Take a few moments to reflect on your journey. You've covered a lot of material over the past ten weeks. What does it all mean? How has your thinking changed between Thing 1 and Thing 23? Has this program changed how you view the Internet or how view teaching in the digital world? What plans have you made for using these tools in and out of the classroom? How will you continue to learn about Web 2.0 tools? What are your big "take aways" from this experience?
Well this was a big eye opener! I am so much more aware of what's available on the internet! I feel as if I've "come of age"-- the digital age that is. I can actually picture myself using many of the digital programs I've learned about whereas prior to October, I never knew some of them existed. I still fumble around, but I'm proud of the progress I've made.
I am already using a blog in my 9th grade English classroom for student commentary on issues in To Kill a Mockingbird. Next semester, Karen Villegas will help me put together a wiki for my two Mythology classes. I can see a lot of potential in that application in that class. I also want to look into document sharing programs so that groups of students can easily access a shared folder for group work. How many times have I heard someone say: "I couldn't do any work because so and so had all our papers". Document sharing will take care of that.
I also thoroughly enjoyed learning how to incorporate pictures, widgets, video and slideshares into my web pages. I can see so many possibilities now that I know a few tricks. I always left my web sites very plain -- just sticking to the basics. Now I can offer a lot of variety along with the information.
Personally, I will also benefit from what I've learned. I can read cool new info on hobbies and areas of interest through my delicious account. (In fact, my 9th grade son and I already used it to check out a science experiment on magnetism for his science demonstration.) I will probably be using Flickr to organize my pictures and I can think of a lot of uses for the document sharing within my family and my groups of friends. We might not plan a camping trip like the group in the demo, but something a bit more cushy is in the works.
Now that you have me started, I can't help but want to learn more. We're experimenting with a lot of new technology in my district so there will be many opportunities to learn and share with my colleagues. I'll also keep up with the feeds I've entered in Delicious and in bloglines. I'll be downloading some podcasts on how to use Web 2.o as well as the new Smart Boards that will be arriving next year. I imagine I'll continue to think of countless ways to use these new tools to enhance learning in my classroom.
I'm grateful to Carol and Jackie for providing such an efficient format for us to learn. Clicking on the various YouTube and Common Craft presentations and hyperlinking all the sites showed us how we could utilize similar formats with our students. Many nights I looked forward to one of the "thing" adventures along my journey to relevance. Other nights, I'll admit, I was frustrated and tired, but no reward is as great as one that requires effort. I enjoyed the journey and would definitely recommend it to other educators.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Thing 15
Is RSS becoming easier to understand? Do you recognize new benefits of using this tool? Do you remember to check your feeds regularly? Has it become a habit (or obsession!) yet?
No, I'd have to say that RSS is still not a habit. But I am amazed at the ease with which one can subscribe to these feeds, and I do recognize its benefits. Subscribing to a delicious tag feed roll is ingenious -- what a time saver! I especially enjoyed reading the NY Times feed and spent some time reading some interesting articles. I imagine that I'll get more comfortable with bloglines as time goes on.
I was glad you put in the section on clean up. I wondered earlier if I could drag something into a folder -- and you answered that for me. I also discovered something on my own. I don't have to have a folder made in bloglines when I subscribe to a feed. When the subscribe menu pops up I click on "New folder" and make one on the spot! Very convenient!
No, I'd have to say that RSS is still not a habit. But I am amazed at the ease with which one can subscribe to these feeds, and I do recognize its benefits. Subscribing to a delicious tag feed roll is ingenious -- what a time saver! I especially enjoyed reading the NY Times feed and spent some time reading some interesting articles. I imagine that I'll get more comfortable with bloglines as time goes on.
I was glad you put in the section on clean up. I wondered earlier if I could drag something into a folder -- and you answered that for me. I also discovered something on my own. I don't have to have a folder made in bloglines when I subscribe to a feed. When the subscribe menu pops up I click on "New folder" and make one on the spot! Very convenient!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Thing 22
In your blog post be sure to include the link to your wiki. Then discuss your feelings about using a wiki. How does a wiki differ from a blog? When is one more appropriate to use than the other?
Here is my wiki.
I see great potential for maintaining a wiki for my English classes. I really am excited to incorporate this in my plans for the future. A wiki differs from a blog because participants really can help create the site. In a blog, the participants comment, but have no control beyond that. The wiki has more possibilities for interaction.
Despite my enthusiasm, this was a frustrating night. I spent three hours working on this exercise -- far too long if I want to use one efficiently in my classroom. I trust I will get better with practice. Today I just couldn't navigate between the various places on Wikispaces very easily. Then I was juggling websites and YouTube and the 23 things site. It's like learning a language -- it takes quite a while to become fluent. Still, when I did get the you tube video to play and the web site to link to my text, it was pretty amazing.
I just feel so overwhelmed right now. We're making applications for new technology in my district, we are currently being visited by an NCA team, I'm trying to learn MyAccess, a writing site for students, setting up and maintaining a blog, and just keeping up with papers to grade and classes to teach during the Christmas season. I think all of this is the source of my frustration. As I said before, there's no doubt that these applications are marvelous tools for learning. I just don't want to launch one or more of them and remain frustrated. I think, truthfully, I'll just have to take the plunge and believe that the process will get quite manageable with time.
P.S. I still have to use your instructions for making a link on this site and on an earlier "thing". Once I do that, I'll complete thing 15, and write my wrap up for Thing 23. All in all, I am so pleased that I stuck to it this time around because I learned a lot and feel so much more aware of the power of Web 2.0 applications.
Here is my wiki.
I see great potential for maintaining a wiki for my English classes. I really am excited to incorporate this in my plans for the future. A wiki differs from a blog because participants really can help create the site. In a blog, the participants comment, but have no control beyond that. The wiki has more possibilities for interaction.
