Thing #24 Is is the End or Only the Beginning?

               Day one, when I heard that I was going to blog, I did a mental "OH NO!" Even thought at the time I felt that I was tech savvy, I knew nothing about blogging.  After the initial fear I began to enjoy the process. I am pleasantly surprised by the outcome of this project.  This process has introduced me to so many new things that I know I will be able to use.  I have found a community of educators that offer advice on various subjects.  This will be useful when I am searching for answers or suggestions for the classroom.  Another added bonus is all the web 2.0 tools that provide organization, enhance instruction or add creativity to the classroom.  I am excited to take the knowledge and tools I have gained from this class and integrated them into my everyday life.   I have already shared my blogging experiences with family, friends and co-workers.  The Blogging community has been my go to place during this semester and will continue to be in the future.  This has been a fun learning experience and I am thankful for the opportunity to participate.

Thing # 23

 In viewing the credits of APSU's Learning 2.0 23 Things for Teachers website, I was able to follow a link to the program that this idea was based off. I followed it to Mesquite's Independent School District's website, Learning 2.0 23 Things wich led me to Abrams article and website on  43 things.  43 things was a program that Mesquite was based on. APSU used creative commons to base its 23things program from the use of Mesquite's adaptation of 43 things.

As a teacher I may be adapt lesson plans and instruction from other professionals who posted or published their material for use.  I will use my knowledge of creative commons to teach my students of plagiarism and copyright.

Thing # 20

Goofy-Teachers as People
    I selected the above YouTube video that really captures the essence of what we need from teachers. Sure, it may poke a little fun, but it is an accurate assessment of some of the qualities such as patience, wisdom, and tolerance that we desperately need in teachers today. Besides, who doesn't love Goofy?
    YouTube is a great tool for anyone, including teachers. You can find video of events and experiments around the world. I think with careful screening, teachers can use this site to show the students things that they may never see or experience in their lifetime. I have often searched the site for advice on a project or craft. I have even taken classes where the instruction is posted on YouTube. It is a take anywhere, find anything tool. It expands the classroom to the world and includes anyone willing to view the video.
     The negative of YouTube can be said of many online tools. You have to sift through the garbage to find the gems. Fortunately, the gems are often invaluable pieces of information. One of the features of the site is that videos can be viewed by everyone or a select group by the use of a password. This could allow interaction between the teacher and student or the class as a group.

Thing # 22

The titles of my binders in LiveBinders are as follows.

• writing resources
• educational tools
• math websites

Here is a link to my Math Website Binder.

LiveBinders is a great tool for the classroom. As a teacher I can create my own resource center for students to locate and utilize documents, tools, and websites that are specific to the subject matter being taught. I can control the source material for a subject much easier for assignments and research.

One such ideal for the classroom would be to have students view a lesson before class. Once in the class, discussion and instruction would be elevated due to the students already having exposure to the material. After class, the class can go back into the lesson for additional tutoring and learning aids to help retention and understanding.

Thing # 19

     Even though I tried to delay the trend of social networking in my life, it has crept in anyway.  My family would not have any other way! (lol) See what I mean.  I am currently a participant of Facebook, Pinterest, Blogger, and now TeacherPop.  Each of these have successfully connected me to a group of friends and family.  I can get online and find out anything that I need to know.  These resources and other that we have explored in class will help me as a teacher to stay connected to the educational trends.  I will be able to research answers to any future questions.
   On a note outside of education, I did find another social network that I am looking forward to becoming acquainted with. Food is one of my passions and this network is great!  This lesson shows that no matter what your interest or needs are you can find a community to join.

Thing # 21

Taylor's Birthday

In the past, I have made video clips that include images and music.  I possess a couple of programs on my computer that allows me to be creative with my photos.  Lightroom, Garage Band and i photo are some of the programs that are capable of creating a slide show.  Animoto is a website that allows you to import photos from a variety of sources and create a slideshow to music that you choose. They provide themed backgrounds with matching music.  One can create a 30 second clip for free or pay to have more freedom and time.  I imported pictures of my niece's second birthday.  It was fun playing with the different backgrounds and music.  I really liked this website and found it easy to navigate.  If I did not have similar tools that I was already familiar with, I would use this in the near future.  I enjoy taking photos and making slideshows of them personally and professionally.  As a future educator, I plan on making similar slideshows for the parents of my students as an end of the year gift.  This will allow them to feel connected to and have a keep sake of  their child's school year.

