Thing #24

To be honest, I expected  this exercise to be very difficult and that I would not actually enjoy it. I was so wrong! I loved many of the new things I have learned about, particularly how to write a blog. My favorite exercises were probably learning about calendars, RSI feeds, blogging and ways to compile all off my information in one location. I found that all of these directly influence my future career. The best part is I never would have thought to use any of these things before this class. I never had the slightest clue about technology, and almost zero desire to learn about it. Doing these 23 things changed my opinion on many things about the internet, and I am glad that I know about so many new and free sources of information out there that I can really put to use inside of my classroom.

Thing #23

On the about page of 23 things it says that it is based on Learning 2.0-23 Things. And that idea in turn was based off of Abram's article 43 Things I (or you) might want to do this year and the website 43Things.

Creative commons takes the fear out of using information off of the internet. Creative commons is a copyright free zone, publishers of work offer up their ideas with no penalty for someone else using them, basically relinquishing their own rights. I believe it is a fantastic thing for the teaching community and the learning community alike.

Thing #22

Half of this semester I have been scrambling for a way to keep up with the large amounts of work that seem to continue piling up in front of me. But how can you organize such a vast amount of data. It is simply too much. That is why I love livebinders. Things may be hectic right now, but at least I know when I am a teacher a site like this can have my back and keep me organized. The three sections I developed are web 2.0 tools, strategies, and experiments. The last one is just for fun. I plan on having all of my students do experiments and it will be great to have a source that I can pull from for in class experiments. I really love this site for teachers and college students alike. I believe I will begin using this next semester to keep me a bit more organized.

Thing #21

Old friends is the video I made on Animoto. I absolutely loved the layouts you could use for this. The layout that I picked gave a very old nostalgic look to many of the photos which made the perfect theme for these pictures. It is a very easy to use program, and I can see children using something like this as a side part to a powerpoint presentation they would be doing for an experiment. Perhaps it could be used for the pictures of their procedure. I may even use this myself for future science projects of my own.

Thing #20

I do not know if a college student exists who does not love Youtube. Likewise I don't know any children who wouldn't love it. I believe that Youtube is a site that children would be happy to visit if they were told to by a teacher. I am currently in an online course that sometimes requires 30 minute videos on youtube, and I have to say that I love coming home to write discussions on those. The video I put below is one of my favorites from a teacher that shares my opinion about youtube. This is one of many videos he has on the lessons he teaches to his sixth grade class. These videos serve as a study guide for children in a fun way that will make children enjoy learning about even the phases of the moon and tides.

http://youtu.be/HkvlrWpsnuQ

Thing # 19

Previous to this, I was not a member of any online teacher based social networking. I am now currently a member of teacherpop though, and I do like the idea of teachers coming together sharing ideas and providing feedback to one another. I think that this creates a community of learning, and provides the ability for new teachers to use lessons that have already been tested and approved. There were a few other sites that interested me besides teacher pop. As an avid reader, I enjoyed goodreads.com and I really love Yelp. Yelp is such a great site to explore the area that you are in. I plan to move out of Tennessee when I become a teacher. Yelp is a fantastic way to learn the hotspots of the area in order to fit into that community better.

Thing #18

I know I am going to sound like a stick in the mud here, but I do not think that it is a good idea to have the children in my middle school classroom using facebook or twitter. I think it is a great way to stay in touch with other educators inside of the school system, though. You can stay up to date on all the things going on inside of the school, and gain many new opportunities a teacher might miss out on with it, like conferences being held, or learning or team-building exercises that may be taking place on the weekend. I think it is a way to stay in touch with the community as well. Knowing what is going on in your community, can only strengthen your understanding of what students may be going through in their school lives.
Now, as to the children. When I was a child, I got grounded. I got grounded a great deal. Facebook and myspace were off limits at all costs. In fact, myspace was one of the things that would get me into trouble. Do I want to put my children in a compromising position because of my actions? No. Do I override the parents saying they cannot access a social webpage? No. There are too many risks that could hinder the education of my students. I would not take that risk. Instead, I would prefer to sign them onto a blog where I could post all manner of entertaining things having to do with our class sessions, and not be at fault for anything that occurs on a social site like facebook. Also, they would not have an excuse as to why they could not do their work, unlike with facebook where they could say their father or mother would not allow them to access it.

