One Last Thing

I liked this class. The format was great for me. I don't like to get stuck in a tech class where people are asking how to sign in when I am way past that. Working at my own pace and time helped me. I want to use more of the things I learned and already know about with my students. I really liked Flickr and Rockyou.com. Those were the most interesting and fun for me. I can use both in my personal, professional, and teaching roles. This class has also forced me to join Facebook. The best thing about Facebook for me is denying people from my profile. I know that is evil but I don't want to share with everybody. Thanks for a great class. It was nice to see names and pictures of people who I know but don't get to see in person.

Thing #7b

I read some sad stories this week. I pasted on all the Michael Jackson stories. I hear about it too much on the t.v. to read about it on the Internet. I read Girl, 14, Survives Crash of Yemeni Jet. It is amazing that she survived a crash into the ocean. She was in the right place at the right time. It is sad to know that the plane already had problems and was not taken out of rotation. I also read 7 Teenagers Are Shot Near Detroit School. It is awful that people would do that to kids who were coming home from summer school. It must be terrifying for those parents to know that they are not even safe waiting for the school bus. This article showed me how sheltered we are from the violence of a large city. Sometimes we can get in the thinking that we are in a rough school but then you read something like this and know you are lucky.

Thing #15

What can I say about Wikis? Not my favorite thing to do. I didn't like how hard it was to format. I had trouble with changing from headings to normal. I I couldn't see what it was going to look like while editing. Maybe it was just me. I put this one off until the end because I knew it was going to take me more time than the other things did. It was not a fast process. I am spoiled to Word and all the editing features. It felt like I was going back in time to Word 95 but using today's options. This was the most frustrated I felt with technology in a while. Even though it took me some time and lots of deleting, I like the finished product. So take a Wiki at Aurora.

Thing #23

I am overwhelmed by Ning. I am having information overload. There is so much to read on just the first page. I don't like the layout. It was too much for me. It felt like a mess. On the other hand, the 23 Thingsters was much better. There weren't so many side bars and information to read. I like looking at smaller chunks. I think this would be good for departments to share within the district. The discussion would be good for ideas on using the materials provided for the subject or new ways to teach a lesson. When I go to staff development, people are always writing down ideas to steal from. A discussion would be a good way to get the strategies shared.

The discussion can be useful. I did like Creatively teaching math through technology. Even though the discussion started in 2007, people have continued to comment good suggestions. This would be a good place for me to go when I have run out of ideas to search for on Google. Collaboration with colleagues whether with in our own district or half way around the world can only enrich the classroom.

Thing #22

I had friends who have tried to get me on MySpace and it didn't work. Now they are trying to get me on Facebook. Up to this point it didn't work. It took this assignment to get me to be a social networker. I am not a huge fan of the world knowing what I am doing every moment. I think it is important for educators to know about Facebook and Myspace because students today are very involved with both. Students are communicating in so many ways that it is hard to keep up with. It is important to know what they are looking at and how they use it. I liked Facebook more because you have more control over who is looking at your posts. I could see setting up a profile for my class. It would be a great way to communicate the way the students do.

My first social networking profile on Facebook.

Thing #21

The whole Google account is useful. The tools are interactive with each other. I have used google sites to create my portfolio and a site for my students. I included a calendar on each one. I can go into the Google Calendar to update the calendar and it automatically updates it on the site. It is easy to manage. Google earth is cool to look at. In one of the blogs I read for this class earlier (can't remember which one, I think I blogged about it) there was a project to use with Google earth. I want to try that. I also like to look at it if I am going to a new place. I like to see what to expect. iGoogle is fun to put your own twist on Google. I have friends with Picasa and look at their albums. There is just so much Google can do. I am still finding new things.

Thing #20

I have used google docs during this course. I don't have Microsoft Word on my home computer so I have been using google docs to type my reflections. It is nice because it has all the tools I need. I have also used it in my masters class. I work from home, school, and laptop. Google docs lets me create, edit, and save using all these different computers. I don't have to worry about carrying a memory stick or emailing it to myself every time I change something. I have also used it when working on a project with my classmates. We were able to share and work on the presentation together without being in the same room. We each were able to add parts and contribute to the project and review the other parts. This saved time for each of us because we could work at the best time for us. I really like google docs.

Thing #19

I have never seen Voicethread before. I like that there are different ways to comment and the pen tool. It would be a good way to keep up with family and friends. Many people are in the habit of sending and posting pictures but you don't always get to hear their reaction. The use of audio is neat. I liked to hear why it was posted and hear from the people about what the likes about it best. With the voice option you can hear the feeling they are expressing unlike just typing a comment.

Thing #18

I have used youtube and teachertube in the classroom before. The only problem is that it is blocked by the district. I have to override many times just to view a video but it is worth it. I have looked at videos that support my lessons. I don't always use them. They are not always the best quality like Darth Vader Explains the Pythagorean Theorem.
It is funny but annoying. I am posting my favorite one that I used to motivate the kids. They went around singing it for days.

