Summary

Although this program has been a lot of work and I have spent a lot of time on it I have enjoyed learning about all these new technologies. I have learned so much during this semester and the majority of it has come from doing the 23 things activity. I was surprised at the amount of educational tools that I was able to find and use on the Internet. I used many tools that I had no prior knowledge of and was successful at using them. I plan to stay on top of the technology curve by staying active on the web. Keeping up with groups such as Diigo, Teacher Pop and blogs will help me to do so. I plan on using the tools that I have learned in order for me to be productive in the classroom. Time management is a big key inside the classroom and there is no doubt that many of the tools from 23 things will help me in that area. My favorite activities were the Animoto video maker and learning about Igoogle. I plan to use these two tools for some time to come. Overall this semester long activity was a great hands on experience.

Thing #23 Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a great informal website that can help both teachers and students. Beyond that it could help anyone in any field. I feel like copyright law is something that we should all know. I plan to use creative commons in my classroom as part of my syllabus. That way students will know that I take copyright serious and that it is something that I expect them to learn and know. It will also give them hard copy material that they can look over when they do not have access to a computer. When using information they can always refer back to creative commons when needed.

Thing #22 Podcasts

When looking through the different podcast directories I chose the Education Podcast Network. It is a great library of podcast and very simple to use. It broke the podcast down by subject matter and grade level. There were podcast on every subject, even classes such as dance education and career development. I listened to a podcast on the history of Jamestown. It taught where and why the colony was created along with the general history. It was very informal and educational. As a teacher you can put your podcast on The Education Podcast Network for your students or others to hear. This is a great tool for teachers as some students learn better through audio. Although I did like the site and the podcast I am not sure yet if I will use podcast in my classroom. The jury is still out on this one.

Thing #21 Animato

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Animoto is a video tool that is incredibly easy to use. I uploaded around ten pictures form an album previously saved on my computer. Then I selected a song out of the Animoto library to play with the pictures. I then clicked create and it made my video within a short amount time. It was a really neat tool that took five minutes of time to complete. You could use Animoto to make educational videos in the classroom. As I have stated before I like simplicity and this tool is as simple as it gets.

Thing #20 YouTube

I chose to look up videos on the Great Depression since that is what my standard covers for my 3040 project. This video is informal and one that I could show my students in the classroom when covering this era. I personally am a huge fan of YouTube and find myself visiting the site several times a day to kill time between classes. I find it to be such an easy and helpful site where you can find videos on just about anything. You can also create an account where you can upload your own videos and store videos that you like. I love YouTube but there are some bad things on the site and therefore it would need to be monitored closely in the classroom.

Great Depression Video

Thing #19 Other Social Networks

After completing Thing #19 I am now a member of Teacher Pop to go along with my facebook membership. Out of the additional social networks listed I really liked GoodReads. I enjoy reading and read quite a few books and therefore found this network helpful. You can read reviews or get recommendations on books to read. You can also setup or join an online book club if you would like. I also enjoy famous quotes and you can save them on this network. I could see myself using Teacher Pop as a resource when teaching. It is comforting to know that I can network with people down the road whom I already know. It would serve as a great way to help out each other when we go our separate ways and become teachers.

Thing #18 Social Networking

My Facebook

I found this exercise to be one of the easiest for me because I am a daily user of social networking online. I have had both myspace and facebook accounts but currently only use the facebook account. I prefer facebook because of it more simplistic layout, fewer incidences of spam and completely random and inappropriate people trying to add me as a friend. It is important for teachers to know how to social network because they can reach more students and stay connected to other professionals in the field. I prefer facebook out of the two and could see a school or classroom application being helpful. It would serve as another way to share announcements, dates, assignments and ideas. I feel like it would be great for a classroom under strict monitoring to keep it safe and appropriate.

Thing #17 Tagging & Social Bookmarking

I can see the benefits of del.icio.us in the classroom. I see this site being more beneficial to teachers. Here they can store helpful information that they have found on the web. It would definitely help you become more organized and helpful when searching for other material. I feel like it would be a little harder to find exact information with so many tags but it would be manageable. I like del.icio.us but for some reason I am not crazy about it. It is helpful that you can provide feedback of findings to help others. Not really sure yet if I would ever use this tool in my classroom.

