Thing #24?

WOW!! is how I would summarize my 23 Things experience.  I learned a lot and now have great access to wonderful websites I didn't even know about.  If my professors wanted to JUST introduce the many websites associated with 23 things then they did a good job, but if they wanted me to become familiar with each site and attempt to envision using the websites in my daily life then I'm disappointed.  I felt rushed through the sites and many times made the required activity quickly in order to move on to the next thing.  This is a great program and could maintain it's self as a stand alone class.  I wonder if the professors notice how we start out with long, interesting, and enthusiastic posts which wind down to minimal sentences and less enthusiasm.  I'm going to do my best to remember sites and their possible uses while I continue to move  forward with my classes and my classroom.

Thing #23

The 23 Things website was altered under the following post at the bottom of the website:

 

It makes a strong point to think through any images or videos that you may use.  Teachers need to be especially careful when posting on their blogs and web pages.  I'm glad there is a fair use clause because sometimes we do things without complete thought because we are not perfect and usually are thinking more about our lesson and kids then law.

Thing #22

I found the Educational Podcast Directory easy to use at: http://www.epnweb.org/ but the easiest for me was the Podcastdirectory.com site at: http://www.podcastdirectory.com/ I went to kids and family and clicked on the children's link. I like the Fair Tale Corner and enjoyed listening to the Duration of Life by the Grimm Brothers Fairy tales. Students would enjoy listening to stories and would envision doing their own podcast.  Students could do readings and book discussion podcasts.  Such an activity would benefit their reading fluency and confidence.  They'd love it!!  I might try a podcast later in the school year after I have sometime to work on reading clearly and loudly.  I know students would love it.

Thing # 21

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I had a lot of fun making my very short movie. The kids would really enjoy it and like mine they may do some spelling and writing to get it accomplished. I'd like to have more time to do fun things like this on a regular basis. Kids love this kind of stuff!!

Thing #20

I like this video because it encourages me to continue on with my education, we all need encourage and inspiration.  Youtube has a lot to offer, but it does need some monitoring.  Students cannot be encouraged to go to youtube alone or for a research project.  Teachers can find worthy videos and download them and use them in class as "grabbers" and to spur excitement.  Educators would need to pick and choose videos appropriate for a library site and then add it to the site. 

Thing #19

I decided to join two social networks (besides Facebook that I already have).  I joined TeacherPop and Classroom 2.0.  I'm really looking forward to Classroom 2.0, it has a lot of interesting people with great links.  I REALLY LIKE http://www.meetmeatthecorner.org/ .  She has videos that pertain to things I teach and other interesting things done by students for students.  This is going to be very beneficial to me!!  I'm going to spend time cruising around some more.....I'm sure I'll find other wonderful things through this social network!!

Thing #18

Ok, this was easy!! I'm already a Facebook fan and have been for over a year now.  I truly enjoy looking over my facebook and see what other people are doing.  I don't always change my post, but I "check" on others via my page.  http://www.facebook.com/ Educators need to understand social networking because the buzz words will show up in the classroom.  Teachers need to be aware of cyber bullying that can happen on such sites and be prepared to discuss their findings with (older) students, parents, and administration.  Schools could utilize such a page for connections to parents.  There can be stipulations on the side of the page stating that any inappropriate comments or actions will result in deletion.  Then the principal simple could delete the parent from the site for as long as necessary.  If the decision to "refriend" that parent has been approved then a request is sent and the parent can accept or decline.  I don't see such pages EVER going away, so knowledge is power for educators.  Saddle up and learn the ins and outs of social networking!!

Thing #17

I LIKE DELICIOUS!!  This could be the answer to my prayers!!  I get really tired of wanting to bookmark something but then I forget to rename it or I have to rename it something similar because I've already used the name I want to use.  This is going to be really easy for me to use for my own bookmarking, I look forward to see if others bookmarks will be of value to me. Just having a useful site for myself is exciting for now!!!