Thing #17

When I first got onto this site, I did not care for it in the slightest. I did not understand it. I say that only to say this. I do understand now. There are so many new emerging parts of technology that I did not understand. But once I actually understood what to do, I loved it! I think it is a great resource for new and emerging technologies used inside of the classrooms, and a great way to find lesson plans and stay up to date on the newest advances in education.
You could create a selection of links for the children to guide them to useful sites for a class project, such as the ones we do in here. You could also have your students create their own set of links and have them explain the importance of them with regards to their learning. You can also create and bookmark a group of images that can be used by the children in your class as a set of review notes for quizzes and tests.
On Rachel Funderburk's site she mentioned Pinterest. I think this is a great option for teachers of any level. This site has so many useful ideas from how to decorate your classroom to how to teach difficult topics and effective classroom management techniques. It is truly a remarkable resource for teachers.

Thing #16

I would like to start this article off with a side point. I have learned a valuable lesson in this exercise. Even if there is a link for it, things are still very difficult to locate on the internet. I felt like I was in a scavenger hunt. Kiko shut down. Others you had to pay to use. Backpack's site has switched to Basecamp. I almost gave up and went back to trusty google, but I convinced myself to try something new. In the end, I really am glad that I did.
Once I found the new site by Backpack called Basecamp, I decided I loved it more than my google calendar. Much more! You can click on certain items and invite others to join that event. It allows you to create an item to accomplish and asks if there is an ending date you would like to set for the completion of that item (great for projects). It has many little gadgets like this, and the ease of use surpasses even google calendars, which is difficult in my opinion. The to do lists...these I found less useful. I am happy with a list to accomplish these things, or using my calendar for them. I do not see the need for a separate tool for it.
I think the calendars have great use inside of the classroom, particularly basecamp. I believe that having all teachers use this would help facilitate faculty schedules and remind teachers of upcoming dates for standards tests and TCAP tests, and parent nights at the school. If used by students, it could be like an nline planner. They could all log on to the teacher's calendar and check due dates and things during the class. I can see many uses for it.

Thing #15

Oh those wacky wikis. I think there are many useful ways to use a wiki, but I do not believe I would use it inside of my classrooms. I do believe it would be a helpful teacher collaboration tool where teachers within a school district can combine their resources and creative activities used within the classroom. I do like the sandbox feature that allows you to edit posts and play around with all of the tools. But I do not believe I would use this tool inside of the classroom with so many other tools at my disposal.

Thing #14

I can not tell you how tired of powerpoints I am after years of using them on every presentation I have had. I just get so tired of creating bullet point after bullet point. I love the flow charts and the venn diagrams offered by gliffy. I think the venn diagrams would be a great way to explain the three kingdoms plantae, animalia, and fungi, without having to do another powerpoint presentation that they may zone out of. The venn diagrams would be a great way to explain the evolution of a particular animal, which would be so fantastic. It actually goes hand in  hand with a project I had written on a recent unit plan. I like this idea better than what I previously had down. I will definitely be making use of these kind of tools in my future classroom. This is one of my favorite links so far, since I can use it in my other classes right now!

Thing #13

My name is Amber, and I am a google-aholic. So I almost felt like I was betraying google docs when I tried out zoho.com. I really do like zoho.com though. It is simple and it does not get turned into a document by mistake, which was an issue when I first started using google docs.
https://projects.zoho.com/portal/lawamb12/newlogin.do#dashboard/561755000000014017

I am a huge fan of google docs though, and prefer it to many other forms of communication, particularly among peers. There are slight kinks to work out while using it, but once I get online and start typing with four different people in an online meeting chat section while we plan how to do the assignment on the google doc, it just all makes sense. It is so much easier to meet online and coordinate each others hectic schedules. So overall, while I like zoho, I wouldn't switch from docs for it.

