Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Thing #23

Thing #23 The End:

I can't believe that this journey is over.

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I enjoyed playing with the online image generators. I could see how the students would really get into them. I enjoyed all of the 23 Things and I learned a lot from each one.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

It has made me want to modify and change up my lessons to integrate more web 2.0 resources into them. I hope to create a class Ning and a class blog for next year. I am a bit nervous in doing so but I am sure that my students and other staff member can assist me if any problems arise.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I am surprised that I actually enjoyed participating in professional development. This was a very informative professional development and it was the best one that I have participated in.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I would like to have worked on fewer "Things" over the summer. I really would like to have developed lessons around each Thing.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?

YES.

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?

Innovative.

Thing #20

Thing #20 TeacherTube and You Tube:

YouTube is a great resource that we really should have access to in the district. I realize that there are many inappropriate videos on the website; however there is a multitude of valuable resources that are blocked. I am glad that we have Zamzar to convert the YouTube files into working files that we can show in the classroom, making YouTube a bit more accessible.

TeacherTube also has many educational videos that we can use in the classroom. I have placed a TeacherTube video of important events in American history.

Students also have the ability to upload videos to share into both websites. This allows students to view and share their projects with other students.

Thing #22

Thing #22 Nings:

I am a bit familiar with a Ning since our librarian sent out a link to the Ning she was using for summer school to our department (here is a link to what she sent: http://pblsummerschool.ning.com/). She wants to work with the social studies department next year to create a Ning for students to use to share project ideas, blog, and load pictures. We need to meet as a department to discuss this but I think it is a valuable resource to use as teachers. The students will enjoy using the Ning since it is a social networking site similar to facebook. I also think it is valuable for students to have an electronic work space for all of their projects and ideas.

I found the teacher Ning (http://teacherlingo.com/) a helpful resource. I like the community the Ning creates by providing a forum for educators to discuss topics in the classroom. I found some interesting discussion topics.

Thing #21

Thing #21 Podcasting:

Apparently I am familiar with podcasting (although I didn't know it). We have created both an Animoto and a PhotoStory in my classroom. I didn't realize that these were examples of podcasting. I plan on recreating both projects this year since the students enjoyed creating the project and I feel that they learned the content. Here is the PhotoStory I created as an example for our Louisiana Purchase project.


Thing #19

Thing #19 Web 2.0 Awards:

I searched Lulu since I have heard about it but was unfamiliar with the site. Lulu is a great Web 2.0 resource for the LA classes. I like how authors have the option to publish (and sell) their works on Lulu and amazon. This would be a website that I would want to promote to all of our aspiring authors.

I then searched Docstoc since this was the education winner. They had some very interesting docs on how to write a business letter that may be helpful in the LA classroom. I also like the fact that you can share out documents that you created. Our 7th grade students can publish their "how-to" brochures on the website.

I like how I found many of our 23 Things on the award site!

Thing #18

Thing #18: Online Productivity Tools

Google Docs: This is a great resource for teachers to use. I think it is an easy and effective way to share lesson plans and ideas with others in your department. The greatest use of Google Docs is the ability to edit and share out to others. I can also see students using Google Docs with one another when conducing research as a group or working on a cross-curricular project.

Open Office: I admit I didn't want to download it onto my computer so I just searched the site. Based on the information section, it seems that Open Office is similar to Google Docs.

I like how both allow the user to share the documents with others and that the work is accessible from any computer.

Thing #17

Thing #17 Rollyo:

This is a helpful tool for teachers to use when assisting students with research. I like the idea of providing a list of websites for the students to search and providing them with a search engine to search for a particular topic within the websites. The students still get to search but within the websites which we provide.

I searched Rosario Dawson's Rollyo on Latino Issues (since it was featured on the main page). I searched for education on the Rollyo and had several results.

I tried creating a Rollyo and it seemed very simple to create. It kept timing out on me but maybe that is due to my Internet server.