Thoughts on the program

It's a lot of information to digest in two weeks time. I found several websites that I would like to spend more time exploring, and some that I am definitely going to use in class (I soo like animoto). It's going to be fun going back to explore these sites and start planning uses for them next year.

Thing #23

SLA's 23 Things program is quite similar to the 23 things we did here. Check it out at wiki.sla.org/display/23Things.

One difference I see is that on SLA, the 23 things are done at the rate of one per week, while for APSU, we completed all 23 in two weeks.
As for Creative Commons, I will certainly license my best documents. I did not become a teacher to get rich, so I would have no problem allowing other teachers to use my ideas (goodness knows I borrow and rework enough ideas myself).

Thing #22

I viewed a podcast from FOX news and added the feed to my Google Reader account. The title of the podcast was "Are You a Socialist?" The commentator, Bill O'Reilly, believes that many people who responded to a recent poll don't really know what socialism is, because 36% of the respondents believe it is good.
I didn't really care for any of the directories; I simply googled podcasts and looked for something interesting.
I am toying with the idea of a podcast, but haven't decided if I'm ready to make one yet.

Thing #21

I made a video of things around the house after the snow.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

This is really neat. I can think of several things to use this with. I have several pictures of Salem MA, and I can make a video for when we read The Crucible. This is going to be sooo cool!

Thing #20

I've included a clip of one of my favorite comedy skits. It's one of the silliest things I have ever seen. I love to watch how Harvey Korman tries to keep from laughing at Conway. I've shown some clips from YouTube in class, and regularly look for videos of our reading selections. I can show a short clip from YouTube so the students can get the gist of the story, and I don't have to show an entire feature length movie (what a waste of time!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYzuchDBvCs

Thing #18

I set up a MySpace page at www.myspace.com/mike54.
I can see how it might be beneficial professionally. Teachers can communicate new ideas and discuss common problems.
I probably won't use this much for personal use. My friends and family know how to contact me, and I don't feel the need to publish personal information for the world to see. Any "friends" I would meet through MySpace would not really be friends, they would simply be acquaintances I correspond with. I think it's important for educators to understand how these sites work because so many people are using them now to communicate. I have a teacher page on the school website, so students can contact me that way.

Thing #17

I searched delicious for information on several novels. Teachers can use this tool to search for lesson plans, while students could benefit by using social bookmarking sites when doing research. I see plenty of potential in social bookmarking.

Thing #16

I didn't realize there were all of these online tools to use. I like the Google start page. The date and time calendar is easy to read, and I get a brief list of mail in my gmail account. And since I use Google for many of my searches, I'm already there.
I use the Google calendar to help me keep track of my deadlines, birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates.
I'm not much on the online to-do lists. In that area, I'm stuck in the past. I've been making a to-do list every morning since the early 1980s, and I keep it in my pocket. It takes me all of 2 minutes to jot my notes, and I have it right there and handy, all day. It works for me, and "if it ain't broke,"...I'll definitely make it worse if I try to fix it.
A tool that I would recommend to other teachers (if their school system doesn't already subscribe to such a service) would be Engrade or Chalksite. I'm lucky to be in a school that subscribes to such a service. Many school systems are subscribing to these services now, and they are a big improvement over hard copy gradebooks. Everything is online, grades are calculated for you, parents can access grades whenever they want, absences are recorded--it's great!

Thing #15

I like the idea of using a Wiki as a literary circle. Doing this would enable my students to discuss a book with students in a one of my other classes, parents, even other teachers.. This would enlarge the circle and expose students to more ideas, thus furthering the discussion.

Thing #14

I like the Mindmeister mind map and the Gliffy flowchart. Mindmeister can be used for almost any writing project because it's a great brainstorming tool. Gliffy would be especially suited for a cause/effect essay. I would like to have my students use both of these. So many students don't see the value of brainstorming and planning before writing--maybe if they can do it online, they will put some additional thought into it.

