So really this is 24 things, no fair! ;)
This journey during 3040 has really been something. The work has not been difficult, but definiting time consuming and mind boggling sometimes. I have enjoyed it for the most part. It has been very informational, and I hope I retain what I have learned during the 23 things.
My favorite of all of the 23 things was Animoto. It was the easiest way I have personally seen to make a video to share with friends and family.
I think this program has effected my lifelong learning goals tremendously. Now that I know the many, many, MANY resources available to me through technology, I can use them to continue to learn throughout my teaching career. Don't get me wrong, I knew there were things out there for me to use. However, I did not know there were so many awesome websites and tools, nor did I know which were the best. I feel that using this program I now know the best ones to use. I appreciate that.
I really did not think this would be something I would enjoy, just because it is homework afterall. But, I really did like most of the 23 things. Since I was able to learn so much about technology, I feel I will be a better teacher for it.
I do not think much should be done differently to make the process better. The one thing I would say is that there are so many accounts that must be created to get to all of the activities. I do not think there is much that can been done about that though.
I plan to take what I have learned through this program and use it to keep up with learn 2.0 and continue to educate myself on what is going on in the technology world. What a journey it has been. But hey, I did it! I made it through all of these things, and did not go 100% crazy. It was a great learning experience!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Thing 23
23 Things
I found this link to show that 23 things was not made just for this class, or even for APSU. I simply Googled 23 things and found that learning 2.0 and the 23 things has been out there for a while to use and explore the web.
Now that I have Creative Commons and Copyright laws down, I think I can now use resources much more safely and efficiently. I know it will be my responsibility to teach my students that there are copyright laws that they must follow and adhere to. They will need to know all of the basics especially for my class since it is Language Arts.
I found this link to show that 23 things was not made just for this class, or even for APSU. I simply Googled 23 things and found that learning 2.0 and the 23 things has been out there for a while to use and explore the web.
Now that I have Creative Commons and Copyright laws down, I think I can now use resources much more safely and efficiently. I know it will be my responsibility to teach my students that there are copyright laws that they must follow and adhere to. They will need to know all of the basics especially for my class since it is Language Arts.
Thing 22
Persuassive Writing
The titles to my binders are: Persuassive Writing, Why is Audience Important, and Pre-Writing Help.
I would use this in my classroom because it would mean less paperwork to carry around! I could make assignments due in Livebinders instead of actually making a real binder. As long as I had the resources, like computers, available to have students use while in class I would use this. I understand that while most students have computers at home, not all do. Especially for towns that are low income.
A lesson I would do for my students using this would be journal writing. I would have them each find different topics online and make a binder per topic, and have one due each month. Each new month the students would have a new topic for a new binder. I would require at least 15 tabs per binder. The information would need to be good information however, and not just some yahoo answer page, etc. These would need to be from college websites, or websites that I have previously approved.
The titles to my binders are: Persuassive Writing, Why is Audience Important, and Pre-Writing Help.
I would use this in my classroom because it would mean less paperwork to carry around! I could make assignments due in Livebinders instead of actually making a real binder. As long as I had the resources, like computers, available to have students use while in class I would use this. I understand that while most students have computers at home, not all do. Especially for towns that are low income.
A lesson I would do for my students using this would be journal writing. I would have them each find different topics online and make a binder per topic, and have one due each month. Each new month the students would have a new topic for a new binder. I would require at least 15 tabs per binder. The information would need to be good information however, and not just some yahoo answer page, etc. These would need to be from college websites, or websites that I have previously approved.
Thing 21
Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.
Ok, I admit at first I had some trouble with this thing! I had Adobe disabled for another project I was doing, so nothing would load. I started trying to fix whatever was wrong, and when I finally figured out what I was missing, it worked great. I could have kicked myself. This program is beyond easy. Pick a theme, add pictures, bam. A video. Not only is it great for this class and to use in my classroom for an interesting twist on Language Arts, but it is great to send to family! No one likes getting those annoying emails with attachments and tons of pictures to open up. This makes it much more fun for everyone to see your pictures. I would like more than 30 seconds...but I refuse to pay for it. Yes, I have a budget.
