My favorite discoveries were definitely Thing #8 with the flickr mashups and Thing #21 with the 30 second video clip made by using Animoto.
This program has affected my lifelong learning goals because it made me realize that the internet can be used for so many things in everyday life and in the classroom. Now that I have learned about all 23 of these tools, I will most definitely be using these tools in the rest of my college education and in my own classroom.
The only thing about this entire project that surprised me was how much I ended up loving blogs! I never had any luck with blogs before and I kind of hated them but now I cannot imagine not blogging.
I do not have any ideas about how this project could be improved upon because it was extremely easy to follow and complete on time.
The 23 Things will definitely help me as a teacher because I have so many new ideas that I could put to use in my classroom. I feel like after completing this assignment I am much more prepared to teach than I was before.
I think the best way for me to keep up with Web 2.0 tools is to keep visiting the APSU 23 Things blog even after I complete the course to see how things are changing.
Shelby
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Thing #23
http://sjlibrary23.blogspot.com/
The link above proves that the 23 Things idea is also being used by others. Our 23 Things project might have been started before or after the many other schools that are also using it, but all I know for sure is that we are definitely not the only ones with the idea.
Creative Commons is important because you need to be aware of the things on the internet that you can and cannot share. As a teacher, it is extremely important to teach this to students and to use it in the classroom as well as to not use anything that should not be used. It is easy to just copy and paste things onto a powerpoint and not even question whether or not you are allowed to do that.
The link above proves that the 23 Things idea is also being used by others. Our 23 Things project might have been started before or after the many other schools that are also using it, but all I know for sure is that we are definitely not the only ones with the idea.
Creative Commons is important because you need to be aware of the things on the internet that you can and cannot share. As a teacher, it is extremely important to teach this to students and to use it in the classroom as well as to not use anything that should not be used. It is easy to just copy and paste things onto a powerpoint and not even question whether or not you are allowed to do that.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Thing #22
My live binder
The titles of my binders are Elementary Education, Middle School Education, and High School Education. I am focusing on Elementary Education but I thought it would be a good idea to cover all the bases with my binders.
Live Binders could easily be incorporated into a classroom assignment or project. For example, if you assign a paper to your students, you could have them create a Live Binder to keep their different sources in for the paper. I think that would be a much better way to help them stay organized. If all of your information is on a website, how in the world could you possibly lose it?
I am seriously considering using this website for the exact reason I posted above. I am extremely horrible at keeping my things organized so if I can find a website that will keep everything right at my fingertips, sign me up!
The titles of my binders are Elementary Education, Middle School Education, and High School Education. I am focusing on Elementary Education but I thought it would be a good idea to cover all the bases with my binders.
Live Binders could easily be incorporated into a classroom assignment or project. For example, if you assign a paper to your students, you could have them create a Live Binder to keep their different sources in for the paper. I think that would be a much better way to help them stay organized. If all of your information is on a website, how in the world could you possibly lose it?
I am seriously considering using this website for the exact reason I posted above. I am extremely horrible at keeping my things organized so if I can find a website that will keep everything right at my fingertips, sign me up!
Thing #21
My Animoto Video
Making a video on Animoto was so much fun! I really enjoyed this Thing because it was something new and really fun. I like how they have so many different music choices and you get to add all of your own pictures so it makes it very personal. Definitely a fun website that will be used in my classroom!
Making a video on Animoto was so much fun! I really enjoyed this Thing because it was something new and really fun. I like how they have so many different music choices and you get to add all of your own pictures so it makes it very personal. Definitely a fun website that will be used in my classroom!
Thing #20
I can definitely see how YouTube would be helpful if applied to the library website. Sometimes it is easier to understand how to do things if you can see someone else do it in a video. For example, it is so much easier for me to understand how to use APA style if a get on YouTube and find a video of someone showing me what to do step-by-step instead of someone handing me a sheet of paper with instructions. Maybe that is just my own personal learning style...but I highly doubt it. YouTube is just all around an amazing tool to have at my disposal.
Thing #19
I am not a member of any online communities unless you count Teacherpop since I just signed up for it. :)
The social networks that caught my eye were the ones under 'Food'. I am a huge fan of cooking and baking so those sites automatically caught my attention right off the bat. I love having different websites full of recipes to keep under my belt because I never know when I will need them!
I can see myself using many of these in the future. I have used Project playlist in the last many times and I am sure to use that again in the future. I also plan on bookmarking Bake Space to use at a later date. I am very excited about all of these new tools that I have access to.
