Thing #23 - Summarize your thoughts about this program

You mean I'm finished!!! I can't believe that I made it to the end! Some of my products, like my blog page, are kind of crude and not as attractive or informative as others, but I tried my best. This was a true learning experience in so many aspects. One thing that was reinforced is that I am a visual learner and on-line courses are difficult for me. I need someone to model the task, watch as I do it, and be immediately available if I don't understand. Ironically, this has also been a positive experience in that I became really discouraged, but I didn't give up. For that, I will give myself a pat on the back. Once I get back to school, I will get someone to help me make my blog page more attractive and help me with some of the techniques that I attempted. I'm sure there is an easier way for doing some things. Every "Thing" was a learning experience for me. Almost all of the lessons were new concepts for me. Now that I have received the exposure and some practice, I am ready to start perfecting and utilizing. Thank you for offering this course.




1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey

Actually, every lesson was a discovery for me! I promised my librarian that I would enroll in this course, so I would stop asking her so many questions. Wow. I liked several activities: Flickr, Google's Cool Tools, Image Generators, Online Productivity Tools, and Videos. I received great information about Blogs, Tagging, Wikis, and RSS feeds. The feeds are keeping my emai account busy because I'm receiving about 10 a day. I still need to practice on EVERYTHING, so I plan to get with it this year.


2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I knew that I was a dinasaur when it came to understanding and utilizing technology. I will admit---it scares me and the pace is so fast. Even with the cell phones. By the time I get the hang of using my phone, a more advanced version is introduced. This program has shown me a whole world exists outside the doors of my bedroom and I need to join the bandwagon. Technology can be fun and exciting, and there are so many tools to make my life easier and more efficient. This program has really enlightened me.


3.Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I didn't think I would finish it because I did get discouraged at times, plus I worked most of the summer, so I was under a time crunch. I am taking away everything because everything was new to me. I was surprised that my children weren't aware of some of the concepts, so they couldn't help me. My unexpected outcome is that I feel a little bit of empowerment now that I am understanding concepts. Web 2.0 is not going away. It will just become more advanced, so I need to continue to be a life-long learner.


4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

Some directions were confusing and some videos did not work as planned. I would check participant's comments to see how to address a problem. Sometimes it helped because they told me how to do something and sometimes it helped because I realized that I wasn't the only one having problems.


5.If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?

I would choose to participate because I NEED to. At this point, it wouldn't be a choice; it would be a necessity.


6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?

Challenging


7. Now go and comment on some of the other Players' blogs.

Okay!

Thing #22: Nings

I heard my librarian mention this term, but I wasn't sure what it meant or what it did. Now, I see that it is another social website like MySpace and Facebook. I must admit, I do not have either one of these accounts, but it looks like everyone in the world has some type of site. I checked out the suggested Nings, and I really liked the "Ning for Teachers." The format was easy to read, and there was a personal invite for guests. One of the appealing areas was the Lesson Plan area. When I clicked here, I viewed lesson plans for various disciplines. It seems like I need to go ahead and become a part of a social network.

Thing #21 - Podcasts and Videocasts

I clicked on the linked terms because I had heard of them, but I really didn't know what they meant. I really like the CommonCraft videos because they are short and "on my level." I clicked on the book review, and I was able to hear the wonderful book reviews. I wasn't able to view the visual. Since I have never created a podcast, I checked some other blogs. I saw great videos with family information, book reviews, student projects, etc. I wanted to have my daughter engage in a book review or set family pictures to music, but my daughter wouldn't oblige, and the pictures are scattered everywhere (I really need to get photo albums!) I wanted to have something to comply with this assignment, so I attempted to create a visual regarding my experience with the 23 Things training. It's a little rough around the edges, as is the person in the video, but it was fun to prepare.

Thing #20: Explore You Tube and Teacher Tube

Trying to figure this out. Will come back.



I'm not sure what happened. The disadvantage about taking this class on your own is---you feel like you're on your own. I don't have colleagues to run to, so I rely on comments to help me through this training. Some of the comments mentioned that they were successful in embedding the video, but it covered part of the blog. It looks like that happened to me.

