Summary of 23 Things

I am so grateful to the creator of 23 things. This website has taught me so much about technology that it will not only be useful now but also in my future.  As a future teacher, I will use all of the information that I have retained from these excercises to help me throughout my teaching career. I will also use some of the things I have learned with technology to help me through the rest of my education. My favorite things are Flickr, the home google page with all the links you want to keep up with, and I loved Animoto. Flickr was so neat on how you could take your own photos and decide if you want to share them or not. I thought Animoto was so wonderful in how short of time you could make a cute little slide show of your pictures and put it to music for free. I love how I can just go to my home google page and see everything I want to see from the weather, to my favorite teams, my favorite blogs, and so much more. I love 23 things and I will always look back at this website to help me throughout the rest of my life. Thank You! 

Thing # 23

I found that under Thing # 6 the author gives credit where credit is due for using a picture from Flickr.com. I think it is really important to give credit to the author and students of all ages should be taught this lesson early on in their education. Copying and pasting pictures onto a paper or something without giving credit to the author is like stealing someones personal property. As a future teacher I will teach a lesson on how copyright and creative commons are different. I will teach it in a way that is down to earth on their level so that they can understand the uses that can be used by giving credit to the author. A student who creates something of their own, wouldn't want everyone to use it or steal it, without giving credit to the owner. I think this is important for everyone.

Thing #22

I chose to look at Educational Podcast Directory and Podcast Alley. I really think Educational Podcast Directory is the best website out of the two I tried. I found a podcast on Educational Podcast Directory that was a mathematics how to use tools on the smartboard. My subject is math so I thought it was pretty interesting to learn the different tools on the smartboard that can be used for teaching math. It was called "Smart math tools 3." I think this is a great idea for my future classroom. I think I will listen to podcasts and get some ideas for my future classroom. I recommend that anyone becoming a teacher to listen to some podcasts and get ideas for your classroom.

Thing #21

I loved animoto! I thought it was really simple and easy. I would so purchase it if I had the money too. I think this is an awesome site for anyone that wants to make a slide show of pictures and put it to music. I chose to upload some older pictures of my family and friends. I thought it would be neat to put them all together so that I can go back and see my memories. I think this tool is neat for even an educational purpose also.



Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Thing #20

I have explored youtube many times and this is one of my role models. Marva Collins expresses how she feels about learning disabled kids and that no child should be told that they cant learn. This is a very educational video for an upcoming teacher to watch. I think if this website was to be used as part of the library it would definitely be educational from the aspect that you can see different speakers and learn form their experiences in their field of work. For example, I am an upcoming teacher and I think this you tube video is a perfect example of how educational some videos could be on this website.

Thing #19

I am on several online communities like; facebook, myspace, teacherpop, and twitter. My favorite by far though is facebook. I love facebook! I liked exploring the music portion like the project playlist and last.fm. I am a big fan of music it is pretty much one of my favorite hobbies is listening to music. I found teacherpop very interesting and I will definitely use it from her on out. It will be an awesome way to get ideas from teachers that are already teachers and to read and reply to upcoming teachers to let them know it is totally worth the hard work to become a teacher.












Visit TeacherPop

Thing #18

I have to say I love social networking. I have a myspace and facebook account. I enjoy both but I have to say after facebook was introduced to me that is my social network. Facebook is actually the only one I update and use on a day to day basis. Facebook has a lot of useful links and tools. I think it is important for educators to know about social networking because most parents will have a social network that they check regularly. Especially since it sends updates now through your cell phone in a text message. As an educator it would be a great way to communicate with parents, students, and other teachers to keep them updated on upcoming events. I enjoy pretty much everything about these sites.

Thing #17

I think Delicious is a neat tool. It is a way for educators to search and tag all kinds of different websites for the classroom. They can also collaborate with other educators and see how they get their information. I like how it is so simple to just hit tag on a toolbar and just by inserting keywords, you have your website tagged in Delicious. Then when you go to your own Delicious page all of your tags are on there and so convenient for you to just click on. Delicious can also be used as a site to keep your personal links and tags. My personal opinion about this site, is that it is definitely something I will plan to use in the future not only to keep up with my classroom materials but to get ideas and links from other Delicious users.

Thing #16

I chose to customize an iGoogle page and I love it. It is so neat to have everything you like on one page instead of having to track things all over the place. I am really big on NBA and it keeps me updated on all the NBA teams scores, standings, and when and what time the are playing. So I should never end up missing a game. I also tried Kiko for the calendars and I liked how it keeps track of your tasks. I would have to say that I will not use this website very much since technology allows me to keep all my appointments and tasks on my cell phone. I really thought the to do lists were amazing. I thought it was neat how you could keep track of certain paragraphs and things that interest you. In a future teachers shoes, I can say that all of these tools are very interesting and convenient. I will definitely use these resources to help me throughout my career.

