23Things2DoThisSummer

Thing #21

2009-08-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

Ok so I skipped #21 in the list because I was doing all of my bloging and exploring on my Mac, oh how I love my Mac. But when I got to this task I was sad that I had to go back to my Dell, oh my problematic Dell. Anyways, I played with Photostory and think it is a really fun program. I can see creating a show for my students with images from a specific topic, like algae blooms. Yes I know, I am a dork. My only problem is that none of my own images are on my Dell, they are all on my Mac and on our photo sites. So I had to go to the sites and download what I wanted to use. Also all of my music is also on my Mac, oh Mac how I love you, so I had limited music choices. Yes I know I could have recorded myself, but I tend to sound like one of the chipmunks when I record my voice so I just delt with what I had. And now ladies and gentlemen my Photostory:

Thing #23, Done!

2009-08-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? I would say that my favorite discovery/exercise was actually setting up this blog. I have been wanting to and have tried a feeble attempt to do so but this really set me on the way to make one and keep one going!
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? I think this program has made me think more about the tools that are available and has helped me become more confident in using them. It also reassured me that I am pretty "hip" to technology that is out there and I am keeping up on new technologies and resources that are freely available to use.
Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I really did not know what to expect out of the program. When initially looking at the topics I thought "wow I am pretty familiar with most of these, is this really going to be helpful?" While I was familiar with a lot of the "things" doing this project made me really actively explore and learn about them at a more in-depth level than I had before.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I think the biggest thing is to keep checking links to make sure they are still active and in some cases maybe update some of the tasks. A few of the "things" I did not really feel where that beneficial to me or will be useful in a classroom setting, especially a high school one.
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Of course! The web is a very large universe with so much out there to explore. Programs like this help people discover these resources easily and efficiently.
How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities? I got much more out of this program than I expected, already being a fairly tech savvy teacher!

I do plan to keep on bloging, but I will start a new one since I started this one just for the purpose of this journey. See you all in the blog-sphere!

Thing #22

2009-08-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

So without realizing I had actually signed up for a Ning almost a year ago! While searching for APES resources I stumbled upon a Ning for APES teachers and joined. Now that is all I had done with it until today. I updated my profile and read some posting by other members. I even commented on a fellow members forum posting. Now there are not a lot of members on the site but it does have some good resources and is a great way to connect with other APES teachers accross the country.

I could see actually setting up a Ning for my classes. I can see it being a useful site for students to corrdinate projects, ask questions and form study groups. Its a more moderated version of Facebook which I really appreciate. I am already friends with students to help answer questions but sometimes, even though I have them blocked from all my content, I still worry what might pop up. A Ning is a great alternative!

Thing #20

2009-08-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

While I have used YouTube, mostly at home since it is blocked at school, I have yet to use TeacherTube. So I spent the majority of my time exploring TeacherTube. Now overall it seems like it has great potential to be a very useful site but they really need to improve the search function. It is difficult to narrow down the search to get valuable info. For example I searched for "Environmental Science" and got 36 pages of videos. Now it would be nice if I could select only those for high school but I could not find it.

I find videos are very useful in the classroom and one type that I use pretty often are video podcasts. They are often free and can be downloaded off of iTunes onto our school computers.

On a humorous point I found this video on TeacherTube about "How NOT to use PowerPoint" which I think I will show my students this year before they do their first PowerPoint presentation.

Thing #19

2009-07-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

One Web2.0 site I found interesting was Docstoc. This site is a site where people can upload documents to share with anyone in the world. I can see this as a double edged sword though. The good is that there are some really high quality documents and presentations on specific topics that if you were needing something to use for a class for information it could be a great source. The problem I see though is copyright infringement and plagiarism.

Another really cool site I saw was LiveMocha which is a social networking site to help people learn another language. I plan on trying to learn Spanish at some point and feel that this could be very beneficial to me. I would be curious to see if any foreign language teachers use this program in their classes to help students with conversation use of the language.

Thing #18

2009-07-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

I think using these free online productivity tools are great, especially for students who are in homes that can't necessarily afford expensive programs. I have had students who use Open Office and have had no trouble opening or using their files. I didn't even know it had existed before a student turned something in this year that was an open file!

I have used GoogleDocs to create documents that I can share with different people who then can edit it which is a very nice feature. Sometimes though formatting is difficult with it so there are some downfalls. But it is also nice that you can access any documents where ever you are with that application.