Despite my enthusiasm, this was a frustrating night. I spent three hours working on this exercise -- far too long if I want to use one efficiently in my classroom. I trust I will get better with practice. Today I just couldn't navigate between the various places on Wikispaces very easily. Then I was juggling websites and YouTube and the 23 things site. It's like learning a language -- it takes quite a while to become fluent. Still, when I did get the you tube video to play and the web site to link to my text, it was pretty amazing.
I just feel so overwhelmed right now. We're making applications for new technology in my district, we are currently being visited by an NCA team, I'm trying to learn MyAccess, a writing site for students, setting up and maintaining a blog, and just keeping up with papers to grade and classes to teach during the Christmas season. I think all of this is the source of my frustration. As I said before, there's no doubt that these applications are marvelous tools for learning. I just don't want to launch one or more of them and remain frustrated. I think, truthfully, I'll just have to take the plunge and believe that the process will get quite manageable with time.
P.S. I still have to use your instructions for making a link on this site and on an earlier "thing". Once I do that, I'll complete thing 15, and write my wrap up for Thing 23. All in all, I am so pleased that I stuck to it this time around because I learned a lot and feel so much more aware of the power of Web 2.0 applications.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Thing 21
Describe a wiki you found that inspires you to create one of your own. What hurdles might stand in the way of your using a wiki? What would it take to remove the hurdles? Is it worth the fight?
I enjoyed the Wiki made by the 5th grade class on the novel Turn Homeward Hanalee. I can see great potential for using this format in the classroom to create a resource that students can work on collaboratively studying all facets of a novel, its creation, historical background,
vocabulary, related topics, and so forth.
One hurdle that might stand in my way is my own experience with managing this kind of application. I'd have to start small. I'm sure that I can find a project that is simple enough to handle until I get the hang of it. I've tried lots of group work before and much of it has been mediocre because students couldn't get together easily. I would hope students would like this and be proud of their accomplishments. It would certainly aid their creativity to have so much on the internet available to them -- text, pictures, video, audio, images, etc. all with the click of a button!
Another hurdle is dealing with students who do not have internet access at home. I know that students without computers can work at school, at a friend or relative's home, or at a public library, but some students could use this as an excuse. Hopefully, students would be enthused enough to overcome this hurdle themselves -- taking responsibility for finding a place to work because they want to contribute in a meaningful project. If this enthusiasm is absent, I could find a way to require student participation by providing time in the classroom.
I'd also want students to be accountable for their work. Many slackers would cut and paste material they found on other sites. There would have to be some checks and balances on the students to make sure that they are really producing work that is original.
I know that a social studies teacher in my school had a wiki this year as part of his AP Government class for a project on the presidential election. I know our media specialist, Karen Villegas, helped him out setting it up. I am fortunate to have Karen and Barry as pioneers who can help me in my own exploration and use of wikis. It's worth it to try out new techniques. It energizes both the instructor and the students.
I enjoyed the Wiki made by the 5th grade class on the novel Turn Homeward Hanalee. I can see great potential for using this format in the classroom to create a resource that students can work on collaboratively studying all facets of a novel, its creation, historical background,
vocabulary, related topics, and so forth.
One hurdle that might stand in my way is my own experience with managing this kind of application. I'd have to start small. I'm sure that I can find a project that is simple enough to handle until I get the hang of it. I've tried lots of group work before and much of it has been mediocre because students couldn't get together easily. I would hope students would like this and be proud of their accomplishments. It would certainly aid their creativity to have so much on the internet available to them -- text, pictures, video, audio, images, etc. all with the click of a button!
Another hurdle is dealing with students who do not have internet access at home. I know that students without computers can work at school, at a friend or relative's home, or at a public library, but some students could use this as an excuse. Hopefully, students would be enthused enough to overcome this hurdle themselves -- taking responsibility for finding a place to work because they want to contribute in a meaningful project. If this enthusiasm is absent, I could find a way to require student participation by providing time in the classroom.
I'd also want students to be accountable for their work. Many slackers would cut and paste material they found on other sites. There would have to be some checks and balances on the students to make sure that they are really producing work that is original.
I know that a social studies teacher in my school had a wiki this year as part of his AP Government class for a project on the presidential election. I know our media specialist, Karen Villegas, helped him out setting it up. I am fortunate to have Karen and Barry as pioneers who can help me in my own exploration and use of wikis. It's worth it to try out new techniques. It energizes both the instructor and the students.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Thing 20
Include in your post the name of at least one podcast to which you subscribed. Describe your experience using the various search tools. Which do you prefer and why?
I loved this "thing". I have an ipod and the idea that I can listen to these on my 1/2 hour drive to and from work is enticing. The variety of podcasts is amazing! I downloaded two of them, Grammar Girl, and Smartboard Lessons (from Canada). I discusses my reasons for liking Grammar Girl in my last posting (Thing 19). Our school is about to embark on a huge purchase of Smart Board Technology (if I can get my technology application filled out this weekend -- deadline Dec. 8). The program I downloaded is from Canada and received many favorable reviews -- Canada is high on Smart Board Technology. Anyway, I think it would be helpful for me to get some tips from these educators. There are 150 podcasts! They're 45 minutes each -- so that's a hugh investment of my time, but a good investment as a future user of this expensive technology.
I also love to listen to Public Radio and was happy to see so many of my favorite series are available for downloading. I didn't download these, but I will be listening. I imagine it will take up some space on my ipod -- now I know why I should have invested in one with a larger memory capacity.
By the way, I have been doing most of my work in this course on my daughter's computer. She already had an ipod account so the podcasts are on her account just in case you're looking for an account with my e-mail address. I will probably transfer them to another computer at a later date.
I liked using the Itunes store. I tried to save on my bloglines account, but it was offline because the application was being serviced for an 18 hour period. I thought it would be more efficient to keep my news feeds and my podcast feeds in the same storage area. I'll get back to bloglines and perhaps try again, because I still have to get back and finish up Thing 15 as I promised.
