Thing #19

Beyond Facebook: Other Social Networks

I'm apart of Facebook and Myspace, but I mainly use Facebook.

Gather is appealing to me because it's easy to navigate through the pages. It differs from other social networks because not only does it allow you to communicate, but share articles and information with those who share you're interests. I can see myself utilizing this website in the future, when I am on the search for ideas to help me better my teaching style.

Is It The End Or Only The Beginning?

My favorite discovery exercise was was Thing #21! I loved making to slideshow with Animoto!

This program has definitively given me a lot of new resources I can turn to when I have my own classroom.

Honestly, I didn't expect that this blog would be so much work. It really takes a lot of self discipline to keep up with it!

I felt as if there was a lot of repetition between the discovery exercises. For example, Livebinders, pinterest, and delicious are all similar concepts that could be combined into one exercise. All of the useful tools on the internet that this blog shared with me has influenced me to include more technology into my lesson plans.

I will constantly read up on new technology developments. I expect this 23 things program to evolve as technology so I think it would be a good idea to check up on the new 23 things bloggers each semester.

Thing #23

Creative Commons

In the about 23 things about section, it states that this program is based off of a program by Helene Blowers, who drew her inspiration from Stephen Abrams.

Now that I know about Creative Commons licensing, I will definitely impart this knowledge on my students. I will use the website as a guide to which videos/music/pictures would be legal to share in my classroom.

Thing #22

Livebinders

I chose to create binders on "Fractions, Commas, and Christopher Columbus".

Here is my binder on fractions

Fractions

There are several uses for Livebinders in the classroom. It makes it easier for teachers to find helpful teaching ideas. Livebinders could aid the students as well. It would be a great idea to assign the students to create their own livebinders to find information!

Thing #21

Animoto

I loved this project! My creation turned out to be pretty neat. I had some trouble uploading my own song though. I wanted it to play through the chorus with the pictures, but I guess I'm not as tech savy as I thought I was. Anyways I went down the sappy road with this activity. I made a cute little video full of pictures of my boyfriend and I over the past two years that we've been together

Enjoy

=)

Try our slideshow creator at Animoto.

Thing #20

You too, Can Youtube

I love that youtube has grown go be so popular that it has an endless amount of content on almost every topic. From how to cut your bangs to how to teach fractions to 3rd graders! You can all find it on Youtube! I dislike that Youtube is a "bandwith hog", so the videos often buffer if too many people are on the server. Also, anyone can post a video, whether they are a credible source or are sharing accurate information. One must be careful and use discernment when watching these videos.

If was applied to A library website could use.the embedded video option to compile useful resources through youtube.

I love school house rock. It helped me with grammar in elementary school, and I turned to it as a refresher all through highschool! I plan on using it as an aid in my classrooms, and thanks to youtube I can!

Thing #18

Social Networking

Social networking has been in my vocabulary since I was about 14! Here is a link to my Facebook. I added the College of Education Facebook page and requested to be friends with my adviser. Turns out we have a few mutual friends outside of APSU! It doesn't look like social networking is going anywhere anytime soon. It will only evolve. It is important for educators to be aware of the advantages and dangers of this cyber tool. Although it is a great way for people to keep in touch or meet new people to share ideas with. Social networking has been known to be a tool to exploit ones privacy or a place for sexual predators to prey on the naive. Educators should be aware of this. I love how easy it is to find old friends through Facebook but still maintain your privacy. I don't like how often it changes its layout though. I'm not a fan of twitter. I don't really see the point if you have a Facebook already.

Classroom applications?

Perhaps a research project on the history of social networks?

I could be a Facebook friendly classroom and create a group where all my students can keep in touch even after our class time ends!

Thing # 17

Tagging

I had never heard of tagging before and I'm sad I didn't know more about it before! Not only do I see potential for its use in my personal life, but in a classroom as well. I could assign the class to research on a topic, tag their resource and post it to delicious! Teachers themselves could collaborate with this tool! A list of sights on useful ways to teach fractions or comma usage could be easily compiled on delicious.

I'm very happy to learn about this tool and use it in my future classroom =)

Thing #16

Getting Organized with Web 2.0

I chose the IGoogle start page. It appealed to me because I am already familiar with Google mail and calender. I already use the search engine and translator on a daily basis. I think I will make it my permanent start page. Especially since most public computers have Google as the home page in their browsers.

The online calender gives me a visual of what needs to be done and when it is due. The todo lists are great because I can order it by priority and then easily glance at it when I'm ready to tackle a task!

The to do list will be a great tool to combine my academic work and home work. I can put what bills need to be payed, groceries to be bought, or rooms to be cleaned as well as upcoming exams, papers and projects! I would recommend the start page to others. It combines several neat organization tools into one easy to navigate page!

