Is it the end? Or only the beginning?

Boy was this a challenge! The 23 things had its ups and downs, but overall I felt as though this was a very great program. I learned/gained so much from this program. I learned how to build an avatar, create blogs, register my blog, I learned about flickr, Rss, image generators, flowcharts, etc (there were soo many). But through it all, this program was worth the hard work, the late nights, and the frustration =)

My favorite exercises on this journey was thing 8, the jigsaw mashup. This thing was so much fun because I learned how to make a puzzle using random pictures and the picture I chose for my puzzle was a backpack because I want to teach.

This program has in fact affected my lifelong learning goals because when I was little I always planed to teach just like my third grade teacher because she was my favorite. But now I have discovered several different learning tools that can help make my classroom more exciting than my third grade class. Now that Web 2.0 has been established, I have several options that can keep my classroom entertaining.

Some unexpected things from this program included signing up for all these different sites. I have so many new accounts being sent to my Google account (lol). In almost every thing we were asked to sign up an account, so that was something I did not expect and it kind of took away from the program.

Some things that may help improve this program is what I mentioned before, now having so many signups. I'm the type of person that really doesn't like having thousands of acoounts/usernames/passwords.

As a teacher, I plan on incorporating alot of the flowcharts, social sites, etc into my classroom. Especially the creative activities including the puzzle and flickr.

I plan on keeping up with each on my accounts especially the ones where I made calendars and to-do-lists.

Thing #23

The 23 things is loosely based upon the website 43Things (which allows you to set and track personal goals) and the Stephen Abram article titled 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year.

Here's a link to the actual 43 Things: http://www.43things.com/

At first, I had no clue what Creative Commons meant, but I now I know that it is a copyright license that allows us to choose to share our intellectual property. So basically, we can take a piece of work and re-work it to make it fit our needs.
 

Thing #22

So far, this thing has been the hardest. It took me awhile to finally understand how to work everything and how to put things into my binder. LiveBinders was a bit tricky, but after playing around in for several minutes, I finally figured out what I was doing. This tool can be very useful in a classroom setting. It keeps information together and you can also store different things in it as well. The three binders I made were entitled: Third Grade, Teaching, and Elementary Education because that is what I hope to teach once I graduate from AP; each binder go hand in hand one way or another. Below is a link to my Elem. Edu. binder:

http://www.livebinders.com/shelf/my

Thing # 21

Working with Animoto was very fun and creative. I could upload my photos from Facebook or from Instagram to create my 30 second video. I also liked the fact that there was a variety of music to choose from rather than just one kind. I can definitely see myself using Animoto in my classroom and when I am older. This would also be a great assignment/project for my kiddos as well. Although Animoto ask for a small fee for longer videos, I feel as though it would be worth the pay.

Here's the link to my video: 
http://animoto.com/play/Z41pGG0AUmYAX2Tlye0RlQ

Thing #20

Ahh...youtube. I absolutely love youtube because you can search and find almost anything you're looking for. Especially music, I am a huge fan of all different types of music and youtube is the place to go if you want to find a song to listen to. I have an account with youtube and I use it daily, especially when I am in the library doing assignments. Youtube not only has music, but tutorials, videos, movies, t.v shows, etc. Youtube is full of adventure.

I chose this song simply because it is my favorite gospel song and I listen to it each time I feel negative, down, stressed, depressed, etc.

Here's a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU3qgPn3bGA

Thing #19

I have an account setup with both Facebook and Twitter. I've had a Facebook account ever since I was in high school. The first few years was pretty cool because I was able to find people I haven't talked to in years and keep in touch with family that live in different states. As I've grown older, Facebook has become more of a drama site rather than a social one. Each time I get on it's nothing but drama, so I'm really considering deactivating my profile.


Just recently I got a Twitter page and by recently I mean about three weeks ago (lol). So far I really like Twitter, because there's not as much drama plus you can say whatever you feel at the moment, even if it makes sense or not. Twitter is pretty cool and so far I like it.

None of my accounts are considered to me because it's just a social site which I probally won't have for very long because once I graduate college and actually start teaching, I plan on deleting all my social sites because I don't feel it's appropriate, byt that's just me.

I thinkTeacherPop is a good and trustworthy site that I may use once I graduate.

Thing #18

It is important for educators to know how social networking works because kiddos now-a-days use these types of technology and it is important for educators to be on the same page as their students. Plus if anything negative is said about a person, a teacher can step in and tell the student that such behavior is inappropriate.

