Thing 13

I have been using Delicious for a little over a year. At times I use it a lot and then it seems to fade into the background. When I go back to the site, I'm always surprised at what I've been missing. It is incredibly easy to tag and search to find those things I'm looking for. This week when I logged on, I realized I had not visited in some time. It was very interesting to me that some of the sites I had save in the last year or so were completely out of date. How quickly technology changes. I also had several links to sites that I simply was not interested in anymore. Funny how your personal tastes change, too.
I found that it took some thought in making my tags. Trying to figure out how I would look for this information in the future really made me stop and think. If using this within a grade level or department, then agreeing on the tags would certainly be beneficial to establish a common search vocabulary.
http://delicious.com/golfprobie

Thing 7a

What Research Says About Teaching Media Literacy from the Committed Sardine blog has some really great ideas on teaching students the skills needed in a digital world. "Reading online demands different skills than reading print." New literacy demands we teach how to use search engines, read URLs, identify Web site publishers as well as how to identify those sources that lead to valid research. As students are spending more and more time online, our responsibility is to teach the skills they need to stay safe and glean the information needed from their sources. In this digital driven world, our literacy instruction needs to change to keep up with the skills they are already using online. The blog lists the lack training of teachers in online skills as the Number 1 barrier to teaching students in a digital world. We know that, now how do we address it?

Thing 12

I explored several of the tools suggested. My personal favorite was JigZone. I love puzzles and being able to create my own using my favorite pictures was really cool. There was a similar website earlier(Jigsaw) that allowed you to create a puzzle to purchase. However it was not interactive. Kids could take pictures within a topic and then make a puzzle bank for practice.
My other favorite was Poll Daddy. This has great potential for staff development. Imagine being able to poll the participants before and after the class to check for previous knowledge and evaluation. Great teaching tool. Students could create their own polls as part of a unit of study. If they can create the questions and the answers for their classmates, then they truly understand the concept.

Thing 6

I've been following several blogs for almost a year. However with Google Reader, I decided to subscribe to some totally new ones. I have a cooking blog, Ian Jukes Committed Sardine, and several others that are very diverse. I get a little overwhelmed sometimes when I miss a few days and have so many to read that I feel like I'm playing catch-up. I have figured out that I don't need to read them all, so skimming and scanning has been a helpful tool.
My favorite so far has been a post from Tech Learning called Making a Difference by Dan Grey. In his post he talks about the feeling of hopelessness when looking at the state of education in some places in the US. That so many schools seem backwards and far behind in today's standards. He then relates the story of Abel Real. Everyone should watch this YouTube video. It tells us why, that even though it is a struggle to get technology into the hands of students, we should continue to try. It literally saved this young man's life and enabled him to be a productive citizen. After reading his article, I know the struggle is worth it.

Thing 11

Image generators are cool. I love how you can take and idea and literally turn it into your own design. I think kids will love these. I love all these ideas that will potentially take students away from the PowerPoint mentality of Main Idea and 3 bullets, to something creative. The Trading Card was my favorite. What better way to show information is a fun and creative way than by using a trading card format. Pictures and basic information are there in a simple and direct form. The Word Mosaic would also give students the opportunity to put basic knowledge in a graphic form. The only thing I didn't like about this one was that I wasn't able to pick a key word to be larger and more prominent that the rest. However, I could keep changing the format until I found one that almost worked like I wanted. The sign generator was just plain fun. I played for a long time on this one and just laughed. I thought I came up with some really good stuff, however my husband was not as impressed with my cleverness as I thought he should be. Oh, well, I had a great time.




Click on image to enlarge.

Thing 10

The slide show was fairly easy to create. There were lots of choices to investigate. Each one will have its own use in the classroom. I chose Animoto for my project. I was disappointed that I could not create a full-length video. Can't figure that one out yet. One program that was not listed that I really like is Picasa! You can take you own pictures, upload them, and then create a very simple slideshow with music. I'm just now learning this program as it has just offered a version for the Mac.



Images:
Dk415
Lizards-http://www.flickr.com/photos/dkocon/3177247450/sizes/l/
Wallyg
Tree Boa-http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/476717995/sizes/l/
koi, -http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/476718069/sizes/l/
Chinese lizard-http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/476704406/sizes/l/
Lorikeets-http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/480589434/sizes/l/
Cobwebphoto
Flamingo -http://www.flickr.com/photos/31318924@N02/3129657818/sizes/o/
Birds - http://www.flickr.com/photos/31318924@N02/3128836253/sizes/o/
F M Madsen
Ground hogs - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyberdawg/2970675453/
Chrishoggy
Lizards-http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrishoggy/2530715302/sizes/o/

Thing 9 (Stretch)

I could spend hours on this. So many things to do and see. I love the color picker but can't quite figure out how to make it work. I posted my dog's name, Samson, to the right using the Spell feature. That is really cool. I think the kids would love that. Pictures can teach almost anything. Since I'm a very visual learner, pictures are the way I learn best. Students could learn shapes, alphabet, letter/sound correlation..the list is endless. What a fun learning tool.
I am a little hesitant to make all my pictures available to the public. I think that is because most of my pics are of family. I do have a couple of library's that are appropriate for the masses. I'm going to upload those and see what happens.

