One Last Thing

The most enjoyable time I had while going through 23 Things was discovering new things. I enjoyed all the playing I got to do as I learned which reminded me that it is important to add fun to classroom lessons. I hope to continue to learn new things as I check out my RSS feeds every few days or every day. My most surprising outcome was how many doors opened in conversations when I used newly discovered terms from Web learning. Talking to my daughter about blogging and my son about Sketch up were definite highlights. I wasn't so much surprised as pleased to find myself getting more comfortable at blogging (only rereading and rewriting once instead of many times before clicking on publish post button). The only frustration I encountered were the one or two website links that were no longer available. While I didn't encounter too many of these, this is a little frustrating. However, I do appreciate how difficult it would be to correct this considering the lightening-paced change that occurs on the web each and every minute of the day. And, that is just something one has to expect when exploring over the Internet. Overall, I have to say that this has been one of the easiest online classes I have taken. Time consuming and long, but worth every minute spent! 23 Things has made me feel more comfortable about using Internet resources for lessons and has made me familiar with how to go out and find more resources, keep up to speed with things that are going on in education technology, and find a social network of people with similar interests and problems. I am not exactly sure about keeping up with new stuff in Web 2.0, but I believe that an RSS feed to Teacher 2.0 might be a good place to start. And, I am on my way to check out the Learning 2.1 blog. Thanks for a great course!

Thing #23 Ning

Thing 23 was a good thing to learn. I wasn't sure about using Facebook for the classroom, but I think I would be a little more apt to having a classroom participate in a social network that was much more limited. Not to discourage their growth and creativity, but just to maintain that "learning at school" type of interaction among students.

I found very useful information at the Classroom 2.0 Ning site for educators. I did find information that appears to have some value and joined the Special Education in the 21st Century group. It appeared to have the types of questions, discussions, and collaboration that I might be able to use to help with problem solving at school.

I guess I am on the journey to using a social network, having signed up although I do not have any specific goals in mind, I will just have to see where it leads, but I hope to get some new tricks to help deal with problems that might arise during the school year.

Thinng # 22 Social Networking

I am already on Facebook. However, I do not get on there very much. It is very time consuming. I do like to see what everyone is doing. But, I rarely ever post anything. I did play a lot of Bejeweled last summer while checking out Facebook. I never could get into Farmville. I think the most useful feature for me would be to just see what everyone is doing. In the past, you would have to call on the phone to catch up with everyone, one at a time. With Facebook, it is like having everyone you would want to catch up with in the same room at one time. You decide what time that will be, you decide when to send them all home. That is a definite advantage as far as managing time goes. Facebook does have a lot of distractions. For me it is the games. Fortunately, I don't like them all or I might never get off of Facebook. Also, there are some annoying things like pokes and hugs and the millions of announcements letting me know what other people's scores are on their games.

Educators need to know about social networking because that seems to be the way of the world today. As I said in an earlier blog, my vocabulary has been expanded through participation in 23 Things. When I told my daughter I had a blog on blogspot.com, she said, "Me too, we need to keep up with each other through blogging." We already talk in person and text, but this will be a new line of communication for us. It has to provide an advantage in the classroom to be able to speak the students language and social networking is very much their language. I would think that you would see the same advantage I have with my kids at home, a connection that wasn't there before. A relationship builder.

Other than that, I am not sure how to use this in or with a class unless it is used for a teacher to communicate with students. Sometimes it is very hectic during class and almost impossible to answer all student questions without taking over instruction time. This might be a way to communicate, but, I am not sure about managing what is put out there and what others are able to see and whose friends are available for who, etc. Seems to me that there are safer and more manageable ways to set up social networking for your class without using Facebook or MySpace. These two seem like a lunchroom or after school social networking time rather than a classroom networking time.

Thing # 7b - RSS Feeder Update of Interest

Lots of things popped into my head when I glanced at my feeder and saw this blurb from a blog site that is fast becoming one of my favorites, Larry Ferrlazzo's Websites of the Day. The blog referred to information published regarding boredom in the workplace. My mind began reeling over what we might be doing to our students when we do not keep them engaged in learning while they are at school. Are we reducing their lifespans because we present boring lessons in our classrooms? Enough said, you just have to read the description of the study and its results. This might make a good writing prompt for that English paper . . .

