One Final Thing...

It is kind of sad knowing that I am done. I feel like there are still so many things that I haven't learned. Also, I know that things are changing all the time. I feel that all the new things that I learned will be ancient within 6 months. I hope that is not true. But, I would love a "refresher" course as more tools are introduced.
After all is said and done, my favorite thing is the image generator. I still go back and try to add fun pictures to my blog. I also enjoy going back to Flickr. I love looking at other people's photographs. As I go forward, my goal is to keep my knowledge of Web 2.0 tools. I also want to find more ways to incorporate these tools in my classroom. I think it will make my teaching that much more exciting.
Before I say good-bye (for now), I would like to thank my librarian Elizabeth Warrick for encouraging me to take this class. I would also like to thank Andrea McFadden. She was a great resource when I had questions as I worked through the 23 things.

Adios for now.

Thing #23

Classroom 2.0 is a wonderful resource. I loved having the ability to communicate with so many teachers in one place. Also, there were so many great ideas in one place. I think that a teacher's best resource is another teacher. Classroom 2.0 provided ideas from teachers that teacher all grade levels and all over the world. I spent quite a bit of time scrolling through the forums and looking at different teacher's question. I also found some great suggestions of things of Web. 2.0 things that other teacher are doing that I would like to try in my class.

Thing #22

Hello, my name is sweetpea and I am addicted to FaceBook. They say the first step to getting help is admitting you have a problem. I am already a member of FaceBook and I am on it ALL the time. Most of my friends are teachers that I work with. FaceBook is actually a great networking tool. Numerous times I have "facebooked" a friends to find out information about things that are going on at school. It is a wonderful way to keep in touch while not in school. Facebook is also a great way to release stress after the school day. There are great games to play and other applications that I enjoy. I will continue to use FaceBook to stay in touch with my friends.

Thing #7b

The dictionary word of the year is "unfriend." I loved this article. I love that the New Oxford American Dictionary is always thinking of ways to make itself modern. I kind of relate to my previous post with the word "google." I think when dictionaries add these pop culture words to their publications it keeps the English language modern and up-to-date.

This year's addition is unfriend; as is "I am going to have to "unfriend" you on FaceBook." I LOVE IT!!!

Thing #21

I have to start off by saying my husband HATES the term "google."He hates when the word is used as a verb. I try to tell him that it is in the dictionary but he doesn't care. With all that be said, I did not realize that there so much to Google. I have used the Google search engine many a time and now because of this class I have used Google docs. This time I experimented with Google Calendar and iGoogle. I have to say that I probably wouldn't use Google Calendar. I am still a paper and pencil kind of gal when it comes to the calendar. I have a large calendar that sits on my desk at school that is what I use. I think I like because it is big and I can't miss it. I also experimented with iGoogle. I enjoyed having my own customized homepage right at my fingertips. As you know, I am a new news junkie. I liked that I was able to set the page so that I could have the information that I wanted right there in front of me.

Thing #20

Google Docs is another tool that I could spend an endless amount of time on. I enjoyed how there were templates that you could search and find a form that would benefit you the best. I love not having to reinvent the wheel. Also, I think Google docs is a great way for teachers to communicate with one another. I know many times when making plans we (my team) always discusses making our own assignments to go with whatever we are teaching in class. Google Docs is a great way to make a document share it with your team and get everyone's input before deciding on the final presentations. Yet, another tool to make teaching easier.

Thing #19

I have actually used VoiceThreads before and I didn't even realize it. I was in a class for my Master's and took the class on-line. Several times during the semester the professor had us listen to lectures that accompanied PowerPoint presentations. I think VoiceThreads can be used in the classroom for the same purpose. Again, I think any thing that can grab, hold, and maintain the student's attention is great. I think it adds a great variety for the classroom.








I also found this great VoiceThread that can be used in class to show students how to make writing more exciting.

