Thing 23.5 - Is it the End or Beginning?

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!

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Next, I attempted to open the link for the "43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year" but it was no longer active.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.  

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.

Grammar

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.

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!

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

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.

Thing 17 - Tagging and Social Bookmarking with Delicious

For this blog post I took a look at Delicious, an online social networking tool that allows the user to create bookmarks for links he/she is interested in.  The user downloads an icon that allows him/her to tag sites and enter keywords and descriptions to organize the sites.  This is a public site, so other users can access your bookmarks as well.  This is a useful tool for teachers because it allows them to search terms and see what other teachers have "liked" in an effort to create more interesting lesson plans.  The site can be accessed anywhere, so the user is not dependent on using a certain computer to access the information. 

I did a search of "educational technology" and found over 92,000 links.  Luckily, more than one keyword can be used to describe a link so I can narrow my search down to a more manageable size.  Beneath each link are a list of keywords used to describe it, so the user can get a better idea of what is contained in the link.  There is an "add" icon so that users can add the links from their search into their "My Links" list.  Users can also save their search if they wish to do so. Also, it is possible to follow other Delicious users.  So, if I find a teacher who is teaching the same subject and grade level as myself, and I find their tags useful and interesting, I can add them to my feed and follow them.

If you are familiar with Pinterest you have an idea of what Delicious is all about.  However, with Delicious, one does not have to wait for an invitation.  You can sign-up today. :)   

Thing 16 - Get Organized with Web 2.0 Tools

For this post I was to look at different Web 2.0 tools that help the user create online start pages, to do lists and a third of my choosing.  I started off with the start pages.  First, I looked at iGoogle since I already have a Google account.  The initial setup looked fairly simple, however I was drawn to the little blurb that stated that iGoole will no longer be available after November 1, 2013.  So I went to check out Pageflakes.  Hmmm....that page was down.  Next I tried Netvibes.  It looked a bit intimidating.  It was interesting that different plans could be purchased for business use.  However, it felt a little too complex for me.  So, I ended up back at iGoogle.  I created a start page and I really like it.  It does make me sad that it will no longer be around in a year.  I might use it until then, however.  I won't make it my homepage since I share a computer with the rest of my household.  But it is nice to be able to see everything I need on one page.  I would recommend this start page if it wasn't retiring in a year.

I already use an online calendar through Google, which is why I opted for the to do list. Online calendars are very useful, especially if you have to plan activities with other individuals. My husband and I both use google calendar so that we can view each other's appointments. My brother created one and added all the extended family members birthdays to it, which he opened up to all the family members. Online calendars are a great way to share activities with a group of people.

Next I went to create a to do list.  I tried Ta da list first.  I was once again met with notification that the site is retiring.  They are no longer accepting new members.  So I went to Remember the Milk.  I was able to create an account with them and made a to do list for my classes on it.  I like how there are different tabs: personal, study, work, all lists.  It is neat that I am able to e-mail the list or log in and look at it any time, any where.  I was even able to add my list to the start page that I created.  Nice!  It was very easy to set up and create.  As someone who has things scattered about, it is a great way to keep track of everything in one spot.  I would recommend Remember the Milk to anyone who needs or likes to create to do lists.

I then browsed the other Web 2.0 tools to search for something else to try.  Many of them I had already looked at for earlier 23 Things assignments.  I decided to try Empressr which allows the user to create slides and slide shows.  Unfortunately I had trouble creating an account.  The "submit" icon seems to be bugged at the moment.  So I was unable to create an account and give it a try.  Instead I opted for the PDF converter.  It was very simple to use.  I selected a file, uploaded it, and then selected "convert".  I only had to wait a few seconds for my file to be converted into a PDF.  It was very quick and easy to use.

Thing 15 - What in the World is a Wiki?

So I watched the you tube video on about wikis Wikis in Plan English and looked at some of the wiki links posted on the APSU 23 things site Thing 15.  The video was very simple and easy to understand :)  I logged into APSU 23 Things Sandbox Wiki and added a post.  It took me a minute to figure out what I needed to do to be able to edit or add to the site.  Once I figured that out I was able to easily copy and paste a selection from my blog onto the site.  I even changed my font color a little bit. 

I found that wiki's are similar to blogs very interesting.  The main difference is that there are many authors involved in creating a wiki, while usually only one creates a blog.  I liked the link to the classroom wiki that a high school uses.  Wiki's could be used in the classroom by allowing students to add to and edit ideas on particular subject.  For instance, if my class was reading a novel I could create a wiki for them to collaborate on various aspects of that novel.  Although this is a neat idea, however, I'm not sure I would really use it in the classroom.  There are so many wonderful technological tools to choose from and I need to make sure I choose wisely.  Perhaps, once I've been teaching for awhile, using a wiki in the classroom will be a tool that I choose. 

