Sunday, February 20, 2011

Professional Portfolio

When I first started this assignment I became increasingly frustrated. But the more I worked on the site the easier it became. I have a portfolio binder that I keep at work and look forward to updated the digital portfolio more when I return to work and have access to many of the details that still need to be filled in. Here is a link to my current digital professional portfolio (definitely a work in progress :) )

https://sites.google.com/site/tamaramaiocco/

LinkedIn vs Plaxo

There are very few differences between the two sites. One of the pros that Plaxo currently has is there is an App on Itunes that I can download on to my iphone and all of my contacts will be easily accessed there. Since I always have my phone with me and not necessarily my laptop it is nice to have that feature. Another pro regarding these sites is that everything is easily formulated for you whereas on a professional portfolio page you have to build it from the ground up. The biggest con I believe among the sites is to not use all three but to chose one that works for you.  Often times people may be members of one but not the other so it would be beneficial to encourage contacts to be a part of the one that I chose. Also it is nice how the sites plug into Facebook. Plaxo and Linkedin tend to be on the professional side where as Facebook tends to lean towards the social side. So because of this it is nice to see the three come together.

Kin 710 Course Wiki

Had heart failure this morning. I went to the site where Kin710 Course wiki was located and proceeded to do the assignment and realized I was personalizing it when I was supposed to just add a suggestion!!!! Fixed my mistake but need to engage my brain better as I am doing homework!

Library Thing

I love to read, but one of the problems I have with reading is that I will not put the book down until it is finished. This is difficult especially if I am reading late at night. Often times I will stay up until 3 in the morning finishing a book. I also have a hard time buying books because I finish them so fast. Lately my daughter and I are going to the library to borrow books for her because she is similar in that she is a fast reader and finishes the books quickly.
I enjoyed the Librarything website and think it will be fun to organize the books that we do have here at home. http://www.librarything.com/home/Tmaiocco
I am looking forward to using this site more possibly this summer to become more organized as well using it this semester to look for more resources for projects and assignments.

Image Generators

I am loving the image generator websites. For the picture below I used www.bighugelabs.com. As a teacher and a mom this could be a significant motivator for students and my daughter.



Sunday, February 6, 2011

Podcast and my google reader

Today I found a great podcast that had a lot of health, nutrition and fitness information. The Instructors were entertaining and had a lot of great information. It would be a lot of fun to set something like this up for my PE students.
http://kinfit.typepad.com/kinfit/rss.xml

I attached the RSS feed to my google reader in hopes that if there are more podcasts created it will come to my attention.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

YouTube


My experience with YouTube before the Masters program was always entertainment in nature. Mostly the videos that I watched on YouTube were videos that friends had posted on their facebook accounts or videos that my daughters have come across that are funny.  I think that YouTube can also be used in an academic setting as well. One serious dislike I have regarding YouTube would be that there is less than desirable content on the site. There seems to be no filter in the way content can be accessed and if my daughter is on the site some very inappropriate videos can be brought up. Skill videos can be loaded and accessed by students as well as Coaches can use the site to recruit players and watch videos that players upload with their skills highlighted. As a PE teacher the beginning of the year brings many challenges. One of the biggest challenges is teaching students how to open a master lock.  I found a video on YouTube that would be great to attach to a site that the students can access and watch to learn how to open a master lock.




Technorati


Using the leading search tool for blogs proved to be disappointing to me in the fact that when I used the term Kinesiology in several different searches often times no results would return. There were 31 blogs that were returned when the key word kinesiology was plugged in for a general search, but when I inputed Kinesiology into the Blog Directory no results were given. I was disappointed that there seem to not be very many blogs in relation to Kinesiology or even Physical Education for that matter.  Visiting the different “Kinesiology” blogs also proved disappointing because the sites were more directed towards mind-body connection and one blog site dealt with making clothes! The top 100 sites were mostly daily blogs about life and news worthy material. If I was to use Technorati in the future it seems that the keywords need to be exact in nature so that the blogs targeted are what I am looking for.

Del.icio.us = Delicious???


