Is it the end, or only the beginning?!

I have really enjoyed this journey through the 23 Things. I have learned many new things that I can use in the classroom and learned more about things that I already knew. Some of my favorite discoveries were LiveBinders, Animoto, the different types of generators, the Flickr mashups, the flow charts, and mind maps. The 23 Things have affected my lifelong learning goals in a positive way. I have learned so many new things that will help me out so much in the future. I think  all these things will influence me as a teacher in many ways. I now know things that can make me a better teacher and can only have a positive influence. These things have forced me to think and use these tools. I can refer back to my experiences one day in the future. I can honestly say that I feel a lot better knowing that I can use each one of these tools if I ever want to. This class has definitely opened my eyes to many things that I had no idea even existed! I will definitely keep my blog going in the future when I do become a teacher! Now, onto the next step of my journey!

Thing Twenty-Three!

Honestly, before taking this class I did not know how the copyright laws really worked. I thought it was okay to take a picture off the internet and use it in a powerpoint or some of my own work. I did not really realize that it was someone else's work and I could not do that. Now, I know that I can go to Creative Commons and find everything I may need to go into my powepoint or whatever I need pictures for. Creative Commons is even free and legal to use. Therefore, now I do not have to worry about taking pictures illegally. I will be able to use this in the classroom as a teacher when finding pictures or graphics for my powerpoints, letters, or even worksheets. I can also teach my students about Creative Commons and the copyright laws so they will know where to find pictures legally without any questions.

Thing Twenty-Two!

I created three different binders on my LiveBinders account. I titled them Classroom Management, Technology in the Classroom, and 4th Grade Science. I could see myself using these binders or creating new binders for my future classroom. I could create lesson plans, find educational websites for my students, find videos pertaining to a lesson, or even classroom tips. I could arrange and organize into binders. Also, they would always be there if I needed them year after year. These binders could keep me organized and keep me from using a whole lot of paper!

Technology in the classroom

Thing Twenty-One!

Make a video of your own at Animoto.

I really enjoyed making my Animoto. I used pictures from my vacation with a group of friends over the summer. It was really simple to do and had each step on the side to follow. Anyone could make one of these and personalize it any way they wish. I will definitely use this tool in the future.

Thing Twenty!

While experimenting with YouTube I found things that I liked and things that I disliked about the site. I think YouTube is a great tool to use in the classroom. You can find many useful videos for learning or for providing information about something. It can kids students involved and interested in a way that you might not can. However, there are also many useless videos that are not worth watching, especially for children. Therefore, you have to be careful and watch each video before showing it to a class full of young students. At my high school, YouTube was blocked and we could not get on it at all on any computer in our school. I chose the video that I did because it deals with technology in the classroom. Technology in the classroom is very important in today's schools. It was very neat and interesting seeing all the ways you can incorporate technology into your classroom.

Thing Nineteen!

Visit TeacherPop

I am not a member of any online communities besides Facebook and Twitter, and now TeacherPop. Some of these social networks did appeal to me. I really like the educational social networks. I also liked the food networks and the crafts network under the Hobbies section. I found these interesting to me. I know I can use the education networks in the future when I have my own classroom. I also love to cook and bake. Therefore, I can use the food networks as well. I really liked Bake Space and Tasty Kitchen. I also like to be crafty so the crafts network also appealed to me. I can use this network for my personal use or in my future classroom as well.

Thing Eighteen!

I believe that it is important that educators know how social networking works for many reasons. I think communication is very important for a teacher. Social media sites can be a great way for teachers to connect busy parents through private messages. Social networking can be a valuable tool in improving communication within the school community, both across the entire school, and for individual classes. Using the Lists feature on Facebook, teachers can create a list of all the parents in a class to share status updates, pictures, and other information. Comments on these updates can lead to better communication between parents. They can share tips or ideas on how to help their students succeed. Social networking can also provide a great opportunity for teachers to connect with each other. Facebook can help professional relationships with teachers not only within the same district, but across the country, allowing better knowledge sharing and support networks. One new insight that I learned while exploring Facebook was the Lists feature. I did not know that you could create a list of parents that you could share status updates, pictures, and other information with. I thought it was neat that you could send stuff to only that certain list and no one else would see it. There are always dislikes with these types of social media such as the large online world that sees it. However, I do like Facebook more than Twitter. That is probably because I am more comfortable with Facebook though. I also think that Facebook has more useful features. I have not figured everything out about Twitter yet. I could definitely see classrooms and schools using these sites and having applications for them.


http://www.facebook.com/#!/kelsi.clark2011

Thing Seventeen!

