reflection.

Wow, I think this has been the most intense 2 weeks I've experienced in a long time. I have learned how to do so many things. I will admit, it was frustruating and time-consuming, and most likely the frustruation was from the time consumption, not the doing of the activities. There were many nights I would spend "doodling" with the new websites I was exploring and before I knew it I had stayed up till midnight (and the alarm goes off at 4:45 am for school....yuk!). Although it was intense, I gained a lot from the experience and much of what I learned will be directly useful in my classroom. I promise to stay on top of new technologies and to try to refresh my learning frequently once I finish my studies at APSU. Technology is such a great tool to use and so much of it makes the learning more fun and the kids don't know they are actually learning.

Thing #23.

Creative Commons.

The Learning 2.0 23 Things blog shows that it is based on someone else's work and modified from the original by finding a few different things. First, you can plainly see the little cc sign at the bottom of the page. It also comes out and says, "This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License." Thirdly, there is a list of credits on the lowest right hand corner of the page giving credit to the two programs the Learning 2.0 program is based from. Knowing the information about Creative Commons will help me be more careful when using other people's work and to be more drawn to making use of Creative Commons licensing.

Thing #22.

Podcasts.

I chose to listen to the Eating Well Podcast. I found it after searching through all the directories provided on the assignment page. I honestly can't remember which one had the link to the Eating Well podcast. I have also subscribed to the podcast linking it to my Google Reader account and I have added the blogs of the Eating Well Podcast creators to my Blogger page. It is very well done and informational. Plus, it could be useful in my Nutrition and Foods Classes. Some of the most recent podcast tackle issues like portion control, carbohydrates, protein, and fat in the diet.

Thing #21

Our Trip to the Zoo

How to Make Yeast Rolls

Thing #20.

YouTube

In looking around at YouTube, I found a few things of interest, but not much I could use in the classroom. YouTube is one of the many sites that the content filter our school system uses blocks. You can only access it through a "bypass" which only sometimes works. So I focused my searching to items that I found personally interesting. I looked through the category Pets and Animals because I love to see videos of the "stupid pet tricks." My cat is always doing something silly enough to be posted on there and I like to see when other people's pets are being as entertaining.

TeacherPop

Things #18 and 19

(Ok, so I sorta answered two different "things" all in the same blog.)

Social Networking Sites

I LOVE social networking sites. I am currently a member of both MySpace and Facebook. I was a MySpace person first then was introduced to Facebook a little later. Both have their good points. I like MySpace because of the ability to personalize your page...backgrounds, pictures, bumper stickers, banners, music, and all sorts of other things. It does take a little bit of time to learn how to implement all these cool tools, but once you figure it out, you'll be hooked. I like Facebook's tightly run security system. You are required to really know a person before you can view their page. I also like the way you can see comments your friends are making to each other and that you can comment back and forth to each other. Some of my friends and I have had some lengthy discussions about the high school pictures I have recently posted of ourselves. Which brings me to another point: MySpace and Facebook are the reasons I have stayed in touch or reconnected with my high school and college friends. I would likely never hear from some of them and what is going on in their lives if it weren't for the ability to send bulletins on MySpace.

I have also been introduced to a third social network site through Ning.com called TeacherPop. It serves a little different purpose...it links educators together and helps encourage collaboration. This particular setting is quite useful for schools because through Ning.com, a group could start their own social network. For example, if we wanted to, Northwest High School teachers could create and join their own network. And it would be a great way to collaborate and communicate without having to spend time in the teacher work room discussing things. Teachers could post and share lesson plans and they could be accessed from school or home, or wherever!

I think it is important for teachers to have a grasp on how social networks work and to even have an eagle's eye on the student's participation in them. It is a teachable situation because students may not always fully understand the idea of safety when it comes to online socialization. Students can also be mean to each other on these sites and it can transfer into the classroom situation. Ning is a good alternative to MySpace and Facebook because it can be limited to strictly a group of students from one school, or whatever limits the administrator decides to put on it.

