Summary

Where do I start? This activity has opened so many doors...from Google Docs to creating my own aviatar. The blogs, wikis, and podcasts will be used in the future in my classroom. I have networked on Twitter, eblogger, and FaceBook making new connections in the world of education.

I've enjoyed this assignment due to wide variety of things it has offered me to learn thoughout the class. I do wish more time could be devoted to each of the lessons to provide more insight and "playtime" to learn and experiment.

This lesson also reinforces the concept of life long learning.

Thing #23

The attribution that I found was the credits given to various people and projects listed on the blog:http://apsu23things.blogspot.com/2008/08/thing-23.html
I also noticed that at the very end of the page the site had a "Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License"

"Credits
Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0 - 23 Things, a staff development program for the Mesquite Independent School District. That program was based on the Learning 2.0 program that was designed by Helene Blowers and adapted by the California School Library Association and others. Content and style for Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers has been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Commons License." (Taken from the APSU 23 things website http://apsu23things.blogspot.com/2008/08/23-things.html)


It is amazing of how many licenses there are...I can use the Creative Commons licensing to find and share ideas with others legally.

Thing #22

I listened to the Walt Disney World podcast in Mevio. I found that the easiest directory for me to use was Podcastdirectory.com. The podcasts were broken down into more categories and the search function was easy to navigate. It took me a few tries to find the podcast that I was looking for, but as I became more familar with the site the easier it became. Since, I like to keep up-to-date with travel destinations, I subscribed to the Walt Disney podcast so I will know what's going on the next time we go.

I chose the Walt Disney podcast in order to let others know that it is a wonderful place for a vacation, even for those teens! I vacationed there with my family two years ago and found that it was just perfect for a family vacation!

I would like to create a podcast with my students this year...maybe over a Social Studies topic.

Thing #21

Animoto makes it easy to create video clip and add music to it...Flickr did about the same application, however I found Animoto to be easier to use. I would prefer more music selection on the site, of course it gives you the option of loading your own. This could be used to introduce a "hook" to the students.

Thing #20

I do not like the search feature in YouTube...pictures that shouldn't be in a certain category show up (some very inappropriate. I feel that YouTube would be a great way of finding educational videos, I noticed a lot of "School House Rock" videos posted. Educators will have to preview the videos and also listen to lyrics of any music that occupanies the video.

You can insert appropriate videos for easy access for teaching activities. A library would be a great way of organizing the videos.

The videos that I chose were ones I have used YouTube to post.

Thing #19

I am a member of these online communities: FaceBook, MySpace, Blogger, Twitter, Skype,TeacherPop and Classroom 2.0 at this present time. I really like Facebook and TeacherPop the most out of the social networks I have joined. I can use any of these sites as collaboration networks to continue "lifetime" learning. I am still a little skeptical about allowing students to use these sites, however I know that they could learn a lot about the world around them by using these sites.

Thing #18

Write a blog post about your experience that addresses these questions. Why is it important that educators know how social networking works? What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored? Which site had the most useful features? Can you see a classroom or school application for any of these sites?
It is important for educators to know how to use social networking sites, so that they may collaboarate with other educators. I liked Facebook the most; it was easier to navigate, add to my blog, and edit. I noticed that My Space was more set up as a dating network, than a "learning" network. I feel that Facebook would benefit educators more than My Space. I also feel that this would be better utilized as a "teacher" networking site than being used in the classroom, due to privacy issues.

Thing #17

The social bookmarking site Del.icio.us could be used in the classroom to tagg important sites for easy use by both students and teachres. It can be accessed from anywhere and subscribing to RSS feeds keeps you updated with changes. Teachers can use social networking bookmarks to share new ideas and sites with other teachers across the country.

Thing #16

I choose iGoogle start page. This one appealed to me more due to the easy access of adding my e-mail, blogs, and other widgets I have on Google. This will be my permanent homepage so I can get all my information and look at my calendar quickly. Online claendars can be accessed anywhere and edited at any computer, reminders can be programmed so important dates are not missed. As far as the to-do lists, I am more of a paper list person, so I found it more work making short lists online. I can use all of these tools at school and at home and would recommend the start page for anyone who likes to keep up with what they are interested in.

Thing #15

Wikis are fun to use. I added my blog comment to Exploring Web 2.0 on the APSU Wiki! It was easy just copy from the blog and paste into the Wiki. I can see a lot of uses for Wikis in the classroom. Students from each class can comment or create information on a Wiki for others in the class to see at a later time. The Wiki is easy to use and easy to edit.

Thing #14

I chose the Bubbl.us mind map, which looked like a cool sight for brainstorming. It was easy to log in and create an account, save and export the image.

I made a brainstorm bubble using colors as my focus for the brainstorming. It was easy to use, I really think students would love this brainstorming site.

FlowChart.com is the site I used to create the flow chart. The program gives you a lot of choices: colors, size, style, and templates. It only gives you the option to save to a png or a pdf, which I found limiting for those programs that only take bitmap or jpeg files.

Thing #4

Commenting on blogs links people together by a common thread. People like to have their voices heard, (shy or not) and instead of talking face-to-face about subjects, many people feel more confident just writing out their thoughts and ideas.

