Thing #12 - Slideshow

Yeah, I made the slide show. Really, it was very easy. I've made DVD's for family reunions with my mother's old pictures. This was much easier, of course it's a lot shorter too. I took my slide show's name from my Wiki page; Sun, Sand, & Technology. I added Kindles to represent reading and technology and the beach pictures. I hope you enjoy it. The music is a little loud but it fit so perfectly, Summer Sunshine by Amy Powers.

Okay, I'm not too happy with the results. It said the pictures were too small and I think the resolution is wrong because many of the pictures are not clear. Next time I will use a different site.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com

Photo credits:

1. Kindling by andyi.
2. Time for a tour by mode.
3. Young girl on the beach by State Library and Archives of Florida.
4. South Beach Staten Island by U. S. National Archives.
5. Autumn Swell by midlander1231.
6. Reading a Kindle by AGeekMom.
7. What...no surfers! by midlander1231.
8. Stuck together by mode.
9. Time to jump by mode.
10. Friends posing on Kirra Beach by State Library of Queensland, Australia.
11. The Place You Have Come by mode.
12. Sand Key Beach, Clearwater, FL by Vladimir Illich.
    

Thing #11 - Flickr

ne more place on the web to spend my time. I could spend hours looking through the photos and playing with this site. This will be a great site to use in my classroom. The Yearbook class can use it for their posters and ads. The Tech Ed class makes cards, invitations, and other desktop publishing products. I can safely let them choose images and photos from this site. I see the potential of this becoming a class favorite site. I have access on my server for the students to use clipart that I have purchased. I can easily see their library growing as they find favorite images that I can add to the library.



looked for beach pictures because I LOVE the beach. It's not really an educational topic but will make a great slide show to show my classes. They could create their own fantasy vacation trip! I discovered that the best pictures were not found when I searched for "beach". I also looked for ocean, sand, and sea. My favorite pictures were found when I searched for "ocean." Pay attention to the tags. Below is one of my favorite ocean pictures.

by State Library and Archives of Florida

ou were correct when you said "Playing with these tools could be habit-forming." I spent way too much time on this Thing when you consider that I'm behind and so many more to do. I can see my Yearbook/Newspaper class having fun with this site. We often look for clipart to take up space in the newspaper but this will be much more fun!

I'm glad other people are willing and eager to share their photos. I would not mind sharing any photos that do not include people. Unfortunately, that's mostly what I take at this point. I have a new camera and this site inspires me to get more creative.

All letter images created by Spell with Flickr, using Flickr One Letter photo pool.

Thing #10 - Creative Commons

I'll admit here, within the confines of my blog, that I don't may attention to most copyrights. I know about the copyright laws so I can't claim ignorance...completely. I just always thought if it was an image on the internet we could use it. Unless...it was Disney, Warner Bros., etc. So I do pay attention to some copyrights. I've never noticed the CC logo. I must not be paying attention.

Most of what I have used are images and clip art. I use Microsoft's site a lot because I know we have permission to use the clip art. I warn my students about downloading from the web and tell them they have to get permission from me first; Again, its mostly images that they are using in a project.

I think this is a great tool to use and to teach our students to use. I talk about copyright laws with them but don't follow through with monitoring. I plan to teach them about CC and introduce them to the CC Search tool. I did not like the other two search tools as well. I thought the CC Search tool was easy to navigate and looks most like what students are used to seeing.

I would love to have access to some of the videos and lessons used in this class. I think I'll try to find out if they are part of CC.

Thing #9 - Sun, Sand, & Technology

Whew!! I finally finished my Wiki page; Sun, Sand, & Technology. It took a little longer than I expected but it was fun. I had a few problems getting started. I wasn't sure what to do after I created an account but a classmate told me to wait for acceptance and then it will say, New Page. After that, it was fairly smooth sailing.

I'm thinking that I could have a Wiki page for my class and let the students create a page and use it for notes, assignments, or something. Do you think I should have a Wiki for the course or should I create a Wiki for each class period? I'm definitely using these new tools in our Yearbook/Newspaper class. I've also got ideas floating around about the Student Council. I think a Student Council Wiki might help us out. We have problems with advertising and this might invite students to take a look at us.

