Thing 23

Wow! I can't believe I'm done!!!!!!!!! It means the world to me to have opened the windows of the new world of education that I have been so intimidated to open for so long. I've been out of the classroom for a while and will be returning this fall. This course has armed me with a fresh arsenal of tools to engage my students whom I'm sure will, as always, teach me more than I ever hoped to learn.

When I began this journey, I had already committed myself to recite, "I am not afraid of technology" as a means of remaining proactive and not procrastinate. What I found was nothing was as difficult as I thought it would be even though it was challenging and may have taken me longer that the average Jane. I am not afraid of technology. I just wanted to know how to use it effectively to enhance the climate of my classroom. I have just begun to scratch the surface.

As I begin to prepare lessons and my means of online communication with parents/students, I have a broader view of possibilities than I had entertained before. I will be working on combining some of the tools as I suggested in a couple of post to make my digital experience less cumbersome for users (especially parents). I'm sure this will lead me to new tools I can explore and employ. I will also be intentional about making sure that whatever I do online is available to all of my students and not just those who are privileged.

My big take away is best summed up by a quote from one of my favorite authors, Zora Neale Hurston, "You've gotta go there to know there" from her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. Until you give Web 2.0 a whirl, you won't know half of what you're capable of accomplishing with it.

Thank you so much for this opportunity. New horizons await my footprints....SPCG

Thing 22

You Tube....Well, what I like about it and what I dislike is the same: you can find just about anything on there. My son is taking a class this summer that addresses and teaches safe and appropriate Internet uses as one of the topics. Each student had to make their own websites and some embedded a video of themselves using You Tube. I watched one (which happened to be my nephew's) and when it was complete, at the bottom of the video there was a scrolling bar. That's not the problem. What was scrolling was ridiculously inappropriate. That's the problem. I'm sure there are ways that undesirable content like that can be hidden or deleted from presentations but then students are still exposed to it if they don't know what they're doing. I don't think that will go over well with parents. It didn't go over well with me when it was my nephew's work that was tainted by foolishness.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of good stuff on the site but issues like that with You Tube (Teacher Tube, not so Much) that need to be addressed if it indeed going to press onward. Our school does not allow You Tube during school hours....SPCG

Thing 21

Tweeting.... This is one social networking tool that I don't think I'll be using in the classroom or at all. It is waaaay too public! It is fun to follow and see what people have to say that I admire or check out what's new in music etc. I have been teased by many friends and family members for being in the dark ages as it relates to Facebook and Twitter but I'm just not that interested in getting hooked on another thing. Maybe one day soon, but not right now....SPCG

Thing 20

Social bookmarking....As I mentioned in the last thing, I think SBing would be an awesome tool for teaching and professional development. For teaching because I could send students to my page and give them access to specific readings or sites that would enhance projects or supplement classroom topics/discussions (maybe for extra credit or even as required reading). For PD, the reason is obvious. Sharing information across grade/subject levels would be revolutionized.

Again, however, I say couple, triple or even quadruple up some of these tools and I think the results would be phenomenal. Example: include the bookmarked link in a wiki, google doc or blog and let the sharing begin. Still a little on the shy side with so much information being out there with my name on it but if it's useful to someone, well then, I guess it's worth it. Take a peak at my bookmarks if you want to....SPCG

Thing 19

Tagging....it seems like the same old thing you'd do if you were naming a bookmark folder or maybe I just don't get it. It is convenient to be able to share them with others so easily but I must admit, all the publicity is starting to become a bit much for me. I don't know that I'd use social bookmarking very much unless it was in an educational setting to assign reading or professional development information. I don't really like the idea of becoming a part of a bunch of communities. As it said in the article, the biggest con is that it is just one more place you have to check up on and take care to update. There has to be a way to combine some of these tools so that everything is not all over the place. Ending on the positive, if you are a part of a community that agrees to certain conditions (i.e. responsible research) then social bookmarking could be an awesome thing....SPCG

Thing 18

The idea of having a PLN to share information etc. and grow together is very appealing. The fact that actual dialogue can take place (hopefully as it does when IMing) would be huge! A PLN online forum and it's function is most exciting! How could one be against the idea of having access to current information, the best practices world wide all designed perfectly for you?

My learning community (being that our program spans from pre-k to high school) would be a tremendous benefit as it would provide a space where we could all meet on our own time to share what goes on at the various levels and curricular stages of the program. The challenge would be scheduling and monitoring. As it is with everything else, having to commit and contribute is challenging because even though it is a good thing, it is one more thing....SPCG

Thing 17

I spent some time on Lulu (A book store/self publishing website) since writing is one of my passions. Lulu provides resources for marketing, preparing your work for both traditional and internet bookstores. Though I don't have anything ready to publish at this time, the resources that are available would be a great jumping off point.

What I attempted on Lulu was a more simple project- publish a calendar. It seemed like it'd be a no brainer but I had problems with uploading my photos, then saving and publishing! Maybe I was a bit overzealous but I thought I'd be able to navigate the site with no problem. Maybe I was just having a bad night. Anyway, I'd like to go back and give it another whirl sometime with a short story or book of poetry and use the site for its intended purpose.

I don't think it would be very useful in the classroom. Well, maybe it could be used for a product marketing lesson. Earn as you learn! I think the students would have a lot of fun if we could figure out the rules and restrictions to do it. Just a thought....SPCG