One more thing!

    Overall, I think this project had good intentions for its participants. Coming away from this experience, I've done a lot of things using Web 2.0 tools that I probably would not have done without this class. There were some useful tips offered in the 23Things. For example, the online calendar and Delicious site are useful programs for everyday life. The Zoho program was another thing I'm glad I learned about. However, I feel like some of the Things were a little unnecessary. The social networking and YouTube activities were really a waste of time. Pretty much everyone with a computer has already visited these sites. So I feel like these activities could have been left off the Things list. But overall, this was a good way for me to become more Internet-savvy and learn about useful programs to use in my future classroom.

Thing #23

On the 23 Things homepage, there is a note at the bottom of the page which states that this project was based loosely on the 43 Things project. This gives credit to the original project and shows that it was modified. Now that I know about the Creative Commons, I can use the proper copyright laws in my future classroom. I'm sure that I will be showing videos and other sources from the Internet to my students, so I have to be sure to get permission for these types of projects. Without the knowledge of the copyright laws, it is easy to make the mistake of "stealing" information. But when you know the right way to share and use others' information it is easy to do!

Thing #17

    The "tagging" system is a good way to organize information on the internet. By using these keywords to identify webpages, it makes it easier to search for sites. One of the pages I bookmarked using Delicious was TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. This was a very interesting site filled with stories from people around the world. Some of the tags for this site included education, global issues, and creativity. I couldn't really think of a specific use for this tool in the classroom, other than making it easier and faster for teachers to find sites to use in lessons.

Thing #16

    I chose to use Netvibes for my homepage. The theme for my dashboard was social networks. I chose this because besides schoolwork, social networking is really all I do on the computer. It has all your networking sites right there in one place, making it very easy to stay connected. I probably won't make it my permanent homepage simply because when I do log on to do homework, I will be tempted to visit my social networking sites if they are the first thing I see.
    The online calendar can be useful for staying organized and remembering important events. With all your important dates and times all in one place, it is easier to stay on task and keep track of things in your busy schedule. With an online calendar, you can easily make changes to any events when needed. I would personally use the calendar to remember due dates for school and my work schedule. The online to-do lists were also helpful. The "Remember the milk" site was great because you could sync it with your online calendar. They have apps for iPads, iPhones, Androids, and you can even use it with Siri. I would definitely recommend the Remember the Milk app for anyone with a busy schedule.

Thing #15

    The wiki is a good way for many different people to work together on one project. It was pretty simple to add my own changes into the APSU 23 things sandbox. The only negative about the wiki idea is people can go in and change your work. So you could come back to the page two days later and your ideas could be completely altered in the wiki.
    A wiki can definitely be used in the classroom. It can be a creative way for the students to come together and work on one common goal. A weekly newsletter could be published on your school wiki and an assignment would be to add an interesting article to the newsletter. It's interesting that anyone with access to the wiki can share their ideas on the page.

Thing #14

   I liked using Gliffy for creating flowcharts. It was easy to use and had many tools available. You could drag the different shapes for constructing your flowchart from the library located on the side of the page. As long as you have some general sense of a flowchart and how it works, you should have no problem using Gliffy.
   I decided to use Bubbl.us to construct a mind map. There wasn't much explanation given on how to construct the map, but once I figured it out it wasn't that difficult. I think the program offered a great solution on organizing your thoughts in a creative way.
   Before completing this "thing" I wasn't sure about the difference between the flowchart and mind map. Once I used the different programs it became apparent what their different uses were. The flowcharts are used for sequential processes or events/actions that lead to other things (sort of like if this happens, then do that.) The mind map is more of a personal organizational tool used to put your thoughts down on paper but in a way that is easy to follow. A mind map is similar to an outline. Depending on your purpose or project, both flowcharts and mind maps are good ways to organize information.

Thing #13

   I found Zoho to be an interesting way of managing documents. It had a lot of useful features in familiar programs that I would have never thought of. For example, all the editor options that were available in the word document. It was cool that you could add contextual comments, and even enable more than one editor on the same document. The numerous custom styles were also pretty handy. One familiar asset of the Zoho program was the mail merge option, which we had a lesson on in class earlier in the semester. There were also many other useful programs within Zoho, such as the "Secure file sharing" and "Task management."
      I had some fun creating a drawing using the Google Docs. Similar to the activity we did in class, I made part of a classroom. I actually prefered using the Zoho program. It provided more detailed explanations of the things it offered. Both the Google Docs and Zoho offer pretty much the same things, but Zoho was more user-friendly.
Link to my drawing:

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1mGcBHFVDIdXA0lnVCqDVCmqfofHjxOfhKhXHElz2wd4/edit