Thing # 18

 This is a link to my Facebook profile.
         It is important for educators to understand social networking and how it works because it is so relevant to our student's lives. Networking is a place where students post their feelings, activities, make new friends, and sometimes bully others.  A teacher needs to be aware of these activities and be prepared to address situations that may develop from the use of social networking.  Social networks can be very useful tools that allow educators to search for information to advance their knowledge of a certain skill. Teachers can share lesson plans and ideas that will improve instruction. They can discover methods that are popular and relevant to their students.
          I have been a member of Facebook for the last couple of years.  I am a private person who does not see the need to share every detail of my day with the world. I am very selective about choosing who I accept as my "friend." I use this network mostly as a tool to share pictures and important events with my family. I believe this and Twitter will be useful for me as an educator strictly as a research tool outside the classroom.  I currently work at a school and Facebook is blocked by the school board from our browsers.  There have been strict instructions given banning the use of this website at our school.  I expect to find similar rules in place in the future when I get a teaching job.

Thing # 17

  Blogging has shown the importance of social media and how it is applicable to a classroom. Today, I have discovered a tool that will organize the information I find useful;  Social bookmarking.  Social bookmarking is great for students and teachers. Before the invention of social bookmarking, one would have to save the website to their bookmark on their computer or rely on memory to come back to the site.  Social bookmarking saves the information on the web and you can access it from anywhere.  It is also a great place to find and share information.  Tags and diggs allow you to see websites that others found interesting.  A student could use social bookmarking when they are assigned any kind of research.  Teachers could use it to share information with their students or other teachers.  I see the potential use of social bookmarking as way to efficiently use your time on the web.

Thing 16

    I decided to use iGoogle as my start page. The main reason that I chose this is because I already had an email account with Google and was more familiar with many of the google applications. One I set up my page, I was able to manage which features would automatically show on the page. I think this can help me save time in the future because the items that I frequently go to individually now are at one central location. I can check the weather, news, and glance at my email and to do lists from one page instead of several. I will definitely use this in the future as my start page.
    The online calendar will allow me to enter important appointments and events into a more mobile and manageable calendar that can be accessed from any place, not just from home or work. The to do list I chose, Remember the Milk, was easy to setup and edit on my computer and iPhone. However, it seems like it may be more effort than it is worth to constantly update the list. I think I continue to use this tool, but will be more selective on tasks that I place on this list. This will allow my to keep on track with the most important tasks while not getting too concerned with all of the less meaningful tasks.
    One of the tools that I find most helpful is the sticky notes feature. I am a big fan of real sticky notes, so this seems to be a very logical choice for me. I can quickly jot down notes, dates, and messages that can be added to contact lists, calendars, and task lists when I have more time. I think this tool would be most helpful for others as well. It will allow them to manage their day at a convenient time instead of spending every moment managing their time.

Thing # 15

 Wiki's sounded like a great resource when I watched the You Tube video.  It is a place that teachers should easily be able to share instrucion ideas or class projects with each other. The trouble began when I tied to navigate through the assigned sandbox.  I was easily frustrated and was not successful in completing my task.  I believe that I have been introduced to so many great web 2.0 tools this semester that I will definitely use inside my classroom. With that being said, Wiki will not be one.  I can't imagine it's benefit inside the classroom outways the frustration of navigating through it.

Thing # 14

 I created this flow chart on the steps of long division with the use of Gliffy.  Flow charts and mind maps can be used as a tool to organize your thoughts and plans.  It can also be a teaching tool to show the steps needed to be taken to complete a task.  I will use these as a teaching aids for the class and for individual students to help them understand a new skill.

Thing # 13

Discussion has risen on the subject of web-based tools that offer collaborative word processes verses Microsoft Office.  I believe that in the future I will continue to use them both.  The web resources that I experimented with this week were Zoho and google Docs.  This discovery exercises showed me how easy it would be to collaborate with others when creating a document.  They allow you to share with friends or even publish for public use.  I created this document for fun using Zoho.  Educators can create documents from any computer and be able to use them a resource in the classroom when they are needed. I drew a picture in Google Docs.  The drawing could be use by individual students to practice finding the area of a square.  I enjoyed playing on both of these websites and couldn't say which one I would use more often.  I could assign group projects and student's could collaborate and complete the task online.

