Fun Sun Summer Learnin'

Thing # 11.5: Evaluation

2009-08-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

Yea! Wow! Awesome! Congratulations to me! I have completed 11.5 More Things and am so proud of myself for sticking to it and learning more about the technological world we live in. Here are some of my thoughts on the way it went at the beach:

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I loved the Animoto program and was so excited to discover that I can have a free account as an educator and thus make longer than 30 sec. videos. It was wonderful to continue this technological adventure and my attempt to remain in the know. I loved finally understanding what the "hype" on Skype was all about and be able to use it. I am also proud to admit that I am a Facebook junkie!

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals.

I am so thankful for the team of lifeguards that put this all together. There is so much out there in the cyber world and to have the chance to learn it in this way makes it so much easier and user-friendly. I am more willing to take risks in the world of technology and continue to grow as an educator. I am looking forward to incorporating my new-found knowledge into the classroom this year! My students will have a ball with Animoto and Wordle. I feel more confident about uploading videos to use in my flipcharts and so on and so on.....

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

This online class has further enriched my technology skills beyond which I ever expected. I have learned so many new techniques that are going to help me collaborate with my fellow teachers and my students this year. Digital Citizenship was a whole new concept that I am going to instill within my curriculum this year. I will definitely be changing up the way we talk with our students about computer usage in the classroom. Focus more on the behavior expectations in a digital world and the positive aspects of technology so we all can "play fair" and understand the boundaries. AUP's and ISTE Standards will now become the norm when I approach my students this year in our techie adventures.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program's format or concept?

Don't change a thing! I loved everything about it: the set up, step-by-step guide, the F2F Sun Burn Clinic, it was all great. I feel like I have walked away with so much! Thank you! Thank you! I am so proud of myself for finishing!

Thing # 11: Digital Citizenship (11.5 Things)

2009-07-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

After reading up on digital citizenship I realized how much is taken for granted when working with technology. I feel that most importantly, when working with students, we need to instill in them not to believe everything they see and read on the internet. They need to still be taught to use a variety of resources on a topic. We, as teachers, cannot rely on parents alone to do this. It needs to be coming from several avenues of people in the child's life. As teachers, it is an obligation we need to fulfill and teach to our students daily. Students need to understand the variety of issues related to technology and be sure they are practicing legal and ethical behavior from as early an age as possible. In order for this to be done, it is vital for teachers to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility continuously. Teachers need to invariably improve their professional practice in order to effectively support student learning and the ever changing realm of technology.
In order to encourage my students to be good digital citizens the five things I would want to instill in them would be:
1. Cyber Security
2. Personal Safety
3. Intellectual Property
4. Cyber Bullying
5. Surf Safe Webpages

Thing # 10 Virtual Worlds (11.5 Things)

2009-07-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

OK....the virtual world thing is pretty foreign to me. I went ahead and joined SecondLife and named my person. It took a while to get used to the movement of her, but it was cool to be able to walk up to people and begin a conversation. I asked this girl who was standing reading some billboards where I could go to get some new clothes and she replied instantly that she was new and looking for that too. I can definately see kids getting into this. My daughter likes to play the Sims game - she has not in a while due to lack of time and it just does not interest her as much as when she first began and played. My sons sometimes will play games online where they chat with other players, most they know from school, and it is just amazing to me that this is the kind of games that are out there for kids these days. I would never have believed it back then if you had told me my children would be playing such interactive games communicating with other players halfway around the world at times. It is just amazing!

Although I teach 4th grade and in order to be a player you have to be 18 or older on a lot of these games, I could still go on and have my students watch as I enter many virtual realms that are educational. I learned that there are virtual campuses where students can meet, attend classes, and create content together. I read also that SecondLife has a professional development medium for educators so I went to check it out. Well, I did not get to far with my girl. I am still too new at moving her and getting her to go where I want her to. But, I read that there is shared learning among educators, networking, a place to run inworld seminars, conferences, and symposia on learning and creativity related to virtual worlds. I am very impressed with the possibilities SecondLife has to offer. I would think high school and college students with appropriate guidance would be able to utilize this program to their best advantage. Like I've said before...."Things...they are a changin' ".

