Animoto was probably one of my favorite things to use and something I will have fun playing with in the future, as well as Flickr. Thing #9 was kind of fun and useful but some of those websites were difficult to use. A lot of these things I already used Facebook, twitter, youtube and skype, for instance. I did get frustrated having to sign up for so many new accounts and some of the directions on what to do when we got to the sites was unclear. Learning about creative commons was useful and appreciated. I had no idea what Web 2.0 was before this course, either. I guess different people learned different things throughout the completion of these. It was a lot to fit in in 5 weeks on top of everything else in the class. I did learn quite a bit and would like to have more time to just explore some of the things.
As much, as I would love to say that I will maintain my blog. I am not sure I am the blogging type. I might continue to follow some of the educational blogs I have found but, I use FB for most of my need to technologically express myself and with as crazy as my life is I don't have time to report to a blog everyday.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thing # 23 Yay!!!!!
Thing # 5 includes the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0
At the bottom of the page it says "Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License"
This lets us know that people can use the information as long as they give credit to the other and share it in the same way.
I think Creative Commons is such a good idea and because it is a new idea it is represented in a modern and easy to understand way on so many sites, through videos, etc. It makes information easily available and as teachers we create so much with our lesson plans that if we were able to share them with each other under our own terms we could really benefit the students to create even better lessons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0
At the bottom of the page it says "Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License"
This lets us know that people can use the information as long as they give credit to the other and share it in the same way.
I think Creative Commons is such a good idea and because it is a new idea it is represented in a modern and easy to understand way on so many sites, through videos, etc. It makes information easily available and as teachers we create so much with our lesson plans that if we were able to share them with each other under our own terms we could really benefit the students to create even better lessons.
Thing # 22
My three binders are related to school topics that I am currently researching for this class and another. I have a binder on Child Abuse, one on care for the webquest and another on Austin Peay for my Powerpoint. I shared the cars one on my page. I think this could be useful for students in the classroom to collect information and store it on the web so that they have access to it every time they are in the classroom. They could also, get information at school and access it at home since most students in elementary school wont have emails, pensticks or other external storage devices.
Discuss how you might use LiveBinders in the classroom, including possible lesson ideas for students
Thing # 21
This was fun!!! I loved how it linked to my Facebook and I could just use the albums that I had already created. I thought it would be more complicated than that but it was so simple. It hardly took anytime at all and I think the end product is adorable because its of my kids, my nieces and nephews. I can definitely see myself actually using this in the future and being able to add the music is pretty cool.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Thing # 20
I love Youtube. I mainly listen to music on it but, I also use it to find video clips for presentations that I have to give for classes. The video that I chose to put in here is related to NCLB and the Race to the top. It breaks down both topics and discusses the pros and cons of both.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coxD_o2GRyw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coxD_o2GRyw
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thing # 19
I am a member of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, TeacherPop, Meetup and probably a few othersthat I do not use on a regular basis. Facebook is the only one I use on a daily basis. Facebook is appealing to me becaue it is so easy to use and lets me stay in touch with the friends I have met throughout my life that are spread all over the world. TeacherPop is appealing because it is like a professional version of Facebook and is great for greating a community of online "friends" in the teaching profession. TeacherPop is something that i think I will continue to use as I continue you on my path to teaching.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Thing # 18
https://twitter.com/#!/MelisitaCast
Educators need to know about these sites because students will be using them and it will add to their cultural awareness. It is also, potentially a way to communicate with students if handled appropriately which could be a modern tech savvy classroom application. Teachers who are already using these sites also need to reevaluate the content of their sites. No matter how private or secure you may think something is you want to make sure your content is appropriate in case students stumble or intentionally search you out on these networking sites. Twitter is fun for simple updates but Facebook has become an amazing and very popular social networking site that depending on your grade level most students will be using to post status updates, pictures and use to share their life with others. This can create drama and also, insight for what is going on with them in their lives. Having a general understanding of these sites and the positive and negative side effects is imperative for teachers in this age of teaching.
Educators need to know about these sites because students will be using them and it will add to their cultural awareness. It is also, potentially a way to communicate with students if handled appropriately which could be a modern tech savvy classroom application. Teachers who are already using these sites also need to reevaluate the content of their sites. No matter how private or secure you may think something is you want to make sure your content is appropriate in case students stumble or intentionally search you out on these networking sites. Twitter is fun for simple updates but Facebook has become an amazing and very popular social networking site that depending on your grade level most students will be using to post status updates, pictures and use to share their life with others. This can create drama and also, insight for what is going on with them in their lives. Having a general understanding of these sites and the positive and negative side effects is imperative for teachers in this age of teaching.
