Assignment #4

Mr. Walton's Website

For my technology project I decided to create a website like the one that I would use in for my classroom. I also wanted to create a blog that I could use to give students and parents
information about upcoming weeks.
Features:
For my website some of the features that I used were: choosing a template, background picture, background colors, making links to other websites, created classes, calendar events, uploaded documents, and created online quizzes.
For my blog I chose a website called voki.com. On this website instead of having a traditional blog it was more of a mix between a blog and a podcast. At voki you create a character to be the face of your blog and then you can either type or record what you want your character to say. I really liked this idea because it is more enjoyable to watch the animation then read a long blog, and it also makes it so students who can't read can still get information online.
Issues:
Some of the issues that I have faced with this is getting the voki to post to my website. I looked and looked for a way to get it on there, but it just wasn't happening. I solved this problem by finding a tool on my website that allows me to email my class lists. The voki does come in a format that emails so that way I could just email all my students the blog for each week.
I really didn't have any problems with setting up my website. I went to K12lessonplans.com and it really made the whole process pretty painless.
What it means to me as a teacher:
This project really showed how easy it would be to set up a website for all of my classes and how I could keep the students and parents informed. I always knew that it would be a good idea to have a resource like this for the parents, but I just assumed that it would be soo time consuming that realistically it would be something that I would never do. The voki website was really helpful because it is a really quick and fun way to get information across. I like the idea of my students being able to watch something without having to look at me.
NETS for Teachers:
2. Design and Develop Digital-age Learning Experiences and Assessments- My website full fills this in a couple of different ways. One way that it fulfills it is there are online quizzes that students are required to take throughout the quarters. It also is a place that I can post class lectures and activities.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership- The idea of creating a website, blog, or podcast at the beginning of this semester was kind of a daunting task, but now I feel comfortable doing all three. I think this project helped me accomplish this.
NETS for Students:
1. Creativity and Innovation: By showing the students how to use voki and requiring them to do it as well it really lets them show how creative they can be with their blogs and characters.
3. Research and Information Fluency- My website gives the students in my class a starting point when they are doing a paper or project for my class. They can come here and have a list of websites that they can use for their project and it helps them get the ball rolling.