One More "Thing"

I cannot believe I actually worked my way through these "23 Things".  I am actually sad.  Now I can take the time to go back and dig deeper into each thing and discover even more.  Although I got bogged down with a couple of 'things' I realize the struggle was a process I had to go through to learn how to learn in this tech savvy world.  I'm just glad I could go at my pace.  Whew!   Now that I am familiar with these things, I am by no means finished learning.  I can see so many applications for my teachers and students and I will share the ideas I have in hopes of sparking interest and ideas beyond my own understanding to enhance learning.

Some of my favorite discoveries were Delicious.com, Wiki's, Image Generator, Podcasts,

 Google Docs, and Google Reader and RSS feeds.  I learned to embed video and photos inside a blog post and a document.  I have a little more understanding of the digital tech talk and can carry on a decent conversation with those who talk tech.  I like that.

The only thing I was disappointed in was that no one read or commented on my blog posts during the course.  I had about 5 total comments but that's all.  There was no interaction from any of the "teachers" of this course.  I was a little confused about that.  I did feel as though I was totally on my own except for the emails from Mary Woodard.  Maybe that is the way we were supposed to feel, I'm not sure.

I am hoping there are more "things" to discover and when they become available MISD will continue this course with a Wiki to learn about these new things.

Since I have worked my way through all of these things I intend to go back to each one and continue my discovery about them.  I want to be sure I have done all of the activities in each thing and learn more about how I can apply them in our classrooms.  My Google Reader and RSS feeds will be a great way to keep up with new ideas and technology.  I'll continue to scan and read those feeds.

I will be continuing my blog but it will branch out in a different direction.  My blog will become a way for my teachers to learn how to use the various ideas I discovered on "23Things".  I want to reach out to them and help them incorporate these tools in their classrooms. I will be posting this blog url into my email when I actually create a friendly "Try this" post.  I want to support them in their journey of using technology, not burden them with too much to do.  I want to share with them the idea that when we use the technology we motivate our students and they learn in different, better ways then our traditional ways of teaching.  The internet and social interaction is the only way we can plug in to our kids and have them want to learn.

This has been the best staff development class I've ever taken.  The possibilities only as limited as our imagination!

Thing #23 Beyond Facebook - Other Social Networks

I had no idea there were other social networking sites besides Facebook and MySpace.  I guess I just never thought about it.  As I went through this learning activity I discovered Ning.  I had heard about this from some friends but had just never taken time to check it out.

Classroom 2.0 is a motivating tool for teachers and students.  There are technical glossaries on various online applications and science projects.  These make me think of  the books  Internet for Dummies and other similar books.  In one video I watched, someone uploaded a portion of Oprah on “Waiting for Superman” a movie about public education w/comments by Bill Gates.  What a controversial piece of video.

Classroom 2.0 has a forum section.  You can read comments, questions, and ideas about most any topic.  The forum allows you to interact with the person who is posting.  I looked around at members to find out who in my district was a member.  I was surprised to find that not many join the site.  I answered a few questions some of the forum posters had and read a few to learn more about the site.  Teachers from all over the world can network and discuss topics, ask questions, and share ideas and audio, video assignments.

The Latest Activity area allows you to see what the latest tools and posts are.  It is fun to see what people are thinking about.

After learning more about Twitter, I am still not sold on the site.  Time is the issue there.  My life is fast paced enough, I don't have time to check the posts often.  I did however, find a great use for Twitter in a History class.  Teachers could have students comment on a post they made such as a comment about a historical figure.  For example, if I typed in George Washington I would have students make comments that George might have made.  Twitter also has a way to survey, Twtpoll.com.  This tool might be a very fast way to survey.  

Thing #22 Social Networking

My husband and I created a MySpace account years ago when our kids became interested in the social networking site.  We allowed them to create one as well but we had to sit with them as they were online and we required them to let us set the password and not share that with them.  In those days laptops weren't readily available at a price we could afford so they were sitting at a desk with a desktop and us watching over their shoulders.  We found that the MySpace account was a little juvenile for our interests.  I logged onto it today for the first time in, oh, probably 2 or 3 years.  It looks markedly different.  Our account was in the name of MajaFaja (that's what our kids and grandkids call us sometimes).  MySpace is more suited for younger children.  It's jazzier and more upbeat. If I had kids today they would NOT have an account there.  I do think Facebook is a much more positive place.

My facebook account allows me to keep up with and enjoy the friends I have added over time.  I created the account before my kids moved away and it is how I see photos and share in their lives.  Two of my three children live out of town.  Facebook makes it easy to communicate.  Now that you can get to it on cell phones via internet, life is mobile.

