Final Thoughts

My favorite discoveries out of the 23 things were the avatar, the graphics, and learing to embed the videos.  These will be the most helpful of the tools that I learned.  The news tools and feeds were interesting, but I will not likely utilize them.

 There are many tools that I will have to revisit and go into more deeply, but I was surprised to find that I will actually use many of these tools.  Unfortunately the most well intentioned professional development doesn't usually lead to tools that we actually put into our classrooms.  Especially a technology driven classroom - what a great training for my subject!

I really liked completing this professional development.  It was informational (with good information) and completing it at home and at my own pace was nice.  I don't have any complaints!

Thing #23

What a great website!  The students need to be able to incorporate ideas and media into their projects to present information.  The web has provided a great ways to access information and media for projects.  But with this has also come an easy way to plagiarize other's ideas.  Educators have to provide tools to help students with the issue of plagiarism.  Creative Commons provides this.  This website allows people access to media and information that can be reused without breaking copyright laws.  This is a great concept.  I teach copyright law in BCIS and will use the Disney video!  Loved it!

Thing #22

I liked the concept of the Ning.  It is great to use the idea of social networking in a common interest area to spark conversation and collaboration in interest areas.  I went to the Education Ning and the page is plain and uninviting.  The site is cluttered and busy.  The user doesn't know where to start.  It looks way to much like a busy website, there were so many links and text on the page that I didn't spend much time at all on the site.  I don't know that I would visit daily, even if there is valuable information there.

The Ning for Teachers was much more visually appealing.  There were still links and lots of text, but it was organized much better.  I would possibly visit this Ning.  

The key, I guess, for this type of site would have to be making it fun and valuable so that people keep coming back.  This could be a great avenue for teachers to collaborate on ideas for their classrooms and connect them with teachers they would never have come in contact with.

Thing #21

The podcast thing is really pretty cool.  I was able to add a podcast to my google reader.  I used the Educational Podcast Network to find a podcast and then pasted the RSS feed into my subscriptions.  The feed then appeared on the page.  It was as easy as that.  

This could be a useful tool for keeping up with information and presenting it to students.  It is also helpful that the computer compiles the information for you.  If teachers find and like a podcast that pertain to their subject area and the information is usually helpful, this could be a great tool for the classroom. 

Thing #20

I think this has been my favorite "thing" so far.  I have always wanted to figure out how to do this.  This can be a invaluable tool when presenting information to students.  I mentioned in another post a lesson that I do for Business Law where I link a powerpoint to youtube with videos of different torts displayed in movies.  The students love this lecture/assignment because of the video clips.  However, sometimes the links take a while and sometimes the links do not work.  This changes that.  Perhaps I could convert this "lecture" and make it into a blog and then link all the videos and the students could work through it at their own pace and then post comments and it would then become an interactive Internet-based class discussion, rather than a lecture.  Great!!

Thing #19

My Library Thing

I liked the library thing website.  It was very easy to use and research different things that you might want to read.  Also, with it being on the Internet, others are able to access the lists of books that you like.  This site allows you to read about what others think about the books as well as letting you post what you think.  Teachers could use this to find books for students related to their subject areas.  Students could use this tool to find books that they would like to use for projects or papers.  Teachers could post a list of acceptable books for a particular project for students to choose from, and the students could read reviews and input before making their choices.  Great tool for the classroom!

Thing #18

Wiki's are great interactive tools.  I know that many teachers in our school already have them and the students use and access them regularly.  I can see the value in this tool.  The sandbox post was interesting to click through and read and I actually saw a teacher from another district that I knew (if it's the same Becky Giles).  I think that a Wiki could be incorporated for BCIS as a coordination tool (there are 4 teaching) and it could be set up in a way that students use it as well.

Thing #17

Both of these articles discuss the evolution of how we, as readers, or concentrators have changed over time and whether or not it is a good thing.  The authors comment the idea that we have lost the ability to deep read as opposed to scanning and multitasking.  

