Fall Semester 2011

I love the first day of school!  All of the new students, that sense of anticipation that precedes each class, the total energy that radiates across the campus gives me a bigger buzz than any amount of caffeine ever could!  Makes me want to stand in the middle of campus and yell "Whoo Hoo!"

Happy 4th of July

Well we had a great weekend at the lake with friends.  Emily loves swimming and loved being on the boat.  She is not, however, a fan of fireworks.  She says they are too loud and they made her cry.  We took shelter in the house watching a Dora DVD.  Little Bit (our friends dog) doesn't like fireworks either.  She also doesn't usually like kids, but any port in a storm was the theme of the evening so she snuggled up against Emily and I as we sat in the hallway on the floor with the bedroom doors closed to try to decrease the intensity of the booms from the fireworks being ignited in the driveway.  And that was only Saturday night!  Of course she had to endure the booms of the neighborhood fireworks on both Sunday and Monday nights.  Sunday night they started before she fell asleep so she sat on my lap clinging to me while I stroked her hair and told her she was safe.  She finally fell asleep like that.  Monday night thankfully the neighbors didn't start shooting fireworks until Emily was asleep.  I worried that they might wake her, but she slept right through them!  We're off to the pool this afternoon.  Hopefully we won't have any thunderstorms that cause the pool to close!

Summer Update

Well I'm not taking any classes this summer so the summer seems to be passing slower than it did last year.  That is not necessarily a bad thing though!  My dad, my sister, my daughter and I just spent 5 days in the car on a family roadtrip to Blossburg PA.  That is the town where my great-great grandparents settled when they came to America from Poland at the turn of the century (that would be beginning of the 20th century not 21st!)  We don't have any relatives that live there anymore but we drove down the street where they lived, no house there anymore, and we went to the graveyard and visited their graves.  We made some fun stops on the trip there and back at the Farnsley-Mooreman Landing and Farm in Louisville, the Children's Museum in Pittsburgh and the Zoo in Cleveland.  My daughter is a great traveler and I think whined less than I did :)  However, after 5 days in the car, I feel like I'm still moving even when I'm sitting on the sofa!  All in all though it was a great trip!

Continuing to blog

Well, I did say I might blog about class related things, even though I don't know if anyone will read this since we are done with the 23 things!  BUT, I just wanted to say that I actually used LiveBinders to help me prepare my Annotated Resource Folder for my Diversity class.  It was really handy because whenever I found a source I could just put it there and then when I went to prepare my actual resource folder I had everything in one place!  The only resources I didn't have in there were actual physical books, but I probably could have put them in there too since I found them all at the university library.  I'm sure there is a way to put a source from the library catalog into livebinders, but I didn't actually think about it until I was halfway through and it seemed kind of pointless by then!  Another note about this class, I saw an example of a 'bad' powerpoint in my diversity class.  Blatant violations of the 6x6 rule as well as the rule against typing every word you say onto your slide.  At least there weren't any screeching tires when the slides changed!  For a thrilling example of that, take Dr. Kemmerly's Geology lecture!

