One Last Thing...

Reflection

• What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? I liked making the mind maps. I could seriously see myself using that in the future.

• How has this program affected your lifelong learning goals? I thought I was pretty tech-savvy but I honestly didn't know about 80% of the 23 things we've covered. I now feel truly up-to-date! Also, I would LOVE to take this class again in 5 years and I wish all teachers were required to take this class. I have a few professors who could really use a technology upgrade. As teachers, this is just a reminder of how we learn something new everyday and will be learning for the rest of our career.

• Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I may have been a bit intimidated at first but all of these things were surprisingly not too difficult to conquer! I think it will help me to feel more confident when discovering new things in the future.

• What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I think it was great and wouldn't change anything. Maybe just keep it as up-to-date as possible and make sure we're learning about the newest things available out there.

• How will what you have learned influence your practice as a teacher? As a teacher, its all about presenting ideas to your students in the most interesting way possible to ensure they're interested in learning - and with Web Tools 2.0 you'll be doing just that!

• 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 guess I'll do my best to keep my finger on the pulse, so to speak! Like I said, I'd LOVE to take this class again in 5 years :)

Thing #23

Creative Commons

http://sjlibrary23.blogspot.com/ 

http://schoollibrarylearning2.csla.net/2007/02/23-things_27.html 

Now that I've learned about copyright and Creative Commons, as a future teacher I will make sure my students know that everyone has the right to protect their original works. Also, that you can't use ideas or pictures created by other people without their permission.

Thing #22

Keepin' it Together: Livebinders

Teacher Resources

I created 3 binders; Teacher Resources, Mainly Math, and Especially English. Aren't those cute names? Livebinder would be a great website to use in the classroom. You could have binders specifically for students to use to do research on any topic you choose. It's a great way to ensure they're checking out the specific sites you know will be helpful to them. You could even make a scavenger hunt type activity!

Thing #21

Animoto

Try our slideshow creator at Animoto.

I've never heard of Animoto but it's a really neat site! Everyone loves a slideshow! Stinks that you have to pay to really use all of the awesome features...

Thing #20

You, Too, Can YouTube 

I love YouTube because someone's always sharing some video that makes me laugh! I've also watched a lot of YouTube videos in my online classes and think it's a great way to share information.

I choose this video because it's the last thing I watched on YouTube and laughed so hard!

I can definitely see how the features and components of the site would be interesting if they were applied to my library website. YouTube is very flexible in that way! Anyone can find a way to make the site useful to them.

Thing #19

Beyond Facebook: Other Social Networks

Visit TeacherPop

• Are you a member of any online communities? I'm a member on Facebook and Twitter but I think I used to have an account on the Project Playlist site that was mentioned. I've also visited the Tasty Kitchen site a few times :)
• Are any of these social networks appealing to you? Ning seems really interesting. Being able to totally customize your social network is something I've never heard of!
• What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later? I would use any of these sites later, if a reason presented itself. They all seem really cool but probably only useful if you know other people who are using them.

Thing #18

Social Networking

http://www.facebook.com/rachelxkelly

http://twitter.com/RachelxKelly

Why is it important that educators know how social networking works? Social networking is a part of your students everyday life! Even parents and grandparents are using Facebook these days. It's important to be as up to date a possible with technology and networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, not only as an educator but as a member of the general society. Twitter especially, can be used as a resource for educators. Most organizations and schools have public Twitter accounts that can be very helpful. 
What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? Through this class, I learned a lot more about the Twitter accounts that are out there that are geared especially to teachers! Scholastic Books even has a Twitter account! 
What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored? I like Facebook but it's not something I use casually. I only add family and close friends, because the content I post is so personal. I always worry about privacy issues with big online sites :-/ 
Which site had the most useful features? Facebook definitely has more features and they are useful.
Can you see a classroom or school application for any of these sites? Twitter would be a great place for classroom or school application! Even APSU has a Twitter account. It's a great way to keep students and staff up to date with current events.

Thing #17

Tagging and Social Bookmarking with Delicious

I can't believe there are 66351 results for "educational technology" on Delicious! It looks like they organize by having the site with the "most saves" on the top of the list - an excellent way to point you in the most helpful direction. Then every site has a list of the tags it's under.

This will definitely be a site I refer to in the future as a student! Like the Common Craft video explained, it's also something any teacher could use. Teachers "beg, borrow, and steal" all of the ideas and activities they can get their hands on and Delicious makes it that much easier. If someone finds an awesome website for English or math or whichever subject, now they can tell the public about it! Another great way to share ideas and collaborate to make life that much easier :)

Thing #16

Get Organized with Web 2.0 Tools

 

• I chose the iGoogle start page since I already have a Google account for this class. I like it but I doubt I'll use it as my permanent homepage. I honestly don't feel like it's very useful and I'm not very comfortable with putting everything on Google. I use Yahoo as my homepage since that is where I receive emails.
  
  
• The Yahoo calendar looks the best because I could sync it with my contact list and allow certain people to edit my calendar, something I'm sure my mom would love to do!
  
  
• The online to-do list seems like a good idea but probably too much work for me. I have a feeling it would just be something I create then forget about :-/
  
  
• I think the calendar would be something really go to have if you could collaborate and create one within the school where you work! That way everyone could know what was going on at all times and everyone could add and edit things.

Thing #15

What in the World is a Wiki?

