Thing #21

Creating my Animoto Short was so easy!  I figured it would take all day to upload the photos and actually put the video together, but it was done in less that five minutes!  Embedding it into this blog was also very easy.  I was very impressed with Animoto.  This is one site I will definitely be using again.  I picked twelve pictures to upload.  I picked my own color scheme,template, and music.  It created it for me just like that!  I put pictures from a recent Camp I worked at in this video.  This would be a great end of year project to create for my students before they leave.  I look forward to making more videos on Animoto!       



Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Thing #20

I chose this video because it was so cute.  This little boy, David, is on his way home from getting stitches at the dentist.  He still has the medicine in his system so he is a little out of it.  It's cute, you should watch it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

I have used YouTube many times before.  I think it is one of the greatest things on the web.  For entertainment purposes, there is so much out there.  It does have its share of pointless videos, but beyond that, you can find just about anything you are looking for.  If you are in the mood for a laugh, there are funny videos posted.  If you need something educational for your class, there are plenty of those out there as well.  YouTube is a great tool for teachers to use.  The downfall with teachers using YouTube in the classroom is that most schools block sites like these.  I don't know if there is a way to get around those blocked sites, but if there is I would use YouTube occasionally to teach my students something. One thing I like about YouTube is that you don't have to type in the exact title of the video.  You can type in a keyword or something about a video and you can probably find the one you are looking for.  Also, when the video you are watching is over, it gives you links to videos that are similar or that it thinks you might like.  It is really a neat site.  I would recommend others to explore it.  I can see YouTube applied to the library website we discussed earlier.  Much can be found on this site that would be of educational value in the library and school setting.  

Thing #19

I chose to explore Gather.  Gather is a social network for adults.  It is almost identical to Facebook and MySpace.  You can post pictures, videos, comments, and statuses.  You can add friends and join groups.  You can send personal e-mails or post a comment on someone's wall for all to see.  You can add tags and list your interests.  To me, if you have one of these social networking sites, you have them all.  I see no point in having more than one.  I am already a member of Facebook, so I don't find any of these sites particularly appealing.  I do, however, think TeacherPop could be a useful social networking site once I'm out in the field teaching.  I can see myself using this site in the future getting ideas for my own classroom.  I think it would be a great way to seek out advice from others in the field that have had your specific problem or may offer solutions for it.  I signed up for a TeacherPop account and joined APSU's group.  It took awhile for the Administrator to approve my membership so that was frustrating, but it is good that they do not accept just anyone.  TeacherPop really is a neat social networking site.  It is basically a "MySpace" for teachers.  I like it because it isn't just everyone you've ever met in life on the site.  There are just future or current teachers on the site wanting to collaborate with you!  I put a picture on my page and commented on a fellow classmate's page.  Her name is Amanda.  I really like TeacherPop and found it most interesting.  This is something that could be useful for me when I am out in the field teaching.  

Here is the link to my page:

http://teacherpop.ning.com/profile/AmberDuncan 

Thing #18

I created MySpace and Facebook accounts years ago, so I am quite comfortable using these social networking sites.  I haven't been on MySpace in a few months so I will talk about Facebook in this blog.  It is a really neat site with many applications.  I would highly recommend people to set one up.  What I like most about Facebook is that you can keep up with friends from all over the world.  You can access your site from all over the world, too.  It is a great way to keep in touch with family and old friends that have moved away or that you just don't see that often.  You can post videos, pictures, and statuses that keep your friends and family up to date with what is going on in your life.  You can add schools to your profile as well.  I have APSU added as one of my schools and the high school I attended as another one of my schools.  To find friends and family, you type their name into the search box and look through the list of people with that same name.  You send them a request to become your friend on the site.  They have the choice to either accept or deny your friend request.  I have my profile set to private meaning only those who are friends with me can view my full profile.        


http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=534130550


I think it is important for teachers to know how social networking works because they need to know what is going on.  Their students and co-workers will be using sites like these so it is a good idea for them to understand how they work and why people use them.  I didn't really learn anything new from exploring Facebook simply because I have had an account for a few years.  The only thing I dislike about Facebook is that the privacy settings aren't that strict.  They are in the sense that no one can view your full profile if you so choose.  But I don't want anyone viewing even my profile picture and status who is not my friend.  I think Facebook has the most useful features, but MySpace is adapting and adding features as of late.  I think it is good for students and teachers to have these social networking sites, but I would not want to use them in my classroom.  You could try using them in the classroom, but I think more students would be talking to their friends online than actually doing what you wanted them to.  

