It's not the end! Only the beginning!

My favorite discovery exercise was creating the video. I really liked how easy it was and how it can be used in the classroom and for personal use. I also really enjoyed creating the signs and stuff for the classroom. They were super fun and you create one for anything. By completing this project my life long learning goals have altered quite a bit. Before I didn't strive to know about all the different technology available to me. Now that I have completed this project though, I really want to know about all the educational technology available to me. I want to be able to give my students the best education possible. I really think by completing this project I am on the track to do that. I was really surprised by how this project made me more interested in educational technology. The only thing I would change about the program would be maybe the uploading processes for the videos. Sometimes they can be super complicated and get very difficult to understand. This program has shown me that technology does have a place in the classroom today, and by the time that I get to teach in my own classroom, it will be even more prominent. I plan on keeping up with new web 2.0 tools by keeping up with the accounts that I've created during this project.

Thing 23: Creative Commons!

Thing 23 about creating commons is an example of something that has been altered from it's original format for educational purposes. It refers back to the original blog about creative commons. For creative commons in my future classroom, I plan on using it to enhance the learning environment for my students. I will use workbook pages that I feel will enhance my students understanding of a subject. Also, videos that will help me to enhance my students interest and understanding of material. Creative Commons really allows teachers to help their students I believe. By allowing teachers to use materials for their students it helps teacher not have to focus so much on if they are breaking the law or and lets them focus mainly on if their students are receiving the best information possible.

Thing 22: Livebinder!

Livebinder has endless options for the classroom! Teachers could have students create a study guide for their test and use livebinder as a way to compile all of their pages. Teachers could also have students split into groups and create their own projects on a certain area of something, then everyone can combine their binders to make a shelf. That way the entire class puts in different information to make one complete project on a subject. After that, the students could go through and look at everyone else's projects and see how they could improve their own and they could also use them as study guides.

Thing 21: Animoto!

Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.

pcb 2012 I love Animoto! I really enjoyed getting to create my video. The site is very easy to use and allows you to make things the way you want them The only thing that was a little difficult for me was trying to embed the video, but other than that I love the site. I would really like to create videos for my personal use, of vacations or family functions. I also would really like to try to use this site in my classroom one day. Students could create a video about a person they are doing a project on or even a video on themselves to show to the class at the beginning of the year.

Thing 20: Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY4RL505Fuk

I really like YouTube because let's face it, you can find anything you want on there! There is such a variety of videos on the site that there are endless opportunities. I chose this video because it shows how school systems are really taking advantage of technology in the classroom. I also like how the students were interviewed to get their point of view on how they like using technology in the classroom. Teachers could use this site to show how math functions work or even show a short clip about a former president. YouTube is a very simple site to use, you just simply type in what kind of video you are looking for and it will give you a list of many different videos fitting your request.

Thing 19: More than Facebook!

<embed wmode="opaque" src="http://static.ning.com/socialnetworkmain/widgets/index/swf/badge.swf?xn_version=124632088" FlashVars="backgroundColor=0xFFFFFF&textColor=0xFF1A45&config=http%3A%2F%2Fteacherpop.ning.com%2Fmain%2Fbadge%2FshowPlayerConfig%3Fxg_source%3Dbadge%26size%3Dmedium" width="206" height="174" bgColor="#FFFFFF" scale="noscale" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"> </embed><br /><small><a href="http://teacherpop.ning.com">Visit <em>TeacherPop</em></a></small><br />

Above is my badge for the Teacherpop site. I really enjoyed how it was set up at Austin Peay and how it was simple to use. I'm not a member of any other social networking site currently, but I really liked the Craftster's site. I enjoy doing crafts at home and there were tons of new ideas on there. I also really like it because it could be used in the classroom to find neat ideas for students to do. Also, it offers people a way to put their ideas out there for crafts. It also allows you to go back and edit what you have posted, that way if you come up with a tip, you can just add it to the original post.

Thing 18: Facebook!