Thing # 21 Google Tools

This was definitely fun. First I visited iGoogle. By selecting information that I was interested in and adding lots of gadgets, windows for Epicurious, joke of the day, several games, and Spanish word of the day now show up when I go to my google home page. I also added weather, date & time, and news. I may never leave my home page! Next, I played around with Picasa uploading a picture, editing it, and attaching it to my blog profile (look to the left, not exactly Glamour Shots, but it'll do). Then I watched the tutorial for Sketchup, but didn't want to download it on my laptop. However, what a totally entertaining and educational site for students. This tool could offer a fun and visual way to teach some basic geometry. Also, it could be used for interior design class or figuring out your own classroom configuration, etc. What about those TAKS Math questions with the blocks (which view best represents this figure from the side), I'm not sure, but this might be a way for teachers, or students, to set up some practice questions. Then I got lost playing in the Google Lab - what should have been a short time exploring turned into an hour and a half. One of the choices to view was news and advertisements shown in a different way. I really liked viewing the books. I searched and found a few books I have been thinking about reading and checked them out. This was almost as good as The Library Thing, but I didn't find the reviews. There really aren't enough hours in a day are there?

Thing # 20 Google Docs

Google Docs is a great tool to have. It was very easy to use. It is difficult for me to contemplate using something like this since I schedule and hold ARDs and the information I deal with is generally confidential and not to be shared. I like to have lots of information for parents who attend ARDs though, so I set up a document with some of the information I give out frequently. Of course I have only put in a few things. My revision history holds a lot of versions already as I continually thought of information to add. I can see teachers collaboratively using this document to add their wiki spaces and web pages, project assignment info, etc. Also, as homework help sites are found they could be added.

Personally, I can see sharing a spreadsheet with the family to keep up with household budget goals and items, especially as they head off to college and are not as accessible as they once were. A Google Docs presentation could be used by students or teachers who are doing a group presentation so that each could add, edit, and update. Teachers can share lesson plans, lessons, and even field trip planning could be done using a Google Docs document. There were also lots of useful templates that were available so that no one has to start from scratch. I think the student information form would be beneficial as we begin school. Student info could be shared among only those teachers who are on the student's team. It might save some time if each teacher doesn't have to collect separate info from each student. Teachers wouldn't have to transfer written data to a spreadsheet (students could do this during a computer lab activity at the beginning of the year). Just some beginning thoughts for using Google Docs.

Thing # 19 - Voicethreads

This may be the answer to the oral test issue I discussed in the earlier blog on Podcasts. The Voicethread allows sound and was easy to stop, start, rewind. Wait, not rewind, but click to go forward and backward to different pages of the presentation. (I am showing my age, and what's even worse, I am not sure I remember what electronic device we used to rewind!) This would allow us to give tests on the computer, meet a multitude of different learning styles, and give our students who have difficulty reading the best chance of taking a test that would normally be just text on paper. It solves the problem of not having enough people to read six weeks tests on several subjects to several students at one time. And, it allows students to move through the test at an individualized pace. Now, if I can just round up what I need to make the recording and get the visuals together we will be set to use this technology. I will definitely be using this technology in the school year coming up.

Thing # 18 - YouTube

YouTube can be a great source for a classroom teacher. When you consider the risky encounters you might have while on your search, it just becomes something you don't want to consider for the classroom. I enjoyed watching a YouTube video called Who is nobody. It was a video of a class of students with autism. The lesson was about building some empathy, some emotion. It was encouraging to watch students describe, in their sometimes scripted voices, how they cared for nobody, how they took him home, how they had to give nobody something that represented a care or concern they felt was important in order to make him somebody. I would use this lesson in a special education classroom.

I also watched the slope-intercept rap. This would be a useful introductory piece in the math class, it would definitely help some students remember the definition of a slope-intercept.

For fun, nostalgia, and a how-to, I viewed the YouTube video about how to make a pie crust. (Nostalgic moment - maybe with practice I can make a crust as good as my grandmother used to make. ) I loved the way you could click at the bottom right of the screen and it would list the ingredients for the crust and the measurement for each.

I felt much safer searching in Teacher Tube, but found some of the information was so simplistic that it wasn't useful. However, I believe you could spend a lot of time exploring Teacher Tube for helpful info and will plan to do so. I have no doubt that it will be a good classroom resource. It would also provide a wonderful option for students to create and post some of their own work in YouTube. But, my comfort level with using it, considering all the potential problems you could encounter is not very high right now.