Thing #13

I created a document on Zoho. I can see where it might be nice to have if you don't have word processing software on your computers, but at this time, I have Microsoft Office on computers both at home and at work. I created a sample test, and I think I prefer the Microsoft. Microsoft will automatically format for me as far as numbering and lists and such. I think I may have use for an online word processor at some point, but not right now.

Thing #12

I played around with Google Alerts and Notebook. I signed up for alerts on m favorite team, and also on technology news. I like the idea of the Notebook. With all the research I do for my lesson plans, it should be a big help.

Thing #11

The method of finding feeds that I found the easiest to use was Syndic8.com. It was easy to understand and work with.
The search tool I like was Google Blog search. Again, easy to work with--just type in a a key word and search.
AS for the most confusing, I couldn't even get to Feedster, no matter what; I even tried Googling it and could not get on to the site. The most useful feed I found were Wired News and Slashdot. Several interesting articles.
I though Boing Boing was unusual, especially when I visited the Boing Boing Bazaar.

Thing #10

RSS is great.I like getting informed of things that interest me. It's even better when I don't have to take the time to look for these items.
There are several sites that offer a word of the day. I plan to take advantage of these subscribe to these sites and maybe use some of these things as Bell Ringers.
This could also be useful personally. I try to follow major news events, and check on college sports at least once a week. This would help me keep up to date on my team.

Image Generators

I really like the comic strip generator. I can use that for all sorts of neat things, I've been looking for an interesting way to present vocabulary, and I can't always find strips that give me what I want. This way, I think I can make my own comics.

Thing #7

Flickr is an interesting site. I may usethis in class to have students develop a presentation on their impressions of setting in a sotry they've read.

Amazing scene from Flickr. Posted by:

Purple Dawn
From J.^2

The link is

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jj-shgfun/4329647897/

Thing #6

I just visited docstoc. This site has all kinds of documents stored on it, things from literature, law, politics, technology, the list goes on. In less than a minute, I found a PowerPoint presentation on The Great Gatsby. Since my 11th graders will be reading the book soon, I plan to take a closer look at the presentation and see what I can use. I will be bookmarking this site for future use in my classroom. The site is located at the following link:

http://www.docstoc.com/

Thing #5

School 2.0 is a new way for people to get an education. No longer will people need to go away to school, they can learn what knowledge they need online. Schools of the future will be able to reach more students. They can become more focused on certain disciplines (would MIT have to offer language courses or could it just offer math and engineering type courses?).
I wonder how School 2.0 would affect elementary and high schools. NCLB would be pretty much obsolete, I think. Students who want an education could certainly get one, but what would happen to the children who only want to play online? Too may parents have no clue as to what their children are doing online--they don't monitor the kids. I fear we would end up with a society of super-educated people at one end of the spectrum, gamers at the other end, and very little in between.
Then again, maybe "Big Brother" could take control of kids' computers until their lessons are done, an idea that would seem to run counter to personal liberty.

Thing #1

I consider myself a lifelong learner. I have spent a large part of my adult life attending university classes, for one purpose or another. As for the easiest habit, I take full responsibility for my learning. I work hard at learning, and try to learn something (however trivial and useless:) every day.
The hardest thing for me to do is use technology to my advantage. While I have no problem researching something on the Web, I have not even attempted to do some of the things that many people are doing. I do not own an iPod, have never downloaded music, have no clue how to IM, or create a podcast. I feel I am technologically inferior to most people, especially the younger generation. My cell phone is several years old, and doesn't have any ringtones downloaded to it, but it doesn't matter because I rarely use it-- about 10 minutes per month for calls and the occasional (2-3 per month) text message. I see these smart phones my students use and think, "I don't want to be connected 24-7."
I have to admit that I was somewhat intimidated at the thought of setting up a blog, and I'm still not sure what I'm doing with it. But it appears that, as is often the case, I was simply fearing the unknown.
However, I do realize the need to become more technologically savvy, and that is my main goal in taking EDUC 5611. If I don't get my self more up-to-date on technology, my students will leave me even further behind.