Thing 23

All I can say is "WOW". I thought I knew quite a bit about computers and the Internet, but 23 Things taught me so much. I wish I had know about some of the tools a LONG time ago! Between things 1 and 23, I feel like I tasted the future - and it could be a little scary. As the video mentioned, a lot of things need to be rethought. But I feel the good of the Internet could certainly outweigh the bad. A global community could be created, is being created for the new generations. Students can write to audiences, have their voice be heard and maybe make more constructive choices in the future. A whole new set of appropriate conduct rules will have to be taught to them as Web 2.0 evolves.

As for teachers, I wish that every one not only know about the potential, but acted upon it. Sometimes I feel like I am reinventing the wheel as I try to adapt to the needs of my students. I know there are better ways out there already, and with blogs, tagging and wikis, maybe I can find them now more easily instead of wading through pages and pages of non-useful Internet content.

As for what I will use in and out of the classroom, let me look back.

I'm not too sure about blogs yet. I love the information out there, but simply don't have the time to keep up with it, even with Bloglines. I need to find more content specific ones, and I think I could possibly become obsessed with it.

Love FlickR for my home life. I have taken so many digital pictures and they are stored mishmash EVERYWHERE, many times multiple times. I can't wait to start downloading them, organizing them and sharing them with family. I also loved the online image generators. I will will use that for sure to create personalized gifts. I will have to further explore the use of FlickR in the classroom. I'm pretty comfortable using Google Images at this point and haven't bought into the differences between it yet.

Also loved YouTube. I had already spent way too much time on it! For the classroom, I like the idea of TeacherTube and SchoolTube, but find the content a little lacking. Videostreaming seemed to have more content-specific topics and tagged well, but if our school's subscription is not renewed, I know where to go for videos. It also might be a good idea to have a "Help Page" with videos on my website, to assist parents at home with helping their children on specific topics.

Delicious is wonderful. Not only to put the huge amount of bookmarks I make in one spot to be accessed on any computer, but also the tagging aspect of it. Not only can I find what I thought was valuable, I can see what others thought was good. That will be a huge time-saver.

I may or may not use Google Docs. I can see the value of it, but would love it so much more if other formats were accepted, like Publisher.

And just when I thought I was overwhelmed enough with information, along came podcasts. I am looking forward to using them to get more ideas on teaching. I think I could also use it in the classroom for students to learn about a topic and get exposure to another kind of technology. As I get more comfortable with that, I can see myself teaching students how to do one.

Wikis are interesting, and I will explore them more for my own use. I think there is a huge potential for collaboration with other teachers with my same interests/needs, but not sure yet if wikis are a common practice with teachers. My students are pretty young, so not sure if they would be able to use them, due to logins. It might be neat to have a student-only wiki website, where students could use it to enter what they learned about a topic.

There was so much in this course. I need to make it a point to continue to practice, practice, practice and explore, explore, explore. Like many inservices, my fear is that what I have learned stays in the corner of my brain and I don't make a point to use/practice it. Or, when I want to use/apply it, I don't remember how. I am so glad I have a new computer I love to fiddle around on - this will be fun!

My big "take-aways" from this experience would be FlickR and delicious. I know I will be using that, due to a need that already existed and a level of comfort with it. As for the other 18-19 things, I look forward to creating a level of comfort there. I owe that to my students and myself.

Thanks for the great learning experience!

Thing 22

My wiki is at http://secondgradeideasthatwork.wikispaces.com/.

It was fun, but I had a hard time finding any videos to fit my topic that I saw an embed code for. The Two Sisters website had embedded videos and I couldn't figure out how to copy or download them. Then when I finally found one I thought would work on YouTube, it seemed like the embedding code wasn't working, since it wasn't showing up like in the tutorial video or in preview. I moved onto another video on a different topic, and it did the same. I finally tried saving it, and there it was. I then went back and inserted the first video. If you can get a well-visited wiki, you could get some awesome collaborative ideas, with resources right there for you to use it in your classroom.

I'm still a little unclear on some of the terminology, but I think a wiki differs from a blog because in a wiki, contributors can change the original post, but in a blog, contributors just add on ideas (which can also be done in a wiki). A wiki would be better used for an editable item, while a blog would be more useful to share ideas only.

Thing 21

Most of the wikis you had to sign up for. I did sign up for wikiHow and tried to add pictures to an article. Couldn't get it to work - will have to look at again later. This type of wiki could be used in the classroom for a student to write a story/page in a story and another student (in the class or across the world) to add a picture to it. Students would need a login at a secure sight, which makes me a little nervous. I was a little concerned about a 2nd grade wiki. The students had their own individual pages, sort of like a journal, and some of the students posted, in my opinion, way too much personal information. Not addresses, but things like family members and interests. Some pedophile could use that information to entice a child. While I monitor students in my class, they could go home and try things on their computer at home. Maybe I could just log in as myself and throughout the year students could do the task one student at a time. Not sure if that would be worth the effort/tracking and the ability level of students are vastly different as the year progresses. I would rather do this toward the end of the year as they not only increase their writing skills, but also their technology skills. Also would have to find another collaborator for the project. Could be fun though.