Thing # 17 Podcasts

Two podcasts were reviewed. Cranbook Composers, has musical compositions created by middle school students. I enjoyed listening to several student podcasts complete with an emcee making announcements followed by students performing their pieces. Another podcast was titled Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips which I enjoyed so much that I bookmarked it and added to my RSS feed. I learned about using the word affect vs. effect. I have spent most of my life avoiding these two words because I could never decide which word belonged in my sentence. The only drawback to the free podcast at this site is that you must listen to an advertisement. If you subscribe to the service you can listen commercial-free. I can see pod casts being used by middle students in a classroom to give oral presentations or performances. I have listened to pod casts before. My church prepares pod casts of the sermons each Sunday. I have listened to radio show pod casts while taking my daily walk. We also created a podcast at our school. We attempted to record an oral administration of a 6 week test for our students who have difficulty reading. We ran into all kinds of technical difficulties with this one. We had trouble getting enough devices for our student's to listen to the test, the podcast/equipment proved difficult to pause so that students could take the time they needed to answer questions, etc. We decided that it was more convenient to use some existing equipment to administer tests orally.

Thing # 16 The Library Thing

The Library Thing website was fun and useful. Not many things are more disappointing than getting home from the bookstore or library with a new book to read only to find that it doesn't suit your taste in books. You can read book reviews, look over the cover, read about the author, read a few pages and think it is a great book and still come away wishing you had not bothered. But, I will check out this site before getting a new book. Because you can read several reviews, including those from people who did not like the book, and because books are listed in a sort of "If you liked this, you will also like this" kind of way you are more likely to come away with a satisfying read. There is no doubt about my personal use of this website, it is bookmarked. I am not sure about the classroom use, other than to have students do what I just did - explore the site for personal use. You could also get a lot of different types of reviews for your students to look over as examples of what to write in their own reviews. Maybe set up a group challenge for your class? I have tagged this one so that I can explore it a little more. . .

Thing # 15 - Delicious

Whew, this was a lot to take in and I am going to need some time to mull over this one. It does get tedious going through a bookmark list from the menu so using Delicious is definitely quicker and easier. The Delicious sidebar is great for getting through all the stuff you save as a bookmark and offering options about how to get through the list. Click here for my delicious link. I chose links to some of the sites that were listed in previous Things assignments, because I hope to go back and explore more at a later date. I got sidetracked at one of the sites PollDaddy. (I tried not to play too long, but felt like polls and surveys would be a big help in making a site more interactive.) Getting refocused, I tagged the site and moved on to the next site. I haven't quite figured out how to see what others have in Delicious, and I never saw the information I chose to share on the 23 Things site. So, my experience seems to be lacking in the social aspect of this tool. But, I will just keep on trying because I know that organization and ease of getting through info is pretty critical. Once the school year starts, there is no time to fumble around looking for stuff! I hope to use this tool mainly to discover cool sites that other teachers are using to help their students. Since I work closely with parents, I hope to find some tutoring type sites for them to use at home with their children.

Thing # 7a RSS Feeder Update

I still enjoy getting updates from Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day. One of his recommended sites today was "Best Cities to Live In". He also includes an idea for how to use this website for a classroom lesson. He says he would explain that there are many best of . . . lists and each uses a different criteria to determine what makes the best. He has students determine the best neighborhoods based on criteria that the students set themselves.

Thing # 14 Web 2.0 Toys. (Oops that should be tools)

Two tools were explored for this lesson. First, Wordle which was created by Jonathan Feinberg is a very fun site where you type in the words and the site arranges it on a page in a really cool layout. The first example I came to in the gallery was titled English Notebook cover and it got me thinking right away about ways to use this in a classroom setting. You do get some control over the appearance as far as the font used and how the words are put on the page. It even let me put in phrases (instead of single words). Here is my wordle titled Conversing. As far as an interactive site, there are no places for comments, ratings, or discussions. You put your creation in the public gallery and others are able to see your work so it is shared. It does allow you to print your page, however. This could be used as a first day team building or get to know you activity. You could put your course syllabus in Wordle. It would be great for subject vocabulary. I saw a list of most commonly used words on TAKS test awhile back - that might be something to put in Wordle. It might be a different way to present a report on a book or article you read (and one attractive enough to put on display in the classroom or hallway). It could provide vocabulary as a precursor to a lesson. On a personal note, it would make a great addition to a scrapbook photo album or added to a picture in a frame. I am sure I could go on and on and on, but you get the idea. I also checked out Ta-da lists. Great opportunity for sharing on this one. A list is created and you indicate who is allowed to change the list and it will even let you know when the list has been changed via RSS or e-mail. It allows others to check when an item has been taken care of, add or delete from the list, etc. This could be used by a classroom to keep up with where they are in the six weeks, or school year, or used by a group on a project.

