Thing #24 Summary

TA DA!!! I DID IT!!!

First of all, this course should be renamed to 27 Things! Just kidding! What did I learn? A whole bunch of GREAT stuff!

•What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite would have to be Voice Thread. I really like it and want to use it in my classroom.

•How has this program affected your lifelong learning goals?
This course has really motivated me to use more technology in my classroom. I feel this task will now be more easily accomplished with the new set of tools I have gathered as a result of this class.

•What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I honestly don't think at this moment that anything needs tweaking.

•If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
If MISD offers another online discovery program like this, I will definitely sign up. I love the idea of a somewhat self-paced, at home, professional development activity.
•How will what you have learned influence your practice as a teacher or school librarian?
As I stated before, I am definitely going to use these tools in my classroom. I am always looking for ways to take my studemts to those upper levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. What better way to get them to the Creation level than through the use of technology. It's like killing 2 birds with one stone!
•How do you plan to keep up with new developments in web 2.0? Recommend a way that you have found to be useful.
I signed up to become a member of Classroom 2.0. Because so many of the discussion strands deal with new technology available on-line for use in the classroom, I think it will be an effective way for me to stay informed of the latest trends.


Hooray for me!!!!! I completed the 23 Things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thing # 20 Google Docs

This was my least favorite Thing. Yes, I was excited that I found a way to use Microsoft Office type products with buying the program. But, once I learned that, the novelty ended. I was glad to see that Google Presentations was included in the freebies. Students could use this application at home if they don't have Powerpoint. It could be used to create a collaborative presentation within a classroom, between classrooms in a district, or classrooms in another state or country. The spreadsheet application could be used similiarly to how it is being used in this course. A teacher could use it as a checklist for parents to see what parts of a student project have been completed and which ones their child lacks. The documents application could be used to let students collaborate on a writing project together.
OK, now that I listed all the ways it could be used in the classroom, I an a little more excited about it. lol Here's my collaborative document. And here's a Google Presentation I created.

Thing #21 Google Tools

I used Google Earth to find my school and save an arial image of it. I love when you type in a zip code and Google Earth starts to fly/zoom in on it. Google Earth has some many classroom applications. So many of my students have such limited prior knowledge. For them the whole world is basically their zip code. So many of them think Texas is a country. lol This would defintely would a useful tool to help them see themselves as part of a global community.

I also created a calendar. This could be a handy tool for project due dates and school events. The events I added to my calendar are all personal, but this tool could easily be incorporated into the classroom. The first thing that comes to mind would be Science Fair due dates. What a simple way for parents to access due dates.

Thing # 23- Other Social Networks

I joined Classroom 2.0 and surfed around the site a little. It's definitely a wonderful tool for networking with other teachers, not just in the US but around the world. I read one thread about a teacher in Connecticut who is looking for other classrooms to collaborate with, and a English teacher in France was highly enthusiatic about the project. There were teachers who talked about using Voice Thread in their classrooms and I just learned about it last week! This is an awesome tool! I signed up and now have a homepage.

Thing #15 Delicious!

First let me say that the URL name is kinda weird, but the concept is right on target. Just recently I discovered spellingcity.com and shared the site with my colleagues. How much easier would it have been for me just to add it to my delicious list and share? I am always adding sites to my bookmarks bar and just like the video says, it can get a little disorganized. Delicious makes it so easy to organize them. All it takes is a 2 quick clicks! I'm sold. To view my delicious bookmarks click here.
BTW, this is my dog Tootsie in her Halloween costume.

Thing 7A More Google Reader- AKA RSS Overload!!!!!

I've been following the blog Cool Cat Teacher, and she had the link to the following article on her site; Social networks and kids: How young is too young? I was surprised to see FarmVille listed as a socia networking device. I truly just think of it as a game. I don't particularly care for FarmVille, but I am totally addicted to FarmTown. lol

As much as I love technology, I don't think kids should spend hours online on social networking sights. They need to be outside playing, or engaged in some activity that challenges them mentally or physically. Leave the social networking sights to old women like me who are addicted to Farm Town!

Thing 18 You Tube and Teacher Tube

I watched a video on Curriculum Base Reader's Theatre, which talked about making Social Studies material come alive with dramatic flair. The author gives instructions on how to adapt reader's theatre to different content areas.

I am very familiar with You Tube. These days I can't imagine someone not being familiar with it. I don't think everyone realizes that there is a lot of educational content on the web. I first realized this a year ago when I was taking an Educational Technology class for my master's degree. We had to search and view several videos which explained how to create wikis, blogs, etc. and why they were so useful.

Thing 7B Google Reader

While browsing my feeds I came across an article, Educational Video Games Mix Cool With Purpose, in the NY Times about video games that have been developed to help improve and test children's critical thinking skills. These games are being used in school curriculums, in after school programs, or at home. One of the students even said he preferred these problem solving games to Halo. One of the games covers core elements of science curriculums that are being tested as part of NCLB. The students are inside a 3-D national park where the fish are dying, students must interview local interest groups, test water samples and figure out what is happening to the fish. After reading about these games, heck, I wanted to play them!

