Is this the end

I really enjoyed this entire learning process. I was very nervous about this class in general. I feel entirely different now. I am a lot more confident in my ability to enrich the education of my students by using technology in the classroom. My favore discovery excercise was Animoto. I dont want to sound too cheesy by saying it was life changing, but it was absolutely an eye opener for me. I watched a presentation on the cival rights movement that was made my a teacher and was done for her students. As I watched it, I thought...."This is how I want to teach!" It was a prensentation that more effective than any powerpoint or lecture could ever be. I liked you tube a lot too. I am not sure I would have survived by statistics class if it would not have been for great you tube videos explaining how to solve the problems. It was also helpful in my math 1410 and 1420 class. I liked making a magazine cover in one of our discovery excercises. I think that will be fun to use for a student that is star of the week. Oh...and I LOVE my avatar:) This is my first time having an avatar. I even made it my screen saver on my computer! I want to be a life-long learner. When I become a teacher, I want to learn something new every day as well as teach. I think having a "teachable spirit" is an essential quality that all teachers should possess. Learning does not end when you receive a degee. I am thankful that APSU required me to take this class(as well as the chemistry class I has to take). I would have never voluntarily taken this class. But I have survived and I can say I really enjoyed it and learned so much. The fact that I was able to do this without any help is what surprised me most. I appreciate that fact that this assignment was taught and directed in a way that did not cause me to pull my hair out or cry myself to sleep. Some activities took longer that others, but none of them took a ridiculous amount of time. I like how (with the exception of you tube and facebook) everything was new to me. I will have to stay current on some of my RSS feeds and continue reading teacher blogs about WEB 2.0. There is so much already out there and new things are being created daily. I think most of what we learned is applicable for us as teachers. Using some of these tools will either save us time or allow us to create more meaningful lessons for our students. I know I will be a more success teacher because I now know how to apply some web 2.0 tools. My daugters 3rd grade teacher using shutterfly that also has a calandar on it. Not only do I get pictures of the class, but I get email reminders about all upcoming events and tests. I love this web tool and I am sure I will use something like this in my class. My resolution: When I become a first year teaher, I want to be a reflective practitioner. I will do this by keeping a blog. I will blog about my mistakes as well as what seems to be working. This blog will be encouraging to myself and other first time teahcers. It will be a way ro reflect, assess, and modify. It will be fun and helpful to keep a record of my teaching journey. I will end it each week by adding at least one thing I learned that week...after all, I want to be a life-long learner!

thing 23

This was posted on the bottom of the homepage for 23 games. *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). The Disney video was very funny and was an entertaining and creative way to teach creative commons law. During our class with Dr. Jerles, I learned about creative commons for the first time. I had heard of copy right law, but never really took the time to understand it. I completely understand the importance in being able to determine if something can be legally "shared". As a teacher, we have so many places to get ideas for homework and lessons. There are so many great things on the web and there are many print books on the market. I found a website the other day with lesson plans and worksheets from teachers, and you had to pay before you could view and print the entire document. This was the first time I noticed this. I will be very careful of what I borrow. I will be sure to research where every artifact came from. Alexis made a good point on her blog and mentioned that its important to set a good example. She is right. We can't copy from someone else while telling our students they cant copy/cheat. Using someone elses stuff is really not worth it. I will look for items that I am able to use that have minimum restrictions such as using it with giving credit to the creator or using it for non-profit purposes. I can appreciate the creative commons laws. I would not want to spend money/time and then watch other people profit from it. Learning about creative ommons in class was probably not the most interesting thing we learnd, but it was propbably one of the most important things we learned.