Thing #15

I have always been aware of how Wikis worked, but I have never worked with it before other than reading what others edited. I assumed it was too difficult for me to even attempt! I was so wrong. It was one of the easiest things of the 23 things to do! Adding photos and comments to the APSU wiki is a great example of student collaboration. I can see myself assigning a wiki for my students to use as a tool in collaboration assignments. I find it interesting that not only can you add things to a wiki, but you can take away things, such as text and pictures. In some situations I see this as a plus, but there are scenarios where this could be negative. What if someone erases important information or photos? ll in all I believe a wiki is a good tool not just in the classroom but in everyday life as well.a

Thing #14

FlowCharts and Mind Maps

I chose to use the Mindmeister and flowchart.com.

I have never understood how to use flowcharts and I still have trouble figuring out the most effective way to use them. I see they're purpose but I've always preferred other tools.

On flowchart.com I had fun playing around with the venn diagrams with the concept of how shapes relate to each

other. Venn diagrams could be used as a visual to help students understand how to categorize and define things.

I really enjoyed using the mind map feature on Mindmeister. I can see several uses for this feature in the class room. It could be used as a tool to help students brainstorm for a research paper, oral presentation, or even a science project. I first learned about making a mind map in the fifth grade and I have used it ever since whenever I have a project coming up!

Thing # 13

Zoho Vs Google Docs

I created a document in each program and began to type what I discovered in each program as I was typing. Here is my Google Docs test document and my Zoho writer test document

I prefer Google docs over Zoho for several reasons...

• 1. I use Google blogs, email, Google +, photo album and calender. It makes it easier to have all my online apps and features in one website. Google provides that and Zoho does not.
• 2. Google docs has page numbers, if zoho does, I couldn't find it nearly as fast as I discovered it in Google docs. Page numbers are a must for my papers for my classes.
• 3. Spell check is just a right click away in Google docs. It is offered in Zoho but not quite as simple!
• 4. Sharing is easy as pie in Google docs! It pulls contacts from your email to choose from. With Zoho there is no previous compiled list of contacts to pull from. You have to store those contacts in the site or hope that who you want to share with is a part of zoho already.

Google wins simply because it is simple. Zoho has its features but I prefer to stick with google for all my online needs =)

I see several uses for Google Docs in the classroom. One in particularly is that students assigned to write a group paper can use Google docs to edit each others work and brainstorm together outside of the classroom. The comment feature could be used to share ideas or point out mistakes!

thing #4

Commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction, because it is a form of feedback. It turns a monologue into a duologue or a lecture into a discussion. A health coach might post a blog on how to count calories properly. With comments the health coach may be reassured that the information he is giving out is valid and useful. With comments other readers may be provided with additional information


Ask Questions – Including specific questions in posts definitely helps get higher numbers of comments. I find that when I include questions in my headings that it is a particularly effective way of getting a response from readers as you set a question in their mind from the first moments of your post.As a blogger, if you want comments asking questions is a great way to open doors! It makes the readers feel involved and encouraged to contribute to your blog!

Write a meaningful comment-
As an language arts nerd, I find meaningful comments important. A comment or sentence in a paper such as "I don't like this." or "I do like this." is one of my biggest pet peeves. WHY do you like/dislike "this". WHAT exactly do you like or dislike. A "if/then" sentence or one that ends with a "because" phrase transforms a sentence or comment into a meaningful one. Bloggers and teachers appreciate more than just thumbs up feedback. They want to know what specifically perked your interest or made you think.

I chose to commit on Kelsie Penick's blog because her use of the picture generators were adorable. Especially the Dalmation comic strip in Thing #9! I was sure to let her know in my comment that it made me smile.

I chose to follow Jessi Wright's blog because I had met her this summer on our study abroad trip to Spain =)
When I happened to come across her blog the first time she had posted some pictures from said trip in thing #7. The pics were linked from flicker. I absolutely loved them! They really captured the personality of the trip. I commented
"I did a post on Spain for thing number 7 too! Except I found pictures other people had taken on Flickr. Now that I think about it I love your personal touch better! This post makes me miss all the crazy adventures in Spain!"

I chose to comment on Candice Casaday's blog because of her organization on her blog. The layout was adorable and the photos she chose to post seemed to coordinate very well. It was the prettiest blog I've seen yet! I discussed this further in my comment on her thing #7

I chose Mallory Stewart's blog because she includes all sorts of creative ideas in her posts. I commented that her post on thing #9 inspires me with ideas for activities in my future classroom!

I chose Bridgette Elmore's blog because her posts have a unique personality. Her character and voice is very clear in the blog! She defiantly is a conversationalist blogger. I informed her of all this in my comments!