I believe that we have lost a bit of our concentration skills that come with being immersed in a book, however we can access more information quickly and we are able to gather information from many different views.  I agree with the first article, the trade off for multi-tasking skills is more valuable than a deep focus now-a-days.  Having said that, I think most people have the ability to accomplish both if there is true value for them in what they are reading, whether it be for fun or for information.  The issue for me and my deep reading is if I am going to spend the time reading something, it has to be good, otherwise I can read it (or skim it) quickly and be done with it.

Thing #16

• I choose iGoogle, just because it was first on the list.  It was really neat and easy to use.  Just a few clicks and I was done.  I got to choose the things that interested me and that was all that appeared on the screen.  

• I looked at the Scrybe calendar.  It was really neat.  It is set up to where you can click into the calendar and it makes the events for that day bigger so that you can see the details of what you are doing.  You can schedule things and then drag and drop to place them in other places...easy!  You can check off things that you have completed as time goes along, and you can also export your calendar into other softwares.  Another great thing about Scrybe is that you can tie in your to do list to it and drag and drop reminders onto your calendar.  I liked this one better than the Google calendar - it seems much more detailed.
  
  
• I used ta-da-list to make a to do list.  It was a neat tool, but I could just jot a to do list down before logging into a computer to make one.  If this was up at work though, it could be useful: if I thought of something and then just clicked over to the list and added it in, maybe it would be helpful.  It could be used for the classroom possibly.  Teachers could create a to do list and mail it, or post it for the students and they could use it to work through a lengthy project or assignment.
  
  
• I like the calendar and to do lists for the classroom.  Students need to know what events are coming up for them and also what is expected of them and how to get their work completed over time.  These tools, if used properly, could be very helpful in the classroom!

Thing #15

The gliffy website was really neat and very easy to use.  I created a Venn diagram out of some of the items on our grocery list (not very imaginative, I know).  It turned out really well.

I chose bubbl.us to make a mind map.  This was also a really cool tool and easy to use.  This time, I did a mind map of my time.  Lame, I know.  But, this would be a really cool tool for students as they organize and research different topics for their studies.  

Thing #14

Some of the Google tools were not working.  I did like the calendar tool, though for personal use, I prefer my phone and desk calendar still.  This would be a great tool for the school though.  Or clubs at the school that need to meet regularly or have activities to coordinate.  It could also be utilized for classroom assignments.  The teacher or coach could put the events or upcoming assignments on the calendar and students and parents could have access to that information via the web.  Very cool.  I also set up an alert to send me information on baby sleep habits (the baby has been asleep most of the day).  This will send me emails with any new information (up to 20 articles) on this topic daily.  Maybe she will be more alert tomorrow!  Both of these tools were very user friendly and would be very easy to incorporate into classroom tools.

Thing #13

This is a really neat site and resource for individuals, but this is an invaluable tool for teachers.  As more and more teachers use this, it will become an extremely helpful tool to teachers that utilize it.  I like the way that you can just search by a keyword (tag) and find exactly what you need.  Really cool!!  This tool can be more effective that any search engine because it is organized by people that are potentially doing the exact same thing as you in your classroom.  Therefore, it would be organized in a way that will be more effective than searching for information online.  As your site and the people that access your site grows, there could potentially be an unlimited amount of information available on each tag.  Also, it's like your looking, with all of your friends~great time saver!  Loved this concept! 

Thing #12

I thought that Rollyo was a very useful tool for students and teachers alike. This would be a great tool for teachers that assign research projects for their students as a tool to help find information and also to help them check for plagiarism. It would also give them an avenue to help students find good websites. 