I loved this "thing". I have an ipod and the idea that I can listen to these on my 1/2 hour drive to and from work is enticing. The variety of podcasts is amazing! I downloaded two of them, Grammar Girl, and Smartboard Lessons (from Canada). I discusses my reasons for liking Grammar Girl in my last posting (Thing 19). Our school is about to embark on a huge purchase of Smart Board Technology (if I can get my technology application filled out this weekend -- deadline Dec. 8). The program I downloaded is from Canada and received many favorable reviews -- Canada is high on Smart Board Technology. Anyway, I think it would be helpful for me to get some tips from these educators. There are 150 podcasts! They're 45 minutes each -- so that's a hugh investment of my time, but a good investment as a future user of this expensive technology.
I also love to listen to Public Radio and was happy to see so many of my favorite series are available for downloading. I didn't download these, but I will be listening. I imagine it will take up some space on my ipod -- now I know why I should have invested in one with a larger memory capacity.
By the way, I have been doing most of my work in this course on my daughter's computer. She already had an ipod account so the podcasts are on her account just in case you're looking for an account with my e-mail address. I will probably transfer them to another computer at a later date.
I liked using the Itunes store. I tried to save on my bloglines account, but it was offline because the application was being serviced for an 18 hour period. I thought it would be more efficient to keep my news feeds and my podcast feeds in the same storage area. I'll get back to bloglines and perhaps try again, because I still have to get back and finish up Thing 15 as I promised.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thing 19
Which podcasts did you find interesting? Identify one or two podcasts and describe how you would use them in your teaching. (Be sure to include links in your blog entry to the podcasts mentioned.)
I spent quite a lot of time exploring the pod casts you listed.
Since I am an English teacher, I liked the Grammar Girl Podcasts. These entertaining podcasts are informative and they're about practical grammatical issues in a very comfortable, unstuffy format. I can see that my next "Thing" is to subscribe to podcasts. This is one I know I'll add. I just listened to her podcast on whether or not to use prepositions at the end of sentences. I thought her advice was clear, useful and practical. She mentioned that some people are sticklers about not ending a sentence with a preposition, so it's wise on a cover letter for a job application to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition to enrage one of the "purists". Good advice! I'd play some of these in the classroom. I think it would be interesting to have students make their own podcasts about various issues in grammar and usage modeling them after these presentations.
Of course, if I'm going to tell students to make podcasts, I'm going to have to learn how to make them. That's why I listened to quite a few of the podcasts by the Lower Merian District in Pennsylvania. What a great resource for the teachers in that district! One that was quite pertinent to my situation is the podcast titled "The Fear Factor". The interviewer talked to seven teachers who had faced their fear and introduced some technlogy application into their classrooms. I loved hearing how all these teachers faced problems, but let the solving of the technology problems be part of the lesson. I also was encouraged by their testimonies that the use of technology enlivened their classroom and increased the interest and productivity of the students. I want to go back to this podcast site and add it to my Delicious account because I need to listen to its three part series about podcasting. You can find these podcasts here.
Note: I will try to fix the URL's listed above so that they are actually links. As you see, these are the little things that I struggle with that make me lack confidence. I'd be open to any tips you have if you read this before I add the link.
I spent quite a lot of time exploring the pod casts you listed.
Since I am an English teacher, I liked the Grammar Girl Podcasts. These entertaining podcasts are informative and they're about practical grammatical issues in a very comfortable, unstuffy format. I can see that my next "Thing" is to subscribe to podcasts. This is one I know I'll add. I just listened to her podcast on whether or not to use prepositions at the end of sentences. I thought her advice was clear, useful and practical. She mentioned that some people are sticklers about not ending a sentence with a preposition, so it's wise on a cover letter for a job application to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition to enrage one of the "purists". Good advice! I'd play some of these in the classroom. I think it would be interesting to have students make their own podcasts about various issues in grammar and usage modeling them after these presentations.
Of course, if I'm going to tell students to make podcasts, I'm going to have to learn how to make them. That's why I listened to quite a few of the podcasts by the Lower Merian District in Pennsylvania. What a great resource for the teachers in that district! One that was quite pertinent to my situation is the podcast titled "The Fear Factor". The interviewer talked to seven teachers who had faced their fear and introduced some technlogy application into their classrooms. I loved hearing how all these teachers faced problems, but let the solving of the technology problems be part of the lesson. I also was encouraged by their testimonies that the use of technology enlivened their classroom and increased the interest and productivity of the students. I want to go back to this podcast site and add it to my Delicious account because I need to listen to its three part series about podcasting. You can find these podcasts here.
Note: I will try to fix the URL's listed above so that they are actually links. As you see, these are the little things that I struggle with that make me lack confidence. I'd be open to any tips you have if you read this before I add the link.
Thing 18 -- On Writing by Writers
Here's a great slideshow from Slideshare with wonderful quotes from writers about the process of writing. It would be useful as a teacher introduces writing to students.
Quotes From Authors on WritingView SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: writing author_quotes)
What did you like about the presentation you embedded? How might Slideshare be useful in the classroom? out of the classroom?
I like showing my students thoughts about writing by writers. Perhaps they will take inspiration from other voices than mine. Students think that writing comes easily to experts. They're wrong. Professional writiers struggle, too. They have to be disciplined, they face writer's block, they revise often. This realization can encourage novice writers to see their struggles as part of the creative process that every writer at every level of expertise faces.
I was amazed at the range of subjects on Slideshare. I found many shows I could use in my classroom. There is, however, a wide range of quality in the presentations. Any slide show needs to be viewed carefully before use in the classroom.
I'd use this side just for my own enjoyment and to gather information. The "Shift Happens" presentation, for example, was provacative whether or not one is an educator.
Quotes From Authors on WritingView SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: writing author_quotes)
What did you like about the presentation you embedded? How might Slideshare be useful in the classroom? out of the classroom?
I like showing my students thoughts about writing by writers. Perhaps they will take inspiration from other voices than mine. Students think that writing comes easily to experts. They're wrong. Professional writiers struggle, too. They have to be disciplined, they face writer's block, they revise often. This realization can encourage novice writers to see their struggles as part of the creative process that every writer at every level of expertise faces.
