Thing #13

I had no idea there were online word processing programs and spreadsheets.  I had never even heard of such!  When I first read the discovery exercise and found out about these programs I just assumed that they would be difficult and hard to follow.  I was wrong!  I went to ZohoWriter's Web page and signed up for a free account.  It immediately sent me an e-mail asking me to confirm my account.  I did, and in just a matter of seconds, I had an account set up with ZohoWriter.  After playing around on my newly created site, I found many neat and useful features.  You can do so much on ZohoWriter!  It is basically a new and improved version of Microsoft Word.  You create your own documents just as you would in Word, but you can do so much more with them.  You can merge your document with some sort of spreadsheet or other database.  You can invite people to your page or document.  You can save things instantly either internally (to your desktop or computer) or externally (somewhere on the Web or just on your account).  You can create a document and publish it as a post to your blog.  It is really neat.  It even has a dictionary and a thesaurus for quick access.  You can easily get the HTML code for a document.  It is very easy to use.

I found ZohoWriter to be extremely valuable.  I never thought something could potentially replace Microsoft Word and all of its related applications, but sites and programs such as ZohoWriter just might take over. 

Thing #12

I didn't realize how much Google could do until I played around on these sites.  I had always thought of it as a popular search engine, but it is much, much more than that.  I especially liked the Google Calendar.  With as much as I have going on between work, school, and different activities, Google Calendar is a great place to keep myself organized and together.  It is also really neat because you can extend it to friends and family so that they know when you are busy or when you might be available to get together.  It can honestly help simplify your life.  I created my own Google Calendar.  Here is the link:  https://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=D2Pg4r2PmgmdYgIpWcUbjQ.  Google calendars would be extremely useful in schools.  It could be used as a great way to keep parents updated.  Schools could create a calendar and put it on Google for parents and other family members of students to see what all their child was doing in school.  Individual classes could have a calendar set up for assignment, project, and test due dates.  Another really cool tool is Google Translate.  You can translate a single word or an entire paragraph into almost any language you can think of.  You can also type in a keyword; it will translate it for you and search the web for that term.  It's nice because it's quick, easy, and free.  Google Translate can be used especially in the high school setting for foreign language and english classes.  There are many valuable tools on Google-take advantage of them!   

Thing #11

I liked Google Blog Search and Technorati the most.  They were the easiest to use because you simply typed some sort of keyword and it gave you tons of results.  Google Blog Search is extremely broad in its search whereas Technorati produces more specific and narrow results which is very useful.  I found some interesting feeds.  One unusual one that I found using Technorati was called "The Quick 10:  All Work and No Play-Doh..."  I was searching for "fun learning activities" and this feed popped up.  It talked about play-doh and how it can be used in classrooms as a learning device.  There were even instructions on how to make play-doh.  One useful one that I found was entitled "Teacher Created Tips."  Some of the posts were random thoughts, but most were very valuable tips for teachers.  One entitled "Think Time for Planning Lessons and Life" talked about the importance of "think time" for yourself and for planning your lessons for school and how to work it in to your busy schedule.   

Syndic8.com was the most confusing for me because you basically have to know the exact name of the feed to find what you are looking for.  I like the search tools that have a search engine based off of a keyword or phrase.  This is the easiest method for finding feeds.  It gives you the most options.  One down-fall to many of these search tools is that there are so many feeds that will pull up, you must be extremely specific in your keyword search.  Other than that, I found these search tools to be very valuable.  You can find virtually any feed or article on the subject you are looking for through these search tools.   

I found this really neat site called "Search Tools for Web sites and Intranets."  Here is the url:  http://www.searchtools.com/  It is a site that shows you how to find good search engines and such.  It shows you the best ones and which ones to stay away from.  It even shows you how to search.  With the information on this website, you can find any newfeed you are looking for.   

