23 Things: November 2011

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Is this the end.....or only the beginning?

My favorite discovery about learning the 23 things is the expansion of knowledge I now have about the internet. One of my favorite discoveries was Flickr, the popular image hosting site. There is a vast amount of images that I can use in my classroom to show students. The old saying is true. “a picture says a thousand words” and by having this site available for me to use will allow me open a whole new world to my students I could never had before. Another discovery that is my favorite is that I know now that I can use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to learn from, gets advice, ask questions, and share my ideas with other educators. I have already learned so much from just one class. Staying up to date with these sites is a great way to grow and learn as a teacher.
Since I decided to become a teacher I knew that I would be committing myself to lifelong learning. This is a part of my commitment when I become a teacher. Through “23 Things” I have developed the confidence and knowledge to help my future students use these Web 2.0 tools and apply them to their learning. While I am no expert in these tools I have a pretty good idea of where to go next. I will use what I have learned and hopefully my knowledge will expand and myself and my students will benefit.

This website is very helpful for learning new skills at my own speed and in private. No pressure! However, if I had to modify one thing it would be that I would provide the opportunity to explore some of the 23 things together. Some of the “things” were a little difficult to grasp and therefore some students may give up on it. If I had the time I would narrow down which “things” students might need help navigating through and provide them the extra help.

23 things has influenced my practice as a teacher because it has given me new ways to be creative and more organized in my classroom through the use of technology. Also, I have no come to the realization that students are changing and so are their learning habits. With the expansion of technology our world is changing every day and as a teacher I need to keep up with this new technology or I will fall behind my student. My students are growing up with this new technology and it will be easy for them to use. I see it with the older generation now. Computers, phones, iPods, etc. are so common now and the older generation can hardly turn them on while my three year old daughter is using these technologies every day. I need to keep up on this or my students will be using technology I have no idea how to use.

I plan to become a member of many of the web 2.0 tools/websites that I have recently learned about. For example, if I subscribe to a podcast I can download it for later use. I can have it on my phone and take it wherever I go. I can listen to the new technologies, ideas, suggestions, and innovations, etc. whenever I have down time, sitting in the doctor’s office, or even doing lawn work. So, I plan to keep up with the new developments in web 2.0 by using the tools that I have learned about and from those learning newer tools that are available.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thing 23

Every day as a teacher I will be using movies, pictures, music, and text in my classroom. Thank goodness for Creative Commons!! It allows me to legally copy, modify and reuse the resources I want to use in my classroom. The material that is Creative Commons can be used without worrying about copyright laws. When researching for material the creative commons license would make determining the fair use of material clearer. Also, if I were to create a piece of work I could still have my name on it. If the material I make gets out into the public eye everyone would still know that it was originally made by me. In addition, I can teach my students about copyright while using creative commons material. Instead of teaching my students all the things they cannot do, it will teach them what they can use.
http://sjlibrary23.blogspot.com/

Thing 22

Culture Quest

I think LiveBinder is pretty cool. I like that I can take my websites that I am researching and organize them into one area that I can get to. For example, if I am teaching a lesson on culture and diversity I can already have all the sites I want to include in my lecture bookmarked. When I first started exploring LiveBinder I was a little confused. But, after looking through other's LiveBinders I got a pretty good idea about how to use it. It turns out it is easy to use and easy to organize my websites. Here is an example of one of the websites I choose to use in my LiveBinder. It titled this Binder "Culture Quest". It includes sites that I would use in my classroom to teach students about the differences in culture across the United States and America. All it took was a copy, paste, and click and it was in my LiveBinder! Great site for organizing!!!

Thing 21

Try our video maker at Animoto.

I had a lot of fun using Animoto!! My video was free so it went way to fast but I can always upgrade if I want to pay for the website. It was fun picking out the pictures and setting up how it my video would look. The music was not my style but it was appropraite. The site was easy to use. All I had to do is upload some pictures, select was music I wanted to use and Animoto did the rest of the work. I can share my video with anyone. For example, I can put it on You Tube or Facebook. The negative is that I thought it was expensive. Three months for $100!!! Wow! I wouldn't use it enough at this point to get my moneys worth. Overall though I really liked it and had fun using it.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Thing 20

I thought I would sit down and explore you tube and come up with a funny yet educational you tibe video. I found this video instead. I have never heard of Unicef coming up with a way children can help other children until today. Instead of children going around asking for Halloween candy they go around asking for money for children in other parts of the world who are not being given the chance to attend school. It is just one of the many ways your can teach your students about diversity and to appreaciate what they have.