I was amazed at the range of subjects on Slideshare. I found many shows I could use in my classroom. There is, however, a wide range of quality in the presentations. Any slide show needs to be viewed carefully before use in the classroom.
I'd use this side just for my own enjoyment and to gather information. The "Shift Happens" presentation, for example, was provacative whether or not one is an educator.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thing 17
Give a review of the tool you explored - what worked, what didn't work, how might it be used either in or out of the classroom?
I looked at all the options and played around with Knowtes, 30 Boxes, and Remember the Milk. All could be useful at home and at work. Of course, it's easy to just carry and keep a calendar or a detailed list. Still, the added features on these applications might make them more useful, and the more I depend on my computer, the more I'll these capabilities.
I made a web for my next unit in Mythology on Bubbl.us. I can see lots of uses for this feature. It's very easy to organize using this application, and the directions were reasonably easy to figure out. Students could use it as well. We do have online clustering tools on our computers at school, but this is another one we could consider.
I'd like to continue to explore all of these in the future, so again, having the 23 Things web site available even after Dec.12th would be useful. I must remember to at least copy all the titles of the sites and record their URL's because this information is too valuable to lose.
I looked at all the options and played around with Knowtes, 30 Boxes, and Remember the Milk. All could be useful at home and at work. Of course, it's easy to just carry and keep a calendar or a detailed list. Still, the added features on these applications might make them more useful, and the more I depend on my computer, the more I'll these capabilities.
I made a web for my next unit in Mythology on Bubbl.us. I can see lots of uses for this feature. It's very easy to organize using this application, and the directions were reasonably easy to figure out. Students could use it as well. We do have online clustering tools on our computers at school, but this is another one we could consider.
I'd like to continue to explore all of these in the future, so again, having the 23 Things web site available even after Dec.12th would be useful. I must remember to at least copy all the titles of the sites and record their URL's because this information is too valuable to lose.
Thing 16
How might you use this tool in your personal and professional life? What issues come to mind about using this tool with students (ie, they need email addresses to log-in)?
In case you're reading, I skipped adding an RSS feed and cleaning-up Bloglines (Thing 15). It was just confusing to me. I'll add it later (though I now realize as I'm typing this that my report on Thing 15 will be out of order!). I did take time to browse and enjoyed reading some of the information in the 2 Cents worth blog -- very interesting
Google Docs is very cool. I searched a bit and found the help section very user friendly -- thank goodness, because this stuff doesn't come easily to me. It was wise of you to let us explore on our own instead of giving us a tutorial online because we'll have to be off on our own using these applications once we finish this course. I wish the 23 Things page would stay active after Dec. 12th so I can click on the buttons and get to the web sites easily!
Google-Docs could be very useful to me. When I'm working on a shared document with someone in my personal or professional life, it would be so easy to work on it together by accessing this site. Students would have to have all the e-mails in order to use this easily. Perhaps they could be posted on a web page. I see this as useful for group work. So often students can't (or won't) get together for one reason or another. With this tool, as long as everyone had access to the internet, they could all work on a document and share it without having to be in the same place at the same time. I also like the fact that the document can be accessed on any computer -- no more need to e-mail something to work that I started at home. By saving it on Google-Docs, I can access it without taking that extra step.
In case you're reading, I skipped adding an RSS feed and cleaning-up Bloglines (Thing 15). It was just confusing to me. I'll add it later (though I now realize as I'm typing this that my report on Thing 15 will be out of order!). I did take time to browse and enjoyed reading some of the information in the 2 Cents worth blog -- very interesting
Google Docs is very cool. I searched a bit and found the help section very user friendly -- thank goodness, because this stuff doesn't come easily to me. It was wise of you to let us explore on our own instead of giving us a tutorial online because we'll have to be off on our own using these applications once we finish this course. I wish the 23 Things page would stay active after Dec. 12th so I can click on the buttons and get to the web sites easily!
Google-Docs could be very useful to me. When I'm working on a shared document with someone in my personal or professional life, it would be so easy to work on it together by accessing this site. Students would have to have all the e-mails in order to use this easily. Perhaps they could be posted on a web page. I see this as useful for group work. So often students can't (or won't) get together for one reason or another. With this tool, as long as everyone had access to the internet, they could all work on a document and share it without having to be in the same place at the same time. I also like the fact that the document can be accessed on any computer -- no more need to e-mail something to work that I started at home. By saving it on Google-Docs, I can access it without taking that extra step.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thing 14
Include your Delicious username in this blog post so that others can view the bookmarks that you have chosen to share. Then reflect on how you think social bookmarking can be used in your teaching. Does Delicious seem to be a tool that can enhance your productivity? I
My Delicious username is marybethc. I loved being introduced to and using this tool! It was fun to explore and add bookmarks -- there were so many ways to add bookmarks -- this site is very user-freindly. I can see how over time, I could form a network with the user names of people who seem to bookmark areas that I'm interested in. I believe this would enhance my productivity. Not only could I access bookmarks on whatever computer I'm using, but I would have so many ways to search that are significantly more select than Google!
Include your Delicious username in this blog post so that others can view the bookmarks that you have chosen to share. Then reflect on how you think social bookmarking can be used in your teaching. Does Delicious seem to be a tool that can enhance your productivity? I
My Delicious username is marybethc. I loved being introduced to and using this tool! It was fun to explore and add bookmarks -- there were so many ways to add bookmarks -- this site is very user-freindly. I can see how over time, I could form a network with the user names of people who seem to bookmark areas that I'm interested in. I believe this would enhance my productivity. Not only could I access bookmarks on whatever computer I'm using, but I would have so many ways to search that are significantly more select than Google!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thing 13
Share your thoughts about tagging. Is tagging a useful way to organize your digital resources and why? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages? What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?
Tagging seems like a real time-saver. So many times I have bookmarked a site and spend too much time looking for it in my bookmarks. This system seems much more efficient since the internet is so huge. One must be careful what is tagged and how it is tagged because the Delicious site is public. I wouldn't want an inappropriate site attributed to me That's why it's important to investigate sites thoroughly before putting them out there.
