I think my favorite exercise from the 23 Things was the one involving Animoto. I really liked how easy it was to create videos. I also thought that the Livebinders exercise was helpful in learning how to organize online tools and materials for teaching.
The one thing that I would improve upon regarding the APSU 23 Things site is making sure that the links are up-to-date. It was very frustrating following a provided link only to discover that the page was gone. It was equally frustrating to successfully follow a link only to find out the site was not taking new members or will be shutting down soon. 2008 seems to be the most recent date on the webpage. Technology and the internet change a lot in a year, let alone four.
I have learned a lot about the internet and technology from the 23 Things. I plan on utilizing Creative Commons and LiveBinders in the future. I have also subscribed to numerous blogs and RSS feeds, which I plan to continue to follow. Other links and tools I will keep handy in case I need or want to utilize them as well.
Thanks so much!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Thing 23 - Creative Commons
Hmmmmm....
This is the first direction for this Thing:
"•Find an example or attribution that shows the Learning 2.0-23Things for Teachers blog was based on someone else's work and modified from its original."
I'm assuming that the missing term is "how" and that it should read:
•Find an example or attribution that shows how the Learning 2.0-23 Things for Teachers blog was based on someone else's work and modified from its original.
So that's what I'm going to do. :)
At the bottom of the the APSU 23-Things homepage there is a disclaimer which reads:
Note: This project is loosely based upon the website 43Things (which allows you to set and track personal goals) and the Stephen Abram article titled 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006).
I checked out the 43 Things website and discovered that it is something you register for and then create your own to-do learning list. Users write down what it is they would like to do this year and keep track of their progress through this website. They can even share their list with others via the Internet.
Next, I attempted to open the link for the "43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year" but it was no longer active. (sad face) So I did a search for the title using Google and found this link: www.kw.k12.mn.us/school198/genie179/.../43_things.doc which opens a word document of the article. At first I thought it was the original article, but I wasn't too sure when I came to Thing 29 which read: "Review the things you can do on our school website" and then listed the K12 website. So I am thinking that it was modified from the original.
The main difference between the APSU 23-Things and the original article is the number of things, 23 compared to 43. Since it was cut in half, the APSU list doesn't include all of the exercises that are found in the original. Also, in the directions of the article it directs the reader to register at the 43 Things website and make a list of things that they would like to learn in the year. The following list of 43 things are just some simple ideas that the author provided. I think it is neat how this list transformed into a learning activity.
Now that I know about Creative Commons licensing I will definitely utilize it as a teacher. It is a great way to share information. It is easy to see who should be given licensing credit and give them the credit. I think it is a great site, and that it is wonderful that so many individuals share their creations on it.
This is the first direction for this Thing:
"•Find an example or attribution that shows the Learning 2.0-23Things for Teachers blog was based on someone else's work and modified from its original."
I'm assuming that the missing term is "how" and that it should read:
•Find an example or attribution that shows how the Learning 2.0-23 Things for Teachers blog was based on someone else's work and modified from its original.
So that's what I'm going to do. :)
At the bottom of the the APSU 23-Things homepage there is a disclaimer which reads:
Note: This project is loosely based upon the website 43Things (which allows you to set and track personal goals) and the Stephen Abram article titled 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006).
I checked out the 43 Things website and discovered that it is something you register for and then create your own to-do learning list. Users write down what it is they would like to do this year and keep track of their progress through this website. They can even share their list with others via the Internet.
Next, I attempted to open the link for the "43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year" but it was no longer active. (sad face) So I did a search for the title using Google and found this link: www.kw.k12.mn.us/school198/genie179/.../43_things.doc which opens a word document of the article. At first I thought it was the original article, but I wasn't too sure when I came to Thing 29 which read: "Review the things you can do on our school website" and then listed the K12 website. So I am thinking that it was modified from the original.
