Thing 19- Podcasts

I successfully added a podcast to my RSS Reader--it's one from Edutopia that focuses on technology.

I have forgotten how easy podcasts are to use and so I am making it a goal of mine to try to use them more in my teaching. There are lots of great resources on there, especially in the area of history that I would like to take advantage of with my lessons and students.

I just wish I had more personal time to listen to podcasts. With kids, it's really, really hard.

Thing 21- Summarize Your Thoughts

1. My favorite exercises were Flickr and Image Generators. I could see the most connection to my teaching and my classroom with those and I know I will use those with my students.

2. This program has assisted my lifelong learning goals in that I used to be deathly afraid of technology and this has boosted my confidence to not be so anxious or afraid of it. It's easy and accessible and with help, it's all possible.

3. I surprised myself with the RSS feeds and being able to do it successfully. I thought that would be much harder than it was.

4. In one word, I would describe my learning experience as "Empowering." this was cool and I am glad I got through it and did it successfully. I was worried that I wouldn't have the time to complete all 21 things. thank goodness for toddler nap times. :)

Thing 20-audiobooks and e-books

I like the sites listed for this resource. Many of my students, especially the struggling students and resource students, really like audio books. IT helps them access the content better. I plan on using these sites and resources to give to students for audio books.

Thing 18-You Tube and Video

I love You Tube and Video. I use them all the time in the classroom with teaching English and History. You Tube has so many videos that help add to the content I am teaching, especially history. For kids to SEE something in addition to reading or hearing about it is very powerful.

Thing 17- Library Thing

I liked this site and using it, but I don't think my students would very much. Maybe my really active readers would like it. I think students like Shelfari better. I liked being able to rank the books I have read and talk to others about them as well. I think this is more of an adult site though rather than for kids.

Thing 16- On line Productivity Tools

I created a free account at Zoho Writer-- very cool. Like this site a lot. I created a test document and posted it to my blog as well. I found this site to be very easy to use. I am definitely going to use this site with my students and try it out in the classroom.
This would be a great way for them to share their writing with each other and me and get some great feedback in the process.
I am glad I was introduced to this site. Kind of an English Teacher's dream---really!!!

file:///Users/pgeorge/Desktop/Writing/%20Sneeze%20writing.doc

Thing 15- CL2.0-Wiki Curriculum Connections

Okay, disregard my last post (mostly). I do see the benefit and fun of possible creating a Kid-o-pedia. Filled with fun US History Facts or Author facts or Book facts----anything we are studying basically. I think the easiest would be to do it with US history so the facts could be easily confirmed or checked. The "sandbox" wiki would be fun for kids because of their ability to add comments to each other. Now I am starting to buy in to wikis.

Thing 14- Wikis

In all the technology stuff, this is the one thing that is the most puzzling to me. I guess I just don't get them. Well, I get them more now that I have done this little tutorial on them and I get wikipedia. I guess I think wiki's would work best with high school or college kids though. I think middle school students would sabotage a class wiki, but maybe not. I need to see more or try more with wikis before I am a firm believer beyond wikipedia.

Thing 13- Copyright and Creative Commons and what's coming down the web 2.0 road

I like the Fairy Use Tale Video a lot. It's a good one to show to my student to introduce copyright to them and explain it to them.
I also like the Wanna Work Together video. This, too, would be a good one to show to students. Lastly, I love the Did you Know 4.0 video since it's a sequel to Shift Happens and I loved that video too.That would be a great video to show to Parents at Back To School NIght. Really drives home the message about 21st century learning and how learning in school nowadays is so different from when they went to school and from even just a year or so ago.

Thing12- Learn about Tagging and discover Del.icio.us

I'll admit it..... this one was a a little tough for me. I get how it works and all. And I did go ahead and create an account so I could try it out. It's transferring and organizing all my bookmarks now so I will know in about 10 minutes if I like it or not. I like the concept of it all for sure since I am a bookmark person and I find lots on the internet that I would like to use or refer to again for teaching purposes. So if this does what I think it's gonna do, it could really streamline things for me and make bookmarking easier and more organized---which I am all for. I think I need to now do this on my school computer too. That would really be efficient for me too.

