1. My favorite experience was with flikr. It is a great resource for someone like me that thrives on the visual, loves to share images of what we are studying with our students and has a personal interest in photography. I also feel you cannot go wrong exploring this site. You cannot mess anything up!!
2. This program has assisted my lifelong learning goals by enhancing my technological education. Before I started this program I did not even have an Ipod (go ahead and laugh), now I have an Ipod, can blog and even create a photocast. I am no longer afraid of using technology in my personal life or in my professional classroom. I will continue to explore several of these sites and enrich my basic understanding.
3. I will definitely be using several of these sites again and look forward to really applying them in the classroom starting this fall. As for something I am taking away with me, I really am still shocked that I didn't collapse in the technology of it all. I have a new found appreciation for technology and it's application in the classroom.
4. To improve this program I strongly recommend more support...I suggest a once a week open chat room with the kickball captains. Also, for SBISD employees perhaps a booking of the computer lab at the admin building once a week for folks to come in and work on their posts. I know that I do better with face to face help and a new (not my comfy house) setting, perhaps others will benefit from that also.
5. I do not know if I would participate in this type of program again or not. (to be honest) While I do feel I learned a lot, I also feel that this was fairly time consuming and assumed a level of proficiency (that I do not have). For the future, I think my participation would depend on my time constraints, what the exact information to be shared is and the support methods in place.
6. I went from only knowing email to the rest of the internet - all in one course!
7. Oh, right. Guess I will go do that!
Thanks for the experience! I hope I got all of this right. Take care.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
thing #22 Nings
Nings are a great tool for sharing ideas and applications between teachers. I explored Ning for teachers and really like the idea. It is great because I can network on ideas I am exploring in the classroom; everything from how to convey a concept to reaching a difficult student to subject specific material like daily Spanish phrases. I am a bit distracted by all the ads, but I guess this is where an RSS feed might come in handy. I have to say my favorite section is the lessons....sometimes I am stumped and do not know how to change things up (I just feel tapped out) and this is a great place to look for a start or inspiration. Also, I can post my blog here and do what I have found many teachers do...vent. I know we all got into education for our own personal reasons but for some reason we all have similar problems and people outside of education rarely understand them. So, my blog would be a good place to say my peace and move on and if other educators feel that these issues resound with them then they can respond. But, mostly I see classroom glitches getting resolved in this forum... problematic students, difficult material, new methodology for the classroom. It is a place to come, help and be helped.
Thing #21 podcasts and audio books
This is a great resource for expanding class time. Also, I can see using this for homebound students. I had serious difficulty at first, but I think if I created several photostories the quality and ease would definitely improve. I will be the first to say that I like the concept for my photostory right now, but I am not crazy about the photo quality as it appears in the story. The pics are clear on my computer why arent they loading that clearly??? Again, experience would probably make it better. So, here ya go...
Thing #20 YouTube and TeacherTube
There are so many resources available! With the use of the new ActivBoards in our district these videos can be used in the classroom as "hooks" to start a lesson, as visual reinforcement of information being discussed or even as a primary means of distributing (at times) the desired information. In this day and age when students are addicted to the internet and TV, this is a way to bring education to them. The plethora of videos available would also come in handy when we discuss current events where traditional methods such as books and newspapers may not have yet caught up to the story - the internet most likely will beat them to the punch and TADA! We have resources to use in the classroom. Up to date, new and constantly expanding. The clip I chose is of Picasso...our textbook in foreign language uses famous Spanish speaking artists and their works at the beginning of each chapter as introductions. I really enjoy sharing what I know about the life and times of the artist when I discuss the art and I like to show other works. This clip would be a perfect example of something I could show at the beginning of a new chapter with work by Picasso.
Thing #19 Web 2.0
Care2.com got the award for best philanthropy site and I can see why. I am always looking for ways to get involved in the community or make a wiser decision for the environment. This site can be used in any number of ways....they have stories on design (feng shui) which could be used in Home Ec, breast cancer awareness(health class), war in Africa (Social studies) and endangered species (Science), among many. Not to mention this site takes things a step further by not just mentioning these topics or writing stories, but by suggesting action and ways to implement or support what the article discusses. Think of the ways this could be used in the classroom! You just studied endangered species, now what do you (the student) want to do about the issue? Do you want to start a fund raising campaign? Contact a researcher? Etc? It really allows information to not only be presented, but be applied. Also, since this is a philanthropic site, the students would be making a difference. In my own classroom I see discussing "indigenous people's rights" since that is a huge issue in the quickly growing populations of South America.
