One Last Thing to Reflect On..........

Reflections

Completing the web 2.0 tools 23 Things was an enlightening experience. I have to say that my favorite discovery of this journey is RSS Feeds.  I discovered some incredible things like Google Reader that I read daily since I have subscribed to many interesting education and technology websites and blogs. I was tickled pink when I discovered that my Yahoo account connected me to Flickr, which connected to my Blogger blog and Facebook account that makes sharing information easy. Zoho writer was another awesome discovery that I plan to use to create documents that are accessible from any computer with Internet connection. During my journey I also discovered a website called Teacherlingo and that is where I found mybrainshark.com where I created my podcast.

This program has opened the door for me to continue learning about new technologies to last me for a life time. It has provided me with the knowledge to seek for ways to incorporate technology in my classroom. I was surprised at the amount of resources that this program had to offer. I certainly was not expecting to learn as much about web 2.0 tools as I have learned by completing the 23 Things. I think some of the technology assignments can be introduced with the Thing that is it similar to. For example when discovering podcast in the 23 Things that can go hand and hand with creating a podcast. I found that the Facebook and Myspace discovery matched the social websites discovery which made those things overlap. Other than that, learning about web 2.0-23 Things is the most essential part of becoming a teacher. I feel like this program has prepared me for teaching in a 21st century classroom. I will use what I have learned from this program to keep my students engaged and learning and to think outside of the textbook. I plan to continue to read my RSS Feeds from the websites and blogs I have found as well as continue searching for others. I have found that there is a never ending outlet of resources on the web. As I continue in my teaching career I hope to be apart of a future educational technological discovery.

OMG It's Thing #23

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a not for profit online entity that makes sharing, remixing, and reusing creative works legal and free. Thanks to Creative Commons I have learned the proper way to use creative works of others and share it as long as credit is given to the creator. I will pass the knowledge and practices of Creative Commons down to my students and make sure they understand the importance of copyright laws.

The attribution that shows the Learning 2.0-23 Things is located at the bottom of the web page of the 23rd Thing and it states:

Credits

Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0 - 23 Things, a staff development program for the Mesquite Independent School District. That program was based on the Learning 2.0 program that was designed by Helene Blowers and adapted by the California School Library Association and others. Content and style for Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers has been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Commons License.

Thing #22

Podcasts

Podcasting is a great way to get information across to others into a digital recording. A podcast can instruct, persuade, enlighten, or entertain. It can also be a fun activity for students to show off their creativity as well as practice public speaking.
The podcast I listened to came from npr.org and it was recorded by Emily McCord. NPR is a social media website that focuses on engaging the public and posting the information on their dashboard. Fans can also share their latest stories, videos and flickr photos. The podcast is called All Things Considered. I thought is would interest the future teacher candidates because this idea to eleviate snow days may be apart of their future school policy. To substitute snow days, Crested Butte, Colorado schools have "e-days" also known as electronic days. When school is closed, instead of missing assignments and extending the school year, students access their assignments from their home computers. Students just log onto their computers and complete virtual assignments created by their teachers. Now it's that awesome. E-days make it possible for teaching to show off their knowledge and creativity using web 2.0 tools. This would be a time where the podcasts, classroom blogs, wikis ect. could come to life and be of good use to communicate with students. This school district has parterned with an area university to study the effectiveness of the program and to determine if they will continue using e-days instead of snow days. I will definitely be pushing to have e-days instead of snow days when I become a teacher!

Thing #21

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Animoto is a quick and easy way to put together videos and presentations of classroom activities. I made a video of some random pictures of my family. Animoto has the ability to connect to Facebook photos, therefore I loaded some photos from my photo album and created a simple video of my dog Joe-Joe, my two sons, and myself. The only downfall to Animoto is that it charges for videos more than 30 seconds long. In order to create a full length video it will cost $30 a year or $5 a month, at minimum. Otherwise several mini videos can be made to serve its purpose.

Thing #20

YouTube
YouTube has been a great tool in my pursuit of a college education. I have visited YouTube for instructions on how to use my TI-84 calculator as well as how to solve word problems. If there is anything that can be demonstrated, presented, or recapped Youtube contains the visual. I like YouTube because it is free and it supplies the latest music videos and past and present news reports. The most interesting video I have watched on YouTube is the John F. Kennedy assassination. I had no idea that browsing YouTube for information about JFK would land me one of the most gruesome acts (caught on tape) in  U.S History!

The video is chose to post to my blog is about cooperative learning and its benefits for students. I chose this video because although it is geared toward students benefiting from cooperative learning but the concept also applies to how educators come together to meet student's needs in the classroom.