The social networks that caught my eye were the ones under 'Food'. I am a huge fan of cooking and baking so those sites automatically caught my attention right off the bat. I love having different websites full of recipes to keep under my belt because I never know when I will need them!
I can see myself using many of these in the future. I have used Project playlist in the last many times and I am sure to use that again in the future. I also plan on bookmarking Bake Space to use at a later date. I am very excited about all of these new tools that I have access to.
Thing #18
My Facebook profile
My Twitter profile
I am a huge, giant, crazy Facebook addict. I have been for the better part of 3 years. I LOVE everything about it. I was so excited when I realized Thing #18 was about Facebook. It is important for teachers to know how social networking sites because just about everyone uses them. As an educator, it is helpful to be up to date on things like this, especially because a lot of students have Facebook profiles. When you have students being bullied over Facebook and Twitter, it is important to know as much as you can.
Honestly, I did not really learn anything new that I did not already know about Facebook. I did not mess around with Twitter too much though because I just do not like it at all. I have tried before to become interested in Twitter and I am still having trouble getting into it.
I think as far as useful features, Facebook definitely is the winner. Facebook is not just about keeping up with friends and family. Facebook can also be used to join different groups on campus, keep up with fellow Education majors, and even find Facebook pages about teaching in the classroom.
I can see Facebook being useful in the classroom because you could assign each student a person in history and have them create a Facebook profile for that person. That way, they have to research the information but can still have fun using Facebook at the same time. I think this is a very good idea for a history teacher!
My Twitter profile
I am a huge, giant, crazy Facebook addict. I have been for the better part of 3 years. I LOVE everything about it. I was so excited when I realized Thing #18 was about Facebook. It is important for teachers to know how social networking sites because just about everyone uses them. As an educator, it is helpful to be up to date on things like this, especially because a lot of students have Facebook profiles. When you have students being bullied over Facebook and Twitter, it is important to know as much as you can.
Honestly, I did not really learn anything new that I did not already know about Facebook. I did not mess around with Twitter too much though because I just do not like it at all. I have tried before to become interested in Twitter and I am still having trouble getting into it.
I think as far as useful features, Facebook definitely is the winner. Facebook is not just about keeping up with friends and family. Facebook can also be used to join different groups on campus, keep up with fellow Education majors, and even find Facebook pages about teaching in the classroom.
I can see Facebook being useful in the classroom because you could assign each student a person in history and have them create a Facebook profile for that person. That way, they have to research the information but can still have fun using Facebook at the same time. I think this is a very good idea for a history teacher!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thing #17
After creating my account on Delicious, I searched 'educational technology' and decided to click on the bookmark for Brainpop. I could see the different tags that other users had assigned to this particular bookmark and that is why it caught my attention. The tags covered a pretty vast amount of topics and for me, that is important.
I can see this being helpful in the classroom because you can see the tags before you click on the link so you have a better idea of whether or not the website will be helpful to you or not. That is definitely a plus. Instead of wasting valuable time looking through a ton of different websites, you can look at that tags and find what you are looking for.
I can see this being helpful in the classroom because you can see the tags before you click on the link so you have a better idea of whether or not the website will be helpful to you or not. That is definitely a plus. Instead of wasting valuable time looking through a ton of different websites, you can look at that tags and find what you are looking for.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Thing #16
The start page I chose to use was iGoogle. The main reason I chose this start page was because I have used it on another thing in the past and it is currently my home page and I love it. iGoogle appealed to me because I can personalize my page with widgets that I want and will use daily. This is already my homepage and it will remain that way. :)
I also decided to use the Google Calendar because it was a widget I had already added to my iGoogle homepage. I love this Calendar because it can be synced to my android phone so everything I add to my Google calendar goes directly to my phone as well. That way I will always be on top of everything going on.
The to-do list I chose was Remember the Milk. I also chose this one because it has an android app so I can keep up with my to-do list on the internet and on my phone. Since I always have my phone, I will always have my to-do list on me. Always a plus. :)
All of the tools I played with could definitely be useful in the classroom and at home for personal use. I will be using all of these tools to keep organized. The internet makes it SO easy to be organized so I might as well take advantage of it!
I also decided to use the Google Calendar because it was a widget I had already added to my iGoogle homepage. I love this Calendar because it can be synced to my android phone so everything I add to my Google calendar goes directly to my phone as well. That way I will always be on top of everything going on.