Thing #18 online productivity tools
Well, I think that there are some definite perks to the Google Docs. For starters, it is FREE and on my teacher's salary that is a real plus. Not to mention this is the death of thumb drives for keeping files since I can access my files from anywhere. Finally, it is a real plus to be able to share files with other "community" members - i.e. group members on school projects or coworkers for presentations or reports. The templates are also helpful to speed up the production process. While it does not offer as many fonts and such as Microsoft, I don't think that is a big enough flaw to merit me forking out the big bucks. So, for now this program gets my seal of approval.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Thing #17 Rollyo
http://rollyo.com/texteacher/my_travel_europe/
Honesty is always the best policy and so I must say, I really do not like this concept. Maybe it was the fifteen times I had to go in and enter my information because I had not completely logged in, written something incorrectly or not made my search public or what not. In retrospect this is a user friendly site, but it needs a step by step guide. (thanks go out to Bruce's 23 thing project for saving me from complete abandonment) Having said that, I do see using this in other classroom environments. My class (foreign language) is just not a place that I see a lot of research happening. Thus, i do not see creating and implementing a search engine of this type. So, I went for personal glory and instant gratification and created my search for my interest....travel. Right now I want to go see my sister (who lives in Italy) so the sites this accesses are all related to European vacations, tips for travel and must see/do places for your to-do list. So, if you need this information, are planning a trip or are like me and just like to drool over travel opportunities, search on...
Honesty is always the best policy and so I must say, I really do not like this concept. Maybe it was the fifteen times I had to go in and enter my information because I had not completely logged in, written something incorrectly or not made my search public or what not. In retrospect this is a user friendly site, but it needs a step by step guide. (thanks go out to Bruce's 23 thing project for saving me from complete abandonment) Having said that, I do see using this in other classroom environments. My class (foreign language) is just not a place that I see a lot of research happening. Thus, i do not see creating and implementing a search engine of this type. So, I went for personal glory and instant gratification and created my search for my interest....travel. Right now I want to go see my sister (who lives in Italy) so the sites this accesses are all related to European vacations, tips for travel and must see/do places for your to-do list. So, if you need this information, are planning a trip or are like me and just like to drool over travel opportunities, search on...
Thing #16 Wikis
I have to admit it....I am beginning to feel repetitive. I feel like many of these tools are great for updating ideas, sharing them and being able to reference it all. Post, change, share and repeat. Wikis are another example of a forum for discussion, growth (or editing in this case) and frequent reference.
The benefits are definitely there...share, more than just in one class or one group of friends; develop new thoughts, change your theory and expand on thoughts - edit and have constant access - don't dig through your backpack for notes or scrounge to jot down quotes, it is all right there on every computer or web-accessing phone, on the internet. But, I am concerned that wikis will become the new unchecked, opinionated encycolpedias of the future for our students. We may have a glitch in our system as wikis are the new fact finders for students and educational organizations/researchers/etc become overlooked. Who will distinguish fact from fiction? How will the younger generation learn to filter it all?
Since I teach a language I can see posting horribly written essays so that students can see editing and try it themselves. Also, I can see homework forums of sorts occurring as groups post and edit assignments on wikis. Also, group projects can be created on wikis as they improve my basic structure and expand on what already is published.
The benefits are definitely there...share, more than just in one class or one group of friends; develop new thoughts, change your theory and expand on thoughts - edit and have constant access - don't dig through your backpack for notes or scrounge to jot down quotes, it is all right there on every computer or web-accessing phone, on the internet. But, I am concerned that wikis will become the new unchecked, opinionated encycolpedias of the future for our students. We may have a glitch in our system as wikis are the new fact finders for students and educational organizations/researchers/etc become overlooked. Who will distinguish fact from fiction? How will the younger generation learn to filter it all?
Since I teach a language I can see posting horribly written essays so that students can see editing and try it themselves. Also, I can see homework forums of sorts occurring as groups post and edit assignments on wikis. Also, group projects can be created on wikis as they improve my basic structure and expand on what already is published.
