Thing #13

The best thing about Delicious is being able to search others bookmarks. This allowed me to address my specific need by typing a key work. Then I was able to look at what others had already found. I didn’t have to do all the work.
I also like the fact I can categorize my bookmarks with tags. I went to my Yahoo Bookmarks and discovered I could do the same but there were several other amenities that weren’t offered. Yahoo wouldn’t allow me to share my bookmarks or to see others’ bookmarks. Delicious not only allowed me to share my bookmarks, but I was able to determine how and to whom they were to be shared with. I could group the bookmarks in a variety of ways.
I could use this when I wanted to have students view specific resources.

The link to my Delicious is http://delicious.com/babybiker.

Thing #7a

First, I keep adding to my Google Reader. I found a blog written by a librarian and her first year, which linked me to a blog by another librarian, which linked me to yet another librarian blog and so on and so on. Hours spent reading! Of course I had to subscribe to most of them. The one I found today that was interesting was from a blog titled Hey Jude. She had written about a site that offered videos that had been screened by teachers and covered most subjects. neoK12 was the video site. Pretty cool!

Thing #12

I explored every tool and spent way too much time doing it. Some of the tools were just fun. Blabberize and Picnik are two. I "played" with these two tools for quite a while. I hope my family appreciates what I did to their pictures. I also started a photo album/scrapbook of my son with MixBook. Though I "played" with those tools for my personal use several of the others would be useful in the classroom setting. I liked the use of Writeboard for students to share their writing and for peer response/input. The Quizlet would be great for just about any subject. The idea of getting immediate feedback after completing a test is helpful. I knew right then if I had selected the correct answer. I tried the Weebly, but I guess I didn't spend enough time exploring it. No technical expertise was needed to create a website but you had to know what and how all the drag-and-drop features were used. I didn't! TimeGlider and Ta-da List would be good for a students or teacher to create a project checklist or due dates. Students would be able to check when certain tasks were to be completed. The last tool I will mention is the LetterPop. This could be used for final products on a students project or as a student or teacher created classroom newsletter.

Thing #11

This collage of my nieces was created using Mosaic Maker. I wish I had more portraits of them to use. My sister enjoyed it though. I also rotated the pictures so they would all be the same but I noticed that one didn't appear as I had it saved. Hmm! I will work
on that. I could use this for a posting of students work or them in working on a project.

The picture depicts how I felt before I started this class and sometimes during the class. I made this using Famous People's Custom Quotes on Comic Strip Generator. I shared this with my son and know he has made several for himself. This would be fun to use as a motivator. Create cartoons with the kids favortie characters giving them directions.

I tried creating at least one thing using the others so I could get the practice. The sign at the top of my blog and the heart on the side were created using Image Chef. I am still working on using Spell with Flickr. I will figure it out! I know when I figure out Flickr I will have hundreds of ideas for its use!!!

Thing #10

This was fun and not as difficult as I thought it would be. I did have trouble with someone else's slide show posting to my blog. They were very nice pictures of her family and friends. Don't ask me how I resolved it. I tried too many things. The only other problem I had was the amount of time I took trying out all the different effects. I think I exhausted all of them. When I get through with this post I am going to create a slide show with my personal pictures of my nieces.

Photographs are attributed to:
Good Day Sunshine by fangleman
Sunshine Daisies by tassiesim
Summer Suns by Bitterroot
Sweet Sunshine and Endless Sky by Chad Johnson
The Sun Watches by amcdaniel183
Bring Me Sunshine by stuant63

Thing #9

The CBS Sunday Morning show uses unique suns to represent the stories they report on. I think I watch just so I can see the creative designs that are used and secretly would like to have a collection of my own. I selected this picture for my blog to inspire me and because suns seem so . . . sunny!

This was one of the most fun and frustrating "things" so far. I spent more than the suggested time searching Flickr and even more time trying to figure out how to do "stuff" with some of the pictures. I found some wonderful pictures and ideas for future use and even a couple of blogs that I subscribed to. The wide variety of pictures available for use will allow me to enhance my presentations.

I discovered I needed to think about how I searched for a topic. Ceramic sun also gave me "laying ceramic tile in the sun room." I got better as I went on. The only problem I had was trying to download the letters that were used on the 23 Things page. I am usually good at figuring things out, but no matter what I did I couldn't get it to work like I wanted. I will get it though!

Thing #8

Creative Commons could affect me professionally and/or personally if I need or want to publish something. Having the "cc" logo would make it easier to identify material that I could use freely. It would also allow me to decide how exactly I wanted my creations to be used by others.

The only problem is I haven't ever seen, or recall seeing, this logo on any websites I have visited. I attempted a search of websites that would require some type of permission for use and only found the copyright logo. I will keep looking.

If students were creating a product that would be put on the school website, a web-page, or blog, this would be beneficial in helping them stay within the appropriate use of resources. Some students and adults tend to copy and paste without much consideration for the legality of use. I have used digital images, audio and video from the web in production of material I wanted to present to the students. I have assisted the students in the use of these resources for use in their work. This will make me stop and take a closer look at what I am doing and allowing the students to use.

