BP3_Zefty

Well, I have to say that this was NOT the type of Web 2.0 tool I was looking for when I began perusing the Go2Web2.0 site!  I was planning on finding a fluency or reading site that I could add to my toolbox.  What I found instead was Zefty.com, a website designed to track and manage the allowance of your child online in addition to teaching responsible money management to children.  I immediately realized that while I thought I should be looking for something more "academic" in nature, this was the solution to a problem I've had since the beginning of the year.  

We have a cash currency system tied to a school-wide Positive Behavior System.  When students behave and/or make good decisions (doing homework, quiet in hallways, anything "good," etc.), they earn cash.  Although the system is good one, there are definitely some drawbacks.  The two that are ongoing issues are the expense of printing "cash" and the issue of "cash" being lost or stolen. 

With some tweaking, this site is the solution to my problem.  Zefty is intended for parents to use with their children, however, I don't foresee any problems with converting it to use in the classroom.  I created an account for each student which allows me to add a dollar amount at any time I need to.  Students do not have the master password which would prevent them adding cash to their own account.  

When a student is ready to make a "purchase" from the school store, they write a check online, print it out, and can spend it like cash.  While not fully operational at this time, the Zefty site plans to create accounts online so that students can experience the visual credit/debit process that happens when they write a check.  This process has the potential to be an excellent money management teaching tool.

I have my student's accounts set up and we are ready to go.  Come November 1, we will be opening up Zefty.com to make deposits and withdraws and put an end to the cash crisis we are currently facing.  Web 2.0 tools are abundant on the web, and I know my students are going to benefit from the discovery of this tool.

  

BP2_iGooglePLE

Oh my goodness!  Where have I been?  No more entering URL's for FB, FSO, Twitter, To-Do Lists and a calendar every time I get online.  All in one place?  This is life-changing!  Seriously, I am overwhelmed at how much time I've spent hopping from place to place - having it all in one place is so satisfying (might I even say stress-reducing, because now I'm not having to remember all those darn URL addresses)!  I love having FB updates so handy and it makes keeping up on Twitter actually feasible.  I also added local weather and a date/time gadget just to keep up with "life" these days.  Finally, who wouldn't smile every time they looked at the adorable faces of these Golden Retriever puppies.  It's amazing that I can have so much information at my fingertips and amazing that I've lived so long NOT having it at my fingertips!

The resources tab is chock full of information that I will access on a daily basis.  I foresee myself using the Blog link, the Lynda.com link & the Educators Studio link the most often.  In fact, if I were not fulfilling the requirements of this assignment, I would have those links on my homepage and not on a separate tab.  Call it what you will, but I like having references all in one place, even one click away can annoy me sometimes!  However, since I want all of my points for this assignment, I'm putting the links where they are supposed to go. (But being the rebellious person I am, I will move them back to the Home Page shortly thereafter!)  :)  I added links to resources I used to "google" on a regular basis, including a dictionary, word-of-the-day, and thesaurus.  

My AR tab includes links to the FSO sign-in, Google docs (another newly discovered treasure), and Wordpress.  Perhaps my favorite link on this page is the Google calendar.  How nice to have a calendar that is easy to use, easy to access, and loaded with reminders!  (I'm a wanna-be calendar user, more often than not relying on my increasingly depleted memory bank, and more often than I want to admit, having it fail me.)  This is another that will soon be located on my Home tab, just for a "visual" reminder to rely on it.  At this stage in the game, I need all the reminders I can get - from every source possible! I also included a translator gadget on this tab (and it might get transferred to the Home tab also, but we won't tell anyone, right?) because that is a tool I often have to "google" to find (I've never been much of a bookmarker, so this is truly saving me loads of "google-time" and I LOVE it!) when translators don't show up for conferences or when I want to send a quick note home with my Spanish (and Serbian) speaking students.  

So while I was hesitant to establish a new "routine" I will be the first to admit that you can teach an old(er) dog new tricks - and have success with it!  Like most everything else so far in the EMDT program, I am finding that technology is my friend, not just something "techies" use, but something that really benefits me, too!

BP1_Welcome to My Blog Post

 

Welcome to my Spot in the Blog World!  Many of you already know me and my story, so I'll keep it short and sweet.  If you think I've forgotten something important, please feel free to add your comments! 

• 3rd Grade Teacher at Frost Elementary School (Riverview, FL)
• Technology-illiterate PRIOR to August 2011 (Start date of EMDT program)
• Grew up just outside of Detroit, MI
• Graduate of Youngstown State University (OH) with a B.S. in Elementary Education
• Momma to 4 rescue animals: Jemima (cat), Jersey (cat), Jillian (1.5 year old, blind Golden Retriever) & Jenny (8+ year old Golden Retriever)
• Auntie (the best) to 9 nephews & nieces
• Friend to All (well, most)

I can't begin to describe how much the EMDT program has changed who I am as a teacher.  First, I have gotten BRAVE!  My ActiveBoard used to reside in the corner, and it now has a preeminent place at the front of the classroom.  I have gotten FUN (well, I've always been fun, but not . . . ) TECHNO FUN!  We are using iMovie, podcasts, and Comic Life in my classroom with fantastic results!  Can't wait to learn and implement even MORE!

Thanks for reading.  Keep coming back.  I'm sure there will be a funny story or dramatic something-or-other to share in the near future.  That's life!