...and that's a wrap!

Woohoo! Hello end of the semester, and end of 23 Things. It has been quite the journey, and I have learned a TON about Web 2.0 tools and how to incorporate them into the education world. Overall, there were several things that I really enjoyed. I think my favorite things were discovering new websites and tools that I never knew existed. I will be the first to admit that I may be an internet junky (I waste SO much free time) but I never knew about some of these sites. I did know about Google, but iGoogle was a whole other world! Also, Animoto is such a cool and creative site that I can use to create my own short videos. I plan to keep exploring the internet and discovering my own Web 2.0 tools that can possibly be utilized in my classroom. To help with this, I think I will keep my iGoogle account and regularly check my educational blog subscriptions. As an educator, it is SO important that you update your own knowledge and discover new things. Who knows, you can often find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.

I was pleasantly surprised with this activity. I thought I would become extremely overwhelmed with the amount of work, but each post honestly did not take very long. I really liked that I could explore the websites and tools and easily make a post about my discoveries. Although, it was tough maintaining all of my accounts for each website.

The only suggestion I have for the program is possibly a way to increase interaction with others in the class. I do remember a requirement to make a certain amount of posts on other blogs, but that did not create much discussion. I think it is important for everyone to collaborate with each other since we are all prospective educators and taking this class together. Maybe we could have a class discussion board that everyone could post questions and promote discussions? As long as the discussion board is provided for questions and help, but not a required activity to post in.

Overall, this was a great opportunity to learn and discover new things that I can definitely see myself using in the future!

Thing #23

While searching Google, I stumbled across PLCMC's Learning 2.0 blog displaying the list of the same "23 Things" similar to those used for APSU. So, APSU's "23 Things" modified some of the material from the blog. To use the material, APSU had to observe the copyright license provided by Creative Commons and follow the conditions of that copyright. The author of the blog allows sharing and distributing their work as long as attribution is given, you do not use for commercial purposes, and you do not alter their work. However, they allow a waiver of these conditions with the author's approval first.

I feel I will most definitely come across Creative Commons in the future as an educator. I will make sure to observe the copyright conditions of the materials I will use in my classroom. Everything from worksheets. pictures, and written works have Creative Commons copyrights, so as a teacher I must make sure I follow all of the terms and conditions to use such materials. Also, if I ever create my own work and wish to have a copyright, I can use Creative Commons. Finally, I will make sure my students understand the importance of following copyright conditions and Creative Commons is a simple way to show them how. Overall, I am glad I have learned about Creative Commons and will use it in the future.

Thing #22

• I created three binders, titled "Education: Lesson Planning," "Classroom Activities," and "Teaching Hot Topics."
• Teaching Hot Topics provides links to websites discussing hot topics in the teaching and education world. I also added a Google Search for the results in the folder, providing an even larger array of resources. 
• I really enjoy this site! I could easily use this in the classroom to organize important links and information for lesson planning, news, and many other categories. I could even create an account for my class in which students can access information and even create their own links to share with others. Overall, there are many uses for this site and I can definitely see myself using this in the future.

Thing #21

Animoto is so easy to use! While reading the instructions for this project, I was a little intimidated thinking it would take some time and skill to create a decent video. I was pleasantly surprised! Uploading pictures was quick and easy, and you can connect different accounts, such as Facebook and Flickr, instead of sorting through your picture files on your computer. I really enjoyed the pre-made video styles that you could choose from that had attractive animation styles and transitions between pictures. I also liked the song selections available already on the site, and you could also upload your own.

I decided to create a simple video with pictures of my husband and I. :)

Thing #20

Although there are many things to love and hate about the site, Youtube is definitely a social networking staple. I can remember when the site first caught attention while I was in high school, and within a few months it grew so much in popularity and everyone I knew used it. Since then, the site has become a sensation worldwide and is used in homes, in the office, and even in schools. Bloggers have started "vlogging," or video blogging and online shows have been created through Youtube. Even music artists such as Justin Beiber have been discovered from their videos on the site. The amount of potential for Youtube is huge!