Thing 14 - Go with the Flow

For this blog post I played around with Gliffy and Bubbl.us in an effort to create a flow chart and a mind map.  The first application that I tried was Gliffy.  This is a flowchart creator.  I created a writing process flow chart using this application.  It was pretty simple to use.  I soon learned how to place shapes, color them, move them around and enter text in them.  I was disappointed that there was no down arrow in the shapes.  (If there is one, I was unable to find it.)  My end result was a pretty basic looking flowchart.  I attempted to save it but it required me to sign-up for a 30 day free trial.  So I did not save it.  I did look into the pricing for Gliffy and found it to be a bit steep for my purposes.  A standard account is $4.95 a month and allows the user to create 200 diagrams with 200 Mb of storage.  The Pro version is $9.95 a month and include unlimited diagrams and storage. 

I then moved on to Bubbl.us to create a mind map.  I liked this tool much better.  I created another chart on the writing process.  I liked how the bubbles could connect together in different ways and that I could move them around.  I did not have to sign-up for a free trial in order to save my creation.  I just had to sign-up for a free account.  Ah, much better.  So I did sign-up and I saved my little mind map. 

As you can see, the bubbles change color to reflect their level on the map.  I like how I was able to link some pre-writing strategies underneath the heading "Pre-writing".  This chart turned out much better than my first one and with no obligation need by me to create.  I love, love, love it.  It would be a great tool to utilize for teaching. 

Thing 13 - Web Based Appllications

For this assignment I was to look at Zoho Writer and Google Doc's, compare them and tell how I might use them in the classroom.  I downloaded Zoho Writer and gave it a go first.  I was a bit disappointed in it.  First of all, it isn't very clear what you are creating.  I thought I was creating a document and it turned out I was creating a chat...I think.  The title of my document was "Just Playing Around" so when I realized that it might be a chat topic I was a little concerned.  I quickly went to figure out how to shut it down. Once I completed that task I did find the word processor and attempted to type something on it.  I quickly learned that the word processor is very sub par.  The cursor does not line up correctly.  It was above the line I was actually on, and over a few spaces.  So when I clicked on a word that I wanted to delete an tried to delete it other words were deleted instead.  Not the best thing for a word processor to do.  I made a note to myself to delete my account on Zoho and went to investigate Google Docs.

What is more frustrating than clicking on a link only to find out that it is outdated?  That is how I felt when I clicked on the Google Docs link and was redirected (numerous times according to my browser history) to Google Drive.  I then searched for Google Docs on Google in an effort to insure that I was accessing the correct application. I soon realized that I was, indeed.  Google Docs had been updated and is now referred to Google Drive.  Google Drive includes its own memory for any documents, spreadsheets, drawings, etc. that the user creates on it.  The user is also able to save documents sent to them by other users.  This drive can be accessed from numerous devices so that the user does not have to rely on one location to access information.  Pretty cool.

I downloaded Google Drive and watched the video on it.  I then looked through some of the things that one can create on it.  They include documents, spreadsheets, forms, drawings and presentations.  I decided to create a drawing and played around with some of the tools for a bit.  Once it was clear that my artist abilities would not be shinning forth, I went on to create a quote on top of a picture.  I found a quote that I liked, related to my field and then looked in Creative Commons for an image to add to it.  Here is my end result:

After reviewing both Zoho and Google Docs it is clear that Google Docs (Drive) is a better choice to utilize in the classroom.  Students can create and share easily thanks to Google Drive.  Their creations can include word documents, drawings, spreadsheets and presentations.  If they are working in groups, they can easily create documents and send them to other group members for review and collaboration.  It can also be used to create assignments which can then be turned in to me via Google Drive for grading.  Of course this is all dependent on the access students have to computers, but is a great possibility.  I would definitely look into using Google Drive. or something similar, in my classroom.

Thing 12 - Google is Not Just for Searching Anymore

For this exercise I played with Google calendar and Picasa.  I was already a little familiar with Google calendar, bur recently got a new cell phone and I was having trouble sharing my calendar with my husband.  This exercise got me to take a closer look at Google calendar and the calendar on my cell phone.  I discovered that the reason why my calendar events weren’t being synced with my husband’s and went about correcting it.  Evidently, the calendar on my phone is not sharable. So I was able to set up the Google calendar on my phone and I am now able to share my schedule with my husband electronically.  That is one thing I really like about Google calendar.  I’m not sure how Google calendar could be used in the classroom.  I really would not want to share my schedule with anyone other than my family. 