Thing #8 - Wiki

I like that name, Wiki. I also like Wikis and plan to incorporate one into my class this year. If I'm going to teach Tech Ed, I should teach 21st Century tools. By the way, its no longer Technology Education. It is now named Principles of Information Technology, PIT. This has nothing to do with this Thing, just information I thought I'd pass on.

I went to the Thousands Project and I was amazed at the participation. This wiki is created by a 5th grade class. It's very organized and simple to navigate and read. This class asks a question each month and their goal is to get 1,000 answers. They give easy directions for editing the page and ask students as well as adults to answer the question. For the summer they want everyone to list 10 things they plan to do this summer. I added my 10, you should add your 10.

Another wiki I visited is Schools in the Past. Another elementary class, 1st grade, tackled this wiki. They interviewed parents and grandparents to find out how schools today differ from the ones the adults attended. information is divided into categories like playground, rules, and libraries. The information is listed under the appropriate category and its obvious kids made the list. The spelling is not always accurate, but it's cute...1st grade cute.

A different wiki I checked out is Grazing for Digital Natives. In fact, I subscribed to her blog. I don't understand how this is a wiki and not a blog?? She has a voki that welcomes you to her wiki. I'm going to get me one. Its like a talking avatar. Her wiki is long, a little harder to navigate because there are many aspects and pages. It links to her blog, her vita, and other information. I think this will be a great site to learn about Google tools.

How am I going to use these new tools in my classroom? I haven't decided and I'm hoping to get some good ideas from this class and the other blogs. I'll keep you posted.

Thing #7 - Commenting

I don't like commenting. Technology Rocks said she was a lurker and so am I. I like to read posts and make comments in my head. I'm not sure they care what I think, do I add anything to the discussion? I have to admit that I feel that way about writing in general, not something I enjoy.

Still, I commented on several posts today. I do already wonder if they will respond. Some of the posts were several days and even a week old. Maybe they won't go back and read the comments. I did find a blog about yearbooks and posted my comments. The author listed his top 3 pieces of advice for small yearbooks and I agreed with them. So maybe with practice this commenting will get easier, dare I say fun.

Thing #6 - Reading, Reading....

I subscribed to several blogs and have a full reader! I understand how easy it is to get overwhelmed. I'm sure that several of the blogs I subscribed to will be discarded as I read more of the entries. But I've started and check the reader a few more days before I decide what I want to keep.

For school I selected a Yearbook and a Photoshop blog. Selling yearbooks to middle schoolers is tricky. They don't understand why they will ever want a yearbook. I hope I get some inspiration from this blog. I want to teach Photoshop in both my yearbook and tech classes. I'm hoping some of the tips will help the students.

Here's a picture I liked from Flickr Most Interesting Photos. I hope you had a safe, happy 4th.

Thing #5 - Google Reader

I have to agree, RSS is really simple. As a tech teacher I hate to say that I had not used any of these features. I've wondered how my son had time to go to different sites and read each day, now I know.

The blog I found interesting is Don't Save the World. I think students today have to learn how to deal with stress much earlier than I did. I didn't worry about a good essay for my college application. This blog is the thoughts of a high school junior on how to spend her summer. No everyone is interested in working in the third world. Does it mean they don't care about people? No, of course not. How many of these young adults spend their summer building huts because of college applications? It does look good on an application!

Thing #4 - Blogging Begins with Reading

I read several of the blogs that I thought interested me and might be useful or apply to my teaching style. I don't need homework so the first post I read was "Why I Don't Assign Homework." It's an old post that must have hit a nerve because it generated a lot of comments. The blogger, Dan Meyer, is a math teacher and bases his opinions on surveys with his students. He writes in a "formal" conversational style and is easy to read. The comments are very casual and his responses are in his own style, "formal" conversation. If you struggle with the question of assigning homework, read his blog. He makes some valid points.

I found most of the blogs to be easy to read and dedicated to one subject or objective. If you are looking for specific information or opinions, its easy to locate them fast. The research and additional information is linked and you have the choice of checking out the links. Be aware...you can spend hours reading blogs. There is an advantage to the addictiveness of reading blogs, use it in your classroom, introduce your students to blogs. Maybe it is the new sustained silent reading.