THing #17

2009-07-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

Rollyo is an interesting application. Pretty easy to use for the most part. After I created my list (which was the easy part) I found the interface for creating a profile and finding my created search confusing and not very user friendly.

The Rollyo I created is one that my AP students can use to find articles on Environmental topics from reputable sources. I think this is something that will be very useful in the classroom.

Thing #16

2009-07-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

Wiki's were something completely new to me until the AP session I went to last summer. Even then though I didn't fully grasp how they worked and how they could improve my classes.

This past spring, I conquered my ignorance and figured them out and even set up my own for my class here! So far I used it for my previous students to post summaries of various Environmental Acts and Laws. This summer I decided to use it for a different assignment for my APES students. They are creating their own pages on the wiki and have to like and summarize different Environmental news topics.

I plan to explore other ways of using my wiki this year to make my classroom a more collaborative environment.

Thing #15

2009-07-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

This really made me think and realize how much libraries have changed since I was a child. I have seen this change into the Library 2.0 era and its quite amazing to see how quickly it has changed. In high school I remember having to go to the library where I had to use the card file to find books then had to check out books for research papers, there was hardly an internet to even search on then. When I arrived in college there were now electronic searches to find books and scientific articles of importance. In my first years it was still mostly print but towards the end of college there was no more checking out books or looking through microfilm, I could now print what I needed off the internet. Then when I arrived in graduate school, there was almost no need to even go to the library except for that rare case where I needed an article that (gasp) was not available electronically!

The "Away from the Icebergs" I felt had some very good important points. One being that people don't "need" to come to libraries any more which I feel is a shame. There is a community, comfort about going to a library. Also the lack of need to really have a collection anymore. So many magazines are now online that libraries can now supply subscriptions online instead of print.

This is a double edged sword. While technology is useful and helps make life easier by getting information to us in a fast and effective way, it is also causing a gap in culture where we are loosing or seeing a change of a community that was a useful one, and one that I miss quite a bit.

Thing #14

2009-07-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

I found that searching by tags greatly reduced my results from over 200 to just 28!

I was suprised that only two of the top 5 blogs by fans I have heard of. I was also surprised that one of the top ones was about blogging. Also surprised that many of the top tags are celebrities. Happy though that #2 was Environment!

I think Technorati will be very useful in helping me find specific post on a topic I am interested in along with related videos. Kind of a one-stop-shop if you will of all blog content.

Tagging in general is important because it helps to catagorize information not only for the user but also for followers of the blogs.

Thing #13

2009-07-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

I have been using delicious for the past year. I used it quite frequently but then got out of the habit unfortunately. I do like being able to access all of my important bookmarks from anywhere.

I think social bookmarking is a very useful tool for teaching. You can give students links to specific websites that will be useful for a specific class or project.

Thing #12

2009-07-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

I think one of the important points about commenting is that it allows the blogger to know that others think like they do. People will be less inclined to talk about their views if no one is giving them any feedback.

The other point I think that is important is to view commenting as a dialog. Give input and opinions even if they differ from the blogger but do it in a respectful manner.

The two blogs that I have commented on I found through exploring in Google Reader. The first blog drew my attention because it is written by a Foodie teacher in Houston that I really identified with. She goes to many restaurants that I am interested in going or have already been too. The second blog I commented on is one written by another teacher but this one is on the other side of the country and teaches the same subject as me. She writes about some really great things she does with her students along with the happenings on her family farm. I really enjoy following along with her events.

Thing #11

2009-07-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

I like the idea of essentially having a virtual library of the books that I have and ones that I have read. I found it super easy to use as well with having no trouble finding specific books that I was looking for. I think that it will be useful to help me find other books that I might be interested in. I am always overwhelmed when trying to find a new read.

I did find a group on Science books that I went ahead and joined.

Thing #10

2009-07-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

So I discovered ImageChef and Dumpr to be the image generators that I liked the best (see my creations below). Big Huge Labs looked like it had the most different types of generators but I had difficulty trying to save my image and registering.

Another site not on the list that is pretty neat is The Aviary. It is almost like an online photoshop. It has a steeper learning curve on how to use it than image chef or dumpr which is why I haven't posted something from it!

I am really not quite sure how I could use these tools in the classroom. Maybe it could be a way for students to add interesting visuals to presentations, or create a trading card to get to know others in the class better.

Get your own free sketch

Thing #9

2009-07-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

Blog search tools can be over whelming because there are so many blogs out there now on the same topic that you really have to search through them to find a good one. It is a trial and error process.

