Multiple Intelligence

Eportfolio is coming

With the semester coming to a close soon,

here is the link to my EPortfolio website.

I figured that since a goal of the portfolio is

to see my growth, what better way then to

show my growth with this task. So far that

growth has involved not using the freewebs

with Google Chrome. Looking forward to

sharing my reflections with my classmates (and my 2 faithful followers) on my EPortfolio.

My REAL Podcast

Download this episode (48 sec)

So apparently if you right click your podcast it allows you have a downloadable file straight from Blogger. Only problem is for the last 2 days Mypodcast.com has been posting this error message. While I'm not alarmed I'm mildly annoyed. But I guess that's life and it's hard to complain with a free hosting site. So I hope enjoy the real podcast, if you can download it.

Pseudo Podcast

So i started by making a podcast on Mypodcast.com once I made it I realized that there really isn't anyway to post it directly to my blog. The point of the podcast was to welcome you folks to the blog and display my podcasting abilities. So I "tricked" Blogger into thinking this podcast was a video and posted. Sure I could have just posted it with a blank background but that wasn't fun. And technically we were given a choice if we wanted to post a video or a podcast. So enjoy my "pseudo podcast."

Dolphin Don's Music School Review

Type of CAI: Drill and Practice
Operating System(s): Windows 95 and up

Dolphin Don’s Music School is a drill and practice program for music students. It has up to 24 levels for each module. Since music knowledge varies by age I would say this program is good for the beginning musician to the intermediate musician with music theory knowledge. The interface seems geared to children as it has a talking dolphin guide you through the drills. It costs $39.95 plus $5.00 shipping for a CD version of the program. Dolphin Don’s Music School has many options to learn music and music theory. This includes learning note names on several different staffs, learning chords, keys and rhythms. It also uses a very important aspect of music which is hearing notes and chords. Each answer is always reinforced by the proper sound of the note or chord(sorry no sound for you to hear it, but trust me it's there). It also has a section that lets you identify chords by their sound. Another nice feature is that the program lets you sign in as “you” and pick the instrument in which you play. The program and modules are then tailored to learning that is crucial for that instrument. Since it is a drill and practice program it does fall short in music ideology. For example it will teach you what a diminished chord looks and sounds like, but will not teach you why it is diminished. It also is not very graphically complex. I would recommend using this program to reinforce music theory classes and initial learning of different clefs and notes.

Switcheroo Zoo Software Review

Type of CAI: Simulation/Game
Operating System(s): Windows 95 and up/ Mac OS X and up

Switcheroo Zoo by Tubehead is an Entertainment Software Rating Board rating of E for Everyone. This means it is geared for children 6 years old and up. It can be used online for free or Zoo Deluxe can be purchased for $7.99 download or $17.99 in CD format. Zoo Deluxe boasts larger images and more features. The larger images are definitely a plus as the online images are decent size but the text that goes with it is rather small, especially for those who may need glasses. Switcheroo Zoo contains many interactive simulation games that allow the user to explore an animal’s environment. It also allows for the user to learn characteristics about the animal and that environment. Users can also create interesting “creatures” using different animal heads, bodies and tails. Each body part’s use is explained separately. Switcheroo Zoo obviously covers the science subject area but language arts come into play as it allows the user to create a title for their “creature” and type a story about it. The user may then print or save the story and creation. Geography is also used for another game that requires the user to place animals in the part of the world they belong. This software does a great job of relating animals to their environments while allowing for creativity. It also provides great looking pictures of the animals and its interface is very easy to use. It also has a catalog of over 140 animals. The main downfall was the online version does have the smaller web graphics and text. I would recommend this for elementary science classes are studying animals and ecosystems.

Child Care Pays Off

Child care payoff -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

A very interesting article in the Albany Times Union. The article is almost suggesting states subsidize early child care. This is a huge issue for the population I help train. The industry is a high cost to parents and low wages to providers. Unfortunately at a time when educational funds are being cut state wide, I don't think this is possible anytime soon. This does almost give evidence of a clear cut fiscal benefit to investing in early child care.