Gretchen+from+Xiamen's+Page



**Thoughts from 2.011**

**Space for Reflection:**
 * the kids requested I continue a weekly photo challenge at school. I promised it would begin again next week. I now have sources for photo challenge ideas (thanks to an Unconference); and I just remembered that I need to get this up and going. next week.
 * I really like the idea of using wall wisher for in-class brainstorming, or gathering ideas and facts during web quests, etc. It could also work if I wanted to limit verbal questions during a lesson (and all of the kids had computers).
 * picnik could have good usage - esp. as it is free; the kids may actually know other sites that could do similar functions (but this would be a good one to use as well).
 * I appreciate that so many of the apps and software mentioned by various presenters and participants are free, and that many of them can be used in China without a VPN. I'm still surprised (though I shouldn't be) that school outside of China exclusively (and oh so efficiently) use software and programs that are blocked in China. My head is spinning from all of the benefits and weakness of Googledocs (blocked here) vs.... I don't even know what!

**Ideas and Takeaways:** From Cohort Sessions
 * Wall Wisher = wallwisher.com
 * http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/reformwhat
 * []
 * on the right side is a chat area – for generating ideas, etc. The main area is saved, the chat area would not be saved
 * Picnic / panorama
 * []
 * picnic can be used to create “banners” or play with pictures…
 * panoramas, widgets, slide shows, banners
 * Audacity (now saved on my computer) OR Soundcloud (online) for recording with students
 * educational skype - for networking (myself) or for connecting with other classrooms (for students) - this one needs more investigation b/c I know skype is useful for more than just networking. :)
 * From Un-conference on iPhoneography (I downloaded several fun apps) - and have ideas/more direction/resources for photo challenges with yearbook.
 * From the photoshop 101 un conference - they taught Masking (which is an amazing and efficient time saver) and numerous mac short cuts that I should have already known....
 * the Unconference on classroom websites clued me in to features of my Weebly that I didn't know were available. I spent a happy half hour this afternoon creating accounts for all of my 8th grade students. They will be getting emails with details of their new accounts in the next two days (hopefully they're happy with this arrangement too....)


 * Questions:**
 * After two UN conferences today, I have new questions (on top of the ones I already had) about the Weebly I opened for use in my classes two weeks ago. New questions focus mostly on how I can most effectively use the Weebly - what information should I put on it, and and also I need to further investigate how Weebly can be used as a classroom tool.


 * I've been putting off figuring out how to use RSS feeders, today I was convinced that I need to tackle that topic this year. I don't even know where to begin with questions.