Thing # 17
I think this is a useful tool. As of late, I have become frustrated with how ridiculously overloaded web searches have become. Even T.V. commercials for search engines like BING touch on the subject. You type in one word or try to be specific and you are wasting time filtering through useless sites and random unimportant needless information since anyone can create or upload anything they want and tag it as anything they want. Sites like www.delicious.com allow you to search through items that you need that are verified by reliable sources or pinpoint what you are looking for. I looooove google but it can be frustrating. This allows you to view collections that are relevant to you and what you are probably looking for. This would be highly useful in a classroom because you don't want your students to stumble upon half the stuff that is out there. Creating a collection or directing their attention to a specific collection of links would be very helpful and time saving.
Thing # 16
I used netvibes to create a custom start page. I had a bit of fun playing around with it. It had a simple and easy to understand tutorial in the beginning. What caught my attention first was that bright colors and modern feel to it but it was very simple to use.
I used ta-da tod do list and it was fairly simple. Well, it was very simple. I just wasn't entirely sure I saw the relevance for it. I mean I could just as easily create a word document list and not have to sign into anything or complicate it. I understand perhaps the sharing tab would be useful but it seems like a few extra steps to an overly simple procedure. http://tadalist.com/
I think online calendars can be helpful and colorful and pretty, etc. but I also, think that they can add a few they can add too many steps. Calendars however are nice if you want an electronic version of your schedule. They also allow for reminders, you can link them to your mobile phone and they provide a clear, organized and easy to read format and layout that can be personalized to your needs. I think once I start working and need to organize a schedule I will use the online calendar tools to keep me on track and have my schedule clearly laid out.
I used ta-da tod do list and it was fairly simple. Well, it was very simple. I just wasn't entirely sure I saw the relevance for it. I mean I could just as easily create a word document list and not have to sign into anything or complicate it. I understand perhaps the sharing tab would be useful but it seems like a few extra steps to an overly simple procedure. http://tadalist.com/
I think online calendars can be helpful and colorful and pretty, etc. but I also, think that they can add a few they can add too many steps. Calendars however are nice if you want an electronic version of your schedule. They also allow for reminders, you can link them to your mobile phone and they provide a clear, organized and easy to read format and layout that can be personalized to your needs. I think once I start working and need to organize a schedule I will use the online calendar tools to keep me on track and have my schedule clearly laid out.
Thing # 15
I had been trying to add something to sandbox page for a ridiculous amount of time and could not figure it out. The computers in the lab would not let me edit the page for some reason and that was so frustrating. Looking at the posts others have made I am not the only one that lost some sanity in attempts to complete this "thing." For some reason it worked from home so, I am thankful for that. If anyone else is having problems it seemed to work after I gave it a couple of hours and tried from somewhere else...lol. Good luck:) I was informed today(thank you Dr. Jerles) that WIKI actually, stand for "What I know is." I think they have the potential to be fun but this was not a good experience and so I am a little irritated with them. I am sure I will get over it....someday!
Thing # 14
I used Gliffy and it was very simple to navigate. I will definitely use this tool in the future. It sure beats trying to cut and paste and use paint to get a flow chart going. This is definitely a useful tool that I will utilize in the future for creating handouts or demonstrating thought processes or in presentations I have to give. Bubble.us is something that I have used before and I think it is very easy to use and useful. It is great for creating webs. I used this in a previous course to create a web for a unit plan showing the possible directions I could take the lesson and types of supplemental content that could be added. Flowcharts and mind maps both start with one idea but the difference is that a flow chart is used more often to show if/then scenarios and thought processes you start with a single idea and based choices are shown that create different pathways to some end result. Mind maps also, begin with one idea and then branch of into other categories, sub- categories and or supplemental ideas that stem from the main idea.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Thing # 13
Grrrr, I was writing this whole paragraph praising Zoho Writer and its ease of use and how it reminded me of Microsoft Office only more convenient because of how it allowed you to access your documents online without having to attach them or save them on a thumb drive but then I hit the wrong button and lost the whole thing. User error I know!!!! I do like the idea of being able to access it wherever I need to though and being able to export it easily without saving it and uploading it somewhere else.
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| Google Doc Drawing |
I think Zoho was actually easier to use. I seemed to be able to interact with it better without getting messed up or confused. I also, liked the set up and flow of things better. For google docs the classroom could set up a collection and work together on projects and collaborate with each other by sharing their work and making is available to others. There are a lot of useful tools. Having a class calendar would be something useful for the students. There are thousands of templates including surveys, timelines, contact lists, bubble maps and many tools that the children could use to organize data or the teacher could use to present data..
