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.