The Last Thing

My favorite exercise was Animoto.  I liked my video so much I put it on my Facebook page!  But one of my favorite discoveries is the blog Spencer's Scratchpad.  It is written by a middle school social studies teacher and not only does it have great ideas about projects and activities in the classroom, but it is also a great source of inspiration for me and by reading blogs that he follows I have found more great blogs.  Before this project I had no interest in blogs at all.  I had never read one and had no desire to read one because I saw them as outlets for self-centered individuals who believed that they were important enough that everyone in the world would want to read their personal journal entries.  I have learned that not all blogs are like that and that many bloggers write to share useful ideas and information, not just to feed their egos.  As a teacher I will strive to incorporate as much of the Web 2.0 into my classroom as I can.  Electronic media is now the primary method of communication for kids.  Gone are the never ending phone conversations and passing notes in class.  They have been replaced by tweets and texts and online chat conversations.  I believe that in order to connect with my students, I will need to be able to talk to them in a format with which they are the most familiar.  Not to say I will be tweeting and texting my students, but I believe classroom blogs or webpages will be an important role in communicating with my students and their parents.  I realize that I am a K-6 major and if I end up teaching the lower grades the amount of technology I can use will probably be limited but that doesn't mean I can't use any.  I plan to keep up with new developments by continuing to follow the blogs and RSS feeds regarding Web 2.0.  I have found that this is the easiest way to keep up, especially through my Google Reader account.  From the information in these blogs and feeds and I hope to be able to attend webinars and other continuing ed courses regarding developments in Web 2.0.  As far as what can be done to improve this program, well, I think the Creative Commons should be moved up in the list of 23 things because I think learning about it earlier, like before the whole Flickr fiasco, would have been helpful.  Struggling to find pictures that I had permission to use would not have been such a struggle had I known about Creative Commons licenses and known how to search for them in Flickr.  Also, some of the tutorials are out of date.  The Twitter tutorial for example.  Twitter has been updated since that tutorial was made and posted on Youtube so the page that the tutorial walks you through doesn't look anything like the Twitter page I was looking at.  Where do I go from here?  I have to say that writing a resolution and posting it here in my blog will have zero affect on what I actually do.  I don't make New Year's resolutions for that very reason.  If I decide I want to do something, then I start doing it then and there and I don't wait for New Years or Monday or anything because if you really want to do it, especially if it is changing a lifelong habit, then you have to be committed enough to that change to start it right then.  If you are not that committed, you will not succeed.  That is true for me anyway.  I do check my Google Reader every time I check my e-mail, but that is not everyday.  I am rarely on the computer on the weekends because I am primarily on the computer when I am doing schoolwork and the weekends I do my best to devote to my daughter.  If I have to do schoolwork on the weekend then I am squeezing it in when she is napping or after she goes to bed at night and I don't usually bother to take the time to check e-mail or otherwise "play" on the computer.  So, I know I will not post anything to my blog on a daily basis.  Now, that may change when I am teaching if I have a classroom blog and make maintaining the blog a part of my work schedule.  In the meantime, I will try to post to my blog when something noteworthy occurs and I will keep up with the blogs of my classmates, assuming any of them continue their blogs.  I think it will be a good source for ideas and support after this class is over.
So my fellow classmates, I hope to see you in the blogosphere!

Thing #23

Under 'credits' on the right side of the screen of the 23 Things page you will find:

Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0 - 23 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.

This is the attribution that shows our 23 Things blog was based on someone elses work and modified from the original.

As a teacher I can use the Creative Commons licensing to share work that I create.  I can also use it to find photos, images, lesson plans, games and other teaching tools that other people have created and shared under a Creative Commons license.  By using Creative Commons works it is easier to be certain that you are not violating anyone's copyrights because the Creative Commons license tells you how you may and may not use the work.

Thing #22 LiveBinders

So I created three binders.  One that is called Administrative where I can keep all things related to the administrative side of my class.  A copy of my gradebook, lists of things I need for class and where I can get them, notes about students or other items that pertain to the everyday operation of  my classroom.  I would not share this binder.  The other two binders I would share.  One is a lesson plans and activities binder.  I would share this with other teachers.  The other is a social studies games binder which I would share with my students and other teachers.  Here is my games binder

Social Studies games

I could use LiveBinders in my classroom to share games but I could also use it to share assignments or reading lists or online activities like a webquest or a Google Earth activity.  Students could use a LiveBinder if they were doing research online by using the LiveBinder It button.  Then I could go check their binders and let them know if their source is good or not.  I'll be teaching elementary school so that might be something that would work better in middle or high school classes.

Thing #21 Animoto

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
I like this so much I'm going to share it on my Facebook page!  This was so much fun and so very easy I could definitely get hooked on making these videos especially since you can use videos as well as still photos because my husband bought me a digital video camera for Christmas.  I might have to upgrade from the free version so I can make some awesome videos of Emily.  I think this was my favorite thing!