Thing 20

I subscribed to several podcasts at I-Tunes.

Prufrock Press Gifted Education - I have had gifted students in my class and spent hours online trying to find enrichment activities for them. I'm hoping this podcast will address that and other issues with gifted children.

Kidspiration - we have that program at school and I'm looking forward to the podcasts providing more activities to do with it.

ScienceCastle science experiments - I'm anxious for new ideas for experiments to teach my inquiry GLCEs.

I was not happy with the search on EPN, but Podcast Alley was beneficial. I-Tunes seemed a little confusing for me. I know how to work the music portion, but will have to explore more around with the podcasts. It looked like there was a TON of them! I think I will prefer I-Tunes when I can figure it out better, because of the wide variety, testing out aspect, clear description and ease of subscribing.

Thing 19

I loved the one at http://salem.k12.va.us/gwc/podcasts/batpodcast.mp3 by second graders. I teach second grade and we (as I'm pretty sure that class does) read several non-fiction selections about bats in our reading book. I'm pretty tempted to try my own, but am worried about how long it may take for students to compile/prepare the information and to practice it. I plan on looking into it and exactly how to do it in my classroom. I was sure to bookmark it on delicious for more examination as to how that class structured theirs. I know they would love it and get a real kick out of listening to themselves on the Internet!

I also listened to the second grade science podcast from resa at http://blackboard.resa.net/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_59_1 . The GLCE changed a couple of years ago and this video was a great review of the new GLCE to help in cementing them in my mind. I liked also how he mentioned what students learned about that topic in first grade, so I know what background knowledge they should have and I can build on that. WHen I clicked on the bar at the bottom, I saw that I could even go to each science area to relisten, instead of having to go through the whole podcast again. I noticed that there is a long companion document podcast that I am eager to look at in the future to get more ideas how to teach these GLCE. As a side note, it was sort of annoying when I was listening on my laptop with headphones, the speaker's voice was only on one side. The ending music was on both sides, so I know it wasn't my headphones or laptop.

Thing 18

I love that slide show. It reminds us (teachers) how we are presenters in the classroom and things we could do better. I went to the website and bookmarked it on delicious to look at later (it's getting late). In the classroom, Slideshare could be very useful in the teaching of any concept. I made a slideshow on Light (when it was one of our GLCE) and I could post that there for other teachers/classes to use. Outside of the classroom, one could create a slideshow on a holiday celebration and post it for others to view who were unable to be there.

SlideShare Post

This is a great slide show.

Brain Rules for Presenters

View more documents from garr.

I want to know the other rules (since they only really show you three).

Thing17

I did a google search for online productivity tools and found one called schoolog.com. I thought it looked educational, but after I signed up, it appeared to be more geared to students rather than teachers. I then signed up for Knowtes, but it kept timing out on me. Too bad, flashcards could be very beneficial to students (and even to me when I review what I have learned in the 23 things:). When I had done the google search before, a website called zamzar.com came up. I wasn't aware this was an "online productivity tool", but I have used it before and it was wonderful at converting my Publisher files to pdf files to be more easily viewed by others. Sign up was easy, it was free, and they e-mail you the file quickly (small ones within minutes, larger ones within a half hour). I really liked it and will be using it in the future. As I was thinking about this, I went to go convert my Presswriter file of my weekly class newsletter to a pdf and the file type wasn't supported. Too bad - that would have been a whole lot easier than redoing my newsletter into Publisher! Maybe there is another online tool that could do that!

This tool would be so awesome if it accepted Publisher. I did a brochure earlier this year on an organization I belong to and sent it to others for help proofreading/clarification. I think we had the brochure bouncing back and forth at least 10 times. And each time I had to go to zamzar.com to have it converted to a pdf file so those people could view it. I also do the school newsletter, and have to wait for articles and get help proofreading/checking on dates. It would be SO much easier if google docs could support that file so all the other could collaborate online!

Besides that, I do my lesson plans on the computer using a table with times in the first column and the lesson plans in the second column for each day. I think other teachers could benefit from this and I could share that on google. I compiled my lesson plans per topic and cut and paste from that into my lesson plans. Teachers using the same series could benefit from that (although it may cause them to not put as much planning into their own plans). I also make up A LOT of my own worksheets and wouldn't mind sharing them (although I know I could probably get paid for that on various websites).

I teach lower elementary, and I don't think students at that age level could do this, but parents could use it. They could sign up for party supplies using spreadsheet like we did in the 23 things or could download a lost assignment if it was one I had created.

Thing 15

I thought I had RSS down, but when I went to subscribe to Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, I couldn't get it to work. I just picked another website (Reuters). I also realized that I had deleted my "Sub with Bloglines" from my bookmark bar and had to redo it. That was a good learning experience anyway. I had forgotten what it was and how easy it was to use! I understand the benefits of using this too, but have not gotten into the habit of doing it yet. I need to make it part of my daily computer routine!