Thing #17

I listened to The Math Podcast, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips, and Think Youth Live. I didn't like listening to podcast. I thought it was boring just listening to someone talk. I needed a visual. I have listened to a podcast about music and didn't think much of it. I can't see the people and their expressions, there isn't anything to follow along with, and it loses my interest very quickly. I personally didn't enjoy the podcast. However, I think it might work in the classroom. I think it would be good to have a podcast over the lesson from class that day. This would help the parents and students on homework. It definitely needs to correlate to a visual, the worksheet or book.

Thing #16

I liked Librarything. It was neat to see how you can have your own library catalog just from what you have read. I didn't sign up for an account but I would use it in a different way. If I really like an author, I tend to read everything they have write. When I am done with that author and waiting for their next book I try to find another one. Sometimes this is hard for me. I will go to the local library (I believe in renting books) and come home with about 3-4 books I thought I might like. I read about the first 50 pages and if it doesn't grab me I move on. When I go to return, I haven't finished a single book. So when I do find something I like I read everything from that author. Librarything has a recommendations link that can be really helpful to someone like me. I tried it with one author and found a book she wrote I didn't know about. It also gave me other books that were similar. I would use it for the recommendations.

Thing #14

The wiki projects were interesting. The students were very interactive with the wikis. After reading Wiki Wiki teaching, I wanted to see how high school students used a wiki. I looked at Math 12V Outcomes Portfolio. The teacher put together a full course outline with the help of the students. The students had assignments to complete from the wiki and guidelines for posting. It was well organized with examples. I also looked at a few middle school wikis. In Room 15 Wiki, the teacher made sure to include every subject the students were studying. It is a good resource for the parents to know what is going on in the classroom. I liked the way Discovery Utopias used the students as the facilitators. At the bottom of the page it referenced students to contact if you needed help posting. It put the teaching in to the hands of the students. I think wikis are good for collaborating of project and creating study material.

Thing #13

I have played around with Delicious before. I had forgotten how useful it could be. I like being able to have a short cut to sites I use the most. I would like to share more but don't know very many people with a Delicious account. Once I refreshed my memory on how to bookmark and tag sites, I couldn't stop. I added some of the sites that I have learned about in this class. I really liked Rockyou.com and I found a site with Twitter Tools. It puts it into a place that I can easily get back to when I get back to school. Delicious reminded me of the Google reader. They seemed very similar.I just need to remember I have an account.

Thing #7a

I skimmed all the articles in my reader. I found about 3 interesting enough to read the whole story. I read Twilight's Peter Facinelli Wins Twitter Bet which was a follow up to an earlier article I read. It was short and now I know the results to the bet made. The article Federer’s Focus: The Title, Not the Record caught my eye because I like to watch tennis. My favorite summer activity is to read a book while a watch Wimbledon. It started today but television coverage doesn't start for a while. It talked about Roger Federer's chances of winning this year now that Rafael Nadel dropped out after winning last year. The last one that caught my attention was Court Affirms Reimbursement for Special Education . It was an interesting read. The courts said an Oregon school district had to pay the tuition of a student who was diagnosed special education after he enrolled in a private school.

Thing #12

I looked at the Weebly. I liked google sites better just because it is apart of my current account. I use Google Sites for my current website. My website is a collection of the work I have done towads my masters degree. I am in the process of setting up a webpage for my students. I would like them to use it to stay up to date with their assignments. I want to add fun math gadgets and math related links. I also liked Wordle. It would be fun to use the most important words from a unit of study. And just a fun one to play around with is Blabberize. You can Blabberize all your friends and family.

Thing #11

I made my neice's name with the Spell with Flickr. I let her pick out the pictures of the letters. It is neat to use but can be frustrating. I didn't like that you could not go back to a letter easliy. We found a letter once but couldn't find it again. I made a picture a took into a puzzle but the piece out of the middle was the best part of the picture. It did not turn out good. I made a presentation from Flickr images using Splashr. I used the tags Berlin and Athens. I don't like that I can not modify the presentation. I wanted to change out some of the pictures but couldn't find a way. I also don't like that it doesn't fit into my blog very well. I thought the Mosic Maker was fun. It did however take a while to upload my own pictures. I might use that later. I would use these different applications to add a creative touch to presentations. It would also be a good gift that doesn't cost money but shows personal detail.

Thing #10

Create Your Own

I made a slide show of places I want to see this summer. I liked this website. After my vaction, I want to make a slide show of my pictures. I liked adding music. It put a personal touch on the slide show.

Pictures from Flickr
0505-1809-Germany-Berlin by PnP!
The Berlin Wall, East/West Germany by GothPhil
Holocaust Memorial (04) - 29Aug07, Berlin (Germany) by philipe leroyer
Acropolis - Athens - Greece by Ipinseel
Parthenon, Athens, Greece by GothPhil
Athens, Greece by Sev!