I think using the Delicious site myself will make me feel less overwhelmed. There's nothing like experience to make a person more comfortable with a process. I hope this will be useful to me in finding sites for me to use and share.
Share your thoughts about tagging. Is tagging a useful way to organize your digital resources and why? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages? What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?
Tagging seems like a real time-saver. So many times I have bookmarked a site and spend too much time looking for it in my bookmarks. This system seems much more efficient since the internet is so huge. One must be careful what is tagged and how it is tagged because the Delicious site is public. I wouldn't want an inappropriate site attributed to me That's why it's important to investigate sites thoroughly before putting them out there.
I think using the Delicious site myself will make me feel less overwhelmed. There's nothing like experience to make a person more comfortable with a process. I hope this will be useful to me in finding sites for me to use and share.
Thing 12
I added this widgit because I like to read and reflect on quotes. I use them for journal reflections in class quite often.
Review the widget you selected. Are you getting comfortable with embedding code? Do you belong to other online communities? Are relationships formed online as meaningful as face-to-face relationships? Why do you think MySpace and other social networking sites are so popular with kids today?
I am getting more comfortable embedding code. I'm amazed how easy it was to drop this into my blog. I was also AMAZED at the variety of widgits I could add to my blog. I had fun looking through all the sites that offered choices. I hope I can find these same sites when I no longer have my 23 things page to click on!
I am not a member of any online communities so I have no personal experience with online relationships. Nothing can match the power of a face to face relationship, but writing is also powerful and can reveal one's deepest thoughts. I imagine these relationships could be very significant. I asked my daughter who does belong to online communities and she admits that she does have meaningful relationships with people. When these individuals do not communicate for a certain period of time, she gets concerned and misses them.
Many online communities like MySpace and FaceBook are not a community of strangers. Most of the connections are already face to face relationships. It's just a great way for these kids to keep in touch over long distances. Judging from my own children, however, they absolutely love their FaceBook pages. One younger child has a MySpace page which he mainly uses to communicate with kids from his school.
One thing is certain -- these online communities are here to stay and it's worthwhile for teachers to consider using them as a way to tap into a method of communication that students are already attracted to and comfortable with using.
I added this widgit because I like to read and reflect on quotes. I use them for journal reflections in class quite often.
Review the widget you selected. Are you getting comfortable with embedding code? Do you belong to other online communities? Are relationships formed online as meaningful as face-to-face relationships? Why do you think MySpace and other social networking sites are so popular with kids today?
I am getting more comfortable embedding code. I'm amazed how easy it was to drop this into my blog. I was also AMAZED at the variety of widgits I could add to my blog. I had fun looking through all the sites that offered choices. I hope I can find these same sites when I no longer have my 23 things page to click on!
I am not a member of any online communities so I have no personal experience with online relationships. Nothing can match the power of a face to face relationship, but writing is also powerful and can reveal one's deepest thoughts. I imagine these relationships could be very significant. I asked my daughter who does belong to online communities and she admits that she does have meaningful relationships with people. When these individuals do not communicate for a certain period of time, she gets concerned and misses them.
Many online communities like MySpace and FaceBook are not a community of strangers. Most of the connections are already face to face relationships. It's just a great way for these kids to keep in touch over long distances. Judging from my own children, however, they absolutely love their FaceBook pages. One younger child has a MySpace page which he mainly uses to communicate with kids from his school.
One thing is certain -- these online communities are here to stay and it's worthwhile for teachers to consider using them as a way to tap into a method of communication that students are already attracted to and comfortable with using.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thing 11
What do you like / dislike about leaving comments? How did you feel when you received your first comment? Why do you think commenting is so important in online communities? What might this mean for students who share their writing online?
I feel somewhat apprehensive about leaving comments because I realize they're "out there" for anyone to read. Our little community is rather safe and secure, but that will not always be the case when participating in on-line communities. Still, I can see why a special interest blog would be useful ONLY if people commented. People visit the blogs FOR information and feedback. That's the appeal of the particular blog. However, blogs can be negative, too. My daughter had a nerve injury in her foot. She participated in a blog and received some "bad" information. She eventually stopped reading it and stuck to the advice of her doctor. She also participated in a blog for those applying to a certain graduate program. She found that it was better not to participate there either because each university approached the admissions process so differently.
When I know that my comments will be read by others, I take more time writing my text and checking for content and correctness. I suppose that's a good thing, and demonstrates the importance of having an audience. If students were to write on a classroom blog, perhaps they would pay more attention to their writing and the content of their comments because they knew the message was going out to the "public".
I liked receiving comments. It made me feel that my thoughts were appreciated and useful to someone. I also liked when my questions were answered or I received tips to make things easier,
What do you like / dislike about leaving comments? How did you feel when you received your first comment? Why do you think commenting is so important in online communities? What might this mean for students who share their writing online?
I feel somewhat apprehensive about leaving comments because I realize they're "out there" for anyone to read. Our little community is rather safe and secure, but that will not always be the case when participating in on-line communities. Still, I can see why a special interest blog would be useful ONLY if people commented. People visit the blogs FOR information and feedback. That's the appeal of the particular blog. However, blogs can be negative, too. My daughter had a nerve injury in her foot. She participated in a blog and received some "bad" information. She eventually stopped reading it and stuck to the advice of her doctor. She also participated in a blog for those applying to a certain graduate program. She found that it was better not to participate there either because each university approached the admissions process so differently.
When I know that my comments will be read by others, I take more time writing my text and checking for content and correctness. I suppose that's a good thing, and demonstrates the importance of having an audience. If students were to write on a classroom blog, perhaps they would pay more attention to their writing and the content of their comments because they knew the message was going out to the "public".
I liked receiving comments. It made me feel that my thoughts were appreciated and useful to someone. I also liked when my questions were answered or I received tips to make things easier,
Thing 10
Here is a video recording of a rap called "Knock out Illiteracy". I found it on YouTube and embedded it right from the YouTube site.