This is the link to a Wiki I made during my first semester of college :)

eduforyou.pbworks.com

I think Wikis are great! I had to make one for a group project in one of my first education classes and I really enjoyed it. You create it then you can add however many users you choose to have access to it. For our project we each had to create a page within the wiki. Then all you have to do is make sure everything is up before the deadline and that your instructor has access to the page. Such an awesome, collaborative idea.

Thing #14

Go With the Flow

I chose to make my mind map with bubbl.us since minmeister looked a bit too complicated for me to use with my elementary school children. I agree that this is a great way of presenting a concept to your class without being too complicated. It's an excellent visual and ensures you don't forget any of your main ideas! This site in particular was SO easy to use as well as aesthetically pleasing.

Thing #13

Web-based Applications 

I have never heard of web-based word type applications but I think Zoho Writer is a great idea! Microsoft Office is really expensive so it's nice to see there are other options. It also seems a lot more versatile. You can export, publish, or even put the document right into your blog. It reminds me of the Cloud, which I use from Amazon for my music, except this is for documents.

I learn something new every day! I've never heard of Google Docs though it doesn't surprise me that Google has something like this. Google is seriously taking off! I think this application would be a great option for my students if they needed to work on any type of group project. Everyone may not have Microsoft Office but with this, all you need is internet access. Also, instead of printing out a huge stack of papers to turn in an assignment, Google Docs allows you to upload everything you need into one application - very Earth friendly!

If I had to choose between the Zoho Writer and Google Docs, I would probably prefer Google since I know more about them and it seems somewhat more reliable in my mind.

Thing #12

Google is Not Just for Searching Anymore
 

Picasa reminds me a lot of Flickr but would be a better option for those who prefer to use Google since they provide so many services! And again on Picasa I looked under the tag “Wedding” and found a beautiful picture!

Google Translate is a tool I have used before! This would be a great website to introduce your students to if they were wanting to learn a new language or traveling to another country.

Thing #11

Finding Good Feeds

• Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use?
  I think going to websites that you already know and love then looking for their RSS button works best for me. 
• Which Search tool was the easiest for you?
  I like http://technorati.com/ the most out of all the suggested ways to find interesting feeds. 
• Which was more confusing?
  Topix and Syndic8 both looked very boring and confusing to me. Not visually appealing. 
• What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels?
  I love http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/ and found out I can subscribe to the page and get movie reviews on my Google reader! Super cool! 
• What other tools or ways did you find to locate newsfeeds?
  You can always do a Google search! That is a way to find things that never fails me.

Thing #10

Set Up an RSS Reader and Add Feeds

• What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
  I like that it puts all of the latest updates from all of your favorite websites on one page.

• How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?  
  I think this is a tool I will be using at home from here on out. A lot of sites update you on things, like Facebook with your friends, and now, with the Google reader I can get updates from all of my favorite websites and news sources.

• How can teachers use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?
  With all of the interesting online resources for teachers that we have been exploring in this class, such as chatboards & blogs, it makes it easy for a teacher to explore all of the newest updates on those sites in a much faster and effective way.

Thing #9

Online Image Generators

I love these image generators even more than the Mashups! So much fun! They would be great to use for humorous birthday cards, silly posters in the classroom, or any one of the themes they have online. I found the link to both of my images on http://www.customsigngenerator.com/. 

They’re very different from each other but I think it gives a good idea of how versatile you can be with them.

 

 

Thing #8

Flickr Mashups

    
     

Spell with Flickr is so fun! Being creative is a major part of being a teacher and I could seriously see myself using these little Apps in the future! I had to have the site write “Will You Marry Me?” haha because it’s so cliché yet adorable. I also really wanted to see the Clockr site but I don’t think it works anymore. Using pictures to display the time sounds like an awesome little tool you could use in the classroom. The Mosaic one would be great to show students in an art class. Then you could have students collect magazines and newspapers to make their own collages.

 

As far as sharing photos online, I think it’s a bad idea. I know Flickr says they have privacy settings but it still makes me weary. Personal photos are just that – personal! The idea of the whole world having access to my images is very scary. In my eyes, privacy and the internet just do not go hand in hand.

Thing #7

Explore Flickr

I took the Flickr tour first and that was pretty informational. I do not have a Flickr but I think I had a Photobucket at one point in time. I mainly post all of my pictures on Facebook. 

So I was looking at all of the most popular tags on Flickr and “Wedding” caught my eye since I was just at a wedding this weekend! It had a lot of pictures of this one couple who are Asian and I immediately fell in love with the bride’s beautiful dress :)  

Here is a link to the picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenxi/6238309411/

 

Thing #6

Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

Google Earth is an awesome program! You can literally put in any address and it zooms into that exact location. There are icons that show where everything is located and what the places are exactly (school, church, mall, etc.). Those icons can link you to a place's website, if they have one. There are even real life photographs taken by people when they were there. I've personally used this program in a geography class and found it immensely helpful when researching a region and exploring places I can't actually go to.

Google Earth puts the whole world in your hands!
http://www.google.com/earth/index.html

Thing #5

Web 2.0 / School 2.0

We use web 2.0 technologies everyday (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogger). School 2.0 is taking those outlets and using them in the classroom. Instead of sticking with paper and pencil - teachers are starting to use the best, newest, most technologically advanced tools to educate their students. Essentially, teachers are giving their students the opportunity to learn for themselves and to connect and discuss with their peers.

Web 2.0 already seems amazing - who knows that the future holds! What will web 5.0 be like? Will an entire semester's worth of classes take place on an iPad?