Before I begin to reflect there is a big THANK YOU going out to Julia Walker (the innocent victim who had last uploaded her Wiki page to the Sandbox) and Debbie Swartz who was in her office the multiple times I called hollering "Help!" I give thanks that both of you had the patience to walk me step by step. There were times that the title "wicked page" ran through my mind before I had their assistance.
When I came to the mention of the Cheat Sheet I downloaded that, and then went to Wikispaces for additional tutoring. My work in progress can be located at http://misd23things.wikispaces.com/sandbox_experiment . The two (only 2?) items I had the most difficulty with were linking to the slide show and then trying to link my page to the MISD Wiki. That is where Julia and Debbie stepped into to soothe my ruffled feathers. One other problem I had was when I went to upload a picture of myself. When I did that It was like putting an 8x10 picture on the link. When I uploaded a picture from Flickr of an African Grey parrot it came out a very acceptable size. I didn't have the heart to call my 2 life guards back to see what needed to be done there.
Over the course of trying the new tools out I've gotten a bit more comfortable with the various tools, but I know that there is a fairly long road ahead before I get to where I need to be. That being said there have been so many wonderful discoveries along the way and that bodes well for the coming school years.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thing #16
Where was this when I was in the classroom? Library Thing is a wonderful tool for both the classroom and personal books. Of course I'd need to get a cell phone so that I could have access to this tool when I was out shopping. How many times have I bought a second copy of something simply because I couldn't remember if I already had it since I hadn't gotten around to reading that particular one.? Of course I could stop buying until my stack(s) got down to a manageable level and I caught up with my reading! Naw, that would be counterproductive should I end up somewhere with a few minutes of wait time and no book to read.
Even though I am in the process of relocating my classroom books to various locations this would be an extremely beneficial tool to just keep track of the books we have for personal reading. Cataloguing our home library will have to wait until I get these Web 2.0 tools completed. That would probably be a good time to also decide which books could be passed on to someone who would read them if I don't intend to go back and reread them. Those that feel close to being a member of the family will be the ones to get catalogued! This is the book that I'm currently trying to get finished.
While wandering throughout the site I did join Children's Fiction, and later will probably join other groups as well. Once again, this was a place where it was entirely to easy to get lost in the exploration. In the meantime I intend to take a mental break so that I can finish reading Savvy by Ingrid Law, one of our Bluebonnet book nominees for this coming school year!
Even though I am in the process of relocating my classroom books to various locations this would be an extremely beneficial tool to just keep track of the books we have for personal reading. Cataloguing our home library will have to wait until I get these Web 2.0 tools completed. That would probably be a good time to also decide which books could be passed on to someone who would read them if I don't intend to go back and reread them. Those that feel close to being a member of the family will be the ones to get catalogued! This is the book that I'm currently trying to get finished.
While wandering throughout the site I did join Children's Fiction, and later will probably join other groups as well. Once again, this was a place where it was entirely to easy to get lost in the exploration. In the meantime I intend to take a mental break so that I can finish reading Savvy by Ingrid Law, one of our Bluebonnet book nominees for this coming school year!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thing #14
That "yellow brick road" was like Hwy 43 in the foothills of the Ozarks! It was also strictly my own doing because when I got to any one location I would wander forever through their links. This adventure really did make me feel like I've stayed in the cave these last 5 to 6 years. I really had my bubble popped (thinking I had done a good job as a sixth grade teacher) when I found out just how very far behind and out of date I was! Whew. Room 15 Wiki had moved its location because Mr. Lindsay's school district had bought into their teachers having their own blogs and wikis. If you disregarded the sidebar you found his initial page divided into 3 sections with colorful images in each of those sections. I did note that he was the tech facilitator for his campus, but I still feel like I've been in the 'dark ages' with my technology knowledge.