Thing # 9: Slideshare (11.5 things)

2009-07-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

I think students in today's classroom would find Slideshare a very useful and resourceful way for them to share what they know and also search for what they need to find out. As a teacher, I have gone online and come across other Power Points that have been created on topics that we teach. They can be very useful. We have even downloaded these Power Points, changed them up to fit our students' needs, and used them in our teaching.
I have not heard the term "Slideshare" before nor the lingo that defines it as a Power Point hosting service. Slideshare was developed to share PowerPoints; it is ideal for getting ideas for presentations (great research tool for both students and teachers); and you can include narration with your PowerPoint that you decide to Slideshare. I viewed an example of a Slideshare called "Top 10 Reasons Libraries are Still Important". The slides were funny, but there was no sound which was disappointing.
Digital Inspiration has a great article listing the most popular hosting services for getting your PowerPoint online and I found Splashcast to be the one I would go with. I like how it was described as a "one size fits all" web player. It sounds very convenient and easy to me (I like that!). Splashcast allows you to embed PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, MP3 songs, videos, and photographs right inside one player. It also brags that the effects between slides are very impressive. This would attract students to use it!

Thing # 8: Screencast (11.5 Things)

2009-07-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

When I began Thing # 8 I did not have a clue as to what a screencast was, but as soon as I read up on it my brain did a big "AH HA, I have seen those before" reaction. When comparing ScreenCastle and ScreenToaster I think I am going to go with ScreenToaster. They are both free, but you have to register for the later (big deal?) The comments on ScreenCastle all seem to sum up that it gives the user the "bare bones" options. The software I am going to go with is Comtasia Studio. I like the tips that one particular blogger wrote: * use fixed recording region (640X480)

* set screen recording to autopan (this way the region you are recording moves as you move the mouse)

When I viewed her example of screencasting on what to save the movie as I noted that both versions were blurry, but it did say to save it as a .MOV file no matter so I will do that. Well, I am off to make a screencast and hopefully get it posted. What to do, what to do.........

Thing # 7: Video Resources (Thing # 11.5)

2009-07-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

The video on fair use and what it entails answered a lot of questions about what a person can and cannot do when utilizing videos and video clips. The main points I got out of it only make sense and that is to not let your work become a substitute for the original and use the material long enough to make your point, but no further. Of course credit should
ALWAYS be given to the originator.
As I explored the various video sources for educationally useful videos I came across quite a few and had to finally stop and get to my blog. I embedded a cute video with the Smothers Brothers discussing the Wright Brothers flight career. It is an American History quiz video and it goes great with our unit on Flight. The link is down below for those interested in viewing it. I looked at US National Archives and this would be useful during our Rocketry unit. It had links to NASAexplorer and NASAtelevision (there were many other links at the bottom that bring you to pages on the nasa.gov website. Google Videos is another great source. I searched for videos that had to do with physics for kids and many videos came up. They were, however, very slow to download!! There was a link under the video to view it through yahoo and when I went there it was still very choppy! The source I really liked is called TOTLOL! This is a great site for parents and teachers of preschoolers/elementary age children. I found some great video clips for my daughter about the letters of the alphabet and counting. They were quick to view and were not choppy. This was a fun "Thing" to exlplore and I could spend a lot more time searching for videos to use in my class, but I must move on to Thing # 8!

Aftermath of Wright Brothers First Flight

2009-07-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.history.com/video.do?name=science&bcpid=1681694258&bclid=1672079625&bctid=1628984849

Thing # 6: iTouch Apps (11.5 Things)

