23 Things Summary

WOW! What a journey. I began this journey last summer and had to carry it over into the fall session. It has been fun and I felt a little overwhelmed at times, but I have learned or experienced so many new tools. I hope I remember what I need to know when the opportunity arises to use my newly acquired knowledge.

While the class is very informative, it does require a lot of time. I think the weekly required time commitment should be increased. Give the new recruits a good aspect of the time commitment. Regardless of the times commitment, this is a fun course using a lot of new tools.

Thing #23

I really don't foresee adding Twitter to my curriculum. I understand that you could post updates and pictures of projects onto the site, so I may be too harsh. But with 7th graders, I don't think they are ready to post and appropriately respond on Twitterl

Thing #22

Social Networking is the new email. I have a Facebook account and that's how I keep up with my friends. I don't have to send individual emails, and I don't have to have a second program open. Facebook is how I keep up with my new granddaughter. They post pictures, tell me what they are doing and I can download the pictures and have them printed. My son was never good at phone calls so this is a great help.

Thing #21

We've been using Google SketchUp in my Tech class for almost two years. The students really like the program. It allows them to draw 3D pictures or models. They also can go online and add a shape or figure to their sketching. Each year the students seem to enjoy this activity and they continue to get better! I'm not at school so I'm not able to include a link to a completed project.

Google Sketch Up is a free downloadable program

Thing #19

I'm not real fond of VoiceThread, maybe I'm missing its importance. It's similar to listening in on an active podcast or someone's conversation. I can understand that it could be helpful in a classroom Students in one class could collaborate with another class, discuss a current event or topic. It think this would be fun especially if the class is in a different state or country.

This VoiceThread is more of a game, Guess The Movie.

Thing #18

I could spend hours on YouTube, so I stay away. People send me links and I'll watch them but I seldom go search myself. Why? Because I would get overwhelmed with the choices and the number of videos available. There are some that make you wonder, "Do these people watch the video before they post it??" There are also some good educational videos and I looked under the CATE category. YouTube and TeacherTube offer video clips for most subjects and categories. A good tool to focus your students, add to a lesson, or teach them how to do something new.

What I'm posting is "very educational" to someone. I think we should all prepare for a fun, active holiday season so here's a "how-to" video. Watch it and you will learn how to do the wobble dance!

Thing #20

I've been using Google Docs for the past year. When the Tech teachers had their Staff Development, the agenda and other information was posted and shared on Google Docs. We shared many activities and projects through Google Docs this past summer during a conference. It is a great tool for easily sharing documents.

Currently, our school is sharing a documentation spreadsheet to keep track of behavior issues, detentions, and parent contacts. It's so easy to use and saves time! One short posting and all of the team teachers have access to the good or bad behavior notes.

Three ideas: 1) a checkout list to track and monitor the cameras in Yearbook, 2) a spreadsheet that allows interns to sign-up for activities and school events, and 3) sharing Info. Tech assignments that have been created by different teachers.

Thing #17

I selected two podcasts, Teachers Teaching Teachers and The Tech Teachers. Honestly, I'm not too fond of the podcast. It's like listening to talk radio and I get "bored" too quickly. I thought The Tech Teachers might be interesting but it took too long to get to the information. They do a lot of conversational chit-chat before they get to the real information. They are a husband and wife team of teachers and its the same as listening to their dinner conversation.

Thing #16

I love to read and am a member to an online book club. I would love to participate in a bookclub. The Library Thing is a close second to a participating in a book club. I can create a list of my books, talk about the books I've read or want to read, and find recommendations of books to add to my list. I took the tour, joined, and started creating a list of my books. This will take some time to learn all of the details but I can see a lot of potential and fun discussions. I often want to discuss a book's ending with other readers. This site will let me do just that.

In my Tech classroom, I don't see a use for this site. However, the reading classes or English classes should be able to incorporate this site into their lessons, Check it out, especially in you are a reader.

Thing #15

I played around with Delicious and added a few people to my network. This is a site that I think I would use a lot once I know a little more. It would be nice to have all of my bookmarked sites in one place. Currently, each computer has a list of bookmarked sites. If I'm at a different computer I may not remember my bookmarked sites. Most of my bookmarked sites or personal or bill paying sites so I'm not sure I would want to share them. Again, something new I've learned with a lot of potential. I need more time!

Thing #7A/B

I have two items I want to share. The first is from Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero, Top 25 Sites of 2010. Obviously this is a list of the author's favorite websites. They are all sites recommended for educators and students. Go check it out, you might find something useful for your classroom. This blogger also has a post on Top 10 Sites for Creating Tests and Quizzes.

There's another blog that really interested me. It's not a recent post but the information is timely. It's about Character Education and is written by J. Steve Miller. He provides resources for teachers of life skills and character education, and shouldn't that be all of us to some extent. My plan is to use some of his celebrity stories about character as warm-ups in my classroom. He does offer a complete program with Lesson Plans and worksheets for a small subscription fee.

Thing #14

These are some fun tools that could take up my entire evening. So I limited myself to two tools, Wordle and Blabberize. I think my students would like Wordle because they love to write their name (as long as its not on an assignment) and the names of their friends. This would also be one way to get the students to add words to a word wall.

Blabberize is so much fun. My granddaughter isn't old enough to talk but tonight she told me she's excited about coming to see me. I'm her favorite person!

I plan to create a list of these free sites for my students. They will be fun, learning sites for the "what do I do now?" times.

Thing #13 - Flower Mosaic

Hi! It's been a while but I'm back and I'm going to finish this class. Here's my Flower Mosaic made from my favorite flower pictures on Flickr. This was easy to make and I will use it again. I used Mosaic Maker.

It was as simple as selecting flowers and adding them to my Favorites. Mosaic Maker takes you step-by-step through the process. Upload your own photos and make a mosaic...its fun.

I think my students will enjoy using this website. They could bring their pictures from home or select a subject and locate pictures. I like the fact that Mosaic Maker automatically creates a list of photo credits.

This was created with Image Chef. Select the photo frame and upload your picture. How easy is that!

1. Flowers, 2. Mac Flower 142 Wild tiny flower from Drigg's dunes 02-05-2009, 3. Wild Flowers, 4. Wild Flowers, 5. Wild flower., 6. Neckles Of Wild Flower, 7. FLOWER in NARAN,PAKISTAN, 8. Small yellow wild flower ( Buttercup), 9. wild flowers II, 10. ~ Wild Flowers ~, 11. A mixture of lovely flowers, 12. Flower / Pink Flower / Pink Lotus Flower Macro: IMG_4931, 13. Open for business, 14. White Flower, 15. wild flowers, 16. Pink Flower, Oxalis Weed Macro