Thing #7

When I'm interested in what is being written I have no problem commenting. I usually find something in the blog that I agree with and go from there. If I have a question about something I don't understand or need more explanation I don't have a problem with that either.

I sometimes feel as a technology novice I am not as well spoken as others. When the blog involves discussion about technology I tend to be more conservative in my comments. As I gain confidence in my knowledge and abilities I figure I'll express my myself more.

Commenting on blogs opens a window for conversation. Usually the bloggers have common interests. Getting feedback or responses to an entry on a blog also makes you feel like what you have to share is worth reading. Hearing from people, whether they agree with you or not, allows an understanding of others views and maybe gives insight into ideas not considered.

Thing #6

The only problem I see with this "thing" is I'll be signing up for an infinite number of feeds. I could easily get carried away with this.

I did find some "useful" not just fun or entertaining sites. My favorite so far is School Library Journal. I have enjoyed reading articles by Joyce Valenza Ph.D. in the past. Now, I will be connected every time she adds an article.

This feed also allows access to other articles and information that School Library Journal has to offer. Book reviews, educational technology, and curriculum connections are just a few of the links. This is a great resource.

Thing #5

On Techlearning I found a blog titled The Ideal School Library. This particular blog was of interest to me because I will be a new librarian this coming school year. I don't think many of the contributors were librarians though, or at least not elementary librarians. The responses were critical of library media specialists. I agree to be called a "media specialist" you must be knowledgeable of technology more than most. However, the resources have to be available and there has to be a buy in of the use of the technology by the whole campus. Thank goodness I am taking this class. I don't want to be one of the librarians people complain about.

Thing #4

The first blog I read was Patrick's Update. He wrote about his hopes and concerns of passing 5th grade. What a great way for kids to share thoughts and feelings about a variety of topics. I feel students would be more motivated to read and respond using this format because it's different, new (to them), and fun (uses technology). The positive feedback that Patrick received could only motivate him to succeed. My concern is allotting time for kids to blog.

I enjoyed reading the blog on Powerpoint Reform: a first chapter. I have taught 4th grade for years and haven't had much opportunity for students to create powerpoints, but as a person who has had to create a few myself this was right on target. The author wrote the blog as an instructional piece and was easy to follow. I will use this blog when instructing students on creating powerpoints and I will refer to it often when I am creating my own!

Another blog that made me rethink my teaching was How to Prevent Another Leonardo da Vinci. It didn't hurt that when you opened the page it had it was nominated for one of the most influential posts for 2007. That piqued my interest! So many times I "decide" where I want my students to go. The blog reminded me of how I need to let go and let my students discover their learning. I highly recommend all teachers read this blog and refer back to it often.

An Environmental Break-Why Can't We Do This? was not my favorite blog to read, but I understand the usefulness. I can see the use of a blog to discuss controversial topics and get responses from people of different opinions. This blog would allow students to see other sides of issues and better form their own ideas on the topic. Allowing students to link sites that support their side could be added to the blog.

The cutest blog was A Duck with a Blog. I loved reading the 2nd graders theories. Where did they come up with those ideas? Allowing the students to write about something as simple as what they saw on their playground gave them the opportunity to use their creative thinking skills to come up with their theories. This is a great way to share their thoughts about the ducks but it also allows them to practice their writing skills. Believe me, coming from the view of a 4th grade teacher, this is very important.

Overall I discovered a variety of uses for blogs and I am excited about using them in this coming school year.

Things #2

The first comment I have about web 2.0 is how great classrooms would be if technology was used like the teachers and students in the article. The students' enthusiasm for learning was powerful. Allowing students to guide their learning makes them more motivated to participate. You would think that communication skills would be diminished by lack of in person conversation, but the article stated just the opposite. The students learned to think critically. Posting where others would be evaluating their writing resulted in being more aware of what and how they wrote.

Integration of other subjects, cross-curricular planning, kids actively involved, motivated learners, the opportunity for parents to be engaged in their child's learning what more could you ask for. Now all I have to do is learn how to do this.

The possibility this technology offers is great. I want to know how to "syndicate" and "aggregate."

Thing #1

The habit I feel will be the most challenging for me, and is why I'm taking this class, is using technology to my advantage. I tend to jump in and go at it, but get sidetracked, a lot! I can spend hours exploring, resulting in several tabs or links being opened. My goal is to find the end of the Internet.

A habit I think will be easiest or a challenge, depending on how you look at it, is the playing. I have no problem with playing around. As I mentioned above I can get sidetracked changing, searching, or trying to figure things out. This is most true when I'm on the computer. I've left typing this blog three times to look up stuff.

Using technology to my advantage is definitely the most important habit for me. I want to learn as much about 23 things as possible. Being able to use this technology in my everyday life and in my teaching can only make everything more interesting and fun. I want to be knowledgable enough to share what I will learn with others.