Well, here it is....the last thing. They really should change the name of this project to 24 Things...
I really enjoyed experimenting and exploring all of the Web 2.0 tools that were presented in this project. I had no idea that half of them even existed! I am so excited to use these tools in my instruction and to teach my students how to use them. I enjoyed using the image generators the most. This program has affected my lifelong learning goals because it has taught me how to utilize technology to my advantage. I am now "armed" with tools to make school a little easier for me and a lot more exciting for my students. I was literally shocked at how much I love blogging. As I said in Thing #1, I held a grudge against all bloggers. Now, I realize how much fun it can be and I can't wait to start my own classroom blog. I plan to keep learning about the advancements in Web 2.0 by keeping up with blogs about educational technology.
So, where do I go from here? Well, to be honest, I don't think I will continue using this blog just because I can't commit the time and effort to do it well. I do, however, look forward to using blogs (as well as all of the other Web 2.0 tools that I've learned about) in my classroom someday.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Thing #23: Creative Commons
I loved the video about copyright--I actually looked at using this video for my Webquest activity for this class as well. Ultimately, I decided that 2nd graders would definitely not benefit from this video at all. I had to watch it twice in order to get all the necessary information!
I know that the APSU 23 Things blog is modified from the original because of the Creative Commons icon at the bottom of the page. In addition, many of the pages mention the "Creative Common" license at the end of the post. Finally, a description of the original source is located in the "Credits" section of the blog.
In my career as a teacher, I plan to use Creative Commons as often as possible. Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by all of the copyright laws. It is so hard to know when it is okay to do certain things and when it is not. Creative Commons offers educators and other professionals a way to share their work and allow other users to share it as well. Teachers have access to many great resources on this website, and even better, they don't have to worry as much about breaking any laws!
I know that the APSU 23 Things blog is modified from the original because of the Creative Commons icon at the bottom of the page. In addition, many of the pages mention the "Creative Common" license at the end of the post. Finally, a description of the original source is located in the "Credits" section of the blog.
In my career as a teacher, I plan to use Creative Commons as often as possible. Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by all of the copyright laws. It is so hard to know when it is okay to do certain things and when it is not. Creative Commons offers educators and other professionals a way to share their work and allow other users to share it as well. Teachers have access to many great resources on this website, and even better, they don't have to worry as much about breaking any laws!
Thing #22: LiveBinders
Wow! What a wonderful website. For the past couple of months, I've been telling my husband over and over again, "I really need to buy a nice filing cabinet to start organizing all of my resources for my future classroom." I have not bought a filing cabinet yet and all of my papers are in a big, nasty pile shoved into my desk. This website is like a virtual "filing cabinet" for websites, PDFs, documents and images. For my EDUC 3070 class, we had to create a real binder with five artifacts for each of the ten principles of INTASC. Using LiveBinders would be another way to complete this assignment.
The first binder I made is titled Grade 2: Physical Science. I made 3 tabs for this binder, one for worksheets, one for experiments, and one for review activities. I also made a binder for Grade 2: Life Science and Grade 2: Earth Science with the same tabs.
I love this website, however I am "old school." I would much rather have a hard copy of a worksheet or resource filed away in my real filing cabinet (that I don't have yet). Personally, I think I will stick to organizing my favorite websites using bookmarks and bookmark folders.
Here is an example of one of my binders:
The first binder I made is titled Grade 2: Physical Science. I made 3 tabs for this binder, one for worksheets, one for experiments, and one for review activities. I also made a binder for Grade 2: Life Science and Grade 2: Earth Science with the same tabs.
I love this website, however I am "old school." I would much rather have a hard copy of a worksheet or resource filed away in my real filing cabinet (that I don't have yet). Personally, I think I will stick to organizing my favorite websites using bookmarks and bookmark folders.
Here is an example of one of my binders:
Thing #20: YouTube
One of the many reasons why I love YouTube is that it is so easy to find a useful video for almost any topic in the world. Educators especially have to be careful when selecting videos for classroom use and sometimes, knowing what is good and what's not is difficult. Another thing that I like about YouTube is that it is so easy to use. Sometimes, I will forget the specific title or topic of a video, but if I just type in a few description words in the search bar, usually it comes up with the video I was looking for. Because of how simple YouTube is, I could see using it to find videos to enhance my instruction or incorporating the site into an in-class activity.
I chose the following video because it is inspirational. Personally, I love ABC's Person of the Week because it is a simple, beautiful reminder of how one individual can make a difference.
I chose the following video because it is inspirational. Personally, I love ABC's Person of the Week because it is a simple, beautiful reminder of how one individual can make a difference.