Thing #12

Google Calendar and Google Translate were the two tools I chose to view. Google translate is a resource that can be used to aide in communication with ESL learners. This could be particularly helpful in areas such as Arizona and California where there are many ESL students who you will need to find ways to communicate with inside of your classroom.
Google Calendars is one of the coolest tools I have seen on Google. I use a written planner that only has five slots to write appointments in per day, and I have to reference it constantly. With Google Calendar I can add in all of my appointments of the day. I can even become more organized by arranging specific time periods to complete each of my tasks in to keep me on track. Best of all, I do not have to constantly reference. As long as I am logged in to my gmail account, reminders will pop up thirty minutes before my next task is set to begin.

Thing #11

Topix.net is the devil. I have no idea why a search on blekko turns into a search engine for blekko leading to sites like onlinefinancedegree.com. I just wanted a blog. I came away confused and unhappy. I could navigate it if I tried, I realize. But when there are so many other great sources out there, I can not figure out why I would bother with a more complicated one. Just as always, it seems, Google comes through again. I am beginning to think that the innovative minds at Google Inc. are actually just a large group of wizards in pointy hats performing magic spells on computers. Whether it's geniuses or magicians, Google still steals my heart in all forms of web surfing to date.
When searching for middle school teacher blogs, Google gave me some wonderful blogs on Middle school madness, both the hormone raging sort of madness of middle school teens, and the madness that arises around halloween and middle school dances. Technorati gave me school shootings.. I can't say there is very much of a challenge. Google. For the win.

Thing #10

I enjoy how user friendly RSS and newsreaders are. All of the information is at your fingertips and only a click away. Searching for topics through a google search has always been the easiest way to access information, and it holds true in a blog search on Google Reader as well. I also like the spontaneous updates. I spend so much time checking the three different email sites I have, and all five class listings to make sure that no one has written anything I need to know about. If only my D2L classlist and emails could be set up as a newsreader. It would simplify my life a great deal. However, realistically, I do not think I would use them inside of my personal life. I just do not have enough interesting information to share with others. Not yet anyway. Once I have been teaching a few years, I feel that I may be able to pass on my experience to others.
Still, RSS feeds for blogs would have their uses inside of a classroom, as long as you can find the time in your classroom for make appropriate use of them. I would think they would be useful tools at determining how best to go about teaching your students, particularly in the first year teaching at a new school. You can learn from what other teachers are doing in that school year and how students are reacting to it. Figure out which experiments children are learning the most from, and the most effective ways of implementing STEM in a school. The best use I can think of would be to set up your own blog, and have your children subscribe to it. They could check it at night to see if you had posted anything new. It updates automatically, so they wouldn't have to search for any new information, just go straight to the RSS. I believe that this is something easy to accomplish, and it makes life easier in the long run. Who wouldn't want that?  

Thing #9

                                                             
This is one of the images I created on Image chef. I had so much fun creating these. I really love this application, but hated that I could not use much of the sites, as they redirected you to a paypal screen. I think it is a great way to engage students in learning about technology. Getting children excited about learning, can be difficult at times. The issue is finding something that interest them, and gets them motivated and involved in their own learning process.
I believe that applications like this can be used in libraries as a way to entertain children in a way that can be beneficial to their learning. It is so much better than playing solitaire, or finding a way to bypass the library system to get on facebook. Besides that, learning about science can be boring at times for children. Creating little jokes like this can get them learning about the planets, just to joke about it on here. I think it would be a very effective teaching strategy if used appropriately.    

                                

Thing #8

          
            Applications can be fun and simple for children of all ages. The picture above is a perfect example of this. A simple application like this can be used to create fun posters for around the classroom, or for the students to use to create their own name labels for which seat they will sit in while in your classroom. It is a simple and interactive way to introduce students to technology.
Many of the applications could be useful inside of a classroom. Adding pictures to certain locations could be used inside of a geography or science classroom. In helping understand how geographical landforms influence weather conditions, children could put the corresponding pictures over the correct location.
In my personal life, I will probably not use flickr though. Although I do appreciate other people's pictures and photography, I would not add in my own. I do not feel comfortable with others looking at my photographs. I feel that they are personal, and should only be shared with those who I am close to.