Thing # 13 Generating Fun

Added to this newly arranged blog design are a spelling generated image added under the blog site header and a heading generator image added to this post. Both were very easy to create by just clicking on the websites listed in the 23 Things, Thing 13 and following the instructions given at the website. The hardest part was deciding on the design I wanted to use. I then copied the html code provided at each site. The spelling generator was easily added by going to the Blog Design tab and adding a gadget, pasting the html code from the website, and applying it to the blog. Of course, like any good blogger, I had to rearrange the whole page first. Kind of like adding a new piece of furniture to a room in your house - it calls for rethinking the layout of what is in the room already. (This rearrangement also corrected the over sized slide show that I put in Thing #12 post.) The html for the heading generated image was added to this particular post rather than the layout. I cannot believe I am using all of this web speak, if that is a word. I can actually hold discussions with my teenagers about web stuff instead of just asking them to set up this or that or fix this for me. In the educational setting generators can be used to spruce up a wiki or a blog. I think students would also love to be able to use these generators to add to their web-based projects or web pages. Although, it would have to be carefully monitored to prevent use of inappropriate items, images or photos. I need to find a blog or website that discusses that . . . .

Thing # 12 Slideshow

These are the photos that I downloaded in Flickr during Thing 11 based on the search word, school. This slide show was oh so easy to do! I think the student's will enjoy this very much. I would not be intimidated at all to use this in a lesson for a classroom. Of course, it will be better with the students' own photos and with music . . . .

Photo Attributes:

Avalore http://www.flickr.com/photos/52636849@N00/204934333/

Editor B http://www.flickr.com/photos/editor/236987355/

tsmyther http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsmyther/215764089/sizes/l/

On second thought, after viewing this blog, I see that I need to keep working on learning how to embed a slide show. Particularly getting the slide show to be the correct size. . . oh well.

Thing # 11 Fabulous Flickr Fun

It was fun to look at all of the images in Flickr and to view the different Fun Toys offered on the site. When arriving at the site, I typed school in the search box and found it to be true that all kinds of pictures appear, even those having nothing to do with school. The search was repeated using the words education, back to school, pencils, apples, learning. Although the search did not give only images having to do with what I was looking for, it always gave at least a few pictures that fell into the category. It would appear there are a few people out there who think as I do about categorizing. I was puzzled about images that were listed, but photos did not show up on my screen. Don't know if this is because of the overall category I was using (Creative Commons only) or if it was a problem with my computer???? I believe this site would be very useful in the classroom and appreciated the MISD 23 Things site references that gave some lesson plans. I enjoyed the pictures the students took to demonstrate mathematics with notes included on the pictures. While I don't directly teach in the classroom, I frequently help out in the CMC room where students are often working on research type papers. They love the pictures and I am glad to have a new place for them to look. The picture I have downloaded from Flickr was posted by Avalore.

Thing # 10 Creative Commons

This is something completely new for me. I have not observed the CC logos while wandering around the web. I typically associate copyright with workbooks that cannot be copied, or with books and things that you are not allowed to copy at school on the copier, or with music or movies. I think the CC labels provide a level of comfort knowing that you are not stealing the work of someone else and using it in a way that they would not want. CC labels allow so much more flexibility in student learning and creation of projects because there is a clear label that says "go ahead and use this." It also informs you whether you can alter the info you want to use. I did take a class last year where I had to publish a YouTube video and I used the music that had been made available to use with the videos as opposed to music I had on a CD or had downloaded from the Internet. I do not typically share information on the web. However, I believe that blogging and wiki fall into the web sharing category. Teaching materials belong to those who create the materials, or with lots of confusing limitations, to the person who purchases the materials. At this point, I cannot think of one thing negative about using the Creative Commons, it clears up the issues of whether or not something is available for me to use or share with others. I did visit OER Commons and read a few interesting things created by teachers under the search heading classroom management. One about using problem solving pairs to solve math problems and the other about the validity of using homework with students. You will have to register to use this site. It has so many items that others have submitted that teachers can use for ideas in their classrooms. I reviewed the CC labels at the end of each item as well - which I will do from now on especially when considering materials to share with others.