In 1001 Flat World Tales I was intrigued because it spans the world, and also because it gives me the clock for our youngest son's vicinity (Thailand). I kept 'pinging' on all of the possibilities that were found in these different wikis. It seemed closely related to the Flat Classroom Project which also had the clocks showing the locations of the participating schools. Since this one was dated 2007 I was wondering if they had continued it. In one of the wikis for younger ages I saw first names mentioned. I definitely like the idea of pseudonyms. Then the students can provide that information to the friends and family they want to have access to their writings, podcasts, or videos.
While all of these sites had something to say I became interested in the Thousands Project. It was interesting to note that more than one of the examples provided came from our neighbor to the north, Canada. As I scanned the above project I noticed that they had responses from students in Joplin, Mo., an area that I'll be passing through in less than 2 weeks. It seems like a powerful tool to motivate our students to meaningful learning and collaboration.
The other one I looked at a bit more closer was Turn Homeward Hannalee; one reason was I have never read this book even though I had it in my classroom library (the cover also had a face lift), and the other reason was because our fifth grade finished out the year with a Civil War research unit. I was thinking about how the end products might have been different and how that same product could travel outside the classroom into the homes of their families anywhere that had Internet access.
Vicki Davis' blog post from 4 years ago was inspiring. She certainly managed to get the attention of her students and it spread like a virus, even to other teachers. Yes, I do think there is a demand for a wiki in my future. There may be times that I'll be calling for help, but wikis definitely have a place in our learning environment.
Because grade level planning is a part of the expectations at our schools I am pondering how a wiki could be used to facilitate some of those issues. Some teachers divide the subjects up and this would allow them to post their ideas and then the collective ideas would be available at any time, from home, or even in different locations within the school. I definitely plan to put it to use in the library when we switch to flexible scheduling this year.
In 1001 Flat World Tales I was intrigued because it spans the world, and also because it gives me the clock for our youngest son's vicinity (Thailand). I kept 'pinging' on all of the possibilities that were found in these different wikis. It seemed closely related to the Flat Classroom Project which also had the clocks showing the locations of the participating schools. Since this one was dated 2007 I was wondering if they had continued it. In one of the wikis for younger ages I saw first names mentioned. I definitely like the idea of pseudonyms. Then the students can provide that information to the friends and family they want to have access to their writings, podcasts, or videos.
While all of these sites had something to say I became interested in the Thousands Project. It was interesting to note that more than one of the examples provided came from our neighbor to the north, Canada. As I scanned the above project I noticed that they had responses from students in Joplin, Mo., an area that I'll be passing through in less than 2 weeks. It seems like a powerful tool to motivate our students to meaningful learning and collaboration.
The other one I looked at a bit more closer was Turn Homeward Hannalee; one reason was I have never read this book even though I had it in my classroom library (the cover also had a face lift), and the other reason was because our fifth grade finished out the year with a Civil War research unit. I was thinking about how the end products might have been different and how that same product could travel outside the classroom into the homes of their families anywhere that had Internet access.
Vicki Davis' blog post from 4 years ago was inspiring. She certainly managed to get the attention of her students and it spread like a virus, even to other teachers. Yes, I do think there is a demand for a wiki in my future. There may be times that I'll be calling for help, but wikis definitely have a place in our learning environment.
Because grade level planning is a part of the expectations at our schools I am pondering how a wiki could be used to facilitate some of those issues. Some teachers divide the subjects up and this would allow them to post their ideas and then the collective ideas would be available at any time, from home, or even in different locations within the school. I definitely plan to put it to use in the library when we switch to flexible scheduling this year.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thing #13
Was that a time warp or a worm hole I've just been through? There is so much I still have to learn about using Delicious. For one thing I have a site as a Tag and no matter how I've tried to get rid of it, I haven't managed that yet. While going through some of Mary's accounts I found Mrs. Cushing's library blogs, lesson plans and so much more. I can only imagine how much time she spent creating that, but she did a marvelous job. Since we're going to flexible scheduling I'm going to examine her page(s) some more and see what I can do with what I know at the time.