Thing #20 Youtube

I chose this video because I think the kids sound amazing and I love how much they get into their music.  I also like the fact that many of them seem to be using ASL as they sing. I think that is truly awesome!  I found this video by searching "elementary school students" just to see what would turn up.  I found another cool video for kids about Healthy Eating Decisions and how to choose good food during lunch at the school cafeteria.  I like it, but it didn't give me goosebumps and the singing kids did!  The thing I like about Youtube is also the thing I dislike about it and that is the fact that anyone can upload anything to it.  You have to be careful about what you type in your search phrase!  I also like the suggestions that pop up when you find a video you like.  I think this is an easy way to find related videos.  I also like the subscribe feature.  I think that it would be neat if a school library website could have "suggestions" for books that are similar to ones that you like and if you could subscribe to a certain author or genre and get updates when a new book comes in that matches what you like.

Thing #19 Social Networks

I guess they are social networks because if they were anti-social no one would want to talk to anyone else.  But I digress.  Am I a member of any online communities?  Yes.  I am a member of Facebook.  My community is small, consisting of family and a few friends and that's the way (uh-huh uh-huh) I like it (uh-huh uh-huh).  I am now also a member of TeacherPop along with everyone else who has ever taken, or will ever take this class.  Are any of these social networks appealing to you (me)?  Well, I checked out Fuzzster because I like pets, but I couldn't really figure out what it's purpose is.  Is it a dating site for dogs?  Maybe a dating site for pet owners?  The profiles are written from the animal's perspective "Petunia the Pig is here to make other pet friends."  Really?  Did Petunia type that herself?  I guess it's not all that strange.  I used to joke about writing a letter to Purina from my dog: "Dear Purina Beneful, my mom is helping me write this because I am a dog and I don't have any thumbs..."  but I never actually wrote it.  I  have veered off track yet again.  So I like the idea of TeacherPop but as far as I can tell the only people on there are APSU students.


Visit TeacherPop

I plan to check in there occasionally to see if any teachers have posted anything.    What did I find that was interesting that I might use later?  I liked Shelfari, although I haven't joined it.  I think it is a really cool network because you can join an existing group that focuses on a subject you enjoy reading and you can create a group of your own.  As a teacher I could create a Shelfari group for my students and post books that they are supposed to read and discuss or let them post books that they have read and enjoyed. 

Thing #18 has me all 'atwitter'

Like many of my classmates, I already had a Facebook page before this class started.  My page is as unpublic as I can make it and still use it.  I really don't want the whole wide world to have access to my life.  I don't publish that much on Facebook.  I mainly use it to post pictures of my daughter so friends and family can see her.  It's also been a good way to keep in touch with people I had lost track of,  like my best friend from Junior High.  Anyway, I won't be posting a link to my Facebook page to this blog but I will post a link to my Twitter page.Twitter  I never used Twitter until this class.  Honestly I'm not sure you can say I've actually used Twitter since I've never Tweeted.  I am a Twitter eavesdropper.  I follow people and listen in on their conversations but so far have not been inspired to join in.  I think Twitter is designed for people with smart phones that can connect to the internet and post highly urgent information like "I really want a Starbucks right now".  I don't have a smart phone.  I guess it's not completely stupid, it can take pictures and send text messages.  I suppose it could connect to the internet if I ever tried to figure it out but I've never felt the need to be that tied to the web.  So, why is it important that educators know how social networking works?  Well, because our students live by social networking.  They don't pass notes on paper in class, they send tweets or text messages.  Students pass gossip around on Facebook and instead of drawing insulting cartoons of one another, post embarrasing photos and videos.  It is important for educators to know how social networking works because we will need to know how to use these aspects of student culture as assets to our teaching.  Not that we need to friend all of our students on our personal Facebook pages, but a classroom page might not be a bad thing and could possibly be used to build classroom unity.  What new insights did I gain about these sites?  Hmmm.  Well I'm not sure I gained any new insights about Facebook and everything about Twitter was new to me.  What did I like and dislike.  Well I like the fact that Facebook lets you post photos and videos and that you can limit who can see your page.  I like the fact that Twitter is such a quick and easy way to get the word out.  Not that every tweet is newsworthy, but many are and the fact that you can get them on your phone (if you so choose) can make them very useful. As for which site has the most useful features I think that depends on what you want to do.  If you just want to send a quick message then I think Twitter is the most useful.  If you want to share photos or more than 140 characters of information, then Facebook is more useful.  I believe that these sites could be used in the classroom or school.  The more popular twitter becomes the more likely it may be to replace texts for emergency notifications.  And as I mentioned earlier in this now very lengthy post, a classroom Facebook page could be useful.  Students are likely chatting with each other on Facebook already so they could use the classroom page to discuss homework and since it's a classroom page the teacher would also be on the page and have the ability to answer questions or even post notices to the class about upcoming assignments or special events.