Thing # 9 Playing in the Wiki Sandbox

Playing in the Wiki sandbox was lots of fun (although very time-consuming). The value that would come with setting up a Wiki in an educational environment was understood immediately. The steps provided were easy to follow. A pattern has evolved that will go away, I hope, as experience is gained, but for now the most time consuming things about this class tends to be the writing as I stress over grammar, spelling, write, then rewrite. The other thing that takes up my time is exploring. I looked at the sandbox of everyone who was there before me, when looking at 3-4 would probably have been sufficient. I like to be thorough, but I also enjoyed reading about everyone and seeing what they felt was important enough to put out there. Other than the Voki, every step went smoothly. I was unable to get my Voki on the sandbox Wiki page. I tried clicking on a multitude of tabs and trying so many different choices in a number of different drop down menus, but it never would work. I kept waiting for one of my kids to get home to help me (I don't know how they got to be techies!), but that didn't work out either. I will continue to work on this Voki because they are fun. Here is the link to my sandbox page.

Thing # 8 Wikis

Things about Wikis

First Wiki Visit - Gazing For Digital Natives
I am only a beginner techie, but this site seemed very thorough to me. It provides so much information about technology related information (using language understandable for beginners). It has everything you need to know about RSS Readers, setting up a blog or wiki, etc. Incredibly, it had a lot of the videos I have seen while working on 23 Things. It also provides access to Discovery Education information including webinars, and even some homework help, arranged by subject, for students (or parents) to reference. The wiki was very well organized with side bars and a table of contents, navigation bars, an invitation to join the wiki, and a place to click and see recent updates. My favorite thing, was a talking Voki avatar of the wiki space owner, which allowed and encouraged you to go out and create your own Voki. Once I got back on task, I played with the Discovery Education subject tutor and worked on my math skills a little. I was unable to tell that anything was missing from this wiki, it had what seemed like a million things on it that I could spend a lot of time reading, so it may be a little distracting for someone like me. Reading the profile of the wiki owner's credentials, it appears that she is very skilled in the wiki technology. I will definitely visit this site again.

Second Wiki Visit - Discovery Utopia
This site was very well organized. It was set up to allow the visitor to get around easily with a table of contents. The visuals were very nice. The content was enjoyable to read. The students were assigned to do a project on their idea of a utopia. The covers of several novels, that set the premise for the utopian idea, were also available as audio books. The students used varying amounts of pictures, videos, and sound in their individual presentations. I enjoyed the guitar recording. One student recorded himself playing his own guitar piece and added it to the site as part of his presentation. The assignment and vehicle for presenting the project allowed the facilitator to meet a multitude of student learning style preferences. The only thing I encountered missing was a video that was no longer available. Again, I am not experienced enough to determine how to make this site better, but I do believe that this was a great example of how a wiki can be used by a teacher for a classroom lesson. This site was not overwhelming with information like the first site I visited, but seemed very well put together with all items easily accessible.

Third Wiki Visit - Kindergarten Counting Book
This wiki was organized in a very easy going way. It gave my overwhelmed brain a much needed break after visiting the first two sites. You only had to scroll your way down to see the pictures. There were no links or table of contents needed, but the audience for this site did not need those items. The content was precious. I enjoyed looking at each and every picture. Tools were simple photos and text. The students probably had a blast with this project. Parents would enjoy being able to see some of the learning from the classroom. I didn't notice anything missing or anything that I would do to improve this site. Being new to wikis and having to think about how to implement a wiki, this was very encouraging in its simplicity.