When I went onto the misd 23 things that were "embedded in a wiki page" I found a site called gamequarium that I immediately stopped and sent to my daughter in-laws to share with my grandchildren. I also had to learn to check the box to keep me checked into my account or I had to log in multiple times. It would seem when you become frustrated enough that you begin to go back and reread your directions to see if you can remove yourself from the quicksand! If someone can give me simplified step by step directions on how to remove a tag I will keep at it until I manage to get that done! Even though I've been moaning I really do appreciate not having to try and juggle these sites or I'd just completely go even more random than I currently am!
When I went onto the misd 23 things that were "embedded in a wiki page" I found a site called gamequarium that I immediately stopped and sent to my daughter in-laws to share with my grandchildren. I also had to learn to check the box to keep me checked into my account or I had to log in multiple times. It would seem when you become frustrated enough that you begin to go back and reread your directions to see if you can remove yourself from the quicksand! If someone can give me simplified step by step directions on how to remove a tag I will keep at it until I manage to get that done! Even though I've been moaning I really do appreciate not having to try and juggle these sites or I'd just completely go even more random than I currently am!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thing #7A
One of my favorite reads this past week came from Just One More Book and their newest book review of Up From the Ashes. One reason that I enjoy this site is because the book reviews are a podcast done with 2 people having a discussion together. On the actual blog they also list books that can be used in conjunction with the reviewed book. It sounds as though they may actually be doing these pod casts from a book store cafe.
The other blog that I particularly enjoyed was from Blue Skunk , and it was in response to a blog that I really enjoyed from last week. A teacher had taken the blog and adapted it for supporting her students, and it really is one that we should read and practice every day that we go to our work. Doug Johnson was passing out kudos for her use and adaptation of his blog.
Isn't it wonderful to have access to free continuing education??
The other blog that I particularly enjoyed was from Blue Skunk , and it was in response to a blog that I really enjoyed from last week. A teacher had taken the blog and adapted it for supporting her students, and it really is one that we should read and practice every day that we go to our work. Doug Johnson was passing out kudos for her use and adaptation of his blog.
Isn't it wonderful to have access to free continuing education??
Thing #12
What a trip! this was a fascinating time. There were some that I instantly took to and others that didn't stick with me. I am going to give 30boxes a try. It will take me a while to get the hang of it, but it seemed to go well for me. With Blabberize I preferred the use of cartoons to those of people and animals. Gliffy would really present a "professional" product for students and fits in with Thinking Maps. Now JigZone should come with a warning for those people who like puzzles. I spent far too much time there.
Letter Pop reminds me a lot of Print Shop and to think that it is free is a big plus. The ones that I really thought to be beneficial to the classrooms were Quizlet and PollDaddy. These have such great potential for using with almost any subject. Quizlet can fit with so many different subjects and PollDaddy is a perfect way to get students to get immediate feedback from the way they choose for the results to be displayed. This might help some struggling students to finally make that step from a concrete understanding to the abstract. Thing #12 is something I can't wait to share with our staff.
Letter Pop reminds me a lot of Print Shop and to think that it is free is a big plus. The ones that I really thought to be beneficial to the classrooms were Quizlet and PollDaddy. These have such great potential for using with almost any subject. Quizlet can fit with so many different subjects and PollDaddy is a perfect way to get students to get immediate feedback from the way they choose for the results to be displayed. This might help some struggling students to finally make that step from a concrete understanding to the abstract. Thing #12 is something I can't wait to share with our staff.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thing # 11
Please don't think that as I go through these 23 Things that I'm getting any swifter at completing the learning activities. After I visited the different sites I finally decided to use Image Chef. It was fun to play around and see what the different things could be done with various functions that this site performed. Now you need to remember that doing "cute" has never been a high priority for me. Having begun life on a dairy farm there really wasn't time to do much cute, and that has just hung around to the present. As I played with this one function of Image Chef I quickly discovered that each picture really did need its own setting. As I continued to play I also discovered that you could choose to use only a portion of a photograph by using the cropping function, and 
that they all had to be displayed as a square. This could really be a useful function for an art class when you are teaching the focal point of what you want displayed. I can even understand how this could be used in a newsletter, or on the library's web page. The framing does manage to give a special touch. When trying out the puzzle feature of this site I found that it distorted the picture more than I would have liked. That particular feature would be very good for a landscape or even a portrait. When used in a scenic setting the resolution isn't all that would be desired. As I played around with getting this like I wanted it to look I spent far more time than I had planned 
on spending. In the process of doing that I did learn a few new things (new for me) that many of you are probably already proficient with. That made me extremely glad that this was going on during the summer where I could spend extra time without going to school the next day sleep deprived.