Thing 22

lesson plans

Wow! This discovery has taken me awhile to finish. I like everything this web 2.0 has to over. I had just never heard of it so it took me awhile to soak it all in. The binder I decided to share is linked above. I named it lesson plans. I went to a few different pages that had lesson plans created by teachers that I thought were pretty cool. I think 2 of them came from Google Earth. We just used Google Earth for our projects in EDU 3040, so it was the first think that came to mind. I then created a binder called blogs. I added a few popular blogs that teachers created. I like teacher blogs and I imagine I will use them to get lots of ideas for my classes in the future. I then made a binder and labeled it assistive technology. I found a site called enablemart.com that offers lots of products to purchase that aids with different exceptionalities. I have my milestone 2 interview this Thursday and one of the questions pertains specifically to assistive technology. I thought this would be helpful for my interview:) More importantly, something like this would be helpful in the classroom. The amount of resources and all the different types of assistive technology that is available is unbelievable. I like how you an click on a particular disability such as low-vision and then it will show you all the types of technology available to assist with that need. I think that LiveBinders can be great for kids to use to get extra help with homework. As a teacher, I could offer links to safe sites that I approved of that will help kids (and parents) with their homework. For example, if we are doing a unit on proper and common nouns, I could find a site that offers extra practice on the subject. Sometimes parents need a little bit of a refresher course on different subjects. For example, when my daughter came home and had to do commutative property and identity property and associative property, I had to do some Googling because I forgot which was which. I also think LiveBinder is a great way for older students to gather information for a research project. It saves paper and gives the student an opportunity to creative a binder that they feel will be useful to them. In our 3070 class, we are required to make a binder with at least 50 artifacts from the internet. Some of these "artifacts" are 5 pages each. This is a lot of paper and printer ink. There are over 120 students taking 4 sections of this class. We are wasting so much of APSU money (I imagine we are all using the computer lab to print our stuff)...anyway, as I was learning about this tool, I realized how we should have made a LiveBinder for 3070 instead of having to print everything!! I liked this webtool and I think I will use either this or something like this in the near future. I see the potential of using this as a teacher, but I see the potential in using this right now as a student.

thing 21

My Facebook pics

Ok, this was a little too easy.  I am afraid I did something wrong because it was that easy.  I logged in using facebook and allowed it to use my facebook pictures.  This was really cool.  It picked random pictures of my kids.  I liked this.  I am not sure how much an account would cost with them.  We just get 30 seconds for free.
This was fun and I liked it, but now I want to talk about the practical applications of this.  I could only see myself using this one time a year.  I think it would be sentimental to play a video/slideshow like this at the end of the school year.  I guess you could do this throughout the year, I think it would just be more meaningful one time at the end of the year.

I decided to spend a little time searching on the web what other teachers were using animoto.  I think a video slideshow was mentioned the most.  However, I did watch a few videos of what teachers did with this.  I saw a presentation done with the alphabet.  Letters were created using real life things like yarn and macaroni.  As the letters were flashing by, music was playing in the background.  I am glad I spent time searching what educator were doing with this, because I couldn't see past the idea of using pictures and making a slideshow. 

Oh, wow.  I just watch an AMAZING powerpoint.  It was about the civil rights movement and was more powerful and education than any lecture could be.
http://animoto.com/education  (this is the page you can find that powerpoint...you have to go to the bottom of the page and click on the civil rights one...I think there are five examples of how educators are using animoto in the classroom.

When i first played around with this, I though there is no way this is applicable in the classroom.  However, I have changed my mind.  I love the idea of video presentations...so much more interesting that a lecture or a traditional powerpoint!

thing 20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBsb5RNzdVs&feature=plcp I love youtube and use it all the time. I posted a link that will take you to the first video I had to create on youtube. I actually remember how stressful this assignment was and how difficult it was for me to go through the whole process. I am usually like that the first time I have to do something new:) I feel like its impossible, but then when I finish I always realize how ridiculous I was to get stressed out over something. This video was done for the purpose of math 1410. We basically had to show a lesson being taught. This lesson was me teaching my kids how to count to "honey"..(If you had Math 1410, then you know what is means to count in base 8 and you know what honey means....lol) You tube is great. I have taken math 1410, 1420, and stat 1530 online...and youtube helped me soooooo much. Sometimes our professors would give us a specific link to watch that would go with the lesson. However, many times I would search for something to get extra help with a concept. Also, I use youtube to listen to music for free. I just hook my phone to this wire (I dont even know what the wire is called) and it plays the music from my phone just like its on the radio. My kids love this. We have listened to many popular songs and have not had to pay anything for them. Even me, eing technologically challenged, understand youtube and realize its value. It can be fun to play around with. I have often searched for old theme songs to my favorite cartoons or watch old commericals. My girls (ages 9,6, and 3, also love to watch videos on you tube. We often watch The Chimpmunks sing Michael Jackson songs. I also like watching segments of shows like 20/20 or The Today Show that I missed. That being said, youtube needs to be used with caution when it comes to our students. It was very easy to access inappropriate things. Even if you have private settings, having the kids sit in front of youtube without supervision is a risk. I guess the best way to do it with students is to either have them watch a video (like maybe further instructions on a homework assignment) in class with your supervision (that is on private settings) or send them a link. As I was playing around with youtube, I saw a lot of comments that people posted underneath a video that were inappropriate. I know you can report someone, but I am not sure the process or the ramifications of it. I really like you tube, and I love all the extra help it can give a student. I certainly see the value of this web 2.0!

