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.