that they all had to be displayed as a square. This could really be a useful function for an art class when you are teaching the focal point of what you want displayed. I can even understand how this could be used in a newsletter, or on the library's web page. The framing does manage to give a special touch. When trying out the puzzle feature of this site I found that it distorted the picture more than I would have liked. That particular feature would be very good for a landscape or even a portrait. When used in a scenic setting the resolution isn't all that would be desired. As I played around with getting this like I wanted it to look I spent far more time than I had planned 
on spending. In the process of doing that I did learn a few new things (new for me) that many of you are probably already proficient with. That made me extremely glad that this was going on during the summer where I could spend extra time without going to school the next day sleep deprived. This is the third generation of our family, and the pride and joys of our life. They have certainly added to the quality of life in general. They are also growing up far too quickly! Time is flying by as they grow up too quickly!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Thing #10 - Slideshow
This activity was a bit more challenging for me than some of the others we've done. I tried all of the different vehicles and finally did this one because my "plug ins" would allow me to actually do the assignment. Because I have Snoopy, a Congo African Grey parrot, as part of our library I chose to collect pictures of various African Greys. I was fortunate to be able to choose from plenty of pictures. However, when I would go back to ckeck on the pictures I'd saved I would find the label, but there would be no picture. That was puzzeling to me and I spent far too much time trying to overcome that particular problem. Some pictures just didn't want to be filed. They would be placed in a "download manager" location, but not where I wanted them. When I tried to view the download manager it wouldn't show the pictures. As you can tell I'm still having a problem with not being a native to this digital age.
Students and staff (most) are delighted to count and make sure all 4 turtles are in their tank, check out the aquarium and most of all, the antics of Snoopy my African Grey. That is the reason I created the followingslide show.
BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.
1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickjowett/306954500/ African Grey Parrot
by nickjow8
2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/slemerick/99414869/
African Grey Parrot / Papagaio Cinzento Africano by :: SL Emerick
3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezys/391377885/ African Grey Parrot Kukas by ezys
4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/33590535@N06/3333656696/ African Grey parrot by Drew Avery
5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/saveena/238971833/ Maggie the African Grey Parrot eating a peanut by Saveena (AKA LHDugger)
6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezys/391381145/ African Grey Parrot Kukas by ezys
7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezys/391380063/ African Grey Parrot Kukas by ezys
8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/larrygassan/3313565614/ 090226_18-2-arturo, african grey parrot by Larry Gassan
Students and staff (most) are delighted to count and make sure all 4 turtles are in their tank, check out the aquarium and most of all, the antics of Snoopy my African Grey. That is the reason I created the followingslide show.
BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.
1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickjowett/306954500/ African Grey Parrot
by nickjow8
2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/slemerick/99414869/
African Grey Parrot / Papagaio Cinzento Africano by :: SL Emerick
3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezys/391377885/ African Grey Parrot Kukas by ezys
4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/33590535@N06/3333656696/ African Grey parrot by Drew Avery
5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/saveena/238971833/ Maggie the African Grey Parrot eating a peanut by Saveena (AKA LHDugger)
6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezys/391381145/ African Grey Parrot Kukas by ezys
7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezys/391380063/ African Grey Parrot Kukas by ezys
8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/larrygassan/3313565614/ 090226_18-2-arturo, african grey parrot by Larry Gassan
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thing #9
As I spent hours looking at pictures I chose ones that spoke to something from home or school (of course). We are attempting to create a water garden and have fish to enjoy. We are fighting the food web in our area to keep the fish in the water and out of the digestive systems of our neighborhood predators. Our water lily doesn't look nearly this healthy!