Thing 19

I liked how this project set me up for Thing 19 with Thing 18. Thing 18 was about facebook, which I think we are all familiar with. As I was exploring around with Thing 18, I kept thinking how it would be more applicable is the "social network" revolved only around teaching. I think I even mentioned that I do not really enjoy facebook but I keep it because I have a few teacher friends that I like to talk to. So I was really excited when I got to Thing 19 and was introduced to networking outside of facebook. I had never heard of TeacherPop, but of course I joined it. I immediately noticed some names on it I commented on a person named Jeremy's post. I actually think her is in my technology class.Another one of the discovery exercises I was required to do was post a picture. I remember when this was a difficult task for me. (yeah, posting a picture)But I have become a pro at this by now. I had a picture saved on my desktop and uploaded it easily. I then joined shelfari. I even added my favorite book which is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I do not have time to read as much as I would like, but I love to read. I love books and plan on incorporating a lot of different works of literature into my lesson plans. I think a site that this might be helpful in the classroom. I could get good ideas on which books other people think are worthy. I noticed my friend from this technology class has an account too and has lots of books selected. I think I will like this site. The one thing a little frustrating is having to sign up for so many different things. Its hard keeping up with everything I have created an account for. I hope all my classmates dont wait till the last minute to do some of these projects because sometimes it takes a few days to get approval to be a part of the social network. In fact, I am waiting for approval for TLNing right now. It took me a few days to get approval for teacher pop...SO IF ANYONE IS READING THIS...DONT WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE TO FINISH THESE 23 THINGS. Until today, facebook was the only social network I belonged too. I actually think that teacherpop and some of these other networks will be more applicable in the classroom. I look forward to communicating and exchanging ideas with other pre-service teachers. (and teachers)

Thing 18

I never really thought about social networking being beneficial for teachers, so I tried to keep an open mind throughout this process. I do have a Facebook account. I do not not use it as much as I use to. I have actually thought about deleting it. I have a few "friends" on my account that get to political for me. I have a few teacher friends thought that I talk to on occasion, and that is basically why I keep it. I don't see them on a regular basis, so this is a good way to communicate with them. I joined pinterest. I like this a lot. Its a great place to get ideas for the classroom, as well as good ideas for the home. I enjoy seeing all the crafty and seasonal things that teachers post and I look forward to using some of them in my classroom. I did add APSU college of Education of Facebook. I had not done this in the past, so I am glad thing 18 suggested doing it. I can certainly see the usefulness of this. I immediately saw comments and posts from students in the education department asking and answering important questions about assignments and different dates. I like this. I also recognized a person that I became friends with in a different class last semester so I sent a friend request. I think that social networking for teachers can be a great thing. I think that it would be more appropriate if there was a network that was just for teachers. I could do without all the inappropriate ads and comments that people put on Facebook. I like the idea of being able to communicate with a group of people that use the network for the same purpose. I am not really interested in if you are voting for Obama or Romeny, and it seems that Facebook it bombarded with that right now. So far, I like pinterest and google blogger for school ideas. In fact, I had to do a unit plan for 3070 and I used google blogger a lot to get ideas. I thing that educators need to be aware of social networking as opportunities for sharing ideas. I also think that (especially middle and high school) teachers need to be aware of social networking because it has become a way of life todays teenagers. There are negative to Facebook such as cyber bullying. I dont think at this time that any of the social networks that I am familiar with are really appropriate for the classroom. There is too much of a risk, really. ( Twitter is okay too, but I honestly prefer blogging. (and this 23 things project is the first time I have ever blogged). Facebook is okay, and I will keep it for now. The link to my account is https://www.facebook.com/marianne.spencer.7 I did friend request Alexis Wylie. She is in this technology class and 2 other classes with me. I like having connections with people that are going through the whole college experience with me. Facebook can be a very useful tool when everyone uses it responsibly.