I chose to follow Yeah, That'll Teach You A Lesson not only because of the creativity in the posts, but of all the knowledge in the posts. This new New York City elementary teacher blogs on her hardships during her first years of teaching. There are lots of "do's" and "don'ts" mentioned throughout the post that I will be able to learn from. She hasn't posted anything new since 8 though. I begged her to post some updates for me because I'm curious as to how she has further developed.

I chose Mrs Cassidy's Classroom Blog because not only does she share the activities done in her classroom, she provides pictures and videos of just about everything!

Thing #11

*Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use?

I found looking for the "conversationalist" in blogs was the easiest method to use to find feeds for my Google reader. A conversationalist blog is easy to read and relate to. They usually provide the best advice and easy to follow tips on how to accomplish tasks relating to the subject (e.g cooking).

*Which Search tool was the easiest for you?

Google blog search was the easiest. It gave me links that related to specifically what I wanted. It provided blogs and articles!

*Which was more confusing?

They were all pretty easy for me to understand, except for Syndic 8. When I typed in my keyword for searching I was linked to another website, and another website, and another website until I found what I was looking for. It's results were vague and I had to do a lot of revising of my search terms to find what I was looking for.

*What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels?

I found 17andcooking, TravelMashUp, and LanguageWrangler !

*Or what kind of unusual ones did you find?

WorldofWierdthings and StrangeAnimals

*What other tools or ways did you find to locate newsfeeds?

I found that the more specific I was when searching with less words the more successful I was! For example instead of searching "What are some good tips learn spanish" I typed "tips learn spanish". I was provided with several useful sites on the subject.

Thing #12

I am a frequent user of the tools Google has to offer. Especially the translator, email and now the blog. I decided to explore the photo album and calender tools of Google for this project. The calender was fairly simple to figure out in terms of uploading images. The photo album had already saved photos that I have posted in this blog and previous ones! I love the layout of the calender! I set it to email me a reminder for each event whether it be an exam this week or work!

Possible Educational Uses?

The calender would be the most useful! I could easily use it to teach organization skills to the students. It's a planner they would never loose. I would have the students put in their assignment due dates in the calender, that way an email would be sent to them as a reminder.

For the photo album, the students could use it to store photos they found online relating to a research project or a presentation. There are endless possibilities for these tools! I look forward to using them in my classroom!

Thing #10

For my reader I decided to choose sites of things that currently interest me.

I selected two sites about teaching, two sites about Spain, and one site about cooking!

http://guiriguidetomadrid.com/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/

http://www.epicurious.com/recipesmenus

http://teachyoualesson.blogspot.com/2008/09/officially-nyc-teacher.html

http://www.soyouwanttoteach.com/the-good-part-of-sad-by-teachermum/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SoYouWantToTeach+%28So+You+Want+To+Teach%3F%29

I love that articles about the three topics that interest me the most will be organized neatly in one website for me to easily navigate!

In regards to its use in my school life. It provides resources that could pertain to potential research papers! As for my personal life, I have taken an interest in cooking lately. As I discover new hobbies I will be able to add sites to this reader to further explore those interests!

Teachers can assign their students to create a Google reader and use RSS to keep up with current events pertaining to subjects that interest them. Teachers can use RSS to promote being culturally aware of what goes on in the world!

Thing #9

ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

These are some cool little images that I created using the generator site. I could easily use these generators in the classroom! There used to be a "no whining" sign in my elementary classroom. If a student began to whine or complain the teacher would point to the sign to remind us to change the tone of our voice! She was okay with us expressing disagreements, as long as we remained calm and the requests were explained coherently.
I pasted the text of a Shel Silverstine poem in "The Poetry Blender". In the classroom, students could create their own poems and insert them into the poetry blender!

Thing #8

My Mash Up

I created this mash up of my family with flikr mosaic!

The center photo is my siblings, my parents, and I at my sisters wedding! The surrounding photos are each of my siblings ( I have 10). The couple pictures are my siblings and their spouses! It was very hassle free to make this!

Mash Ups in the Classroom

Another mash up tool I enjoyed was the spell with Flickr. It's a cute fun way to display a word!

I can see the flikr spell being used in the classroom to help children with spelling words. I draw inspiration from Flikr spell for a more hands on activity. I could have my students cut letters out magazines or newspapers and form different words! Flikr Mosaic could be used in several ways. Students could use it for a story board when brainstorming to write a narrative paper. I had a lot of fun with these programs.

My Thoughts on Sharing Pictures Online

If the picture is artistic and not a personal family photo I do not see an issue with sharing it online! However, I understand how some people may not be comfortable sharing their personal family photos on the worldwide web for everyone to see.

