Google Site

This week we worked on creating Google Sites. I have come to have mixed feelings about this. I think it's a great addition to the class and really helps with keeping parents informed. Since I am a big computer/technology person I would love to see what is going on in my child's classroom and be able to pull something up, like a document, if my child misplaced theirs. It's also great because if anything new comes up, the website could be edited as the week goes on. While this idea is convenient it is not so ideal. As a teacher there is so much to go in and outside of the classroom, is it really realistic to create a website? It requires a lot more site navigation and editing than a classroom newsletter. I also can't help but think that parents would go on it once in a while and would barely use it. I feel as if the teacher would spend so much time on it and parents would just look at it every once in a while.
What I would think about doing is putting up the home work for parents to see daily. Students aren't always trustworthy and sometimes forget to write down certain parts of their home work. Again, I don't know if that is ideal for a teacher to have to sign into the website everyday and type in the home work. Teachers don't always know what will be for homework that week and often there is tweaking as the week goes on. While it's a nice idea I think that the google site will just create a headache for the teacher. I think Monthly newsletters are simple and easier to create, and offer the parents the same information.

KidPix & Pixie

For this weeks assignment we were asked to use wither KidPix or Pixie to complete it. Since KidPix was not available  for at home use I used Pixie for the assignment. Pixie really reminded me of a "flashier" version of Powerpoint. Pixie and Powerpoint both give you the ability to create slides/slide shows, add music, put in information and pictures. The added bonus with Pixie is that one can show their artistic side. Even if you aren't artistic, Pixie makes it easier for you with stickers, shapes, and other small things like that. This can be used for really any subject in a classroom. There are so many backgrounds, stickers, shapes, etc, that could be used to facilitate any lesson. I really like how everything can be individualized and therefore able to fit to any subject and grade level.

While a teacher could find this useful to make lessons more interesting, fun, and relevant, students could also benefit from using this program. Just like we were assigned to do, I would ask students (depending on grade level) to write their own story or How To book and include sound and pictures/stickers. It allows them to have fun with the lesson and helps those who may be artistically challenged. Also unlike many of the other programs we've used for this class it never crashed or made my computer slow!