Thing #17

So my experience with delicious is that the tutorial is way out of date and the page that you get doesn't look anything like the page on the tutorial which for me made the tutorial rather pointless.  So I stumbled around and figured out how to find other users comments and tags at which time I noticed that most of those are rather outdated too with only one or two from this year.  But enough with the negativity already!  Sorry.  Maybe its the weather.  Or maybe its because I'm doing homework on Spring Break!  I can see how delicious can be quite useful.  The fact that you can save all of your bookmarks there and access them from any computer could come in quite handy.  It is good that you have the option of making your bookmark private because I'm not sure all of my bookmarks need to be shared.  I think this could be useful for sharing information with colleagues as well as with students.  If you created a class page, like the APSU23things page, it could be used by the students to bookmark and share websites for a class project.  It would be interesting if another class somewhere else in the world was working on a similar project and the students could share bookmarks on a topic.  Social studies, math, reading, science.  I think it could be used in any subject.  I think the ability to get the viewpoint of someone from outside of the US would be a great contribution.  I've been studying for my diversity midterm, does it show?

Thing #16

I chose the iGoogle start page because I have so many things in Google now.  I actually already have something similar with Yahoo called myYahoo so I don't know if I will make iGoogle my permanent home page.  I didn't use Google for anything other than searching until this class so everything else I have is through Yahoo.  Because I've already set up two online calendars in Google, and because Remember the Milk was a web site I blogged about earlier, I chose to make a to do list with Remember the Milk.  At first I couldn't figure out how to add a new task because I kept looking for a calendar but then I realized that all I have to do is type in the name of the task and when it's due, like Wednesday at 3:00 and it puts it right in.  The other thing I like about this is the option to share tasks.  I think this could come in handy with my husband because he can put the Remember the Milk app on his iphone and I can send him things like dates and times for our daughter's doctor's appointments.   Exploring some of the other tools I found Chalksite which is designed for teachers to use in the classroom.  It lets teachers create a class website, and lets teachers and parents communicate as well as allowing students to chat about homework.  It's pretty cool I think.  I would recommend Remember the Milk and Chalksite to other people. 

Thing #15 wiki wiki wiki

The word wiki reminds me of an old '80s song.  So ways to use a wiki, it seems to me that wikis are great tools for collaborating so any group project might lend itself to a wiki.  My only question is, can you limit who has the authority to change things on the wiki?  Or can anyone from the public edit every wiki?  If I were going to use a wiki as a classroom tool, I would definitely want to be sure that only my students and I could edit it.  I like the fact that you can create links to other pages so you don't end up with one document full of so much information that you can't find what you need.  I have to say the only limitation I can see with most of these School 2.0 tools is the students access to computers and the internet.  I've observed in two classrooms so far, one in public school, first grade and the other a private school.  The private school had laptops the students could use.  The public school had a few computers in one corner of the classroom but I never saw them in use.  There were more students than there were computers so I don't know how they would use them unless they break in to groups.

Thing #14 A map of mind, in case I get lost

So I've often said that of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most and I guess I've been lost in thought, but I never knew I could make a map of my mind!  I chose bubbl.us to make my mind map because I didn't have to pick a shape or tell it to connect the bubbles, it just did it.  It was simple and I like how it doesn't need you to already know how you want your thoughts connected so it really is like brainstorming.  For the flowchart I chose gliffy, primarily because I didn't have to wait for an invitation to use it.  For me using gliffy was a lot like creating a flowchart in PowerPoint.  The whole flowchart gives me flashbacks to my Army days and I'm really not a fan of them.  It's like creating an outline with figures and I'm not good at outlining, which I find odd, but anyway my brain tends to dump data and I need to get it all out and look at it and then I can organize it.  Now if I can just figure out how to add GPS...

