Last Thing

I have really enjoyed these 23 things. I have explored all that web 2.0 has to offer and I have gained so much. I would have to say that my favorite discoveries are flickr.com, the generator, animoto, and the mashups. All of these things can be incorporated in the classroom or I can just use them to have fun. I thought that I knew everything there was to know so the fact that there was a whole other world on the computer really surprised me. I really like the exploration aspect of web 2.0. There is so much to learn and so many ways to incorporate the things learned. It can all be added together or modified in a way that will help students learn. I am now probably more involved with social networks than I was before. I definitely feel a greater sense of freedom on the internet now that I know so much about it. There are so many options. At first it was a little overwhelming and I was a little frustrated with it when I couldn't find things right away. After I worked on it a little more, it became much much easier and now it's so much fun. I think if there were multiple things where it was mandatory to include more than one thing at a time people would start to really memorize the different sites and that would strengthen the program or the goal of the program at least. It would force the things learned to become like second nature for the students. I think it has helped me to keep an innovative and adventurous mindset about me. I think that this program has opened my eyes to all the web has to offer. All I have to do is explore, which is fun and much easier now! I will be a much better teacher because now I have all of these resources to incorporate into my daily lessons and activities. To keep up with the developments in web 2.0 I will continue social networking and I will do searches. I think if I stay on social networking sites, chances are someone on there will be more advanced in technology and can help introduce me to all of the new developments in web 2.0 so I can stay up-to-date.

Thing 23

This program started out as Learning 2.0. It was created by Helene Blowers and was modified by the California School Library Association. It then became Learning 2.0-23 Things. This belonged to the Mesquite Independent School District. This is the foundation for what is n now Learning 2.0-23 Things for Teachers. All of this was made possible by Creative Commons. I really like the creative commons website. I see myself using this quite a bit when I am a teacher. The website allows me to do a search and use the material I find for lessons or class activities. I am sure I will use the photos from flickr.com in my classroom. I think it would be really neat to take all of the pictures I find that pertain to the lesson I am teaching and make a poster using all of the photos. The students could also use these pictures to create something. I thought that was a really neat point or idea behind creative commons. It does not restrict creativity at all and allows us to take and build upon others work. There are no restrictions with creative commons. I may also print out written works found on the creative commons site. All of these materials can be used to really help the students and the teachers learn and be creative.

Thing 22

The first thing that I noticed when I looked at this was the livebinder that included pinterest. I never really thought about pinterest as a creative tool that could help with teaching. I thought that was really interesting. The three binders I have are called 1.Interactive Tools for Teachers 2. Science and 3. Reading and Language Arts. The one I chose to embed was the Interactive Tools for Teachers. I really enjoyed all of them and they are all really helpful. This one, however, has a few of my favorite websites. These are the most helpful to me and I really like how I can organize things by categories. This will make life so much easier. When teaching, if I need a lesson, I can just click on the category that I need and find it pretty easily. I set all of my binders to private. I could have set it to public, but I chose private since I'm a beginner. The other binders that I saw were really neat and I really enjoyed looking at them. They were so neat and I liked how everything was so easy to see and access. When I become a teacher, I may make a binder that the public can see because it is really beneficial and provides teachers with really great resources and lesson plans. It could be fun for interests outside the classroom as well. It doesn't just have to be for lesson plans. I am really interested in dolphins and whales. I could create a binder just for that. I love how the possibilities with the binders are endless. It will definitely help me keep lessons and different subject activities organized while having a rich resource folder to improve and enhance each lesson.

Thing 21

This was so much fun! This is something I can do during my free time or for my classroom. This would be great to use for displaying a science fair project. Also, this would be great with adding visual emphasis to a lesson. If we were talking about natural disasters for one lesson, I could put a slide show of volcanoes or something like that. I also think that parents will appreciate this. I could take pictures of the students doing different activities throughout the year and I could make a slide show or short film out of it. I could also do this throughout the year, which may help to make the parents feel as if they were more involved. This would make a great gift for the end of the year. I was so excited to learn how to do this. This is something that I will definitely use more in the future. :) It was really easy putting it all together. I really liked how I was able to go to flickr.com to use all of the pictures in my video. It really allowed me to be as creative as I wanted with the short film or movie. I have always wanted to do a documentary. This may be something I could use to do that. If the documentary film is educational, this is something I could use in my classroom as well.