Since I set up a Google+ account I already have an album on Picasa that contains some of the pictures I shared while completing other Web 2.0 assignments.  However, it was not installed on my computer.  I installed it on my computer so that I could upload some more photos.  I did not realize, however, that it would want to import all the photos on my hard drive into the software.  At first I thought that it was uploading them all and I was not too happy about it.  I then realized that it is actually photo software on your computer and that you can choose which photos to upload.  Hey, I never said I was a computer genius, lol.  I selected a photo and uploaded it and played with the paintbrush and affects tools. They are pretty neat.  You can view the photo here   Picasa could be used to create fun pictures for presentations and material. 

Thing 11 - Finding Good Feeds

For this blog post I went about using different methods and tools in order to find some feeds to subscribe to on my reader.  I found a few feeds on Edublog Award Winners.  It was pretty easy to find feeds at this site.  I just looked for feeds that dealt with language arts and/or education.  I was also able to find some good ones using Google Blog Search.  I just entered the term “language arts” and a list of related blogs appeared for me to view. 

I was also able to find some great blogs using the Google Reader search tool.  I entered “language arts” into the search field and blogs relating to that topic popped up.

I also tried to find some feeds using Topix.net and Technorati.  I wasn’t very successful at finding feeds through these two tools, however.  I am guessing it is because they deal more with news feeds than with blogs.  Another issue that I had dealt with blogs posted using Wordpress.  When I found a good blog that used Wordpress the RSS link didn’t add it to my reader. Instead, the site wanted me to subscribe via e-mail.  I had to copy and paste the URL into the reader in order to subscribe to it on my reader. 

Some useful feeds that I discovered during my search are Teaching English Language Arts and Teaching Using Web 2.0.  The Teaching English Language Arts contains a great deal of information.  Not only is there information regarding teaching English, but also a section with advice for new teachers and professional development.  Teaching Using Web 2.0 has some great blogs to include writing an introduction and teaching short stories.  One of the more unusual blogs that I found is Learning.now.  It contains posts on school reform, current court cases involving teachers, and new legislation regarding Education.

Thing 10 - RSS Reader and Feeds

I had never heard of RSS before this class.  I am amazed at how easy it easy to subscribe to blogs and news pages and get them delivered to your reader.  I went to set up my Google reader and discovered I already had one thanks to my Google account.  What a nice surprise!  At a click of a button I can now have articles that I’m interested in delivered to me.  I think it is wonderful!

I can see myself subscribing to blogs related to my teaching subject area so that I can learn more about what other teachers in my area do to help their students learn.  It is a great way to share ideas, information and inspiration.  In my personal life, I can use RSS and Google Reader to learn more about things that interest me.  The pool of knowledge has just increased significantly for me and I couldn’t be happier.

Thing 9 - Online Image Generators

For this post I played around with two of the recommended online generators, Happy Face Generator and Image Chef.  It was fun to create with both of these.  Happy Face Generator allows you to create smiley faces with personalized messages.  There are tons of different styles of faces to choose from. You can also make logos with the generator.  I made two happy faces. I picked out a few smiley faces that I liked and added text to them.  Then I saved the pictures on my computer.   I wanted to make a logo, but the site went down while I was creating it.  So no logo L .  This generator can be used to create signs and reminders for around the classroom.  Material can also be presented on it and hung up around the classroom.

 

The Image Chef is really a cool site.  You can design sketchpads, Timeline covers, and photo frames, as well as use the Poetry Blender or Word Mosaic.  My favorite is the Word Mosaic which takes the words that you enter and forms a picture out of them.  There are several shapes to choose from for your picture.  You can also customize the colors.  I had fun with it.  My word mosaic includes the words "language arts", "mind" and "bloom" as well as a flower symbol.  They are arranged in the shape of a bouquet.

 

 

 

 
I also enjoyed the Poetry Blender, which allows you to post a phrase, choose the background and some of the colors.  It states that you can also add photos, but I didn’t get a chance to play around with that.  I simply found a quote that I liked and played with the placement of the words until I liked the results.

ImageChef.com

 

Also, I registered with the site.  If you register you can save your creations.  You can choose whether you want to share them publicly or not.  I can see this generator being utilized to create images for a presentation.  You could add it to a PowerPoint for some extra flare.  Or you could create something with the Word Mosaic, print it, and hang it up in class, or even copy it onto handouts.  I can see myself doing that with the one I made for Language Arts.