2009-06-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

My daughter graciously loaned me her iTouch and I was able to "play around" with it. I found some great educational apps that were in the "top free" games under the education category. It was easy to do and fun to search for. Each app gives a brief description and an age the game would be appropriate for. I found ten great ones which I will describe below:
1. Catch and Count: this is a simple and fun interactive game for young children to learn numbers. They move a truck along the bottom of the screen with their finger and catch falling Easter eggs. As the eggs are caught a voice counts out loud the number. My youngest daughter (4) played this one and liked it. She kept wanting to drag the truck up into the sky to catch the eggs, but soon got the feel for moving it along the bottom.
2. Memory Match: This is a memory game where the player has to match all pairs of animals. It is great entertainment and good at developing fine motor skills. My daughter really liked this one and had no problem catching on.
3. Math Drills Lite: This game helps the player learn basic math skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It allows the player to explore solutions using number lines, wooden blocks, facts, and hints the full version even lets the teacher track student progress for accuracy and speed. The teacher can set the number of problems for reviews, practices, and tests.
4. States & Capitals Free: This app has flashcards for each of the 13 original states containing its capital and flag, voice pronunciation of each state and capital, and a link to Google maps for each state. Students can check their memorization skills by playing the timed game mode with 10, 20, 30, and 50 questions which are recorded in the scoring table to track progress. The full version has all 50 states, but you have to buy it.
5. iWriteWords Lite (Tracing Game) : This app teaches young children handwriting while playing a fun and entertaining game. The child has to help Mr. Crab collect the numbers in sequence by dragging him with their finger - and drawing the letter at the same time. Once all the letters in the word are drawn properly, a cute drawing appears. When the itouch is tilted the letters slide into the rotating hole and the child is advanced to the next level.
6. Animal Fun: This is an animal learning program for children. They learn about animals by seeing and hearing the sounds an animal makes. It combines an easy-to-use interface and fun sound effects to entertain children while they learn. It gives the nam, sound of the animal, and spells it too. They are like interactive flashcards. My daughter loves to hear the animal sounds on this one.
7. Numbers Memory Match: Great for improving memory and cognitive skills by matching numbers and colors. Each time the card is flipped, the number of the flipped card is spoken. Players have to match the same number and color in order to receive points.
8. VocabWiz SAT Lite: A tool used to improve vocabulary and boost test scores. Features 200+ frequently tested SAT vocabulary words. Need to purchase the full version software which contains over 4700 words. Example sentences given that demonstrate proper usage of each word. Correct pronunciation of each word, quiz mode, and easy self-assessment. Great for middle and high school students!
9. Pop Math Lite: A fun way to practice basic math. You have to pop bubbles of the same fact families. Only addition is offered in the lite version. Full version features addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, including the choice to practice a given operator for even better drills.
10. myHomework: Simple and easy app for students to use in order to keep track of their homework, classes, projects, and tests while. It resembles a notebook, the sections are separated by colorful "sticky pads" that mark the page. Students can quickly enter their class schedule and use it to differ between HW assignments. myHomework will also notify them when they have upcoming assignments by numbering them on their app icon. This seems to be a great app for middle school and up ages.

Thing # 5: Microblogging (11.5 Things)

2009-06-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

I found the small scale form of blogging known as microblogging absolutely fascinating. I really got into Facebook and setting that up for the past few days...did I say days....yes I did! I have gotten in touch with people I have not seen nor heard from since we graduated high school so many moons ago! What an awesome way to reconnect and stay connected! As a teacher, this would be cool to have a Facebook students could get to. I don't know how that would work though...my daughter had a 5th grade teacher who had a web page a few years back and I thought that was awesome! It was a great way to stay connected with what was going on in her classroom. She posted HW assignments, announcements, and even photos! I know Facebook is very popular with the young crowd and when used correctly and respectfully can be a valuable tool for them! Cyberbullying is a dangerous thing and kids need to be educated as to the effects of it on others. Anyway, I am straying.....
Now about twittering....this I have not explored as in depth, but seems like another great tool to stay connected. I really liked Laura Walkers article "Nine Great Reasons Why Teachers Should Use Twitter". I like the fact that you develop your own list of people to follow and you have to express yourself in 140 characters or less - that takes self-discipline! Overall, Mrs. Walker sums it up very well by saying, "We need to be able to speak the same language as our kids in order to motivate and relate to them".
Now on Back-Channeling....I do not see this working in my classroom setting, but definately in a college/lecture setting or at a large teacher inservice or conference.

Thing # 4: Video Hosting (11.5 Things)

2009-06-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

I checked out YouTube, TeacherTube, and SchoolTube. They all are terrific resources for both teachers and students. I like the fact that SchoolTube promotes being SAFE . FUN . FREE. Like I have said before the world of technology today has opened up so many doors of opportunity for our students it is unbelievable! In our classroom we have accessed all three of these resources for our units of study. We have found some fantastic physics clips that we downloaded and imbedded in our powerpoint presentations to our class. There is great stuff out there, it just takes time to hunt for it. As far as students creating videos and uploading them to these sites, we have not gotten that far yet. The directions on how to do it were very simply laid out and seem to be quite user friendly. As I said earlier, I tried to upload my Animoto and you have to purchase the full length video in order for it to be able to do it. Anyway, I am so excited to be learning all about this stuff and to be able to understand it once and for all. I can actually have an intelligent conversation with my 14 year old daughter!!

