything in particular that I would like to learn about which we haven't yet covered.

The Slender Man

Please watch the following video, along with the 27 videos following it (labeled "Entry #1" - "Entry #26). These videos culminate in a horror experience which is super creepy:

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING SERIES OF FILM CLIPS IS EXTREMELY CREEPY. WATCH THESE CLIPS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmhfn3mgWUI

You can use the following wiki to navigate through some of the footage and to help understand the over-arching narrative of the "slender man," a modern mythic creature:

http://marblehornets.wikidot.com/start

The reason I'm offering these things for you all to look at is because i think that both materials can be used in fruitful ways in the classroom. The entire film, which isn't that long, is fictional, and is done by students (film students). They've obviously used this modern mythical creature of the "slender man" to create an original narrative on film. This is something which students could easily do as a larger unit project with something they've learned about in class.

The second thing is a wiki, which we've looked at in our class as a possible tool to use for the classroom. It organizes a lot of information concerning the film project, but also a lot of information surrounding the film. It does what a wiki should do: informs the public with information on a particular topic. this would be a great second part to the aforementioned class film project.

I hope this was useful to you all!

Marble Hornets - Marble Hornets

http://marblehornets.wikidot.com/start

Beware the Floating Head