The main difference between the APSU 23-Things and the original article is the number of things, 23 compared to 43. Since it was cut in half, the APSU list doesn't include all of the exercises that are found in the original. Also, in the directions of the article it directs the reader to register at the 43 Things website and make a list of things that they would like to learn in the year. The following list of 43 things are just some simple ideas that the author provided. I think it is neat how this list transformed into a learning activity.
Now that I know about Creative Commons licensing I will definitely utilize it as a teacher. It is a great way to share information. It is easy to see who should be given licensing credit and give them the credit. I think it is a great site, and that it is wonderful that so many individuals share their creations on it.
Thing 22 - Keeping it Together - Livebinders
Livebinders is a great Web 2.0 tool that allows teachers, parents or anyone to create online "binders" to organize and share websites, pdfs, word documents and digital images. It is a great tool for teachers, as it helps keep track of learning tools found on-line, as well as ones that are uploaded. Teachers can also create Livebinders filled with learning tools, homework helps, the classroom syllabus, etc. and embed it on their webpage for students to access. They can also install a binder onto classroom computers with activities for the students to do during class.
I set up an account with Livebinders and created three educational binders: Grammar, Creative Writing, and Research Writing. I have posted my Grammar binder here as an example. I'm just starting it, so it isn't very full yet. I'm sure it will fill up fast. I can also combine all my binders into one, create tabs for the three binder headings and then create sub-tabs beneath each. That is something I will definitely look into doing.
I set up an account with Livebinders and created three educational binders: Grammar, Creative Writing, and Research Writing. I have posted my Grammar binder here as an example. I'm just starting it, so it isn't very full yet. I'm sure it will fill up fast. I can also combine all my binders into one, create tabs for the three binder headings and then create sub-tabs beneath each. That is something I will definitely look into doing.
Thing 21: Animoto
Oh, my goodness! I totally love Animoto!! I had never heard of it before and, frankly, was a bit scared about creating a video. Then I learned you can create one from digital photographs. Awesome! It was so easy to do. I uploaded some more photos to my Flickr account. I decided that since it is December that I would do a Christmas Past album. I found some photos from when my kids were younger and up loaded them. Then I went to Animoto and chose a theme and song. The first one I picked was very upbeat. I uploaded my pictures by connecting with Flickr and arranged them to my liking. Unfortunately, I uploaded too many for the 30 sec video. I had to narrow it down to 9. (You can subscribe to Animoto and have longer videos. The 30 sec ones are free). Once I was done I clicked on the preview button, followed by the produce button.
My first video showed the photos very quickly. I thought perhaps it was due to the number of photos I had, so I made another video with a few less photos. It seemed to last a second or two longer on each photo. Since I was making another video I went ahead and chose a new theme and song. I think I like the second one better. It brings tears to my eyes and makes me feel nostalgic. I think it is due to the tempo of the music, as it is slower than the first one.
I went ahead and posted both videos on my Facebook page. It was quite easy as Animoto can connect with other social sites, like Facebook. It was so easy and fun to do, I can't wait to make more. I may even have to splurge on a subscription. :)
Here is the second video I made, entitled Christmas Past. Hope you enjoy it.
Try our video maker at Animoto.
My first video showed the photos very quickly. I thought perhaps it was due to the number of photos I had, so I made another video with a few less photos. It seemed to last a second or two longer on each photo. Since I was making another video I went ahead and chose a new theme and song. I think I like the second one better. It brings tears to my eyes and makes me feel nostalgic. I think it is due to the tempo of the music, as it is slower than the first one.
I went ahead and posted both videos on my Facebook page. It was quite easy as Animoto can connect with other social sites, like Facebook. It was so easy and fun to do, I can't wait to make more. I may even have to splurge on a subscription. :)
Here is the second video I made, entitled Christmas Past. Hope you enjoy it.
Try our video maker at Animoto.
