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.