I wanted to embed videos from both You Tube and Teacher Tube, but this "thing" was too taxing. This is a video from You Tube. Although it was created for a particular school, I thought the message was universal. During out discussion of Web 2.0, we have primarily focused on teachers and students. This video brings parents into the picture by informing parents how the child's learning experience, in and outside of the classroom will change/has changed.

Once I become more familiar with utilizing (searching, accessing, embedding, discussing)You Tube and Teacher Tube, I will make both a part of my curriculum.

Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards List

This was really interesting. Because I am not techno savvy, I saw so many familiar terms grouped under headings, and I was able to compare their popularity within their group. Now the terms are starting to make sence! For collaborative writing, I love Goggle Docs. When I looked under education, I clicked on DOCSTOC and read an interesting article on dental plans. I wish that I had read this before last Tuesday when we made our annual trip to the dentist$$$. Under fun stuff, I click on One Sentence and there were some pretty creative sentences. Hosed wikis had WetPaint which lead me to the Ghost Wisperer wiki. Yea, GW fans! Delicious (Social News) had an interesting article about textbooks being history in a digital classroom. Once I play with it more, I can select certain groups, then sites that will help facilitate learning in the classroom.

Thing #18: Online Productivity Tools

As with most of these "things." this was new to me. After checking out both tools, I think that I prefer the Google Docs. I reviewed some of the templates and actually saw three that could help me in my personal organization: monthly calendar, monthly budget, and "to do" list. Professionally, I could use this to collaborate with colleagues regarding curriculum, tests, etc. We could be in different locations and still communicate with each other.

I think that it is an advantage to be able to access it anywhere from any computer without worrying about a flash or having it as an attachment to an email. Because it is online, I think it is a disadvantage that there is always the possibility of unauthorized users accessing confidential information.

Thing #17: Rollyo

I like the fact that you can create your own personal search engine. This allow quick access to my favorite websites. I don't have to think and type; now, I just click. This is a great way to target websites for students' research projects. I attempted to view Bruce's video, but I kept getting the "buffering" messages. It was so distracting to have it pop up every 10 seconds, so I will attempt to watch it later. Once I view it, then I will begin setting up websites for student access.

Personal sites that I selected: msn.com, healthfinder.gov, hgtv.com, allrecipes.com, consumer law.org and encyclopedia.com

Thing #16 - Wikis

Now I see where Wikipedia gets its name--duh. I really didn't understand the concept of wikis until now. It is a great collaborative tool. I liked how I was given several resources to explore and I always enjoy the CommonCraft videos. When I saw the camping trip scenerio, it gave me a better way to coordinate our upcoming family reunion. As for the classroom, I liked the suggestion about writing essays from entries and creating top 10 lists. Wat a great way to get kids to "play" ---work. It's like giving a kid his veggies, but not letting him know they're healthy.

Thing 15: Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the Future of Libraries

The various blogs from librarians was very interesting. The students' video, although simple, was very powerful and thought-provoking. My children fall within this century of students while I am with the last century. The library was a quiet place with very little activity or interaction. You checked out a book, received a card stamped with the due date, and you either sat quietly and read it, or you took it home to read. If I needed to do research, I looked in an encyclopedia and paraphrased what I read on a piece of notebook paper. Computers were only used to locate books.

Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 reminds me of a word like The Jetsons---very high tech and fast-paced. Information is readily available at your fingertips, and you have so many sources to explore. The library will be "guided on how users access, consume and create content." Our librarian has embraced this concept and is moving towards this goal. I didn't understand why she was giving away so many books to make space for additional computers. Now, I see why she continues to update her technology skills while encouraging teachers to do the same. My wonderful librarian is why this dinosaur is taking the Library2Play training. I don't want to become extinct!

Thing #14: Technorati and How Tags Work

I watched the two videos regarding Technorati and learned about its capacity to search blogs according to various criteria. When I conducted a blogoshere search for School Library Learning, I received 2476 results. Using the tag method narrowed my choices to 176. I clicked on the popular tags link and I received the top 100 tags. When I clicked on the tag, "blogging", I received 150,267 posts! Depending on whether I want a narrow or broad search, I could change my method. Since I really don't have time to read through numerous blogs, I prefer to narrow the search (negative-sometimes I may not get a great blog because it was tagged a different way).