Thing 20 - You, too, can Youtube
I've been to youtube before, but usually just through links friends share on Facebook. I decided to look and see if they have any School House Rock videos on Youtube. I remember it coming on T.V. Saturday mornings when I was a child and thought it would be fun to see some of those clips again. I was pleased to find that there are School House Rock Videos on Youtube and I watched through a few of them, taking a stroll down Memory Lane while doing so. I decided to share the video on adverbs.
I like how easy it is to search for things on Youtube and the recommendations that they show you to the right based on your current viewing. There is also a Guide tab which allows you to see what you have marked to watch later, your watch history, see your subscription, and a social option for connecting with some of the popular socail networking sites. I think that having a video library would be a great addition to any library website. It would defenitly be a plus if the videos were reviewed to ensure that frivolous videos were not included, making the search better.
I've added another School House Rock video to this blog because, frankly, I really like it. Enjoy!
I like how easy it is to search for things on Youtube and the recommendations that they show you to the right based on your current viewing. There is also a Guide tab which allows you to see what you have marked to watch later, your watch history, see your subscription, and a social option for connecting with some of the popular socail networking sites. I think that having a video library would be a great addition to any library website. It would defenitly be a plus if the videos were reviewed to ensure that frivolous videos were not included, making the search better.
I've added another School House Rock video to this blog because, frankly, I really like it. Enjoy!
Thing 19 - Beyond Facebook: Other Social Networks
I read about Gather and Ning for this posting. I applied to Teacher Pop, a site created by an individual at ASPU and a social networking site for teachers. Six days later... I am still waiting for my application to the site to be approved. I went ahead and re-applied, but am doubtful about getting a response soon. I'm just a little frustrated as I stopped doing my 23 Things Blog while waiting for my membership at Teacher Pop to be approved. I did not expect to be waiting for my approval six days after my application submission. There is nothing left for me to do at this point except to continue on. Hopefully, my membership will be approved by tomorrow so that I can include that in my posting.
I checked out Classroom 2.0 on Ning and applied for membership there, as well. I am still waiting for that membership to be approved, but I just submitted it. I was hoping that I would not have to wait for approval so that I could add a badge from there onto my blog. I also joined Goodreads. I joined this site the same day I applied to Teacher Pop (6 days ago). Thankfully, I did not have to wait for someone to manually approve my joining. (I do understand that the approval is to limit spammers)This site is really great for those who like to read. It gives you the option to rate 20 books that you have read and then will recommend books to you based on your preferences. It also connects with Facebook so that you can add friends and see what they are reading and what they recommend. They also have contests in which they give away new books and book sets.
I am not really a member of any other online communities. I hope to use Classroom 2.0 a lot in the future. So that's about it for this now regarding this post. Hopefully I will be able to update it tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Update:
I'm so excited because, even though I'm still waiting on approval, I was able to share the badges to Teacher Pop and Classroom 2.0. Woot! Woot!
Visit TeacherPop
Visit Classroom 2.0
I checked out Classroom 2.0 on Ning and applied for membership there, as well. I am still waiting for that membership to be approved, but I just submitted it. I was hoping that I would not have to wait for approval so that I could add a badge from there onto my blog. I also joined Goodreads. I joined this site the same day I applied to Teacher Pop (6 days ago). Thankfully, I did not have to wait for someone to manually approve my joining. (I do understand that the approval is to limit spammers)This site is really great for those who like to read. It gives you the option to rate 20 books that you have read and then will recommend books to you based on your preferences. It also connects with Facebook so that you can add friends and see what they are reading and what they recommend. They also have contests in which they give away new books and book sets.
I am not really a member of any other online communities. I hope to use Classroom 2.0 a lot in the future. So that's about it for this now regarding this post. Hopefully I will be able to update it tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Update:
I'm so excited because, even though I'm still waiting on approval, I was able to share the badges to Teacher Pop and Classroom 2.0. Woot! Woot!
Visit TeacherPop
Visit Classroom 2.0
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Thing 18 - Explore Social Networking
In my quest to explore social networking I created a Facebook page which may, eventually, be used for my profession. I am pretty familiar with Facebook, so I focused more on Twitter. I do not tweet and am not a Twitter follower, but I wanted to find out more information about it. I am now more familiar with Twitter and even know what all the # signs mean after reading up on it.