Thing 20

I went to Youtube and looked through some of the videos they had. I really like the idea of Youtube. Anyone can post a video. There are a lot of educational videos. In some cases channels will post a video. Or maybe someone is posting them. Either way, I am able to see what was on the history channel about a variety of different topics. This was the video that I chose to embed. I hope I am doing this right. It's called education today and tomorrow. I thought this was interesting. Something else I thought was interesting is the youtube videos that explain youtube and how it came about and how it connects individuals. It talks about how it allows for communities to evolve. I thought this was important especially for educators and those who are in the process of becoming a teacher. They can join the teacher community through sites such as Youtube.

Thing 19

I like how this site applies to teachers. It's a great site just for teachers so I really liked that aspect of it. I also went to goodreads, shelfari, and crafts. I really liked the first one. I wasn't sure what it was about,but after searching the site, I found it is just like an online book club. The members will get on the page and rate books that they've read. Something that I really liked about this was it can be personalized so that anyone can form a reading list of what they want to read and what they have already read. I think this would be a very useful tool in the classroom. I could ask the students what books they would like to read and incorporate some of my own ideas to form a reasonable reading list. That's one idea. Another idea may be to record all the books the students have read. I could see what books students like more or less. This is a great way to make a really interesting and fun reading list for the students. The crafts page is something I could use as well as far as the ideas go. I also liked how on goodreads we could collect our favorite quotes. I think this is my favorite out of the ones I looked at. Back to teacherpop though, I think this site will be extremely useful. Teachers could make sure they have all of their coworkers on their page so that they can give and take ideas and rely on one another. They could form a strong sense of community among the group of teachers. Everyone is sure to benefit from this site because it will only strengthen them as professionals. Lastly, I chose to respond to John McFarland's comment. I had a challenging time with the ning badge, but I looked at the bottom of the page and found the embed code. :)

Thing 17

Bookmarking and tagging is something that everyone can use. It gets rid of the monotony of just looking through the sites. I really like exploring the web and finding new sites, but I always forget where I found them, what they are called, or sometimes how to spell the URL address correctly. Bookmarking will definitely take care of this issue as I can tag all of my favorite sites. This will definitely benefit me as I become a teacher. I can gather information that will help me learn about different things that are important to know about teaching. I can help others at the same time too. I can find really great sites and tag them and then others will be able to use them. I think that I will use this quite a bit as a teacher. I think if there is a site like the one mentioned about homework help, I could print off that information and use it as a handout for class or to strengthen a certain activity or lesson plan. It will be a lot of fun searching through everyone's tags and finding things that will help me and my classroom grow. At first I thought it would be challenging, but after watching the different tutorial videos and reading about it, I found that part of it's appeal is the simplicity and convenience behind it. It eliminates the fluff of the web and provides a quick and easy way to access information from anywhere at any time. Tagging and Bookmarking show that it is possible to have your cake and eat it too. :)

Thing 18

I chose to do the facebook page. I have had this page for a little over two weeks now. I notice a lot of people will use facebook to let others know what they are doing. It is a way to let others keep up on your own personal status. I haven't participated in it too much. If people use it for educational purposes, I think it is a great site for teachers. Usually people check their facebook quite a bit. It is a sure way to get a quick response and information or help if that is what is needed. Social networking is really important for all educators. It allows them to expand on their ideas, values, etc. based on school. In turn, it allows others to do gather information and ideas. Teachers and parents can converse using facebook or twitter. Twitter seems to be more sophisticated. Facebook seems to be something that all ages equally enjoy. Facebook has more options for the page. It is a lot of fun to add pictures and information to the profile section. The fact that Facebook allows pictures on the profile section, may make parents feel more involved. Though there should not be pictures of the classroom on the page, other aspects of the classroom could be added. Different projects or all of the students art work could be added to the page. Parents may appreciate this. Also, the facebook page shows friends when you're online. Parents could send messages if they have a question about their child. Facebook could be used for older students and classroom I'm sure. However, for my age group, I may just put art or projects on the wall. An upper level class may make a site and participate in social networking that way with an initial goal of learning and sharing their own knowledge. They could have like news pages and get creative that way. That would be a fun and interesting way to get the students to participate in reading and writing, depending on what age group it is. I think Facebook and Twitter are great sites for older students, teachers, and parents. http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home