Before completing the discovery exercise for thing seventeen, I had never heard of social bookmarking sites. As I experimented with Delicious and the other resources I learned quite a bit about them. However, I am not completely comfortable using this type of tool just yet. I can see some potential in social bookmarking. I got to see how the online tagging system works. You can find many links to different things. For example, a link may go to lesson plans, videos, and specific grade and subject areas. I can definitely see this being useful for teachers if they came together to share their resources and how they are successful teachers. They can easily track it using Delicious. They can share and collaborate on things that work and do not work in the classroom. Social bookmarking could also help with classroom management and make lesson planning  less stressful.
 

Thing Sixteen!

I chose the iGoogle start page. This one appealed to me because it was really simple to set up, especially since we use gmail as our email. Google always appeals to me more than other pages. The easier it is for me, the better! I also liked that I could choose my own theme. I chose the theme with the frogs because I thought it was cute. There is a very good possibility that I will make it my permanent homepage because everthing is located all on one page.

I also experimented with online calendars. The online calendar I chose was 30 boxes. These online calendars can be very useful to me. I can access them from anywhere at anytime. I can stay organized using these calendars. I can remember birthdays, when assignments are due, imporant dates, and I could even use this in my future classroom for lesson planninng. I think everyone would agree that an online calendar is a very useful tool.

I chose to the to-do list "Remember the Milk". While experimenting with this to- do list I found it very useful. You can manage your daily tasks and set goals from anywhere you want, including your phone. Iphones and androids have an app for this, too. You can even add tasks with Siri. You can manage these offline as well. You will never think you are forgetting something because you can have everything right there with you. You can also get reminders sent to your email and in a text message. I think "Remember the Milk" is a very helpful tool.


I thought that both of these tools had uses for school and home. I can use the online calendar and the to do list in the classroom and in my personal life. I would definitely recommend the online calendar ,30 boxes, and the to-do list, Remember the Milk ,to anyone that needs or wants to stay organized. Ithought both of these were very helpful!

Thing Fifteen!

I chose to post my "Thing Nine" to APSU 23 Things Sandbox Wiki. I changed the font, size, and colors of this post while experimenting with it. Making a Wiki post was not too difficult. I had never heard of anyone making a wiki until this class. Therefore, this is all new to me. I believe I will be able to use wikis in my future classroom in many ways. I can allow the children to post their own thoughts and ideas to the page. Then, I can put the right or corrected version on there for them all to see. The thing I thought was most interesting about wikis was that you can make your own for others to see. I did not know you could actually do that. I had no idea that wikipedia was just one big wiki!

Thing Fourteen!

I chose to work with Gliffy for flowcharts and Bubbl.us for the mind map. I thought both of these web-based tools were neat and helpful in many ways. I chose to to work with these two tools because they seemed to stick out to me. I actually liked using Bubbl.us more than Gliffy. It was more fun working with the tools on there. It was also easier to work with, and the instructions were very clear. Some of the differences I noticed between a mind map and a flow chart is that a flow chart continues from one point to another like it is actually flowing. A mind map does not flow like that. It is more of a brainstorming process where you can lay out what you are actually thinking.

Thing Thirteen!

 To the left is what my Zoho document looks like. Here is a link to the whole document below.
https://writer.zoho.com/index.do?docId=2393092000000013004






Students could work collaboratively using Google Docs by sharing folders, files, and each others Google Docs. Google Docs would be useful in any kind of group project. They could comment on each others work and provide each other feedback. Both Google Docs and Zoho are very good sites. They are also both free, which helps out low income families that can not afford software like Microsoft Word. You can create documents, share them, and even allow people to comment on them. Out of these two productivity sites I prefer the Google Docs because I can usually work Google better than other sites. However, Zoho is a great tool too.