Thing #9

Picture from GothPhil on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_p/2082804280/

Picture from PnP! on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pnp/1561149669/
I chose to search for pictures from Berlin, Germany and Athens, Greece. I am leaving in a few weeks to visit both of these places. I have looked up the weather and what types of clothes to take. This was the first time I saw pictures taken by people who visited the cities. It gave me a chance to know what to look for. I will be able to use these with my classes to show how to research cities of interest. Having a nice picture to look at can be calming.

Thing #8

I have never noticed the CC on websites. I have seen it on t.v. I thought it meant closed captioning. This is new to me. I didn't realize there were works that you could modify without breaking the law. I have used pictures in some presentations and never even thought about the copyright laws. I assumed that if it was on the Internet in things like google images it was legal to use. With the advancement of technology, copyright laws needed to keep up. Sites like Wikipedia change the way information is published. Creative commons can have a negative effect for people who don't want someone modifying and sharing their works. As a teacher, I tend to look at things a little differently. I would want someone to improve upon my work. There is always something better or a mistake missed that can be corrected with creative commons.

Thing #7

Commenting is an important part of blogging. In my experience, the comments are what I sometimes read first. I however, have a hard time wanting to comment. I like to be anonymous. It was hard for me to comment on the blogs of people I don't know. I have this crazy feeling that the author will look at my post and be like who is this crazy person I don't know leaving me a message. Commenting can be fun. The one thing I don't like about the commenting boxes is there are no editing options. I am a terrible speller and use spell check before anything I send goes out. I also like to use different font types. I guess I could copy and paste comments from Word. This takes the fun out of leaving your thoughts right then. I am going to try to comment more.

Thing #6

I like the reader. I am one of those people that will click on a story if it interests me. I have become wrapped up in the feed for my fun site. I subscribed to the E! Online site. All I want to do is read the snippets of entertainment news. They are all very short but there are a ton of them. The pictures are great too. I found myself clicking on things like Twilight's Peter Facinelli Needs Our Help! I read all the Twilight series. This actor is trying to win a bet for having the most followers on Twitter. So, I had to read more about that. I know I have more educational feeds but this just pulls me in. I have read some of the educational feeds. I do agree that skimming is the best way of getting through all the new topics.

Thing #5

I subscribed to a song of the day from the NPR site. I like hearing new music. This gives me a chance to hear stuff I wouldn't on the radio. If I don't like the song I just turn it off. The link is The Current Song of the Day. I also liked reading about how a group of students were trying to get an updated version of Google Earth and time to use it. There are lots of uses that I have never thought of to use with students. It even gave examples of worksheets to use with Google Earth. Read more about it at We Need Our Earth.

Thing #4

I read more than 5 of the sample blogs. I have a tendency to skim whatever it is I am reading. With some blogs it is easy to read because they are short. The longer blogs lost me interest and I went straight to the comments. Reading the comments is like listening in on a conversation. I like the back and forth writing some of the comments. If the comments are good or refer back to the post, I am more likely to read all of the post. The writing seemed to be complete thoughts. I did notice that the younger the writer the less standard punctuation applied. They wrote more like they would in an email to a friend. Blogging is good for checking for understanding or extension activity.

Thing #2

I teach 7th grade math at Berry Middle School. I am going into my eighth year of teaching. When I started teaching it was drilled into my head to use cooperative learning as much as possible. With in the last few years technology in the classroom has been pushed. I thought I was doing an okay job of incorporating technology into my classroom because I used a few programs that came with the textbook. However the more I learn about all the different applications and how much the more my students know than I do, I feel behind and overwhelmed. I didn't realize how little I do until I started looking at all that is available to use. I see how much further I need to go to catch up and stay ahead. My students are more engaged with the lesson when I have used the little bit of technology I know. I have been trying to learn more communication tools to stay in touch with family and friends. In this process, I have brought some of my family members behind in the times up to date on social networking. I feel like I need more web 2.0 to enrich my teaching.

Thing #1

The most challenging habit for me is to begin with the end in mind. Sometimes I find it hard to set goals for specific areas. I have an overall goal of getting my masters degree. However, the goals for each class that I need to take are more difficult for me to see. My goal right now is to complete the class to receive credit. I know I will learn valuable knowledge to use in the classroom and my goals for this class will change as I go along.

The easiest habit for me is using technology to my advantage. I am always looking at how different programs will save time. I like being connected to as many different resources as possible. I may not use all of them to the full but I like knowing that I can at anytime. I am limited on money towards technology. I want all the newest gadgets but don't own very many.

The most important habits to develop are a toolbox and play. I like to add to my technology toolbox as much as possible. The more I know about technology, the more I want to use it. I wish I had more time and patience to play around with all the different applications. I also run out of needs and ideas to use them. This class is going to force me to discover things about applications I already know about but are not using to the full.