Thanks for reading.

Thing 8 - Flickr Mashups

This blog is dedicated to Flickr mashups and third party tools.  I chose two sites from the ones listed to play and experiment with.  This took much more time than I thought it would.  I spent about a day on it and experienced various levels of frustration.

First, I had to decide which mashups/tools that I wanted to use.  I was disheartened when I would find one that sounded fun and interesting only to find out that I had to purchase it or that it was only available to use on an iPhone.  I finally found one that was free and available to use on my PC, Blubblr. 

Bubblr is a mashup where users can create cartoons using Flickr photos.  You can create just one slide or many slides.  A search tool is available to search the Flickr commons for photos to use.  I searched “cats” and “funny cats” to create my cartoon.  Three text bubbles are available to place on the photos that you choose.  They are a speech bubble, thought bubble and a rectangle box.  It was pretty easy to create.  The hardest part was picking out photos and thinking of what to write.

This mashup would be good to use in class for an introduction to a new subject area.  It can also be used to create silly reminders for the students.  It is a tool that can add some fun to directions, reminders, or subject matters.

 

 

 

The next mashup that I found is Trippermap.  This mashup takes your photos from Flickr and puts them on a flash map that you can use on blogs and websites.  There is a free version, as well as a premium version.  The free version allows you to place fifty locations.  The premium version, which costs $9.75 annually, includes unlimited locations, route lines, Google earth link, custom colors, Google map version, first priority in scanning Flickr photos and EXIF support.  For my map, I utilized the free version.

To start, you need to create a Trippermap account, which was easy to do.  Then you enter your e-mail for Flickr and Trippermap pulls your public photos with location tags and places them on the map.  It is much easier to tag your photos first, before setting up the Trippermap account, as I discovered the hard way.  If you follow their directions it has you place your photos on the Flickr map and says it will pull those photos onto your Trippermap.  I did this and waited for it to scan the photos only to discover an empty map.  I went back into Flickr and tagged my photos and had Trippermap rescan them and eventually they appeared on the map.

The downside of this tool is that you have to tell Trippermap to rescan or scan for new photos when you want to add more to your map.  This takes some time to do.  It took a few hours for me.  With the free version there was nothing indicating that the photos were being scanned (like a bar).  I just left my Trippermap account open and waited.  I don’t think it had finished scanning when I selected “get my map”, but I had a handful of photos on my map, which was good enough at this point.  The tool advises that it will send you an e-mail when your map is ready, which it did the first time.  However, I never received another notification after I had it rescan my photos.

I’m sure that once you get the hang of it, Trippermap would be much easier to use.  For me, it was just too time consuming and frustrating.  Tagging your photos in Flickr with their geographic location when you upload them will allow a smoother experience.  I don’t think that I would use this tool in my personal life or as a teacher.  It may be a good tool for a geography class, or, perhaps, if students are reading about someone’s travels.  I just kept thinking that Flickr has a map tool so why use this.  The only plus is that you can post it on a blog or website.  Of course, if you spring for the premium version, you can customize the map as well.

There are many different mashups and tools available online.  I’m sure if I took the time I could find more to use in a classroom setting.  It would help if I had a specific type of tool in mind that I was looking for rather than just blindly searching.

 

 

Side note:  Of the photos I shared online, I did not include any with people in them.  I just don’t feel comfortable sharing pictures of my family to the world. 

Thing 7 - Explore Flickr

Stormy Sky, a photo by kymomof3boys on Flickr.

I decided to upload some of my photos to Flickr for this blog. I had never used Flickr before and found it easy to set up an account and upload pictures. One thing I didn’t like was the size of my thumbnails while searching for photos to share. However, I eventually found where to change the view to extra large and that enabled me to see my photos better.

I’m not sure that I will use Flickr for the classroom. If I do it will be more for a tool for them to use to find pictures. I can’t think of any reason that I would need to show them a slide show, but if one came up I may use Flickr for that.

In Thing 6 I tried the Google+ photo sharing site. I liked how I could edit my photos and change the look of them with special effects. Flickr seems like a site to share photos after they have been edited. I suppose that it is a good way to share photos with family and friends. There is just something about posting them on a website that I’m still not 100% comfortable with. It just seems strange to have people I don’t know view the photos. I have used Snapfish, but that was more to order digital prints. They delete the photos if orders are not placed in awhile.

I did mark all of the photos that I uploaded as public since no one is in the photos. Most of them are average, but there are a few good photos in there. I was hoping to post some better ones, but, alas, those seem to be on another hard drive.

