I made it!!!! Feedback time...

     I have to say this has been quite the journey, and my laptop has survived many outburst from me.  Nevertheless, I will admit that it did improve my computer skills and reduced my reluctance for technology.  At first, it seemed overwhelming by having to do so many tasks with these 23 Things.  I realize that if it had only been a few exercises, my exposure to what is available would have been limited.  Having to do more gave me the opportunity to find my likes and dislikes and what works for me as an individual.  By far, my favorite tool was Animoto.  What a great find!  You can do so many things with that website for the classroom or personal use.  Kids would definitely have a fantastic time creating videos for fun or a project.  I look forward to creating videos with my own children.  There is one thing that this assignment has surely taught me----Technology is always changing and it can be useful in many ways.  

Thing 23

     Creative Commons was new to me, although most of this assignment was new to me.  I feel I gave the correct information that was asked to do for Thing 23.  I knew about copyright laws, and the "all rights reserved" clause, but I didn't realize that there was a "some rights reserved" even possible.  Creative Commons allows the sharing of your creativity in order for others to modify it to suit their needs but with some copyright restrictions.  As a future educator, this would allow me to use someone else's idea and be able to change it according to my needs within their copyright guidelines.   For this part of the assignment, I was asked to find an example or attribute of how this 23 Things assignment was used from Creative Commons.  I pasted the credits on my blog.  The credits clearly state that this assignment was borrowed and changed for the education program.

 

 

Credits

Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0 - 23 Things, a staff development program for the Mesquite Independent School District. That program was based on the Learning 2.0 program that was designed by Helene Blowers and adapted by the California School Library Association and others. Content and style for Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers has been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Commons License

 

Thing 22

     Ok, this was a little more challenging than the last Thing.  LiveBinders took me some time to figure out how to use.   After a few tutorials and playing around with it, I finally figured it out...   It can be a very resourceful tool to help keep it all together.  The nice thing about these web binders is that I can now store a lot of the different types of technologies that I have picked up all in one place.  I also have access to other public binders and can look for new sites and ideas to assist me as a teacher.  I made 3 binders and titled them as follows:  Fun, History, and Math.  Math is the one I chose to share on my blog.  I found a lot of information to store in this binder that will help me in the future in the classroom.  For example, if I were teaching geometry specifically focusing on translation, rotation, and the flips of shapes.   If the class was having trouble understanding my instrucion, I could then go to my math binder and quickly access a number of visuals that may help them to comprehend.  
     One last bit of advice,  install the "LiveBinder It" into your toolbar.  It sure makes it easier....

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=805981

Thing 21 Video

My Video


Wow!  This is the neatest "Thing" that I have yet to encounter so far with technology.  Animoto has found itself a definite user, and I can say that I really enjoyed using this tool.  It was very easy to navigate and the simple instructions were a delight.  This is definitely some technology worth using within my future classroom.  Kids like nothing better than to see their own faces on a video, and the different choices of music will surely get them into it.  The capability to use the photo services like Flickr make this process of producing a video limitless.  From time to time if you make pictures of student projects, field trips, or learning things within the classroom, you could use Animoto to show students where they had started, where they had been, and how they had progressed.  Talk about some positive reinforcement!  Almost like taking a walk down memory lane.  I had seen this type of video done before at my own child's school, and found it very interesting.  Now that I know how easy it can be, I plan to use it in the future.

Thing 20

    

   I chose this video that has to do with teaching philosophies.  It seemed to fit my own teaching beliefs pretty well.  You Tube could be great for finding inspirational clips, educational clips, short lesson clips, or health and safety clips, for students within the classroom.   The large amount of videos that come up as a result of one topic, can further lead you to draw on different perspectives of others.  This technology can be great, but one must be very careful due to the fact that inappropriate material may appear.

 

Thing 19

     I signed up for TeacherPop about a week ago, and I am still waiting for membership approval in order to complete the first part of "Thing 19."  I decided to move on and complete the 2nd part of the assignment.  I will edit and add to the assignment later.  
     I am a member of Good Reads and Diigo.  I am really interested in Good Reads because as a future teacher, this social networking gives me insight on the content of books that would interest students in their reading.   It would also be beneficial in helping me build a classroom library with several different genres.  Through this social networking that includes book reviews and ratings, I would have the knowledge of knowing which books to choose for independent readings and suggested readings.  Good Reads allows users to create their own groups and teachers are using this site to their advantage.  As of now, I am not a member of Flixster or Filmcrave, but I can see where these social sites would be useful for teachers as they choose movies for their classrooms. 
    

Thing 18

     I recently joined Facebook because of this class.  I sent friend requests and joined the APSU College of Education group. 
     Facebook and Twitter are great tools for social media. Therefore, it's to a teacher's advantage to understand social media and how it works. They provide many different uses such as: keeping up with friends, free advertisement, and sharing of information.  Teachers can use this social networking in providing information on upcoming events and their school performance.  It also can be a way to post ideas and give feedback for fundraisers or events held at the school.  It can also be a tool for checking out a potential applicant for a position at the school. 
     Teachers who know how to social network will be able to collaborate with educators locally, across the country, or abroad.  I never thought about how social networking could possibly be used for advertisement, but things such as:  school events, fundraisers, school news, school performance, etc. could all be viewed through social networking. 
     I like the securities that are available with both sites.  Facebook I felt was easier, but you have more options with Twitter I believe.  I feel Facebook could be useful in a high school setting rather than elementary due to the risk of giving out to much personal information.  In a high school setting, students could collaborate with one another on ideas for assignments.  They could give updates on club organizations and their achievements.  It is important for teachers to be aware that these media sites can be used in a positive manner, but they can also be used in a negative way as well.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/137494276493/#!/