Thing # 3: Like Skype (11.5 Things)

2009-06-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

I can see Skype being useful in the classroom with classes talking to other classes from all over the world about an endless number of topics. Videoconferencing is so popular now. Its on Oprah and almost every television talk and news program. It is inevitable that this ends up in the classroom. I went ahead and set up my account and began to add contacts (only have one so far). Anybody want to send me their username? Anyway, it was very easy to do and I went ahead through the steps to change the privacy settings so I would not forget. Just sounded too scary to leave it open for just anyone to contact you. It would be so cool to talk to kids in other parts of the country and see what they are learning about physics. Or what other teachers are doing. Skype is such a great opportunity to open up your classroom to the entire world and share with others what you know and what you want to know. I also think it is a cool way to conference with parents when they are unable to make it up to school or when Dad is off on a business trip and can't make it in person, we can still include him with Skype. The possibilities are endless!!

Thing # 2 Image Generators 2 (11.5 Things)

2009-06-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have been playing around with Wordles and Animotos for a while, they are so much fun! Wordles would be great for our students to use as a review for what they have learned during all of our units of study in 4th grade. We study physics the entire year and the students could make a wordle on one of the three laws of motion or one of the many other topics of physics we study that interest them. The one I posted below I created using the main objectives we teach in physics.

Animotos were a lot of fun too! I made one for my daughter who graduated from 8th grade. It was cool to have the music playing in the background. The choices of music were pretty reasonable. The one thing that disappointed me was the fact that you only get a 30 second clip and you cannot email or upload the Animoto Shorts unless you pay for a full length video.

In the classroom animotos could work if students worked in groups and had one student taking pictures of what was going on in the group and then they collaberated to make an animoto for the group. Another option would be for the teacher to take random shots of the class in action and surprising them with an animoto of all the pictures. We have flip cameras now which we can use and it is the same concept without the price tag. Overall though, animotos would be another resource to show students and they possibly could use it from home.

Glogster.com/edu was interesting to learn about. It kind of reminds me of facebook (even though I do not have one yet), but from what I have heard it does. I like the idea of it being an interactive poster that students can access and be part of. I can see how this would really keep them engaged in the learning process and make it fun. Teachers are able to monitor their students' posters and thus maintain the role of facilitator allowing the student free reign of where they want to go and learn.

Bookr is a fabulous tool for students, teachers, and really anybody. I love it! This could easily take the place of a research paper or power point presentation. A terrific product option for students. Teachers could use this to introduce a lesson - what a fun set!

Thing # 1: The Networked Student (11.5 More Things)

2009-06-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

With the way technology is heading, I think the Networked Student just "makes sense". I love the idea of connected learning - a student is able to connect with new contacts and learn effectively from those he already knows. The most impressive opportunity I found for students would be podcasts. Students are able to subscribe and listen to lectures by college professors from prestigious colleges without stepping foot on the campus. Now that is cool! "Mom I'm going to Berkley today to listen to a lecture by Professor X on the topic of cross cultural communication". Teachers are still important however (I like that!) in order to help the student build their network and to offer guidance and support. Teachers are vital also in order to show the student how to differentiate between good info. and propeganda.

Thing # 23: Summarize Your Thoughts

2008-08-08T19:33:00.001-07:00

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I had a few favorites that I discovered along my journey. I loved del.icio.us and organizing my favorite websites, learning how tags work and using them along the way, googledocs was great and invaluable to me, and I also had fun making my avatar.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This online course has pushed me to venture into unchartered territory on the web that I may never have gone and discovered on my own.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I loved exploring del.icio.us and being able to organize my websites. I never knew there were sites out there that did this.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program's format or concept?
The format of this program fit my learning style perfectly! I am glad I had the opportunity to complete the 23 Things in the summer instead of during the school year. I probably would not have been able to find the time since I do not stay up as late once school is in session. Some of the earlier Things (like #7) had quite a few sub-things to complete.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this one in the future, would you choose to participate?
I would definitely consider participating in another online program like 23 Things!

6. How would you describe your learning experience in one word or one sentence?

ENRICHING!