The photo that I did post reflects the beauty and power of nature. I hope you enjoy it.

To see more of my photos on Flickr check out this Life in Hawaii Flickr Set

~ Penny

Thing 6 - Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

This blog posting is all about a discovery Web 2.0 tool that I selected from the 2009 Web 2.0 awards (Web 2.0 Awards).  I chose the Picnik site (Picnik) as I had heard the instructor talking about it.  Also, I have a huge amount of digital pictures so I was interested in learning more about a Web 2.0 platform that utilizes photographs and videos.  I selected the link only to discover that as of April 19, 2012, Picnik merged into Google+.  So I went about exploring Creative Kit in Google+ (Creative Kit Google+) as many of the popular features of Picnik are now part of it.  Plus, I already had a Google+ account which has been gathering dust for some time.  It was exciting and informative to learn about using it as a platform to share my pictures and videos.

With Google+ you can not only upload pictures but you can also edit, share and create albums.  Videos can be uploaded as well.  One characteristic that I like about it is that the level of security can be changed between four different levels.  There is a public level which is open to the public.  An extended level allows for people in your circle to view the uploads as well as those individuals in your friends’ circle.  The limited level only lets those who you share your uploads with to view them.  Finally, there is an “Only You” level in which only the creator can view.  A draw back of the security levels is that if you change the viewing level to a stricter level all the comments and posts will be deleted.  So it is best to make sure the security level is set to the level you want to keep your uploads at.

If you have an Android or iOS cell phone you can upload photos from it to edit and share later.  All you need is the app to do this.  This can be very handy if you take a lot of pictures or video with your cell phone and would like to transfer it to your computer but are not near one.  Of course you can share directly with your phone, as well as add photos to albums that have already been created.

I uploaded a few pictures into the tool and played around with them a bit.  I really liked the amount of special effects that are available.  Not only can you add a special effect to your photo but you can play around with the settings of that effect in various ways.  There is also an auto fix tool that will correct the exposure of your photograph.

Your friends or family don’t have to have a Google+ account to view your photos or videos.  You can e-mail them a link so that they can view them.  They are able to download the pictures and videos as well.  This is nice for family and friends who live far away.  There is also a setting if you wish to disallow viewers from downloading your photographs, if you with to do so.  (However, if you share it as an link in an e-mail it must be unlocked to work.)

Name tags, comments and captions can be added to photos or videos via the side bar.  Individuals that you invite to view your photos can also tag them.  However, if someone outside of your circle wishes to tag someone you must grant permission for them to do so.  Supposedly you can tag people who are not in your Google+ circle.  I tried to tag someone who is not a member of my Google+ circle, but had a numerous individuals pop up with no way of knowing which one was my friend.  Consequently I nixed that idea.

Another thing that I really like about Google+ is the ability to create different circles of contacts.  This allows the user to share photos and videos with a certain circle.  Of course you can share with as many of your circles as you want.  I thought this would be neat to have as a teacher because I could share class related material with only my class circle.  However, the students would have to be connected to Google+ in order for me to do it this way, which may be challenging to set up.  I would still be able to do it in link form in an e-mail, however.

Overall I think it is a good platform to share photos and videos.  It has some really cool features and good security.  Even if I can’t include all my students in a circle or e-mail them links, I can still use it in class for presentations if I wanted. 

Thing 5 - Percpectives on Web 2.0/School 2.0 and Future Education

For this blog I read  Web 2.0 Wikipedia and also Web 2.0: A Guide for Educators.  I tried to look at some of the other links posted under the directions for this topic, but found them to either have been removed or no longer linking to the topic.

 I have been using Web 2.0 for quite awhile, not realizing that it had a formal name.  It was very interesting to read how all the interactive platforms on the internet are covered with this simple term. Web 2.0 allows users to interact with each other through social media platforms, blogs, podcasts, videos, and photographs. I think it is amazing that people from all over the world can interact with each other so quickly and easily.

Web/School 2.0 is an amazing resource for education.  Students and teachers have a world of information at their finger tips.  They are able to correspond with one another where ever there is internet and a device to connect them to it.  Blogs, podcasts, and a variety of other platforms, can be utilized in an effort to teach and learn quickly, easily and efficiently.  “School 2.0” means to me the ability for both students and teachers to “go to class” with out having to actually enter a classroom.  It offers more freedom and flexibility to the education world.

 It is important to note, however, that it also opens up a great deal of information to other individuals.  Internet safety is a great concern, as it should be. Unfortunately, some individuals use the information presented on Web 2.0 to threaten, intimidate and even harm others.  There for, it is important for everyone using the platforms available on Web 2.0 or School 2.0 to be aware that others may be peeking in.