I could easily use some of the ideas and features of Youtube for my own library website. I think my favorite feature is the use of tags, or keywords, added to each video. So, when a user types a certain keyword into the search bar, every video with that tag will show up making it easier to sort through the results.

I decided to attach the video "April Fools: Math Class Shadow" by MDWeathers. I found this video a while ago, but I still love it because it shows that teachers have a fun and creative site to them. Plus, it displays great use of technology. Enjoy!

Thing #19

While keeping up with textbooks and reading material is important, it is also crucial for educators to communicate with each other. Teachers should take advantage of social networking because a lot can be learned through communication and discussion that cannot be found in a textbook. Websites, such as TeacherPop and Ning, opens a window for discussions, questions, and advice between all teachers. Even the most experienced teacher can learn something important from these sites.

I am already a member of a few social networking sites, including Facebook, Etsy, Pinterest, Twitter, Youtube, and IMDB. I do enjoy these sites and each in a different way because they each have their own features which make them unique. Even though I do get a little bored and have trouble keeping up with each site, I don't see myself giving them up because technology is a big part of my life.

Thing #18

Twitter

Facebook is very familiar to me because I first created an account when I was still in high school around four years ago. Although some of the updates can be frustrating, this is an amazing social networking site and I admit that I may be addicted to it. I already had the College of Education page added, which was a great idea to stay informed and find contacts.

Considering I (and probably the majority of the world) already have a Facebook account, I decided to create a Twitter account, and I provided the link above. I did understand the purpose and how to use the site beforehand, but for some reason I never created an account before. I think waited to use Twitter because I'm already addicted to Facebook and, with my busy lifestyle, I knew I would do the same with Twitter. I would spend all of my time online and I'd never get anything done! Overall, I see the great appeal of social networking sites. You can become indirectly involved in the lives of friends, loved ones, celebrities, politicians, companies, and so much more. This is an excellent way of keeping in touch in a simple, quick way.

Teachers need to become informed of social networking sites because they can provide resources, such as inspiration for lesson plans and suggestions for managing a classroom. You can also pose your own questions and thoughts, and feed off of each other. Social networking sites help to keep you informed on current events, such as in the educational field. Also, your students will most likely be heavily involved in these sites and shape their lives around them. Staying informed can help a teacher understand the view of their students and teach them the educational uses of the sites.

Thing #17

Finding the exact and most appropriate online resource that you need for a class can be difficult - the internet is just so enormous! Even typing a topic into a search engine can produce hundreds of results, and not all of them are worthy material. Sorting materials for just the right resource can be tiring, and this is where social bookmarking comes into play. Sites such as Delicious provide a way for people to add and list the best resources on a topic, making it simple for others to find what they need. This can be used in an educational situation because teachers can find appropriate materials for their classes, and even provide their own lists for students to view when searching. Instead of spending hours sorting through a search engine and only finding a handful of good results, you can use social bookmarking sites to find just what you need, instantly.

Thing #16

• I decided to visit my iGoogle account again for this project, and it is my favorite to use because it incorporates extremely convenient displays that range from calendars, weather, news postings, games, and much more! The site is also educational because it provides gadgets such as "word of the day" that strengthens vocabulary and "this day in history" that provides historical facts. I might consider using this as my permanent home page.
• Once again, I turned to Google for creating a calendar because I already have an account and some of the other sites seemed confusing to me. Online calendars can be useful because they are easily accessible wherever you are, and you don't have to worry about forgetting it at home! Teachers can not only have an account for personal use, but they can also create and share an account with their students who can access it at home. Parents can also view the calendar and keep tabs on their child's homework. Online calendars have many different functions and are easy to use.
• Finally, I used the Remember the Milk website to create my online to-do list. I decided to use this website not just because of it's simple and attractive layout, but also because of the iPhone App! I can create my list online and send it to my phone for when I'm on the go - so useful! Right now I am planning my wedding for this summer, so this tool will definitely come in handy! I can set reminders, send and share tasks, and prioritize my lists. Overall, this online tool is tremendously helpful and can be applied to school life and personal life!