Thing #13

So I created a document in both Zoho and Google Docs and I think they were equally easy to use.  I tried to use the post to blog function in Zoho and my computer froze. Now whether that is a Zoho issue or an issue with my computer I don't know but either way I couldn't get that to work. But here is the link to the Google Doc I'll try to link the Zoho doc now.  Zoho The one bad thing is I  had to make the document public so I'm not sure this would be the best way to share a document.  The other option is to create a group of people with all of their e-mail addresses.  Based on the  limited use I have with both programs, I favor Google Docs.  Even though the Zoho screen puts more things right at your finger tips, the actually functional use after you create the document seemed easier in Google Docs.  I haven't every actually shared a document with anyone on Google Docs so I'm not 100% certain how it works but I think that you can actually collaborate in real time.  That would be really neat if you are working on a project together but can't be at the same location.  Students could work on a group project without having to physically be in the same location.  As a teacher, I could get input from other teachers on anything from a lesson plan to an idea for class activity.

Thing #12

So I explored some more Google tools and created a calendar, actually two calendars, and a Picasa photo album.  One of my calendars is mine so it's private. The other one is 'school projects' and it's public.  I actually have two Picasa albums as well.  One was apparently created when I made my photo mosaic and the other is the one I created for this thing.  The public photo album is in memory of Cosmo and has just six photos of him.  In part because a lot of the pictures I have of him, especially as a puppy, are actual photographs (you remember those don't you?  Put film in a camera, take photos, take film in to be developed) so I can't put them on unless I scan them which is on my list of things to do some day when I have free time.  I know, try not to fall off your chair laughing!  But I digress.  I found both the calendar the the Picasa album to be very simple to use.  I like the fact that you can create as many calendars as you like and choose to keep them private, make them completely public or share them with just selected people.  I could use the calendar to post deadlines and give the web address to parents and students so everyone could keep track of what is due when.  Here's a link to the calendar.  I can use the photo album for class projects or to post photos of a class event since I can share the photos without making them completely public.  Here's a link to the photo album.  Now I hope that my links will still work on Monday. 

Thing #11

The easiest way for me to find a feed was actually by reading blogs I am already following.  I got two really good feeds that way.  I found another feed by simply typing a keyword in the Google Reader's search and I found two more from Google Reader's recommended feeds list.  Topix was interesting because it pulled up everything related to Clarksville, and for me Syndic8 was the most confusing.  I wasn't sure how to actually add any of the feeds to my account because I didn't see the Google icon on the page.  I found two great feeds that deal with parenting and I found a feed that is kind of like a quote of the day but instead of just some random quotes it actually relates a quote to a current idea or topic.  Newsfeeds can be found on most websites and on Yahoo! or Google.  I think the best way to find a feed that you will be interested in is from websites you already like or from blogs you enjoy.

Thing #10

I like the fact that Google Reader keeps all of the things I'm following, blogs and feeds, in one place.  I don't have to go to blogspot to read the blogs I'm following, I can do it right from Google Reader and all of my blogs were already there!  In the classroom I could probably use this to keep up with a specific event for a social studies class or I could use it to follow blogs from other teachers that  I find interesting and helpful.  In my personal life I could use it to keep up with news and events as well as just following blogs I find interesting.  Teachers could use RSS in the classroom by letting students create their own 'newspaper' with feeds that the class finds interesting and that relate to subjects being taught.

Thing #9

ImageChef.com

I chose ImageChef because I liked all of the variety and because it was very easy for me to use.  The hardest part was thinking up something to type into the sample photo.  My brain is too tired to be very creative right now, so I went with more 'useful' captions.  All I had to do was pick an image, type in a word or phrase and then click preview so the process was very simple.  The highway sign photo I simply pasted into the blog so I'm curious to see if it stays after I post this or if it disappears like my first mosaic mashup did.  The other two photos I saved to my desktop and then uploaded so I hope they stay.
I chose these three images because I could see myself using them in the classroom. The road sign could be used to post a goal for the students, the searchlight could be used to present a spotlighted topic or word, and the Walk of Fame Star could be used as a reward for a student who has done something outstanding.  These images can be printed or incorporated into a slideshow for a classroom presentation.  In my personal life I could use some of the other images on the website to make cards or announcements or signs to hang on my daughter's door.