Facebook and MySpace are one of the most important aspects of student life now.  We have an obligation to teach them responsible use of them.  Social networking is no longer a futuristic idea.  It is here and they are excellent at the task.  With these social networking sites come issues and problems due to their immaturity and inability to realize they cannot control who is out there in the cyberworld.  Kids today want to hear music, any and all of it and any way they can get it.  They share it on Facebook and MySpace.  They take photos with their digital devices and upload them to these social networking sites.  This is how they grow and find themselves and become accepted.  They now have a need to be a part of the community of social networking.  Many of these kids have made it global, not just local.  They also learn from children that are from areas other than their own.  They like to know how they are like other kids in all parts of the world.

I am not a fan of MySpace.  In my opinion it is difficult to use.  The codes and design areas are complicated and take code.  The HELP button isn't that helpful.  It's too busy and decorative for me.  I realize children like this feature but I don't.  Facebook has so many fun things to do.  They have games, calendars, events, applications and interactive activities.  Facebookers can share causes, professional organizations, games, photos, news feeds, posts, messages, and see friends list of other friends.  We can find out who knows who we know, how they are related, wish a friend happy birthday, console those who have lost a love one, spread the word needed to be spread (positively) quickly, help someone in need for anything imaginable by simply posting something.

My experiences on Facebook have been and continue to provide me with hours of fun and entertainment.  When I can't sleep at night I can always jump online and chat with someone who shares my insomnia.

Thing #7b A thought from my Google Reader

In my Google Reader I found an article from What's Hot in Google entitled "We're Running Out of Chocolate".  The article states that according to the Cocoa Research Association we are consuming more chocolate than we are producing cocoa.  Yikes, this is not acceptable.  I couldn't live without chocolate.  I'm addicted.  The article goes on to state that Snicker's may one day soon cost $11.  They also say that Hershey and Mars have sequenced the cacao genome which will mean more resillient trees in the future.

I've been reading the fun, interesting info in my Reader lately.  I also catch up on the horoscopes and some jazz music.  I find the music to be soothing as I am coming down off my day.  The horoscopes are fun to read and they make me think.

I'm addicted to Google Reader and can't wait to learn more about it all.

Thing #21 Google's Not Just for Searching Anymore

I played around with the Google applications listed on the 21st things.  Even though I had used some of them before apparently I didn't dig deep enough to discover new things.  Google Book Search has some full texts online you can read.  I did a search for Math and found The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang.  Instead of having to have the book to share with students, my Math teachers can pull this up on Google Book Search and have students work in groups to solve the situations in the book.  They could also use Voicethread to have students post answers to the situations and share thoughts, strategies, and processes with each other.  Teachers could play these voicethreads back in class to assess the understanding of the class.  Our students can use the Google Book Search as anchor activities to read after they complete their work.  This way they won't need to leave the classroom.  They can simply jump online.

Google Earth is fun to play around in.  My son used this site when he went to Philmont Scout Ranch to hike.  He was able to know a great deal about the terrain as he looked around Google Earth to identify hills, mountains, and difficult areas to hike through.  Although they used topographical maps to hike from station to station, the Google Earth application was helpful in getting an overall picture of their hiking area.  My grandchildren use this to discover different places they want to visit all over the world.

I set up 3 alerts in Google Alerts.  I want to know when Mesquite ISD makes the news.  I also want to know when TEA updates anything.  My 3rd alert was about musician Rod Stewart.  If he publishes new music or is in the news, I want to know.  This is a great tool to keep updated on anything.

I'm playing around with Google Calendar.  The jury is still out on this one but I will continue to post appointments there and share it with various family members and colleagues.  It seems simple so I may stick to this calendar instead of the one in my phone.

I've used IGoogle for a while.  I enjoy having a personal homepage that shows me the temp and current time as I am searching for other information.  I'm wondering if I can get my calendar on the front page.  Hmmmm.   Students should be introduced to this site so they can learn all about what it offers.  Perhaps they could type in their homework assignments and projects.

I did post some photos to my Picasa Web Albums but I think I prefer Flickr.  By using the TAGS in this site, you can find a photo of most anything.

Thing #20 Google Docs

I'm the Instructional Specialist for Math and Science at McDonald so Google Docs is an essential tool for me that allows collaboration.  I've used this all year to share Science supply lists so I can go buy the items for labs with our students for each teacher.  My Science teachers get to the spreadsheet and fill in the numbers of each item they need for labs.  They can add items I might have left off or that they feel they need for the students for any labs.  As they complete them magically I have a list to take to Wal-Mart with me.  All I had to do was set up the spredsheet from our curriculum by lab and add them as editors.  I email them weekly so that they can look over the curriculum and update their list.  After the list is complete I do a Wal-Mart run.

I use the spreadsheet feature to keep track of target students and their Milestone and TAKS scores for teachers.  I update these lists after each Milestone and show how their scores changed each Milestone.  We have a TAKS prep class in Math and Science so I monitor those students as well.  This helps the teachers know which students need to have mandatory tutoring.