Also, you tube does offer a variety of educational content. For example, I can get anything from expert advice and suggestions to showing examples to my students a variety of methods in solving an algebra problem. The problem is that I am pretty sure that teachers probably do not have free access to you tube in their classrooms. And even if teachers did have access their students probably do not. This is a positive thing because there is also a ton of inapprporaite material on you tube that is not sutiable for any child to see. In the end, I like using you tube because it has the most content and a fast upload speed to the videos.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Thing 19

I signed up to be a member on TeacherPop.

Visit TeacherPop

I really think this will be a useful site for me while I am pursing my teaching career. Since it includes my fellow Austin Peay students I will be able to connect with them now and in the future. I think I will be able to use this site for advice and suggestions and to see what they might be doing to advance in the teaching profession. The only other online communities I am a member of is Facebook and Twitter. Although I have not yet got into Twitter. I understand how it can be helpful in connecting with other educators and learning from them but I do not yet share everyone’s interest in it.
Another site I found that I can see myself using is Shelfari. I am currently enrolled in Reading 4050 and my attitude on the importance of reading has increased tenfold. This site gives me more access to books. While exploring the site I found it great that I can read plot summaries of books, quotes, and character descriptions. There is also an area where I can “build a bookshelf”. It would include books that I have read or interested in and I can share with others. When you find a book there is so much to discover about the book. For example, you can click on book extras and it includes a lot of topics. You can see extra book covers, the series and lists, the book’s classification and subjects. I really like that I can read the reviews and get involved in the discussions about the books.

Another site that I found interesting and useful is Classroom 2.0. I really enjoyed reading through the Classroom 2.0 Live! Each Saturday the site holds sessions and features special topics. For instance, this Saturday the session is about a “featured teacher”. The particular teacher will be haring the ways she uses technology with her students that she works with. I think that it is so great. I could really learn a lot from other educators through this site. Also on the site are special interest groups. I can search through the groups that interest me and become a member and get involved in the discussions and posts. I also think that because members are screened before being allowed to become members it keeps the site safe and spam free.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Thing 18

So, I thought about the ways I could use social networking sites in my classroom but I have to admit that I find it somewhat controversial. I am still skeptical about using sites like Facebook in my classroom because of the negative outcomes it could and has had on some educators. However, there are uses in the classroom for social networking sites. For example, there are apps on Facebook that I can use with my class. For instance, Poll app able me to take polls in my classroom. Also, my students and I are able to connect with others in the field of education. We can friend them and learn from them and others they have connected with. The same goes with sites that are not individuals like a news site or a school.

Thing 17

Delicious seems to be a good social networking site that is simple and easy to use. Searching for tags was very easy and bookmarking was just as simple. When a site from my search came up I could see all of the tags that were listed for that site. I did have trouble seeing the comments that other users had left for that site. Do all of the sites have comments? I am still searching for this. Also, it looks like the site is safe when searching for educational purposes. But the entire site contains inappropriate material that I would not want my students to see. Therefore, I wouldn’t introduce this site to my students for use. I would however use the site to collaborate with my fellow teachers. It is great that I can connect with what sites they are bookmarking. There is always more to learn and I would definitely be introduced to sites I might not have found on my own.

While using Delicious I liked that I could save my bookmarks and then actually search through those bookmarks using keywords. I love that organization and ease of use. It will save me time. Another thing I like is that when I searched for educational technology a variety of sites came up. The amount of content this site has and the ease of use will be beneficial to me in my teaching career. I think this site is great for bookmarking but will also be useful in the classroom. For example, I also searched the keyword algebra and came up with a lot of sites. Some of the sites linked me to pages that I could introduce to my students for help and practice with algebra. This worked for other keywords as well. I searched Vikings and came up with many lessons on Vikings history and culture. I also searched Indiana and came up with factual information about the state. The limits are endless. It is a great site that I have already bookmarked!!!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Thing 16

I chose to customize my iGoogle webpage. I find it well-designed and easy to use. I already had basic gadgets on my pages like the weather, time, calendar, news, movies, and you tube. So, I decided to search some keywords in education. I found some interesting things I could use in my classroom. For example, I found a gadget that displays the “interesting thing of the day”. I think it will just be a fun thing for my student to hear to get their day started. Plus they will learn something! I even found a gadget called “For Kids: Safe Search using Google”. I am excited about this. There are an unlimited amount of things on the internet that kids do not need to see. I can be comfortable with them searching the web knowing they are safe.