Thing 11- Web 2.0 Winners

I checked out lulu.com. I love their ability to publish your written work. I think this would be a good use of my Core class funds for next year. I could have the students take all their essays/writing from the year and create a book of them. This would be very powerful for the kids to see their work bound and in published format. I am definitely going to use this next year with my students and their writing.

Thing 10- Image Generators

Well these were sure fun to create and I know my students would have fun doing them too. I can see me having them create them for themes of books, character quotes, history units, etc. the possibilities are endless.

Here are a few of mine.

Thing 9- Education Feeds

This was a good dovetail from the RSS feeds topic. Technorati was a little too overwhelming for me. I found the Award Winning Blogs on Edublog to be more my speed and more narrowed down for my tastes. I would definitely show my students Tehnorati though as I think they would search and find topics of their interest to continue following.

Thing 8- Learn About RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds are not as hard as I thought. It was easy to set up and get going. I like how it will streamline all the blogs and nings and sites that I follow into one place. That helps me greatly. My class Ning site has an option for RSS Feeds as well and I haven't turned in on until now. Now I will use it on my Ning site with my students and show them how to use it too.

Thing 7- Blog about technology

I love the Ning. I love ning sites-- my own classroom ning site and teacher ning sites. I learn so much from them and they are a great teaching tool for me. In terms of the classroom, my ning site has opened doors for many of my quieter, more shy students. They are loving the ning site and being able to safely, comfortably and confidently contribute to class discussions from their desk at home. The englishcompanion ning site has been a life saver for me for the past two years. I use it daily for new teaching ideas, resources and connections with other middle school teachers across the nation. I need to figure out some more fancy way to use my ning in 2010 with my students but they love it and I love it.

I also love Skype. Without skype, many friends and relatives far away wouldn't get to see Jackson grow up and change. With Skype, they can see him, hear him and even watch him do his "latest tricks."

Thing 6-- Flickr fun, mashups and 3rd party sites

Now this was a fun one and I can totally see the classroom connections for me. I loved creating the motivational posters. And the trading cards were super fun too. I can see using both of these tools with my students for vocabulary, teaching theme, characterization, etc. The ideas of how to use this just keep popping up in my head right and left. I will try this next week to see who it turns out. I am going to start with vocabulary and then move to characters and theme for reading. Am excited. something different.........

Thing 5-- Explore Flickr

This was an interesting site. I have just heard about it and seen the word "flickr" on a lot of sites that I go to regularly on the web. So it was nice to actually learn about it for once. Once I hit the explore tab, I was engaged for about an hour just checking out all the cool photos.

I can see how my students could use this site. I especially like how it gives credit to the photographer which is what my students need to learn to do when taking images from the web. I will definitely try this with my students.

cliffjumper

cliffjumper
Originally uploaded by ​eyebex

I sooooooo want to do this one day! and in Hawaii!

miles of solitude

miles of solitude
Originally uploaded by Seattle Miles - Happy New Year!

this photo totally intrigues me. it's sad yet hopeful.

koyaanisqatsi

koyaanisqatsi
Originally uploaded by twoeightnine

I wish I could take photos as amazing as this!

koyaanisqatsi

koyaanisqatsi
Originally uploaded by twoeightnine

I wish I could take photos as amazing as this!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Thing 4-- Register my blog

This was an easy task. In order to register my blog, I had to email it to Mrs. Williams at GRMS.

It is http://mrsgeorgesjourney.blogspot.com

Yeah, I am done with Thing 4. Moving right along as Jackson naps this morning.

Thing 3--Create own blog & avatar

This was a bit tricky but fun once I stuck with it and didn't give up. So I had a "problem" and viewed it as a "challenge." Coming right along with that habit that is so hard for me. : )

I can see how my students would really enjoy this process of creating the blog, the layout, the avatar, etc.

Thing 2--7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learning Habits

Easiest Habit: The easiest habit for me is Habit #2 which is accepting responsibility for your own learning.

Hardest Habit: The hardest habit for me is Habit #3 which is to view problems as challenges.