Thing 16

I was really excited to do thing 16. I am always looking for ways to become more organized. I chose to use pageflakes. It is extremely informative. I really liked the online calendar. I have been trying to find an online calendar for the longest time so that was the first thing I went to. I really like how it has an annual reminder programmed into the calender beforehand. It seemed really helpful. I think the reminders will probably be one of the more helpful aspects. I also like the access availability. There are computers everywhere, especially on campus. If I forgot my planner one day, I would be able to keep up with what's going on through my online calendar. To-do lists are always helpful. It's just another way to make sure goals or projects are getting done on time. This ensures that each person is more productive or at least it helps with productivity. I will probably use the calendar at home and at school. This was the easist for me and the most useful.

Thing 15

The Book Lovers Wiki showed a lot of book reviews. This may be used in libraries. If a teacher or a student would like to find out more information about a book he/she is interested in, this wiki page would definitely help. People on this site can blog and inform others. Right now I am working on the sandbox thing. It is taking a little while to load, but other than that, I like it. I think this would be a great way to see what others have to say as well as write down my own thoughts and opinions. Overall, it is just a great way to trade information. I chose to put a picture from flickr on there. I wrote why I chose to use flickr. That has been the thing I have used the most out of everything else. It is really fun to use too. :) I also posted thing 3 in the comment box.

Thing 14

I really enjoyed all of these sites. I can see how they will all be extremely useful in my classroom. I think they would be fun for independent projects as well. I could see this being a great lesson reinforcement. Students could be creative when doing a organizational chart like this one. They are a lot of fun to make and require a certain level of the material to create it. I would let students use his book when working on this. If I wanted to do a formative assessment, however, then I would put a more stringent restriction on what the students could and could not use while working on the flow charts. This is something that student could collaborate on. They could get into groups to brainstorm different causes and effects of whatever the lesson covered. For this specific topic, they would write the different environmental impacts on reefs. This is a great tool, and I think that all of the students will learn from this if I were to complete it or if they were to complete it themselves. I think that this would be a great addition to a resource folder. If they were to keep folders or journals on a specific topic or subject, this would really be a great thing to add to that. It will definitely strengthen their understanding of whatever we are learning or covering in class. I would encourage them to use this outside of school as well. I really love all of these resources and can think of a million ways they would be helpful with my daily tasks as a student and, eventually, a professional educator. I've done the mind map before. They are kind of similar, but I think the mind map encourages more thought in general. Flowcharts seem to be a more finished structure and mind maps encourage this eventually. I think of the mind maps as more of a thought process/ draft.

Thing 13

I really like the google docs. However, I had some trouble getting the URL transferred and the actual document that I wrote. I had a few problems. I have done this before, but it's still a little challenging. These are the links I was given, but they are not showing up. My favorite aspect of the google docs is the presentation portion of the site. Zoho writer seemed to be almost like word just more advanced. Google docs has this link that allows you to invite others to collaborate. I think this would be extremely useful for teachers, parents, and students who wanted to share their ideas and receive feedback on ideas of their own. I really like all of the options that google docs provided. I would have to say that I like google docs better. I will have to keep working at copying the URL though. This reminds me of the dropbox site. The set-up is kind of the same. I think this will really help me stay organized. It's really fun to just play around on, too. There was a couple of examples on the google docs. I was glad that I saw those. They looked really advanced. I don't think I could do something like that just yet, but it would be fun to work towards at least. The possibilities are endless with google docs!