Thing #15

Already having experience with a Wiki page, I understand how useful this tool can be. In high school, I was involved in a photography class and the teacher created a Wiki page for the class. Basic information of the class was found on the main page along with upcoming projects and contests. Each member of the class also had their own page where they could upload their photos and others could edit and leave comments. Not only was the page informative, but it was also interactive. I would absolutely use this tool and share it with my students and colleagues.

Thing #14

Flow charts are fun graphics to use inside the classroom and can help catch the attention of students. The flexibility of flow charts can help them be used in many different ways. Web based tools which help you create flow charts can be extremely useful, and two of my favorites to use are Bubbl.us and Flowchart.com. I found these sites to be the easiest when creating a flow chart because they were simple yet still offered several creative options, (such as color... I like lots and lots of color!) Mindmeister was interesting, and I could see how a mind map could be used with students for writing exercises and brainstorming. I will definitely keep these sites in mind when I teach.

Thing #13

Alright, guys... Zoho is a pretty cool site! I am, however, reluctant to admit that the site confused me at first and it took me a while to understand how everything worked. But once I figured everything out, I was able to create and save a document that I can access later. I understand the many conveniences of using Zoho, however I'm not sure if I will continue to use it because of how confusing the layout of the site is.

     Compared to Zoho, I liked Google Docs much better. I could easily figure out how to create documents and save them onto my computer. (I uploaded a picture of my Siberian Husky named Ivan and created a fun little document.) Overall, I can appreciate the functions of both sites because it can be very useful to save and edit documents without purchasing an expensive program such as Microsoft Office. (This could have been useful right after I bought my new MacBook Pro and couldn't afford such programs!) I could also refer this to my students, because they could use these tools to work on documents in school and still access them at home. 

Thing #12

Again, Google leaves me surprised! I had no idea that so many tools were available through Google and that you could create and customize your own. I decided to create an iGoogle Homepage where I chose my own gadgets and interests to have available and posted on my page. I can keep up to date on what I am interested in, create and follow a checklist, add games, and many other fun and interesting things. I believe this could be useful in the classroom because either you can create a page for the entire class and make it available to all of your students. It can be also be used for students to create their own and offer a way for them to learn organization skills.

Next, I decided to create a Google Calendar, which was a very useful tool because it was simple and easy to use. Again, this could be used for the entire class as a way for students to keep up with a teacher's assignments. Students can also access it at home to view your lesson plans and discover what they missed in class. Additionally, they can create their own which will also help them to develop organizational skills.

Thing #11

...and technology gets even cooler! I have been so surprised by most of the "things" we have learned in this course so far, especially because I didn't know half of them existed! I didn't realize how advanced some Web 2.0 tools are and how extremely useful they are. The blog search tools used for this exercise definitely fit into that category.

I'm not sure what method I used for searching- I guess I was straightforward and typed in keywords of what I was looking for, then scanned through the results to see what popped up. Overall, I really enjoyed using the Google Blog Search because it was very simple and easy to use. It has an air of familiarity (the same design as the Google homepage we all know and love) and I can see myself using it again. I was able to browse each category that I searched and easily found what I was looking for. Although Topix was an interesting tool because it searched for newsfeeds pertaining to your topic, I found it to be the most confusing. The results from this search engine were scattered, meaning they seemed sort of random. (I searched "siberian husky" and received for-sale dog postings. Google Blog Search was a better fit because it provided interesting information and fun pictures.)

Overall, I found the most affective way to search for a specific topic would be to search for different keywords to receive broader results. Instead of just searching for "siberian husky," I tried searching for "husky," "snow dog," "sled dog," and other keywords. I found this to be the best way to search for a wider range of material.

I am attaching Gone to the Snow Dogs, one of my cool finds. They have an awesome (and adorable) video of huskies on their page!

Thing #10

I may be technologically challenged... It definitely took me about half an hour to figure out how to subscribe on Google Reader (which may or may not be due to my fever I am running tonight... But I digress.)