 Also, not everything presented on Web 2.0 is true.  It is important to check sources out before trusting them.  As noted by one of the articles, anyone can post anything.  I found it interesting that some individuals find the freedom that it offers to be too free.  They are concerned with the internet filling up with “junk”.  Sometimes, that junk does make it more difficult to find the information one is searching for, but overall I believe that the benefits of Web 2.0 far outweigh the drawbacks.     

 In the future, I think more and more schools will utilize the benefits of Web/School 2.0.  Students in some middle schools already have laptops that they can use in class for class work and projects.  I think that over time this will happen in elementary schools as well. Technology is such an important part of our every day lives and I believe it will continue to grow in importance.  The main concern is the ability to equip students and teachers with the technology so that they can use it.   

Thing 4 - Why Commenting is Important

In this fourth blog post I will share some useful information that I found on blogging and how it helps connect individuals.  I will also reveal seven blogs that I am now following, providing some posts that I left on their page.  Happy reading! 

Commenting on a blog helps to create a sense of community as individuals share ideas, thoughts, perspectives and opinions.  This sharing allows individuals to get to know each other on a more personal level.  By responding to a blog, an individual is continuing the discussion topic of that blog.  It gives the blogger an opportunity to, perhaps, look at the topic in a different way or to expand on the topic in greater detail.  Through the interactions on blogs, a virtual community forms.

When responding to a blog, it is important to share something meaningful in your response.  This tells the author of the blog how their message was understood and gives the blogger more information on the thoughts and ideas of the topic covered. The blogger can then respond in a meaningful way back.  This meaningful sharing is what fosters a blogging community.

As a blogger it is important to let your readers know that comments are welcome and encouraged.  Setting some boundaries regarding the comments will help encourage readers to blog back, as it eases fears of responding in an unwanted way.  When a reader does blog back it is important to recognize their response in a gracious and humble way.  A blogger will be seen in a more favorable light by encouraging responses and responding to them in a gracious manner.

The five blogs that I picked to follow in class are: SamplesofLearning, Vanessa Green 23 Things,  Mr Hirtle Tech Blog, Cool School Mccoy and Crane's US Hist Tech. I also chose I sixth one as one to follow, Live Learn Moore.  For my final blog choice I was able to find an English teacher’s blog that was very interesting and informative, Teacher Nuha's English Blog.

The blogs from class I chose because they were interesting and I wanted a variety of different ones.  Many of them had welcoming pages and showed a sense of humor in their postings.  All of them are fun to read and informative.  I chose Teacher Nuha’s blog because I wanted to follow an experienced English teacher’s blog.  I feel that it will open my mind up to new ways and ideas of using a blog to connect with students and others who may take interest in my blog.

I posted the following responses on the Samples of Learning - Thing 1:

I just wanted to let you know that I love your blog name. You found a great way to add your name into the title. I also enjoyed reading how you relate learning to a plant. You have to keep watering and fertilizing your mind with knowledge so that it can bloom. Awesome metaphor.

I posted this because I wanted to let the author know how much I enjoyed the name of her blog as well as her metaphor for learning. 
 
SamplesofLearning - Thing 2:

Paige, I had the same feelings about blogging that you shared. Who would be interested in what I have to say? And setting up a blog must be difficult and time consuming. I have to say that setting up the blog was not as difficult as I thought. I do enjoy reading your blog. Take care.

I wanted to share with Paige that I shared similar feelings about blogging.  I also wanted to let her know how much I do enjoy reading her blog.

I posted the following on Vaness Green 23 Things - Thing 1:

Vanessa, I really enjoyed reading how you found some of the habits of life long learning in during your experience in learning to play the classical guitar.  Thank you for sharing your struggle and how you over came it.  It was a great way to get to know you and how you were able to achieve something that you really wanted to do.  Thank you for sharing.

I really liked how she shared one of her learning experiences and applied the 7 ½ habits of learning to that experience.  It allowed her readers to get to know her on a deeper level as well as explained how the habits of learning helped her.

On Mr Hirtle Tech Blog - Thing 3 I wrote:

Some of your comments bring a smile to my face which makes reading your blog fun. (Like your comment on blogging the 23 things)  I think it is interesting that you teach tech and yet don't really use it that much (I believe you stated that in an earlier post).  I kind of felt the same way that you did about blogging.  I didn't want too share too much information about myself.  I think, in my case, however, it was more of a "who would want to read it?" mind set.  I like your idea of a blog pate to share comments and observations on your class.  It is good that you are aware of the blog being public so that you do not reveal too much.