Thing #10

RSS is a very valuable site.  You subscribe to the specific feeds you want to recieve and it sends you all of the updates from that feed.  Instead of going out to each individual website and browsing through it to find what you want, you simply sign on to Google Reader and it has the latest feeds of all of the sites that you choose.  You can have as many sites sending you feeds as you want.  It is really useful for people who check news feeds and sports feeds or any type of feeds.  My favorite thing about RSS and newreaders is that you pick exactly what you want and it  sends it to you.  This saves so much time having all your favorite feeds in one place.  I can use this in my personal and and school life by subscribing to teacher feeds and other feeds that I am interested in outside of school.  One of the feeds I subscribed to was "A to Z Kids Stuff."  It has all kinds of ideas for teachers to use in their classrooms.  You choose the grade you are teaching and it shows you coloring pages,  articles, art recipies, all kinds of activites you can do with your students.  I found this one to be the most beneficial.  With many feeds from different educational sites, teachers can use RSS to their advantage by learning about new technologies as soon as they emerge.     

Thing #9

http://www.imagegenerator.org/

http://www.imagechef.com/

The first image I created was the top one.  I went to imagegenerator.com and used the application "TXT2PIC" which turns phrases into pictures.  It was so easy to use.  All I had to do was simply text the word or phrase I wanted to use into the text box and pick out the style of writing I wanted that text displayed with and it created it for me.  It is a really neat site.  There is so much that can be done on it.  You can upload a picture of yourself and pick a border from the site and it will apply it your picture.  You can also upload a picture of yourself and it will put your face on a body of your choosing.  You can have a lot of fun with this site.    My other favortie site was Imagechef.com.  It had a variety of things to do on it as well.  On the second image above, i used an application that lets you put your name or text of your choice onto a jersey.  You could choose from a variety of colors and jersey types.  I chose to put my name and favorite number on the jersey.  It was a really cool site as well. 

These sites would be great for classrooms, schools, and libraries.  You could use one of the sites that lets you type your message into a sign held by a cartoon or person of your choice to place in hallways or around the classroom as a friendly reminder to students of rules or things to remember.  Fun animations could be used in powerpoints for lectures.  The kids could also play around on these sites to make themselves name-tags or something like that.  I will definitely be using sites like these in my classroom. 

Thing #8

 

I had a lot of fun with this one!  There are so many neat applications and tools on Flickr and other sites.  All of the mashups and 3rd Party Tools I used and/or explored were very easy to use.  Each site had clear instructions on how to upload your photos or create your own images.  There were some really neat sites I didn't even know existed.  There seems to be just about any application on 2.0 sites such as Flickr you could ever need!  I especially enjoyed the "Spell with Flickr" and "Puzzles" applications.  I could definitely see myself using some of these applications in my future classroom.  The "Flickr Color Pictr" mashup allows you to pick from basically any color you want and it will find tons of pictures that are primarily the color you chose.  This would be great for children learning their colors.  You could also upload (with parent permission) pictures of the class throughout the year to put on newsletters and such.  That seems to be something kids would really enjoy.  I would highly recommend any of these sites for use in the classroom or just in personal lives.  If I continue blogging after this class, I will definitely use some of these sites to upload pictures and post them.  I have no problems with sharing photos online.  I, myself, have a Facebook account and upload pictures to it.  I think it's a great way to share with others your experiences.  This was by far my favorite "thing!"

Thing #7

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ktp/619727916/

I found this photograph on Flickr.  It was taken by kktp_ in Klaeng, Rayong on June 18, 2007.  He named it "Rain, Rain, Go Away, I Want to do some Sunrise Photos."  I think it is a beautiful picture.  It was captured perfectly.  The colors of the sky and water are absolutely gorgeous.  It makes me as the viewer want to be there! 