Thing #16

I like all the conviences that the tools can give you.  The calendar could become really handy in communicating from principals to teachers, special education teachers to general ed teachers, and from teachers to teachers.  I chose to  make my homepage iGoogle.  I spiffed it up with a hangman game, art of the day, doppler radar, and a countdown clock to Christmas break.  I'm sure I'll keep that homepage because it is customized to me and makes my life easier.  I even added a TV guide to it!!  I find to-do lists helpful only in the physical form, real paper!!  I don't think I would use it on my computer for anything else.  If I was teaching older children, I might use it as a reminder for them about assignments, but with my early elementary students I would not utilize it much.  I really like the zamzar website for home and school.  I could see using it a lot!!

Thing #15

Wiki's for me are still very confusing and hard to navigate.  I like the idea of being able to collaborate with others through a wiki, but I can't come up with a true reason for third graders to use a complicated wiki.  Right now my students are enjoying a blog and like to comment back and forth, but wiki's would be more beneficial for higher level learners with more computer skills.  Our main goal in third grade is getting students to create a short PowerPoint about a relevant topic discussed in class.  This process alone can take 4 weeks to create.  Many students do not have computers at home and don't know how to search for information let alone copy and paste information or pictures on to a slide.  My introduction into wikis has been very informative and I may attempt a personal one if I need to collaborate with my family over a trip or some other event.

Thing #14

I can think of a lot of uses for flowcharts and mindmaps in third grade. Being able to read a flowchart is a state standard and with this easy website, gliffy, it would be easy to create flowcharts for the kids to fill in. The more students use the charts the easier it is to read them.  I also like the floor plan features in Gliffy for use with teaching perimeters and area.  Students could design their classroom, bedroom, or house and find the perimeter.
I really like the mindmap Mindmeister for beginning note taking and to organize chapter notes while we read.  Another state standard is being able to read organizational charts.  Students could map science and social studies lessons (with teacher guidance) as a means to learn the important aspects within the chapter which can help students learn beginning note taking. I like the flowcharts at flowchart.com.

Thing #13

I like how zoho works, it's easy to get around, but I'm stuck on how to post it to my blog.  If I could get that under my belt, then it might be a great tool to get documents to students via the blog.  It was as simple to use as microsoft word and other writing utilities. I need to continue to work on the posting ability.  Has anyone successfully done it?  Can you give me pointers?

Thing #12

Googling is FUN!!  I set up an iGoogle homepage with a countdown clock for Fall break, I added a hangman game which I play first whenever I open up my computer, and I have the weather at my fingertips (Frost tonight).  It'll be easy to switch up gadgets when I get bored with one thing or something else becomes more important.  I also set up a google calendar for my sister's and I to use to as we plan for the holiday dinners together.  I wonder if the calendar could be used within our school to list m-team meetings?  Right now they type it on the email/bulletin every morning.  I need to sit down with my principal and see if it would be useful for her to use.  These tools are very helpful in keeping me and my class organized, which is a really good thing!

Thing #11

I've found some helpful things for my classroom by zooming around and checking on blogs.  I may not join all of them because that could become overwhelming, but I will bookmark and then if I delete any on my reader I may replace them with something that is more informative for me.  I like this new smart board site: http://www.kerpoof.com/# even for my lower performing 3rd graders.
I find the most difficult part is that there is so much information out there...it can be too much.
Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use? I like the Google blog search,  I like that I can type in a key word and it links me to pertinent blogs.  This is an easier way to find blogs that I think are important.
*Which was more confusing? I thought topix.net was the most confusing for me.  This could be due to my "newness" to the blogging world and RSS feeds.
*What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels? I like looking for blogs that have to do with the Smartboard since I have one in my room and use it frequently.  I like to try and stay up on the new news about smartboard.