Thing #15 Web 2.0
Rick Anderson makes several key points with which I completely agree. We are not using our resources appropriately - we are not maximizing the potential. Yes, many people still crave a book in all it's paper and leather bound glory, but many do not. They want information at their fingertips. While millions of books will sit in libraries untouched this year, students will still ask for other books/information not available. Also, I can't help but make the point that if more information moved to the web/technological transmission, we could save millions of trees. (though I admit I am slightly hypocritical since I love searching the shelves of B&N, reading the backs of novels and thumbing the pages.) Anderson makes some key points that I really feel make sense and he encompasses my thoughts on the future of libraries, so here they are...technology is our greatest opportunity to really "collect" and make information available to patrons, patrons need to be educated about HOW to access information - not just how to use it once they have it, research and libraries are now at our fingertips and integral parts of our everyday lives. So, now that we have established that...how do we expand what is available, educate the masses on how to access information and maximize the ways we use these new resources everyday? The question ceases to be what is library 2.0 and begins to be what do we do with it?
Thing #14
Oh my, over 72,000 tags for "olympics". Crikey. I am interested in current events and other people's thoughts about them, so this tagging is kind of like my new way to eavesdrop on other people's thoughts on current events. It is a new form of people watching. This is also an unfiltered version of information - true, false, democrat, republican, rich, poor - it is all out there and I can get it. From every side. Do I see application in the classroom? Not really. Well, I guess I can see showing my students a local's perspective on current events in Venezuela or a tourist's thoughts on the running of the bulls in Spain, but I do not see using it on any regular basis.
Overall, I think tagging can be great. I see using it for personal use to categorize and simplify my search for recipes, travel logs, tips for anything and everything and other things that hold my interest. I also see linking sites that I can use for certain units in my class...i.e. clips of South America when I introduce geography of Spanish speaking countries. I would have easy access to everything I need over a long term basis without having to use the same computer, scan a huge list of bookmarks or create file after file of lists of sites in Word that I still would have to pull up and scan through using cut and paste. Viva the tag.
Overall, I think tagging can be great. I see using it for personal use to categorize and simplify my search for recipes, travel logs, tips for anything and everything and other things that hold my interest. I also see linking sites that I can use for certain units in my class...i.e. clips of South America when I introduce geography of Spanish speaking countries. I would have easy access to everything I need over a long term basis without having to use the same computer, scan a huge list of bookmarks or create file after file of lists of sites in Word that I still would have to pull up and scan through using cut and paste. Viva the tag.
Thing #13 tagging
Delicious is a great site. I really see adding my sites and tags because I can't even count how many times I have tried to find my Bailey's cheesecake recipe or search for my favorite travel flight website. And the clip from common craft had a good point about my bookmark list growing constantly and becoming hard to manage.
As for research, this tool can ease the process by easily narrowing down topics with key words that are the focus of your topic. This will also improve my ability to access sites for further reference once I have made my initial notes from them. I have to admit the idea of carrying my bookmarks everywhere, for my own personal use, is my favorite part of delicious. Teachers can use social bookmarking sites for their students to recommend study sites, sites with tutorials/additional practice and research. There is also the potential for linking blogs about classroom experiments and activities as well.
As for research, this tool can ease the process by easily narrowing down topics with key words that are the focus of your topic. This will also improve my ability to access sites for further reference once I have made my initial notes from them. I have to admit the idea of carrying my bookmarks everywhere, for my own personal use, is my favorite part of delicious. Teachers can use social bookmarking sites for their students to recommend study sites, sites with tutorials/additional practice and research. There is also the potential for linking blogs about classroom experiments and activities as well.
Thing #12 Creating community
I think it was Cool Cat that didn't want to comment without adding to the conversation. I totally agree. I had flashbacks to my graduate school classes and our "forced" posts on each others comments on particular topics and how 95% of people didn't say anything worthwhile. I am glad Cat finally stated that as a rule of social etiquette!
I posted on "ten tips for Americans in Europe". This caught my attention because it is something that I not only have a great interest in (because I love to travel!) but because I believe with my experience I have a lot to offer in terms of advice. I just suggested overnight train trips to save on money otherwise spent on hotels. Also, I posted on another travel site, but this time it was to offer a new local to try for a good dinner in Southern Spain. Having said that, I guess you could say that my passion is travel and that is all it takes to get my attention....being anywhere but here and learning through experience.
I posted on "ten tips for Americans in Europe". This caught my attention because it is something that I not only have a great interest in (because I love to travel!) but because I believe with my experience I have a lot to offer in terms of advice. I just suggested overnight train trips to save on money otherwise spent on hotels. Also, I posted on another travel site, but this time it was to offer a new local to try for a good dinner in Southern Spain. Having said that, I guess you could say that my passion is travel and that is all it takes to get my attention....being anywhere but here and learning through experience.