Thing # 7

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59657627@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59657627@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sftrajan/

These three images are of various spots in one of my most favorite places in the entire world: El Parque Del Retiro in Madrid Spain. These images were quite easy to find, I just typed in the search bar of the home page "Parque Del Retiro Madrid Spain" and I was immediately flooded with several very well taken photographs! I was able to even download the pictures to my computer! When I typed this same phrase into "Google Images", I didn't not receive the same quality of options. I love flikr! Its easy to use and is full of creativity!

Think #6

http://www.ehow.com/
http://www.ehow.com/how_7334250_teach-long-division-fourth_grade-students.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_2047046_teach-study-skills.html

I chose to look around Ehow.com! I have used it before and find it very easy to use. Its the ultimate how to guide. It literally has everything!

Likes:
Easy to read and find what you're looking for.
The website is divided into various categories from health to money!
Not only does it include how to articles, but how to videos as well!
Every article has a "top 5 try" menu to the left of the article. These are links that are related to the subject you are reading about.
Dislikes:
Honestly, there's nothing about this website I dislike. It fulfills its purpose perfectly! Its instructions are clear and easy to follow.

There are endless amounts of applications for its use in a school or library setting for the teacher and the student. There are several articles to help teachers teach mathematics or language arts, including fun activities and links to other helpful websites. Students could use the website as a helpful resource to help work on homework!

Here are some helpful articles I found
http://www.ehow.com/how_7334250_teach-long-division-fourth_grade-students.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_2047046_teach-study-skills.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4983876_teach-writing-sentences.html

Thing #5

• What does "School 2.0" mean to you?

School 2.0 means progression to me. If you can't beat them join them! The internet should not be frowned upon or treated as an obstacle by teachers. We should be utilizing it to enhance the learning in our classrooms. The web is evidence of technological progression. It will continue to progress, making it a significant part of our future

• What does it mean for schools of the future?

Because the schools have started to embrace technology so passionately recently, I believe more technology tools will be produced to aid the classroom. The smart board has been very successful from elementary teachers through college professors. I believe the smart board will be developed more in the next few years. However, we must embrace technology with caution. The internet and cellphones in 2nd grade mean fast easy sharing of information. This means gossip and bullying are that much easier to share and receive. The internet and children in the classroom can be difficult. The teacher must monitor each student to be sure they aren't on social networking sites or playing games that have nothing to do with the assignment.

I believe web 2.0 is a great idea and I will definitely be embracing it.

Thing # 3

"For your Thing #3 post, write about ways that you might use a blog in your teacher education program or your future classroom"

A blog can be very useful in the classroom.
A blog could be used as another way to keep the parents involved. I could blog about the lessons I am teaching their children, post pictures, videos, talk about developments. Of course I would make this blog only viewable to the parents, to ensure security.
A blog could be used to connect the teacher with the students outside of the classroom. Students could create their own blog to share ideas with each other, post learning links, or questions! This blog would have to be only viewable by parents, the teacher and classmates.

During my teacher education program, a blog could be used as a journal, recording do and don'ts I've learned in the classroom, questions or answers I've stumbled upon.

Thing #2

Creating this blog was not a difficult task for me, because it was not my first. Personalizing the blog is an aspect I am not familiar with however. For example, I had to read the directions on creating an avatar carefully in order complete it and place it in my profile. I don't believe it is a completely accurate cartoon version of myself. The clothing options were limited and not really my style, so I was forced to choose a pretty basic outfit. I definitely think the avatar is quite adorable however =) . The big blue eyes and the hair poof adds personality for sure. As for the name of my blog, I chose to go for something straight forward and self explanatory. I titled it "teaching and learning with technology". I believe this class will help me utilize technology to teach and learn. This blog will be a great tool for me to track my progress!

Thing #1

Out of the 7 and 1/2 habits, the easiest one for me to accomplish will be the 1st.
"Begin with the end in mind"
This is a habit I have always lived by. It has been instilled in me by my parents, teachers, and others whom I look up to. It{s what motivates me to keep moving forward. I am an avid planner. From the moment I get up in the morning I make a to do list, including miniscule tasks such as "check work schedule" or "clean bathroom sink". On a bigger scale I have a five year plan with a vague destination in mind. Teaching and speaking Spanish. This habit will be easy for me to master because I know what my end is and I am ecstatic to reach it!
Honestly, I feel that the last habit that will be the hardest for my to accomplish will be #7 1/2
"To play"

For the past three years I have been on my own. I pay my tuition and all my bills. My focus has been to do everything I possibly can to reach my goals with ease. This means studying my hardest, and working more than one job if I have to. This has turned me into a bit of a workaholic over the past three years, and I have forgotten how to play. It's very difficult for me to put my troubles aside and relax. When I try to enjoy a new hobby, take a simple break to breath, I can't seem to put my mind to ease. I would love to learn how to accomplish my goals, but at the same time "play". I feel that would increase my productivity if I could put my mind to ease.