Thing #10

WOW! Feeling a little overwhelmed!  Trying to get 6 Things done in one week has been hard because there is so much to look at and do BEFORE you can blog!! It's Saturday morning and I'm on #10 with two left to do (let's not mention a PERSONAL life).  I've really enjoyed zooming around the web and subscribing to different RSS feeds and blogs of other technology information.  I guess some of my frustration with all this is that my mind wanders back to "how can I incorporate this" and "what am I teaching next that I can do NOW!" It's hard to stay focused on THIS class and not think about my third grade class!  I had already subscribed to The Cool Cat Teacher blog early during Thing #3 or so.  I really liked Free Tech for Teachers and Dangerously Irrelevant, so I subscribed to them too.  I think my main problem (and this could be my age) is trying to (slowly) change from all textbook to technology and being able to meet and master my state standards.  I also fear that I may be doing SOME injustice to my students because they may LIKE what I'm doing and other teachers are NOT attempting to learn all this and they will be forced back to textbooks.  Is it wrong to make learning fun and interesting for 180 days and send them back to boring textbooks?  I'm feeling guilty and confused.  The other question that comes to mind, is it fair to make my teaching easier and less stressful because I am fortunate enough to have a smartboard and projector in my class and two other teachers on my hall don't have anything yet?  I'm sorry if you got sucked into my ranting....but comment back to me, I'm really interested in hearing your challenges with all this!!

On to the assignment, I can definitely see how reading my feeds and staying up on technology will be very beneficial to my class and me.  I just wish there was more time during the day to sit and explore and read and try it out!!  I also need to get back into my classroom and try out some sites on my school computer so I can determine whether they are blocked or usable.

Thing #9

That was FUN!! I could find all kinds of ways to spice up newsletters and class papers (even torture the kids some).  I may have to put this on my class blog.  This was made at the comic strip generator:
http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/
I also had fun making a post-it note that could be used on newsletters to make important notes stand out!! I could also see using on my blog to grab the kids attention.  Get it at: http://www.spiffytext.com/

Another fun graphic is the monopoly cards at: http://pryat.com/signs/games/monopoly/card.asp?pic=&allow=&text=NO+HOMEWORK+%0D%0A%0D%0AThis+card+gets+you+out+of+one+homework!&fontsize=14&font=pointy&move=&move2=

Another fun graphic is a birthday card for your students on the class blog.

This can be found at: http://www.customizemagnets.com/ecards/birthday/?allow=092&pic=birthday-cake-mice-party&text=+Happy%0D%0A+Happy%0D%0ABirthday!&font=signage&color=yellow&fontsize=26&x=200&y=25&move2=&move=&rot=0&offx=5&offy=5&spacing=&gradient=&tag=&watermark=&background=&border=&shade=&shadecolor=black

Thing #8

 This mosaic feature could be used with multiplication arrays in math and with social studies since I used pictures of culture.  Students could be assigned a project with parameters about size and pictures used.  I'm still unsure about privacy with flickr.  I'm not comfortable with using my students pictures (faces) but body shots, hand shots, and back of the head shots would work.  
1. 021152516ea4699a, 2. 268d5a4cefe23954, 3. 82772b69e9d3e89e, 4. 60ab6bf972ab90c4, 5. acd1c12585af6278, 6. d59d919c2dd69f56, 7. 02c2b9cc6f3d5036, 8. 07cfb470a877455a, 9. fd9ab2caf9f05c04, 10. df6c02402c1814e6, 11. de2e346e8928801a, 12. 9fdca24d98579e5c, 13. 938735f1ca69796c, 14. 2d1a785dce76bac8, 15. 07ff2adf208feffe, 16. 0223ea2c504ab8c2

Thing #7

Lunch at MY school!!  I originally took this photo to email to teachers to let them see the new salads offered for lunch that day.  Unfortunately my email did not make it out of my phone.  However, I think the picture is quite lovely and was glad I still have it on my phone. 
I enjoyed setting up my flickr account and plan to use it for school and my personal pictures.  Now that I've started a new blog for my classroom, I plan to use Flickr to post class pics (no faces though) on my blog.  I want to post Science Fair projects, winners, and other interesting photos on my new blog.   This program will make it very easy to accomplish this.
I will definitely be very careful about posting faces of students on my blog, but I will also use caution when uploading personal pictures.  I will most likely post anything with faces as private and fun, creative pictures as public.

