Some of my favorite discoveries and exercises in the 23 things program were the activities centered on Web 2.0 applications and other online applications like Zoho.com, etc. Now that computers are everywhere we go, the internet can provide us with a mobile workstation that contains our work, our favorite places, our pictures, our whole lives. Without the 23 Thing program I'm not sure I would have discovered everything that the internet has to offer to make life easier. I love my Google Calendar and I can't wait to start making to-do lists with "Remember the Milk."
The Web 2.0 applications opened my mind to instructional possibilities that I know couldn't be achieved with traditional materials. I know my students will benefit from the fact that my eye is now trained on emerging technology. To be honest, one of my favorite parts of this project was the blogging process itself. It has inspired me to create a personal blog to communicate with friends and family. I would love to set up class blog when I'm teaching to create a sense of community in my classroom as well as communicate with my students and parents.
Before completing this program I hadn't given much thought to how I would incorporate technology into my instruction but now I don't see how the two could ever be separated. I'm so excited to get out there and use the tools that I have learned about. Better yet, the 23 Things actually made me feel competent with each tool I tried so I know I'll be much more likely to use them and to experiment with other things I discover. Now that I know how to access everything the internet has to offer I find myself looking back into issues and topics that I miss reading about and talking about in my undergrad studies. Instead of just looking up recipes, I look for video tutorials on cooking skills. This program has changed the way I view the internet as a learning tool for myself and my future students.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Thing #23
Taken from the bottom right of the 23 Things Blog:
Credits
Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0 - 23 Things, a staff development program for the Mesquite Independent School District. That program was based on the Learning 2.0 program that was designed by Helene Blowers and adapted by the California School Library Association and others. Content and style for Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers has been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Commons License.
I've included a screen capture of the Copyright/Fair Use/Creative Commons tutorial I created for my future students.
As a teacher I will use Creative Commons not only as a resource for finding instructional materials that I can use ethically, but I will also use it to show students how to use technology ethically in their school and personal projects. Kids today are often extremely capable when it comes to online applications but they might not be aware of copyright law. I think most kids who use copyrighted works without permission don't know that they're breaking any rules. Students might not know that just because something appears in a Google search doesn't mean that it's fair game. By teaching students about Creative Commons we can show them how easy it is to find all of the text and images they need and still use them in a way that respects the wishes of the work's creator.
Thing #22
http://freeculinaryschool.com/podcast/FCS-Episode-13.mp3
I found this podcast in podcastdirectory.com. I looked through all of the directories and I was surprised to find that the one that I figured would be the most rudimentary (based on the name only, which is a terrible way to decide which websites are best) was actually the easiest for me to navigate which allowed me to find more podcasts on topics I care about. The categories were logical and the layout of each page I visited was easy to understand. I love to cook and I've been using the time while my husband is away to hone my skills in the kitchen. The podcast I chose is from a series that covers different culinary basics. This particular episode is one that answers listener questions. I will definitely continue to listen to this podcast feed. I already have some archived episodes queued up--knife skills, and salads & vinaigrettes.
When I created the podcast earlier in the semester for my WebQuest I really enjoyed it and I would definitely incorporate podcasts into instruction as well as in student-created projects.
I found this podcast in podcastdirectory.com. I looked through all of the directories and I was surprised to find that the one that I figured would be the most rudimentary (based on the name only, which is a terrible way to decide which websites are best) was actually the easiest for me to navigate which allowed me to find more podcasts on topics I care about. The categories were logical and the layout of each page I visited was easy to understand. I love to cook and I've been using the time while my husband is away to hone my skills in the kitchen. The podcast I chose is from a series that covers different culinary basics. This particular episode is one that answers listener questions. I will definitely continue to listen to this podcast feed. I already have some archived episodes queued up--knife skills, and salads & vinaigrettes.
When I created the podcast earlier in the semester for my WebQuest I really enjoyed it and I would definitely incorporate podcasts into instruction as well as in student-created projects.
Thing #21
I had no idea that Animoto existed and I can't believe I just discovered it. It's a good thing that I actually have things to do today/this weekend or else I'd be busy making a billion video montages of my wedding, honeymoon, dog, and every other possible category within the 1000 pictures on my computer. This is so cool and so easy to use. I love that you can add your own soundtrack, text, and highlight specific pictures. I am going to find so many uses for this and my husband is going to be so excited to see our wedding pictures set to our favorite songs (I would have used "God Only Knows" for this video but I don't have it on this computer yet). I can share these with friends and family as well.
I can see lots of applications for this program in my future classroom. Back at midterm the final project for the students completing my webquest was to create a campaign commerical. This tool would be really effective for creating a montage of images for that type of assignment. I could assign students a topic and have them find a specific numer of pictures to create a video to present to the class. They could then explain in written form what each image represented to them about the topic they covered or they could narrate the video as it played. Very neat!
I can see lots of applications for this program in my future classroom. Back at midterm the final project for the students completing my webquest was to create a campaign commerical. This tool would be really effective for creating a montage of images for that type of assignment. I could assign students a topic and have them find a specific numer of pictures to create a video to present to the class. They could then explain in written form what each image represented to them about the topic they covered or they could narrate the video as it played. Very neat!