Social media is now something that consumes almost everyone's lives, it is very important that teachers take advantage of this in the classroom. If educators know how social media works, they will be more apt to accept it and use it to it's full advantages. Teachers could create a classroom Facebook page and allow parents and students to join. The teacher could then add pictures of the class doing projects, activities or going on field trips. The teacher could also post about upcoming tests, assessments and any other important information. This is a  good way for parents to know what is going on in their child's classroom because every teacher will always have that student that looses the newsletter on the way home, or doesn't give it to their parents. The school itself could create a Facebook page to let parents or people in the community know about events the school is hosting or fundraisers. I really don't see a downside to either site. They both can be useful in the classroom, on top of the pure social aspect. Although I do think Facebook has the most useful features because it allows you to view everything that is going on all in one page. All in all, social media is a big thing already, if educators don't grab hold and use it to their advantage they're going to fall behind.

Thing 17: Delicious!

Delicious definitely has it's place in the classroom. If students are working on a project this would be a great way for them to keep up with everything. By using this bookmarking site students could just bookmark something, then go on to the next thing they need to look at. After students had found all their information they needed they could go back and put it all together by getting all their bookmarks. This is a great way for teachers to take advantage of Delicious in the classroom. This could be used really anywhere though. At home people can use bookmarking site to do research on just about anything you can think of!

Thing 16: Organization is Key!

I chose the iGoogle start page, I liked how simple it was to create it. All I had to do was select my interests and it created the page for me. It allowed me to see the news, weather, humor and social media all at once. I don't think I will use this as my start page on my personal computer, but it would be a useful source for my future classroom computer.

Online calendars are super useful! If you create an online calendar, no matter where you are, you can see what you've planned. So if you leave your computer somewhere, you can access your calendar from your phone or another computer. Also, online calendars are great for teachers because if they are at home trying to plan for next week but they cannot remember what's going on, they can just log onto their online calendar and check it!

The online to do lists can be helpful, but a little too much work. If I'm going to make a do to list, I prefer to write it out and be able to see it and check each item off. This gives me just a little satisfaction that I've accomplished something on my list. They could be useful maybe for students who are working on a project and need to make sure they get each part done. They could create a to do list and make sure they accomplish each step.

The sticky notes tool could be used by teachers at home and at school. This tool would allow teachers to make notes or reminders for their school work, papers they need to grade or parents they need to call. They could also use it for personal reminders and put to do lists on them for home.

Thing 15: Wiki Wiki!

Wiki is a great tool to use in the classroom. You could have a classroom wiki site that every child can log onto and put what they thought about an assignment or how they like a certain activity. Teachers could also have their students make study groups, then each group would have their own Wiki page. As the unit goes on, students in the group can post different formulas or problems to the page, by the end, it can be like a study guide for each student. This way the students have a say in what they are posting, and it also keeps them involved. I thought that Wiki was a great tool for the classroom, but I didn't really care for the fact that anyone can create an account and change whatever they want.

Thing 14: Going with the Flow!

The flowchart creator I chose to use was Gliffy. It was very easy to use and simple. Flowcharts allow students to put things together by steps. If students are learning the process of something, a flowchart would be perfect for them to see the steps seperated.

The mind map creator I chose to use was Bubbl.us. I chose this specific site becuase it allows you to jump right into brainstorming your ideas and puts them in a mind map. Mind maps are just maps of a persons thoughts about a specific topic. If a student was trying to write a paper about dogs, they could write down everything that comes to mind about dogs then look at a map of their thoughts.

A project I would do with my students would be to have them use a flow chart to organize how to write a sentence. Each step of building a proper sentence would be a differnt step of the flow chart. Once a student makes it all the way through the flowchart steps, they will have created a complete sentence.

Thing 13: Zoho Writer!

Zoho writer is a great web based application that allows you to do many things to better your papers or reports. A few of the interesting features of Zoho writer I liked were the upload/download tool, format painter and collaboration tools. The upload/download tool I thought was useful because it allows you to upload documents from the computer, other sources or by email to be edited by the Zoho tools. The second tool that I liked was the format painter, this tool allows you to apply the formatting of one section of a document to another section or the entire document. The last tool that I chose was the collaboration tool. I really liked this tool because it allows people to share documents with another person or group. The entire group can edit the document at the same time.

Students could use the collaboration tool in Google Docs in many different ways. Students who are working on a project together can share documents, pictures and spreadsheets between each other. This allows everyone to share the work equally. Studends could also use the collaboration tool to peer review each other's papers and leave comments.

 

I would prefer to use Zoho writer because I thought it was easier to use.All of the tools were clearly explained and listed. Google docs was somewhat confusing. It was vey hard for me to figure out how to share the drawing I created. I had to switch to the old view of Google docs to figure out how even work anything.