Journal Entries for Week Three

Journal Entries                 Week Three                      Sandra Cannon Scott

Teaching Tips by Teachtopia.com Podcast #5, located at the URL at http://www.podfeed.net/episode/Teaching+Tips+By+Teachtopia.com+Podcast+5/1382346, is known as an educational audio podcast that is geared for teachers who teach K-12, and was produced by the teachtopia.com education network.  While listening to tips, the listener is also encouraged to view the website at http://www.teachtopia.com.  Typing for Children, is located at URL http://typingforchildren.com.   Audiobooks may be downloaded, and a free 30-day trial is offered.   Listening to the podcasts can occur via computers, IPods, or Mp3 Players, and older podcasts are archived and accessible with one click.    Childrensbookradio is also produced by this network.  Parents and teachers use this data to help students to understand and comprehend what is read.  Reading lists by grade levels are suggested as teachers use the strategy of teaching reading via multiple genres, with book reports scheduled periodically from September through June annually.  The public and school librarians, parents, teachers, and students are involved in the suggested reading program utilizing genres.

Google Docs, found at the URL http://www.google.com/google-d-s/intl/en/tour1.html, allows creation of and accessibility to documents, spreadsheets, and presentations available on any device that has an internet connection.  Students could be working on a document, spreadsheet, or presentation on an iMac at school, and then go to the local public library to work on that same document on the library’s desktop PC.  Templates found at the URL www.docs.google.com/templates offer the technologically-challenged user the chance to produce quality documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for free.

Teaching and learning could be positively impacted by using Google Docs on a PC or a MAC to create and share Google spreadsheets to track budgets, run financial calculations, track data, etc.  Users may work together using online drawings in Google Docs to create drawings, design diagrams, make flow charts, build organizational charts, and then insert them into documents, spreadsheets, presentations and web pages for local or global access, while collaborating in real time to see who else is editing and chatting as changes occur.