Techie Teacher

Mid July. Time is ticking until back-to-school, and I have a lot of things to organize. I've used a lot of my vacation time to cultivate a garden and build up the homestead. Had time to check back in with my health, my family, and my social life.

Now, it's time to get back to work, and I am exploring different available technology to help me deliver the best lessons for my students. My learners need more than just a web site with daily assignments posted on it. What I am trying to create is an interactive media zone for my students to share and learn in. A database and forum system. Web links. Access to grades and tools.

Check back frequently: I will post my progress with different web-based media, all of it free and available to the public.

This is a bit of an adventure for a me, and I feel excited to try out things I dreamed of using during my first year teaching but never had time for. I'm going to keep track of a few things on this blog as I learn about working with technology designed to assist learners in the classroom.* Here are some of the free resources I'll be using.

000webhost.com - Free database and MYSQL hosting, perfect for starting a high-tech drupal or moodle.

ATutor - currently, the best content management system for teachers looking to customize their learner's online experience. Also called a LMS or Learning Management System. With this I can invite other colleagues of mine, or even students themselves, to host a course, a portion of my site, or just a forum discussion. I plan to also use this as a transitional tool to start my own distance education venture.

DrupalEd - another content management system for educators

Pearson Power School - This one is not free. My school has adopted PowerSchool, so I will be taking notes as I learn how to make my class accessible to my students and their parents. So far I've only calculated grades using the Power Teacher Grade Book. I would like to use live links to my own website to completely integrate my class and my records.

FileZilla - an indispensable FTP for uploading CMS and other files.

This blog on Blogger.com - free blogs for everyone!
*This Blogger is linked to my personal Gmail account, therefore I would like to keep all information about my school and my classes private. I might upload some sample lesson plans or sample info, but this is a decision I feel I need to make on behalf of professionalism and concern for student anonymity. I will probably share a different blog with my students; Journey to Dictionopolis is about my personal experiences in education.

More great free resources and reviews/tips/frustrations as they arise!