Thing # 22: Nings

2008-08-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

I checked out the Ning for Teachers site and joined. It was a great place to go and visit. I never knew there were places like this out on the web. It was fabulous! To be able to talk with other teachers from all over and discuss lesson plans, classroom management advice, create blogs, and view other blogs. There was so much to do, I spent most of my time exploring and reading other teachers' blogs. One blog had a discussion on what your "secret curriculum" as a teacher would be. I liked the one teacher who said they would like "to have all my students learn to be their best at everything and to smile and enjoy the journey". I think that every teacher should encorporate some, if not all, of this into their "philosophy" of teaching. Ning for Teachers is a great opportunity to connect with other teachers and share your thoughts and ideas on so many topics for not only teachers, but all different kinds of people in the field of education. It was fascinating!

Thing # 21: Podcasts and Audio Books

2008-08-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

I loved the Common Craft video: "Podcasts in Plain English". Those guys are so talented in my eyes with how they are able to explain things in such a fun, unique way that the viewer goes away with complete understanding. Podcasts are convenient and easy to use. I used photostory to make a podcast on the pictures my partner took when she went to the FIRST Robotics competition back in April 2008 in Atlanta. She returned with a bunch of great photos and stories to tell the students. I took the pictures and put them on the computer and shared them with the students by opening each one individually and my partner would explain what was going on. With photostory, I created a podcast that put most of the pictures together with music in the background and we can use it as a "hook" to introduce our robotics unit. Check it out below! Wow! I cannot believe I am almost done with 23 Things!
OK I have spent two days trying to get my photostory to download below, but I am unable to. I do not have administrator rights so it kept refusing to complete the download of the program from the microsoft website. I will have to wait until I get back to school and get the program on my computer.

Thing # 20: Explore YouTube and TeacherTube

2008-08-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that I learned how to download a video to my blog! It was very easy! I went to TeacherTube and found this video on PreAlgebra because we are going to begin a math unit with our students this year dealing with Algebra. They had a bunch of instructional videos for this topic.

Thing # 19: Web 2.0 Awards List

2008-08-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

This thing was so much fun to explore. It was great having award winning links right at my fingertips. I saw many familiar tools on there like: del.icio.us, google docs, technorati, flickr, rollyo, craigslist, and youtube. I went to myheritage and tried to find my family's website, but there were too many listed so I need to contact my cousin in Oregon and ask him what our site address is and try to visit and share family photos etc. What a great site to show our students and have them begin a family tree and keep in touch with relatives all over the world! I also explored SpanishPod and this looked interesting. I am going to go back and get more info., but it looked like a free site to learn Spanish at your own pace. The only way you pay is if you want to buy all of the podcasts on one DVD. My daughter is taking Spanish in school and I would love to learn the language, but have never had time to take a class offered by the district. Maybe this is my answer! I looked at Docstoc and found it to be similar to google docs so I did not spend much time exploring there. I will go back though because I want to see if the site will be able to download our newsletters since google docs does not take any over 500 KB.

Thing # 18: Online Productivity Tools

2008-08-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

I went and explored Google Docs simply because I am used to and familiar with Google. I did not know this kind of feature existed. I like the concept of being able to access my lesson plans or other documents from any computer once they are saved to Google Docs. It was very easy to access and utilize. Uploading documents and organizing them into folders was simple! I was disappointed, however, that it would not accept documents over 500 KB which include all of our newsletters we send home weekly. Maybe there is a way I can work around it - I am going to persevere with this one and try to be able to get our newsletters there. That would be so convenient! I have already begun putting our lesson plans there so that I am ready when school starts. Then I can bring my computer back and not have to take it home as often to work on, I can just work on my computer at home and access Google Docs from the internet.

Thing # 17: Rollyo

2008-07-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have to say that Bruce's Rollyo Video was superb! It gave an excellent explanation of Rollyo and step-by-step directions on how to get started and use this wonderful tool. I loved it! I went ahead and set up an account and saved my first search roll on Physics (our first unit of study for the year). It was very easy! I am going to set up a search roll for each of our units in 4th grade. We use the internet with our students when we introduce physics and our other units because there are some great sites that put physics in motion and that makes it more fun and interesting for our strategy of teaching physics to our students. They really enjoy the sites that have simulations where they get actively involved in the learning process. It is nice to be able to go to a place and organize the sites to all be there at once. Students also have the ability to access rollyo from their school or home computer which is fabulous for us because we usually have to send them home with a list of the internet addresses to go visit and show their families. Now we just have to give them the rollyo address and all of the sites will be there for them. How convenient!