Thing #18

I found some great videos and audio clips while searching on TeacherTube and YouTube. Prior to this activity I was familiar with YouTube and have been able to find some great things--mostly for entertainment. I have only used YouTube in my classroom once. I know that I have to override to view at school. I have not tried TeacherTube but I think that it is a great way to expose students to different types of media and keep things exciting in the classroom.





See more Audio at TeacherTube.com.

Thing #17

I have heard of podcasts before but I had never thought of how to use podcasts in the classroom. I explored the podcasts on Just One More Book!! There were some great clips on the websites. There was a podcast that had an excellent interview with Mo Williems. I think the students would really enjoy the interview because the really enjoy the "pigeon" books. I also, like this website because there are some great books that are read here. My only complaint I have after listening to several podcasts is the advertising. There is some type of advertisement prior to listening to the podcats.

Thing #16

Library Thing can be very useful in the classroom as well in my personal life. I can think of many times when I have looked for the perfect book to add to a lesson. I had to ask numerous teachers, the librarian, the internet, etc. That process can be daunting. Now, using Library Thing puts book ideas at your fingertip. Also, I think Library Thing is a great way to expand your classroom library. It can point you in the direction of books that are on the same topic.

Thing #15

DELICIOUS!!! I was unfamiliar with delicious until today. However, I was able to find some great websites by finding different websites. I loved having to ability to bookmark numerous websites in one place. I loved that the websites could be grouped by similarities and tagged for convenience for later on. No more post-it notes scattered around the classrooms with websites on it!!!

Thing #7a

The article that I found in my Google reader discusses how many animated films are being submitted for Oscar consideration. The article says that 20 animated films are being submitted this year. I think it is interesting that the field on animation is growing. It again shows how much technology is changing our world.

Thing #14

For this thing, I tried out Wordie. I was not sure about the purpose of this 2.0 tool. I had fun playing with it and making different "wordies." I ust never found a way to embed it in my blog or export it. The only thing I coud fiure out was how to print.

I also played around with Quizlet. I found some great tools to use for multiplication flashcards. I thought this would be a great review for my students as we do more and more practice with multiplication.

Thing #13

Image Generators are FUN!!!! Again, this is something that I was unfamiliar with. I could have played all day. This is a "toy" that could be used in the classroom. I think it would be a great attention getter. I think it would be something that the kids aren't used to seeing and would spark their attention. A new toy to use in the classroom! YEA!!!!!

Thing #12

Credits

lion
bird
frog
fish
lizard
bear
fish
penguin



It love Flickr and RockYou. I hadn't used either one of them prior to doing the past few "things." I could spend all day looking through different pictures and playing around with them. The slide slow that I made was pictures of different types of animals. I would have my students classify the animals into differnt groups.

Thing #11

I could spend all day on Flckr. I had a wonderful time looking at different pictures. I actually had a hard time narrowing down pictures to look at. I chose this picture because it reminds me of a two week vacation my husband at I took to Paris.
I feel that Flickr allows people to look at the world through others' eyes. I think that Flickr can be used in the classroom to make presentations more interesting for students as well as showing them places around the world.

Thing #10

I was not familiar with Creative Commons before I started this Thing. I was very confused before I started playing around and looking up things that can be used in my classroom. Now, an hour later I have torn myself away from Creative Commons to reflect about everything I found.
The great thing about Creative Commons is that I found things that I could use in my classroom as soon as tomorrow. There were so many things, on so many different topics. I loved having it all one place.
I think Creative Commons can be a little overwhelming because there is so much information at the fingertip. I think that at some point you have to draw the line and stop searching.

Thing #9

I took me awhile to make my sandbox. It took me some playing around with to make my sandbox. I was never able to make my table of contents. I was able to make several different headings and include some basic information. I did not add any pictures yet though. I know we have several things that are coming up that include exploring image and video websites. I wanted to wait to add my image until became more familiar with those sites. I am interested in adding things to my wiki as I experiment with more Web 2.0 tools.