Thing # 12

Google is a great resource!  I have used it for year when searching for or sharing information.  Now, with thing #12, I know that it can be used for so much more.  I dove right into this project.  I am always looking for ways to stay more organized.  I work, go to school, and have two very active boys.  Google calendar allows me to organize our schedule and share them with grandparents.  No matter where I am, I can access the calendar to view or make changes.  I also set up and email to remind me the day before and text message me 2 hours before the event.  This technology will be a lifesaver for educators.  Google calendars will keep their busy schedules organized and keep them connected.  An educator could set up a class calendar that is shared with parents.  

I also set up a Google alert for topics that I found important.  I set up an alert for the town I work in, local news, and our local high school teams. An e-mail will be sent to inform me of news on the subjects I chose.

Thing # 11

   The RSS is a great tool to organize your favorite sites. Now I have to decide what is worthy of becoming one of my favorite sites.  The Cool Cat offered great ideas on how to choose what blogs to follow.  Personally, I try to find blogs that offer inspirational or informational ideas dealing with education.  I look for people who share teaching tools and classroom stories.  My goal is to surround myself with a community of people who can help me become a better teacher.  

    While searching for blogs to include in my RSS, I used keyword like education, teacher, elementary, and technology.  I used the same words on several different search engines. My least favorite and productive was Google search. My favorite search tool to use was Technorati. This site was easy for me to navigate and understand.  I could search for all types of blogs and posts.  Technorati would give you a list of sites with previews of each.  It would also show the ranking, recent post, and user reviews of them.   I found a teach blog full of resources and website offering fun craft activities by searching Technorati.

Thing # 10

The RSS ( “Really Simple Syndication”) really simplifies how you stay in touch with your favorite sites.  New information is sent to you and you can read them at your convenience.  The RSS allows you to subscribe to the things that are relevant to your needs.  You no longer get lost in useless information that waste your time!  I also like the friendly usability of Google reader. Google reader is easy to set up and navigate. Once you have selected the sites you would like to subscribe to you have the ability to sort, rename, unsubscribe or even find other sites like the ones you have subscribe to. RSS is a useful tool to stay in touch with my favorite sites and allows me to quickly find the information I am needing.  I find this useful as a student and future teacher.

Thing # 9

COMIC STRIP  (The smiling monkey)
IMAGE CHEF  ( Learning Ahead arrow)

I am sharing with you some fun images I made with the use of online generators.  It was a very easy process. Each generator offered a variety of templates to play with.  You can customize them to fit your style or needs.  As a future teacher and current mom I am excited about the discovery of online generators. I can use them as inspirational and instructional tools for the class.  A funny picture including a nice message would be a great opener for the day.  A teacher could also use it to list the days up coming events.  Personally, I would like to take the images I have created and make T-shirts or other items for gifts.  The online generators offer great tools to be creative in the classroom and home.

Thing # 8

         Children learn in different ways.  The Flicker mashup tools offer a variety of options to enhance visual learning.  It also provides tons of fun.  I could see using Mappr to learn about different states in a classroom.  A teacher can personalize the lesson by placing pictures of the class on the map. This is just one of the tools teachers could use to encourage learning with a visual tool.  Teachers could also use these tools to create gifts from the children to their parents.
        Personally, I found the variety of tools exciting. I am love taking pictures and enhancing them.  Flicker mashups allows you to make unusual and fun changes.  I chose a picture of my niece and made a puzzle out of it. It expresses her fun personality.  The puzzle will also provide opportunity of cognitive growth for her.  This is just the beginning for me.  I plan on using these tools personally and professionally.

