One Last Thing

Where to begin...This was quite a journey. I feel pretty accomplished because when I began this program I knew nothing of the technologies we explored, and now I feel at least aware of the amazing things (no pun intended) and resources that exist in the virtual world. I also feel more connected than ever to my students because I existed in what I think of as their world. When I think of the technologies I enjoyed learning about, I have to admit that learning to set up and maintain a blog of my own was my favorite. I also enjoyed and got excited about the Google Reader, the image generators, and learning about the world of Creative Commons. It gives me a thrill to think that I know how to create links in a post and embed photos. Wow! I did that.

I would definitely participate in another discovery program, and I believe this program has changed the way I think about learning; I hope to use in classroom some of the ideas I thought of and those I intend to steal from my colleagues' blogs. The process of integrating these new skills and resources into my teaching seems a little too big when I think about in total, but I intend to take small steps.

As far as improvements to the program, I would have to say I was disheartened at first because of a lack of communication between me and my facilitator, but I am convinced that was a strange technical problem with gmail. I do think that the site should be checked and updated to make sure that obsolete and blocked sites are not part of the discovery exercises, but overall I am pleased with my experience. This was my first online class and I think I like the self-paced format. I recommend that the course dates be extended during the school year because we all have so many other time consuming tasks to take care of. I sometimes felt very stressed and pressured for time, and I think it made a difference in how much attention and time I could devote to each thing.

Thing 16: The Library Thing is on the Loose

Sorry for once again posting out of order; is it as annoying to my readers as it is to me? I enjoyed the librarything thing. It has multiple possible uses, from creating a personal library list to enhancing and tracking a book club to preparing for classroom lit circles. Searching by tags would bring up common themes that students could explore, and would allow a larger number of titles from which they could self-select a text. I went ahead and made an account, and I even started to catalog my own personal library; I have a long way to go, but it was nice to get started. I will hopefully be able to have the time that is not available during the school year to complete this worthy task. I noticed the same thing that Salinger did, it is easier to find potboilers than the long simmering classics that stick to the ribs. As an uber-nerd, I am disappointed in this lack of depth, but I am hopeful that the more users and visitors the site gets, the more varied the selections will be. Am I naive?

Thing 23

Is it too late in the process for me to feel overwhelmed? I feel a bit lame as I think of my overall impressions of Ning and Gather. I think the premise and idea for the social networks are exciting and full of potential. Tailoring social networking to the specific interests and concerns of a particular community is the perfect way to make a networking site professionally useful; in fact, it seems more personally useful to network with those that share your own particular interests. However, I found the sites visually overwhelming and a bit confusing. There seems to be so much going on that is difficult to make heads or tails of the information. I did find the Steve Hargadon Interviews on Gather interesting and useful because of the exploration of fundamental issues in education. I think I just need more time to learn to navigate these sites. I have to say that I tried to capture the Ning badge and a widget with no luck, but I was able to attach photos to my Ning page and I commented on Rhonda's page. Again, I probably need more time to mess around on both of these sites. Overall, I believe that these networks are the place where we as educators can join with our colleagues to explore and address important issues in education. Maybe this is a way for us to regain some semblence of a feeling of ownership and empowerment in an industry that often makes us feel like we are too small to have meaningful influence. Let's hope so.

Thing 22

My experiences with Facebook and Myspace are as follows: 1) I succumb to peer pressure and set up a page 2) I get really excited and spend time setting things up, posting pictures, choosing songs and wallpaper, etc. 3) I become overwhelmed with the number of friend requests from people I went to school with 4) I get behind on responses to posts and start to feel guilty 5) I quit going to my page and eventually forget my user name and password. The last step is why I am not including a link to either of my social networking pages; I can't figure out how to get into them at this point.

I think there are pros and cons to these sites. They are a great way to reconnect with old friends and to get the satisfaction of ongoing feedback and communication. However, I watched my roommate maintain "virtual" friendships that were nothing but superficial while avoiding real relationships. I also think that the act of un-friending people has consequences for both parties involved in the "friendship". None of these consequences are good.

I think educators have to be knowledgeable about networking sites because many of our students inhabit that world. It is a way for us to stay in tune with what our students experience and perceive in their worlds. I think there are classroom applications if classroom pages are set up or if teachers had official school related pages that students could access.