Thing #17

Del.ic.ious

Delicious is a great way to save your internet bookmarks. I imported my bookmarks from my school computer and I plan to do the same when I get to my home computer. I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to pull up a website at one place or the other only to realize that it was bookmarked in the OTHER computer! I also like the fact that when you read an article that is worthy of saving, you can bookmark it directly from that site. For example, in "playing around" with the site shortly after opening myself an account, I went to the Leaf-Chronicle website and read an article about drug companies and the FDA trying to stop the sales of cold medicines for children under 4 years old. I thought this was a good article to keep and use in my Child Development class. The LC site has the bookmark links on each article page, so I simply clicked on the icon I recognized for del.ic.ious, on the next page that popped up I think I had to click SEND, and when I looked at my delicious account, it was in there! Very cool.

Thing #15

Wikis and the sandbox.

Wikis were something that prior to this "thing," I had a slightly different understanding of. I didn't quite grasp the idea that in using wikis, you are inviting others to add to or change the information posted on the site. I had not used wikis that much in my class as of yet. I looked at the sandbox page and played around with it a little, but I haven't added any lesson ideas in there becuase presently, my brain is overwhelmed with learning all the functions of the web 2.0 tools that I have yet to have many useful lesson plan ideas to formulate. I'm sure I will when by brain has some time to process.

Thing #14

Flowcharts.

My favorite flowcharts were bubbl.us and mindmeister. I liked both of these because it is SUPER easy to use and export to other applications. I played around more with the bubbl.us site and in a few mintues, created a flow chart for Carbohydrates. This is a topic that we cover in Nutrition and Foods and because there are so many subcategories, it gets difficult for students to mentally organize. With this website, I can create the flowchart and use in class or the students can create their own.

Thing #16

I choose iGoogle to create my startpage because most everything else I have created for the 23 things has been through Google, so I thought it might be simpler in keeping it all linked together. I did change some things around, adding some things and deleting others. I added the to do list and arraanged it at the top of the page. I added some fun stuff like funny cat pictures and comics to give me something funny to look at from time to time. I think the tools like the online calendar and to do lists will be helpful to me when I get used to using them. If I make this page my permanent homepage (especially on my school computer) I'll actually be more likely to see and do the things I have posted on my lists. I don't do enough group projects to justify using some of the group project organizers like Basecamp, but it would be helpful in breaking the project down and helping all members to see all elements of the project. Out of the list of tools, I would be likely to use the PDF converter most. I would use it to share documents I have made with other teachers.

Here is the link to my homepage.
http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4HPIC_en___US266

Thing #13

This is an example of what you can do using Zoho writer.  Because it is linked with my blogger account (all done through Google) I can create a blog here and export it to my blogger account.  Plus, it will look exactly as it does on my Zoho screen.  So if I add pictures, change the text, etc., the jazzed up appearance exports to my blog just like I want it.  It is nice to have an alternative to Microsoft Word but in "doodling" around with it, there were some features Word has that this word processor doesn't appear to. 

Thing #12

I chose to try Google Notebook and Calendar. I experimented with Google Notebook by saving the assignment portion of Thing#12 so I could refer back to my directions without having to click back to the APSU page. Very helpful. I could see this being useful when it comes time to write research papers and other assignments when you might have to manage information from multiple places. I also tried Google Calendar. I already use the calendar in Enterage (sp?) on my school computer. This calendar version is quite similar. I would definitely find myself using this at home as a backup to my school information. I need everything I can to help me stay organized.

Google Notebook http://www.google.com/notebook/public/07911688173722812899/BDSdnSgoQ4N2B7swj?hl=en

Thing #10

RSS and its use in the classroom

RSS sites are very nice because they are a time saver. I like not having to click on multiple bookmarks and pull up one website at a time to check for new things. With my newsreader page, I can find newly updated information from multiple pages all on one page. Teachers can make use of this page in a multitude of ways. For one, if a teacher subscribes to a news page, any updates can be a subject of discussion for the classroom. A second use could be through subscription to websites that deliver teacher-related news stories such as Cool Cat Teacher. Through this website you can subscribe to other education bloglines.