I use the Word document to create tests, use with my book study, and share teaching strategies I find.  As I do this teachers can perfect the document for their own use.

Thing #19 Voicethreads

Everytime I think I've discovered the next great thing, another "thing" is discovered.  Voicethread is a fantastic tool to use for just about anything you can imagine.  As an Instructional Specialist I will use this tool to work with  my teachers on the book study we are learning from.  I'll model for them how they can use it in class by posing questions to them on a Voicethread.  The next book study session will be on Voicethread and their assignment will be to make a comment on the video about the section we will be working on. I can also use this site to video a snipit of a great lesson they are teaching or video a snipit of a teacher who displays great classroom management.  When they are able to view the snipit and comment or ask questions this will encourage them to try this type of learning with their students.

I found a great math Voicethread where the teacher asked the students questions through the videotaping of another teacher who was shooting hoops.  She used this idea to have them tell her how they could find the number of baskets he could shoot in 3 hours if he shot 1 basket in 10 seconds.  What a cool idea.  My Math teachers will take off on this and come up with all kinds of ideas to utilize the website.

I shared this site with my son who is in the Business school at UT.  He is going to use it to make one of his class presentations.  He is quite impressed with the technology I've been learning.

I'd love to find penpals from around the world who would work with my Social Studies teachers to share Voicethread.  They could see how each other lives day to day and learn about each other's histories and cultures.  I thought it might be nice if some of our students were to visit historical places and videotape them and explain some things about the sites to share with students in other states and countries.

My Science teachers can use this site to have students videotape their labs  and post them so that other students could view and comment on them.  This would help those students that were absent and didn't get to participate in the labs.

Teachers could use this site to videotape themselves and share their teaching with other teachers on our campus and across the district or with other states.  Their evaluator could view these and give them constructive criticism to help them improve their craft.

The possibilities are endless!!!

Thing #18 YouTube and TeacherTube

I've been using YouTube and TeacherTube for personal and professional use for a while now.  Recently our district has decided to unblock us from access to the site.  Thank goodness they realize what great material can be found there and are changing things so we don't have to log in each time we use it.

When I became an Instructional Specialist for Math and Science at McDonald I searched both sites for information about Science since I was a Math teacher for 17 years.  TeacherTube made it easy for me to learn what I needed to assist teachers in instruction and prepare to team teach with them in the classroom.  I had to learn quickly and both sites did the trick.  I continue to utilize both sites when we need quick clips or a good way to motivate students.  I've even found fantastic videos for English and Social Studies as I searched.

I use the site all the time at home to discover new music and lyrics.  My son attends UT and lives in Austin.  He loves the city for its music and introduces me to local talent constantly.  Most of the artists have videos on YouTube so I can view them there.

On TeacherTube I found a video about teaching the Pythagorean Theorem.  This is a fun and quick tutorial on the theorem.  It only lasts about 2 minutes and gets straight to the point.

On YouTube I found a great video on How to Estimate Square Roots.  This video uses a type of factor tree to find the square root to the nearest tenth.  The visual and audio processing help students see how to find the estimates.

How to Use Google Documents: User Interface in Google Documents is an indepth video to show you exactly how to use the site.  Of all of the "how to" videos I found this one was a good website to use to get started with Google Docs.

The fun side of YouTube took me to Petticoat Junction.  I used to watch this show as a kid and now it seems a bit cheesy.  It was nice to stroll down memory lane.   I've attempted to imbed the video here for you to see.

Thing #17 Podcasting

I found myself very frustrated with podcasts.  Most of the podcasters used the beginning of each podcast to entertain and play around instead of actually getting to the subject at hand.  For instance Learn out Loud with Ray and Hollye had some terrible podcasts.  They had too much personal conversation irrellevent to the topic of teaching about technology.  I also realized that since I am a visual and auditory learner I couldn't have a copy of their podcast in front of me to look at or read so listening only I wasn't able to focus well on the podcast.  Students who are auditory would benefit from hearing the podcast.  ESL students would benefit from hearing and being able to read along with the podcast.  I wish that feature were available on all of the websites.  

Harry Henshaw’s Podcast (on Learn Out Loud)  of relaxing music was fantastic.  It was so good I subscribed to it in my Google Reader.  This podcast was downloaded to my ITunes and is going to be nice to listen to at bedtime or when I am working on an intense project or data.  I sent this to my teachers so they could play it during tests and as the students are entering/exiting the room to help them settle down to be prepared to learn.  

With NPR (National Public Radio) you are able to search by title, author, or provider.  I subscribed to a Jazz feed Tamir Hendelman Trio In Concert on JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater.   I've been searching for more interesting radio podcasts to share with students and teachers as well.  What if students could use their cellphones or MP3 players to download these podcasts and appreciate the arts?  What if they learned to incorporate the music with the presentations they create?