Thing #16 Get Organized

When deciding which customized start age to chose I decided on iGoogle. I chose this because I am somewhat already familiar with it and I really like the simplicity of Google. I really like the fact that you can completely customize everything. I chose a St. Louis baseball background since that is my favorite team and it is baseball season. I really like the idea of being able to put everything I would need on my homepage. I have CNN, Fox News, weather, calendar, YouTube, facebook and twitter. I can use these tools without even leaving my homepage! The only thing that I have not been able to figure out is how to make a link to AP Onestop. If I can figure out how to do that then I will definitely make iGoogle my homepage. I am confident that I will! I also really like the to do list mostly because I am a person who makes list. One of my favorite things to do is to mark stuff off my list that I have done. It makes me feel productive! It is a great tool with easy access. The calendars and to do list can be helpful in making sure that you stay on top of things. During this exercise I found the iGoogle organization tool to be very helpful and most importantly efficient. Another great resource by Google for educators!

Thing #15 Wikis

Wikis are rapidly picking up on the Internet today. I have often used wikipedia to find quick, general information on certain educational topics. They are a great way to look up valuable information but you must be careful with what you find. The bad thing about wikis is that anyone can add or edit content therefore sometimes information could be misleading. Luckily most posters will post their sources along with their content so you can make sure that they are reliable. Wikis are not just for information but also for communication as the short video showed about the camping trip. I think that wikis are great for finding general information and communication. However if I were doing research for a study or a paper then I would prefer to stay away from wikis. Unfortunately there are people out there that like to promote false things. In my classroom wikis could be great for interaction. Each student could collaborate and learn from each other. I feel like wikis could be valuable to a classroom but would require a lot of monitoring by the teacher.

Thing #14 Go With the Flow

For Thing #14 we were told to explore mind maps and flowcharts. When doing so the two websites that I chose were bubbl and gliffy. These two websites were great and have several tools that could benefit each of us. What is even better that is that the two sites were very easy to maneuver around and simple to use. Bubbl is a mind map where you can create mind maps online, share work, put in your blog, email, collaborate with others and it even has multi-lingual support. You can use mind maps to help brainstorm ideas and make list. The flowchart website that I chose was gliffy. It is also a simple website that could be beneficial in the classroom. You can easily create flowcharts that show ideas and thoughts flowing. It could also benefit contractors who can make floor plans and designs and save them. To save all your charts and diagrams all you have to do is create an account online. By creating an account you will have access to your work just about anywhere. This two sites have a place in the classroom!

Thing #13 Online Applications

This online application's capabilities was unreal to me. After exploring around I was really surprised that I had never heard of Zoho Writer. It has an endless amount of tools and apps that could benefit anyone in any field. Some of the tools offered are Zoho planner, chat, share, wiki, mail, notebook, meeting and sheet. The Zoho notebook is an online note taker that I could use in my classes. The Zoho meeting is an online web conferencing tool where you can communicate with others. Possibly parents or other teachers. As an educator you could keep all your spreadsheets on the Zoho sheet. You can also share documents that are saved on your Zoho account with others. You can join or create groups on Zoho of your interest. This could allow you to share educational opportunities with others. Also when first signing up for Zoho you can customize a personal profile so others can find and know who you are. As I stated already there are numerous ways the Zoho can enhance your every day life and make accomplishing task much easier. I plan to start using this app during my undergraduate work.

Thing #12 Google does it all

Well the title is certainly right. I don't think there is anything that Google does not have to offer. It is unreal what all they have accomplished and what they are able to do. I checked out the recommended Google tools and decided to go deeper into igoogle and Google calendar. After playing with the two I learned that both are great tools that can be a great help. The thing that I enjoyed the most about igoogle is how much time it can save you. It allows you to have all the information that you would like to stay up to date with all on one home page. You can customize your homepage to look and contain anything you would like. Some things that I put on my home page were youtube, weather, gmail, CNN news, Fox news and the US Department of Education. My homepage will constantly keep me update on these topics. There is no doubt that igoogle would benefit teachers and is very similar to google reader. I also explored Google calendar and there is no doubt that this tool would be beneficial to educators. This calendar allows you to plan out your schedule by the day, month, 4 days at a time and you can setup a personal agenda. I personally made my class and football schedule. The best thing is that you can share your calendar with others and they can share their calendars with you. As a educator you can share your calendar of events with parents to make sure that they stay involved in their child's education. After exploring more of Google it seems like they are on top of the mountain at this time. They have so many useful tools that can help your every day life that I never realized before. I have always just thought of Google as just a great search engine but my opinion has now been changed!