Thing 23 I am done and I have learned copious amounts!

1. My favorite discoveries were the avatar and Google Docs, as well as Teacher Tube. I always thought that some of these online things were just a waste of time, but I found out that there is another whole world out there that I had no clue existed. The avatar was cute and I would like to in my free time (what's that?) travel through some of those avatarian (a word?) worlds like City of Heroes and Second Life. I think (and hope) my students will enjoy the avatar project that I want to do with them on the first week of school. Let's hope all goes well, technologically speaking...
Also, Google Docs, I think, is amazing; no more saving and wondering where things are and emailing myself; it's all there and I can make whatever I want my students to view "public" (no more extra handouts kids...go to My Google Docs and print one!).
Finally, creating my own blog was incredible and I am really proud of it and have been showing it off to people.

2. This program has drastically improved my technological online skills. I thought I was tech savvy, but I was so wrong. Lifelong learning goals are just that...life long and I have learned that is much that I have learned online and more to come. I really need to master RSS feeds and podcasting; those are my goals for this school year.

3. The thing that I will takeaway from this program is that as far as technology goes, one can NEVER stop learning because just when you think you mastered it, there is something new and what you learned, is now irrelevant.

4. To me, RSS feeds and podcasting were challenging, so more explanation would be better, but how do you do that without boring or bombarding someone with too much information? I don't have the answers; I thought the format was done well and I don't have any complaints.

5. I would definitely participate again; I liked the "work at your own pace" format and not being in a classroom doing a staff development was a welcome change. Is this the way all classrooms will be soon?

6. "Eyeopener" is a noun that I would use to describe my experience because I just...never knew...

Thing 22 Nings

I already signed up for The Flat Classroom Project Ning earlier in the course because I was very interested in the concept of a "flat earth" and the fact that we are just divided up as far as email or network can keep us.

Because I would not be interested in something like Facebook or Myspace, Teacher Lingo, which I signed up for, seems right up my alley. Teaching, like medicine and law, is one of those careers where you are required, even if not, to keep up with the new trends and you must have new ideas or you just become irrelevant, and that is my greatest fear!

Teacher Lingo is really great; they have many features, including one I like "Tell us about your day". It can be something bad, something good, something funny; sometimes you just gotta tell someone else what happened because you may be in disbelief or think it's hilarious. I will definitely use this for venting, collecting ideas, and watching podcasts.

Thing 21 Podcasts

I do not get this at all. I embedded the podcast "Podcasting in Secondary Education in the UK".

According to one of the kickball captains, I was supposed to make my own, but I don't understand how to, so...if someone could help me who has already done it, that would be great. Thanks all.

Again, I tried using Audacity, and I downloaded it, but I don't know how to use it. Oh well, I can learn when I get back to school by "stalking" our local Library2Play graduate...you know who you are!

I have seen these podcasts on Teacher Tube and You Tube and they look like fun, but I just don't think I am savvy enough (yet) to use them. I saw how they were used to improve younger students' speech and story telling abilities. I hope that our technology teachers are using this though because it looks like something that will be quite viable in the business (real) world for our students to be marketable.

Thing 20 Videos!

Having videos at our disposal is a wonderful teaching tool to create more modern lessons. I am using one from Teacher Tube for my Avatar Project; it's cute and silly and "clean", so we'll see how it goes.

I wish I had a projector in my classroom to show all of these videos. It's kind of a pain to sign up for it each time. Supposedly , we are getting whiteboards, which I would rather a projector and some laptops, but I hear it's a little complicated. My goal this year is to really spice up my lessons with technology and pepper in some videos, some cool sites, and making it my priority to see that my students learn what I have learned. The whole global "flat" world thing is really worrying me, considering how low level my students in previous years have been, technology and English wise.

Thing 20 WiziQ Free Web 2.0 Education

Thing 19 Web 2.0 Awards!

Delicious is the best for bookmarking becaue it's user friendly and of course, popular, which means more "stuff". Bookmarking is wonderful for collaborating with others on teams/in dept. on similar educational information. If one person on the team finds something great, he/she can share with the ideas and vice versa, until there's a database of "stuff" that is easily accessible to all.

Google Docs is one of my favs also because it allows me to create documents/spreadsheets/presentations, all in one place, that I can easily access without having to save or remember which computer and where; I can share and publish for all to see and even to collaborate upon. I have created a few things already; I hope my visiters/collaborators will give me feedback.

.Doc Stoc is really amazing, especially, of course, the educational section. There are presentations, handouts, charts, everything you would need to create a great lesson. Also, just like Google Docs, you can share with others, which I love to do, and I love when others share with me and we collaborate to make something that otherwise would not have been so good. Here's the link so I won't forget: http://www.docstoc.com/documents/educational/

Let's not forget Google Blogsearch, which I find easier to use than Technorati for searching for what blogs are new and for what you WANT to read, like a sifter.