Thing 12

I chose the alert and the language translator. I always like getting new information. The alert is something that I could use for myself or in my classroom. I think it would be really interesting. If I was wanting to focus on something specific, I could do that and choose to get alerts on that. For this, though, I chose to get alerts on science and math. I didn't realize Google did so much. Everything's under Google! That's good, though. I then chose to go to the Merriam-Webster page. I thought this would be helpful in the classroom. We could do a vocabulary mashup and use different words or the word-of-the-day words and learn that way. I think that would be fun, and it would keep the vocabulary random. I don't know if this is something I would be able to do. I guess it just depends on where I teach. I thought this was a good idea anyway.

Thing 11

I chose to do edublogs since I'm a little more familiar with it. It looked a little different to me this time. When I opened up the page, a lot of awards came up and there were like a ton of links. I thought this was difficult to look at, and I really wasn't sure if they were all awards that I was seeing, so then I chose a different link. It is kind of the same concept. It can be very educational, but then people can also put their own opinions and ideas on it. The google blog search looked like normal. That kind of surprised me. I was expecting something different. I wasn't really sure what to type in the search bar. Then I read directions. There was a lot of information. I chose the first link from this site and it took me to a school library in California. I thought that was really neat. I think it is really great to get ideas from other places. They may have different views or opinions, so that was really neat to see. The page looked really good, too. I guess it would have to though. Something that I wasn't really expecting was the fact that it had the 23 things on it. I could definitely see using all of these resources in my class, and it was a lot of fun exploring.

Thing 10

This would help me gain knowledge about whatever I am teaching at the time. It is extremely resourceful. It seems pretty simple and efficient. The process of getting and sharing information is made really easy with this. There are two sections: one blog section and one news section. I think this would be good for me as a student or for other students if research needed to be done. This is a resource that can be used to get information and opinions. For my class, both will be very helpful. I need facts, but then I think opinions are always great. I will be able to expand my thinking and overall ideas that relate to my development as a teacher. I think this could be fun to. For students who want to know more about different topics, they could explore this and have fun.

Thing 5

Web 2.0 allows people to gain knowledge in a more efficient way. It can be used as entertainment, but it has an educational component. Depending on how it is used, it is capable of promoting individual growth and growth within a community. The web provides a centralized location for people to discuss different topics. They are able to give and receive ideas for his personal use and benefit or for the benefit of his/her entire class. Ideas can be shared, and there are so many things that people can learn from the web. It's not just informative though. It has evolved and is now more interactive. This helps everyone who has access to it.

Thing 1

My goals (from easiest to most difficult) are: setting goals, taking responsibility, and technology. All are important, but I think taking responsibility should be first. That's definitely something to continue working on. I love setting goals though. I feel like I do that on a daily basis, so that one is definitely the easiest thing for me to do. Technology is another story. I feel like it is extremely important and beneficial in a number of ways, but I feel like learning something new can be so time consuming and frustrating. I think that the time is well worth it though because eventually it will save time. If all of my resources are in one area, it will be that much easier to stay organized and productive. In addition, there are so many things that can be applied and used in the classroom, even if it doesn't have a direct impact.

Thing 9

I chose the smiley face generator because it looked simple. The other ones I guess intimidated me, but I'll go back and try them later. I like the smiley face generator because it can be adjusted, and it's so cute. I chose to say Happy Valentines Day, but it could be made to support anything. I think this would be more useful maybe when giving directions. If there was an interactive handout or something, I think students would read the signs. It would make the process a little more interesting and fun. Students would enjoy using these as well.

Thing 8

I had a ton of fun picking out images for my flickr mashup. It was under the splashr link. I went to flickr.com and searched different things. I clicked on the ones I liked and then under the share link, I copied and pasted the image. To post it, I clicked on the little picture right next to where it says "link." There are two places to paste the link, but I used the one that said upload from the web.
I think this would be great for students. It's fun and easy to do. I think this would be great for science lessons or anything that demands or requires some type of visual aid. I could see me using this for social studies, science, and fun activities. I think this would enhance any lesson. If students had their own blog accounts, I could make an assignment out of it. One idea would be to find 3 or 4 of the 7 wonders of the world, and upload onto their site. I think students would have fun doing this, and it would really help them learn the material. In addition, I think this would really support visual learners.