Thing Twelve!

23 cosas, cosa Doce!
http://translate.google.com/#auto/es/23%20Things%2C%20Thing%20Twelve!
 This is my link to my Google Translation. It means 23 Things, Thing Twelve! 


I also made a Google Alert. 
http://www.google.com/alerts/manage
This is my link to my Google Alerts that I chose.


My experience with these two tools were fairly easy. I really enjoyed learning about them and the positive things they bring about. I made a Google translation and some Google alerts. I think these tools can definitely be used in education in several different ways. The Google translator can be used to teach students Spanish words. You could do a word of the day and show them how that word means the same thing in different languages and how it looks written in different languages. You could even show them so they can do it on their own. The Google Alerts would also be a helpful tool in the classroom, too. You could keep track of anything to do with education. I could  keep up with things taking place in the world.

Thing Eleven!

The method of finding feeds that was easiest to use for me was the Google Blog Search. I found that it was the easiest and most helpful. I prefer using Google in other things too. I did not like the other blog searchers much at all. I think the topix.net was the hardest for me to use. I also thought it was the most confusing. I found a few useful feeds in my searches. Some of them being about The 23 Things and Learning 2.0 blogs and conferences. One of the unusual feeds that I found from my search was One Breath Away « Adult Books 4 Teens - School Library Journal. Other tools or ways I found to locate newsfeeds was on http://technorati.com.

Thing Ten!

I never have really thought about what a RSS feed was. I would always bookmark my websites or put them in my favorites. However, now that I know what they are I have discovered what a useful tool they can be. I discovered a few pages that interest me. The pages that I chose to put into my RSS are Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, Free Technology for Teachers, Recipe Girl,  Elementary Teacher Blog, and Teaching Blog Addict. The things I like about RSS and newsreaders would probably be that everything is all in one place. I do not have to go to many different websites to read what I want to. I can just simply go to this Google Reader and everything I am interested in and subscribed to will be right there in one place. How simple is that! I also like that it is also connected to my gmail account that I use for my blog. It makes everything easy for me, and I am all for things being easy! I think I would be able to use this technology in my classroom by subscribing to educational tools I can pull up in class for a lesson. I can refer back to resources, and they will all be located in the same place. This will be a useful tool because it will save me a lot of time going back and forth to different websites. I could also use this for my personal life by subscribing to things that interest me. I can go to one website and have everything from several websites in one spot. I believe teachers can take advantage of RSS by incorporating different lessons with examples from a website that the class can read regularly and are subscribed to. I think it will be a useful tool because it will save the teacher a lot of time. I also think that teachers could take advantage of this new technology for lesson planning.

Thing Nine!

http://www.imagechef.com/

 

http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/

Here a couple of the generators I chose to do. I really liked the image chef generator. I chose to do the grass with the flowers because I thought it was really cute. All I had to do was type in what I wanted the flowers to spell. It was really simple. I also chose the happy face generator. I got to chose what type of smiley I wanted on my blog. Then, I just typed in what I wanted it to say. I thought these were really neat, too. I think I could use these types of generators in the library, classroom, or personally in many ways. I think it is a neat tool to capture your attention. Therefore, I know it would capture a child's attention in the classroom. I believe these could be used in the library by posting them on the walls or letting students design their own. I could definitely use them in my personal life also. I could create them to use in PowerPoints, newsletters, and class calendars.

Thing Eight!

I think Flickr and Flickr mashups can be used in my future classroom and in my personal life in many different ways. I can use them in PowerPoint presentations, as visual aids, a learning exercise for  my students, and as way to make things interesting. I found that all these different types of mashups are very neat tools. I chose the "Spell with Flickr" tool. However, there are many more such as Mapr, mosaic maker, Splashr, and Clockr. My feelings about sharing photos online is probably similar to most others'. I feel that if it is of someone instead of something you should have their permission. I also think that if you put a picture up you deserve credit for it. Another thing is that it should be appropriate. I personally want my photos to be set as private so I can chose who can view my photos. 