The to-do list I chose was Remember the Milk. I also chose this one because it has an android app so I can keep up with my to-do list on the internet and on my phone. Since I always have my phone, I will always have my to-do list on me. Always a plus. :)
All of the tools I played with could definitely be useful in the classroom and at home for personal use. I will be using all of these tools to keep organized. The internet makes it SO easy to be organized so I might as well take advantage of it!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Thing #15
I am officially a wiki addict! I never really thought twice about wikis...all I knew was that wikipedia was banned from all college classes. I LOVE wikis. Have I gotten that point across yet? :)
Editing the apsu23things wiki was a piece of cake (literally...I posted a picture of cake.) It was so much easier than I thought it would be! Because of how easy it was to edit, I just know it would be so easy for elementary school students to figure out as well. (They are already more tech savvy than me, you know.) I can definitely see myself making a class project revolving around a wiki page. It would be a new and fun way to get students involved in learning. The more hands-on you can get, the better (especially with younger students).
I do think that you really need to be careful when using wikis though because of the fact that it is so easy to edit and change information around.
I will definitely be using wiki's in my classroom!
Editing the apsu23things wiki was a piece of cake (literally...I posted a picture of cake.) It was so much easier than I thought it would be! Because of how easy it was to edit, I just know it would be so easy for elementary school students to figure out as well. (They are already more tech savvy than me, you know.) I can definitely see myself making a class project revolving around a wiki page. It would be a new and fun way to get students involved in learning. The more hands-on you can get, the better (especially with younger students).
I do think that you really need to be careful when using wikis though because of the fact that it is so easy to edit and change information around.
I will definitely be using wiki's in my classroom!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thing #14
The first tool I played around with was Bubbl.us. I can definitely see this being a good classroom tool, especially for elementary school students. I can see myself asking my students to write a short story about something and using this tool to help write an outline. It would be fun and interactive and the students would also be learning something useful at the same time.
The next tool I tried out was Gliffy. I liked this site because there are different ways you can create a flowchart. There are different shapes you can use and you can increase the size to fit in the amount of information you need. I also thought the Venn Diagram tool was pretty neat as well. A lot of elementary school teachers use Venn Diagrams to help students compare and contrast different things.
Both of these different websites would come in handy as a teacher. I am very excited to play around with these sites and learn more about them so I can see where I can use them in my own college experience.
The next tool I tried out was Gliffy. I liked this site because there are different ways you can create a flowchart. There are different shapes you can use and you can increase the size to fit in the amount of information you need. I also thought the Venn Diagram tool was pretty neat as well. A lot of elementary school teachers use Venn Diagrams to help students compare and contrast different things.
Both of these different websites would come in handy as a teacher. I am very excited to play around with these sites and learn more about them so I can see where I can use them in my own college experience.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Thing # 13
Zoho Writer is a very neat tool to have at your disposal no matter what profession you choose. It is so neat to have something so similar to Microsoft Word that you can use on a computer that does not actually have Microsoft Office. The neatest part about Zoho Writer that I discovered was the option to post a document to your blog. I even tried to do this but I had some complications in the process (nothing to do with Zoho, just my weird computer!) Anyway, I thought that was a pretty neat tool because I plan on having a blog of some sort from now on so that will definitely come in handy I'm sure. :)
Now I mentioned Zoho Writer being like Microsoft Word...well Google Docs is like Microsoft Office plus some! With Google Docs you can type documents, create spreadsheets, make pictures, and so much more. This is another excellent tool for anyone to have access to because you can do so many different things with it. Plus, because it is also online, you can use it anywhere you have internet which is basically everywhere nowadays.
I am not sure which one of these tools I like best because I love them both. I like the blog option that Zoho offers but I also like the different options that Google Docs offers. Both tools are incredible and I can definitely see myself using them both in the very near future.
Now I mentioned Zoho Writer being like Microsoft Word...well Google Docs is like Microsoft Office plus some! With Google Docs you can type documents, create spreadsheets, make pictures, and so much more. This is another excellent tool for anyone to have access to because you can do so many different things with it. Plus, because it is also online, you can use it anywhere you have internet which is basically everywhere nowadays.
I am not sure which one of these tools I like best because I love them both. I like the blog option that Zoho offers but I also like the different options that Google Docs offers. Both tools are incredible and I can definitely see myself using them both in the very near future.
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