Thing 23: Reflection

Who knew that the web and so many opportunities out there? I have learned a ton this summer as I explored the web. I feel that now I have a little better grasp of what the Internet has to offer. At this moment, I am hoping to add "blogs" to my curriculum this year. We shall see if we have the time to make this happen. If I do end up using blogs in my classroom, google reader will be key to helping me keep track at what my students are doing.

This summer has given me tons of tools that I hope to incorporate in my classroom this year. Whether it be blogs, google reader, slideshare, etc., I now have a starting point in which to explore web 2.0 deeper.

Thing 22: And Much, Much More

In this category, I think the Widgetbox was my favorite. I posted a fishtank to my "igoogle" and a waterfall to my facebook page. It reminded me a lot of adding "stuff" to my igoogle page using their gadgets.

Last week in training, I came across a new tool to explore. I wanted to include this link in case any of my followers were interested. This site allows you to create "comic strips." It could be a creative place to do a book study....

http://www.toondoo.com/

Thing 21: Celphone Apps

About a year ago, I owned a Blackberry Storm; however, I recently switched to a different phone. If I wanted to use the Internet on my phone, I could pay a small fee for a data plan. When I had my Blackberry, I had it hooked up to facebook. I also used it to stay on top of the Texas Rangers.

Another way to send text msgs. from the computer is to go to your cellphone provider's webpage. For example, Verizon offers this feature (which I have used in the past.) I first heard of this type of program when I was teaching in South Korea. I never tried it over there b/c their website was written in Korean. Here is a link to Verizon's page that offers text messaging:


https://text.vzw.com/customer_site/jsp/messaging_lo.jsp

Thing 20: Webinar

I know several teachers who have had the chance to use webinar, or something very similar to webinar, in their classroom. I think a program like this opens so many opportunities for our students think outside the normal educational setting. This would give students the opportunity to meet with other students/classes across the United States and even the world. I think a program like this would work well in a social studies class.

Thing 19: Digg

Personally, I am not a fan of Digg. Maybe it was the pages I looked at, but I found the comments posted on several of those pages to be quite rude. The story I looked at had to do with the new Iphone from Apple. I noticed similar comments on other articleas as well. I am not sure if I would use it in the classroom because it will be difficult to control what the students see/visit on this site. I think it is important to teach our students proper etiquette when posting comments on web sites. This is one of the reasons I would like to use blogs with my students next year.

After looking at it again, I can see why this site is appealing to some. The news stories in and of themselves are insightful for the most part. It is a great place to stay on top of the news, entertainment, sports, etc. All on one page! However, for a simple-minded person like me, it can be overwhelming. It is a page that I will share with my friends and family, but I will probably not use it that often.

Thing 18: Glogster

I think this web 2.0 site will be one that I must explore more before I feel confident in using in my classroom. With so many unknowns about how next school year will look, I really didn't know what to create that I could use next year. If I do use it, I will explore how to add videos and audio to my glog. Here is a link to the start of my glog:

//http://nebvoid.edu.glogster.com/english101/

Thing 17: Open Office

To be honest, I was very disappointed with what Open Office offers. This past school year, I tried to use Open Office Writer and Open Office Impress with my students for a tech fusion. I ended up not using these programs...my main problem I had with them is that they did not offer clip art. Clip art was essential for the assignment, so I explored a different avenue. I have played quite a bit with Impress in making ppt. presentations. When I used Open Office Writer, I created an acrostic poem. I played around with the formatting and borders when workign on my acrostic poem. I will probably not use Open Office Calc very much, but I really don't use Excel that much either.

Thing 16: Shelfari

So far, this was probably my favorite web 2.0 website. Back in the day, I had a virtual bookshelf on my facebook page. However, I never really did anything with it. I really enjoyed browsing through the different subjects looking for books I have read. As I came across more titles, the desire to sit down and read a new book overwhelmed me. I was surprised to see how many books I have read; however, I was a little disappointed at how many books I have read recently. For someone like me who enjoys reading and browsing titles, Shelfari is a wonderful tool. It is easy to navigate and add to my virtual bookshelf. It was fairly simple to add the gadget to this blog as well. I know that I have only started exploring this tool, but I do look forward to using it in the near future.

Thing 15: Podcasts

I personally am not the expert on podcasts. This is definitely my husband's area of expertise. I asked him where he generally goes to listen to his podcasts...he was rather vague in his answers, but he told me to check out itunes. So, I went to itunes store and was amazed by how many podcasts were out there. The quality of the podcast that I listened to was really good; however, my speakers are on the verge of dying, so it interefered with the podcast. The podcasts that really interested me was titled "Meet the Writers." This podcast is released from Barnes and Nobles. As an English teacher, I can see using podcasts in my classroom...especially a podcast from an author my students read. Bringing any form of audio into the classroom helps bring the lesson alive. Now I am interested in downloading a few of these podcasts I explored to my Ipod.

Thing 14: Wikki

I have use Wikki pages for many different purposes. For this assignment, I typed in Yorkshire Terrier. I was intrigued by the comment section where people argued over which picture to post to represent the Yorkie breed. In education, I feel that it is important to teach our students that they will need to double check any information that they find on a wikki page. This is very important when teaching students to do research.