All in all, this was alot of fun. I will definetely use it in my classroom as well as in my personal life.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Thing 19
I am a member of some online communities, especially after taking this class! There have been so many great sites that I have been able to connect with because of the 23 things. It is great to have so many resources to go to. I think once I am a teacher I will appreciate these even more.
I like most of the social networks I looked into. What's on my book shelf, Yelp, Flixster, and Bake Space were some of my favorites. I think in some way or another I can use these in my English class, and that is what it's all about! I love finding new ways to make my class more fun. I will have a huge list of resources by the time I actually get in my classroom.
I think I liked What's on my book shelf best, because it works on a point system. You can get online and trade books with other people using points. So it is inexpensive and helpful. For my English class, being able to use this for my students will be great.
I like most of the social networks I looked into. What's on my book shelf, Yelp, Flixster, and Bake Space were some of my favorites. I think in some way or another I can use these in my English class, and that is what it's all about! I love finding new ways to make my class more fun. I will have a huge list of resources by the time I actually get in my classroom.
I think I liked What's on my book shelf best, because it works on a point system. You can get online and trade books with other people using points. So it is inexpensive and helpful. For my English class, being able to use this for my students will be great.
Thing 14
I really like both mind maps and flowcharts after going through the steps to create them both! Again, another source to use in my classroom that I had no idea about. They are both very easy to use, and will be very helpful in my English classes, especially the bubbl.us website.
I found many similarities in flowcharts and mind maps. The 2 I chose were flowchart.com and bubbl.us. Flowchart.com did seem to be a little more complex with more options to change formats, fonts, and many more tools to use. For bubbl.us, it was very simple with not many options to personalize your mind map. However, I liked bubbl.us better. I think for brainstorming in my classroom, this tool will be fun an effective. I hope to have Ipads in my classroom for the students to use, or at least enough computers for them to work with if needed. These programs will help make the lessons easier to understand, and alot more fun!
I chose the family tree format on Flowchart.com because it seemed like fun. I think this would be a great way to get my English students interested in writing. We could do a project on their family, and that would make it more personal to each student. I used some of the fault tree analysis options to make it more visual. I added different events and things to my family history tree. It was a fun little project for myself! As for bubbl.us, it does not have much to work with but I did create a nice brainstorming mind map for persuasive writing.
I found many similarities in flowcharts and mind maps. The 2 I chose were flowchart.com and bubbl.us. Flowchart.com did seem to be a little more complex with more options to change formats, fonts, and many more tools to use. For bubbl.us, it was very simple with not many options to personalize your mind map. However, I liked bubbl.us better. I think for brainstorming in my classroom, this tool will be fun an effective. I hope to have Ipads in my classroom for the students to use, or at least enough computers for them to work with if needed. These programs will help make the lessons easier to understand, and alot more fun!
I chose the family tree format on Flowchart.com because it seemed like fun. I think this would be a great way to get my English students interested in writing. We could do a project on their family, and that would make it more personal to each student. I used some of the fault tree analysis options to make it more visual. I added different events and things to my family history tree. It was a fun little project for myself! As for bubbl.us, it does not have much to work with but I did create a nice brainstorming mind map for persuasive writing.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Thing 20
Ok, the video I chose was kind of boring but I chose it for a great reason. The teacher in this video allowed her students to be in a very relaxed environment and to discuss what was going on in class. None of the students looked bored or tired. They were all involved and seemed to know what was going on in the class. This is exactly how I want my classroom to be! When I found this video I thought well, no one else may think this looks all that great, but to me it is perfect for the point I am trying to get across. I do not really see how this video would fit into my library, just because it is not very informational, and like I said, it is boring if it is not exactly what you are looking for. This video was about 2 minutes long, but on Youtube you can watch the entire class period.
This video is actually part of a teaching and learning program called "Powerful Teaching and Learning." Therefore, I am certain that if I had the whole series, it would be much more informational and helpful in my classroom.
This video is actually part of a teaching and learning program called "Powerful Teaching and Learning." Therefore, I am certain that if I had the whole series, it would be much more informational and helpful in my classroom.
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