I wanted to let him know that his comments were fun as a way of encouraging his blog postings.  I found it interesting that a tech teacher didn’t really utilize tech that much.  It seemed like a rare thing to me so I wanted to mention that.  I also wanted to relate to him that I too shared some concerns about starting a blog.  I thought mentioning this would help connect to him as a blogger.

After reading the first few posts on Cool School McCoy - Thing 2 I replied:

I like the name of your blog, very catchy.  Mine is extremely boring compared with most of the blog titles in class.  I really had a case of writer's block.  I think that it is great that you have blogged a lot.  This class is my first experience with blogging.  I love your confidence and your sense of humor.

She mentioned that she had a case of writer’s block when she thought up the name for her blog, but I think she did a good job at naming it and I wanted to let her know.  I regret that my blog’s name is so plain and boring.  I also think it is great that she is an experienced blogger.

A fifth blog from class that I chose to follow is  that of Barrett Crane, Crane’s US HIST – Tech Experience.  I posted the following on his blog Crane's US Hist Tech - Thing 3:

 I think you made a good point in that using blogging as a teaching tool will allow greater reflection time for students.  That is certainly true and something that I didn't really think about.  Keeping students' access to computers and the internet in mind is especially important. I mentioned that in my blog as well.  A blog page is very useful, but only if the students can access it.  I also liked your comment in an early post about treating the blog like a journal.  I think it is one in many ways.  However, it is better as other individuals can comment and add to the topic.

I wanted to share how I thought the blogger made a good point on reflection time and students’ access to the computer.  Also, on an early blog post he mentioned that he would treat the blog like a journal, which I think is a good idea.  I wanted to share my agreement with him.

Since I don’t know how to search for blogs yet, and had poor results when I attempted on my own, I decided to go ahead and pick two more bloggers from class.  The next one I chose was Satricia Moore’s blog, LiveLearnMoore.

I wrote the following on her blog post in response to how she can use a blog for teaching Live Learn Moore - Thing 3:

I also liked your idea of posting experiments related to the lesson that the students could do at home.  That is an excellent idea.  I also liked how you pointed out that you can use your blog to connect with other instructors.  Although I've been looking for blogs from other teachers in my subject area, I didn't consciously make that connection.  Thank you for your ideas.

I did find an English teacher’s blog that looked interesting to follow, Teacher Nuha's English Blog.  I did not post directly to her site as it appears that she uses it to interact with her students.  I did, however, send her an e-mail message.

Teacher Nuha,

I am currently enrolled at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN in there Master of Arts in Teaching program.  I have a Bachelor’s degree in English and I have decided to use it to become a secondary English teacher.  I am currently taking a technology class to learn how to incorporate technology into the classroom.   As part of the class we are required to create a blog and to also find some blogs that interest us to follow.  I was excited when I came across your blog.  I have very limited teaching experience (substituting) and, at times, feel lost.  You have a lot of helpful information in your blog. It is interesting to read about your topics on your blog.  It is a great motivator and encourager for me.  Thank you for sharing your blog.  I look forward to reading more of it.

Best Wishes,

Penny Kramer

I sent this e-mail to Ms. Nuha to let her know that I find her blog helpful and informative.  I introduced myself and explained what encouraged me to look for blogs and how happy I was to find hers.  I hope that this provides some positive encouragement to her.

That ends this post on blogging.  I hope that you enjoyed reading it.  Please share with me any comments or suggestions that you might have.  Thanks so much!

 

 

 

 

Thing 3 - Register Your Blog

The title of Thing 3 is a bit misleading as it is not about registering my blog.  It is, in fact, about ways in which I can see myself using a blog in my teaching.  An obvious use is keeping my parents up-to-date with what we are doing in class.  I can blog about the lesson for the day and what the students are learning.  Another way to use a blog in the classroom is to have the students create their own blog for creative writing purposes.  Of course this would depend on whether or not the students have computer access in the classroom.  As a secondary English teacher, however, I do see some great potential in using blogging to further my students' writing and education.

Thing 2 - Create a Blog and Post an Avatar

In this post I am to explain how I decided on my posting name and the name of my blog, as well as my experience creating my blog.  Also, how did I choose the look of my avatar.

I believe I posted about the name of my blog and creating my blog under Thing 1, as I read that to be included in that post.  However, I will cover it again, perhaps in more detail, here.