Thing 21

Google Book Search allows you to search for full texts. I could totally use this in my classroom and personal life (heck! It could take the place of dates I am not having). I think that many of my computer savvy students would rather read a text on the screen than the text on the page. Just the simple fact that it is computer-based might entice students who would not normally read to give it a screen or two.


Google Notebook WAS USED to allow you to cut and paste links, articles, whatever into one place when doing research. However, it hasn't been un-usable since January 14, 2009. Again, I hope that the folks who maintain the learning 2.0- 23 things site will take time to edit and check links because it is frustrating to get excited about a possible resource and find it unavailable. I would have loved to explore how this resource could benefit my seniors who are researching right now; I guess this is an example of the internet world changing too quickly to keep up with.

Thing 20 - What's up Doc

Lately, I have heard many of my friends/colleagues talk about using Google Docs in their classrooms for a plethora of exercises, but, while a great tool, I just don't see myself ever actually using it. I am just much more comfortable with pen, paper, and a dusty old text.

However, that doesn't mean I can't think like I would use Google Docs (even if I don't remember tomorrow morning how to actually use it). This six-weeks, my Seniors have been working on their research papers. There have been several documents (dialectical journals/T charts, outlines, documentation formatting) that I've wanted my kids to have access to no matter where they are. Thanks to very friendly librarians, I now have these posted for my kids to download at their leisure. I would assume (although I didn't actually do it myself) these documents were posted using Google Docs. And, if it will work for this assignment, I would use it for all my writing assignments, including class lectures, make-up work, and test reviews. It would also work well within the department as we align curriculum and create common assessment or instead of a staff notebook (all the forms we would normally waste paper on would be accessible through Google Docs). Really, for someone with the skills who is organized, this would be rather handy, but, for me, I still prefer the old fashioned method: memo graph!

Thing #19

Actually, the coming and going voicethread reminded me of John Madden outlining a play. Writing everywhere! This also reminded me of my final year of college. Education majors were required to take a "media" course: it cost money, it was required, but we got no actual credit for it. Anyway, we were given a list of projects we had to complete in a given amount of time (kind of like 23 things), including making a transparency, computer generated test review, a foam-core mounted poster, and (my favorite) a stop motion video. Back in the day this was big time, but, even then, I thought it was pretty impractical. How many public schools do you know of that have the ability to foam-core mount or make stop motion video? Not to mention that the time involved in doing this is ridiculous. But, I was required to complete these and other stupid projects nonetheless. Now, I find the skills learned in 23Things much more valuable, but VoiceThread is not my favorite. If I'm going to go to all the trouble, I might as well include video (that way they get both my beautiful singing voice AND my happy, smiling, 5'9" supermodel face). :)

Thing 18

Like most American kids of the 70's and 80's, I was a devoted watcher of the Saturday morning cartoon (SMC) line up. Granted, tv then wasn't what it is today. We didn't have three different cartoon channels dedicated to showing 24 hours of jolly goodness. Nope! We got our fix once a week.

One of my favorite parts of SMC, was the public service announcements starring that little yellow dude. What was he supposed to be? No clue, but I learned not to drown my food in goo, how to make ice cube popcicles, and even how to make cheese wagon wheels (a healthier snack alternative. Needless to say, I was thrilled to find I could jump back to the days of no stress and footy pajamas just by going to YouTube. My little yellow friend was easy to find - I just searched for the words "sunshine on a stick" (part of a verse from one of those PSAs). I also found an old commercial for one of my favorite childhood treats: Hostess Twinkies and Fruit Pies. I swear, I was eight years old again, sitting in front of tiny black and white wearing nothing but my underoos! It was Fantastic!

Thing 17 Beware the Pod-people

Podcasting . . . can we say YUCK?! I prefer to delude myself into believing that I really am a 5'9" super model, thank you very much! On the other hand, a pre-recorded tirade my sub could use to threaten my students when I'm out would be nice. I previewed the NPR Books podcast and the Webster's Word of the Day podcast, and I think both have classroom applications. It is worthwhile for students to hear about new literature because it reminds them that books are indeed a part of the modern existence of many people; the word of the day site is a wonderful resource for my TAKS prep students who have English language problems because they can hear the proper pronunciation of English words. I used the iTunes podcast directory to look up The Onion on the advice of Salinger, and it was well worth it!While I have the ability to create my own videos, my students do not . . . some barely speak English. I teach a section of TAKS English to Seniors who have previously failed the TAKS and need to pass to graduate on time. Because most of them do not speak much English (if at all), I must show them how to write one essay they can use for a variety of prompts and then have them memorize it. We write the same essay over and over and over and over again until the can write it by heart in their sleep. There just is no room for podcasting. And, as I've mentioned before, access to the technology is limited. 40 laptops (sans camera) for the entire 2800 members of the student body just isn't cutting it. I can see the possibilities for podcasted lessons that can be used to adjust the pace of the reading of a text or that illustrate and emphasize key moments and concepts in a text, but again, podcasting seems like a faraway dream until technology is truly integrated for all students.