Thing #15

I like using wiki in a school environment because you can post daily activities, homework assignments, newletters and any type of school events that are taking place. I also liked the fact that anyone can edit or add to a wiki making them up to date but I think that is also the downfall for some people. Some people try to be funny by using the edit option to out something in wiki that doesn't belong. So for reasearch options I would not use wikipedia for a reliable source. Teachers and parents can narrow the communication barrior by pulling up their wiki page to see what's goin on. I chose Thing #7 for the apsu23thingssandbox because Flickr can be used for your own perosnal use and for school related purposes. I really enjoyed putting my own pictures into the website and sharing them with others. For some reason when I chose to edit it wouldn't let me edit it to put my thing # 7 in the sandbox. I have been trying to edit it and I guess there is something wrong with the edit option. So therefore my thing # 7 is not in the sandbox.

Thing #14

I explored Gliffy for the flow chart website. It was very simple and easy to brainstorm ideas for a project. I could even use it as a college student for diagrams for presentations and much more. Students will have it so much easier on how to do their project diagrams made simple. As a teacher I could introduce this website to my future students so they can use this beneficial website. I also explored mind maps using bubbl.us. This website is a pretty neat website to use for brainstorming. It is very simple to just click on the tab option and make as many tabs as you need. I plan on using this if I ever need to show students in my future class how to make a mind map easy and simple to track your thoughts and ideas before writing them down into a paper.

Thing #13

My experience with ZOHO was amazing. I think that this is a perfect way for students and teachers who dont have microsoft office to use this web tool to access all of their documents and print them right from the page. As a future teacher I think that this website is a good website to save paper and pull up from ZOHO to show the class. It also gives the students an option to write a paper or make a presentation to pull up straight from this web site to show the teacher. It gives you the option to work online and access it straight of the internet. I really like the fact that it is free unlike a microsoft office package.

Thing #12

My experience with the different google tools was pretty fun and interesting. I tried the Calendar but I really didn't have enough dates to fill it up. So my favorite tools are the google translate and the Google alerts through email. I have a favorite NBA team so it will help alert me on games, statistics, and scores. I think the calendar is a wonderful tool because you can also have it as an app on your phone which will inform you of an appointment or anything that you want to be informed about off the calendar. I also subscribed to get alerts off of facebook. I believe this will be handy tool with google alerts to come through your phone. Especially as a teacher you can have it where if you have a facebook and the parents of your students are your friends it will instantly alert you with any comments or questions they might have. Also, if you give all parents at the beginning of the year an email; as they email you, google alerts will alert you on your cell phone to let you know that they have sent an email. On the google translate, I asked it to translate Where is your homework? I thought immediately this would come in handy for teachers that have students that speak a different language. The teacher can go to this website type in english what they want to say and it will tell you how to say it in a different language. Also it will do just the opposite by helping a student that doesn't speak english to be able to comprehend what the teacher is telling them. Pretty helpful tool!


Translate:
http://translate.google.com/#auto|es|Where%20is%20your%20homework%3F

Google Alerts!
http://www.google.com/alerts/manage?hl=en&gl=us

Thing #11

I found Technorati easy to use because it had all the topics listed at the top of the page such as business, lifestyles, sports, technology, politics, videos and blogging. I added entertainment feeds to my Google Reader because listening to music is like my main thing I like to do. I didn't care for Syndic8 it was a little confusing to me. It seems on the Technorati search tool is quick and finds new feeds pretty easily.  All you have to do is search through it lists to find what you are looking for. I have learned new stuff about this website and I just can't believe how much you can subscribe and get feed on through just one website.

Thing #10

I do not stay on the internet so I think that the Google Reader is handy but not for me. People who are big on the internet and check their email everyday can make this tool worth their while. As a teacher I could use the RSS to put all of my subsciptions and information or links for class. For my personal like I don't think I will be using this much only because it is too much for me to handle. I added NBC, the weather, facebook, Sportscenter, ESPN, and some others that I can't recall.

Thing #9

Exploring how to make different images with generators was very interesting. I think this is an awesome way to relate to what your students like. For instance, if you want to make something funny grab a cartoon comic strip with a cartoon they will all be familiar with to use in a powerpoint or as a lesson. These images you can make are great for personal use because you can create them and have them made into your own personal creation in your home. For instance, the smiley face generator gives you an option of making your personal creation into a a refrigerator magnet. I made my name out of pizza crust with this generator: Happy Face Generator

I thought that this name generator was pretty neat because you know pretty much every kid likes pizza.

Then, I went to the Custom Sign Generator which there I made a fake magazine cover. I took a picture of myself that had to do with being a good teacher. Here is my fake magazine day view:

Thing #8

I absolutely love making a mosaic it is just so fast and easy! This mosiac that I made was based on summer and lots of blue. I believe that this mosaic website and Flickr could be used to make pictures in the classroom that you can hang up. Flickr mashups can be used to have just a fun time with art and it could be a way to help the class get creative using these websites. Flickr is also really a good place to upload photos for personal use. Another way that you could use flickr in the classroom is to have the students upload pictures onto their own flickr's and then create a mosiac of their pictures to express and tell a little about themselves at the beginning of the school year. Great introduction project and presentation! Also, great for putting photos in a strip together for a science project or another school realted project. I think that sharing photos online is a great thing as long as people don't put too much of their personal life's pictures able to be viewed by public. I have some other mosaic pictures that I put together and I have one personal mosaic.