Thing Seven!

I chose to do option 1 on the discovery exercise. While exploring Flickr I found many interesting images by searching different tags. However, I loved the images of the farm land. The image I liked the most was called heart.land [explore]. I love this photo because I was raised on a farm and I love the outdoors. I think the view of this image has a good perspective. The tags I typed in associated with this image are rural, farm, tractor, grass, farmscape, and heartland. This photo was taken by Michael Kistler from MdKiStLeR's photo stream. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkistler/7939534188/

All rights reserved by MdKiStLeR

 

Thing Six!

(I found this app at http://www.cnet.com/html/ww/100/2009/winners.html)

I chose the Web 2.0 award nominee, Remember the Milk.

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ This web page allows you to use their applications to set goals and manage your tasks from anywhere. There is a free version and a pro version that costs $25 a year. You can also access Remember the Milk from your mobile device!

Things I like about Remember the Milk are that you can manage your daily tasks and set goals from anywhere you want, including your phone. Iphones and androids have an app for this, too. You can manage these offline as well. You will never think you are forgetting something because you can have everything right there with you. You can also get reminders sent to your email and in a text message. I do not have any dislikes with this site/ application.

I think this app could absolutely be used in a classroom or library setting by the teacher. Everyone forgets things occasionally. However, with this app you do not have to worry about that. You can always go back to your list of things you need to do on your phone, iPad, or internet. I think this app would make a teacher or librarian's life much easier.

Thing Five!

       I chose to read TechLearning Web 2.0: A Guide for Educators, Tech Learning Best Practices, and the 2008-Horizon Report. In these three articles I learned many things about today's children and the teaching methods that are being used. Everyone knows that it is the 21st century and there is a lot more technology around to be used in the classroom compared to the past. However, do the students know more about the technology than some teachers? This technology and the internet in general influences today's society as well as classrooms. Many schools are changing to digital textbooks, incorporating iPads into the classroom, and virtual forums are also popping up in some. According the the Horizon Report, there are six new emerging technologies. The top two are known as grassroots video and collaboration webs.
   
      I agree that children today are much more technologically savvy than in the years before. Therefore, as teachers we must be able to keep up with their learning to teach them what they need. Many children already know more about computers, the internet, and iPads than most of the older teachers in our school systems now. Therefore, I believe that it is important that we are learning these Web 2.0 tools now so we will be ahead in the future. By the time we graduate textbooks could be totally out of the system and every classroom may have a set of iPads. These tools will be of good use to us when this does happen. I feel that I will be well prepared for this change.

      To me School 2.0 means a technological advancement in education. I believe that it is all the upgrades needed to improve education. We need these advancements to stay ahead, and if we do not have these "tools" then we could fall behind other countries, states, counties, even other schools in your county in the future. As a teacher you want what is best for your students. Therefore, you must be willing to learn these tools because when your students are adults it may be helpful to them. I look at it like a "domino effect". I believe what is not taught and learned now, in the future there will be a disadvantage to those who did not learn it in the past.

Thing Four!

       Commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction by sharing your ideas with others and others sharing their ideas with you. You can comment to share your opinion, ask questions, share ideas, offer help with something, and many other things. You can interact with many other bloggers creating a community that you can communicate with and gain knowledge based on other bloggers' experiences. 
     
       Cool Cat Teacher Blog said you should write a meaningful comment each time you comment on someone's blog. I totally agree with this! I believe that each time you comment on something you should really mean it. I know I personally do not like getting one word replies to anything. Just like Cool Cat Teacher said, "if you don't care... don't comment". I also like how The Blue Skunk Blog says, "I've always thought it is polite to say thanks to the commenter when possible. This is not a universally practices-or endorsed-practice. Somehow, I just think if a person has given up a chunk of life to read and craft a response, I should be grateful." I also really like the point this blogger makes. I think it is very important to be thankful for your readers and the people who comment on your blog. What would your blog be without them? 