Is Del.icio.us delicious? I think that this particular bookmarking tool could be very beneficial to individuals that are computer savy as well as individuals who are not. By incorporating all of a person’s bookmarks in one place it could help streamline the research process.  Delicious.com helps the user by categorizing by topics the most popular websites available. The major concern I have regarding the website is once again having another site that I need to keep track of. I suppose the more I use it though the more friendly it will become and will help keep material in a focused place.  Another benefit is that Delicious is accessible anywhere and if I do not have my computer but need to access my bookmarks from school I will be able to do so in a very easy manner. I look forward to creating an account to see how beneficial it will be to use.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Web 2.0

There were actually several sites that were of interest in the Web 2.0 link. I really liked the Oobgolf website. My daughter and I are starting to play a lot of golf and it is interesting to see so much different information on one site. Since also starting my twitter account I have followed new tweets that are beneficial to the Masters Program at FPU.

RSS Feeds

Tonight I created a google reader and subscribed to several different RSS feeds.  The Journal of Teaching Physical Education is one RSS I am particularly looking forward to receiving.  I also subscribed to several different classmates blogs.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Saturday

Headed out to Laurynn's golf lesson, and to exercise myself.... then back home to housework and homework.....

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Friday, January 21, 2011

Laurynn at Riverlakes Golf Course


Today my daughter and I went to Riverlakes Driving Range. It was a beautiful day to drive a bucket of balls. I took this picture off of my Flickr site.....

Technology

This week I created my twitter account. I have always used my husbands’ account in the past, so I am looking forward to having my own with my interests. I am also looking forward to setting up my Flickr account as well.  I already have a facebook so I am trying to decide if I want to make a new one that is geared towards my Masters program or just use my personal account.

Editorial


The Editorial- Examining Social Software in Teacher Education four components were discussed. The first component stated that social software supports scaffolding, where students receive support from other students, teachers and parents. Social software also encourages active participation as well as a learning environment that provides opportunities that otherwise may not be available. Lastly the learning communities provide a safe environment where students can try out their ideas and interact with each other. I found it interesting about the story the author used as his introduction. The social software can be a bad thing, but used in the correct tone can be beneficial to academia.

Emerging Technologies


In the ever changing times of budget woes especially directed at libraries, it was interesting to learn about the emerging technologies available to assist libraries in increasing interest and attendance. Blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, Vodcasts and web conferencing are all avenues libraries can take to increase knowledge to the public about their services. Wikis for myself is of concern due to the fact users are able to freely create and edit a web page using any browser, with no accountability even if the material is factual or not.

Web, Library and Teen Services 2.0


After reading this article I have become more aware that certain social networks (myspace and facebook) are being utilized to create more interest in public libraries. These tools are helping people electronically converse more about book and products in ways they never have. As technology continues to evolve and dominate, books need to be kept alive in libraries trough other means.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Introduction

My name is Tamara Maiocco.  I actually go by the name Tami.  I live and work in Bakersfield, Ca. I currently am a Physical Education teacher at Bakersfield High School where I also coach Junior Varsity Boys Tennis.  I am the mother of two girls. Mary, who is 21 and attends college and Laurynn, age 13 attends Stockdale Christian Elementary.  I am married to Vince Maiocco, who is the Head Baseball coach and full-time Instructor at Taft College located in Taft, Ca.  We also attend Laurelglen Bible Church in Bakersfield.  As a family, sports are an important part of our lives. Our free time is spent either participating in sports or watching sports. Our favorite teams are located in the Bay Area, the World Series Champions, San Francisco Giants and also the San Francisco Forty Niners. We also enjoy watching the San Jose Sharks. All of us enjoy participating in sports as well. Vince loves to road bike, where he sometimes will ride close to 50 miles a day. I enjoy running and playing golf. Mary just completed her second season playing college volleyball and Laurynn is beginning her journey with private lessons in Golf.  I believe I currently have my “dream job”. I enjoy interacting with high school students and enjoy having my summers off.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

First Post

This my first blog and it will pertain to my Masters Program at Fresno Pacific University.