Some students might react positively to hearing this message from someone other than a teacher!
I tried to download another video from YouTube called "Literacy Empowers" but I was unsuccessful. I didn't know what image format to ask for and the Zamzar didn't default to any certain format. I will ask the right people a few questions and try again later. I'll edit my post and add it. The reason why I was so interested in this video is because I read a book titled Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, concerning his quest to build schools for tiny villages in Pakistan. He was repaying a village for their kindness when he was recovering after being separated from his mountain climbing party. His efforts launced the endowment of a philanthropic organization called The Central Asia Institute by a wealthy American businessman as he was dying from cancer. Mortenson built dozens of schools in Pakistan, and some in neighboring Afghanistan. The people were grateful and adopted a whole new attitude toward America based on their experience with this one man. I can't help but wonder how many of these schools are still standing after all the destruction that is currently taking place in Afghanistan. My hope is that a new administration will make ventures such as this a common way to reach out to those who view Americans with suspicion.
I am excited about the idea of being to embed or download videos! I love being able to click on your videos in each "thing" on this blog and gett instant instruction or information. I see a lot of possibilities for this capability in my classroom.
Here is a video recording of a rap called "Knock out Illiteracy". I found it on YouTube and embedded it right from the YouTube site.
Some students might react positively to hearing this message from someone other than a teacher!
I tried to download another video from YouTube called "Literacy Empowers" but I was unsuccessful. I didn't know what image format to ask for and the Zamzar didn't default to any certain format. I will ask the right people a few questions and try again later. I'll edit my post and add it. The reason why I was so interested in this video is because I read a book titled Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, concerning his quest to build schools for tiny villages in Pakistan. He was repaying a village for their kindness when he was recovering after being separated from his mountain climbing party. His efforts launced the endowment of a philanthropic organization called The Central Asia Institute by a wealthy American businessman as he was dying from cancer. Mortenson built dozens of schools in Pakistan, and some in neighboring Afghanistan. The people were grateful and adopted a whole new attitude toward America based on their experience with this one man. I can't help but wonder how many of these schools are still standing after all the destruction that is currently taking place in Afghanistan. My hope is that a new administration will make ventures such as this a common way to reach out to those who view Americans with suspicion.
I am excited about the idea of being to embed or download videos! I love being able to click on your videos in each "thing" on this blog and gett instant instruction or information. I see a lot of possibilities for this capability in my classroom.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thing 9
What do you like or dislike about YouTube? Did you find videos that would be useful for teaching and learning? Is YouTube banned in your building?
I like the timeliness of YouTube. For example, when Tina Fey was doing Sarah Palin skits on Saturday Night Live, you could catch them on YouTube if you missed them. I've used it before to play music that sets a mood or informs about the culture and environment of certain times in history. Last year I found some old love songs on Valentine's Day (in a high school Mythology elective)that contained references to characters from Greek or Roman mythology. I sometimes teach Film Literature and YouTube is great for finding clips or trailers of classic films. I have also used Taylor Mali's routine on proofreading in Expository Writing, though I stopped it before he came to the end of the routine which conains slightly questionable material. In fact, that's what I dislike about YouTube -- it has much content that is vulgar and inappropriate. Some of its videos also make fun of school and teachers which makes teenagers open to that negative thinking. It's not that teachers would use this in their classrooms, but teens can tune in on their own and find plenty of this kind of material.
I was surprised to find such a variety of subjects when I searched for terms having to do with the English classes I teach. For example, there were tons of videos about grammar, of all things. I'm sure I could find one that would give a great explanation of a grammar skill -- and my students would appreciate the fresh approach, a new voice, and effective visuals and images.
I looked up "literature" and found some promising topics. Looking up specific titles was frui tful too .I also like to use YouTube to find something amusing to introduce a concept. Students appreciate the change of pace especially if the video is entertaining or funny.
I checked out the two school video sites. I like that these sites are school appropriate. It seems to be a place where student made videos can be housed and shared. I'm sure I'll check these out from time to time now that I know they exist.
I do not have trouble using YouTube at my school, though I don't believe the students can access the site at school. They cannot use Google Images (or Wikipedia), for example, while teachers can bypass the filter. This poses problems when students are trying to make presentations at school. Last week I assigned my Mythology students a presentation of a myth. Some chose to use Power Point, but had to go home to search for images to use on the slides. I understand why this filter is necessary, but it does prevent students from getting thier hands on the good stuff out there.
What do you like or dislike about YouTube? Did you find videos that would be useful for teaching and learning? Is YouTube banned in your building?
I like the timeliness of YouTube. For example, when Tina Fey was doing Sarah Palin skits on Saturday Night Live, you could catch them on YouTube if you missed them. I've used it before to play music that sets a mood or informs about the culture and environment of certain times in history. Last year I found some old love songs on Valentine's Day (in a high school Mythology elective)that contained references to characters from Greek or Roman mythology. I sometimes teach Film Literature and YouTube is great for finding clips or trailers of classic films. I have also used Taylor Mali's routine on proofreading in Expository Writing, though I stopped it before he came to the end of the routine which conains slightly questionable material. In fact, that's what I dislike about YouTube -- it has much content that is vulgar and inappropriate. Some of its videos also make fun of school and teachers which makes teenagers open to that negative thinking. It's not that teachers would use this in their classrooms, but teens can tune in on their own and find plenty of this kind of material.
I was surprised to find such a variety of subjects when I searched for terms having to do with the English classes I teach. For example, there were tons of videos about grammar, of all things. I'm sure I could find one that would give a great explanation of a grammar skill -- and my students would appreciate the fresh approach, a new voice, and effective visuals and images.
I looked up "literature" and found some promising topics. Looking up specific titles was frui tful too .I also like to use YouTube to find something amusing to introduce a concept. Students appreciate the change of pace especially if the video is entertaining or funny.
