Thing #23 Reflection

I don't think I have ever been so intrigued and frustrated at the same time. This has been a wonderful learning experience that has tried my patience at times to the point of....... I am not a person who spends alot of time at my computer and I realize that sitting in front of it is not one of my favorite things to do. And I am out of step with today's technology. In my profession not a good thing to be!
The last screencast spoke volumes. Digital text is so many things- engaging, changing, enhancing, vibrant, meaningful-the list goes on. Having gone through 23 things I now say I can do this! I need to go back and practice & refine many of the skills. Yes, this was an introduction and there is much to be done. I see myself using delicious, gdocs and screencasts right away. Some of the others such as tagging on flickr , delicious and others will progress more slowly. I have shared many of the 23 things with colleagues and plan on continuing to do so. Joan & Maureen , THIS WAS AWESOME!

Thing #22 Edit a Wiki

Editing the wiki was very easy. Creating one was not much harder. However, that was just a basic create and start. There is much to practice to produce a truly functional and organized wiki. As we were planning my principal's retirement party someone mentioned using a wiki to communicate and update info. No one was quite sure how to do it. Well, here we are at #22 and I am trying. My hope is that stauts reports will appear and an accounting of expenses will be available to all. The area for discussion will hopefully avoid any major problems or dilemmas.

A blog allows for the sharing of information but not the editing and updating.

http://emillersretirement.wikispaces.com/

Thing #19 Screencast

I put off making my screencast and sort of worked ahead saving entries as drafts. What fun! I see many uses for screencasts as part of presentations, show & tells for students , staff and volunteers. I opted to create a short overview of directions for climate notetaking- part of our 4th grade state report. There always seem to be students who miss the directions because of instrumental lessons or because they were absent. Finding time to give them the in depth recap proves to be too time consuming. Screencast to the rescue! Next time I would add sample cards and I would also make sure that the entire text appears on the screen!

Thing #21 Wikis

The video clip( excuse me, I mean podcast/screencast) was superb. Informative and easy to follow it emphasized the collaborative aspect and resource sharing of a wiki. A wiki is a collaborative website that functions as an authoring tool allowing one to easily add, remove or edit content. Three basic functions- edit save and link. Viewing the Comparing Hemispheres I sat there talking to myself because I now understood how things became part of the presentation- embedding videos, inserting pictures.....The web 2.0 NHS professional development wiki looked just my speed! I did delve into some of the WIKI info and educational wikis . The comparing/contrasting of blogs and wikis was helpful. There are many reasons to use wikis but the ones most universal and basic are the sense of organization that they provide, the opportunities to work on consensus building and compromise. For youngsters it is a quick and easy method of getting your information on the world wide web.

Thing #20 Ebooks

Ebooks. Years ago they could have been written about in a science fiction story. But today they are real! I was amazed at the quantity available on line. The Newington High collection is impressive. As I searched through the Marshall Cavendish books I liked the ability to adjust font size, to print or email. And it offered alternate spelling suggestions or did you mean. I really dislike reading from a computer screen and print out material whenever possible. Many of the articles I accessed were short and visually appealling with illustrations ( I know, they are termed graphics on the web). Some of the introductory screens are rather complicated for a newbie and really require attention to access information. At present my media center does not own any ebooks . I see students using them as they might on line encyclopedias to locate information. I almost forgot TUMBLEBOOKS- my all time favorite available through LWR Public library.

Thing #18 Podcasts

To quote the syllabus, " a podcast is the ability to listen to audiovisual content either live or downloaded for future use." The beauty is that it is available on demand and accessible on many of our new "tools." I love that fact that it is audio and that users will have to listen! This is fast becoming a lost skill and a diminishing format for learning and acquiring knowledge. I see this as a resource for high school and middle school students looking for opinions and current information to use in persuasive writing. Where else is everyone entitled to your opinion! Teaching how to recognize reliable sources becomes extremely important in an exercise such as this. I did notice that NPR gave credentials for each person. In my final reflection I plan on sharing a recent NY Times article entitled Texts Without Context which appeared in today's Arts & Leisure section. However, at this point I will mention the terms access and convenience and the idea that users are willing to take imperfect information in any form that is immediate over a more thoughtful and scrutinized product. I enjoyed listening to Ross Douthat, a friend of my son, who has become quite the conservative voice on NPR, for The Atlantic, and now the NY Times Op Ed Page.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111885116

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92561906

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4567667

I tried some of the educational podcasts but was not able to retrieve them. Podcast.com offered quite a variety. I listened to young children reading stories with expresson ( maybe a little too much!) The next step would be to upload a podcast!