Thing #21: Animoto
I had so much fun using this site to create a video. This would be a great activity for upper elementary students at the beginning of the school year because it is engaging and easy to use. Students (and teachers) could use this site to create a video introducing themselves to their classmates.
I chose to create my video using pictures of my dog. When my husband and I moved down to Ft. Campbell, we said we were going to wait to get a dog, despite the fact that we both wanted one very bad. That decision lasted for about 3 weeks after our arrival. We were without cable for the first month, so my very bored husband started searching for puppies in the Tennessee area. Some guy out in "God's backyard" was selling black lab/golden retriever puppies for $90 each. We drove about 1.5 hours and found the world's cutest puppies.
Needless to say, Brody has been one of the best, most expensive decisions of our life so far. He brings so much joy to our lives and my husband and I often joke that we talk to the dog more than we talk to each other. Enjoy the video!
Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.
I chose to create my video using pictures of my dog. When my husband and I moved down to Ft. Campbell, we said we were going to wait to get a dog, despite the fact that we both wanted one very bad. That decision lasted for about 3 weeks after our arrival. We were without cable for the first month, so my very bored husband started searching for puppies in the Tennessee area. Some guy out in "God's backyard" was selling black lab/golden retriever puppies for $90 each. We drove about 1.5 hours and found the world's cutest puppies.
Needless to say, Brody has been one of the best, most expensive decisions of our life so far. He brings so much joy to our lives and my husband and I often joke that we talk to the dog more than we talk to each other. Enjoy the video!
Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Thing #19: There's other social networks besides Facebook???
Visit TeacherPop
I was completely unaware of how many social networks there were out there! I'm not a member of any online communities, but I joined TeacherPop and could not believe how many great resources and discussion forums there were. What a great way to communicate and share ideas with other teachers!
I explored a few other online communities as well. The thing that surprised me the most, is that users can create and customize their own page within these communities, just like on Facebook. I think that is one of the things that makes it so different from blogs. On Teacher Librarian Ning, there was a "starter kit" on the front page which consisted of links to teacher/classroom blogs, helpful websites and other great resources for teachers. I also checked out "Bake Space." I loved the easy-to-use format and organization and also how simple it was to create a personal cookbook and swap recipes.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Thing #18: Social Networking
I am part of the 41.6% of the U. S population that has a Facebook page. Here is a link to my page, although I'm not sure how much of it you will be able to see because of my privacy settings.
http://www.facebook.com/emily.brennan.13
It is important for teachers to know about social networking because it opens a lot of doors for communicating with colleagues, parents, and other professionals in the field. Social networking allows an easy, comfortable exchange of information and ideas. Before I moved here and transferred schools, I was in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin. Similar to APSU's "milestone" program, UWM had "blocks." We would move from block to block with the same group of people (called a cohort). My cohort had a Facebook group and we used it to ask about homework, remind each other of deadlines, exchange ideas about projects, and plan group activities outside of school. Facebook was a really convenient way to make sure everyone was on the same page.
One thing I dislike about social networking is the lack of privacy. Even though my page is set to private, I still worry that somehow, people will find my information (not that I have anything to hide, haha). I only add friends who I would really like to stay in touch with, which is why I did not add any friends like the 23 Things post suggested. In fact, I am slowly but surely cleaning up my friends list. I think as long as users are careful about what they post online, having a Facebook is okay.
I could see myself having a classroom Facebook page to keep parents, students, and other teachers "in the know." This would be one of many forms of communication I would use in my classroom.
http://www.facebook.com/emily.brennan.13
It is important for teachers to know about social networking because it opens a lot of doors for communicating with colleagues, parents, and other professionals in the field. Social networking allows an easy, comfortable exchange of information and ideas. Before I moved here and transferred schools, I was in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin. Similar to APSU's "milestone" program, UWM had "blocks." We would move from block to block with the same group of people (called a cohort). My cohort had a Facebook group and we used it to ask about homework, remind each other of deadlines, exchange ideas about projects, and plan group activities outside of school. Facebook was a really convenient way to make sure everyone was on the same page.
One thing I dislike about social networking is the lack of privacy. Even though my page is set to private, I still worry that somehow, people will find my information (not that I have anything to hide, haha). I only add friends who I would really like to stay in touch with, which is why I did not add any friends like the 23 Things post suggested. In fact, I am slowly but surely cleaning up my friends list. I think as long as users are careful about what they post online, having a Facebook is okay.
I could see myself having a classroom Facebook page to keep parents, students, and other teachers "in the know." This would be one of many forms of communication I would use in my classroom.
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