As well a favorite is of course, Flickr. Who doesn't love photos? And this way you can find exactly what you want. I can use this in my Jouralism class, as well as for inspiration to write in ENG III and IV.

Last but not least, there's good old You Tube for videos that you don't have to download, you can just stream/show, but of course sometimes you will run into the SBISD filter that will block your favorite, non threatening video, and ask yourself WHY????

Thing 18 Open Office vs Google Docs

Obviously, the advantage of these products is that what you save is always going to be there and you can make them private or public; however, if the net is down, then your presentation or lesson is sc***ed!
I really like Google Docs and I just completed a presentation about Flowers for Algernon on it, but if the Internet is down when I go to use it, I don't know what I will do because many links on the presentation are web based. However, it is very convenient to not have to save anymore and remember where you put it.
Open Office seems more user friendly because I suppose it's their primary tool; unlike Google, who has other things going on, and I don't see any type of "support" with Google, like in Open Office.
I couldn't download Open Office at home, but I will definitely do it when I get back to school, so here is the link for me to remember to do that:
http://www.openoffice.org/index.html

Thing 17 Rollyo

Select Search Engine...Have Job Have Baby Will TravelSearch The Web

Powered by Rollyo

Rollyo allows me to put my searches in a "card catalog" type fashion. This will definitely get me more organized. I found some sites on Journalism, which I will be teaching this upcoming school year and have never taught before, so now when I have more time, I can read those articles/information. Also, because I am a new mom, I have created a "roll" for parenting. I need to definitely read the articles on Dr. Brazelton, and so should anyone with a baby, because he is the fore most expert on what he calls "Touchpoints."

Thing 16 Wikis

I made a wiki at PB wiki already, but clearly I did not know what I was doing. Now that I have watched the tutorials, I can go in and edit to make it better. I really need to add video instead of the link to it, my avatar as a slideshow/photo, a calendar of due dates, and a chat aspect in case students have problems...it's a work in progress.

In my class, I could have my students create one to collaborate on group projects, including the research project/paper. Also, I like the idea of using it for my syllabus/policies and for resumes. Maybe paper will be obsolete soon...hmmm!

Thing 15 Web, Library 2.0 and the Future of Libraries

http://flatclassroomproject2006.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/Flat_Classroom_Handout_June07.pdf
Link to the flat classroom project that contains all the links to explain what it is and all the contributors. Sounds great to me...since we are getting whiteboards, maybe my school could get involved? Any thoughts...

Right now, I am reading The World is Flat and this is amazing that I am seeing some of those concepts come to life with these two projects. Wouldn't it be amazing for someone from Montanat to speak to my students about the setting of Montana 1948 or a brain surgeon to speak to my students on brain surgery and intelligence for a discussion of Flowers for Algernon. Who needs wikipedia or google, when you have the real thing? Who needs notebooks when students can just blog and have a full fledged discussion? I wonder if these things are possible for Spring Woods students because we would have some difficult obstacles?!

http://socialnetworking4teachers.wikispaces.com/Bloggers+to+Learn+From
This is an extensive list for learning everything you would want to know about Web 2.0; it's all in one place in case anyone needs a review. I am posting it so it will be there "always" for me!

Library and Web 2.0 technology means a whole new world of information collecting, collaborating, and gathering. If I can figure all of these new technologies out, then I think that teaching the research paper would actually be rewarding and exciting, for me as well as for my students. The one sided library is out...collaboration is in...the difficulties come with a population like at my school where so many students seem computer/internet/technology illiterate, I worry about the implications of allowing high school students be involved in the process. That's kind of the problem I am having with wikis is that what if someone edits it and they vandalize or do something inappropriate. What if I plan all of these activities, and my students are just not tech savvy enough and it makes it worse? I am super excited about implementing all of these new things that I have learned, but of course, I have concerns.

As far as school libraries go, again, can our/my/all students participate in the process of being collaborators in the "new future libraries"? Can all teachers? Are districts going to keep up with technology by training us? I am still dismayed at what I don't know and I am very glad that I am learning about these new pieces of information.

Thing 14 Technorati

Blog posts seem more "chatty" than the Blog Directory for School Library Learning 2.0, I guess because posts has "fans" and the directory has "authorities." The tags were not what I expected, so it makes me wonder: are they useful for the reader, the creator, or the commentor?
I guess if you have researched elsewhere and have failed, these tags sites are great because they give you perspectives that you may have not considered or thought of, as well as, authorities on subjects that you would otherwise NEVER get to speak to, and that's actually amazing. You could be speaking to the president for all you know! :)
I don't see myself using Technorati as much as maybe a site like Flickr, just because I don't blog all that much, even now; however, after doing this online course, maybe that will change...