Online Education Database (OEDb) is a great site for looking at the what, who, where of higher education.  There is even a tab for financial aid. This is a great resource for our middle and high school students to begin to learn about colleges and universities.  There is even a top ranking tab.

PBS kids offers a podcast called DragonFlyTV. This podcasting shows kids doing real Science and also has some vodcasts.  I watched/listened to an episode and the students are quite entertaining.  Our kiddos could create this themselves.  If they can talk/teach it, they have learned the content.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Authors Tour Live. Lauren Weisberger used podcasting to read six minutes of her book:  Last Night at Chateau Marmont.  It was interesting, fun to hear the author’s tone and voice reading her own book.

Podcasting is a wonderful tool which allows students to hear the words from others and to use to create their own as an assessment to what they learned about a specific topic.

Thing #16 Library Thing

Library Thing is a book website that utilizes tagging for topics and social interaction in the form of groups, reviews, etc.  I enjoyed looking at some of the profiles of the authors.  Some profiles are more developed than others.  There are so many ways to look at the site its amazing.  I typed in a title to do a search and found many of the same titles with different authors.  The list was expanded to include my title as the basic wording and had added word titles as well.  I found that the tagging words were useful to get a glimpse of what the book was about.  One word can speak volumes.  This is similar to the title of an article in the newspaper.  This made it easier for me to skim over and pass by books I'm not interested in.

I didn't find many book reviews on the books I looked up.  I am assuming this is a fairly new site and is growing exponentially daily.   The Unsuggester was quite intriguing.  I intend to play around with this more.  I'd never thought of the other side of Suggester.  Quite different and very useful.  This was good thinking outside the box to reveal other works.

I have joined Library Thing and did share it with some of my teachers.  I will continue to place my professional readings onto my personal page so that when I conduct book studies these teachers can learn, share, and comment on them as well.   I will encourage my teachers to join and share their books read with their students.  Hopefully this will encourage students to read more and share.  I took this idea to several teachers and asked them to include Library Thing as an 'anchor' activity in their classrooms.  Students will be able to search the site for books and book reviews to encourage them to read them.  Since MISD's school libraries just went digital, perhaps this will encourage these students and teachers to 'check out' the online versions of the books.  The literary/technological world just keeps getting better and better.  The more I learn the more I realize just how much I don't know!  Frustrating and fun all at the same time.

Thing #15 Social Bookmarking and Tagging with Delicious

Delicious.com is a wonderful way to include all of my bookmarks in one place and online via any internet connection.  What a wonderful tool.  I can display all of my bookmarks or type in a word I've tagged them as and get back to the ones under the category I really want.  The key here is to think carefully about your tags so that you can retrieve your bookmarks.  The notes make it nice to see what types of things you can do with your bookmarked URL's.


I have to admit I became very frustrated with this activity. While trying number three (3) under Help:Steps for Tagging Sites in Delicious (3.While viewing the site, click the TAG button on your browser toolbar)  I couldn't get it to work.  I never could find the tagging button.  I felt stupid and looked at other blog posts on this topic.  I never saw where anyone had trouble so this is something I am going to have to go back and revisit and reteach myself.  After wasting about 4 hours total on this activity I've decided to move on so I can complete the 23Things.  I'll return to #15 after I finish the class.  In fact, there are many "things" I want to revisit and learn more about as I complete the class.  But, that's another blog for later.    I couldn't figure out how to use the POWER TIP either.  I want to go back to that as well.


I tried to add the shared tag to MISD 23Things but never saw that it worked in the WIki either.  I'm confused and I'll look back at this as well.  I did see where others had the same issue in their blogs.  


I found myself using my Delicious account at work posting new bookmarklets as I was sent and found new useful websites for teachers.  I shared Delicious with several colleagues and they thought it was AWESOME!  I can't wait to share it with more of my teachers.  My son and husband have begun to use it as well.  My son is in the Business School at UT and used it for two of his presentations.  I was proud to teach him about something on the internet that was so useful to him.

Thing #7a and 7b

I follow several blogs but one in particular that always interests me is Ewan McIntosh's Digital Media and Education.  He posted one blog, Using Facebook In the Classroom that gives information about how educators can allow students to utilize this application safely.   


I also follow the blog of an Associate Professor in the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University.  Scott McLeod's blog, Dangerously Irrelevant always challenges my thinking.  In his latest post, Caring, Engaging, Leading and Learning he makes a statement that hits the nail on the head.  He says, "The teacher, and his/her ability to promote student learning and achievement, is the single most important factor that will influence a child’s success in the classroom and beyond."  I could not have said this better if I tried.  It is our duty as instructional leaders to hire professionals who are enthusiastic about teaching and provide opportunities that will empower our teachers to ignite fires in the classroom.  