Thing #20

    I, personally, love YouTube! There are so many things available on the site that can help you in your daily life. There are literally videos on almost anything you could think of. If there is something you don't know how to do, I can almost guarantee there is a video on YouTube to show you how, step-by-step. The site can not only be used for these instructional purposes, but also for entertainment. From music videos to pranks to clips from movies, YouTube has it all. It is also great to keep up-to-date on current events. Suppose you missed the latest press conference or a news segment; you can simply search YouTube for the clip and it's like you never missed a beat! Of course, it can also be used in the classroom, with thousands of educational videos available.
   The only negative about the site is there is sometimes inappropriate material that children could gain access to. So, as with all internet sites, parental supervision is important.
    I chose this clip because I thought it was important to remember that learning can be fun/funny. The teacher in this video found a way to keep his students engaged and entertained as they learned a math formula.
http://youtu.be/-b2xUb0VofQ

Thing #18

    It is important that educators know how social networking works because it is quickly taking over many aspects of our lives! The number of people on social networks grows everyday. Social networks are a great way to stay connected with family and friends, and also learn about what's going on in your community, as well as other parts of the world.
   I believe Facebook and Twitter are both useful sites for staying connected and "in-the-know." However, I believe that if you are an educator using these sites, you should have two separate accounts. One account should be used for personal life and your other account for business, coworkers, etc. This will ensure that no problems will arise further down the road in your career. As they say, "never mix business with pleasure."
    Overall, I would say Twitter would be the best way to stay connected in the business world. Twitter allows quick updates that are easy to follow. It keeps the tweets short and simple, therefore easy to read. Another cool feature of Twitter is the "retweet" button. If there is a tweet that you want to share with others, you can simply retweet the status and make it available to the people following you. This is a great way to stay on the same page as your colleagues. As far as classroom uses go, Twitter would be a way for students to follow their classroom page and see tweets about upcoming homework and projects due or field trips in the near future. This would also be useful for parents to stay up to date on activities in the classroom.


My Facebook:

www.facebook.com.katie.lax.98

Thing #12

   I chose to create a Google Calendar. The setup for the calendar was very easy to do and included step-by-step instructions. Once I got started, I was able to organize my events/activities for the next month. The calendar is a good way to stay organized and on top of things that need to be done. You can even sync your calendar with your phone so it is always available. With notifications sent an hour or two before your scheduled event, you should never be late again! This is also a good way to stay organized in the classroom. You can list project due dates on your calendar, or set reminders for students' birthdays.
    I really liked the Google Translator. It was so simple to type in what you wanted to say and have it pop up next to it in a different language. It really takes the guesswork out of translating grammar rules in different languages. This would definitely come in handy in a classroom if you had students whose first language was not English.
Link to my Google Translate: http://translate.google.com/#en/es/Hello%2C%20how%20are%20you%3F%20Today%20we%20will%20be%20learning%20about%20the%20colors%20of%20the%20rainbow.%20There%20are%20seven%20colors%20in%20the%20rainbow.%20Can%20you%20name%20them%20all%3F

Link to my calendar: https://www.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1&gsessionid=NdXt2GCk107mMXSQfJ6sHQ

Thing #11

     When trying to find feeds, it was easiest for me to use Technorati. I simply searched for "teacher" blogs and there were thousands available. One useful blog I found was called "deconstructing jen." This particular blog had many craft ideas from a middle school art teacher that could be used in your own classroom or home. Another blog I found was "Education Week: American Education's News Site of Record." Another way to locate newsfeeds would be to simply google it.

Thing #10

   What I liked about the RSS feeder was that there were hundreds of different blogs I could subscribe to. It was easy to find a blog to suit my interests. RSS feeders would be useful in my school for easily accessing information needed to help me in the education program. It would also be useful in my personal life with blogs such as "Pioneer Woman" to keep all my interests in one, easy to access website. For teachers, RSS feeders are useful because they could use them to learn new ideas from fellow educators.

Thing #8

I liked using the Splashr mashup. It was very easy to use. I simply typed in the tags I wanted to include in my search and the presentation style, and it generated a slide show of different photos with those tags. The presentation it made up for me is here: http://splashr.com/show/postcard/beaches,summer,fun,clouds/25/
This site could be used in your personal life to share photos with your friends. The only downside is you don't know the photos they are going to use, so you may want to preview the presentation before showing it to others. Personally, I think sharing photos is a great way to stay connected with friends. Instead of writing a simple status, you can upload a photo and show your viewers exactly what you're experiencing from your point of view. A picture really is worth a thousand words. :)

Thing #7

My experience using Flickr was very easy. The different tags you can search and explore made it simple to find almost any image you could imagine. I happened to see the tag "beaches" and clicked on it because I love summer and the beach. The image I found was very beautiful. The sunset on the beach was a very peaceful scene. Along with the photo, Flickr also provided the user that uploaded it, where the photo was taken, and even what kind of camera was used to capture the shot. Flickr is a great site to find interesting photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/yury-prokopenko/4273239329/
This photo was taken by Yury Prokopenko.

