Thing 23: Reflection

I truly feel like I've had a rebirth of sorts, and am ready for my life as a 21st Century Teacher! Before taking this course, I always wanted to experiment with more technology, but fear kept me from actually taking the plunge to try it. After seeing the video about the 21st Century Learner, I realized that the traditional way of teaching is just not going to reach the students of today. I no longer fear technology, in fact, I feel like I've jumped in with both feet and am not planning on turning back. I feel like my knowledge has grown leaps and bounds in just a few short weeks. This knowledge makes me excited for the year to come and all of the wonderful "tools" I have now acquired in my toolbox.

There are so many new tools that I'd like to incorporate into my classroom and to share with my colleagues. The first of which is a class wiki. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful Technology Specialist who is willing to collaborate with me on ways to make responding to literature on a wiki happen. I'd also like to begin utilizing screencasting as a means of showing students how to perform certain tasks on the computer and web. Part of the reason that I have been fearful of trying new things in technology is because the minute a new concept is introduced to fifth graders, half of their hands are up before you've finished saying the last word. I run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to help students for the entire period. With screencasting, if students are having difficulty remembering what I did when I presented it, or if a student is absent, all they have to do is go to the screencast and it'll go over the directions again. Furthermore, I'm planning to continue collaborating with my Library Media Specialist and I hope to incorporate tools like Delicious and EasyBib into our Japan and Africa Units.

There is so much more that I'd like to incorporate into my curriculum and I plan to continue practicing and learning. I plan to do this by continuing to seek out and try the other Web 2.0 tools that we didn't get to. I now know that there is nothing to fear and that if I just take some time to "play" with the tool, I'll be able to pick it up in no time. I am also currently reading Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools, written by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum.

The Big Take Away for me is that a 21st Century Learner needs a 21st Century Teacher. I am no longer afraid. With this new knowledge, brings new opportunities for collaboration with colleagues as well. With greater collaboration, comes greater learning for the students.

Thing 22: Edit a Wiki

Wow! I never thought I'd have so much fun creating a wiki. Before this summer, I had only briefly heard about a Wiki from our technology guru. I had no idea what it was and the name alone intimidated me. I no longer feel this way. I am much more comfortable with this Web 2.0 tool and have no doubt about trying it out with my students in this upcoming year. I created the beginnings of a class wiki. I added pages for each of the subjects and some links to start. Take a look...

Room 118's Wikispace

The only thing that I am still trying to work out is how I'm going to set the wiki up for student responses to their reading. I'll take any suggestions!

From my experiences with both wikis and blogs, I think that the major differences are that blogs are like an online journal. They are written by one person who shares their thoughts and opinions on a consistent basis. A blog also allows for comments to the author, and the author can respond as well through their blog. Some blogs have specific topics. For example, some people blog their weightloss journeys. Others blog their pregnancies. You can find a blog for just about anything! Wiki's on the other hand, are sites where there is more than one author. Anyone(depending upon your settings) can edit, update, etc.

On a wiki, there are many contributors, thus many opinions, thoughts, comments, and/or resources shared. If you want to have a back and forth discussion with one person, then the blog is what you want to use. The reason why I say this is because if you are having a discussion on a wiki, your comment will go to the whole group and not necessarily to a specific person.

Thing 21: Wikis

It was great seeing all of the different uses for Wikis. This is a tool that I was very curious and motivated to find out more about. Fortunately, I was given the experience of creating an account and becoming a member of a Wiki through some coursework that I am currently completing.

Some of the Wikis that stood out as I was exploring include...

NHS Pathfinders-It is great to see a place where students can find their teachers and click on links that'll help them more efficiently find resources for their specific area of research. What a timesaver! Where was this when I was in high school?

Arbor Heights Elementary School Wiki-This is a great way for keeping all parents informed of the in's and out's of the school. What's nice about it and different from a school website, is that others can add to it. For example, if the PTO is planning a movie night, they can add that announcement to the Wiki. If the leader of the Robotics Club has a change in meeting times, they can go on and edit the changes. With a website, only the creator can edit it.

6th Grade Remedial Work-This wiki stood out for me because it originates from a class for students learning the English language in Portugal. It was created by the teacher for students who were having difficulty in learning the English language. The teacher added remedial exercises that practiced and reinforced the lessons that they had in class. Additionally, as the students completed each of the exercises, the teacher was able to provide feedback.

