It seemed like this day would never come. The day I could look at my blog and see every entry, every project completed. It's quite a feeling. I learned a lot this semester, through my Educational Tech class, and of course, the 23 Things blog. There were plenty of activities I enjoyed, such as Thing#12, where I took the time to see and experience all that Google has to offer a less-than-savvy individual such as myself. Online image generators, wikis, delicious.com, and Animoto all provided info and educational practicality while being fun and interesting. But I had my share of dark times as well. However, this usually revolved around the fact that I tend to misplace my logins and passwords, or else could not figure out how to incorporate some file or link into my blog. Luckily, I always got it worked out, and so the darkness has left for good.
I have come away from these projects with more than just a sense of accomplishment. I feel more confident in my use of the internet in general, as I have access and understanding to a whole new set of sites, apps, and other resources. I know how to keep up with news, fellow educators, and friends, and also know cool and intuitive ways to share as well as glean pertinent information. I feel certain that as a teacher, I will have a solid background in using the internet efficiently and properly (hey, it's there to do the work for me!).
As far as critiques go, I feel that there is little that needs to be said. My one qualm is that I had to sign up for a lot of sites, some of which I will continue to utilize, but many that are just going to end up providing constant reminders that end up in my email's spam folder. Just a lot to keep organized, and a lot to try to keep up with (but I do know some great apps for keeping all that stuff straight!). For now, keeping up with new developments is as easy as following influential educators on Twitter, maintaining those RSS feeds, reading (and adding to) wikis, bookmarking (and seeing others') useful sites, and generally keeping one's eyes open. And it's okay (actually, probably recommended) to have some fun while doing all of that.
It's been a trip, that's for sure. Thanks for playing. - S.M.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Thing #23 - May The Fair-Use Be With You
I had a chance to learn about Creative Commons earlier in the semester through the EDUC 5540 class, and I see the site as a highly important teacher resource. Heaven knows the last thing any of us want to do is bring the copyright police down upon ourselves. Proper use of copyrighted works is key, and Creative Commons not only offers tools for creating and licensing your own works, but offers search tools and resources which outline copyright law in plain, simple English.
I see how the 23 Things blog is influenced by other online tools and resources. It began with the 43 Things website, a goal-setting application, and a particular article commenting and expanding on the concept, called "43 Things I might Want to Do This Year" by Stephen Abram. Abram's article expands on the 43 Things by providing a list of specific sites and resources to find and experience, many of which have found their way onto our own 23 Things blog (and, subsequently, mine as well). Abram's suggestions are great, and I noted the tweaks and changes made for our own use as teachers-in-training. Being exposed to Creative Commons has been an important experience for me as a future teacher, as it calls up the importance of copyright, forcing us to remember that we need to be mindful of what we right-click and save, and even more careful about what we share in public (such as the classroom).
I see how the 23 Things blog is influenced by other online tools and resources. It began with the 43 Things website, a goal-setting application, and a particular article commenting and expanding on the concept, called "43 Things I might Want to Do This Year" by Stephen Abram. Abram's article expands on the 43 Things by providing a list of specific sites and resources to find and experience, many of which have found their way onto our own 23 Things blog (and, subsequently, mine as well). Abram's suggestions are great, and I noted the tweaks and changes made for our own use as teachers-in-training. Being exposed to Creative Commons has been an important experience for me as a future teacher, as it calls up the importance of copyright, forcing us to remember that we need to be mindful of what we right-click and save, and even more careful about what we share in public (such as the classroom).
Thing #22 - LiveWell, LiveStrong, LiveBinders (ooh, a homograph!)
I created 3 binders on my LiveBinders account, and they are titled thus:
- 23 Things Resources ( collection of useful sites found through the 23 Things blog)
- My Favorite Teaching Resource Sites (pretty self-explanatory)
- Writing Help (collection of sites offering guidance for writing APA papers)
LiveBinders offers yet another format for organizing and sharing online content. I see it as being interchangeable with bookmarking sites, as both offer methods for keeping track and making sense of the limitless internet, and otherwise sharing online finds with like-minded parties. To me, its a great resource, and just one of many options teachers can utilize effectively to increase productivity through better time management. It simply comes down to personal preference.
Additionally, it seems to me that LiveBinders could be used in the classroom by students, perhaps for organizing class assignments, researching teacher-approved websites for projects, or for creating an online portfolio related to an assigned topic. Interactive and fun, right? Students could benefit greatly from experiencing and practicing organizing information online.
Here's a look at my Writing Help binder, complete with my favorite associated websites.
- 23 Things Resources ( collection of useful sites found through the 23 Things blog)
- My Favorite Teaching Resource Sites (pretty self-explanatory)
- Writing Help (collection of sites offering guidance for writing APA papers)
LiveBinders offers yet another format for organizing and sharing online content. I see it as being interchangeable with bookmarking sites, as both offer methods for keeping track and making sense of the limitless internet, and otherwise sharing online finds with like-minded parties. To me, its a great resource, and just one of many options teachers can utilize effectively to increase productivity through better time management. It simply comes down to personal preference.
Additionally, it seems to me that LiveBinders could be used in the classroom by students, perhaps for organizing class assignments, researching teacher-approved websites for projects, or for creating an online portfolio related to an assigned topic. Interactive and fun, right? Students could benefit greatly from experiencing and practicing organizing information online.
Here's a look at my Writing Help binder, complete with my favorite associated websites.