I checked out the two school video sites. I like that these sites are school appropriate. It seems to be a place where student made videos can be housed and shared. I'm sure I'll check these out from time to time now that I know they exist.
I do not have trouble using YouTube at my school, though I don't believe the students can access the site at school. They cannot use Google Images (or Wikipedia), for example, while teachers can bypass the filter. This poses problems when students are trying to make presentations at school. Last week I assigned my Mythology students a presentation of a myth. Some chose to use Power Point, but had to go home to search for images to use on the slides. I understand why this filter is necessary, but it does prevent students from getting thier hands on the good stuff out there.
Thing 8This inage was generated on
http://www.bighugelabs.com/flickr/
The application is called jigsaw
In the same post in which you placed your creation, briefly describe your experience completing Thing 8. Which of these tools intrigues you and why? Was it easy, frustrating, time-consuming, fun? Share some of your ideas for using the images you can create.
This was fun, but time-consuming. I liked the flickr tools -- spelling, color generator, and mosaics. I couldn't find a way to copy any of these to some of the ideas in the generators that I wanted to try. That was frustrating. I think that some of this might be applicable in the classroom, definitely. However, I have so much content to teach and i don't even have enough time as it is to complete the basics. Students would love having lab time to play around with these applications, but I fear they'd putz with color and font and other layout techniques that they'd never spend the time they need to spend on the content of the project, which is where the real time should be spent.
Thing 7
Think of ways you may be able to use Flickr in your classroom and share your ideas. What issues might you face?
This is an awesome site. I will say, however, that I did tag all my photos (downloaded from my trip to Europe in 2007) with RESA23, but none of them showed up when I searched that tag. I'm not sure what happened or how I should look that up.
Another question I have is whether I can download just my own pictures or whether I can download pictures from the internet, from Flickr, or other sources. I thought I saw some pictures downloaded that I recogized from my exploration of Flickr, but I could be mistaken.
This could be a useful site for use in the classroom. I could download photos of a certain topic and show them to students, or send them there to view the photos and read descriptions. Students could use these photographs as springboards for writing -- narratives and description come to mind. Students could make Flickr accounts to accompany their own personal narratives or to illustrate their imaginings of what characters and places look like in the literature we read in class. A similar feature that I was introduced to at a tech in-service day at my high school is Photostory. This site offers a fantastic way to have students group photographs and link them together with transitions that make the photos come alive. Appropriate music can be added right from a collection on the site. I played around with that site and added images right from Google to present the myth of "Cupid and Psyche" -- all in a matter of minutes.
Issues I could face using Flickr is the public vs. private photos. I wouldn't want to require that my students' personal pictures be out there in the public. We would have to have a group of "friends" so that the collections would only be visible to a select group. Another issue would be training. When we use these applications in the classroom, we have a wide range of skill. Some students will need training, some will not. I imagine most of the students will pick this up easily, certainly faster than their teacher! I think a drawback for me is that it takes me longer to use these applications than my students. I can use them, but if something goes wrong, I don't trouble-shoot very easily and that wastes a lot of precious class time. I'd need to get more comfortable using any application myself before I'd use it for an assignment. Using such applications would certainly make presentations more interesting than a bunch of xerox copies and some words printed on a poster board!
Think of ways you may be able to use Flickr in your classroom and share your ideas. What issues might you face?
This is an awesome site. I will say, however, that I did tag all my photos (downloaded from my trip to Europe in 2007) with RESA23, but none of them showed up when I searched that tag. I'm not sure what happened or how I should look that up.
Another question I have is whether I can download just my own pictures or whether I can download pictures from the internet, from Flickr, or other sources. I thought I saw some pictures downloaded that I recogized from my exploration of Flickr, but I could be mistaken.
This could be a useful site for use in the classroom. I could download photos of a certain topic and show them to students, or send them there to view the photos and read descriptions. Students could use these photographs as springboards for writing -- narratives and description come to mind. Students could make Flickr accounts to accompany their own personal narratives or to illustrate their imaginings of what characters and places look like in the literature we read in class. A similar feature that I was introduced to at a tech in-service day at my high school is Photostory. This site offers a fantastic way to have students group photographs and link them together with transitions that make the photos come alive. Appropriate music can be added right from a collection on the site. I played around with that site and added images right from Google to present the myth of "Cupid and Psyche" -- all in a matter of minutes.
Issues I could face using Flickr is the public vs. private photos. I wouldn't want to require that my students' personal pictures be out there in the public. We would have to have a group of "friends" so that the collections would only be visible to a select group. Another issue would be training. When we use these applications in the classroom, we have a wide range of skill. Some students will need training, some will not. I imagine most of the students will pick this up easily, certainly faster than their teacher! I think a drawback for me is that it takes me longer to use these applications than my students. I can use them, but if something goes wrong, I don't trouble-shoot very easily and that wastes a lot of precious class time. I'd need to get more comfortable using any application myself before I'd use it for an assignment. Using such applications would certainly make presentations more interesting than a bunch of xerox copies and some words printed on a poster board!
Thing 6
Why did you choose a particular photo? What is it about the photo that you found interesting?
I searched many topics. The first I found was a multi-photograph collage of Barack Obama that had the word HOPE as part of the composition. The letters were individual photographs much like the letters that spell out 23 THINGS on the home page for this class. For some reason, that collage would not copy.
I also searched "mockingbird" because that is what I am teaching right now, but went on to "Thanksgiving" and finally "Michigan". That's where I found this beautiful photograph of a road through the woods in autumn. Nothing can compare to the vibrant color of an autumn landscape. My dad has a cousin who has a summer home on Bois Blanc Island off of Cheboygan in northern Lake Huron. I have only seen this place in summer, but this photgraph is what I imagine it would look like in the autumn. It's glorious to be able to walk in such a setting. I can imagine the sun glinting through the trees, the birds chirping, the chipmunks and squirrels skittering in the underbrush, and my breath, visible in the chilly air. So seldom do I get a chance to enjoy such simple pleasures. It reminds that I should find more opportunities to take a walk in one of the many places in this magnificent state I live in (beleagured as it is of late with financial woes of one kind or another).
