Summarizing My 23 Things

Wow! I finished!

But, the "things" I have learned with this program have been fantastic. Utilizing the google tools to the image generators have been quite an experience. With every exercise I was able to think of some way I could personally use that specific tool as a teacher. Some seemed to be geared more towards an elementary age, some seemed almost too perfect, and others just seemed to complicate things a little too much. Overall though, my experience has been phenomenal. I loved the animoto program. I enjoy taking photos and seeing them put to a professional video was exciting. I liked creating my online binder because it is a quick way for me to access any important information I might need. The entire blogging experience has been interesting. I have learned mutliple ways to make a student's learning experience technologically advanced and keeping the classroom interactive while staying up-to-date with the "new" thing. Teachers...if you have not accomplished the "23 Things" it is a must! Yes, it takes time, but it helps!

Thing #23

"Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0 - 23 Things. That program is based on the Learning 2.0 program that was designed by Helene Blowers, Technology Director at the Charlotte Mecklenburg County Public Library system, with the support and assitance of several staff. Helene's program was loosely based upon Stephen Abram's article, 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006) and the website 43Things.

The design of this online program was completely built on Web 2.0 technologies that are freely available on the Internet. These sites include: Blogger, Flickr, Odeo, YouTube, PBWiki & Bloglines." 

I feel that learning how to use Creative Commons and knowing what I, as the teacher, will be able to use legally is important. Also, I can teach this to my students which will help them understand what they can and cannot use.

Thing #22

Revolutionary War Binder

The titles of my binders are "Great Depression Binder", "Revolutionary War", "Civil War." I am extremely impressed with this tool. I can definitely see myself using this when I become a teacher. It is a great way to quickly find various lesson plans for a specific subject. That is what I did with these three major topics in US History and it took me a total of 15 minutes. And, I immediately had tons of lesson plan ideas. This is a tool that all teachers need to hear about, because it could save some time. Plus, when you are needing some lesson plan ideas and you turn to google, this website can quickly pick out google websites without you spending time to pick and choose which pages might be relevant to what you are looking for.

Thing #21

Animoto is a really neat site. I thought at first that I would not like it that much, but I can actually see myself possibly purchasing some of the templates and making some videos. This is a tool that would be great for presentations or ceremonies such as awards banquets or graduations. And, working in a high school, it is very likely I could be asked to do these type of thing. Now, I do not know how well the quality of the video will be because downloading it to a post could possibly mess it up a tad. But, you will get the basics of the video. I compiled pictures of my senior high school prom in 2009 and made them into a video. I figured it would be neat to share with my friends I graduated with. I will be honest, I am sort of proud of this.

Thing #20

Youtube is a great way to find educational videos to show to your class. However, you must be careful what pops up including ads or other videos that have been posted. I chose to add a President Reagan famous speech in front of the Berlin Wall. This is just an example of the many opportunities youtube offers teachers to include in their classrooms. Youtube also has movies, music, and almost anything you need to find. I find things such as the speech I posted an exciting free tool to use within my future classroom. And, I do plan on using youtube for educational purposes.

Thing #19

Honestly, I do not like using any other social networks than facebook. If I have three e-mails, two social networks, a twitter account, a flickr account, and more, I find it difficult to check all of them on a regular basis. I can see how TeacherPop could be beneficial for someone not interested in the facebook social world but rather only interested in interacting with other teachers. Also, my approval is still pending after several hours which is sort of annoying because I cannot move forward with this post until I can be approved.

Thing #18

My Facebook

So, facebook is a great way to communicate to other teachers and parents. You can usually tell a lot about a person through their facebook page. I believe that it could be beneficial to be "friends" with parents or fellow teachers because it is an easy means of communication. However, it is important that a teacher (especially in secondary education) maintains a separation between teacher and students. I can see it being helpful in college being friends with your students, but like I said, you must remember the difference in higher education.

It's very important for educators to understand how these social networks work because teachers must inform their students how to be safe on these sites. Often times, students will post something too personal or become friends with a stranger. Or, even give out way to much information on their "info" tab. If teachers know how to use facebook, then they will understand how to inform students.

Personally, I love facebook because I can communicate and stay in touch with friends who live a good distance. Also, it is just an easy way to keep up with friends and their lives. (Even if they live close.) However, for the classroom, I can only see it being useful with parents and other teachers, but never with students. And, I never plan to being facebook friends with my students.