Thing #17 Presentation Tools

Slideshare and Zoho are great tools. The one difference appears to be that Zoho does not necessitate a download as it is web based. I spent my time searching not producing. I found that my search efforts reaped more returns using Slideshare than they did with Zoho. This is another tool that I plan on sharing with peers. I found 2 excellent Web 2.o presentations. Enjoy!

A Teacher's Guide To Web 2.0 at School

View more presentations from Sacha Chua.

Lesson 2

Web 2.0 Presentation Tools & Resources: Flickr, SlideShare, Zoho Show & More

View more presentations from University of Michigan Health Sciences Libraries.

Thing #16 Time to explore

I spent time exploring Google templates. I felt that this might be a useful source and had come upon it while working with Google docs.I went through more than 500 of the "thousands" listed. The variety of forms is mind boggling. Simple to complex. It truly is the world wide web verified when you see how many of the templates are in foreign languages. Contributing a form appears to be very easy.I made note of several that I plan to revisit- team contact list, sample questionnaire, assessment and formative assessment forms. Time to explore at length will come when Thing #23 has been finished!

Thing #15 Exploring Cloud Tools

Love the name. They, the documents, are out there somewhere! I rate this one up there with delicious. I can think of many personal and professional uses for gdocuments-it almost takes the place of a flashdrive. Lesson plans, sub plans, scripts for Student Council programs,speeches, works in progress
available on any computer, And this isn't even touching on the sharing aspect. Students working on group projects could easily modify documents and consult in real time from home where their email accounts are accessible. (This aspect reminds me of working with a wiki.)

Thing #14
Thanks, but no thank. I'm passing on social networking. I understand that the purpose is to promote discussions and communication but I see it as a form of entertainment that can become addicting. I certainly can see its value as a means of keeping in touch, keeping up to date and finding lost soul mates. I read the articles and found them enlightening, agreed with much of what was stated, but again-
I pass.

Thing #13 Delicious
This is a fabulous tool! Accessing bookmarks from any computer- what a simple but utilitarian idea. I still need to fine tune my skills adding bookmarks and have not really done the sharing part yet. However, I have enthusiastically talked this up to many on staff. This is useful to anyone who bookmarks and especially useful to "groups."

Thing #12 Tagging & Social Bookmarking

This has me excited! I can see the value of this for students, teachers and anyone who searches the web and bookmarks sites. On my home computer I use Yahoo and sometimes Mozilla. Therefore I end up with two separate sets of bookmarks and favorites. And how nice not to have to worry about the fact that I bookmarked it at home or on the circ desk at school. I immediately thought of several teachers who work collaboratively and often share SmartBoard sites. Not only can they share but they can create a filing system! I foresee no problems with tagging as subject headings and creating user friendly options are our forte!

Thing #11 Widgets

I have added and deleted widgets to my desktop with no problem. Finding one that I wanted on my blog was a never ending task. Many were too big and then unreadable if made smaller. And what was I saying by choosing that particular widget? I learned that with a premade blog template I was not able to move things around as much as I would have liked. Take time to figure that out? No thanks. Widgets on blogs allow us to create short cuts and to personalize our blogs even more.

Thing #10 Twitter

Twitter is another social networking site. Luckily this one limits you to 140 characters. I do not Facebook, text or tweet. Does this make me boring, old fashioned, out of touch? No, I don't think so. I live the moment, but don't feel the necessity to share the moment. It must somehow fill the enormous need for immediate intimacy and acknowledgment. I am sure that there are educational uses, but at a K-4 perhaps just to get some one's quick and to the point opinion. However, this can be done by email.

I checked out the Best of. I have used Craigslist and find it an amazing resource.
I also checked out .Doc.sto and imcooked. The document site was easy to navigate. I especially liked the section on letters of recommendation, cover letters and resumes. Great for those looking for jobs and applying to college. imcooked was fun. Students in cooking classes could easily video their creations and post them. That would integrate 2 types of technology into the mix.

