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!