Thing # 16 Wikis

2008-07-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

The Common Craft Video: "Wikis in Plain English" reminded me that I attended a session at a conference on this and I did not really "get it". When I saw it this go 'round it started making sense. I am the type of person though who needs to have hands-on experience with something like wikis in order to completely feel comfortable with it. I can see this being used personally with planning our family reunion. With relatives scattered all over the United States, planning a reunion with wikis makes so much more sense than using emails. My cousin in Oregon tried to get us all together this summer and he started last year to get it organized, but it mostly went by word of mouth and emails. In the end it was cancelled because of lack of organization. I am going to ask him if he has ever heard of wikis!
In the classroom I would love to see students use a wiki when working on a group project. Our students get together once a week for an entire day and a wiki would be a great way for them to keep in touch during the week and keep the planning going. If students did not have access to a computer at home then I am sure we would be able to work something out with our fabulous librarians for students to have computer time while back on their home campuses.

Thing # 15 Library 2.0

2008-07-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

It just seems so logical to me that Library 2.0 would be the direction that our libraries are moving towards in this day and age. The video "A Vision of Students Today" had such a powerful message. It reinforced within me the old saying "times .... they are a changin'. Library 2.0 is the way of the future. In a way though I feel saddened that our students futures and their childrens' futures will involve less and less of going to the library and checking out real "books". There is just something about that and it bothers me. One of the statistics mentioned on the video was that one student read only 8 books vs 23 web pages and 1281 facebook profiles also they wrote only 42 pages for class vs. over 500 pages of email. I just hope that the 1281 facebook profiles they read and the 500 email pages they wrote were of some educational value and not just fulfilling their social life obligations.
I value the fact that Library 2.0 helps users find information, gather knowledge, and create content. Do I dedect a little Blooms or what? Library 2.0 is accessable from anywhere and this makes it so convenient for people who cannot get to a library or it is closed. It helps to build connections - you can actually gather opinions from people all over the world from your own living room! Library 2.0 ensures that library services are constantly updated and reevaluated to best serve library users. This is all just so different from when I was growing up and going to school. Students now-a-days literally have the world at their fingertips and that is so cool. Research is nothing like it used to be. The user of Library 2.0 actually has the opportunity to give feedback in order for them to stay current and make the library relevant to what they want and need. Students can actually shape this and take ownership in so doing. Yes, indeed, times they are a changin' and I am trying to go along for the ride.

Thing # 14 Technorati

2008-07-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Technorati definately saves time when searching for blogs. It is organized and user friendly. I looked at blogs, posts and tags and found my search for "School Library Learning 2.0" more efficient in blogs. I have been exploring this for most of the afternoon and it has been very consuming. I am still not much of a "blogger" yet and really see myself using a site like del.icio.us instead. I did find, however, that the video options in technorati will be of possible use in the classroom to incorporate in the science lessons we teach.

Thing # 13 Del.icio.us

2008-07-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love del.icio.us!! It is so up my alley of organization! I got signed up on del.icio.us and was able to install the two buttons no problem on my task bar - it was so easy. I then spent time exploring and tagging various websites of interest. This is going to be so useful in organizing our units and the corresponding websites to go along with them. I love how you just type in a topic and all kinds of sites pop up in a list to choose from. The tag button on my task bar makes it simple to bookmark and leave notes about the site. What a useful tool for teachers to have! I can't wait to share this one when we get back to school!

Thing # 12 Creating Community Through Commenting

2008-07-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

This Thing involved quite a bit of informative reading. I really liked the blog called "How to Comment Like a King (or Queen)". I will admit that I am not sure I will be able to become a full time blogger with my busy life of being a Mom of four great kids, a wife, and a teacher. Despite that I gained some very useful knowledge for being a "newbie" to all of this. I like the concept of "If you don't care, don't comment". I am not one to waste my time on something if it does not have meaning for me and I am not passionate about the topic. I also thought the idea of the CoComment site was cool. This would be a great tool for me. I like to be organized and this site keeps track of all the places you have commented and lets you read recent comments to those posts. I tried to download it to my computer, but I have to have administrator rights so I guess it will have to wait until I get back to school in August. I went ahead and left a comment on Vicki's blog thanking her and commending her on spelling out the etiquette of blogging so simply.
The "10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog" was also informative, but it seemed to be geared for those who have time to blog A LOT and are trying to attract commentors to their blog. Don't see me there yet.
I enjoyed the "Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting". This was a concise, quick to read list of blogging etiquette - very helpful for "newbies".
I joined a blog called "The Ridgewood Blog". I grew up in this town and there was a drowning in the town pool last week that was such a tragedy. For years people have been trying to shut that pool down and I wanted to keep myself posted as to the status of it. I also joined Vicki Davis' blog because I found it to be very informative and user friendly as far as blogs go. She is an educator and has many related topics on her blog that are of interest to me.