Thing 13: Slideshare--View from a different angle

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
Slideshare does just what its name implies...it is a place to share slide shows. For those who are very creative, slideshare is a great place to share one's artistic creativity.
This presentation was one of my favorite slide shows I came across. As a writing teacher, I kept thinking about how I could use these images in my class. This powerpoint, and others like it, would be great to use when teaching descriptive writing.

View from a different angle

View more presentations from renny.

Thing 12: Video Sharing and Creation

I have used YouTube quite a bit. In my Pre-AP English class, we read an excerpt from a novel called Walkabout. This selection had a reference to a lyre bird. I found a short video clip about this bird and showed it to my students. This video clip brought the excerpt we were reading to life. When using YouTube in the classroom, it is imperative to preview the clip before showing it to the students. Using age appropriate video clips brings the material to life in the classroom.

Thing 11: Google Docs

Google Docs is a great resource to share information you have. As a teacher, it can be very useful to browse and find new materials to use in the classroom. However, I didn't find as much material as I was hoping to find. Perhaps as I refine my search, I will be able to find better material. I did discover a few editing pages that might be useful in the future. I found that it was easy to both create documents on google docs and upload documents I already had saved on my computer.

Thing 10: Tagging and Delicious

At first I was a little apprehensive of using Delicious. I struggled with downloading the link to my Internet explorer bar; however, after trials and tribulations, I got it to work properly. Then, I downloaded the Delicious tool bar. I was expecting it to be a tool bar at the top of my browser, but I was surprised to discover that it was a sidebar. Generally, I am not really a fan of sidebars, but I am willing to give it a try. One aspect that I like about Delicious is that you have control over who sees what you bookmark. If you don't want to share a site, you don't have to. I was surprised to see how easy it was to import my old bookmarks. Also, it wasn't difficult to add new bookmarks to my Delicious account. I was able add tags to some of my older bookmarks. The pages I imported were automatically marked "private," so I was able to share the sites I wanted to share. Here is a link to my delicious account: http://delicious.com/misty_mae77

Thing 9: Twitter

About a year ago, I signed up for Twitter to see what the hype of Twitter was about. To be honest, I really didn't enjoy Twitter. Today, I resurrected my Twitter account. I found people I have never heard of following me. I searched around for a bit, but I am still not impressed with it. For those of you who enjoy Twitter, I am glad that you have that resource. I, however, will probably not use it very often.

Thing 8: Facebook

Like many of us out there, I am very familiar with facebook. It is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. I have connected with friends from my childhood, high school, college and beyond. I have been able to keep in contact with relatives that I have not talked to in years. Facebook is a great social network, but I am not sure if it is practical in the classroom.

Thing 7: RSS Feeds

I have always wondered what RSS Feeds were used for. Who knew that they could bring the news right to you? RSS Feeds works well with a variety of platforms, whether you are more comfortable with MSN, Google, or Yahoo. Some of the sites that I went to gave me an option between the feed going to my igoogle homepage or my google reader account. It is fascinating to see how web 2.0 is connected to so many sites. It makes staying connected to the world outside so much easier.

Thing 6: Google Reader

Google Reader is a great source to keep blogs organized. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom. As an educator, it is a great resource to monitor what students post to their blogs. For students, it is a great tool for them to use to interact with their peers. It can teach them how to stay organized as well as show them how to properly communicate with friends in an educational setting. As a writing teacher, using blogs & google reader is a great way to expose students to another medium of writing.

Thing 5: igoogle

igoogle, where to start??? I have used igoolge in the past as well as my yahoo! However, I never thought of using igoogle as a resource for education. I already use google images and dictionary.com in my classroom; however, with igoogle, the gadgets are now only one click away. igoogle gives me a chance to branch out of my comfort zone and explore other options available to use both personally and in the education world.

Some of my favorite gadgets include Shakespearean insults (a long time favorite), Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, dictionary.com, gmail, sports score, and Tetris. I would definitely recommend igoogle to my friends and family.

Thing 4: Image Generators and Mashups

For some reason, I wasn't able to use Big Huge Labs. Every time I tried to upload an image on that site, it showed error on page. The same was true when I tried to use an image off of Flickr. As a result, I went to the sumo paint site. Here is a copy of the image I created. Sumo paint is a great place to manipulate shapes and designs.

Thing 3: Flickr

I found this site fascinating. I have used other photo sites in the past, but I never really explored them. Flickr is easy to use and easy to navigate. The one challenge I found with the site is learning to read the "copyright" labels. I found that it was easy to download pictures that were under copyright. As a result, I mainly stuck to uploading my own personal pictures. Here is a link to my photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nebvoid/

Thing 2: Creating a Blog

I have used blogger before, so I am familiar with this application. As I was creating this blog, I learned new techniques to navagate through this program. I feel that I have a better understanding about how to use this blog website. I have toyed with some of the other blog sites in the past. Blogger was always my favorite.

This is one of the programs that I would like to use in my classroom. I am still thinking about how I could set it up for my students to use. Using blogs to respond to Literature is one idea I have. I think it is an important tool to teach my students to use. It would expose them to a different side of writing. It is also a good tool to teach them how to have written conversations with their peers.

Thing 1: Learning about Web 2.0

I am taking this class to explore web 2.0. I am interested in learning about how to use different programs for both myself personally and professionaly. I am already familiar with some of the programs that web 2.0 offers, including blogs; however, some of the programs on our list I am not familiar with. Now to start studying.