Friday, June 17, 2011
Thing # 12
Google alerts sounds interesting if I had something I was die hard interested in knowing about but I have enough stuff to sift through on a daily basis in my inbox with out flooding my email with a plethora of additional emails about topics. Google translate is something I use and love!!!!! It helps me test out and fine tune my developing Spanish skills and refreshes my memory on my German. Having been a military spouse for going on 9 years I have met a lot of people from around the world and stay in contact with a lot of them despite our language barriers. Speaking a language is one thing but reading and writing it is another and Google Translate helps make that transition easier. The calendar would be a good tool to use for a class schedule. Translate would be helpful in communicating with penpals for your students and Igoogle for setting up a class webpage with content that you want the class to see and be aware of everyday.
Thing # 11
The methods all had there own benefits. Not knowing what you are looking for makes the suggestions offered through some of the methods like syndic8 very welcomed. I thought they were all fairly simple to navigate. You can follow feeds on just about anything from musicians, to random individuals, track updates about immunizations, etc. I think the question is not what can you find or did you find but was there anything you wanted to look for that you couldn't find? From what I came acrossed you can search for, follow and find anything that might strike your fancy. I think the hardest part is actually finding things that you are genuinely interested in and want to follow because there is a lot of junk mixed in with everything.
Thing # 10
I actually already had google reader set up. I like it because it collects the information I want to see so I don't have to waste my time jumping from place to place in my daily ritual of catch ing up on what I deem necessary to leave the house every morning. I am not a morning person by any means so saving me time and letting me have all my wanted information in one spot is absolutely wonderful.
In a classroom setting you could set this up to track everyone's blogs in one spot, capture relevant daily news you would like the students to be aware of or any collection of things you would like them to keep track of or be prepared to discuss on a daily basis.
In a classroom setting you could set this up to track everyone's blogs in one spot, capture relevant daily news you would like the students to be aware of or any collection of things you would like them to keep track of or be prepared to discuss on a daily basis.
Thing # 9
My adorable son!
My sassy girl!
Thing # 8
My creation, a photo by Melisitacast on Flickr
This was kind of fun. I just selected the layout I wanted and then used green leaves as a tag and got this. It would be fun to fine tune it and individually select photos but that would take some time and for the purpose of this blog alone this will suffice. It think a lot of these tools would be fun for kids to use. They could make collages, spell out to use as the layout for acrostic poems. I am fine with sharing most photos online but when it comes to family photos and such I think I become a little leery. My cousin actually had some girl in Florida steal one of her photos and the random stranger was using it as their MySpace profile picture. Even if it is copyrighted and you have it set on private or not set for sharing people can do all sorts of things with computers these days and cutting and pasting or doing a screen capture pretty much undoes all of the settings you created that basically, created nothing more than a flase sense of security. Although, your legal rights may be entact getting a lawyer to fight for your rights is not something most people are financially prepared to do.
Thing # 7
The best dog in the world and one heck of a frisbee and soccer player!
I think Flickr would be a good way to upload pictures for the classroom and share them with the class or parents if you had permission from the student's parents. It would allow family members some insight to things going on in the class and help develop a sense of sommunity and connectedness for the students and their caregivers. I have never used a photsharing site before like this.
All the settings were a little confusing and although I was able to add my photo as a blog post in itself I was not able to link it directly into the blog I had to do some sideways steps to make this part of the post created by Flickr and that was frustrating. I finally had to make myself stop trying to make it work and move on. (I'm still frustrated byt it!!!!)
I think Flickr would be a good way to upload pictures for the classroom and share them with the class or parents if you had permission from the student's parents. It would allow family members some insight to things going on in the class and help develop a sense of sommunity and connectedness for the students and their caregivers. I have never used a photsharing site before like this.
All the settings were a little confusing and although I was able to add my photo as a blog post in itself I was not able to link it directly into the blog I had to do some sideways steps to make this part of the post created by Flickr and that was frustrating. I finally had to make myself stop trying to make it work and move on. (I'm still frustrated byt it!!!!)
Thing # 6
SKYPE http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home
The site/tool I chose to learn more about and praise is skype. I just started using skype recently. My husband is deployed and it seems to be the best means of communication. It allows for chatting, voice calls and video calls. It lets you call computer to computer or computer to mobile phones via the internet and is free. Calling landlines or actual mobile numbers costs money but is still fairly cheap. Skype creats a contact list for you and allows you to link your social networking sites into it so you can connect statuses with your contacts. You can also, play internet games with the people you are communicating with. What I love most about it is that is stores your conversation history even if you close it so that you can refer back to it if necessary.