When I started looking through Flickr yesterday I was amazed at some of the pictures posted for public use. I even played a bit with uploading a few of my grandchildren, but chose to keep them private for safety reasons. Then as I continued through the lesson I ventured into the Creative Commons segment of Flickr. I felt on much firmer ground there, but there were still pictures I considered to be more of a personal nature. However, I now have at least a glimmer of where some pictures on different emails could have possibly originated from.
Several times when I would click to get an enlarged view of a picture I would come across an indication beneath the picture that it was copyrighted, yet the picture was located in an area of creative commons that indicated free use for non profit purposes. It looks like I need to go back and do some reviewing since I feel as steady as warm Jello!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Thing #8
This was a good way to introduce us to the potential uses of materials in our classrooms and our schools. It has also got me thinking on what I want to do to make the SOP for the 2009/20010 school year both more productive and beneficial for our teachers which will hopefully lead directly to the same outcome for the students. Before viewing the links given here I hadn't paid any attention to the CC logo. I had read one librarian's comments on its use.
As I went through the different links there were things I put into a folder of places I want to get back to and use throughout the year. With the potential of Creative Commons we should be able to migrate away from end products that are basically a regurgitation of what the student copied from some (chances are - outdated) source. I can see where this would energize research and reporting. Some students love "acting out" and why not provide an educational manner that encourages them to learn and then perform in a way that is acceptable as well as teaching others what we'd like for them to know more about.
Other than NetTreker I have not used video clips from the web, nor have I chosen to share content on the web. The intellectual aspect of the teaching materials used on our campus are owned by the publishing companies of tho materials which are purchased by the district. One negative aspect I could visualize is more time spent on the compilation of an end product as opposed to creating original material (adaptations vs. original thinking).
As I went through the different links there were things I put into a folder of places I want to get back to and use throughout the year. With the potential of Creative Commons we should be able to migrate away from end products that are basically a regurgitation of what the student copied from some (chances are - outdated) source. I can see where this would energize research and reporting. Some students love "acting out" and why not provide an educational manner that encourages them to learn and then perform in a way that is acceptable as well as teaching others what we'd like for them to know more about.
Other than NetTreker I have not used video clips from the web, nor have I chosen to share content on the web. The intellectual aspect of the teaching materials used on our campus are owned by the publishing companies of tho materials which are purchased by the district. One negative aspect I could visualize is more time spent on the compilation of an end product as opposed to creating original material (adaptations vs. original thinking).
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thing #7
It was nice to scan the gentle hints for proper responses. It could be that I appreciated them just because they all seemed to be what "Miss Manners" would have considered the proper thing to do. It will be great to use these blog posts to share with our students. I can recall some blunders from my own youth, and it is nice to know there are guidelines we can use as examples.
For blogs within our class that I want to follow I wanted to follow a person that I shared online classes with. She's astute and as Harry Wong would say you need to 'hang' with positive people. The other blog I chose to follow is someone I've admired as an educator within our district. We have some really gifted leaders in MISD, and even at my age it's never too late to learn something new!
One of the ideas that stuck with me seemed to repeat itself in each of the blogs that dealt with commenting. That thought seemed to be that if we wnat people to respond to us we need to be open and thoughtful. As you read the 'Blue Skunk' blog it becomes quite obvious why this blog has a good following. While he is a total professional, he has the 'grace' not to shove it down our throats. In fact he is quite humble and inviting; he even admits to having areas where he could do better. It soon becomes obvious that there is room for someone new and ignorant. The message seemed to repeat that "if you want help, ask."