Thing #9 Copyright and Creative Commons

The Horizon Report stated that the technological gap between student and faculty was growing at an unbelievable rate. I believe it! As I continue with 23 things, I realize how out dated I have become. Being in a K-4 school the necessity to stay on top is not as dire as it is at the secondary level. I also realize that my style of learning is far different from today's student. I do not enjoy sitting in front of a screen and reading, scrolling, clicking and reading. I find myself easily distracted and not remembering. I disliked the Disney video, but understood the message. Disney is one of the most violated entities. Even just the smallest clip.... And we have all done it. Educators are some of the worst offenders even when they are in the know or are made aware.( I am not offering, but a .2 workshop after school on copyright wouldn't be a bad idea.) Creative Common Video takes public domain to a new level. It redefines copyright and cooperation rules. I do believe that the use of grassroots video and collaboration web will increase dramatically in education. I see our role as school library/media specialists continuing to provide the formal instruction needed in information, visual and technological literacy.

Thing #8 You tube

Sorry folks, but the proud mom in me took over. The one on the left is my son!

Thing #7 You tube

This is one site I had little interest in using/viewing. I thoroughly enjoyed the Free Hugs video. What a great social commentary. I then tuned into Laughing Baby, Panda Sneeze and the Dramatic Chipmunk. Have people nothing better to do?
I worry about young children on this site unsupervised and certinaly would not send them to it to search. Predetermined or embedded clips. yes. For older students this type of site will serve as an up-to-date source of information. However, the authority and validity of what is seen needs to be continuously questioned. On the flip side, it provides an outlet for some very clever and creative people.

Thing #6 Flickr fun

I already had a Flickr account so that step was taken care of. I recently had work done on my computer and had to do some searching to locate my photos. My daughter is the photogrpher and adventurer. Most of my photos are from her. My Newington23 photo did not appear immediately after being posted , but was there today. Even computers need time! I hope to spend time this summer posting and organizing my photos. Too time consuming to do now. If one were to use photos in his/her teaching or presentations this would become an invaluable tool. Can we access this at school?

Thing #5 Flickr

Seems I already had a Flickr account set up years ago. I do intent to transfer/upload my photos to this account in order to edit, organize and tag them. One could get lost for days utilizing the many "tools" available. This little activity kept me busy for more than an hour!

My kind of caterpillar

francisco the hungry caterpillar!! coco cake cupcakes version 2.0!
Originally uploaded by *coco cake cupcakes* -- vancouver, bc

Thing #4

For this activity I reviewed my Yahoo home page and left it intact. My husband, who is very computer illiterate, is starting to use the computer. I didn't want to change things or he would be totally confused (again)! I did revamp the Google home page with iGoogle. Too many options. I can't even think of apps on a phone!

Thing #3 Blogs in education

Each of the sample blogs was very different. My first time through I was overwhelmed trying to read everything. I took a stepback and remembered what I try to teach my students. Take a look at the format, at headings and organiztion This made it much easier. I found the superitendent's blog almost serene. It was well written and inviting. The special ed one was too busy for me. However, I did find Kathy Martin's comment! Bud the teacher had a point to make, but went about it with some negativity. He obviously had an intended audience, but his tone was questionable. Alas, as in email, this is a definite drawback to using a blog as a means to dialogue and convey sentiment. As for posting a comment, I chose to post on one of our own which has impressed me.

Uses for education seem infinite. Immediate thoughts were to use it for book reviews. Another idea was as a writer's response journal. Post a reading selection and ask students to respond. The anticipated outcome would contain higher level thinking and descriptive passages to enhance mental images. How about in house/unpfficial professional development. Toss out a comment related to education, technology, teaching strategy, utilization of data... and see what transpires.

Thing 1 &Thing 2

OK. Here we go. The hardest part was finding a name not taken. This is a true testament to the number of bloggers out there.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 were originally brought into the house on a rainy day while mother was away by The Cat in the Hat. The children were bored and blue because they had nothing to do. Obviously, they were not kids of the 21st century. They would have video on demand, computer games, Wii, DS and many other gadgets of which I am unaware . While using these they will be motivated and engaged as the video proclaims they should be. Yet, a portion of me longs for creative and imaginary play- for storytelling and delicious reading which can also be engaging and motivating. There is a definite place for all this wonderful technology in education. However, it should not be all that an education is. The ability to process information, to understand the small steps involved , to utilize meta cognition is something that still needs to be taught. And this may, for some, be done best without the aid of technology.

The ideas proposed in Thing 2 are not as far fetched as one might imagine. The one necessary thing is the willingness and ability of teachers to preplan in order to leave time for communication and dialogue.