For a school setting, this type of technology would be an amazing upgrade to the "penpals" of the past. Imagine if you set up a communication with kids from around the world. Depending on the time differences they could communicate and learn from eachother. Obviously, kids in Hawaii wouldn't be able to chat with kids in Paris because of the time difference but Chicago could chat with London and sticking in the same hemisphere would work. It would be a great way to open the door to cultural studies for kids of any age.
The site/tool I chose to learn more about and praise is skype. I just started using skype recently. My husband is deployed and it seems to be the best means of communication. It allows for chatting, voice calls and video calls. It lets you call computer to computer or computer to mobile phones via the internet and is free. Calling landlines or actual mobile numbers costs money but is still fairly cheap. Skype creats a contact list for you and allows you to link your social networking sites into it so you can connect statuses with your contacts. You can also, play internet games with the people you are communicating with. What I love most about it is that is stores your conversation history even if you close it so that you can refer back to it if necessary.
For a school setting, this type of technology would be an amazing upgrade to the "penpals" of the past. Imagine if you set up a communication with kids from around the world. Depending on the time differences they could communicate and learn from eachother. Obviously, kids in Hawaii wouldn't be able to chat with kids in Paris because of the time difference but Chicago could chat with London and sticking in the same hemisphere would work. It would be a great way to open the door to cultural studies for kids of any age.
Thing # 5
School 2.0 is a lot like web 2.0 but for the educational setting. It takes into account that learning happens everywhere people interact with each other or interact with information. It takes into consideration that the more open and available communication is between people and the more accessible information is to them they easier it will for them to gain knowledge.
School 2.0 adds on to the already growing new dimension of school. Technology has already permanently altered the way we teach children and the way children learn. Children today now learn from podcasts, webquests, websites, etc. They communicate through email, blogs, chats, social networking pages, etc. Teachers no suddenly have a wealth of information accessible to them at any hour, from anywhere and can show their students the world without ever leaving the classroom. They no longer are limited to the knowledge and advice offered from their community they can reach out and communicate with teachers and educators across the world. Our limitations and boundaries are being stretched and in some cases almost eliminated as to what we have access too. We are becoming a global community of learners and educators.
School 2.0 adds on to the already growing new dimension of school. Technology has already permanently altered the way we teach children and the way children learn. Children today now learn from podcasts, webquests, websites, etc. They communicate through email, blogs, chats, social networking pages, etc. Teachers no suddenly have a wealth of information accessible to them at any hour, from anywhere and can show their students the world without ever leaving the classroom. They no longer are limited to the knowledge and advice offered from their community they can reach out and communicate with teachers and educators across the world. Our limitations and boundaries are being stretched and in some cases almost eliminated as to what we have access too. We are becoming a global community of learners and educators.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Thing # 4
Commenting is vital to blogs. Without commenting it would be a bunch of individual rants. People are putting their thoughts out there because they want to be heard. The want other's to see their point of view and they want to know that other's relate to them or identify with them in some way. When people comment either positively or even in contrast to one's perspective it can create a sense of community or open one's eyes to other points of view depending on the nature of the comment.
One piece of advice I gathered from the readings related to commenting and one that I am constantly trying to remind myself of is not to use sarcasm when communicating with technology. It does not translate well!:) Secondly, I was unaware that there was so much "blog etiquette." I didn't know so many people were so serious or so seriously sensitive about responding to responses and what not. I suppose it is something I will have to keep in mind. Holding back sarcasm and avoiding neglect might be asking a lot. Might have failed already:)
As for the commenting itself...I have been trying but it keeps rejecting my openID and I don't even know what is happening when I attempt to use the google account option so, if anyone can explain to me what my problem is I would be much obliged.
So, I did go back and complete my commenting quota, as follows:
Commented back on my own # 13 in response to Lee about Mac and PC issues.
Commented 3 times on my own #4 about commenting
Commented on Kristen Edward’s # 2 about Avatars.
Commented on Shara’s #1 commending her seeing the big picture first.
Commented on Spurlock’s #22 about Livebinders being an unneeded step.
Commented on Kathy Yung’s #12 agreeing with her about our lack of bigshot status and therefore the lack of need for a calendar.
Commented on Carneal’s #23 about having to create so many new accounts.