I follow the Texas Association of School Administrators job blog site.  I find it interesting to see what is out there in our state and how they pay if they have pay scales.  The job descriptions are interesting to read.  Not all districts have the same expectations of their particular types of positions.  I was hoping this might help me find an Assistant Principal position but I found the listings to be all over the board.  Perhaps in the spring more postings will be closer to the jobs I want to pursue.  In the meantime reading them is educational and informative.  


I am anxious to have the time to look for and find more blogs, as well as, expand on mine outside the education world.  I want to find some that are just fun and funny to read.

Thing #14 More Web 2.0 Tools

After looking at most of the cool websites my favorites were 30 boxes, blabberize yourself, mixbook, and letterpop.

I did begin a calendar for myself in 30 boxes.  I found it very easy to use and share.  I don't think anyone besides me can edit my calendar but whoever I share it with can view it.  Blabberize yourself was fun.  I created a couple of photos with the audio and had a blast.  I think our kids could use this to teach one another concepts from class.  I'm going to suggest a few of my teachers allow students to play with this and experiment as they review concepts before a test.  These are easy to download to social networks and share as well.  

Mixbook is awesome.  I intend to create some Christmas gifts at this site.  Teachers could use this to have students create books as projects after reading novels.  They would be able to illustrate what they learned about the novel by creating their own depiction of an aspect of the book.

Letterpop will make it simple to create our annual Christmas/New Year's letter to family and friends.  Since it allows the upload and posting of photos there's no need to use anything else.

All of these sites eliminate the need to visit a photo shop or drug store for printing photos, newsletters, business cards, and anything else we can think of.  Visiting these sites makes me want to search for other similar sites to see what is out there for use in creating all kinds of things.

Thing #13 Online Image Generator

I created this collage using Big Huge Labs' mosiac maker.  I used Flickr to download some photos from our Rose Bowl trip this past January.  Flickr made it easy to upload with specific instructions.  I'm going to use the Big Huge Lab's site to create collages for my family for Christmas.  My son worked for UT Longhorn football for four years and we have lots of photos.  This is one way I can create a lifelong memory album for him.  I'm planning on making this collage into a poster he can frame too.  I'm learning so much fun stuff I can hardly stand it.  I also posted this collage to my facebook page.  There was an application in Flickr that allowed me to post at the click of a button.

I also went to Comic Strip Generator and made this little cartoon. There were easy directions listed and it only took a couple of steps.  I sent this to my hubby in email.  He got a laugh out of it!!!!!  

At Happy Face Generator I was able to create the following happy face sign.

All of these images and creations can be used by teachers and students in various presentations or projects.  The toughest part is knowing where to go to get them and teaching them how to use them.  I can see the happy face used to gain student's attention in Promethean flipcharts or with Prezi's.  THe collages can be used in English/Reading/History classes to have them create collections that represent a story they have read.  The possibilities are endless.

Thing #12 Creating Slideshows using Creative Commons photos

Photo credits:

1) Embryo; dyed skeletal system by domo_arigato

2) Insula; human nervous system by Gjertrud Hals

3) Muscular system by Mohamad Itan

4) Integumentary System by By whitney.tanner16

I chose to create a slideshow to illustrate the Human Body Systems for use by my 7th grade Science teachers.  They can use the short clip to introduce this unit to the students.  I'm so excited to learn how to do this.  I'm going to try a vacation slideshow to send to family next.  This could be a great Christmas gift!!!

Creating this was so quick and easy.  It's nice to know you can use different slide show creation sites with Flikr photos or your own personal pics.   This is a great way to introduce lessons or have students create their own slideshows to show what they learned at the end of a theme or lesson.  Since the sites to create are free teachers can allow students to try out their talents creating learning portfolios.   We can also use this on our announcements as we show students all over campus and at school events.

Thing #11 Photosharing and Tagging with Flikr

As I was browsing in Flikr I enjoyed all of the images and searching on various topics.  The photos are beautiful, different, unique, vivid, and creative.  Since I am in Instructional Specialist for Math and Science I began to discover images I could use to teach Science concepts.  I found several interesting photos to teach the body systems in 7th grade Science.  The most unique one was the image of the skeletal system.
This photo is of dye in a embryo to illustrate its skeleton.  Photo was taken by Mike Jagendorf.

As I read through the assignment and looked at Flikr I realized that some of the photos I chose were not coded with the Creative Commons logo.  I had to go back and find selections that allowed me to use them.  I'm more aware of what I use now due to the cc education.  Flikr is a much better site for photos than Google Images.  I was surprised at the creativity and the millions of categories.