Some insights I gained from these popular sites included meeting new people, finding old high school buddies, playing games, etc.

Some things I like about Facebook is being able to keep up/find old friends. I had found so many of my old classmates on Facebook and that is how we were able to keep in touch with one another. Some things I dislike about Facebook is all the drama. Everytime I login, I see somebody talking junk anout someone else and I'm like we're too old for this, grow up!

Facebook has the most useful features because there's some much you can do on this site. You can play games, find friends, upload pictures, comment on other people's pictures, like pictures, there's a calemdar for birthdays, etc.

Although these social network sites have tons of drama, I can see something like thise being used in a  classroom or school setting, only if they promise to be positive towards one another and leave the drama at home.

Thing #17

Using Delicious was simple to explore. Once I typed in "educational technology," tons of bookmarks poped up. As I looked through some of the bookmarks, I came across a few sites that I felt were useful.

I feel as though bookmarking can be beneficial to both students and teachers. I think teachers can gain knowledge from one another using bookmarks and students can too, by uinge bookmarks for research, projects, etc.

Thing #16

I chose iGoogle to work with because this page was fun and simple. I was able to put my most important information on my homepage. Including news, calendar, weather, etc. I felt as though the same apps I used for my iphone are now on my homepage. I found the to-do0list to be most helpful to me because as a college student, I have tons of things to do and this tool kept up with each of them.

Thing #15

Knowing there's a wayto create/share information with anyone anywhere at any time without using emails is amazing. Using wiki was both simple and easy. I posted my idea from thing 8 because thing 8 was by far the BEST thing we've had to do. Wiki in the classroom has both its advantages and disadvantages. Wiki is great for future classrooms because once again its easy and enjoyable for both teachers and students. The disadvantage is that anyone including creeps can have access to these tools which can be harmful/dangerous to students.

Thing #14

The two web-based tools I chose were the flowchart.com and bubbl.us. I honestly chose these two because thier names stood out to me most, but as I observed each tool I learned some of the same things and some different things as well about flowcharts and mindmaps.

Flowchart.com dealt alot with what its name, flow charts. This tool allows you to be able to collaborate with colleagues, chant & design flowcharts at the same time, doesn't require any type of download, and allows you to move objects around.

Bubbl.us dealt alot with bubble charts. Bubbl.us allows you to create bubbles anywhere on the chart, change colors, delete bubbles, change texts, edit text, etc. I liked this mindmap alot because it was very creative and fun to mess with.

Thing #13

First, I explored the Zoho Writer and I thought it was very similar to the Microsoft Programs. Something good that came from Zoho Writer other than the fact the its free (lol), was being able to create documents. I feel as though this tool could be very useful to people that do not have Microsoft installed.

Next, was the Google Docs tool. This tool could be used for several different things including copying, pasting, sending drawings, etc.

I personally enjoyed the Zoho Writer more, because I felt as though you could do more with it.

Thing #12

I enjoyed the Google Translate the most out of all the other choices because of how unique and creative it is. It allows you to type in any word, words, or phrases and it translates it from English, Spanish, French to either English, Spanish, or Arabic. And I thought that this tool was great, especially for bilingual people. I also enjoyed the Picasa Web Albumns because just like Flickr, it was filled with beautiful pictures. You can also upload your own image and tag another individual if you'd like. Not only that, but you can also see who shares your pictures, comment on photos, etc. Exploring these tools were very enjoyable; I even set up a calendar as well. Before, I was completely clueless as to how much Google had to offer, but now I see that there's more to Google than just research and images, there's also blogs and more creative/advanced sites.

Thing #11

The method I used to find feeds was the Google Blog Search. I simply searched for topics that I enjoy reading or talking about which is why I chose teaching/teachers. Suprisingly, Topix was the most confusing search tool because on this site I found articles such as tennessee, the government, and stuff like that, but not interesting, nothing I saw myself blogging about. Some of the things I found under teaching included: signs of a good teacher, teaching intolerance, teaching 2.0, and cool stuff like that. One unusual article that really stood out to me was called "Over-Looking Signs of Good Teaching." This one really stuck out to me because it was very honest and careless about what others had to say. It talked about teaching kids how much BS the system is going to try to get over on them and that the most valuable lesson a teacher can teach is that everything an authority says is going to be a lie. So this artilce really stuck out to me because it talked about something different and not just all positive things.

