Sunday, February 24, 2013

Audacity/Podcasting - Interview Recording

Finally!!!  After trying to export my recording for a couple days now it decided to do the normal thing this morning.  Before, it would not let me export to any place.  Finally, it let me export to "Owner" in my computer files.  Then it was taking me to another screen of junk where I had to download more items, which didn't end up even working.  I don't know what went on, but my computer took me for a ride.  Once, I finally got my recording out of Audacity, I then uploaded it to my podbean account.  I then created a podcast of my interview where I copied and pasted the embedded code into this blog post.  Hopefully, the embedded code works and you can finally hear what I have been trying to tell you for days now.  Ha.

Here is my URL link.

http://kkestner.podbean.com/2013/02/24/interview-for-grad-class/

Okay, I finally figured out how to embed something, YAY!!! Have no idea where my brain is.


Sunday, February 10, 2013

Comic Strip - Figurative Language

My comic book strip consists of a topic that is pretty big in 7th and 8th grade language arts classes.  It is a topic that is all over ISTEP and that is misunderstood by students every year.  I hope you enjoy it and let me know your thoughts on it.  These three multimedia websites were fun to interact with.  I wish I would have felt better when messing around with them, but that is life.


http://Pixton.com/ic:j4cz3hyd

I tried embedding like the instructions say to do, but it will not work.  I clicked the embed button and copied and pasted into my blog, but the picture of the blog won't come up.  So, here is a link to my comic strip until I can figure it out. 




Prezi - Writing Process

My link to my Prezi - Writing Process

http://prezi.com/ty2vb1xnawrw/writing-process/

I did my Prezi over the writing process because my students are currently reviewing it as ISTEP is coming up in a couple weeks.  

Picozu Editor

First off before I start posting all my blogs and everything, I just wanted you all to know that I have been at the hospital in the ER since yesterday evening.  It kind of put a small damper on things for this class as I was half way through my stuff and planning on being finished last night.  However, that did not happen because I got home at 4:00 in the morning and was so tired from the morphine.  I have tried to work, but I keep wanting to go to bed as my diagnosis was an enlarged spleen, a symptom of mono.  I literally thought I was dying that is how bad the pain was on the left side stomach.  The pain was a shooting type of pain, tightening my body making it where I felt like I could not breathe.  Anyway, the mono part is rather bizarre because until today I have felt just fine, eating great, etc.  The doctor says in my case I could have received it from one of my students though coughing or sneezing.  So, take precaution around sick children in your classrooms as they may have came into contact with mono.  Okay, on to the first blog of the pictures.

This is the picture that I think looks perfect and would not change a thing to it.  It was taken at the wedding I was in last July.  The photographers were not well known as they both run small local businesses and are friends of the family.  Their pictures are okay usually, but this one for some reason stuck out to me above all the other ones. 


This is a picture that was taken for Donors Choose an educational organization where different donors fund projects for classrooms such as books, supplies, technology, etc.  After a project is funded the teacher writes an impact letter, students write thank you letters, and pictures are to be taken of the projects.  Many students also like to draw thank you pictures as well.

This is a picture that one of my students drew.  We actually have desks that our students can write on with dry erase markers.  They can be easily wiped off and drawn on over and over again.  Perfect for some who are perfectionists.  Original and not edited.


This is the same picture, but edited using Picozu picture editor.  Just as I used this picture editor website, my students could as well to edit their own pictures they have drawn.  I think they would really like this and it allows for some freedom to be creative.  We have 8 macbooks in our classroom and all of our students have tablets now, which could easily be utilized for such projects like this.  I would have to take the pictures on my camera and download them as Google docs.  They could then be shared straight to the other students Google accounts.

 
This picture was way too big at first and would not even fit in the screen.  I had to scroll a long way down and a long way over.  So, I changed the height and width of the picture to fit within the screen.  The height was changed to 500 and the width was changed to 750.  I then used the filter category and clicked on Frames.  Frames added the black border around the edges and pointed out the imperfections a little bit on the desk, which I think makes it have some old style to it.  I continued to mess around with the filter category exploring all the options it had.  I would apply one and then undo it every time.  However, I also chose to add vignette and retro which made the color darker and realistic.  Lastly, I chose to add the filter emboss, which put a gloss covering on top.  I also added text to fill in one of the blury spots on the bottom of the photo, but it would not save on the photo.  I tried writing "Donors Choose Rocks!!!"  I tried to insert it over and over again.  It would appear on the photo, but when you saved it and went back to look at it, the text would not be there.  If I could figure that out, That would definitely be a feature I would like as well as my students.