My Ideas About My Own Wiki
Having seen examples from a very simple wiki for a kindergarten class to a middle class project wiki, to a most elaborate wiki designed for multiple audiences, I am not sure I am ready to launch my own yet. However, I am beginning to think about the audience for a wiki. I am certain that it would begin by being very simple and develop into a more complex wiki as interaction with the wiki begins (or doesn't). As I go through the thoughts of the tasks I perform during the school year, the information I give out the most, and the needs of the students and the parents, I am visualizing a wiki that is informational for the parents and students. I liked the Discovery Education math helper, that explained how to do all kinds of math problems from K through 12th grade. A link to that site would be good. Maybe some parent resources with ideas about helping ADD students manage in a school environment, etc., a link to a teacher site which provided homework or classwork information and email addresses or wiki sites would be helpful. Any upcoming events at the school could be added. As I think about this, I realize that may have just ventured off into duplicating our school website. I need to continue to think this through and make my wiki more interactive rather than just informational and maybe for a more specific rather than general audience. To be continued . . .

Thing #7

Ms. Manners of Blogging??? Since I am new to blogging, I certainly didn't realize that blogging comes with so many rules. It has been a challenge to find blogs to read, learn to update a Reader/feeder/RSS (still having trouble with learning the appropriate terminology), much less learn all of the etiquette that goes along with blogging. To comment or not to comment is the question alright. It seems to me that if the purpose of blogging is to comment about what you believe, support, or are passionate about, what makes you mad, helpful hints, your achievements, your philosophy, and your opinions about stuff in general, you are certainly doing it to be heard. Since no voice recordings are involved, you won't be hearing anything that lets you know your words have been read unless you open up that blog to some written interaction from others. Others who must be interested because they have taken the time to read and, one would hope, respond to your blog. So, it seems a little ridiculous to set up a blog without inviting comments from others. It just has to be done.

Now, about that experience on making comments. At first, I was thinking okay, this is very laid back writing, my kids do it all the time, it has to be easy. But what I found is that making comments on a blog, well, that is a whole different subject. What has become clear to me is just how difficult it has been to make comments on another's blog. It is just downright intimidating. Learning to write in the old school days meant that you had to be very careful with the finished (writing) product. It takes thinking long and hard about what to say, organizing your paper in a way that flows, checking and double checking the spelling and grammar, backing up your opinions with facts and examples. Makes me tired just thinking about it. Plus, having that problem with letting go of a final(?) paper knowing that when I go back to read it a little later, there will be something I could have/should have said differently. This all gets multiplied by 100 if there is a difference of opinion involved and my writing involves trying to sway someone to think like me. I commented on about 6 blogs yesterday. I could only push the post button on 3. The comments were pretty lame. "Thanks for the information." "I enjoyed reading your blog." Now, add blogging etiquette into the picture and I may never be able to push a post button again especially since responses are out there for all to see. I will keep trying to comment on blogs, since I know that it requires back and forth conversation. I will even try to put some comments in place that provide insight and add depth to the post, but I know that, for me, it will not be easy.

Thing #6

Oh my gosh! I sat down today to work on 23 things at about 11:00 and it is now 2:49. I have been playing/reading the RSS updates and trying to get a circle of wise friends lined up. Looks like I am going to need a lot more practice if I want to be able to use this tool in my busy days at school. Having said all that, it is obvious isn't it, that I enjoyed myself learning all kinds of new stuff. Let's start with the websites of the day. This has been added to my Google Reader to allow for updates from Larry Ferlazzo who has done some of the leg work for teachers by finding good websites that can be used by students and teachers. Two of those websites are Google for Teachers II - Free Guide, and Robbon Isand Soccer League (for those interested in the World Cup extras). The Weather Channel and Google news are also now part of my RSS feed to allow me to see the latest updates in news and weather (what about that Lindsey Lohan?). And, I admit it, I did spend some time playing by adding some fun things to my RSS feeder. Whew! I need to get focused and move on to Thing #7!

Thing #5

While exploring RSS and Google Reader, I chose to add an Education bundle of sites from which I would like to receive updates. One of them has to do with Technology in the Classroom. I chose this subject because I frequently feel like my knowledge and/or application of technology in an educational environment is never adequate. Could be the high speed of change in both areas, or so it seems. I received an update on Essential Classroom Technologies by Henry Thiele. I was pleased at his simple, non-technological response that even I could understand. The three things he recommends are a computer of some sort, preferably powerful enough to allow the "world into the classroom." Next was a projector which allows for one computer to be used to show information to the entire class. Last was some type of audio equipment to allow projection of sound to a classroom, his recommendation was a set of speakers. The lone comment posted so far debated this stating that it was just as, or more important, to have a microphone and recording capability. I enjoyed reading this post since it was simple enough for me to understand and it validated the fact that at our school we are in possession of and using at least the essential technology tools in our classrooms. I know that feeling of validation won't last but a second longer, so I will end this post and go back to Google Reader to see what technological challenges for the classroom pop up next.