I used the keywork "rain" to find this one.  Images on Flickr were suprisingly easy to find.  It has such a variety of images.  I was truly impressed with all the images I saw-they look professional!  Every keyword I typed in produced pages and pages full of pictures.  The HUGE downfall to Flickr is the process through which you get permission to use the image you are trying to use.  It was a nightmare.  It was not clear what to do on some.  I would click on "Request to License" and it would just take me to the main Creative Commons page and not actually do anything for me.  A few times I clicked on it, it told me it could be days if not a week or so before the owner of the picture would get back with me.  Also, most of the pictures I wanted to used were not free.  I was extremely frustrated working with Flickr purely due to the "permission mess." I understand that giving credit to the owner is important and necessary, but I think there could be an easier, less frustrating way.  Other than that, it had a plethora of cool and interesting pictures.  I do not, however, think it was worth going through that long and drawn out of a process to get permission.   

Thing #6

Of the top 100 Web 2.0 nominees, the one I chose to explore was Pandora.  Here is the link:  http://www.pandora.com/#/ It is a really cool site.  It's an online radio, tailored specifically to your liking.  It only plays stations or songs that you like or it thinks you might like.  First, you must set up a free account.  From there, you create your own stations.  All you have to do is pick one artist or song that you like and it plays.  Then, it plays songs similar to the one you chose.  If you like it you can click the "like" button and it will save it on your station and play it periodically.  If you don't like the song, you can click the "dislike" button and it will skip that one.  I like Pandora because it remembers the songs you like and stores them on the site for you to log on and listen to at any time you please.  It has every song I have tried to find.  It is updated frequently.  I honestly have to no dislikes with it so far.  I found it to be very useful.  It is so much easier than trying to keep up with cd's.  Since it is an online site, you don't have to be at your own personal computer to use it which is nice considering I'm always in computer labs at school.  I could see Pandora being useful in a classroom setting.  You could create a station of classical music to lightly play in the background while children are working.  I will definitely be using this site in the future. 

Thing #5

One of the perspectives I read was "Teachers 2.0" by Aaron Smith.  His website consists of weekly posts on a wide range of topics.  He had technology tips of the week, website reviews of the week, and even lesson ideas of the week.  It was a really neat website.  He wrote about some of his experiences in talking with others about new technology and such.  His posts seemed to always have some sort of open-ended question where he would state his thoughts on the topic and leave you to ponder your own thoughts on the given topic.  He wrote one in response to a disagreement he had with his sister concerning social games in the classroom.  He neither condoned nor comdemned them.  The gist of his post was to urge others to simply try new things with an open mind.  Too many people turn their noses up at new things before they even take a real look at it.  I found it very interesting that he brought this point out since blogging is that "new thing" I am trying.  I had to face blogging with an open mind and because of that I have really enjoyed it.  
  
Susan McLester in her article "Web 2.0:  A Guide for Educators" writes about the incredible explosion of new technology we are seeing today.  She talks about the internet and how fast it has become an integral part of our day.  Whether we are making payments online, surfing the Web for entertainment, accessing information, or chatting with friends on a social sight, many of us spend hours on a computer every single day.  She insists that teachers must  maximize their resources with the seemingly endless knowledge and education opportunities available on the internet.  She is right in that we should use the internet to our advantage, but I do not want new technology to replace pencils and paper.  I like the idea of Web 2.0 for the expanding knowledge our students can get out of it, but I do not want to teach some online class that doesn't even really need me.  This is my main concern with Web and School 2.0.  

"School 2.0" seems to be the next step for education.  As technology improves, education must change to meet the needs of what is acceptable.  The idea of School 2.0 stems off the idea of Web 2.0.  Basically, it's the idea that education be extended outside of the classroom into homes and communities incorporating the use of more and more technology.  I think this is good  as far as extending education to everyday life outside of the classroom, but I do not want the technology and Web 2.0 idea to take over schools.  My fear is that in the near future we won't even use books,  paper, or pencils anymore.  Children will get lazy and so dependent on their computers that they will not have as good of a work ethic.  Students need to be in the classroom setting as it is now to learn and develop socially instead of simply logging on to a computer in their own "cyber world."  I see School 2.0 as good and bad, the bad outweighing the good.         