Twitter seems like a wonderful tool for businesses or well-known individuals. It gives its users the ability to broadcast their latest news and blog postings in short messages. Businesses can tweet about their latest ventures and reach a wide range of audience members. It can also be good for individuals that like to send out daily messages for others to read. If I did sign-up for Twitter I would probably look for inspirational Tweets to help get me through the day. As a teacher, however, I'm not sure that I would find Twitter very useful. I certainly would not be tweeting information. Perhaps I could follow other teacher's tweets, but I can follow other teachers without Twitter.
The bottom line, for me, is that I am not comfortable with Twitter. I don't want to Tweet information in 140 words or less. I don't want to be bombarded with Tweets from others who wish to tell me that they are now at Starbucks indulging in a Peppermint Mocha. In some ways I agree with the group of individuals who feel that there is too much useless information on the net. Tweeting, to me, is just adding to that pool. Sure, there are people who Tweet useful information, but there seems to be a lot more who don't. That's my opinion, anyway. Right now I am perfectly happy with Facebook and see no Tweeting in my future.
I don't know if I see a classroom application with these websites. The first consideration is, do the students have access to technological devices in order to even create a social networking account. After that, there are concerns with whether or not the parents wish to allow their children to even have an account.
Let's just say that the students have access through in-class laptops and that the social network used is exclusive to the school, which helps the parents agree to having their child create an account. What would it be used for in class? One could argue that it could be used to discuss assignments and projects, but it seems to me that there are other options for that. The one way that I could see it being used is to teach students how to use social networking. For instance, what they should and should not post, how to monitor their friend selection, and so forth.
It is important for educators to know how social networking works so that they can be aware of the issues that arise with it, and also so that they may utilize it in a positive way. Social networking is a powerful tool and needs to be thought of carefully before using it for classroom instruction.
With that I leave you with your Tweets and FB friends, reminding you to be mindful of your social networking messages.
Twitter seems like a wonderful tool for businesses or well-known individuals. It gives its users the ability to broadcast their latest news and blog postings in short messages. Businesses can tweet about their latest ventures and reach a wide range of audience members. It can also be good for individuals that like to send out daily messages for others to read. If I did sign-up for Twitter I would probably look for inspirational Tweets to help get me through the day. As a teacher, however, I'm not sure that I would find Twitter very useful. I certainly would not be tweeting information. Perhaps I could follow other teacher's tweets, but I can follow other teachers without Twitter.
The bottom line, for me, is that I am not comfortable with Twitter. I don't want to Tweet information in 140 words or less. I don't want to be bombarded with Tweets from others who wish to tell me that they are now at Starbucks indulging in a Peppermint Mocha. In some ways I agree with the group of individuals who feel that there is too much useless information on the net. Tweeting, to me, is just adding to that pool. Sure, there are people who Tweet useful information, but there seems to be a lot more who don't. That's my opinion, anyway. Right now I am perfectly happy with Facebook and see no Tweeting in my future.
I don't know if I see a classroom application with these websites. The first consideration is, do the students have access to technological devices in order to even create a social networking account. After that, there are concerns with whether or not the parents wish to allow their children to even have an account.
Let's just say that the students have access through in-class laptops and that the social network used is exclusive to the school, which helps the parents agree to having their child create an account. What would it be used for in class? One could argue that it could be used to discuss assignments and projects, but it seems to me that there are other options for that. The one way that I could see it being used is to teach students how to use social networking. For instance, what they should and should not post, how to monitor their friend selection, and so forth.
It is important for educators to know how social networking works so that they can be aware of the issues that arise with it, and also so that they may utilize it in a positive way. Social networking is a powerful tool and needs to be thought of carefully before using it for classroom instruction.
With that I leave you with your Tweets and FB friends, reminding you to be mindful of your social networking messages.
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