     The five blogs that I chose from our group are Rittenberry's 23 Things, 23 Things-M.Blair, M Donahue's 23 Things, Technology and Teaching with Mrs.Crouch, and Ava's 23 Things at 32. I chose these blogs because I thought they were each interesting in some way. I thought they all brought up good points and ideas in their posts. I also liked the appearance of their blog. The other two blogs outside of our group that I chose are elementary teacher blog and Teaching is Elementary. I chose these two blogs from outside our group because they both looked appealing to me. They both contain useful information that I could use in the classroom one day. They are also both based on real teacher experiences. 

      The comments that I chose to make definitely meant something to me. I was honest, and it was something that I also cared enough about to comment on. I made my comments because I felt that a certain post reached out to me and pulled me in. Therefore, I felt that it was my job to comment and tell the other blogger how I feel and my opinions and/or personal experiences on that particular post. In the end, my knowledge and opinions may help another person out.

 

Thing Three!

     I could use a blog in my teacher education program or my future classroom in many ways. I could use a blog in my teacher education program to keep a journal of my training and experiences, things I have learned or observed from other teachers, keeping track of current educational issues,  and to share ideas about education to help me in the future. I could use a blog in my future classroom in many more ways than that. I could start a blog to communicate with parents by posting class information such as calendars and assignments, tell about class activities, showcase excellent student work, teach the students how to use and make a blog, and post links to go along with class assignments to further the student's knowledge on a topic. Depending on how old my students are, I could use a blog for group projects, book discussions, daily writing assignments, or just basically teaching them how to blog. Most children are eager to learn anything that deals with technology or the computer.

Thing Two!

I had a lot of fun creating my blog and avatar. I decided to name my blog "23 Clark Things...words to live by :)" because I wanted to include my last name and add my own special touch to it. "Words to live by" just came to me and clicked in  my mind. I decided to use my actual name as my blog name. I feel like if it is me posting on this blog I should use my actual name. I have had a really good experience so far in creating my blog. I have really enjoyed it. I found it easy to create and design. The directions on the 23 things were very helpful and clear on what exactly I was supposed to do. It makes me feel like I have freedom and can reflect my personality in my blog. One way I can reflect my personality is through my avatar. I created it based on the things I like and how I actually look. I made it look like my real self because I used my real name for my blog name, therefore I feel that I should make my avatar look like the real me.

Thing One!

       The 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners were very interesting to me. The easiest habit for me is probably number one, begin with the end in mind. Anything I do I always think about what happens next or the future. Before I even started college last fall I was thinking about graduating with my teaching license. I can not ever start something without finishing it. I always seem to set goals for myself whether I mean to or not. It is almost like I challenge myself just to make myself go above and beyond my own expectations. The hardest habit for me is probably number 7 1/2. That might sound crazy to you, but I sometimes forget about making myself free "play" time. I always feel like I need to be doing something or working on something that I do not have time for myself. Sometimes the easiest things can become forgotten, especially for a college student.

       There are a few things that I would like to learn by playing with Web 2.0 tools. I want to learn how to use different tools for later use in my classroom. I would like to learn more about podcasting and what it is all about. Learning anything about Web 2.0 will help me in some way to prepare me as a future teacher. I did not know that not all sites like all browsers equally. Now, I know that switching browsers may solve my problem.

       I enjoyed creating and setting up my blog. I like to create and design things. Even though it was different than anything else I have ever done for a class, I thought it was pretty easy. The hardest part for me was probably naming it. I also had fun designing my own avatar. I thought it was so neat that you could get online and make yourself as an avatar figure. I have already learned so much to use in my classroom. As I worked on this I felt like I actually knew what I was doing and enjoyed it at the same time. I also like how we are all working on this same project, but we get to create our own personal blogs that shows each individual personality in some way. It makes me think how each child we will have in class someday will have their own personality, and not one single person is the same.