Thing #19

More Social Networking

I joined the TeacherPop social network for teachers. Being a member of TeacherPop is an effective way to exercise professionalism among other educators. It can be an introduction to learning the appropriate behavior as a teacher on other social networks. TeacherPop can also be used like any other networking website to collaborate with peers and colleagues. It can be a place to meet new friends in the profession and share new ideas. 
I also joined classroom 2.0. It is an awesome site to obtain the latest information about web 2.0 tools. I really enjoyed reading some of the discussions about ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. Again social networking sites are just another way to continue your life long learning experience. 

Thing #18

Social Networking

Facebook is the social networking website that has provided the best way to connect with family and friends. I have had my personal account for a little over a year now and it just proves to be the best tool that has ever surfaced since the cell phone. It is important for educators to know how social networking works because they can increase their resource availability. Facebook is one method of connecting to people that share similar interests such as education, politics, and sports just to name a few. What I dislike about Facebook is its method of searching for networks. Its search range is too broad and you cannot share with others that are not your friend. Facebook has useful features like email and blogging capibilities. I can see Facebook being used in the classroom as a means to display creativity and share subject content examples or instructions. Teachers can also use it to share videos, notes, articles, and personal experiences.

Thing #17

Del.icio.us

Delicious is a popular bookmarking website that can used to house and organize all web pages that are of interest. I normally keep web pages under "my favorites" folder of Internet Explorer but that is only accessible from my computer. Delicious allows one to keep web pages in a secure place while having access to them from any computer at anytime. The comments section gives one the opportunity to determine if the bookmark or tag is worthy of saving or ditching. With a Delicious account your favorite educational websites are at your finger tips to share with students. Most importantly researching is easier with the bookmarking tool. One can immediately access important researched material quickly when needed.

Thing #16

Igoogle is the start page that I created in Thing #10. Since I use Google as a search engine and home page, Igoogle was the ideal start page to display my Blogger Avatar. I chose a lavender and purple butterfly theme because I love butterflies and my favorite color is purple. My Igoogle page displays some of my favorite widgets like CNN Headline News, Clarksville's weather, and Google calendar. My Google calendar reminds me of important events, assignment due dates, birthdays etc. I downloaded StickyNotes.net and created a sticky note that appears on the screen no matter what online tool is being used. The shortcut is accessible on your desktop. Sticky notes can be sent to friends and colleagues and appear on their computer just as it is on your computer. The sticky note remains visible until it is closed. Sticky notes is a fast way to jot down notes or reminders while working on the computer. The notes can also be decorated with your favorite background picture and font style and color.

Thing #15

Wiki

Wiki is an awesome collaborative 2.0 tool. It is a great way to share, plan, or present all of the new technology that has been learned through out the 23 Things journey. It is similar to blogging, except blogs can only be edited by the creator of the blog. Wikis editing features makes it stand out from other web sharing tools. Wikis can be used to display creative writings, pictures, study ideas, outlines, and maps just to name a few. Wikis will definitely be used in my elementary grade classroom as a teaching tool or to provide gifted students with a means to show and share their talents with the class. There is no limit to what can be displayed and created on a wiki. The wiki concept mirrors the ever changing world of technology. Having the ability to edit the information in a wiki tells me as the world changes the wiki can be updated to keep up with those changes. That means wikis will be useful until another great mind discovers a new way to collaborate.

Thing #14

Flowcharts and mind maps are useful when explaining relations between concepts. They can be used in the classroom as a study tool. For example, a color chart can be made to teach kindergarterners the words of the colors. The word of a color can be inserted into the chart bubble and the bubble can be made to match the color. These tools could also be used in sorting, separating, or merging ideas and concepts. I made a story map with mind maps. Mind maps allows one to list a topic or idea and add subtopics associated with the main idea. The difference between flowcharts and mind maps is the design and layout that the concepts are presented in. Both are creative ways to engage students in learning any subject.

Thing 13 Zoho Writer

Zoho Writer is a convenient way to create, present, and maintain documents; without the hassle of emailing it or keeping up with it on a jump drive. I was surprised that this Web 2.0 tool was not introduced sooner than now. I will use this tool from now on, especially since I do not have an Apple Computer. Creating documents, power-points, and spreadsheet can be easily accessed from any computer. This tool could also be used in my future classroom for creative writing activities that can be edited, updated, and shared when needed. I was so excited about Zoho Writer that I had to share it with my teen-age daughter. This will definitely help her with managing assignments for immediate access. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​