My name is...

http://www.imagechef.com/

My creation

My creation
Originally uploaded by gregnmaggie910

This photo was taken at Reelfoot Lake over Labor Day weekend when my family went there for a family reunion. There are always some awesome pictures to be captured there. This particular photo turned out nice enough that I used it for EDUC 5616 class as well. I LOVE online photo sharing. I have family that is spread out across the country and they sometimes find it hard to come visit to see my son (because when you have children your family is no longer interested in visiting YOU), so this way, they can keep up with his growth and mischeif. Online photo sharing can help me enhance some of my lessons as well.

IMG_2786

IMG_2786
Originally uploaded by gregnmaggie910

My 2 1/2-year-old son, Dylan, with his Daddy's favorite hat on. We'll see if it is still his favorite after tonight's game. ;-)

Thing #6.

Out of the list of award-winning web 2.0 sites, my favorite would have to be http://www.last.fm/. I currently am an ITunes junkie, but I could see myself quickly becoming addicted to lastFM. In addition to being able to purchase and download music and videos, you can access a biography of the artist, view past concert events, and post journals related to that artist or the genre. I have found some artists on here that I have yet to find on Itunes. Very awesome, to say the least.

Thing #5.

Thing #5 requires us to analyze what School 2.0 means to me and what it means for the future of our students. From my perspective as a classroom teacher, I can envision the use of Web 2.0 tools becoming more and more prevalent in lesson plans. Our culture is so dependent on connectedness and web 2.0 sites encourage it. Plus, many of the 2.0 tools you may find on the Internet perform many of the same functions as high-priced software, but for free. Obviously teachers on a tight school and personal budget will be drawn to this. So School 2.0 represents a merging of the two worlds...the academic rigor of school crossed with the convenience and low-cost of Web 2.0 tools. And this IS the future of our schools. For me, it is already the present. In my online graduate classes, I have been introduced to countless web 2.0 sites with a myriad of functions. You can do basically anything you want to on the Internet.

Thing #3

Blogging is a great way for people to stay connected. I think it would be useful to teachers to help design and improve lessons by allowing someone to post an idea and initiate discussion to get advice. In the classroom, it could act as an extension of classroom discussion. It can give those students who are not eager to speak in class a chance to voice their opinions through blogging and commenting.

Thing #4...in progress

Blogging and commenting is an amazing part of the web world. You have the ability to start a conversation about anything and your peers can add any advice, correction, opinion (agreeing or disagreeing), affirmation, or other pertinent information right with your blog statement. I have used the blog function on MySpace several times and the good thing about that is I have a way of seeking advice from my friends and family on matters of a personal nature (though not of a private nature) and generally, I am better at expressing myself through the written word than the spoken word. It gives me an extra few minutes to hit the "delete" button. Commenters have the same luxury; being able to take a few minutes to review the comments and be sure that is really what they want to say in response.

I recently commented on Heather Adcock's blog about using blogs in the classroom as a way for her students to proofread each other's work. I commented that I really had not thought of this, but blogging is useful in this manner. Plus, the students are much more likely to want to write in their blogs because of the way they are designed to be personalized, etc. I also commented on Kristan Bland's use of her graduation picture with the puzzle feature and how she equated each step in her education as another piece of the puzzle. I totally agreed with her and shared that I felt the same way, but though it is difficult and time-consuming, piece by piece we'll have it finished. A third one I commented on was Andrea Bledsoe in relation to her introduction to, and subsequent addiction to, blogging. I agreed with her. I really like the personalization this blog page has. What a great way to share thoughts and inspire discussion.

Thing #2.

For thing #2, I was asked to create a blog and and inside it, begin making postings and create and avatar of myself. I did, in fact, design my avatar to be an image of myself in terms of appearance (short brown hair, brown eyes, etc.) For the background and activity my avatar is doing, that just happened to be what I just got through doing...cooking supper. It also reflects part of my job as a Family and Consumer Science teacher. I teach 3 Nutrition and Foods classes so it is quite likely you would see me with a skillet (or any other kitchen tool) in my hand and an apron on. This was a relatively easy assignment, just a lot of directions to make sure I am doing it all correctly.

Thing #1.

So out of the 7 1/2 things noted in the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners, I think #3 is most troubling to me. #3 encourages us to view problems as challenges. I tend to look at problems as obstacles in making a simple task difficult. I think # 7 1/2 is the easiest...Play. Playing comes natural to everyone and although you think you are only having fun, play is an important part of learning.