Thing #21 - Domo Arigato, Mr. Animoto
Initial judgements are in: Animoto is a fun, easy-to-use app for making slideshows. I chose to make one featuring my dog, Sam. It was enjoyable to create, and everything was really simple, just upload photos, pick a theme and music, and poof! Instant presentation. I'm not immediately sure of any really good educational applications for this type of app, as it seems geared towards entertainment. That said, perhaps a slideshow done in this manner could be both educational and entertaining, if done right (double threat!). Hope you like my little show (that Sam's a character!).
Make your own slide show at Animoto.
Make your own slide show at Animoto.
Thing #20 - Me and You(Tube)
Everyone with an internet connection has been on YouTube (at least I think that's the case). The great thing about YouTube is, drum roll please....it's entirely comprised of user-created content! This means that if someone thought of it, it's probably been recorded and uploaded to YouTube. Now this is a double-edged sword, since nearly anyone can gain insight into any topic. Example: my mother (a dental hygienist) will sometimes have patients who try to tell her how to do things, since they watched a video on YouTube. Humorous, yes; annoying, also yes. The proliferation of tangible knowledge (aka YouTube), the online encyclopedia on everything, is all there for your perusal and amusement.
I think everyone can and should appreciate YouTube for what it is, and take all content presented with that ol' proverbial grain of salt (just like Wikipedia). YouTube offers so much useful knowledge, but for every good (or hopefully, professionally valuable) video resource out there, there's about a hundred not-so-valuable ones. Something to keep in mind. As for the video I chose to link to this post, I found a commentary on bad blogging habits, which seemed both useful and appropriate to this discussion. Cheers!
I think everyone can and should appreciate YouTube for what it is, and take all content presented with that ol' proverbial grain of salt (just like Wikipedia). YouTube offers so much useful knowledge, but for every good (or hopefully, professionally valuable) video resource out there, there's about a hundred not-so-valuable ones. Something to keep in mind. As for the video I chose to link to this post, I found a commentary on bad blogging habits, which seemed both useful and appropriate to this discussion. Cheers!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Thing #19 - Wait...There Are OTHER Networking Sites?!
TeacherPop is a pretty cool site, I have to say. It's got that attractive (and interactive) quality vital to a good networking site, and has a really specific focus, making it a very immediate, useful resource for those of us grinding through the MAT program. I took some time to add the TeacherPop and Classroom 2.0 widgets to my blog (they look good, right?) and was impressed with the layout and all. I see Ning as being a pretty cool place to create networks, if you're into that kind of thing. ;)
Do I find any of the mentioned networks appealing? Certainly, as long as they talk about stuff that interests me (I'm looking at you, IMDB!) Perhaps the most appealing thing about these specific networks is just that- their specificity. I like being able to go to a place like IMDB and catch really in-depth discussions and comments about a movie or tv show I like. You might not find that kind of down-low elsewhere. And I like getting the down-low on movies. Finding a forum where users speak a similar language can be extremely beneficial to a variety of professions or personalities.
To answer the question regarding my online affiliations, I am a member of virtually every online community that this or any of my other classes tell me to be a part of. I tend not to commit to joining online groups, mostly because I'm so bad at staying involved (my attention span seems to wane dramatically in the initial days of membership), but that's not to say I don't find networking sites highly valuable and user-friendly. If nothing else, these social network-related Things have taught me not to undervalue social networking as a powerful tool for educating oneself, gaining new resources, and providing endless feedback (hopefully you asked for it).
Do I find any of the mentioned networks appealing? Certainly, as long as they talk about stuff that interests me (I'm looking at you, IMDB!) Perhaps the most appealing thing about these specific networks is just that- their specificity. I like being able to go to a place like IMDB and catch really in-depth discussions and comments about a movie or tv show I like. You might not find that kind of down-low elsewhere. And I like getting the down-low on movies. Finding a forum where users speak a similar language can be extremely beneficial to a variety of professions or personalities.
To answer the question regarding my online affiliations, I am a member of virtually every online community that this or any of my other classes tell me to be a part of. I tend not to commit to joining online groups, mostly because I'm so bad at staying involved (my attention span seems to wane dramatically in the initial days of membership), but that's not to say I don't find networking sites highly valuable and user-friendly. If nothing else, these social network-related Things have taught me not to undervalue social networking as a powerful tool for educating oneself, gaining new resources, and providing endless feedback (hopefully you asked for it).
Thing #18 - Sir Tweets-A-Lot?
I'll begin by saying that I have not been a big fan of social networking sites for a long time. Now that doesn't mean that I hate social networking or anything like that, but I just don't have that natural drive to maintain that level of connectivity and transparency that everyone else in the world seems to have. I had a Facebook page back in the old days (when you had to have a college email to even create a profile) but was always bad about keeping it updated, and was even worse about seeing what my friends were up to. Was always a chore to me. So like I said, don't hate social networking, just not interested in doing the work necessary to keep the pace with everybody else. Perhaps I'm a bit old fashioned in that I still prefer face-to-face human contact over seeing what comments appear in my news feed.
But enough naysaying. Obviously, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are here to stay, and certainly have their place in our society, as well as the modern teacher's list of essentials. Being able to keep up with fellow teachers, admins, and even groups such as school districts or individual schools enables teachers to stay up-to-date on the latest news, events, etc. As far as usefulness is concerned, I think Twitter wins out over Facebook, but only slightly. Facebook is certainly geared towards social (instead of professional) interaction, with a bit of professionalism on the side. Twitter is also social, but its layout and functionality (keeping those posts short and sweet!) make it a better choice for a teacher seeking to follow exemplary teachers (such as @coolcatteacher) and keep up to speed with trending topics. In considering class or school integration of social networking websites, I feel they may have a place though it would need to be very limited. I liken their academic use to a classroom discussion: often beneficial, but requires a large dose of teacher mediation to keep on task.
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