One Last Thing

One of my favorite exercise was playing with on-line image generators. I can spend hours tweaking photos and adding captions to pictures. It is fun to see all the different things you can make and share with others. Another one of my favorite learning exercise was discovering RSS feeds. I love them because I can go to one place to check for updates instead of going to different websites each day. It is such a time saver.

This program has taught me so much about technology that I was unaware of before. I have learned from this program that technology is changing everyday and you need to be able to keep up with all the new tools that they are offering. I am not going to sit back and be unaware of all the useful tools out there that I can be using. I will keep using the current tools that I have been taught but I will also be proactive in keeping up with new technologies coming out and learn how I can incorporate them into my life and teaching.

I was surprised that I learned so many new things about Internet tools. I just always used the Internet for searching for information, checking my email, and using my social networking sites. Now I am more aware of how I can use different types of web 2.0 tools that will help me not only in my life but also in my future classroom.

I think the programs concept is well organized and thought through. The program message helps you discover all the different web 2.0 tools. The only problem that I had with some of the exercises was some of the links were no longer available. That did not affect me because there were plenty of other links that helped me discover the concept.

I will be incorporating a lot of the tools that I learned from this class into my teaching. I can not only become better organized from using a lot of these tools which will save me time to concentrate on the more important things. I can also enrich the students I teach by incorporating different forms of technology into the classroom.

In order to keep up with all the new web 2.0 tools that will be coming out I plan to subscribe to an RSS feed. By using the RSS feeds it will tell me when something new has come out about the topic. When something new comes out I plan to view it to see if it will be beneficial to me or my students.

Thing #23 (Creative Commons)

On the home page Dr. Wall give credit to the author for the information that was used by stating this: This project is loosely based upon the website 43Things (which allows you to set and track personal goals) and the Stephen Abram article titled 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006).

I was unaware of copyright laws for using information on the internet before I started taking this class. I always thought if it was posted on the internet you can use the information in anyway you wanted. I am aware now of the copyright laws and will abide by them. I do like how Creative Commons licensing will allow us as educators to use information as long as we credit the original source or author. I will use information that I feel will best suit my students to learn the material. With Creative Commons I am able to re-work different materials to fit my needs as an educator as long as I credit the source that has given permission to share their information.

Thing #22 (Podcasts: No iPod Needed)

The podcast that I listened to was the Discovery Health channel podcast with Dr. Oz called the Truth about Food. I watch the Dr. Oz show every once in awhile because he provides a lot of useful information about being healthy and other health related topics. I just find health topics interesting because there is always something about the topic that you did not know before. I did subscribe to the Discovery Health channel podcast that I will listen to regularly. I want to listen to podcast that I know will be giving me the right information and Discovery Health is a podcast that I believe would give me the facts.

All the directories to find podcast where pretty simple to use but I do like the Learn out Loud directory the best. I just like that directory because I found a lot of podcast that have topics that I am interested in. The Learn out Loud site also has a lot of educational material that can be used in the classroom.

I think podcast would be a great tool to use in the classroom. I think students would enjoy not only listening to podcast but also creating podcast. Children like to do a lot of hands on activities that allows them to learn and creating a podcast about a certain subject would be a great educational project. I also like the fact that students can share the podcast with other students or even there family members to show what they have learned.

Thing #21 (Animoto)

I have used sites like Animoto before. I like this site better than the sites I have used because you can select music from the site and they will remix the entrance of the pictures. It makes the video look more polished and professional. Also, I like how you can post your video on Facebook and Myspace easily and share the video with other friends. I wish Aminoto would allow you to save your creation to your personal computer. The process of making the video was simple and fast. I could create a lot of videos in a short period of time.

The pictures that I decided to use for my video was my husbands homecoming. He was deployed to Afghanistan for about a year. I love homecomings because everyone is so excited to finally get to see there loved ones and I wanted to capture that memory in a video.

Thing #20 (You Tube)

I can spend hours on You Tube watching random videos. There are a lot of videos on the site that you wish were not there. Anyone can upload any video no matter what the content of the video. I wish they would preview some of the videos that where not worth viewing and have them deleted from the site. I like how You Tube allows you to search through videos, recommends videos for you, and has some television shows to watch.

The video I choose was a song that went to the Ghostbusters theme song about swine flu. The video is pretty funny. I thought with all this talk about the flu that this is the perfect video for the occasion. Every year during this time people start to get worried about the flu but this year it is even worse because of the H1N1 strand of the flu. My husband just got over the flu and he was miserable and I thought I might get the flu from being around him. Thank goodness I am healthy and did not get the flu. I came face to face with the flu and I won.

I can see components of You Tube that could be applied to library websites. Children can watch educational videos about topics that they normally would have to read in books. They can also watch instructional videos to learn how to do a project or complete a task. I would just make sure that all the inappropriate videos would be blocked so children couldn't view them. Teacher Tube would be a more appropriate site for children to use because it is just educational videos.

Thing #19 (Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks)

I am a member of several online communities. The two online communities that I use the most is Facebook and Myspace. After reading thing 19 I joined Teachers Pop and Nibbledish. I think Teachers Pop is a great online community for teachers to connect with and share ideas. Teacher Pop has many of the same features that Facebook has which is one of my favorite online community sites. I like Facebook because I can stay connected with all of my old friends, new friends, and family. I like Teachers Pop because it is specifically for teachers to share ideas all in one place. My other online communities I could also use for sharing ideas with other teachers that I know but this site makes it more convenient because Teachers Pop is specifically for that.

I did find a online community called Nibbledish that I signed up for that I might use later. I like to cook but I am still not comfortable cooking things without a recipe. Nibbledish is a community that allows cooks to share there creations with other members. I may not be ready to come up with my own dishes right now but I can still search recipes to try other Nibbledish members creations.

Thing #18 (Explore Social Networking)

I have had a Facebook and Myspace account for years. I prefer to use Facebook over Myspace because I think it is a better social networking site to keep connected with friends and family. I think Facebook does a better job of updating you with all the status and news feeds. With these updates you feel like you are still connected with people you have not been able to talk to in a while. Myspace updates on your friends are not as in depth as Facebook. I do like how Myspace allows you to create a more colorful profile page to fit your own personal style. Facebook is an easier site to set up because you do not have to worry about how to use html codes to customize your page like Myspace. Myspace has made it easier to set up your profile page now by using there pre-made backgrounds.

Social networking sites are a great tool for schools and teachers to use. Schools can set up a personal page for parents, students, and faculty to be connected to. The school can post upcoming events, news, and updates. This will keep people in the community connected with the school so they are aware of what is happening in their schools. Teachers can connect with other teachers to share ideas or just support and encourage each other when times get rough. Teachers can also create a page for their class so that the children and the parents can connect with each other and consistently be aware of the activities happening in there children classroom. I think social networking is a great tool but you have to be aware of what you post on your site because mostly anyone can view it.