my personal picture mosaic: Link for personal mosiac

Thing #7

Tow Mater Tow Truck

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54780273@N04/tags/truck/

I enjoyed exploring flickr! It was a very fun experience. I thought it was going to be hard to add and upload photos to Flickr but it was really simple. I will definitely use Flickr to show my personal photos and let others use them. As far as using this in the classroom I think it is a great idea to show that the students themselves can create photos and use as an example of copyright so that they will understand what it really means. Flickr is the first photo site that I have used. I feel like I am famous to be able to be on a site like this with my own pictures for all people to see. I love how as the creator you get to come up with a tag, title, and a description of your own that noone can change. In this picture I was in Gatlinburg on my way up the mountains I saw a tow truck with tow mater on the side of it. So needless to say I tool the picture because I thought it was neat to see an actual tow truck with a disney pixar character on the side of it. You just don't see that very often.

Thing #6

Justin.TV: Link for anyone to check it out!!!
The tool that I choose off of the Web 2.0 awards list was justin.tv. Justin.tv is a website that  is a live video streaming service. A man named justin came up with an idea with putting a cam n his backpack and gets live feed where ever he goes. Also on this website you can chat live with simple ways to share the live content on blogs or social-networking sites. You can also broadcast yourself which would come in handy with school. As a teacher you could record a lecture if you weren't able to be in class or was sick. The students could post feedback on it as homework letting the teacher know that they watched it. I like pretty much everything about this site. It is really simple on creating an account all you need is a username, password, your birthdate and your email. Overall this website would come more being a form of technology communication for high school students.

Thing #5

Web 2.0 is very interesting to me on how the 2.0 just meant a new version which was basically reading and writing. Back in the day when the web first came to be it was just meant to retrieve information not recieve it too. Now the web is a necessity for most people. Social networking is really the main thing that everyone can stay online all night and day. Social networking is an easy way to get in touch or stay in touch with family and friends that live too far to visit very much. School 2.0 is basically similar to web 2.0 in reaching students as teachers in school and out of school. Technology in the classroom is a school 1.0. Technology at home to communicate with students to do with school work is a school 2.0. The students can comment the teacher and other students which will be a good method of communication. Also today everyone has cellular phones which have access to the internet or texting that will also be a good form of communication. I think in the future there will be a better form of solid communication in future schools.

Thing #4

Commenting helps to create a sense of community and interaction between bloggers. I read How to comment like a king(or queen!)-from the Coolcat Teacher Blog. On that blog I found that you should show the blog author that you hear them by commenting on just the simplest things. Another important thing about commenting is becoming part of the life of the blogger you are reading when your commenting. I commented on five peoples' blogs in my class Brittany Earhart, Whitley Brooke Smith, Amber Carver, Joshua Williams, and Britteny Slater. I choose these peoples' blog because I can relate to what they have  blogged. Their blogs are mostly interesting and caught my eye. I also choose two people out of my class to comment on their blogs which were Kortney Knight and Coley Hayes. I choose to comment on their blogs either because it was interesting or I agreed with it. I enjoyed reading their blogs!

Thing #3

In the future I might use a blog for my classroom to get their opinions on questions i could post. Most children are afraid like most adults to raise their hands and ask questions. So a blog might be one thing that could help get them out of their shell to propose their ideas about learning and stuff we go over in class. Another way that might be helpful with a blog in future education program would be to post stuff as a teacher of how they conduct the class, keep them involved in learning, and lesson plans. Students that are majoring in education might read their blogs, in which may help them to understand and use some of the same techniques that they use.

Thing #2

My experience in creating my blog and making my avatar was pretty simple with the instructions that were given on the 23 things website. I decided on my posting name by just putting my first name and what class it was but, then I realized that I could have made up a Blog title that would have been different and wasn't so obvious. In creating this blog the process was very simple. Although I did have some problems with connecting a new tab on the internet on a Mac everything else seemed to be very simple.
My avatar that I made reflects my personality by becoming and being a teacher as well. I teach at my church ages 4-6 years old. I feel in seeing that avatar people will know that I am serious in getting my degree and becoming a professional teacher. I created an avatar that looks like me basically except for the hair. I wish i had straight hair instead of curly and a little lighter color so I made my avatar like that.

Thing #1

Lifelong learning in my understanding is anything that people do that keeps their mind open to learning. The habit that is the easiest to me would have to be viewing problems as challenges. I really can't remember when I haven't viewed a problem as a challenge. I feel that this habit is a natural instinct to me. But, the hardest habit for me to do would be having confidence in yourself as a competent, and effective learner. This habit has been a problem for me since I was young. I have always looked at myself as I was not good enough. Now that I am becoming an adult It is still the hardest but it is a work in progress. In school, you always want to fit in and part of me fitting in was making jokes about myself. Which now that I look back on it I am thinking to myself how stupid, which again isn't a good word to think about myself.
In setting up this blog and learning all these tools to do with technology is definitely taking some time but I am liking it. The easiest thing so far in this project was creating an avatar for my blog. The hardest thing in this project would have to be writing what is on my mind and having everyone read it.