Thing # 7

        Flicker is another example of an online community.  This is a place to share photos with a group of friends or with the public.  It offers convenient tools to search the website by the use of tags.  Different organizations and individuals have used this site to place identifications on unknown images.  Even though I did enjoy looking at the pictures posted, I am not sure if this will be a resource I would use in the classroom.  The only positive benefit of use would be for the parents who are overseas serving our country.  It could allow them to feel connected to their child's everyday life.  If I chose to use Flicker, it would be on a private basis for parents only. 
      I have a Face book page and do post pictures of my family on it occasionally.  I share these with my close friends and family.  I am selective on who I  am "friends" with on any social media.  I am a private person and share with only the people important to me. 
      Flicker would be a great avenue for someone who is not afraid to share with the world.  It could also be useful for someone starting a photography business.  The exposure would be great advertisement. Flicker is already used by libraries.  It allows the public to help identify the subjects  and locations in pictures.
     I chose a picture of my son to share on Flicker and this blog.  This picture captured a moment when he was in deep thought.  He was unaware I was taking this photo.  I often wonder what was going through his mind.
  

Thing #6

I began Thing #6 searching  Go2Web2.0 tools.  I found this a very easy site to explore through the use of the tags listed on the right.  I searched the tags that interested me the most, for example design, photo, and then teacher.  I found them all interesting and believe they could be useful on a personal and professional level.  Game Classroom was an educational tool that I was excited to find .  This website offered lesson plans, games, worksheets and videos for grades K-6.  This free technology would be a great resourcs to use in the classroom or at home.  In the future I would use this website as a center in the classroom or as a tool for fun learning during a tutoring session. I plan on incorporating this tool in my current tutoring group.  I can foresee the excitement my students will have exploring and learning from the Game Classroom website.

Thing # 5

              We are living in a world of constant change.  From birth our children grow and develop before our eyes.  Today's family dynamics would be unrecognizable to our great grandparents.  Our economy,  production of foods and good, and technology evolves with every breath we take.  Web 2.0 has transformed the way we use technology. Its influence has reached far beyond our work environment and home.  Technology has infiltrated our schools.  As parents we can go online and view our child's progress on a daily bases. Contact with our teachers are just a click away.  According to Discovery Web 2.0, technology has never been more easier or accessible to teachers and students. Unlimited tools are out there to change the way we teach and learn.  One website available to research those tools is 50 Web 2.0 Tools.  This is a good resource for educators to research ideas to improve their classroom.  Another interesting outlook on web 2.0 tools was written by Steve Hargadon. His site,  Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education list trends in technology in education.
               I believe that Web 2.0 has led to the creation of School 2.0.  This is the transformation of our current way of thinking and learning.  We will move away from reading and memorizing material form paper books.  Schools will use technology to connect the students to real life and the skills at hand. Students will gain a true understanding of the material.  I believe in the future students will be able to use school provided technology to learn at a pace that will better benefit there educational process.  A School 2.0 will be in constant change and will be required to adapt to the diverse world surrounding it.

Thing # 4

             Thing #4 asked me to blog about how commenting on blogs would create a sense of community.  Well, to be completely sure I was on the right track I looked up the word COMMUNITY in Webster's dictionary.  One of the definitions was very clear to me: c : an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a common location. That's it!  A blog is the common location, and the comments are the interacting population.  A blog allows us to unite and discuss a certain topic.  We are free to agree or disagree.  The comment area allows us to share our beliefs and to become a part of a very large community. 
              Many bloggers have already posted about the community of blogging.  They also have left insightful information on how to leave a great comment.  Cool Cat Teacher blog says that to create a sense of community you should contribute to discussion.  Add some depth to your thought and post and leave a meaningful comment.  She also says that if you post you allow the blogger to feel they are heard.  PROBLOGGER leaves us with the message of interacting with comments left on our blog.  The author states that if have activity it leaves you with "blogger value."  The end goal is to up the activity by your replies and then back off and allow the activity to continue to grow. 
             I have read many blogs since day one of class.  After some time I have decided to follow those that surprised me and inspired me.  I enjoy the challenge of becoming a better person and feel these bloggers listed below will do just that!  
1. Desira Sheppards- She was the first to point out how a blog would help me as a growing professional.
2. Lowen Education- Her positive attitude attracted me to read and post!
3. Amber Law- This girl is inspirational and convincing! 
4.Chassity Halpin- She is insightful and a advocate of reading!
5.Holly Hudson- She makes points on creating a connection with everyday life to learning!
All of these ladies made great point and caught my attention.  I am not going to say that I will agree on everything they post throughout the semester, but I am looking forward to becoming part of their community. I hope to see growth from all of us as bloggers!
            The "professional" or "seasoned" bloggers I chose to follow was because they offered tools I thought I could use in the classroom.  The first was about free technology. Richard Byrne post about cool tech that would be useful for teachers and students.  My second choice was about how to think outside the box as teachers.  The innovative educator broadened my ideals on teaching in the classroom.
             This process has created a new community for me to thrive in.  I will be able to see so many point of views on various subjects.  I believe that this community will prepare me to be the best educator possible.  It will also give me a go to place when I am stuck! 