I can work with the teachers on my campus to use Flikr to illustrate vocabulary, allow the students to get creative in their assignments using Flikr properly by creating Wiki's   so that everyone can share ideas and learn from one another.  The use of this technology will motivate the kids to do more with the content areas.  

As I looked at David Jakes, Classroom Uses of Flikr I went crazy.  This site is full of ways teachers can use the Flikr site to teach content concepts.  Check it out.  His blog has links within it that are very interesting.  I am going back to search more after I finish this post.  Check out Flikr Lesson Plans.  I sent this link to my History and English teachers.  There were a couple of links on Storyboarding.   

My mind is racing and I can't wait to take this back to my teachers and see what they create for our students to learn from.  WOW!!

Thing #10 Creative Commons

As I go in search of things on the web now I am more aware of copyright. Although I do understand it (somewhat) and try to respect the law, I do get confused on what I can and cannot use. Now I realize this may be due to neglecting to seek out the copyright on a webpage or site. I returned to Google Images and looked at a few. There in print were the words "This image may be subject to copyright." But how do I know for sure? I didn't see a CC anywhere on the webpage? Does this mean I can't use it?

I visited TeacherPlanet to look for the copyright statement and did find one at the bottom of the website. I didn't see a CC anywhere. I'd never heard of CreativeCommons until I worked here on this Thing #10. To be honest, I never really worried about copyright infringement either. I just thought if it was out on the web it was for public use. I will definitely pay attention to the sites I visit and what I use from now on. I'll be more responsible and teach students about the responsibility of copyright issues. This was eye-opening. I taught Math for 17 years and haven't had a need since college to apply the copyright rules. I know that is no excuse and I'm determined to set a good example when I have opportunities to explain this to anyone. CreativeCommons makes it easy to allow my own creations to be shared with everyone. I like that and I like knowing I can go back and look at how they made my creation different, even better.

Thing #9 Setting Up My Wiki and Playing in the Sandbox

Playing in the wiki sandbox was a bit frustrating but once I got going things just flowed.  At first I couldn't figure out how to join the wiki.  I later found out it was because I wasn't logged in.  As I went to the sandbox site, I realized I had to join and be accepted.  I did join and didn't have to wait long until I noticed I was accepted but I realized it by accident.  I never did see a Fall 2010 link that listed my fellow participants.

As I began to edit my wiki page (Toes in the Sand) in the sandbox I realized how easy it was.  I was surprised at how easy it was to add photos.  Now I want to learn to upload video but I have to take video first.  I'm grabbing my camera tomorrow at school to click away and post a few seconds of video.  I played around with the fonts and colors of the text.  I want to go back and look at the educational wiki's now that I know how they created them.  I am also curious about what other formatting options are available, such as the brackets around toc for the table of contents.  The photos I uploaded were placed at the top to the left.  I want to find out how to move these about and place them where I want them instead.

I can't wait to show my site to some of my teachers and find out how they could use this in their classrooms or on class projects.  I feel that I know enough now to teach them to use the basics and maybe they can assign something like this to their students and the kiddos can teach us a thing or two.

I also added a couple of websites to the 2.0 Web Sites.  I also placed my blog site, TLACBookStudy  in the 2.0 Tool Integration Ideas so that others can see how I am applying what I am learning.

I'll be going back to the other wiki's my fellow classmates created to get some ideas.

Thing #8 What is a Wiki

To wiki or not to wiki, that is the question.  At this point, although I have read each and every link on the "23 Things" assignment sheet I am still a bit puzzled as to how to utilize this technology.  I was wowed when I read The Flat Classroom Projects wiki based on Friedman's book, The World Is Flat.  I have more research to do in this area though.  I can envision some ways of using this in our classrooms to reach out and communicate with students in other countries but I may have to depend on my teachers and students to figure out how to make that come together.  As I go through this class though, I have found that if I take this technology I am learning about to my teachers, they get excited and find unique ways to present and use it with each other and many times with our students.   I am modeling the use of wiki's with my science teachers by creating a supply list for their 3rd six weeks.  We will see how that goes.

I also read the CodeBlue wiki which has links on its wiki leading to information about body systems.  I shared this wiki with  my 7th grade Science teachers and they are using it as a teaching tool in classrooms.  I am encouraging them to allow the students to create a wiki about a research topic and play around with it.  We can begin this year and build on it from year to year.  I am finding that the teachers feel as though there is no time to incorporate this.  I'm struggling with how to assist them in incorporating this type of activity into their day instructionally.  I've contact Kelly Soliz, our Technology Resource person,  to see how we can get started and stay on target in the scope and sequence of our curriculum.

If you get a chance, take a look at the Discovery Utopia Project.  It is quite intriguing.  The site has students creating a utopian society with all of the bells and whistles.  This site allows students to do some in-depth thinking and research, yet fosters their individual attitudes about what they learn.  As they learn more about what societies and governments are they can tweak their own virtual society.