Thing # 7B: Lunch With Lou, Ole!

I love "The Onion"! Whenever I am truly depressed about the state of the world, I read a reader post from "The Onion" and I feel instantly better about my own cynicism. "Lou Dobbs Leaves CNN" is a perfect example. Check it out! How brilliant is it to report that T.V.'s least imigrant friendly pundit is being deported as an illegal hispanic imigrant? I love the philosophy that "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." It has nothing to do with political orientation; I just love to see pedantic blowhards get theirs. I wonder if my therapist will say this points to my feelings in inadequacy? Oh, who cares! I pay him to listen to me.

Thing # 7A: Awww, My Old Friend The Reader

I found a really cool story on my reader post for NPR, and it made me think of something hopeful in education. The story is "Two Graphic Novels Explain Science, Colorfully", and it sparked a wonderful daydream for me in which students can't wait to do their science homework because it is in a form they love, a graphic novel. Graphic novels are now the most common fodder for movie ideas in Hollywood: Ghost Rider and Watchmen are just two recent pieces turned into blockbuster films. I think students would love for at least some of the curriculum to be in a mode they like and are rather expert in. It makes us look "cool" and it makes science a little more entertaining, which hopefully means more teachable.

Thing #15 umm, umm, good!

Delicious: worth the wait at the dinner table? I am not sure. As with many technologies I have explored so far, I found the use of the site and the process a bit overwhelming and at times it didn't seem to work. I received several error messages that told me to try to bookmark later, and I found several sites that were no longer there. Having said that, the idea of compiling, sharing, and categorizing all of my favorite sites is pretty cool. I do believe that delicious has applications in the professional realm, including a way for departments and individual teachers to share resources and even create virtual guides to meeting talking points. The ability to tag is also useful; it helps me sift through multiple bookmarks for what I want or need at the moment, and it gives others clues to what they would find interesting or useful. I definitely think I will continue to explore this technology and try to find ways to use it to help me organize and share resources that I previously just jotted down and hoped I would come across when I needed them in the future. Check out my delicious links about Lord of the Flies, a bibliography maker, and service dogs .

Thing #14 Word!

I posted an idea using wordle because it was easy to use and superneat. Blabberize was impossible and did not seem to work as advertised. My idea was to use wordle to create an "I" poem ( you know: a bio-poem using parts speech to be descriptive) about yourself or a character from a text. I think it speaks to the skills of students who are good with words as well as visually creative students. Some of the tools allow editing and sharing options that allow creators to connect with others socially. Again, some of these tools are clunky and you have to register or pay for features. I don't think I will use those tools if they are not user-friendly and cost money just to access the cool bits.

Thing # 13 The Lucky Number

Image mashups are cool! I had trouble getting to some of the sites, and I was a bit frustrated that the map site said it would not work because as it claimed, it has not supported flikr since 2007. I am sure the discovery activity for the thing just needs to be updated. As you can see from the documentation on each of my pictures, I used the smiley face site to create the picture on the left and a comic strip generator for the alien. I think this is a skill that students could master to enhance their existing projects, but I am at a loss for how to make this the major meat of a project. I am more impressed with the fun social possibilities for mashups; I can also see the selections I created also being used to create political cartoons. Hey! That would be a way for government students to use this tool.

Thing #12: Electric Slide

My slideshow is a tribute to a very mischievous kitten named Toby. I just adopted him, and he is obsessed with unrolling the toilet paper and carrying it to his secret hidey-hole. Based on his commitment to this project, I am convinced he dreams of nothing else. The frustrating part of this thing was the fact that half of the listed slide sites were inaccessible through the school network, and I worry that students who do not have at home internet access are out of luck if asked to use these functions. Therefore, I hesitate to set them up for failure and disappointment if our district will not allow them to utilize these technologies. What a shame.
1. sleepyhead bella by wicked one
2. cimg1671 by 9.81 meters per second squared
3. img_20070120_0001 by cosimba2