How to Create and e-Portfolio-This wiki was beneficial to me because I have been wanting to do this with my class for several years now. I just didn't know how to get started. This site was able to provide some excellent pointers.

In the upcoming year, I'd like to create a wiki for responding to literature. In the past, students have been required to read each night and then to respond to the reading in their Reader's Response journals. I would love to be able to set up a wiki so that the students can respond on the wiki instead. I think that this would actually help foster a more interactive conversation between myself and the kids. I also think that it would help their writing, as they would see actual examples of how their peers write. Furthermore, the wiki will serve almost as a portfolio as it will include work all the way up until the end of the year. This would be a wonderful tool for me when completing report cards and holding conferences, as it an example of student work. One hurtle that I know that I will encounter is actually creating a wiki myself. I've edited on a wiki that has already been created by someone else, but have never actually created one myself. Additionally, I'm not quite sure how to set the wiki up for my purposes. As I mentioned before, the students would respond each night to their reading. In the first month of school, I have them work on just creating summaries, as many students do more of a retell, as opposed to a summary. Once they have mastered summaries, I give them a grid with about 24 different "prompts" that they can answer about their reading. I'm not quite sure how I would set this up (Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated). I plan to collaborate with our Technology Specialist to see if we can come up with a solution to these hurtles together. Another hurtle that I think I will encounter is students who are maybe not as appropriate as they should be. To overcome this hurtle, I plan to make it clear to the students from the beginning that there is a history on a wiki and that I can go back and find out exactly who was being inappropriate. If this doesn't make the kids think twice about publishing anything inappropriate, then the first time someone gets caught hopefully will teach them the lesson. This brings me to the next hurtle. All of this requires a lot of monitoring on my part, however, this just replaces reading the RR journals each week so I don't think that it'll require any more time than I already commit. A final hurtle that will need to be overcome is the fact that not all students have internet access from home or their parents don't allow them to go on the internet. Some options are that they can submit a handwritten entry in their RR journals, they can go to the public library, or stay after school.

Thing 20: ebooks

I had no idea that FREE books could be found and downloaded online! I know that many of my friends have purchased Kindle's and Ipads and that they were downloading books onto them, but they had to pay for each of their books, just as they would in a bookstore. For some reason, I hadn't realized that I could actually download books onto my computer. Through my navigating of the sites provided for Thing 20, I did find that most of the books that could be downloaded for free were the classics. I actually downloaded Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen to read on vacation this summer from the site Project Gutenberg. Another observation that I made was that, aside from the classics, many of the other free availabilities were novels whose titles and authors I hadn't ever heard of before.

Upon further navigation through different sites like the NHS ebooks, Salem Literature, and Marshall Cavendish, I found a wealth of resources/reference materials. I was especially impressed that the NHS ebooks linked up to the Gale Virtual Reference Library. I have used Gale for research projects and have always found what I needed. These are all excellent sources to be used by classroom teachers for things such as research projects.

The benefit of ebooks is that the references and/or novels are available to everyone at the same time, unlike in a library where you have to be put on a waiting list if someone has already taken the source out. On the other hand, and this is just my personal opinion, I would hate to see a library get rid of all of their "print" materials in favor of ebooks (as I heard of a school in Massachusetts doing). There's something about the feel and smell when you crack open a book that you're about to read or the sadness that you feel when you've finished a book where you've fallen in love with the characters and know you will miss them. I'd be very sad if my grandchildren never have this experience someday.

Because so much is being made "easier" or more easily accessed, I fear that we're going to become a society where people will no longer leave the house because they can basically do everything from paying their bills to taking college courses online. Mankind would lose their ability to have a face-to-face interaction. How sad! As it is, many experts are blaming the obesity epidemic on the fact that everything is being automized by computers, including power windows in cars. I think that there definitely needs to be a balance.

Thing 19: Screencasting

I am so excited about learning how to do a screencast! There have often been times in my fifth grade class when I’ve demonstrated how to do something and as soon as the students are asked to do it on their own, everyone’s hands go up. In the past, I’ve tried to troubleshoot this by creating a step-by-step list. This wasn’t always the most effective method because some students still didn’t get it. Now that I know how to create a screencast, I plan to create a link to it and make it readily available so that the students can go back to it if needed. The first screencast I plan to create is a tutorial on how to create a Work Cited on EasyBib.