Bobo's~Rollyo

Thing #11

I think that commenting on blogs creates a sense of community and interaction because basically it makes the blog interactive.  If someone is posting thoughts, and no one is there to respond, then they are essentially talking to themselves, or posting to themselves.  The interaction between the blog owner and people who post onto the blog is essential to the successfulness (and continuation) of the blog and the thoughts inside that blog.  I found other things in the articles important as well.  First, it is important to comment, but it is just as important to say something.  Not to just be a "troll".  Make sure when you comment, it's a real comment.  Also, when someone comments on your posts, try to thank them for their input.  The article points out that this is not a "rule" but it is good.  

Blogs I posted on:

Mr. T's Avatar post - 1stly because I liked his screen name, and then enjoyed what his blog said.

Bennett's post about validity of information found on the Internet because it had a stream of posts and I wanted to "add" to a discussion.

Chandler's post about Flicker.  He had a Disney pic that caught my eye~and his post was interesting.

I commented on Jane's post about her struggles with the Avatar!  She is great and I wanted to send a little encouragement her way. :)

Thing #10

Thing #9

I went to many of the search sites for blogs. I liked Google Blog the best, it was the most user friendly. Some of the search sites only gave a short listing of blogs, and some of the search sites didn't really work at all.  This is not very helpful.  There are many relevant blogs for the technology classroom and I could definitely use them in mine.  As I mentioned in a previous post, technology changes so fast, that these blogs would help to maintain current information for the students.

Thing #8

I really liked the reader tool.  It is a really neat and effective way to organize and get the information that you like to see daily.  It definitely provides and easy way for you to access information.  I think that having all of the information pages that you need to reference all in one place saves time and cutting out the clutter and ads is an added plus.  

This is a great tool personally, but could also be an effective tool, especially in a technology classroom.  The information that we present about technology, where the students could browse through on their own, could be easily accessed through this tool.  Also, technology is constantly changing so this might be a great way to be abreast of current information for them.

The school could even have a reader that provides information related to the school and community.  Or there could be a reader set up specifically to address college, etc.

Thing #7

The site that I chose was Youtube. I use this tool all the time for my classroom. I have one lesson in business law that disscusses tort crimes. I show a powerpoint in which I have linked a bunch of video clips of movies that the kids have to determine which tort is being shown. I like that I am usually not limited by the media avialable (I can find what I need). I dislike that sometimes the video clip is not the right part, or it is too long.

Thing #6

Jigsawed Jigsaw Puzzle allows you to turn any Flickr search into a series of Jigsaw puzzles. You can change the number of pieces, you can rotate it, and save the puzzle. This is a really cool mashup, that looks fun. It takes your own pictures and makes them into online puzzles that you can put together. I also liked the map mashup and the color one as well.

Thing #5

Flicker. I really enjoyed this website. I had never been to it. The pictures upload similar to Facebook though and that was familiar to me. The tags were also similar to the Facebook tagging. There are other advantages on flicker. You can join a group to share photos with that group. If you join the group, the people in that group can see your photos and you can see there's. Teachers are using Flicker to share photos and have discussions about their subject areas. This is a very cool resource for teachers!! The creative commons area is an area where you can use pictures that are not copyrighted. This is also a very cool resource which would give you a resource for images that would be easy to navigate. Cool site!

Thing 3: Creating the Blog and Avatar

The blog was pretty easy to accomplish, but the avatar was not quite as easy (even though it was fun!)  But, as a life-long learner, and my hardest habit ~ viewing problems as challenges ~ I stuck with it and was able to get her on there...wish I looked like her!

Thing 2: Life-long learning part 2

The hardest habit for me is to view problems as challenges.  I often become discouraged by problems and it takes me a while to turn them around.  Sometimes I will change my course, instead of stay it, if problems are too overwhelming for me.  This is something I need to work on as a life long learner.

Thing 2: Life-long learning

I think that life-long learning is an important concept.  I think that people learn through continuous change and interacting with people, technology, and the world around them.  

The habit that is easiest for me as a life-long learner is:setting goals and laying out the steps it will take to get me there.  It is easy for me to research and identify steps that it will take to achieve goals.