Thing #3

50 Must-see Teacher Blogs offered a variety of informative ideas shared by other teachers.  The information, tutorials, worksheets, slide shows and other resources will be priceless for any teacher.  An important part of being a teacher is research and staying connected to current situations.  Educational blogs offer a way for teachers to do both.  

            

            Social media is a great tool for a teacher to plan for their student’s success.  I plan to teach 3^rd grade and  see the benefit of blogs in the classroom.  The students will have an avenue to examine and elaborate on the subject they are learning.  They also have an opportunity to learn of cultures around the world.  The parents will have an easy way to stay connected to their child and teacher.  They will always be informed on what is being taught in the classroom.  Blogs and other 2.0 tools will greatly influence how I teach and the students learn.

Thing #2

I’ll be completely honest; I have never read a blog before this week.  They are completely foreign to me. This led me to do a Google search.  Blogs are everywhere about everything!  Their purpose is to allow a public journal where one can reflect and share on their personal successes and failures.  This also can be a site to read reviews on movies, games, toys, and etc.  Blogs also allow you to receive feedback from other who may offer insight on you post.  After finding out all of this information, I am really excited to start my own journey of creating a blog.  This is another opportunity for me to learn something new and useful to my trade.

Choosing the name for my blog was easy.  I stuck with something simple and familiar.  My name!  I decided to use my name because it allows me to be 100% true to my post.  I want what I say to reflect who I am not a fictional character that I made up.  Once my name what chosen then I began to set up my blog.  After getting over the initial nerves, it was easy to set up the blog.  The direction to create a blog was very well laid out.  It was easy because of the user-friendly directions!  The next step was to create an avatar.  This step was full of fun.  I played around with some of the choices and created some fun characters.  In the end I chose one that looked more like myself.  I wanted an avatar to represent who I am.  My avatar has long hair, glasses and looks like she is ready to learn!

Thing #1

              As educators it is our goal to create life long learners in our students. To understand this powerful responsibility we must already be a life long learner.  The 7 ½ Habits offer and interpretation of what it takes to be a successful learner.  I found each of theses habits an important step. Becoming and successful learner would require one to have a balance of each one. I contemplated them all and tried to find which one is easiest.  Habit 7 is the easiest for me.  Teaching and mentoring has always been a part of who I am.  I love to teach and mentor.   This habit is easy for me because I relate to my students and search for a connection that will allow the students to experience success. The intrinsic reward for the time spend on each student will last a lifetime.

 I was surprised to see Habit 4.  Confidence in learning is not a trait that I thought would be in the Habits. Even though I am a strong believer that if you have confidence and try your best you will be successful at anything you do.  With that being said I did not appreciate the importance of this habit in life long learning.  Personally, having confidence is easier said than done. I often find myself questioning my choices and being nervous no matter how well prepared I am.  The 7 ½ Habits have opened my eyes and prompted me to set a new goal.  I will relax and believe that I am a confident life long learner.  I can do this!

Technology has become an essential part of our lives.  During the first day of class everyone talked about what technology they could not live without.  It is clear that we all have become accustom to the ability to stay connected.  The change in technology and 2.0 tools has made instant connect ability possible .  It has also changed the way we use the web. We are no longer passive searchers of the web. With the use of 2.0 tools, we are active contributors of interactive resources.  We have become reliant on these tools to live, learn, and teach.  

Recently I was asked to create a blog.  Even though I am somewhat tech savvy, I experienced feelings of anxiety.  I had no idea what the expectations were going to be.  My fears began to disappear as I began to follow the process.  This has been a fun experience.  The knowledge I have gained playing with 2.O tools will help me be better prepared as a teacher and a learner.  I am looking forward to the next step in the journey of the 2.0 World!