Most all of the wiki's were organized in the same manner.  They had a menu on the left and their content on the right.  They shared links, had collaborative ideas, and were easy to navigate through.  Most had helpful links in case you had questions about the wiki.

I'm still wrapping my brain around the application piece of a wiki other than creating a supply list as I mentioned earlier.  I will continue to look over more wiki's and explore how to implement them into our classrooms.  I need more wiki walking!!!

Thing #7 Creating Community through Commenting on Blogs

I found it difficult to leave comments on the blogs I read.  I enjoy reading them but feel I don't have anything of value to contribute.  Since I knew I had to post a comment, I dug deep and tried to be as reflective as I could.  Reading the posts makes me more conscious of what I write in my own blog.  When I read The Somewhat Daily News by miltonsmommy I was intrigued about her perspective on phones as recording devices in the classroom.   Teachtech-23 Things said she was a lurker and didn't like to comment.  I agree and I guess I'm more of a lurker as well.  My husband is a lurker too.  He subscribes to and reads his Orangebloods daily but never comments.  In fact, his computer logged him out of the site the other day and he rarely logs in so he couldn't remember his username and password.  He had never recorded it anywhere. It took him about 30 minutes to figure out what it was and get a new password sent to him.  GOOF! He comments out loud to the posts but never, ever actually types in anything.

I also don't feel that I have enough interesting blogs to post that anyone would want to read them.  I feel they should be entertaining or impart knowledge.  Who knows.  We will see what tomorrow brings when it comes to comments.

Thing #6 Feeding my Reader/Subscribing to Feeds

(I've been using my Google Reader for a few days now and each day I log on and skim my subscriptions I find it easier to go through them and choose what I want to read more thoroughally.  I enjoy doing the searches for various bloggers and news so I can hone in on what I really want to read and see.  I added a couple of feeds that I deleted two days after I added them.  I found they were of no interest to me after doing a quick skim and it wasted my time.

The educational blogs are the most interesting.  I subscribed to the Texas Association of Middle School Administrators job section since I am seeking an Assistant Principal position. This has allowed me to apply for a couple of positions and its very useful to me.  I'm going to take a look at Region 10 and see if they have a feed as well.

Another feed I look through each day is What's Hot In Google Reader.  While I was reading through the feeds today I found this link about McDonalds chicken nuggets.  You have got to read this, its GROSS!!!!!  I'll never eat another chicken nugget from McDonald's after seeing the photo and reading this article.  I warn you, it will make you sick, especially if you just ate one of those nuggets.

While scrolling through TeacherJays Edublog I found the following link teachers can use.  I am quite impressed with the site. http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/  This site is full of useful ideas and lessons for teachers. Check it out.

I've also subscribed to Flikrs Most Interesting Photos because I love photography and I am hoping this may give me the boost and some insight into taking better photos.  I've had a 35 mm digital camera for over a year now but haven't taken time to practice with it.  We shall see if I can take good pics like I am seeing on Flikr.

This google reader was a headache when I first discovered it because I was overwhelmed  Now I'm discovering how to make it work for me, not against me.  Toodles, time to read more feeds.  ENJOY!!

Thing #5 RSS and Google Reader/Aggregator

As I've played with the RSS Reader I've discovered so many interesting things my head is spinning.  This could definitely take over your life.  This media format must be managed efficiently or it could be dangerous for a lifelong learner like myself.  I found that I had to limit my time on the "23 things" on this one or it would have overtaken me.

I did find several interesting feeds but one that jumped out at me was the technology piece.  http://www.techlearning.com/article/33120  This site will take you to a short comment about Facebook for educators.  Ultimately it refers you to Atomic Learning (http://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/fbwkshp_stu)  When I arrived at this site I knew it looked familiar.  Atomic Learning is listed in our own districts technology staff development pages.  I checked for the "Facebook for Educators" link there but wasn't able to locate it.  But, our district does support and offer other learning opportunities in Atomic Learning so I've subscribed to that site so I can keep up with more technology.  I'm happy to know our district is on top of things in regards to technology and is keeping up with the times.  I'm having a blast learning my way, on my time, at my pace, and the journey of discovery is causing my 23 Things colleagues at school to smile at my frustrations and tell me to slow down, enjoy!  I'm just too excited I guess.

