Another teacher training website

In my quest to find helpful websites to educate me in the use of technology for my classroom I have located yet another helpful (free) website. www.teachertrainingvideos.com

This website is rather dry but quite informative. I have always been a visual learner and this website is very helpful in this aspect. You are given several different video tutorials to watch that actually show the particular website you are wanting to learn to use, or the particular skill you are trying to learn. There is even a tutorial on how to create your own blog.

This website is really for teachers and not their students. The narrator has a very dull dry voice that could put one to sleep, however the steps are easy to follow with images to go along with the instructions. I have found it quite useful and have it saved to my favorites for later research.

Digital Kids, Adobe's website

I recently discovered the website www.adobe.com/education/digkids/ when trying to locate information on how to incorporate technology into my classroom. I am what you would call a Digital Immigrant; I was not raised surrounded by technology as my students have been and needed help in teaching my students about 21st century learning. This site was helpful in giving short tutorials on how to make digital videos, how to share them and how to publish them for personal or classroom use. There are tutorials on how to use photography as well as video in presenting projects such as public service announcements, educational videos, and the like. It is written in simple language; however the language was perfect for me and not necessarily my elementary aged students. The graphics on the website are not exciting and inviting to young viewers, but the information seems very valid and appropriate for educators looking for more information to share with their students.

My primary purpose for looking for the sites was to educate myself in ways to use technology in my classroom, and this website is a step in the right direction. I will need to continue to look for sites that will help my students as well. The information provided on this site will of course equip me to be able to share this new found knowledge with my students.

Students in the 21st century need to be fully trained in all aspects of technology and in order to accomplish these tasks, educators also need to be trained. School districts do not always have the budget and time to provide to educators and sites like these are helpful for teachers to learn new ways of teaching without added expense.

I recommend educators to try out the site for new ideas on how to incorporate digital photography and video into their lessons.