I have decided to create a screencast on using Wordle, a Web 2.0 tool that I think will be very useful in my classroom. Students can create Wordle’s to summarize a book that they have read, we can create Wordle’s as a way to review concepts taught in a certain unit, and much more. It is basically a word cloud that is created using any text that you provide. I have decided to brainstorm a list of words summarizing my experience with this wonderful professional development opportunity and create a screencast of that.



Probably the most difficulty I had with creating the screencast was keeping it under 5 minutes, which is the maximum amount of time I am given. I had to re-do my screencast several times so that it fit into the time constraint. I also just realized that for some reason, the microphone did not work while I was creating my screencast. I've checked all of my settings and re-recorded the screencast, but am still not getting any sound. I don't know why this is occurring.

Thing 18: Podcasting

Podcasting is another Web 2.0 tool that I tried for the first time this summer. I wanted to get into shape and eventually run a 5K race. Because I'm a teacher and it's in my nature, I decided to do some research on the Internet before embarking on my training. What I found was a podcast that was created by a woman named Carly who had created a podcast consisting of nine weeks of training for a 5K. The first week begins slowly and each week progressively gets more challenging. She narrates the podcast, gives running tips, provides music, and lots of encouragement. I was able to download the podcast onto my Ipod and I use it when I go out running.

While exploring the different podcast sights, I found one on EPN that will help me brush up on my Spanish. It's been quite awhile since I have taught Spanish, and I don't get to practice it as often as I'd like. By subscribing to the Spanishpodcast, It'll allow me to refresh my memory. The following link is all about Spanish vocabulary.

I have participated in Professional Development opportunities on Smartboard technologies, but I know that there is so much more to learn. Therefore, Smartbook Notebook Math Tools is another podcast that might be beneficial. I liked how there were screenshots of the Smartboard so that I can visually see where certain tools are that I'll need to do the things that I'm learning.

Thing 17: Presentation Tools

You can find just about anything on Slideshare! Every single search term that I asked it to search gave me several options of presentations. Professionally, I found slideshows like "Japan in Pictures", "Geography of Japan", downloadable Math games, and the "Kenya Safari" presentation below.Kenya Safari

View more presentations from ticktock01.

I chose this slideshow from slideshare because it includes amazing pictures of an African Safari in Kenya. Some day I would love to go on Safari in Africa, but until then, I can look at this slideshow. I can also use this with my students when we are learning about Kenya.

One of my absolute favorite television shows is "The Biggest Loser". Imagine my surprise when I searched this term, several options came up including one that includes several "Biggest Loser" recipes that I can cook at home.

Slideshare would also be a wonderful tool for students to work together to create a "how to" slideshow presentation explaining how to do a certain math concept. Often times, when students are asked to do this, it helps them understand the concept better.

As for Zoho....wow! You weren't kidding when you said it had all the bells and whistles. I definitely need some time to explore this site and its features further. It almost reminds me of Google docs in a way. It was not at all what I was expecting.

Recently I learned about Prezi's for presentations as well. These are an excellent resource for teachers and students to present their work to a group.

Thing 16: Time to Explore

The first tool that I attempted to explore was Knowtes. Unfortunately, their site has been shut down indefinitely due to "cost concerns of providing a free service". They did however provide three links that I could visit to create flashcards. Flashcards can be useful in many of the subjects that I teach, from math facts to important vocabulary terms in our Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies units.

Next I tried EasyBib. What a great site! I have some experience with Noodle Tools which I like very much, especially since it not only creates the citation, but also gives one the option to create notecards in which the user is required to paraphrase the actual section that they're planning on using in their product. What a great tool to prevent plagiarism! However, EasyBib is free! The online tutorial was very easy to understand and within seconds, I was able to create a citation in MLA form. EasyBib gives the option to create citations in MLA, APA, Chicago Style, Harvard Style, and much more. Additionally, it gives the option to save the work cited into either a Google doc or a Word Doc. Anyone who has worked with fifth graders on typing up a work cited list knows what an obstacle it is. The students forget to alphabetize, put periods in the wrong places, write the dates incorrectly, and have trouble every time they put in the <> because it turns their citation into a hyperlink. They get so frustrated! Is it so important that they know the process of writing a citation, or is it more important to make sure that the authors of the resources that they are using are being recognized? I'm leaning towards the latter.