Getting back to the Facebook for Educators idea, I find myself subtly challenging teachers I work with to stretch, bend, try and get out of their comfort zone to bring this technology to our children.  The biggest hurdle we face is that we older folk who aren't from the digital age don't have our brains wired the way these young people do for all this technology.  For that I am jealous but also thankful they are so willing to teach us.  I constantly chip away at my own fear of trying new things by just bolting into classrooms with the technology, pulling a tech savvy student aside who has completed their work for the class and just putting the technology in their hands and watching them go with it.  It is amazing!!!  Who's teaching who?  Hmm, lets see, I know the content, the direction, they know the technology, we collaborate and surprise.....we both learn new things and share a bond like no other.  This benefits both of our self-esteem.  I get excited because I see connections to anything and everything and want to shout out my process and experiences so everyone so they can enjoy them too.    My question of the day is again, "Why can't we use Facebook to teach and learn in class?"  This goes along with my question in a previous post about using cell phones in class for learning.  We are using ActivInspire and the voters, why not utilize technology that motivates they already have in their hands?

I'm happily exhausted with this Thing #5 and need to move on.  The connections in my brain are going WILD!!!!!!

Thing #4 Using Blogs

The blogs I’ve read are as diverse as the people who have written them.
I chose the following:  

Why Can’t We Do This?

Spies Like Us

A Rationale For Educational Blogging

How To Prevent Another Leonardo Da Vinci

Why I Don’t Assign Homework

While blogging or writing the blog you learn to articulate your thoughts due to the fact that others are reading them. I noticed that most of the bloggers just let it flow and spill out their thoughts from their thinking so as not to lose their train of thoughts and ideas. It’s as if the brain is on overload and they must “dump” it before they forget what instantaneous thoughts they had. Reading these blogs is interesting. You are reading someone else’s thoughts. Who doesn’t want to know what is in a person’s head? How powerful!!! You profit from their research, reading, and understanding. You gain a different perspective and are able to build on their ideas without having to read everything they read. It is different than other forms of reading due to the venue. It is like other forms of print media such as editorials and comments in the newspaper. Writing blogs is similar to journaling, yet unlike it because so many others are able to read it all and comment.

When others read and comment on a blog its feedback. Sometimes the feedback gives the originator a new spin on things and stimulates thinking to the point of changing one’s perspective. It sparks change, and elicits emotions.

The blog comments I have seen all seem to be informative or positive. I don’t recall seeing anything negative. I’m impressed. Blogging seems to be a place to be able to express yourself without being ridiculed. Another positive is that there are no identifiers as to the characteristics of the writer except for their written word. People are more accepting and less judgmental of others in this arena.

The use of blogging to learn is such a fascinating tool. There are no boundaries. What an excellent medium to communicate ideas and share thoughts. Everyone has something to say and this form of communication allows each person to share in his/her own time, pace, and level.

Thing #2 Web 2.0 and Why It Matters

I know I love to learn but usually I learn the normal ways (20th century ways) by reading, listening in a workshop, discussions with others in the form of book studies, etc. But, this Web 2.0 way opens up new avenues I really never considered because I am so behind on the use of digital technology. I've learned (no, really learned) some new words and what they mean such as whiteboard, blog, wiki, podcast, vodcast, and those are just technology words. I knew what collaborate meant but this adds an entirely new dimension to the situation. Making connections comes to mind as something I can assist others in doing as I learn about all of the diverse ways one can learn. This raises questions for me and changes my entire perspective on what a classroom really functions like. Should students be allowed to take out their cell phones and text one another IF the texts are on task. How will I know they are texting the appropriate thing? Instead of ordering calculators in math, why can't the kiddos use their phone calculators? Wouldn't that save precious funds at school? Couldn't they use the calculators in Excel spreadsheet or on the computers? This digital communication is a wide open field when it comes to motivating students. It's also the wave of the future and we have no choice but to learn about it and include it in our ways to instruct and present new material. This form of media can excite many of their senses, not simply provide audio and video. I see simulations in the future. I see virtual worlds where they make the connections based on what they perceive. We already have the Facebook community. One downside to this form of learning is the infringement of one student on another. There are students who don't multi-task well and need a quiet environment in order to learn. We have to find ways to accommodate the learner who thrives on chaos along with the learner who needs less stimulation. Utilizing digital media to learn changes our entire delivery focus in education.

September 15, 2010 7:13 PM 

Thing #1 Lifelong Learning Strategies

 After watching the podcast of 7 1/2 Habits of Effective Lifelong Learners, the most challenging habit for me is is using technology to my advantage.  I feel as though I'm so busy trying to keep up with the new technology I get lost learning one and then, poof, it's a dinosaur.  This digital age causes change too quickly for me sometimes.  Instead of being able to use it to my advantage I drown in learning how to use it.  
The easiest habit for me is to teach/mentor others.  I get so excited when I run across anything new that could help teach and motivate I tend to have overkill.  I annoy others with my excitement.  I think I was a teacher in my past life too.  I can see what could be, the potential in others.
The most important habit for me is to view problems as challenges.  When I have this attitude my mind is open to any possibility and the creative side of me comes out.  Taking time to ponder the problem, try solutions, fail, try again and then seek help as a last resort is part of who I am.