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thing 5
RSS can be a difficult concept for some to grasp right away - what questions do you have? What didn't work or doesn't make sense? How might you use RSS in your personal or professional life? Find anything in your searching that you'd recommend to others?
I managed to get some blogs into my bloglines account. All three methods of adding them to the bloglines account worked eventually. I'm still a bit confused about the folders. Some don't show up in the left hand column. I'm thinking that perhaps I need to have a blog in the folder before it shows up in that list.
Maybe it's because it's late and I'm tired that the search in the two sites you provided was confusing. It just seemed like a lot of work to search the sites. I will re-visit that tomorrow and add a few more sites to my 4 folders. I feel I need more computer savvy to make this process easier. I constantly find myself having to get off the internet to check something on the 23 things blog. Then I have to log on again. It's so cumbersome. I must be missing an obvious shortcut that's right at my fingertips! Still, I'm confident that like anything else that's new, a lot of practice will make it easier.
There's no doubt in my mind that a specialized education blog would be a useful tool for getting new ideas for the classroom. Sharing ideas is powerful -- the creative process is enhanced when people can dialogue with one another and bounce ideas around together. Plus, the information is current so topics are timely.
I managed to get some blogs into my bloglines account. All three methods of adding them to the bloglines account worked eventually. I'm still a bit confused about the folders. Some don't show up in the left hand column. I'm thinking that perhaps I need to have a blog in the folder before it shows up in that list.
Maybe it's because it's late and I'm tired that the search in the two sites you provided was confusing. It just seemed like a lot of work to search the sites. I will re-visit that tomorrow and add a few more sites to my 4 folders. I feel I need more computer savvy to make this process easier. I constantly find myself having to get off the internet to check something on the 23 things blog. Then I have to log on again. It's so cumbersome. I must be missing an obvious shortcut that's right at my fingertips! Still, I'm confident that like anything else that's new, a lot of practice will make it easier.
There's no doubt in my mind that a specialized education blog would be a useful tool for getting new ideas for the classroom. Sharing ideas is powerful -- the creative process is enhanced when people can dialogue with one another and bounce ideas around together. Plus, the information is current so topics are timely.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Thing 3
How might you use a blog with students? How might they respond to a blog assignment? What concerns about blogging with students do you have? How might you use a blog for other educational purposes (other than with students)?
I teach English and I intend to use my blog to have students chat about books. Somethimes they'll chat about books they've chosen to read independently. They can share their reflections and recommend books and authors to one another. Other times they'll comment on specific questions about readings we're doing in common. I'm not sure exactly how I'll do this because I'm just learning, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it as I continue with this program.
I am concerned that the students write appropriate posts. I can see from the video that I can get an alert when a post is made and I can view the post before it is added for the public to see. That seems like a good idea to prevent undesirable messages.
I can see using a blog with other people in my department to share ideas and techniques pertaining to classes we teach. I could also see a blog as useful between teachers of different departments for communicating about students that we share. This would be sort of like a "team" approach that I used to experience when I was in the middle school. We also have a faculty book club at my high school. We sometimes have a tough time getting a date to meet that's good for everyone. We could maintain a blog and have our discussions on line, or at least communicate our ideas from a meeting with those who could not attend and read their comments even though they're not at the meeting. Our book club is in the year-long process of promoting the reading of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. A blog would allow staff to share ideas about how they're promoting the book in their discipline.
I'm eager to see what else this course has to offer, but right now, blogging seems like a great place for me to start using some of what Web 2.0 has to offer to educators.
How might you use a blog with students? How might they respond to a blog assignment? What concerns about blogging with students do you have? How might you use a blog for other educational purposes (other than with students)?
I teach English and I intend to use my blog to have students chat about books. Somethimes they'll chat about books they've chosen to read independently. They can share their reflections and recommend books and authors to one another. Other times they'll comment on specific questions about readings we're doing in common. I'm not sure exactly how I'll do this because I'm just learning, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it as I continue with this program.
I am concerned that the students write appropriate posts. I can see from the video that I can get an alert when a post is made and I can view the post before it is added for the public to see. That seems like a good idea to prevent undesirable messages.
I can see using a blog with other people in my department to share ideas and techniques pertaining to classes we teach. I could also see a blog as useful between teachers of different departments for communicating about students that we share. This would be sort of like a "team" approach that I used to experience when I was in the middle school. We also have a faculty book club at my high school. We sometimes have a tough time getting a date to meet that's good for everyone. We could maintain a blog and have our discussions on line, or at least communicate our ideas from a meeting with those who could not attend and read their comments even though they're not at the meeting. Our book club is in the year-long process of promoting the reading of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. A blog would allow staff to share ideas about how they're promoting the book in their discipline.
I'm eager to see what else this course has to offer, but right now, blogging seems like a great place for me to start using some of what Web 2.0 has to offer to educators.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Things 1 and 2
I am participating in 23 Things because I want to use some new computer applictions in my English classroom. I would like a place where students can go to talk to each other about literature and writing. I want to learn about all the possibilities, but also I want to become more comfortable using them. Honestly, reading the article and watching the video made me nervous. I know my own children and my students are so much more advanced in their ability to use the computer creatively that I fear I will never catch up to them. My hope is that doing this work will erase some of my apprehension.
I am participating in 23 Things because I want to use some new computer applictions in my English classroom. I would like a place where students can go to talk to each other about literature and writing. I want to learn about all the possibilities, but also I want to become more comfortable using them. Honestly, reading the article and watching the video made me nervous. I know my own children and my students are so much more advanced in their ability to use the computer creatively that I fear I will never catch up to them. My hope is that doing this work will erase some of my apprehension.
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Honestly, I don't read many blogs right now, but if I did (and I have a feeling I'll be adding some blogs in my folder!) this service would be indispensable. With everything in one spot, I could keep up with all the blogs that interest me. I had no idea such a feature was available on the internet -- which shows me how much I. have to learn