Thing #11 LibraryThing
This is useful to me in several ways... I like to see what authors write books in similar genres to what I already read. Also, I am always looking for something new to read - especially if it comes recommended. Personally, I do not see logging my own books on here. I am still a fan of seeing what someone has to say to my face. Something in the way their eyes change tells me if the book really was good or just a quick read. Words say somethings, faces say more. Not to mention adding my entire library (or even my latest favorites) to this would be a huge time investment at first and right now I just do not have the time. Having said that, I do like getting a quick list of interesting books before I run off to B&N or log onto Amazon.com. The crime, thriller and mystery group is my kind of group! So, I will most likely start there for my next new read.
Thing #10 online images
http://www.customsigngenerator.com/ was HORRIBLE! I did not like using it. Super hard to navigate. It is one of those sites that seems to have sooooo many options in such small font with now visual clues as to what each link goes to that it is overwhelming.
http://www.imagechef.com/ is extremely easy to use. Also, for people that do not have a lot of photos to edit they have a wide variety of images to work with. I like this concept (obviously) for the student of the week - or All-Star. I also can see using their images for "intros" into my units. Maybe with quick jokes or image hooks.
Thing #9 Useful library related blogs
The RSS feed icon is by far the easiest method for finding an RSS feed. I am a visual person and I key into bright simple icons and this is perfect! It is not an embedded word or link or confusing techno-phrase, it is just an image. Bingo!
The topix.net is my favorite search method because it limits my search to media and news sites. I (being slightly old-school) am not a big fan of weblogs as sources of credible information, so I like having them pre-weeded out for me.
Sindic8.com was the hardest to use for me simply because there were so many options! I also found it hard to limit what I was looking for. Maybe I missed something, but it just wasnt the easiest to navigate and wire down!
There are some really useful feeds out there! I found several blogs on the housing market and how finances are changing which is great for me since my boyfriend is searching for a house and we are totally confused about how to go about financing! Also, I am working on my school loans right now and can use all the advice I can get. Unusual, (although in retrospect I should not have been at all surprised) were the sheer number of blogs about "celebrities". Do I really care when they go on vacation??
Finally, google has a great search tool for blogs. I cannot give those guys enough credit, they have their fingers on the pulse of the internet. Anyways, they have a search engine specific to blogs, so when I feel like hearing someone's thoughts, hints or opinions, I can jump on their and blog search.
The topix.net is my favorite search method because it limits my search to media and news sites. I (being slightly old-school) am not a big fan of weblogs as sources of credible information, so I like having them pre-weeded out for me.
Sindic8.com was the hardest to use for me simply because there were so many options! I also found it hard to limit what I was looking for. Maybe I missed something, but it just wasnt the easiest to navigate and wire down!
There are some really useful feeds out there! I found several blogs on the housing market and how finances are changing which is great for me since my boyfriend is searching for a house and we are totally confused about how to go about financing! Also, I am working on my school loans right now and can use all the advice I can get. Unusual, (although in retrospect I should not have been at all surprised) were the sheer number of blogs about "celebrities". Do I really care when they go on vacation??
Finally, google has a great search tool for blogs. I cannot give those guys enough credit, they have their fingers on the pulse of the internet. Anyways, they have a search engine specific to blogs, so when I feel like hearing someone's thoughts, hints or opinions, I can jump on their and blog search.
Thing #8 RSS Feeds
I enjoy the ability to skip ads and really focus my internet time. I can get distracted at times by some pretty random websites, but if I can go to my reader page, then I don't have to waste time constantly entering web addresses, scanning pages and getting the urge to try other random pages. Instead, I have the ability to enter and go just once!
RSS feeds are great for my job as a teacher because I can keep on the edge of what is happening in Latin America or other key Spanish (my subject) fields by having a reader with all Spanish sites. I can also allow my reader to link up with Spanish quiz sites, teaching sites or other sites that have educational tools for Spanish only.
Libraries can use the RSS feeds in several ways. I believe they may be useful to create subject specific research sites for teachers. Also, they can weed out ads that may be inappropriate for some age groups by having research feeds. Finally, I see librarians using the RSS feed for new books, favorite authors and publishing houses.
RSS feeds are great for my job as a teacher because I can keep on the edge of what is happening in Latin America or other key Spanish (my subject) fields by having a reader with all Spanish sites. I can also allow my reader to link up with Spanish quiz sites, teaching sites or other sites that have educational tools for Spanish only.
Libraries can use the RSS feeds in several ways. I believe they may be useful to create subject specific research sites for teachers. Also, they can weed out ads that may be inappropriate for some age groups by having research feeds. Finally, I see librarians using the RSS feed for new books, favorite authors and publishing houses.
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