One Last Thing

I have learned so much in the past 23 things that I have done. I would love to continue my journey in life learning ways that technology makes life more meaningful and rich. I found that I am able to figure things on my own. I just need some direction or sparks to light the way. I enjoyed the podcasts. I think I will continue to find some to listen to, because I can always put it on my phone and listen as I drive or walk around the world. I love to learn new things! I liked the Flickr thing too. I was able to find pictures for so many lessons. I also know how to make great graphics. Now, I know how wikis work too! I learned so much and I will always remember these 23 things!!

Thing #23

Ning networking is a good idea. People can come together to share their ideas, points of view and be a part of education. Educators can find people that share their interests and can relate to them. Each posting has the ability to provide information and ideas that will be beneficial to the classroom. In my classroom will give student to build our own type of social networking site through Moodle. I took the Get Your Moodle On class this summer. I had no idea the possibilities. I am able to provide assignments and resources to students online. Then I can monitor their progress and discussions. I am able to make the students accountable for their work and motivate them to find an interest in my classroom. This will build a type of social network in my classroom. This is the future of education and I want to prepare my students.

Thing #22

I had never had an interest in being on any of the social networking sites. I think that maybe educators can gain more acquaintances by being connected to people on Facebook or Myspace. I did create a Facebook account. I hopefully will find time to maintain it. I noticed that you are able to find friends from school, work, or anybody that you may want to keep in contact with without having to call them or see them in person. I like that you are able to find people from all parts of the world. I also like that you put out as much or as little information about yourself as you want. I like that you are able to put pictures and set up you profile. I did not find anything that I did not like. I think I found Face book more appealing and possibly geared toward an older audience, but Myspace also looked interesting. I may be able to communicate with my students for educational purposes. Overall, I hope my interest will grow for Facebook.

Thing #7b

I read a very interesting article about the international rise of online learning. Some online schools are aimed to teach k-12. The blog lists many reasons for online learning. Students are able to have differentiated instruction, self-paced curriculum, and special areas of interest such as technology and science. Students can benefit from the higher level interaction with the material without having to interact with older students. Students will have to be proactive learners and have intrinsic motivation to discover the world of learning online. There are some challenges to online schools for example; cheating and making sure those students are place at the correct level. I think that with the face of education is changing. I will be happy to see the type of students that take the initiative to learn on their own.

Thing #21

I looked at all the Google tools. I made a Picasa album. It was so easy. All I had to do was upload my pictures. Then I edited and made a slideshow. I also made a calendar. I am able to get alerts when an event is coming up. I checked out the Google scholar. I am able to look up the lasted research studies and find the new conclusions in the scholarly world. Google Earth is a neat feature. Students are able to explore the world from their computer. Students can research any geographical feature and search for it on the maps. Every part of the Earth is photographed and students that have never traveled are able to see the world. I also like the Google books tool. Students are able to search for any book and read a bit of it for free. Then they can decide if they want to go look for it at the library, buy it or maybe use what they read for a research project. These tools are great and free for all to use. Many have lots of educational functions.

Thing #20

Googledocs are fun and interactive way to work together on projects. Teachers can team plan by creating a Google word document. One teacher can start the document and invite the other teachers to collaborate and revise the lesson plans.
Students can use any of the documents. The word document can be used to have students write stories and then they can invite other students to revise and edit their work. This is great way to get feedback.
The presentation document can be used to make a group project. Each student can work on their parts of the presentation and the other group members can look at the revised document and make changes, add and share.
I think that this feature of Google is a fabulous way to get people to work together. There is a way for everyone to participate and provide a bit to a group project. I will be able to get students to work together and their progress can be monitored.

Thing #19

Voicethread is a very neat tool. This tool provides ongoing communication. People are able to make a Voicethread and allow others to add or comment to it. We can learn so much and work together better. I teach 4th grade bilingual. I know that my students will learn English better if they are able to hear people speaking it. I will give the students a picture and they can tell me a story from the picture. Depending on the skill that I am focusing on I will let other students provide a comment. This tool can also help with writing. They can read their composition and record it. Then they can have a friend listen and make comments. The uses for Voicethread are endless. I will be able to use it in many ways to help my students and collaborate with my colleagues.