Jen's Page

 

 

 

 Hi, I'm Jen. I teach 7th and 8th grade English at WVHS.  Below you will see me accepting my "Teacher of the Year" award for putting up with seventh graders all day every day! I am also a mother to a 3 year old boy named Blake. As you can see from my photo below, I lost all my baby weight two days after he was born! I am amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment #1: Search engine Assignment

 

 

morningstarsearchengineassignment[1].doc 

 

Assignment #2: Del.icio.us Assignment

 

 

 http://delicious.com/mrsmorningstar

 

 

Assignment #3: Graphics Assignment

 

 

  

 

Blake at 7:00 a.m. ready for his pre-school field trip!  

 

                                           

 

                                                          Blake passed out on a Sunday afternoon while his dad watches football

 

           

 

 

Blake catching up on his reading.                                                           Blake carving a pumpkin in his underwear

 

        

 

             Blake's mug shot

 

                       The new Morningstar house (ready for fall!)

 

 

Assignment #4: Podcasting Assignment

 

 

1.  What are three reasons podcasting is becoming so popular?

 

      a. Anyone can do it. No radios, satellites, or studios needed. You basically need a computer and an internet connection.

      b. Subscriptions make podcasting easy to use. You can subscribe to receive new shows. All you need is a Pod catcher such as iTunes. Once you have received a show, that show becomes yours to watch

         whenever and where ever you want.

      c. Gadgetry also makes podcasting easy for the average person to use. You just dowload the show and take it with  you. All you need is an MP3 player or other portable device. 

 

2.  Are iPods the only device on which podcasts work?

 

      No, podcasts can work on a variety of devices.

 

3.  Do you have to download podcasts to an iPod or can you watch them on your computer?

 

     You can watch the podcasts on your computer.

 

4.  Name three ways podcasting is different from traditional broadcasting.

 

      a. Podcasting, unlike broadcasting, is on demand. You can watch your favorite show any time, anywhere.

      b. Podcasting is free.

      c. Podcasting can be watched from a variety of means. It is personal and on-demand.

 

5.  Find at least 3 podcasts that you think could be useful to you in your role as an educator.  If you have iTunes, I would start there.  If you don't, search for podcasts on the web.  Describethe podcasts on your wiki page.

 

      I found all of my podcasts on EPN (Education Podcast Network). The first podcast I found to be useful in my classroom was titled "Grammar Girl." I think this particular podcast could be helpful in most aspects of grammar as it nicely explains grammar concepts. The second podcast I found on EPN was " Who Said? Literature Game." This podcast plays a literature game with students where they have to guess which author said what. The third useful podcast I found was called "StoryNory." I enjoyed exploring this podcast as it reads stories to students and they follow along. The first story I looked at would be great for my 7th grade students. It was a middle school level ghost story for Halloween. I can actually see myself using "StoryNory." As for the other podcasts, I found it cumbersome to sort through all the "Language Arts" podcasts on this site as most of them would not work for me and my students.  

 

 

Assignment#5: WebQuest Assignment/Video Assignment

 

The first video I found that would be useful to me in my class is a screen adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart" which I found on Teacher Tube at the following link: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=f36ca382c32ece8ca559. I was actually quite excited when I found this video because I have been wanting to show my classes a video adaptation of this story story. I knew that one existed, but I could not seem to find it anywhere. I will definately be using this in my 8th grade English class.

 

 

The second and third videos I found that I intend to use with my 8th grade students deal with Lois Lowry's novel The Giver. The first video is an introduction to this novel. I will use this video as the anticipatory set to the novel's introduction. I am excited to be completing the assignment this week because I am finding very useful videos that I know my students will enjoy, and that I otherwise would not find on my own. The link to The Giver introduction is http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=bd49c70469acae337d29. I will also use the following site with my students: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=53c6311757004d8cbbba. This second video is a student's interpretation of the novel's controversial ending.

 

The final video I found for use in my classroom can be found at this link: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7c9b5ab7eeb1ead16cf9. This is an introduction/movie reel for Sharon Creech's novel Walk Two Moons that I read  with my 7th grade students. This video gives them a foretaste to the mysteries in the novel. I think they will really enjoy watching this video.

 

As for showing these videos to my students, I am lucky enough to have a projector installed in my room, therefore, I can avoid the hassle of signing out a projector every time I need to use one. I no longer have to deal with the hassle of hooking it up either. It is installed into my ceiling and projects nicely on to the screen at the front of my room. I don't know what I would do without this projector. I have come to heavily rely on it for a variety of interesting presentations for my students.

 

 

Assignment #6: Google Docs Assignment

 

See Google docs

 

 

Assignment #7: HTML tags assignment

 

E-mailed to Matt

 

 

Assignment #8: Final Project

 

 

 

wtm presentation.ppt