One Last Thing...

DONE!!!!!  APSU's 23 things is quite an assignment to say the least.  I can't say that I would like to do them again, but all-in-all I have learned a lot and become MUCH more comfortable with many neat 2.0 tools.  At times, I wanted to scream because it felt like there was SO much to be done.  But now, looking back, I have gained so much from this activity.  My favorite thing would have to be either Thing 20 or Thing 21.  Creating my own Animoto Short was so much fun!  I didn't even know there were tools like the one I used to create my Short.  And of course, who wouldn't like to explore YouTube.  I feel that the 23 things have drastically increased my desire for lifelong learning goals in the technology realm.  Before this assignment, I was content with where I was as far as my knowledge and understanding of Learning 2.0 tools.  This assignment has introduced me to many new tools.  I have also seen that these tools are ever expanding!  They are constantly creating new ones!  I was surprised to have actually enjoyed some of the "things."  In the beginning, I thought the 23 things were going to be a complete waste of time and I actually dreaded doing them.  It actually surprised me that I ended up enjoying some of the discovery exercises.  

To improve the 23 things, I would say the only thing I would change would be to make some of the signing up for different things optional.  Some of the things in which I had to sign up for and wait for confirmation I found to be a waste if I wasn't truly "into" it.  I would have rather explored the site and seen what others had done with it before "committing" to it by creating an account.  As a teacher, I plan on using more 2.0 tools in my classroom.  The 23 things have influenced me to use these tools and to have my students use them as well.  To keep up with new 2.0 tools, I plan to keep using them!  One good way to keep up with them would be to subscribe to a feed that talks about new learning 2.0 tools.  

From here, I plan on keeping up with some of the things I have learned throughout the course of this assignment by using them.  I plan on maintaining some of my accounts I have started and incorporating them into my future classroom.  My resolution is to spend at least 10 minutes a day looking back over the tools and accounts I have used and created.  This is my resolution in writing!  I must stick with it!  I plan to continue using these tools and new ones and recording them in blogs or something like it so I don't forget what I have learned!       

These are my thoughts on the 23 things and how they have affected me as a future teacher.  I hope you have enjoyed following/reading my blog!

Thing #23

APSU's 23 Things was created loosely based on the website called "43Things."  This website is a place for people to set and track personal goals.  These goals are a lot like some people's "New Year's Resolutions."  APSU modified this work into the 23 "things" for students to work through to become more comfortable with technology, especially for use in the classroom setting.  The 23 Things assignment is under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. 

Creative Commons is a good thing!  Before taking this class, I had never even heard of Creative Commons.  It is important to credit people for the work that they have created.  In my future classroom, I will use Creative Commons licenses on my work.  Also, I will go about using other people's work in the appropriate way according to the Creative Commons license they have on their work! 

Thing #22

The podcast I chose to listen to was called "Santa Fe Chili."  I chose to listen to this one because I am very interested in cooking.  The podcast teaches you how to make Santa Fe Chili.  This enticed me.  The podcast tells you what ingredients you need to create this dish and what steps to take to prepare it.  It sounded so quick, easy, and yummy that I just may make some for dinner later!  I didn't link it to my blog because I figured I would be the only one interested in it.  The podcast directory I used to find this podcast was Podcastdirectory.com.  It was the easiest to use in my opinion.  All I did was typed in keywords in the search box and it listed all of the podcasts related to the keywords that I typed in.  It was very easy and quick.  And the podcasts didn't take long to load either.  This "thing" hasn't necessarily inspired me to create podcasts all the time, but it has shown me the usefulness of one.  I will probably use a podcast with my students at some point.  I didn't find a podcast that I want to subscribe to and listen to regularly, but if I explore Podcastdirectory.com some more, I'm sure I will!