Thing 14

My Delicious username is polgarck. Delicious is a great tool. I wish I would have begun using it as soon as I got my new laptop in the spring. I went to import my bookmarks - where did I get over 75 of them:). I had to go through all of them and ended up deleting at least 20 of them after viewing all them. I had a whole bunch I didn't even remember looking at. Then I had to go through the ones that I had left and retag them (not quite done with that yet). A small time investment now, but oh-so-helpful in the future for all those websites with teaching strategies, interactive games and lesson plans. I am trying a new way of teaching reading this year (Daily 5) and I knew I had bookmarked a page that had a link to sub plans. Could I find it in the mess of my computer when I needed it - no. Now I can just do a tag search for Daily 5 and find choices for it right away. When I have time, I plan on going through and adding some descriptions. I also like the idea of saving others time with my tags. I plan on telling everyone about this!

Thing 13

Why couldn't I have taken this course years ago:) I have way too many bookmarks on my computer and unless I go to each one, have really no idea what is on there, despite my attempt at folders. There are so many that if I saw some of them, I wouldn't even remember them in the first place! Tags would make it SO much easier. I can't wait to try it. I was told about delicious a couple of years ago, but wasn't told about the tags. If I had, I'm sure I would have used it. The disadvantages are few. One would be appropriate tagging. It may be challenging to come up with some. Another thing I'm not sure if I would like is the social aspect of these tasks. I don't know if I want any stranger accessing some of my stuff. I'm ok with the bookmarks, because they could find them on their own. The pictures from Flickr being tagged worry me a little. How private is "private" there?

Thing 12

I like both my widgets - I actually wanted to keep adding! Not sure of the purpose of them and/or how they would be different than a hot link.

Embedding code seems to me just copying and pasting, so it was very easy. I belong to FaceBook, several coupon forums and proteacher.net. The relationships do not take the place of my close friends, but I know that I have gained valuable information from these connections. The coupon websites link me to people who I may not have anything at all in common with except saving money, while from proteacher I have a huge part of my life in common - my career.

I think these social networking websites feed the need that kids have to belong. Of course adults want to belong to, but with maturity, one realizes that some things are not as important. I guess for kids too it may be a kind of popularity contest to see who has the most posts and most friends.

Widget 2

This one would be more useful for the classroom.



I use this site a lot.

Widget

Here is my widget.



Isn't he cute?

Thing 11

I really didn't like leaving comments. I read the articles on what makes a good comment, and sometimes I felt like I didn't have much to say. I think that as I read more blogs, it will become easier.

Commenting is so important because your voice is heard - you matter. It's exciting to think that people everywhere want to spend their valuable time with you. Also, it can be intellectually stimulating when posts expand/contradict your view.

This could be a great tool for students online as they have to write to an audience that is not only a teacher. It worries me a bit that negative comments can be left on a blog for them. People's egos can be very fragile and that could shut down an aspiring writer. Maybe there could be a way for a teacher to monitor the posts to prevent that.

Thing 10

I selected a Brain Gym video because I was looking at them and the videos looked interesting. Also, maybe this can promote more teachers into trying it in their classroom. I need to do Brain Gym more, but sometimes I forget about it!

I was able to download a video using each of the sites listed. It did take a bit of time. I have a Mac, and it didn't ask me where I wanted it downloaded to. It went into the "Downloads" folder and I moved it to the desktop. I tried to do the same with the other video and had a little trouble because the files had the same name. Well, at least I learned how to rename a file on a Mac! Now I have two enjoyable videos to watch whenever I want!

Brain Gym

Brain Gym is supposed to help students focus and improve performance in cognitive tasks.




Students love it!

Thing 9

I love YouTube. I have used it a lot before to watch music videos. I also have used it to look at people playing Rock Band, comedians, and celebrity interviews. It is quite addicting and one can spend hours on it:). For my classroom, this summer I also used YouTube to get some clarification on Brain Gym Exercises. I had the handbook, but some of the pages were missing and I knew if I saw it visually, I would be able to understand it more clearly, just as students would for various concepts, which is one way it could be useful in the classroom. Our school has a subscription to videostreaming, which I have used before to clarify concepts, which may have more appropriate content than YouTube. I also looked at SchoolTube and TeacherTube and think there is a lot of potential there to learn various teaching methodologies. The problem (besides the totally inappropriate comment I reported on Mr. Dewey's fractions video) would be posting images of children on the web. Some parents (myself included) may have a problem with it. If allowed, it would be great to post videos of students performing plays, so relatives could see them if they were unable to make the performance and for students to critique themselves. Students could also post PowerPoint presentations. 


I am not sure if YouTube is restricted at my building, since I am doing this at home on Christmas Vacation. I will have to check that out tomorrow!