As I mentioned in Thing #6 it became quite effortless for me to take one of those "Family Circus" type of tours while I was searching for blogs to put in my RSS reader. So many great treasures to unearth, and so little time. The blogs that I enjoyed the most were the ones that gave me reviews of books.
One of the things I didn't mention about Just One More Book the Pod Casts that are included with the reviews. How fantastic would this be to have a library link that let teachers preview new books. We're continually trying to get our teachers to try new books and this would be such a cool way to hook them. What a great tool to use along with School Library Journal.
For blogs within our class that I want to follow I wanted to follow a person that I shared online classes with. She's astute and as Harry Wong would say you need to 'hang' with positive people. The other blog I chose to follow is someone I've admired as an educator within our district. We have some really gifted leaders in MISD, and even at my age it's never too late to learn something new!
One of the ideas that stuck with me seemed to repeat itself in each of the blogs that dealt with commenting. That thought seemed to be that if we wnat people to respond to us we need to be open and thoughtful. As you read the 'Blue Skunk' blog it becomes quite obvious why this blog has a good following. While he is a total professional, he has the 'grace' not to shove it down our throats. In fact he is quite humble and inviting; he even admits to having areas where he could do better. It soon becomes obvious that there is room for someone new and ignorant. The message seemed to repeat that "if you want help, ask."
As I mentioned in Thing #6 it became quite effortless for me to take one of those "Family Circus" type of tours while I was searching for blogs to put in my RSS reader. So many great treasures to unearth, and so little time. The blogs that I enjoyed the most were the ones that gave me reviews of books.
One of the things I didn't mention about Just One More Book the Pod Casts that are included with the reviews. How fantastic would this be to have a library link that let teachers preview new books. We're continually trying to get our teachers to try new books and this would be such a cool way to hook them. What a great tool to use along with School Library Journal.
Thing #6 - "Lost in Space"
This assignment should come with the warning that you can end up in a time warp! It was educational to read the blogs of others, and scan to see if their thoughts were traveling in the same or opposite direction of where I wanted to go. I am not opposed to the idea that there is safety in numbers.
As I wandered in space I came across some blogs that led me down the "primrose path", but there were enough 'nuggets of wisdom" that kept coming my way that I wandered far too long. One was Just One More Book, which my husband will testify that as soon as I finish one I have another one started. That led me to one of our Bluebonnet Book nominees for next year, The Graveyard Book. It allows the viewer to see the artistic illustrations that are in the beginning of the book. This was just one of the books that was featured. I have a tendency to read those books that are for fifth grade and up because I taught sixth grade for years. Now I need to widen my knowledge of those great books that can be found in the younger literature and this seems like a great place to begin. The links of reviews and author interviews would take up many more hours than I had time to spend.
Reading Upside Down (you are probably catching on to one of my favorite past times) was a blog that caught my eye because of the graphics that were included. Our school is increasing its service to bilingual classes through the third grade, and I need to have a better grasp of what I can do to improve the choices our students have. This blog led me to another one called Book, Line and Sinker. This teacher had decided to read a book in Spanish (she'd had Spanish from the sixth grade through her second year of college), and she found she was going to also going to need a copy in English to be sure she was reading correctly. Reading blogs is a continuing education all in itself!
As I wandered in space I came across some blogs that led me down the "primrose path", but there were enough 'nuggets of wisdom" that kept coming my way that I wandered far too long. One was Just One More Book, which my husband will testify that as soon as I finish one I have another one started. That led me to one of our Bluebonnet Book nominees for next year, The Graveyard Book. It allows the viewer to see the artistic illustrations that are in the beginning of the book. This was just one of the books that was featured. I have a tendency to read those books that are for fifth grade and up because I taught sixth grade for years. Now I need to widen my knowledge of those great books that can be found in the younger literature and this seems like a great place to begin. The links of reviews and author interviews would take up many more hours than I had time to spend.