The comments that people make will hopefully will let others know "they are in the same boat", or open their eyes up to other ways of thinking about things. In the "Cool Cat Blog" it comments on commenting and how important to discuss things. I found this to be so true. Problems are not solved overnight and sometimes need a broader outlook for a solution to be found, and solutions are easier to find by collaborating with others.

I have commented on several classmate's blogs, because I either agreed with their blog or found something on their blog that interested me.

Posting on blogs is a great way to let others know how you view the topic which makes it a better collaboration rule.

Thing #12

Google tools can be very helpful not only in your personal life, but also in education. You can use the reader to organize all of your RSS feeds, the calendar to keep up with busy schedules, the alerts to keep you up-to-date by RSS feeds or e-mail. Any of these tools can be used in classrooms...the calendar may be a way of helping an unorganized student to become more organized (no missing agendas!) and the alerts could be a great research tool for research papers that require new information.

The link to my calendar: http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=yc&gsessionid=XopMH-d7I5jHlrCXjDXQ8w

I created a "Nashville" news alert and then created an alert for "Education"which are both linked to my RRS feed.

Thing #11

After exploring several of the search tools I found that the site Technorati for me was easier to find RSS feeds. It broke the feeds down into more categories than Google. However, I am more familiar with using "Google" so it feels more comfortable to use "Google Blog Search" than the Technorati search.

In my search I found feeds to new technology, news, and education sites. I also just tried using a "google" search for RSS feeds which after weeding through a few sites found "RSS Locator." You have to type in what you are looking for and the listings are not listed by categories.

Cool if you go to the "Google Blog Search" and type in "school library learning 2.0" it sends you to the L2.0 website and thing #11!

Thing #10

I like the ability to see updates instantly; this is a great way of keeping up with what is going on in the world, and new technologies as they are designed. You can find up-to-date teaching ideas, information to improve teaching and learning. Teachers can use the RRS feeds to show students how fast things change!

I was even able to link this blog site with the Google Reader! Now I can stay up todate in one location!

Thing #9

These image generators would be a great way to motivate students, you could use these as stickers, make classroom signs, and just be creative! I began my image experience with a construction sign, I changed the text to define what is usually meant by the word "detour".here is the URL to the sight I used http://www.customsigngenerator.com/

Thing #8

I began my experiment with trying out Mappr; which apparently no longer works with Flickr so I chose Splashr to make a presentation using photos from Flickr.

This site would be great to organize classroom pictures, share pictures in various presentations, and be a great thechnology learning tool for the classroom. Students could make a timeline using pictures. I also checked out "Spell with Flickr" this website would be great to use to introduce letters to younger students.

As stated before, I do not like sharing photos publicly online, they can be edited and be posted in other forms. Posting this particular link was confusing, I did not see anywhere else to past the URL to show it on the blog.

http://splashr.com/show/reflect1/39404339@N06/cumberland,flower,memorial/25/

Thing # 3

After looking at the Edublog Insights link, I found more ways of using the blogger site. I was surprised with the numerous ways of using a blog other than just collaborating with others. I liked the idea of teacher reflection on a blog, others can give insight to your reflection and open your eyes to a new way of thinking.

The literature circle and connecting with other classes would be a great asset in teaching Language/Reading to students instead of traditional methods.

Thing #7

Using Flickr was easier than I first originally thought it would be. It was simple to upload pictures, find our group, and naviagate around the website. This is a great tool for sharing, editing, and storing pictures online.

The simple set up of the website allows the navigator to navigate, find help, and use the site quickly and effectively. I found this website to be a new tool that I could use to share photos with my family, friends, and co-workers.

I could use this website to introduce pictures of items to help students visualize a place. I do however feel that some pictures should not be presented on a public website. People need some privacy in their lives (even though in today's society cameras are everywhere), there are just some things that need to stay private.

Thing #6

After exploring the Web 2.0 Award list, I decided to try out a few different sites instead of just one. I began with Pandora, which is a great sight to find music that is similar to what you may already listen too. "Twitter" great communication site..My son an I now both "Twitter" and are able to connect with others and find out new interesting ideas and people. Of course, I explored several of the sites that I already use in the classroom (there is always something new they are adding to a site) Google Maps and Google Earth are my favorites and are great tools to use in the classroom to show places that otherwise students may never see.

Thing #5

After reading the article, "Professional Development and Web 2.0 I begin to think about inservices that I had attended and realized that technology was not addressed in most of the trainings. I feel that due to "budgets" and "the fear of some to change" has left professional development out of the "Technology" loop. I feel that technology should be addressed in every content area and that professional development should also contain a component that addresses some form of technology in the classroom.

Thing #2

Wow, this was a challenge...I mean creating an avatar. I changed my avatar so many times and lost track of time. I love Starbucks and during the summer I am a easy going casual person, who loves sandals! The avatar looks as close to me as I could possibly create with the program.

Creating the blog was no problem once I sat down and devoted time to the project. This is a great way of communicating with others! I have learned to edit a lot!

I love technology so that's were I came up with the blog name "TechTeachFoote" and of course I love teaching so I couldn' t leave that off...

Thing #1

My goal is to learn more about podcasts for the classroom. Using podcasts in the classroom would be a great way for students to get more involved in their learning!