Thing #13: Tagging and Discoving Delicious

Utilizing tagging, I was able to bookmark information that I could readily access. As a research website, I could gain valuable information by reviewing tags of other bloggers and discuss topics that they created/discussed. As a teacher, this would be a wonderful way to explore lessons to implement in the classroom. It also allows me to organize my personal information by cueing me in to the particular areas that I need to access.

Thing #12: Creating Community Through Commenting

There was a lot of good information in this "thing." I am not a "talker." I was forced to get a cell phone which I usually leave at home or forget to check when I do have it. At home, I rarely talk on the phone. Therefore, getting a blog site and utilizing it has been a big step for me. Two points that I think are important are: Write a meaningful comment and Remember the power of words. I am starting to become more concious about reading comments to blogs to see what people are saying. This allows me to get more insight into the chosen subject and I have the opportunitiy to agree or disagree with the point. During my blog search, I found two blogs of personal interest: Quazen and Absolute Presence. I chose these because one deals with college costs and the other deals with the attitudes of students.

Thing #11: LibraryThing

This was an interesting link. I added some books to my library and checked other groups to see what they had in their library. I did see some users with similar interests. This is a great place to list and discuss books. I could network with colleagues to see how they implemented book studies in their classroom. Also, I like how this site connects to bookstores, libraries, and allow me to listen in/participate in discussions.

Thing #10: Online Image Generator

I lost a lot of time with this lesson. It was so much fun that I made items for my children. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to show Shemar Moore feeding me chocolate covered strawberries!

In the meantime, I utilized Dumpr to create the attached image. In Little Rock, there is an exhibit that depicts the Little Rock Nine. Their plight was an important part of history, and their courage paved the way for my children to attend the school of their choice. My children posed next to them to show their gratitude.

In a unit meeting, I was awestruck with a handout of several related terms creatively placed on a sheet of paper. Now, I know how the teacher created it! She utilized Wordie. I will create my own handout of terms. This will facilitate the discussion of memoirs. In addition, the students could create posters from Big Huge Labs when we discuss the grammar unit. There are other sites that I liked, but I need time to process some ideas. This lesson gave me a jump start!

Thing #9: Useful Library-Related Blogs and News Feeds

These lessons are becoming fast and furious. As I learn additional "things", I am seeing more work mount up. I am receiving so many alerts in my email. I didn't have time to read email before this training, so now I really feel bogged down. Oh well...

This was an interesting activity. After playing with the various websites, I found blogsearch.google.com to be the easiest. Technorati and Edublog were interesting. Syndico was a bit confusing. During my travels, I came across some interesting blogs. Per your suggestion, I accessed The Cool Cat Teacher blog. The reading was quite enlightening as to creating a "circle of the wise." I especially liked one of the replies which used an example of a military leader to create a trusted circle. After accessing another site, I discovered that an author from my hometown had recently passed away. I read some of the blogs that discussed the author's impact on his loyal readers.

Thing #8: RSS Feeds and Reeders

The Library2Play activity is really trying to catch me up with today's technology. I guess I have been hiding in a cave all these years. Each activity introduces a new and exciting concept to me. I loaded two of the suggested blogs, my librarian's blog, a political blog, and my daughter's blog. In addition, I added two websites that I like to peruse.

I like how everything comes to me vs. me going to them. It does save a lot of time, as well as, energy accessing the numerous sites that I periodically read. I plan to add/delete some as time goes on. With information transmitted to me on an immediate basis, I will be able to keep updated on current events and technology that are occurring in the world. This will help facilitate class discussions and class activities. One of the blogs belongs to our school's librarian. It had current "good reads", clever activities for students, and ways to incorporate technology into the curriculum. This will be a great way to keep me updated when I don't have time to personally touch bases with her.

Thing #7: Cool Google Tools

I reviewed the various Google tools. I didn't know that Goggle had so many free resources. Although all of them were interesting, I set up Google Alerts (TAKS, teacher raises), and I customized my home page utilizing iGoogle. I started out with the following gadgets: calorie counter, daily devotional, and top stories. I am sure that I will add to this as my comfort level increases. I plan to utilize the Goggle Calendar once school resumes. I think that it would valuable to list curriculum topics, due dates for assignments, test dates, birthdays, school closed dates, and other information that would be relevant to the students. To increase my "techno level," I will add Atomic Learning to my toolbox.