Thing #7

 


This picture expresses what I want to do as a teacher. I want my children to be inspired. While inside the class I want to foster a relationship with my students offers a chance to grow, blossom, and flourish. As a naturalist, I enjoy the idea of inspiration occurring outdoors in a peaceful and prosperous environment.
I love the expressive nature of photographs, but do not believe that I will use them very much inside of my classroom. While great for certain subjects, I just can not see the need for them in a science classroom as much as other web 2.0 tools. As a teacher, I only have so much time to use inside of the class, and I am not sure that sites like flickr would be the best use of my time.
I have never used a site like this or any other. I am not entirely comfortable with such a large group of people capable of seeing my pictures.I am not very artistic, and I do not think other people would enjoy seeing the pictures from my 22nd birthday. For me, I believe expressive writing on blogs would be my art form of choice. I do believe that inside an art class, or perhaps explaining symbolic meanings in an English class, that this would be very helpful though. It just is not my particular cup of tea.

Thing #6

I absolutely love GameClassroom! It has so many fun games for Math and Language Arts, and even lesson plans, videos, and worksheets. It is like an entire class set up in one location. The only thing I would change is the grade levels. It is set up for K-6, but I believe children at any grade level would enjoy this. When I was in middle school, I spent most of my computer time on solitaire. These games are far more fun than solitaire and have the potential to actually teach children something.
Inside of a school, I would put a site like this to work, particularly in the cases of gifted individuals or individuals who are having difficulties grasping a certain concept. Gifted individuals can begin learning more complex concepts, while feeling like they are not being punished with more difficult or boring work. Likewise, individuals who may be having difficulties also should not feel as though they are being punished for not understanding something. By giving them a fun game like the ones in the funbrain arcade, they can get comfortable with a difficult concept without fearing the assignment, and taking joy in independently learning a concept.

Thing #5

I remember going to the library when I was in elementary school to find a book on cool science projects. I remember asking my parents who Shakespeare was, what perfume was made of, and wondering how to pronounce the word "awry". As children, we had an unending curiosity about the world around us, and soaked up information like sponges. The only problem I had back then, was getting the answers for all of my questions.
For me, School 2.0 means the ability to constantly learn and further your knowledge and understanding. Have a question but don't have an encyclopedia? Google it. Do you need an awesome science project for the science fair? Look at the winning selections from last year. You can even chat with a professor or in a message board on Shakespeare if you did not understand something in class. School 2.0 is expanding your world view, and having all the knowledge you could want and need at your fingertips.
For me, the scary realization is that I am a student's guide to all of this information, teaching them how to navigate the waters of an ocean of information. At the moment, I am just beginning my own journey! The good news, is that with the use of web 2.0 tools, I can find innovative new ways to teach my students, and find the best 2.0 tools to complement their learning inside of my classroom. I believe that this is an asset inside schools that has been shown to significantly improve the achievement of students. I do not believe that this can go ignored. As a teacher, I don't just want my students to be taught. I want them to learn, and continue that learning. I believe that this is an area that web 2.0 tools can be put to a use and be very beneficial for both teachers and students.

Thing #4

By commenting on other blogs, you are telling those around you that you share their interests and concerns.  It creates a community of like-minded individuals with common goals. Much like those of us in a teaching class will have a great deal in common with most of our peers. By talking and interacting, even online, a person can speak their mind and receive feedback on their thoughts that may further their investigation or strengthen their thoughts on the subject they are blogging about.
It connects people to a common goal that the entire group can share.
I believe that the two important points of comments for me are expanding your horizons, and feeling a bit empowered. When ideas are added on, and thoughts are shared, it increases the knowledge base of the entire group, and allows you to explore new ideas and topics, expanding your own worldview. It also lets the original poster know that they are not alone in their beliefs, which is empowering to me. Just knowing that I may be able to help someone through what I have said, or that my ideas have strengthened someone else's beliefs is a great feeling.
I commented on Lowen, Singleton, Whipkey, Funderburk, and Leek's blogs. I felt that each one had something in theirs that I agreed with. Lowen had an excellent idea for the use of her blog that I had not considered, and I loved Singleton's idea for a "On this day in History" section of a future blog for her. Funderburk and me had similar beliefs on face to face contact, Whipkey and me had similar interests on continuing learning even outside of the classroom, and Leek and me shared the comfort and familiarity and pen and paper over the computer.
Two great additional blogs were Regurgitated Alpha Bits and ScienceFix. Both are teacher's blogs, and both are so much fun to read! Regurgitated Alpha Bits is written by an elementary school teacher, and is an excellent look into the future at all the cute moments that happen between students and a teacher, written as they occur in her life. ScienceFix is full of useful science experiments done by one teacher at a middle school, tried and true methods that kept his students entertained.