However, once I FINALLY figured it out, I realized how useful RSS Readers and Add Feeds are. Modern technology provides us with so many different websites, and everyday we stumble upon new and interesting sources. We can sometimes be overwhelmed while trying to keep up with everything, and sites like Google Reader help to keep all of the information in one spot. So, instead of visiting 10 websites each day, we can visit our readers and catch up with everything all at once. I chose to subscribe to three different teacher sites (Cool Cat Teacher, Blue Bird's Classroom, and Learn Me Good,) a classroom blog (Mr. Buxton's 5th Grade Class,) and a technology resource site (Free Tech 4 Teachers.)

This can be extremely useful as a teacher because you can create a reader for the entire class, much like Mr. Buxton's 5th Grade Class, and students can utilize your resources. Or, you could have each student create their own reader so they can add their own resources that they are interested in.

Thing #9

This exercise was so fun! I could definitely use these tools in the classroom because my students can create their own fun pictures for projects. Also, I could create some fun pictures to spice up handouts and help to grab my students' attentions.

The first image I created was with The Image Chef Word Mosaic, and I chose to include words which fit my blog. This tool was fun because you could write whatever words you wanted to, use any image outline for the words (I chose the number 23) and choose your own colors.

I also used the Header Bar image generator to create my own blog header. I used the antique book background in an attempt to match my blog. Although I probably won't use this as my actual blog header, it was still a fun experience customizing it. 

Thing #8

Photo sharing is such a fun way to communicate with others, and websites such as Flickr help make the experience imaginative and creative. There are many tools and mashups created by Flickr users to create collages, puzzle pictures, and many other interesting effects for your pictures. One of my favorites to use is the mosaic maker on bighugelabs.com where you can create a mosaic collage of pictures with several different templates. Possibly the best feature of this tool is the search bar used to add pictures because you can search pictures on Flicker, upload pictures, and even link your Facebook account so you can chose directly from your own albums. I decided to use several of my favorite pictures with my husband and some adorable pictures of our siberian husky, Ivan. :)

I could see myself using these tools inside the classroom with my students in several different ways. I could create a mosaic collage of pictures to introduce myself at the beginning of the school year, almost as a way for my students to get to know me. In return, I could have them create their own collages too, and make it into a "show and tell" projects. I could also use this to create fun and educational displays, such as handouts with each subject that I teach, and as a cheaper alternative to decorate my classroom in posters. Hence, there are many ways to incorporate photo sharing and creative photo tools as a teacher.

Thing #7

I have heard a lot of hype about the site Flickr, but have to admit that I never really knew what it was all about. I did understand it was for photo sharing, but I figured it was like other sites I have visited before. However after searching through Flickr, I instantly understood why it has such popularity- users can upload and create "stories" with their photos. The search engine is easy to use and accurate while finding specific tags for photos or groups of photos. One reason why I enjoy this site compared to others similar to it is because it is interactive and has a sense of "community" to it. I could easily see Flickr being used in a school setting for students to search photos for projects.

                                                           Summer Sunset by: CubaGallery

I chose this photo because I love the colors; summer can't get here soon enough!

Thing #6

"We are anthropologists of commerce. We’re curious about people and what they make, exchange and consume. By looking around at the stuff that matters to our lives, we believe we can understand more about what moves us as human beings."

When it comes to the Web 2.0 Awards, Etsy.com is a FABULOUS site! Etsy provides an outlet to buy and sell handmade goods of many different categories. The reason why I absolutely love this site is because it gives any artist to spotlight their talents and sell them for profit; in other words, you don't have to be Martha Stewart! I hope to one day open my own account and sell some of my work! Some other features are found on the site, including blogs and videos covering different subjects like DIY, travel, and hot topics. It is obvious that the editors of the site care a lot about what they do and creating a community atmosphere for their users.

I could easily see this site being used in an academic setting because it can inspire students to create their own projects. I know in high school I used this site several times in my art class to help come up with ideas for paintings. It can also be a great way to demonstrate to students the economics of running a "company" or account and create products for consumers. There are several different approaches to using the site in an educational manner.