Thing # 11 Library Thing

2008-07-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

Library Thing was definately fun to use. I added a few of my favorite books to my list which was easy to do. I like how other members make recomendations of books that have to do with your same genre. It would be great to sit and catalog my books I have here at home and also my own childrens books. This takes time though to sit and utilize and because of that I am not sure how much I would benefit from it. I have inserted my list below. Now I am going to check out how to make a bookshelf - that looks really cool.
http://www.librarything.com/home/read2menow

Thing # 10: Online Image Generator

2008-07-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun with image chef! This would really be useful in the classroom as a way to engage the students when we introduce a lesson. I also like the comic strip generator and can just imagine how our students would be so creative with this. There are so many images to choose from, students would have a ball, yet still be challenged because the text needs to be short and to the point yet portray something they have learned.
ImageChef.com Flower Text

Thing # 9: Useful Library-Related Blogs and News Feeds

2008-07-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

My favorite blog search would have to be Google Blog Search. I love using Google and I use it all the time so it was simple for me to search for blog topics with the Google Blog Search. I used it to search mainly news topics. Bloglines Search Tool was also easy to utilize and get news feeds. I really like Houstonist to see what is happening around Houston.

Thing # 8 RSS Feeds and Readers

2008-06-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) makes searching so much easier. Now the topics and news that interest me come to me instead of me searching for them. This is such a convenient tool! It just takes a little time to set up. I can enter a topic that we are studying in class and receive the most current info. on it. This is great especially for us teachers since it is so vital that we are always current on the topics we teach. I set up mine to receive current news, a recipe a day, joke of the day, Mike Falick's Blog, The World's Healthiest Foods, and weather. I am going to enter my topics I teach now and see what I can come up with. This is great!

Thing # 7

2008-06-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Google Tools were fun to explore and took a lot of time to learn about each one. It was difficult to pick two, but I ended up setting up a Google Alert for NASA updates. On the Google Advanced Search I found some great power point presentations I will be able to encorporate into our Flight Unit and Rocketry Unit.

Thing # 6: Mashups and 3rd Party Sites

2008-06-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

OK....i finally got my trading card done, but I have not worked on getting it to my blog. This definately takes a lot of time and practice. If anyone reads this and can help me move my avatar to the upper right corner of my blog page I sure would appreciate it. I am just plugging along and trying my best here. I am taking ALOT if notes in my spiral notebook which is right next to my computer. I did not realize I would have to set up so many accounts. How does a person remember all of the user names and passwords? I have just been using the same one.

Thing #5: Flickr

2008-06-05T10:07:00.001-07:00

Flickr is awesome! What a library of photos! I teach a rocketry unit and this is a photo of a 2-stage rocket I found.

Thing # 2: Avatar

2008-06-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! That was pretty difficult and I don't know if I can repeat what I just did. I will have to practice importing pictures more often. Hopefully it will not be as frustrating!!

2008-06-04T09:44:00.001-07:00

Thing #2: Lifelong Learning

2008-06-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

OK - I am starting to get the hang of this blog thing. I would have to say that Habit #7 is the easiest for me. I love learning something new and then teaching it to others. It is very satisfying to be able to AHA something cool that you have just learned and then pass that AHA on to someone else. This is a habit I try to instill in my students and my own children. It is vital that in order to truly master something, whether it be a math concept or how to make a bed you need to be able to successfully teach it to someone else in order to master the skill. Habit #6 would be the most difficult for me - using technology to my advantage. There is so much new techie stuff out there that sometimes it can be so overwhelming to me. I want to learn about it and be comfortable using it, but it takes time to "play" and learn. That is why I am so thankful that this online class is available for me to do this summer. I am very excited to learn about blogging and photostories and attempt to encorporate these into my classes in the fall!