Thing #4

Blog writing, in general, seems like a very laid back form of writing. Many contributors took time to make sure their writing included facts to back up their opinions as well as links to other sites that they referred to while writing. There was generally a variety of writing samples where the authors were sometimes direct, sometimes factual, sometimes colorful, sometimes just plain cute as in the 2nd graders blog about ducks. Most provided some information, it wasn't just opinions. I found that blog reading can be tedious, and took weeding through much information to get to a few good ideas from responding bloggers. It may have felt this way because I was choosing blogs from a preselected list of blog posts. Had I been independently participating, either writing my own blog, or reading/responding to a blog that I had chosen to go to on my own, it may not have seemed so tedious. While I do not see myself reading or writing blogs for entertainment, I did find at least one to be entertaining. Blogging was very much like a conversation between a group (classroom type discussions). I saw value in the development of the discussion about homework as each person posting continued to expand their ideas, and thus the conversation, about assigning homework, taking into consideration what the previous (or original) blogger had written. This was an excellent example of how you might want a blog to work with your class at school to facilitate learning. I am uncertain about a blogging literacy. I did not see any use of acronyms or text-messaging type of spelling. Most bloggers used language & grammar that was correct. The conversations were easy to follow. I did notice that often, the comments just went on and on. In the Why I Don't Assign Homework blog, the conversation developed and redeveloped. In the blog about plastic grocery bags, the conversation just went on and on about the same thing. I wanted to quit reading, but was afraid I would miss a great pearl of wisdom if I didn't read it all (that is where the tedious came in although the original post was interesting information). Also, in Spies Like Us by CoolCatTeacher, while the actual blog post was very factual and good information to have, the comments tended to be thank you for talking about this or that was a good idea instead of an evolving discussion.

Thing #2 Thoughts about Web 2.0

Web 2.0 provides opportunities for student use of technology in a school environment. It can be used to

• give the teacher feedback about what learning has occurred.
• replace some pen and pencil forms of information collected by teachers
• allow students to research, report and present to a teacher or class
• help trigger and develop critical thinking about a subject through conversation with others
• through pod casts, help a student who has missed class, or who is slower to grasp concepts, to catch up
• allow parents in on what is going on during class
• invites convenient conversation with teachers when it is difficult managing class time and answering all students' individual questions.

Today's learners generally know more about the tools available on the Internet and through the use of computers and Ipods than the adults who instruct them. They are

comfortable using these tools and allowing them to do so meets the

needs of those who have different styles of learning. It is very

important that we teach our students in a form of communication that

is being used world-wide so they can continue to learn in high school

and college and after formal education is no longer being provided.

Initial thoughts about Web 2.0 is that it provides us an opportunity

to teach and our students an opportunity to learn about communicating

with others in a real world environment.

Thing #1 Habits - Reflections on Lifelong Learning

The 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Life-long Learners was an excellent reminder about goal setting. It is kind of like the things learned at an early age that we do automatically. Often the steps we followed to learn those things are forgotten. So, we know how to read, but we would have a hard time teaching someone else to read because we have forgotten about the path we took to get there. The easiest habit for me with most learning experiences is beginning with the end in mind. This is one of those things done automatically without prompting. For example, I want to learn to dance, or to cook something new, or find out how to put up a tile backsplash. (Can you tell I love to learn new things?) The most important habit (for me) has to be viewing problems as challenges. More frequently, the challenge is accepted. However, more often than I would probably want to believe, a goal is derailed due to a problem. No dance partner, ingredients needed for new recipe are out of season, or the tile job is just too overwhelming. All frustrating roadblocks for the goals that were set. However, if the challenge is accepted and success becomes the ultimate goal, the realizations begin taking place. You don't need a dance partner to dance, there are at least a million types of foods out there to use as a substitute in a recipe, and that if a job is broken down into smaller goals or pieces, a job that is overwhelming can become manageable. Probably the most challenging habit is the mentoring or teaching someone else. That's kind of funny for a teacher, huh? The problem is not so much teaching or mentoring as getting a receptive student or mentoree. Someone who also is a life-long learner and maybe more of the problem is finding someone who wants to learn the same things I want to learn.