One piece of advice I gathered from the readings related to commenting and one that I am constantly trying to remind myself of is not to use sarcasm when communicating with technology. It does not translate well!:) Secondly, I was unaware that there was so much "blog etiquette." I didn't know so many people were so serious or so seriously sensitive about responding to responses and what not. I suppose it is something I will have to keep in mind. Holding back sarcasm and avoiding neglect might be asking a lot. Might have failed already:)
As for the commenting itself...I have been trying but it keeps rejecting my openID and I don't even know what is happening when I attempt to use the google account option so, if anyone can explain to me what my problem is I would be much obliged.
So, I did go back and complete my commenting quota, as follows:
Commented back on my own # 13 in response to Lee about Mac and PC issues.
Commented 3 times on my own #4 about commenting
Commented on Kristen Edward’s # 2 about Avatars.
Commented on Shara’s #1 commending her seeing the big picture first.
Commented on Spurlock’s #22 about Livebinders being an unneeded step.
Commented on Kathy Yung’s #12 agreeing with her about our lack of bigshot status and therefore the lack of need for a calendar.
Commented on Carneal’s #23 about having to create so many new accounts.
Thing # 3
I think a blog would definitely be an insightful way to be a reflective practitioner and also, open up your thoughts for others to make suggestions or help solve problems you might be facing with lessons or students. Starting a class blog would certainly be a modern way to help students reflect on their own work, share their thought processes with others and offer support, encouragement, comments and constructive criticism for each others work. So much of our communication today happens through technology and removing the face to face method can sometimes help certain students come out of their shells because it is easier for them to communicate and open up via technology. I think it would work great for things like a book club or reading response journals and even reflection journals of any kind. Setting up a blog that shares student work with parents would be an interesting way to keep the lines of communication open and also, help get more parents involved. Depending on the community your school is in and whether technology is available to all families this could be a great way to keep students on track having their parents be able to see their progress and openly communicate with the teacher.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Thing # 2
I named my blog Castaneda's 23 Things which is not very creative I suppose however, it is what this blog is about. My posting name is Melisitacast which is just a name I use for gamertags and such. I think creating the blog was fairly easy especially, with the step by step directions given.
Creating the avatar was fairly simple, as well. I enjoyed creating it and I attempted to make it look as much like me as possible. Not quite so easy. I was trying to put coffee and books in my hands to represent the caffeine it takes to get me through studying with a deployed husband, a 9 month old and an almost three year old.
Creating the avatar was fairly simple, as well. I enjoyed creating it and I attempted to make it look as much like me as possible. Not quite so easy. I was trying to put coffee and books in my hands to represent the caffeine it takes to get me through studying with a deployed husband, a 9 month old and an almost three year old.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Thing # 1
Write about which of the lifelong learning habits are the easiest and hardest for you and why.
At first, I was having a difficult time trying to figure out which of the 7 & 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners was the most difficult for me. Finally, I decided on the first one, not because it was first but because I love learning. I do it all the time. I am one of those weirdos who thinks it is fun and enjoys collecting facts and trying to learn something new from everything but so often I do it without a plan. I think I sell myself short without having goals that take me further and push me harder in some of the directions that I could go. In that, I become a jack of all trades but a king of nothing. The easiest one for me is to see problems as challenges, learning or otherwise that is how I look at most obstacles in my life. I rarely give myself the option to let it stop me. If I have a path or something that I need, or worse, want to do I find a way there. I often get excited when I face a challenge because it makes the end more worthwhile, after a get over the initial frustration, at least.
Setting up the blog was simple. I don't normally like putting my feelings out there for the whole world to see. I tend to be more private so, some of this feels a little revealing. I am not sure what to expect with the Web 2.0 tools. I am kind of learning as I go but I look forward to learning and trying some new things and seeing where it takes me.
At first, I was having a difficult time trying to figure out which of the 7 & 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners was the most difficult for me. Finally, I decided on the first one, not because it was first but because I love learning. I do it all the time. I am one of those weirdos who thinks it is fun and enjoys collecting facts and trying to learn something new from everything but so often I do it without a plan. I think I sell myself short without having goals that take me further and push me harder in some of the directions that I could go. In that, I become a jack of all trades but a king of nothing. The easiest one for me is to see problems as challenges, learning or otherwise that is how I look at most obstacles in my life. I rarely give myself the option to let it stop me. If I have a path or something that I need, or worse, want to do I find a way there. I often get excited when I face a challenge because it makes the end more worthwhile, after a get over the initial frustration, at least.
Setting up the blog was simple. I don't normally like putting my feelings out there for the whole world to see. I tend to be more private so, some of this feels a little revealing. I am not sure what to expect with the Web 2.0 tools. I am kind of learning as I go but I look forward to learning and trying some new things and seeing where it takes me.
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