Thing #6

Using the Web 2.0 Awards site, I was able to explore the Ustream tool. This is a live video stream that anyone with a camera and internet connection can use to post videos. The viewer can watch the action as it happens or anytime after. The viewers can also chat while the video is showing. This site is popular with celebrities and their fans because it makes the fans feel a part of the action while viewing a live ustream. I liked that the site was free and pretty simple to use. It is easy to get lost in your computer for hours viewing all the different videos available on the site.
   I think this site would be useful in future classroom settings. Especially for older students, they could receive lessons from an expert across the world. Or it could be used within the same school for the principal to deliver a message to his/her students. www.ustream.tv

Thing #5

      The first article I chose to read was "Web 2.0 A Guide for Educators." The article pointed out an important fact: "The web has replaced libraries, classrooms, bookstores, and paper." Thousands of books are now available online, so there is no need for printed books and therefore no need for bookstores and libraries. Anything can be typed and on the internet and made public for everyone to see which eliminates the need for paper. The article also pointed out that the internet has made a shift from passive to active. It has become a place for people to interact and share their thoughts. It reported that 55% of people age 12-17 use social networking sites to communicate with others.
     The other article I chose to read was The Horizons Report. I thought it was interesting how it has become so simple for anyone to capture, edit, and share videos online. Video sharing sites continue to grow at some of the most prodigious rates on the internet. Video sharing can be both negative and positive. It was also interesting to learn that a new phone for every six people on the planet is manufactured each year. Most of these phones come with mobile broadband capabilities. This means that even poeple who do not have computers can have access to the internet through their mobile phone, putting the internet in even more hands.
   "School 2.0" means to me that technology is playing an increasingly important role in learning. It means that I will have to educate myself on the new technology in order to keep up with my peers and compete in the workforce. For schools of the future, technology will be almost impossible to escape. Almost every aspect of learning will have something to do with technology. As stated in the article, the internet is replacing libraries, books, and classrooms so these things will soon become nonexistent to kids in the future.
  

Thing #4

Commenting is important in creating a sense of community because it makes the writer feel like someone is actually "listening" and their ideas are important. It increases interaction and fuels healthy debates and differences in opinions. From the reading, I agree that it is important to be courteous in commenting on others' posts and replying to your own comments. Disagreeing with people is natural but it should not be done in a negative way.
The blogs I chose to read were random and were

1. Crane's Thing #3
2. Jessica Steward's Thing #3
3. Lynda Courtney's Thing#4
4. Kilmer Collaborations Thing #3
5. Jessica Miller Thing #8

For Crane's I found it important that he recognized not everyone will have access to a computer. As an educator, you must take these kinds of things into consideration. I thought it was cool that Jessica Steward included in her post how her blog would be helpful to other people in the program. I liked the personal intro Lynda Courtney used in her post for Thing #4. This brought me insight into her life. Kilmer Collaborations had good ideas about how the blog could be used in future classrooms. The pictures Jessica Miller chose for her post for Thing #8 were very beautiful and interesting. I tried to leave all positive comments on others' blogs.

Thing #3

   A blog will be useful to me throughout both my teacher education program and in my future classroom. During my teacher education program, I can use my blog to share my experiences with other people in the program. I can write about my student teaching experiences, what I have learned from other educators, and ideas for teaching activities. In my future classroom, my blog could be used to communicate with the parents of my students. Since I plan on teaching kindergarten, the blog would be geared towards the parents with a few simple interactive links for the students. I could use it to post pictures of the class, as well as their artwork, writing, etc.

Thing #2

Creating my blog was pretty simple. The only thing I had some difficulty with was adding the avatar to the actual blog. My avatar reflects my personality because she is wearing a pink dress. I am very girly and feminine so I wanted my avatar to be the same. I tried to get it as close to real life as I could. I didn't add any extra accessories or anything because I'm a pretty simple, straightforward person. The more I use the blog, the easier it will be for me to navigate the webpage.

Thing #1

    The lifelong learning habit I found to be the easiest was Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind. This was easy for me because this is something I do each time I set a goal. If you do not have some sort of vision for how your goal is going to turn out, it is easy to lose focus. The habit I found to be the hardest was viewing problems as challenges. It is easy to get discouraged when problems arise. Instead of giving up, use this as an opportunity to persevere and excel.

    By playing with the Web 2.0 tools I hope to learn to better navigate through websites and just become more "internet-savy" in general. Technology is not one of my strongpoints so I hope this will improve my computer skills. So far, I havn't had any issues in setting up the blog. The screenshots were useful in my experience.