Thing #17

When I looked at the "apsu23things" Del.icio.us account, there were seven bookmarks and twenty-five tags.  I like that you can keep to date with what is posted on this account through the RSS feed.  By each of the bookmarks, there are tags.  These are basically keywords that help you narrow your search and find exactly what you are looking for.  Once you click on the site that has been bookmarked, you can see every comment posted under it.  I can see potential for this tool to be used in the classroom.  It would be a great way for students to follow a certain blog or find things related to a certain keyword.  Teachers can take advantage of these social bookmarking sites.  It is a great way to keep up with your specific keyword interests.  I definitely think Del.icio.us is an easy way to bookmark sites.  The thing that is cool about this site is that you can access your account from anywhere as opposed to just the computer you bookmarked them on.  That is a nice feature of Del.icio.us.  I think this tool could be useful.  For me personally, I don't have time to follow blogs and such so I probably won't be using this tool.  But for someone who follows blogs religiously, this is an excellent tool.     

Thing #16

I honestly thought creating a start page would be a complete waste of my time; but after I created it set to my personal interests, I actually spent a lot of time looking through all of the stories and applications it chose to post on my page.  I literally set up my page in less than a minute.  I used the iGoogle start page because it seemed to be the easiest to use with the most applications available.    You choose your color scheme from a seemingly endless supply of pre-made templates for your use.  I chose a pink and white artsy-looking one.  Next, you check all the boxes that are of interest to you.  For example, I chose:  music, cooking, entertainment, weather, and humor.  You can choose as many as you like!  From there, your start page is created!  Once my start page was done, I added a "Countdown," which is an application that keeps up with the days, minutes, and seconds left until some event you have chosen.  I chose to countdown the days left until school is out for winter break.  I also added an application called "Fun Facts."  Every morning it has three new, random "fun facts" for the day.  I enjoyed creating my iGoogle start page and will be using it as my permanent home page from now on.    


I chose the "Remember the Milk" online tool as my "to-do" list.  In theory, an online to-do list seems like a good idea to keep you organized.  This is not the case.  It was way to complicated.  It was too much work for a list I could simply jot down on a scrap piece of paper.  


I can see online calendars being useful for some people, but for me it seems just as easy to write my schedule down in my planner that I carry around with me.  I'm sure there are neat applications an online calendar can do that my planner can't do, but I have no problem whipping out my pencil and paper.  


The other tool I chose to explore was called "Zamzar."  It is a free, online file converter.  It is super easy and quick to use.  You choose a file or URL you wish to convert.  Then you chose the format you would like your file to be formatted to.  Next, you type in your e-mail address so they can send you the formatted file.  And boom, you are done.  It converts just like that!  This is one application I wish I had known about.  I definitely see this tool useful especially in the school setting.  I would highly recommend this tool to others!    

Thing #15

I didn't know what a wiki was before this thing.  I had used Wikipedia hundreds of times, but never thought of it as anything more than an online source of information.  Wikis are so much more than that!  The thing that I really like about wikis, is that anyone at any time can edit or add their own thoughts, experiences, or whatever they want to add.  (Unless of course you must be a member of the group to edit, but it is fairly easy to join groups).  It is a neat way to have discussions and still provide information for viewers.  I could see myself using a wiki in my future classroom.  I got many ideas from exploring the sample wikis posted under Thing 15.  Many teachers use a wiki for their students.  They can post class schedules, their office hours, due dates, and much more.  They can have projects posted for students to do.  It's just a great way to keep everybody on the same page.  I can use a wiki with my future students in this same way.  


Adding and editing my entry in the APSU 23 Things Sandbox wiki was extremely frustrating for me.  Only one user could edit at a time.  Every time I got on someone was editing.  This morning I got on to edit and the same girl had been editing all day long!  I don't know if she was actually editing or just away from her computer, but it was so frustrating!  There is this option to steal the lock, but that never actually worked.  Once I finally got in, the page was too big and had to be split.  This is a major downfall of the APSU 23 Things Sandbox wiki.         


After fighting with the page for awhile, I decided to create my own page instead.  Here is a link to it: 


http://apsu23thingssandbox.pbworks.com/w/page/32972619/avatars 

Thing #14

One of the flow charts I chose to work with was "Gliffy."  It is a really neat and free site you can make all kinds of charts on.  Not only can you make flow charts, you can make Venn diagrams, organization charts, and even floor plans.  It takes time to get used to, but after creating a few charts it is fairly simple to use.  There are pre-made templates you can use as well.  I chose to blog about "Gliffy" because there is so much to do on it!  It has many applications and is actually fun to create with.  The mind map site I chose to explore was "Mindmeister."  It was very simple to use.  To me, working with the mind maps was much easier than working with the flow charts.  It wasn't that the flow charts were necessarily hard to create, mind maps are just more simple.  Although the flow charts are a little more complex, they have many more tools you can use.  I liked working with mind maps because if you wanted to change something, you simply clicked on what you wanted to change or move, and put it exactly where you wanted it.  If you wanted to add text or a picture you would just add it directly to the created document.  These two sites were the easiest for me to use.  The tools on each were fun to use.  I will more than likely be using these sites in the future.