Thing #20
I am a big fan of YouTube and I generally find it easy to locate the videos I'm looking for. Sometimes I can't find what I'm looking for (the copyright and fair use police really spoil things on YouTube) and I'll do a GoogleVideo search instead. I really like the "related videos" feature on YouTube because it strikes a good balance between accuracy and exposing you to videos on closely related topics that you might not have discovered on your own because you wouldn't have known what to search for. I also like the "channels" feature because it oragnizes everything from one user in an easily navigated page. I thin the "related videos" feature would be excellent on a library site to encourage students to explore but also stay within the confines of what they're researching.
The video I chose is by a teenage boy describing (hilariously) a typical school day including the weird behaviors of his teachers. I liked it becaues it reminds us that our students really are paying attention to our moods, our mannerisms, our inconsistencies, and our quirks. It's true that kids are wrapped up in their own world but they're also very observant so it's important to remember that they're always watching (and perfecting their impressions of us to do at the dinner table). I also thought it highlighted what we often forget--that being a kid is tough, and school can start to feel like a chore if we don't make it fun!
The video I chose is by a teenage boy describing (hilariously) a typical school day including the weird behaviors of his teachers. I liked it becaues it reminds us that our students really are paying attention to our moods, our mannerisms, our inconsistencies, and our quirks. It's true that kids are wrapped up in their own world but they're also very observant so it's important to remember that they're always watching (and perfecting their impressions of us to do at the dinner table). I also thought it highlighted what we often forget--that being a kid is tough, and school can start to feel like a chore if we don't make it fun!
Thing #19
I am a member of Myspace (which I rarely, if ever, use) and Facebook (which I use every day) and in my last post I explain what I like about Facebook. Although the concept of Gather is appealing to me, I am resistant to join for a few reasosn. First, I already sometimes feel that Facebook is encroaching on real friendship. Sometimes I will not realize that I haven't actually seen a friend in weeks because we've been Facebooking all along. Social networking sites are not a substitute for human interaction and while I love the idea of Gather being focused on debating or discussing specific topics, I almost don't want to start transferring those conversations to the internet for fear that I'll stop seeking them out in real life.
I do, however, really dig the TeacherPop community and I know I'll use it for reasons other than padding my resume ;) Even though TeacherPop has an educational focus, it's a place to share ideas, ask questions, or post experiences in a more informal way. In education, we're always being evaluated or evaluating others so it's nice to have a place to write a little more casually (that's part of why I love this blog) and share personal insights along with factual information.
I do, however, really dig the TeacherPop community and I know I'll use it for reasons other than padding my resume ;) Even though TeacherPop has an educational focus, it's a place to share ideas, ask questions, or post experiences in a more informal way. In education, we're always being evaluated or evaluating others so it's nice to have a place to write a little more casually (that's part of why I love this blog) and share personal insights along with factual information.
Thing #18
I have been a Myspace user for about 5 years and a Facebook user for 4 years so I was already well-versed in both social networking sites and the features of each. I feel that Facebook far surpasses Myspace at this point with regard to ease of use and in terms of actually creating the social network that users are looking for. Myspace has tried to adopt some of the features of Facebook like status updates and groups, but with much less success in my opinion. Facebook makes it simple to look at friends pictures and posts and to communicate with friends publicly (on their wall) or privately through messages. I often record video messages through Facebook to send to my husband in Afghanistan. There are groups for every conceivable interest and it is easy to invite friends to events or keep track of friends' birthdays. Myspace has similar features but I find them much more tedious to use and the design is cluttered. The one real advantage Myspace has over Facebook is that their music and video features are excellent. Artists can post their work and users can listen or watch at the click of the mouse.
I think teachers need to understand how much the social landscape has changed for their students and how much social interaction occurs through networking sites. Teachers cannot be under the impression that the only important social events in their students lives are happening in the hallways and classrooms anymore. Students relationships (friendships as well as romances) are legitimized by these sites and sometimes only exist through Myspace or Facebook. Bullying and harrassment have become a major problem with children using these sites and teachers need to know the right questions to ask if they get wind of a problem developing between students. Teachers also have a responsibility (in addition to the parents, who clearly bear most of the responsibility) to let their students know how important it is to be safe on the internet by making their social networking sites private, not entering specific personal data like addresses and phonenumbers, and why posting inappropriate pictures can negatively impact their lives at school, work, and personally.
Although I think that the group features of Facebook could be used in a school setting I would be extremely wary of introducing children to these sites without being able to fully monitor their conduct outside of the group created for the class. I think that other web applications like blogs or wikis could serve the same purpose without some of the drawbacks of social networking sites for kids.
I think teachers need to understand how much the social landscape has changed for their students and how much social interaction occurs through networking sites. Teachers cannot be under the impression that the only important social events in their students lives are happening in the hallways and classrooms anymore. Students relationships (friendships as well as romances) are legitimized by these sites and sometimes only exist through Myspace or Facebook. Bullying and harrassment have become a major problem with children using these sites and teachers need to know the right questions to ask if they get wind of a problem developing between students. Teachers also have a responsibility (in addition to the parents, who clearly bear most of the responsibility) to let their students know how important it is to be safe on the internet by making their social networking sites private, not entering specific personal data like addresses and phonenumbers, and why posting inappropriate pictures can negatively impact their lives at school, work, and personally.
Although I think that the group features of Facebook could be used in a school setting I would be extremely wary of introducing children to these sites without being able to fully monitor their conduct outside of the group created for the class. I think that other web applications like blogs or wikis could serve the same purpose without some of the drawbacks of social networking sites for kids.
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