Reading Upside Down (you are probably catching on to one of my favorite past times) was a blog that caught my eye because of the graphics that were included. Our school is increasing its service to bilingual classes through the third grade, and I need to have a better grasp of what I can do to improve the choices our students have. This blog led me to another one called Book, Line and Sinker. This teacher had decided to read a book in Spanish (she'd had Spanish from the sixth grade through her second year of college), and she found she was going to also going to need a copy in English to be sure she was reading correctly. Reading blogs is a continuing education all in itself!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thing #5
Thing #4 had me "pinging" all over the WWW, and this exercise for RSS is the perfect answer to let me track of some the interesting places I ventured into earlier and will continue to actively seek or accidentally arrive. It was quite interesting to follow some of the discussions that followed some of the postings in Students 2oh. You could almost envision the 'wheels turning' and even interesting to hear what they thought of using those tools in education.
While looking at the Infinite Thinking Machine I became intrigued with Teachers Without Borders. Just looking at the pictures made me much more appreciative of the opportunities that are there just for the taking within our district. I am so spoiled and need to be much more willing to take chances and stretch myself. I will freely admit that I'd rather be curled up somewhere with a book rather than a keyboard (electronic, not acoustic), so I'll need to make a concerted effort to scan and pick from TechLearning!
Having said that, I will way that I did check out the articles on books in the New York Times and did add that to my RSS aggregator or Google Reader. Then I went back to get some of the blogs that we visited on Thing #4. On the Blue Skunk Blog I found Lessons learned from bicycling revisited. It first caught my eye because of the picture he included and the fact that I grew up on a dairy farm. The thoughts were a bit tongue in cheek, but still all of those bits of wisdom to encourage the flagging 2oh student! His last comment had nothing to do with blogging, but was true nevertheless; "Cows always have the right of way." This dose of reality was refreshing!
While looking at the Infinite Thinking Machine I became intrigued with Teachers Without Borders. Just looking at the pictures made me much more appreciative of the opportunities that are there just for the taking within our district. I am so spoiled and need to be much more willing to take chances and stretch myself. I will freely admit that I'd rather be curled up somewhere with a book rather than a keyboard (electronic, not acoustic), so I'll need to make a concerted effort to scan and pick from TechLearning!
Having said that, I will way that I did check out the articles on books in the New York Times and did add that to my RSS aggregator or Google Reader. Then I went back to get some of the blogs that we visited on Thing #4. On the Blue Skunk Blog I found Lessons learned from bicycling revisited. It first caught my eye because of the picture he included and the fact that I grew up on a dairy farm. The thoughts were a bit tongue in cheek, but still all of those bits of wisdom to encourage the flagging 2oh student! His last comment had nothing to do with blogging, but was true nevertheless; "Cows always have the right of way." This dose of reality was refreshing!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Thing #4
There is one obvious problem for me and blogs; it is so easy to get to "bird walking" as we said in the dark ages of teaching. It sure is nice to have that trail to follow back to where I started from. This is definitely cutting into my 'recreational' self selected reading.
When I was working to finish with Thing #3 I went to the link for How to comment like a king (or queen!) and ended up visiting many of the linked articles. Then when I came to the discovery exercise for this Thing I was naturally drawn to Cool Cat Teacher for the first selection I chose to read. I especially wanted to see her comments. I was intrigued that she chose to record her classes and then post those recordings. As I explored this blog I was led to a Wiki that was created by Cool Cat Teacher and Sharon Peters exploring the creation of an AUP that would cover the use of the recording and publishing in any format. She touched on concerns that all educators should be aware of and plan for.
The NeverEnding Search and PowerPoint reform was my next stop, and it too involved a trip to or all things a PowerPoint on how not to do them! The blog by a 5th grader really caught my attention because it seem to go so well with our school's use of Diana Day's vision management. How neat would it be to have each student's goals posted on a classroom blog. If a discipline referral ever came up the principal or assistant principal could just call it up on the blog and it could be reviewed and even responded to right there. I especially appreciated the teacher's reply which revealed his own struggles as a middle school student. Goodness knows we need to find every way we can to give our students the tools for success. They won't ever achieve a goal if it isn't envisioned to begin with.