As far as the Google calendar goes. To me it is just like any other calendar. Great for organizing and planning. But I like my stuff written down with me so I can take it everywhere I go. On the other hand, I can see myself displaying the student’s assignments. I can display the calendar in the morning on the smart board and the students can see what they need done.

Thing 15

I have to admit that why I first started reading about wiki I was skeptical because of the predetermined feelings I have for Wikipedia based on my teachers always banning it from us using it. But once I explored it more I realized that it can be a great tool to have in my classroom. For example, I can use wiki to set up projects with a group of students. They will find it easy to brainstorm ideas and post their information. Each member of the group has access to the exact same page and are able to edit and save the material. Also, as a teacher I am able to get onto the account and see what is going on and how the project is coming along. Not only can I use wikis with my students but I can use it to collaborative with other teachers and colleagues. My major is K-6 so I will be working closely with my fellow teachers. Wiki will be great to use to post our ideas and share our suggestions.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Thing 14

Gliffy.com would be fantastic to use in my classroom. It is a great way to keep my students interested in information that may be a bit boring. I can make drawings and by using gliffy.com those drawing can come alive. I enjoyed searching through the site and seeing how many different types of charts I can make. For example, there are flowcharts, Venn diagrams, floor plans, food charts, etc. Also, it was very easy to use which is great because my students will be able to use it. For instance, one diagram I looked at is the Venn diagram. It was already laid out and included preset layouts and areas for text. With having so many charts my students will be able to learn about all the different kinds of charts available to them. One great feature I noticed is that I can blog about what I am creating with one simple link. If my students do not use Gliffy.com I can still provide them with what I am doing through other sites they are using. Gliffy.com is not free and the is a negative.

Wow! I am excited to have been introduced to Mind Meister!!! I love that I can use it to present material to the class. I can easily use the preset templates and just put in the information I am presenting. Also, it is easy to move the information around. For example, if the students and I have just read a chapter in our social studies book we can use Mind Meister to brainstorm ideas together. In addition, like Gliffy.com this site is easy to share. On the other hand, I did not like that you can only have one center point in mind mapping and I could not copy and paste what I did on one map and move it to another.

Thing 13

Zoho writer seems to be a great online word proscessor. However, I do not believe that it can completely replace Mircrosoft Office. First of all, it is free and Micorsoft Office can not compare to that price. Also, there are many of the same features that are available with Microsoft Office. with it having a lot of the same features as Microsoft Office it is easy to start off using. I feel like I already know how to use it. However, I have to look in different positions and areas for the same tools I am already familiar with in Office. One feature I particulary like is there are a lot of fonts to choose from. Also, I really like that I can tag my documents and they could be organized based on their tags. On the other hand, there is no speller or grammar check as I type. That is actually a deal breaker for me. Although I can type without looking down at the keyboard there are a lot of times that I find myself looking down. Also, I can not right click in my document to copy and paste. I have to use the keyboard. I know this sounds minor, but I am so used to being able to have either feature at my fingertips. :) Overall, I do not think I would use this for an advanced document. For example, I would not use it when creating my merge documents for sending letters home to all of my students. I would however use it when I am just needing to work online and send basic information.

GoogleDocs was great! Immediately when I opened GoogleDocs the program already had brought up my documents, spreadsheets, and workbooks that were already saved on my computer. The easy at getting to those documents was great! Again, I thought that GoogleDocs had many of the same features as Microsoft Office does. Although, GoogleDocs has one big UP on Microsoft Excel. And that is the easy at which I would be able to access all of my documents I have saved onto GoogleDocs. With GoogleDocs I am able to share my documents and use any computer to access them. I would not longer have to worry that someone else is using my computer or that I am at school or work and cannot get to a much needed document.

Now, in comparing the two I would have to say that I would pick GoogleDocs for one reason only. That I can access my documents anywhere I go. But, ultimately I hate to say it but I would not choose either one of them for my needs as of right now. I do not believe that my information would be private and secure. Also, I think that Excel is easier to use. I could however use GoogleDocs in backing up some of my files that I do not feel need security.

CarYingst