Thing 9

WOW, I thought blogs were all consuming. They are nothing compared to Flickr and all the fun you can have with photos. Flickr is amazing. I've used it before but always on a limited basis, just looking for one or two things. Now I see how much there is that you can use in your classroom. I just chaperoned a group of pre-school kids on a trip to the zoo. It was hot so we spent a lot of time with the reptiles, etc that were in a little cooler space. The children were fascinated with the smaller animals at the zoo, I guess because the large animals were rather frightening. I thought that a virtual field trip to the "Small Animal Zoo" would be a fun activity for students when a field trip was not possible. My mind is spinning with possibilities. Now on to exploring mashups, spelling, and slideshows. No sleep tonight.








Emeral Tree Boa byWallyg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/476717995/sizes/l/

Thing 8

Copyright or Creative Commons?
You would think that being a librarian and having graduated from "Library School" I'd understand copyright. Well, I don't. At least not as to how it relates to student or teacher created lessons that are meant to show acquired knowledge or teach that same knowledge. Even that sentence is confusing. Creative Commons has the potential to answer a lot of my questions. Lawrence Lessig's blog gives some really good examples of how Creative Commons works. It still leaves some questions in my mind. When creating lessons, flipcharts, or other presentations how much music or content can you use and still be legal? Can patriotic music be used when teaching about National holidays? The questions keep coming. I browsed on Flickr and found many images that used Creative Commons, but the explanation as to what the guidelines are for use are still a little confusing. So, I guess, that my bottom line opinion is that Creative Commons is worthy of a lot more study. PS. I do love the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education. Very helpful.

Thing 7

Posting a comment is risky business. Will I sound wise or foolish, will I totally miss the point, or will I finally have something interesting to say? As I said, it's risky. However, I love reading what others say about my posts. I never think those things about others responses. I always find some other point of view from others comments that make me think. So the lesson learned is don't try to sound smart just try to be honest. Say what you feel and express sincere opinions. In this case, I really do think that practice makes perfect.

Thing 5

Is Too Much Texting a Bad Thing for Teens?
Interesting question. This blog post discusses the possible negatives related to teen texting; lack of sleep, health issues, social dependence. However, the really interesting part to me was the reactions of the kids to their parents use of iPhones and Blackberries. While the teens were constantly texting, they expected their parents to be always at their disposal for questions, transportation and advice. They resented the fact that part of the time they wanted their parents undivided attention, the parents were on the phone. I know I'm rather addicted to my iPhone. It bings and I'm there, constantly in touch even when I need to be doing something else. So where does the danger lie? Is it really too much texting that is dangerous or is it the lack of attention these teens are getting from their technology dependent parents? I wonder. BTW, Ian Jukes reminded us that texting late at night was about the same as reading under the covers with a flashlight, just like I did.

Thing 4

So many blogs, so little time!
My favorite blog of the ones suggested was Power Point Reform. For some time I have been trying to convince teachers that there is so much more to presentations than bullets on a PP. I liked the guidelines and hope I can get these in the hands of teachers and students.
Patricks Update was also a good example of how students' blogs can reflect their true thoughts and feelings. The comment section of this blog I hope was very encouraging to Patrick. When students can read reactions to their own writing, it makes a much bigger impact on their thinking and learning.
However, the blog that was the most disturbing and frightening was Spies Like Us. It really is scary to think about how vulnerable we all are in this age of instant photos and videos. It shows the need for a different type of technology education. We can't just teach the skills, we have to also teach the ethics of the technology. I wish there was a "With Technology Comes Responsibility" class for our students.

Thing 2

Unlike most educators, today's students are indeed digital natives.They were born with iPods in their hands. They are engaged by using the tools that have always used in "play". The classroom must mirror the use of these tools in order for them to be successfull.
It used to be the school of the future that would feature electronic devices. However today iPods have replaced cassette listening stations, interactive whiteboards have replaced chalkboards, and document cameras have replaced overhead projectors in many classrooms. Real-time research using digital tools starts in kindergarten. For us, the future must be now if we are to engage our students and prepare them for their own futures.
Web 2.0 tools make it easier to investigate, record and network with others to create a community of learners. Why learn in a vacuum when the whole world awaits.

Thing 1

7 1/2 Habits of Effective Life-Long Learners

I recently took a Facebook Quiz called "Which Quote Defines Your Life". Not surprisingly mine was "Knowledge is Power." A good day for me is one in which I have learned something new. It is what keeps me interested and motivated.
Play is probably the habit that is the most difficult for me. I have a real problem saying "no" so I'm constantly playing catch-up. My husband has been trying to get me to go to a movie (the last one we saw was National Treasure,2) and I never seem to find the time to spare. Makes me worry about retirement!
Begin with the end in mind has always been what I have tried to do in teaching. If you don't know where you are going, then how do you know when you get there. Intel Teach brought this point home when we had to submit a student project before we finished the lesson. Really made me think about what I was asking the class to learn.
Viewing problems as challenges will be very important in completing this course. With as many "things" to learn, I'm sure challenges, not problems will arise.