Thing #4

Commenting is essential in blogging.  It is what motivates bloggers to keep blogging.  One's blog is a 'safe zone' for that person.  People take their problems, concerns, or simple thoughts and post them on their blogs.  When people comment on them, they gain a sense of comfort and continue blogging.  And when that person recieves a comment, they too feel the need to go out and comment and encourage other bloggers.  It creates this sense of community.  In the readings about commenting I read about putting meaning behind your comments.  When I first read that I was going to be commenting on other's posts, I thought they would be quick, not too thought provoking responses.  After reading the posts and seeing the genuine feeling behind each of the posts, however, I took time to write a truly meaningful comment on each of them.  Also from The Blue Skunk Blogs's "Your comments?," the blogger made the good point that no matter how much a writer insists he/she only writes for him/herself, they want to be heard.  They want people to listen.  Feedback and showing you care are important in blogging!  

The blogs from our class that I chose to read and comment on were by:  Jacob Puckett, Elizabeth Ladd, Kayla Ann Davis, Jennifer Tolleson, and Whitley Brooke Smith.  Jacob Puckett's post on Thing #5 was the first post that I was truly interested in.  He posed some questions about technology and how far should it take us.  I found it very interesting and agreed with all of his points.  In my comment, I told him that I enjoyed his post, agreed with it, and added some of my own thoughts about the subject.  I chose to comment on one of Elizabeth Ladd's posts because of the picture she posted with it.  It was an "old-timey" picture that I had not seen before.  I commented that I liked it and explained what I got out of the picture.  In one of Kayla Ann Davis's posts, I saw much of my own thought process as I went through that same thing she was blogging about.  I felt like I could relate with her so I told her about my similar situations and feelings as I worked through the same things.  I enjoyed Jennifer Tolleson's post on creating her avatar.  She had difficulties trying to make hers look like her as did I.  She wrote in a humorous manner which I commented on.  I commented on one of Whitley Brooke Smith's posts because I liked her post and her experience with setting up her blog was very similar to mine.  

I also read and commented on a blog entitled, "The Indian feel in London," by a man named Ajay.  Ajay is 26th on the Top 100 Bloggers List!  I felt a little intimidated commenting on his blog since I was just a beginner, but I wanted to comment and so I did.  Since he is from London, his word choice and style of writing was quite different than what I am used to.  I really enjoyed the stories of his day that he talked about.  It was well written with twists of humor.  The other non-classmate blog post I commented on was by an anonymous author entitled "Clarksville, TN."  I selected this one because it was about a lady's visit to Clarksville, TN, which is neat because that's where I am for most of the week.  The author lives in NYC and came to visit her family in Clarksville, TN and it was quite the culture shock.  She had many funny stories of  different things that happened to her.  I really enjoyed her post.  I commented on her post about Clarksville and other things pertaining to her stories.

I honestly didn't think I was going to enjoy commenting on other people's posts but I had fun with it!                          

Thing #3

As I am working through these 23 things, I am learning just how valuable blogging truly can be.  The learning process never stops, especially for teachers, and blogging is a unique way to talk about and share different techniques or ideas you have learned through your classroom experiences.  Depending on the failure or success of a new project or teaching style, other teachers can read your blogs about those experiences and learn from them.  Blogging is a neat way to discuss problems, concerns, or to simply share a success story with others.  Blogging is also a good way to work through your feelings.  If after a long day working with a stubborn child you write a blog placing all your frustrations before you, it can help you let go of some of that built up frustration.  Chances are there's a teacher out there who can relate.  Blogging might be a good thing to get your students into as well.  It would be a great place for students to talk about their experiences with different assignments and to get feedback from them on what they liked, didn't like, what worked for them, and what did not work.  I would highly recommend blogging, especially for new teachers.