Provided are some different products you can find on Etsy:

Wooden Journal

Finger Puppets

Hooded Poncho

Canvased Photography

For a full list of categories (which there are a TON) check out the website. You never know, you might find your own inspiration. :)

Thing #5

Growing up, (like most others), I didn't have much access to technology. I was a 90's kid through and through, as the most television I watched consisted of Friday nights being glued to the television watching Corey and Topanga and other characters of TGIF shows. Though the internet was completely foreign to me when I was young, I did experience it more as a teenager when social networking sites grew in popularity. Beginning with message boards, AOL chat, Myspace, and eventually Facebook, I can say technology came into my teen years. However, the current young generations are beginning with this new Web 2.0 age, not knowing of a time before. It is not uncommon to see an elementary child with a laptop or iPhone, "twittering" or "facebooking" to their friends. (Websites are even changing our vocabulary- all you have to do is add an "ing" to the end of a site name! Isn't "googling" officially in a dictionary or something?)

It does not take a genius to discover that technology is changing the way of our future, including the future of education. The 2008 Horizons Report even shows how schools, universities, and educational companies are participating in internet media to connect to others, including students. Other perspectives, such as Teachers 2.0 and Web 2.0: A Guide to Educators, explain that it is our duty as educators to become involved and integrate it into our classrooms.

Technology is already a part of our lives and to embrace it and use it to our educational advantage will benefit our students.
And, hey, technology probably isn't going anywhere, huh? Let's put it to good use!

Thing #4

Interacting with other authors and commenting on their blogs helps to create a sense of community in several ways; it can help inspire new ideas, create conversations, express feelings and opinions on a topic, and bring life and purpose to writing. Comments are an important part of blogs, (and are almost a duty for bloggers!) If you spend time and thought writing on your blog, wouldn't you want some feedback also?

I decided to fulfill my duty and commented on the following blogs: Clement's Journey Into the 23 Things,   Gryffindonald, Weber's Technology Class, Farmer's 23 Things, Abby Smith's 23 Things, Rhodes 23 Things, and Tucker's 23 Things. I wanted to be helpful in my comments while also inspiring further thought and conversation. Hopefully I was successful!

Thing #3

As I read over the EduBlog Insights, I realized there are many useful ways I could use a blog and incorporate it as an important educational tool. One of the best ways to utilize a blog is to use it as a window of communication. If a student becomes ill or has an emergency and cannot attend school, the teacher can use a blog to post assignments so the student won't fall behind. This is also an excellent tool to communicate with parents who are unable to attend conferences and wish to see lesson plans and understand the concepts of what their child is learning. Overall, I believe a blog can provide important communication outside of the classroom.

Thing #2

Creating a blog is a lot of fun! In the past I have created other blogs, and to be honest I usually spend the majority of my time deciding on colors and a layout. When it came to deciding on a posting and blog name, I wanted to make sure I would be able to remember them easily so I went simple and used my first and last name. Although, I did add more personality into my avatar because I decided to make her look just like me. I think I did a good job!

Thing #1

While observing the "7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners" online tutorial, I noticed some habits which seemed harder and some that seemed easier for me to follow. First, the third habit, or "View problems as challenges," seemed like it would be the hardest to me. I have a tendency to become obsessive when I am extremely focused on my work. If I come across an obstacle in my work which poses as challenging, I become frustrated. Instead of viewing the obstacle as a problem and turning to frustration, I should instead view the obstacle as a challenge. (Afterall, the word challenge sounds much more intriguing than problem.) Additionally, I did find a habit which is easier for me to follow. The first habit, "Begin with the end in mind," is something that comes naturally to me. Finishing any type of work is much easier when focusing on achieving your goal. Also, this makes your hard work much more satisfying! :)

Overall, I hope learn more and further my education in Web 2.0 tools, and to identify how they can help me along my journey of becoming a teacher. I did enjoy creating my blog (and spending most of my time picking out colors - there goes my OCD!) as I have created a few before in the past. I am excited to see the other fun projects we will encounter with the 23 Things for Teachers!