Thing #6

My first pick is: Remember the Milk at: http://www.rememberthemilk.com/   It offers the service of creating lists and being able to access them from various medias.  You can manage tasks quickly and easily, get reminded, anywhere of tasks, organize the way you want to, locate your tasks by using the map, and add tasks wherever you are.  This application could be used as a class list of possible books for research at a library and the librarian could pull up the list. 
 My second pick is: eHow at: http://www.ehow.com/  It offers a variety of "lessons" for many areas.  It offers How-tos for culture and societies.  A simple click and students could learn the different customs of funerals, politics, and legends/folklore.  This would be very educational for social studies lessons.  Teachers stuck for ideas for party themes or need a topic for writing could click on Holidays and Celebrations.  From there you pick a specific holiday and narrow down to a simple topic.

Thing #5

The Web 2.0 means there is a more functional internet available for me and my students to view and participate in.  With either a little self motivation or a little help, there are many experiences waiting to happen in Web 2.0.  There is a lot of potential for schools and teachers to connect with each other and their students just by learning all you can.  As information continues to become available, teachers need to be ready to change and/or adapt.  We need to get our students familiar with the educational opportunities that are there, not just the games and such that are on the Internet.  Internet sponsors are making it easier and more functional to expand the classroom beyond the walls of the school building. 

Thing #4

I found the information about commenting on blogs very interesting.  I seems like all my classmates so far have been very courteous about their comments.  After reading the selections my concern focused on the huge commitment that blogging involves.  A personal blog would be much harder for me to maintain than a blog for my class.  I completely agree with all the articles that mention the importance of making relevant comments.  If you don't agree with the blogger than state your opinion and state your case with proper decorum and be prepared to receive comments about your comment.
So far, I have commented on 3 students blogs: Alex Daniels, Kate Green, and Tamika Jones.  I agreed with Alex's ideas for blogging and suggested one more.  Kate made some good points about proper etiquette and I expressed my concern about commitment.  Tamika wrote about the rude one-word comments made on a blog and I agreed with her and expressed my feelings about such comments.
I shared with a classmate, Brown Squirrel, a  podcast I also found during thing #22 that I thought he would enjoy.  Even if students only recorded their storytelling (not necessarily publish a podcast) would help with their fluency.
I commented on Molly Wilson's post and sympathized with her about Zoho.  We both had difficulty loading our Zoho document.  It always reassuring to know that when technology doesn't work it's not always you (sometimes it is :)).  That's the beauty of blogging, you get to interact more than you do with a website.

Thing #3

I could see myself using a blog with my third graders for homework assignments.  Students would complete their spelling homework and possibly document their AR time using a blog.  This would give me written record of their reading.  I could also use the blog to communicate with parents about classroom assignments and upcoming tests.  I could also post study guides for students and links to web pages that would give them practice over content done during the day.  Students could write book reviews and discuss our reading series story for the week.  They could "research" topics that go along with our story and post their findings for their classmates to look at, a sort of "show and tell".  A state standard for elementary students is learning to type with both hands, by using a blog students would be getting practice typing and using the computer.
I could also see blogs becoming more useful between teachers and administration. Evaluation forms and reflections could easily be typed up and sent to the principal.  I would also be beneficial for the new teachers to get a look at some "seasoned" teachers work.
It would be very easy for students to begin their own blog, which would be conducted during school hours, letting parents know what they did throughout their day.  They could type up the homework assignment for the blog and list the spelling words for the week.  The only draw back I see is the students who do not have computers at home to "participate" fully in the experience.  Yes, they would get a lot out of the school end of the blog, but they would still miss out on the fun stuff.  There just isn't enough time in a school day to let everyone use a computer for such an activity.

#1

I really enjoyed the 7 1/2 skills of lifelong learners.  I must admit that I am a "seasoned" student.  I've already been teaching 17 years as I go for my masters.  I feel that all 7 1/2 skills tend to come easy for me.  I already have children of my own in college and understand the importance of continuing my education and was well aware of the amount of work it would involve.  I put a lot of thought into my decision to go back, which hits both #1 and #2.  Working in public education, I get to mark off #3 and #7, although I do enjoy mentoring other APSU students.  My learning toolbox is always being added to: I love technology, reading, electronic games, and learning about new things.  Again, my age may have something to do with the fact that all 7 1/2 were listed on the easy side of my page.  I approach each of my masters classes as if they are a challenge and enjoy "winning" each time I complete an assignment.  Coming back to school has been really fun so far!