The puzzle above is of a picture I took a couple of summers ago. I really like the idea of using students' art and making it into a puzzle. I could probably print out different things on a certain material and it could be used as a classroom activity. I think that that would be really neat and fun for the students. I think this is great! I have like a million and two ideas in my mind right now for things to do for the class. It will be so much fun, and I'm so glad that I have learned about this site.

Okay, the picture that showed up is one that I found on Flickr. The other two didn't really upload, but this one did, so that's good.

Thing # 4

Commenting and reading comments is something that is beneficial to everyone. Ideas, thoughts, and perceptions can all be changed by another person's contribution to whatever topic. Commenting allows the writer greater insight into different scenarios or situations. It encourages and fosters individual and social growth within a community. This would be great for teachers and for students. Teachers can comment on other teachers' posts. Students can socialize and get help with different subjects if needed. If commenting were not to take place, there would be no interactivity, which would basically be like writing in a journal. Blogs are intended to be read and all ideas are to be shaped. For students, if they all collaborate, whether it be for school or social purposes, I think they would have something to talk about. I think it would really help the students form friendships as well as provide a social networking outlet. I commented on Kendra Donaldson's 23 Things. I agree with a lot of what she said about how great it is as a teacher to learn about all of the resources that the internet has to offer. I commented on Taylor Renfroe's and Tiffany Anderson's blog - last post. I agreed with what they said about being able to use all of the learned resources in future classrooms. I also commented on Tiffany Anderson's blog about creative commons. I agreed that it would be very helpful when designing different lesson plans. The last blog I commented on was Jeremy Hand-Roe's Thing 14. I agreed with what he said about graphic organizers and the use of sites like gliffy. I also added a couple of my own ideas in the comment box.

Thing # 7

I really like this website. It was really easy to use. I had some trouble getting the URL pasted to where it would appear on the blog. That was the most difficult aspect of this item, but as far as the website goes, I like how they have a share icon as a way to share all of the pictures on the site. I chose an image of a coral reef. I am doing Fifth Grade Interdependence. This image is something I could use in the classroom when teaching a lesson on symbiotic relationships between the reefs and the reef fish. Or I could describe specific organisms and their relationships. I could create a collage using different images from this website. I also like that they are not animated. This website allows individuals to refine searches. This will help with lessons. If I am talking about a specific subject, this website provides an easy way to find an appropriate illustration for whatever topic I am covering. It is less time consuming to just enter a category/subject in the search bar than to go to the library and find books to copy pictures. It will save a lot of time I think. This will enhance lessons, especially for a subject like science that demands visual representation.

Thing 2

For my posting name and my blog name, I just decided to use my real name. There was not really a thought process behind it. It was fun creating my avatar. I didn't have as much trouble with the set-up as I thought I would. I chose for my avatar to look like me. I chose my favorite colors and the features that are closest to my own. I have two brothers who create avatars for the video games that they play, and the characters created usually look pretty funny and not like my brothers at all. That's the good thing about avatars and setting up blogs- there is a lot of freedom, and it can be taken seriously or lightly as a fun thing. Overall, my experience creating the blog and the avatar was challenging but fun, and I like the outcome of it all. I really like blogging. I think this is something that can be applied to so many different things as a teacher.

Thing #3

Using the blog as a journal to record lessons and the students' reactions to the plans is one way to improve instruction. Blogging about different lesson ideas and the actual outcomes will allow me to see what went well and what needs a little more improvement. If the blog were available to other teachers, this would be a great opportunity to share and get ideas. I would also like to use this blog for parents. They can use the blog to ask questions or to talk to other parents. This will allow them to feel more involved with their child's work, projects, and overall progression in the classroom. Lastly, I think the students' would find blogging useful. If they had questions, they could ask one another using the site. I also think setting up a reading circle and/or book club would be an interesting thing for the class. I think this would unite the entire class, and it might motivate them to become more involved with the different lessons. The blog would also provide students' with the opportunity to share thoughts about daily lessons- what was interesting, what they didn't understand and what they have questions about. I would be able to look at these blogs and be able to modify instruction to strengthen any areas or concepts of weakness. In addition, I really liked the idea about contacting another class through the blog site. It reminded me of the pen pal concept. I think that would be a lot of fun and a great learning experience for the students.