Thing #10

Some of the things I like about RSS and newsreaders are being able to subscribe to an article and being able to keep up with that article. I subsrcibed to five different articles like the directions asked us to and I found each article very interesting. I chose yoga, jobs, cooking, music, and jokes; I plan to keep up with each article. This technology can be very useful in the classrooms. Teachers can post extra credit work along with other assignments using this technology. I believe that students would enjoy this type of activity because now generation kids love using computers. This technology can also be useful in one's own personal life, him/her could subscribe to a blog about losing weight, eating healthy, etc. Again, teachers can use this technology for assignments in his/her classroom. I think this idea is very good and many people would enjoy this technology.

Thing #9

I had alot of fun with the image generator. At first it took me awhile to find the right images I wanted to use as well as save them, but after about 30 minutes I got the gist of it. I chose these images because of their creative. I love soup and I thought that image was pretty cool, along with the danger sign, I thought both were pretty funny. The I love thing 9 image was too cute and it had to be added. I can totally see myself using images like these in the classrooms because of its creativity and how much fun designing can be. I think kiddos would enjoy activities like these.

Thing #8

As you can see, I really enjoy the Jigsaw mashup. I had alot of fun finding a picture and turning it into a puzzle. I chose the picture because in a few short years, I hope to become an Elementary School Teacher. I feel as though websites like this would be alot of fun in the classrooms. Students can find a picture of their choice and recreate it into a puzzle; kiddos love doing activities like this. Although I'm not to fond of sharing photos online, I think an exception can be made about activities like this.

Thing #7

This was my very first time using Flickr and I had no idea what it was nor did I think it would be filled with all these beautiful pictures. Although Flickr was filled with thousands of pictures of cars, people, animals, nature, food, etc, I didn't have to search long to find a photo because once I saw this picture I knew it was the one I wanted to use. Owls are one of my favorite animals because of how unique they are. Once I saw this picture, I knew I wanted to blog about it.

Photo By: Nola Nate
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tagonist/8473973712/in/explore-2013-02-14

Thing #6

The tool from Web 2.0 that I chose was the ResumUP. I chose this tool because it was both useful and helpful to me. It mainly talked about how you can achieve your career goals and also knowing what it takes to get to that point. ResumUP oulls up the career that matches your selection and it shows how you can achieve that goal. I believe that this tool can be useful in schools and libraries because it tells what you need to know to achieve it and what skills you need to add. There's also an info button you can press in case you want to know more about your career; you can also add other people that are in the same boat as you, people that want a career in the same thing you want a career in. These people can also help and give you advice.

Thing #5

I agree that web 2.0 will change our future and make future education better than what it is today. Web 2.0 means that all across the country, schools are going to become more and more involved electronically. Today, we live in a world where change is constant meaning there are new things occuring each and every day. Web 2.0 will lead our future into a new way of thinking, learning, and teaching. Combining old things with new things can also help further both knowledge and education.

Thing #4

I feel as though commenting on other people's posts/blogs helps build communication skills as well as social skills. It also allows you to agree/disagree with a person and share your opinions with one another. Two things I felt were important when reading other blogs were that commenting lets the blogger know that someone is reading his/her work and because it establishes a relationship with people who have similar thoughts or ideas.

From our class, I chose Brittany White's blog because she is very knowledgeable and creative in each of her blogs. I also chose Whitney Hamilton because her blogs are always broad with lots to talk about and discuss. Stephen Smith because he sits beside me in class and he is also very knowledgeable and a very nice man. Markesha McCombs because I absolutely love her blog page. And Elizabeth Howell because she is very unique.

From outside our class, I chose Chassity Haplin because of her broad and wordy posts. I also chose Brittany Lowen because her blog was very interesting to read.

Thing #3

Ways a blog could be used in the classroom?
As a future educator, I think having blogs in the classroom is a great idea. Blogs can be used as an essential tool several different ways. Teachers can use them as a demonstration to show students how to preform certain tasks such as tying their shoes or by keeping track of assignments. Teachers can also keep parents/guardians informed on what's going on in the classroom as well. Blogs are great for getting information out into community quickly. Teachers can also use blogs in the classroom to post extra credit, value of month, etc. My future classroom will consist of blogs because I think they are both helpful and useful.