I found Technorati to be easy to use and easy to find what I am looking for. For example through my various searches I found TED Blog which was a pleasant surprise. I have watched TED talks but didn't think about subscribing to their blog.

Syndic8 I found confusing and frustrating. There is just so much on the front page that it took me a while to understand it. I did get some good results from my searches but the site worked so slow that I just left and didn't come back.

Now that I do subscribe to some blogs I really like using Google reader's suggestions of blogs that are similar to ones I am currently subscribed to and I do over-all prefer their blog search.

Thing #8

2009-07-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

RSS feeds are wonderful. It is nice to have one central place to go and read all of the current posts on blogs that you are following. And in the case of Google Reader, you can actually categorize them by topic so you can keep similar blogs together.

I already have been using this in my personal and school life for the past few months. I have used it to keep track of the food blogs that I love to read along with Environmental Topic blogs to find articles to use in class that are up to date.

I can see creating a reader account for just science topics and making it public for my students to make it easy for them to find current issues in science.

Thing #7

2009-07-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying, "I Love Google!" The various resources that Google has to offer has opened up a world of possibilities for me. From everything of being able to coordinate calenders with my husband to creating documents to use in meetings no matter where I am at, just as long as I have an Internet connection.

I have used a lot of the Google resources that are available but have to say that Google Documents has been by far the most useful one there is. I can create a file of any sorts and share it with others who then can contribute to the file or edit it. It has become extremely useful in both the classroom and in my personal life.

I did set up an iGoogle a long time ago but just didn't find it as useful. I think if it was something that I set as a home page I would use it more. I rotate around between 3 different computers so its kind of difficult to set one as my "home".

One tool I am going to try to get more use of is Google Bookmarks. I am not sure how it compares to things like Delicious so its a new area of learning for me! I think it will be useful to have all of my classroom bookmarks I use in one central location. I often am going to the web to show short clips or news stories so it would be nice to have that accessible on any computer.

Thing #6

2009-07-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

It is quite amazing the different things that are out there for different platforms and applications. I was only really familiar with things that are on my iPhone. Its cool that there are all these things that you can use to compile and make things out of the information that is available to you.

The mappr application is really cool. My husband and I use something similar that geo-tags our photos when we take them with our iPhones. I love that there is something out there that can do that with other images as well.

I also think the Bubblr application is a lot of fun. In this app you can add comic bubbles to pictures!

Thing #5

2009-07-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

I am working my way through these 23 things today!

So Flickr, while I have never actually used it besides to look at some friends photos, I am finding that it can be a very valuable resource for me for my classes!

I am always looking for good images to use in my presentations, and while my goal is to use all of my own photos, I only have so many.

This photo I found will be perfect to use in a talk about solar power and its uses. I like it because a lot of students fail to realize that anything the suns rays are used for is considered solar power, even just drying clothes outside.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boojee/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

I did kind of find searching for an image a bit cumbersome just because there are so many images that come up with any search term. It is mind boggling that there are that many images available for use! I love it!

Thing #3

2009-07-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

So the setting up the blog was a piece of cake. The biggest trouble I had was picking a name! I want to create on eventually for class as well so I figured I would keep this one exclusively for the 23 things.

I am already pretty familiar to blogs and their format. I follow around 30 blogs currently and have made some comments on them. I have always wanted to really start my own, and I have started before but keeping up with the postings has been difficult. Hopefully this time will be different!

Now the avatar aspect. While easy to set up I honestly think its a bit silly and not really necessary. Avatars like the one we made are used so infrequently now that I just didn't really see the point. Sorry, just being honest. It was fun finding just the right outfit and background.

Thing #2

2009-07-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

I have always striven to be a life long learner. In fact I would say that I am a professional student. This is why I love teaching Biology and Environmental Science so much because they are always changing. Every year a new discovery occurs or a new medical advancement happens and I need to make sure I know about it and understand it because inevitably a student will ask me a question at some point about that discovery or advancement.

Habit #3 "viewing problems as challenges" is probably the most difficult one for me. I often easily get frustrated when I have difficulties in trying to learn something new. I really have to work through the frustration so that I keep on going and don't stop.

Habit #6 "using technology to your advantage" is by far the easiest habit for me. I like to think of my self as a "Google" master. If there is something I don't have enough knowledge on or don't know how to do the first thing I do is search for it. Then I read blogs, watch podcasts, read articles, anything that I find that will help me gain information on the subject.