Thing #22 Social Networking

I have been using Facebook and Myspace for quite some time. Adults really don't use Myspace anymore. It's more of an elementary age social networking device now. My teenager doesn't even use Myspace anymore. I love Facebook because it gives me a way to interact and keep in touch with people that I live far from or haven't seen since high school. When I first started using Facebook, I didn't like it as much as Myspace because it wasn't as "cute." You couldn't put cool images, songs, and pictures on Facebook. Now I don't care about those things because it's more about the networking or communication.
I don't know that I could see an educational use for either of these except for communicative device. My Facebook page is set to private, but click here to see my public profile.

Thing #19- Voicethread

Again, I am just amazed at all the technology that is out there that I knew nothing about til I took this course. The Library A-Z was absolutely adorable! What a fantastic way to integrate technology into the 1st Grade curriculum. I tried to view the Multimedia Venn Diagram Voicethread. It would play, but I couldn't get sound for some reason. But I could tell that the students were comparing and contrasting the heart and the skeletal system. This is a fantastic resource that can be used for many projects; novel study culminations, writing projects, social studies activities, such as historical event comparison contrasts, etc.

Thing # 17 Podcasts

One of the podcasts that I previewed first was Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips. While I was on the Quick & Dirty Tips page I also previewed Green Girls Quick and Dirty Tips, since I'm a huge tree hugger. I tried to take a look/listen to the Dragon Page with Class, but it was just way too busy for me. I would suggest they tone it down a notch or two.

I searched the Learn Out Loud directory of podcasts and found Just Vocabulary, which features 2 words each day, gives a pronunciation of them and uses them in contextual sentences several ways. Also on Learn Out Loud, I found the Naked Scientist Radio Show and Podcast. I could definitely use these in my classroom. Just vocabulary uses many of the SAT words that our district sends out for classroom use each week. This would be another to incorporate these words and podcasting into the classroom.

Currently in Social Studies class, my students are creating a podcast.

Thing #16 Library Thing

Library Thing was pretty cool. I read a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy, but my friends do not. Library Thing would be a great way to find new authors that I would enjoy. It would be a fantastic way to network and get suggestions from readers who enjoy the same type of books that I do. i liked the idea of the 50 Books Challenge. This would be the perfect way for my students to get a visual picture of what they have read and accomplished during the school year. I am just amazed at the number of free resources that are out there just waiting for people to discover.

Thing #12 but it's on Thing #14? Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

I think ToonDoo is absolutely COOL!!! I can see this as being a useful tool for all grade levels. Early elementary students could write and illustrate stories. Upper grades could use it for that purpose plus story retellings, recreating historical events, depicting cycles in science and more. There are forums on the site that allow you to share and discuss your toons and ideas. I'm sooooo glad I found this site!

Thing #13

I made the above post-it to brag about my daughter. It was announced today that she made the SEC all freshman team. The only other team member on the University of Arkansas that received SEC honors was a senior. I am very proud of how well she has played. She was the leading scorer for the Razorbacks and 5th in the SEC for shots taken.

When I was composing this post, Blogger was not behaving very well. I had saved my images to the desktop and I had to try to upload the images several times. Internet Explorer crashed during this process so it may have been my computer. Anyways I saved them to my desktop and uploaded them.

Wanna make you own post-it note? Click here!
Wanna make your own Dummies book cover? Click here!

Thing 12 Slideshow

I chose pictures of the island of Curacao because it is the initial setting of the novel The Cay. The Cay is the novel that I am presently reading with my class. I used 5 photos build my story.

Willemstad Waterfront On Curacao Jessica Bee
Beach at Curacaocmgramse
Another Willemstad Waterfront ray.gauss
Queen Emma Bridge Close-up jules1651
Queen Emma Bridge gailf548

Thing #11 Stretch

Here's my stretch activity! I did a magazine cover featuring my darling daughter Alexandria Chandler! Mash-ups could be used in the classroom to add photo stories, wikis, or other student created work. I think sharing photos on-line is a great way to allow easy access for your friends and family. Although I don't neccesarily think you should put every pic up for public display, I think it's a wonderful idea to post pics for everyone to access. There are some extremely talented amateur photographers out there who have something to share.

Thing #11 Flickr

So many of the pictures on Flickr are just gorgeous! I searched Curacao, Willemstad, and Queen Emma Bridge in order to come up with photos I could use in the classroom. My classes are reading the novel The Cay, and I wanted them to be able to see some of the landmarks that are mentioned in the book. This a picture of the Queen Emma Bridge. It's a floating pontoon bridge that swings open to allow boats in and out of the harbor in Willemstad. This photo was taken by gailf548 and you can see more of gailf548's photos by clicking here.

I plan on using the pictures I downloaded as a focus activity before reading from the novel. As I explored some of the educational ideas for Flickr, I really liked the idea of teaching vocabulary with pics from the site.