I came up with the name "KramerMAT" by trying to think of something that had part of my name in it along with something that connected it to my class.  I wanted my last name to be part of it so that it would be easier for my instructor and fellow students to identify me.  A major part of my identity at the moment is that I am an MAT student.  I combined the two to come up with my posting name.  When I created the name of this blog I had the same concerns.  I wanted my name to be part of it as well as an identifier for the class.  "Kramer's 23 Things" seemed like the most obvious choice.

Creating the blog was very simple.  I had no idea that blog generators were out there that are free.  The hardest part of creating the blog was deciding on the background.  Which should tell you how easy it is to do.

The avatar that I created is based on how I look.  I am me and don't want to pretend that I look different.  I wanted an avatar that represented me as closely as possible.  I chose a red top because I like red and it looks good on me.  I would have liked one with sleeves, but didn't see one I liked.  So sleeveless it is.  Black pants are always a winner.  The avatar that is there now is actually the second one I made.  The first one had on black glasses and was minus the dog.  I usually wear contacts and only breakout my glasses occassionally.  When I created the first avatar I had been wearing my glasses for a few months due to various reasons.  Once I was back in my contacts I decided to update my avatar.  I took the glasses off and added a dog.  Why a dog?  Well, I wanted to add something to her.  Her arms looked funny and she seemed all alone.  I have a wonderful dog for a pet and decided to put her in.  Although she is black, not brown.  I tried to alter the coloring of the dog, but to no avail.  So there's my avatar, closley resembling me, with a brown dog which looks nothing like my dog.  LOL.  I did try to put books in place of the dog, but the books are HUGE.

Thing 1 - Habits of Life Long Learning

OK, so here it is a few weeks into class and I have totally been putting off starting on my blog.  Don't ask me why.  Maybe because I wasn't sure what it was all about.  Sure, I set up my blog page and Avatar within the first week, but then it just sat there. I kept thinking that I need to start on it... I need to start on it... and... finally... I have. (I did try to view the slide for Thing 1 several times before class started, only to realize that I didn't have earbuds with me.)

 So today I sat down at my home computer and went to work.  Sort of.  The problem is there is no sound at all, despite having working speakers.  On top of that, the bubble that appears directing me to "press play when ready" disappears into the bottom of the slide.  I have forward, backward, to the end and to the beginning options, but no play button.  Next problem. The bubble that says go here to read the text if you can't hear anything disappears into the side of my slide. Ugh! So, I went ahead and flipped through the slides making notes, but am thinking that I'm really missing a lot of information. 

I decided I need to go ahead and post to my blog regarding this topic since I've already procrastinated a bit.  I do plan on going into class early and speaking with the instructor about the issue.  Who knows?  Maybe there really is no sound and life is just playing with me.  If not, I will come back to this post and update it once I can hear the audio that accompanies it.  Until then I will share which habit I think is the easiest and which is the hardest for me, based on the slides only.

The 7.5 habits presented are:

1.   Begin with the end in mind
2.   Accept responsibility for your learning
3.   View problems as challenges
4.   Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
5.   Create your own learning toolbox
6.   Use technology to your advantage
7.   Teach/mentor others
7.5 Play!!!


I think the easiest habit for me is to begin with the end in mind. Through out life knowing a cut off date has helped motivate me. In grade school I'd think, "Just a few more years and then I'll be in high school." In high school I'd think, "Pretty soon I'll be graduating." After high school I'd use other dates to help motivate me to get me through. Having an end point gives me motivation and a purpose.

The hardest habit for me would have to be to view my problems as challenges. Yes, I've heard it before and sometimes I have actually done it. But usually I see my problems as big, fat, ugly problems. In order to view my problems as challenges and look at them as a puzzle to be solved will take some thought process retraining on my part. When I encounter a problem I will just have to stop my emotional reaction, slow down and take a new look at it. Wish me luck!

Hmmmm, I'm also suppose to write about what I want to learn by playing with Web 2.0.  I really don't have anything specific.  I'm eager to learn anything that I can.  Learning to set up a blog was neat.  Now that I know how, and that it is free, perhaps I will create more blogs and/or blog more.  It was fairly easy to set-up this blog.  Don't know if that was due to already having a Gmail account or not.  The hardest part was thinking of a name for it.  I wanted it to be somthing that related it to the class I am taking.  That is how I came up with the name, although it seems a bit bland.  Being able to customize the background is nice.  I tried out different backgrounds to see how the blog would look.  I wanted a background that was inviting and pleasent to look at, nothing cutesie or too plain.  I'm happy with the one I picked.  There were a few others I liked, but they had white areas for the text that seemed too contrasting to the background.