Thing #3

When I first entered the teaching program students were told make their Facebook accounts private. Do not accept invitations from students. They say this because the first things students will do when they learn your name is get on Google and find out all about you. Imagine if a blog like any of the 50 Must-See teacher blogs popped up when they searched you. Now that is a good first impression.
As a teacher it has many uses. The internet is what children and adults alike flock to now. It is where they talk, do their research, and learn about the world around them and what is happening in the world. Blogs can end up being a useful tool in a teacher's arsenal. A teacher can connect their students with useful research materials, and point them toward a love of reading or science even after the school day ends. The parents may also benefit from these. By reading your thoughts and articles on teaching, a parent can know were you stand on issues, and begin to view you as a dedicated professional. If you post articles meant for the children you teach, for instance the best books for an elementary school class, then it can allow parents to become more involved with their child's education. And we all know that this is a vital component for an effective educational atmosphere.
Above and beyond these, adding articles about different things happening around the world in a subject area or in education can help children in creating a more diverse worldview. Creating a diverse understanding of a subject dramatically increases a student's comprehension of that subject area. The idea that it could make a student a more well rounded and worldly individual is an obvious bonus as well.
After writing this I feel it is only fair to mention I have never given the slightest thought to adding a blog into my classroom setting. But now that I have written it, I think I have just talked myself into it. I can not even talk myself out of it. I just tried to talk myself out of it in fact. It did not work. Yes. I must have one of these for my future classes.

Thing #2

Although I have an impressive collection of books littering virtually every room of my small apartment, I have never read a single blog before. I have never written one either. The fictional fantastical adventures of the characters in my books seem so much more interesting than my own. Who would want to read about my mundane life? Perhaps I will be able to write a perspective that other have not considered on these topics though, and my posts will be able to enrich the learning experience of someone else.
In a flourish of unoriginality, I chose my name for my blog. It was simple and straight to the point, much like the directions for creating the blog. The step by step instructions kept me on task, and provided for a small margin of error. Thank goodness for that, because I don't think I would have been able to figure out how to put my avatar up on my own!
I really enjoyed making my avatar though. It looks a little like me with my haircut and constantly surprised expression. She happens to have better clothes than me though. Choosing the clothes was kind of fun. I would look through and go "Oh! I want to wear that!" and then apply it to my mini-me. It is like an interpretation of how I would dress to best suit my personality. That was my favorite part.

Thing #1

As I venture into another new and exciting experience for me, learning about technology, the act of learning seems particularly worthy of acknowledgement. After all, who of us out there aren't steadily learning new things each semester? What future teacher does not expect to be constantly pursuing and learning new ways of teaching his or her children? For me, part of the joy of being a teacher is that you never have to stop being a student. It is a life-long process dedicated to learning for yourself, and instilling a desire to learn into young minds.
While I like the learning contract that was given by the online tutorial, that does not mean I think it will be easy to accomplish. The habit that I have the best hold on is teaching/mentoring others. I have always found that when you mentor someone, you yourself become more well-versed on the topic simply by finding a way to teach them in a way where they can understand it. Also, it gives you a different perspective in many cases. Those who you mentor or teach often have ideas and thoughts that you may not have considered that can widen your view of any given subject. The habit I have the biggest problem with is probably beginning with an ending in mind. I have always been one to enjoy the journey more than where the roads ends. I do things to the best of my ability, and enjoy the process of doing something challenging, but I do not often keep a long-term outlook on life. Life just seems too short to wait for a moment other than the one happening right now. It must be the hippie in me. I am sure it is something I can do better on eventually though.