Andy Carvin's response to a put down on cyberbullying was handled with taste and style. It gave the author room to respond without becoming defensive. It almost made me think that he'd followed the guidelines for responding to a blog. The last 'official' site I visited was from Wandering Ink and how our educational system stifles the creativity of our students. Our obsession with schedules and testing may very well be taking the wind out of the sails of many of our students!
Then just because I love having "critters" around, both at home and school, I tried to explore the Duck with a Blog, but that particular one always seemed to have me turning in circles.
When I was working to finish with Thing #3 I went to the link for How to comment like a king (or queen!) and ended up visiting many of the linked articles. Then when I came to the discovery exercise for this Thing I was naturally drawn to Cool Cat Teacher for the first selection I chose to read. I especially wanted to see her comments. I was intrigued that she chose to record her classes and then post those recordings. As I explored this blog I was led to a Wiki that was created by Cool Cat Teacher and Sharon Peters exploring the creation of an AUP that would cover the use of the recording and publishing in any format. She touched on concerns that all educators should be aware of and plan for.
The NeverEnding Search and PowerPoint reform was my next stop, and it too involved a trip to or all things a PowerPoint on how not to do them! The blog by a 5th grader really caught my attention because it seem to go so well with our school's use of Diana Day's vision management. How neat would it be to have each student's goals posted on a classroom blog. If a discipline referral ever came up the principal or assistant principal could just call it up on the blog and it could be reviewed and even responded to right there. I especially appreciated the teacher's reply which revealed his own struggles as a middle school student. Goodness knows we need to find every way we can to give our students the tools for success. They won't ever achieve a goal if it isn't envisioned to begin with.
Andy Carvin's response to a put down on cyberbullying was handled with taste and style. It gave the author room to respond without becoming defensive. It almost made me think that he'd followed the guidelines for responding to a blog. The last 'official' site I visited was from Wandering Ink and how our educational system stifles the creativity of our students. Our obsession with schedules and testing may very well be taking the wind out of the sails of many of our students!
Then just because I love having "critters" around, both at home and school, I tried to explore the Duck with a Blog, but that particular one always seemed to have me turning in circles.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Thing #2
Some of the videos that I watched with this lesson were reminiscent of a previous convocation that we had in our district. As I age time seems to go faster, but even as fast as that goes the rate that knowledge increases is beyond my comprehension. When I just recall how much technology has changed in my limited life span I find it mind boggling to imagine what my grandchildren will see in their lifetimes. Will there be the time or inclination to "stop and smell the roses?" Using these tools wisely in our learning environment will give a whole new meaning to who is going to view a student's work or end product (dare I even mention the public seeing some of the educator's work?). It is so easy to imagine the pride that a student would have in a well done product that would be admired by extended family and others from all parts of the country, maybe even from around the world. Seeing all student's actively engaged in a learning activity is reason enough to learn this technology. Granted there will probably be many times where my students are teaching me, but don't we say we learn the most when we have to teach it?
Thing #1
For me learning new things is fun; I just never considered learning new technology to be fun. I do have to admit that a word processing program has the typewriter laid in the shade and therefore I suppose all of the other aspects of technology will probably turn out to be just as wonderful. Getting pictures of our grandchildren here in Texas or those from our youngest, currently in Thailand, are always a treat. That being said, using the new technology to my advantage will be the most challenging habit for me. It looks like that with this class I'll at least get a chance to "play" with the technology to see which of the multitude of Web 2.0 tools fit me best. The easiest 'habit' for me will be accepting responsibility for my own learning. As long as I have people who are patient enough to help me I am willing to stretch one dendrite to another until I can set up a path to travel each time. The great thing about this is there are so many wonderfully patient people within our district who are so gracious to lend a helping hand. The most important habit for me is the one where I will teach and mentor others. Since I will be traveling in "unknown territory" I will remember to use the that patience shown to me and pass it on to those that may forget from time to time (just like I do) and just need a bit of a reminder.
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