Thing 15: Exploring Cloud Tools

I first learned about Google Docs from my Library Media Specialist. She was so excited about this tool, that I knew that I had to explore it further. I have been using and learning about Google Docs since the beginning of the summer. As a result of what I've learned, I plan to share my newly gained knowledge with my colleagues. I'd like my team to get to a point where we can create and share documents without having to constantly send emails and attachments. One specific example of how this might be useful is when creating our monthly 5th grade parent newsletter. Each month we write about what is going on in each of our classrooms. In the past, each person writes up a little blurb and sends it to the person responsible for writing up the article. Now that I know the capabilities of Google Docs, I can create a document and then share it out to my colleagues to add their portion of the newsletter, edit, proofread, and provide feedback.

Google Docs can also be a very beneficial tool to use with students. One example in which I might do this is by having students create their writing pieces on Google Docs and then I could provide feedback as they are going through the steps of the writing process. Not only that, their peers will be able to provide feedback, thus the peer edit. I think that this will help with my time-management as well, since I won't be getting 24 writing pieces at once to do a teacher edit. Not to mention the fact that since the students know that their peers will be reading their writing, they will be more likely to put forth an extra effort so that they could impress their classmates. It's a win-win situation!

One issue that comes to mind about using this tool is the fact that students need gmail addresses in order to access Google Docs. Since the school system does not provide email access to students and not all students have email access readily available, this can be a tricky obstacle to overcome. Another obstacle is that because it is a shared document, other students may write something that is considered inappropriate or offensive. This could easily be traced however, so it is important to inform the students of this beforehand, so that they won't be tempted.

One final thought! After watching the video about Googlewave, I'm excited for it to come out. Since it is a tool that helps things get done with a group and it is kept completely private, it seems like it'll be another beneficial tool to use in a classroom.

Thing 14: Social Networking

Did you know that the fastest growing population of new members on Facebook are 65 and older? I learned that interesting little tidbit today. What great timing as I am working on this very "thing" tonight.

I have created a Facebook account because I believe that it is an excellent way to connect with family and friends that I don't get to see very often. I was very apprehensive at first, but I decided to go ahead with the understanding that I was going to be very vigilant and cautious about my privacy. First of all, I did not put my legal name on it. I use a nickname and my middle name. Additionally, I made sure to set my privacy settings to "friends only", even on my pictures. I am also very selective about who I "friend". I would never consider "friending" an acquaintance, nor a past or present student. It's not like I have anything to hide, but I do feel that there needs to be a separation between home and work. I found the information about being careful what I post to be very helpful. I never realized that a hacker might try to use that information to get access to my password. One thing that I try to do is go into my privacy settings at least once a month since Facebook has the tendency to change things, often leaving people's information vulnerable until they've had a chance to catch it. This is disconcerting to me!

Because Facebook is Social Networking, I do see some educational possibilities. For example, it's a great forum to provide information about events, such as the Newington High School library did with the Book Talk presentations. Additionally, the students who are on Facebook are practicing 21st century skills, which is exactly what we need them to be learning to be successful in this ever-increasing technological world. Finally, when students are chatting on Facebook, it's an opportunity for them to talk about school. For example, a student who has forgotten her homework can ask a friend on Facebook to let her know what it is. Another example is when a student doesn't understand a part of their homework, they can ask a friend to explain it to them. This actually happened with my niece in Texas. She was having trouble with a math problem and I was able to help her with it on Facebook. Talk about long-distance tutoring!

The biggest concern I have about Social Networking is the occurrence of cyberbullying. Because you are not face to face, some individuals feel that it is okay to say certain things that they might not normally say in person. Additionally, when typing something online, what is said could be perceived differently by the person who is reading it. As parents and as educators, we really need to educate our children about the dangers of the internet and what they can/should do when faced with these situations.

Thing 13: Delicious and Diigo

I chose Diigo for several reasons. Probably the most important reason is because I have to create an account for some coursework that I am currently working on. I am required to complete a research report and this is the perfect location for me to bookmark all of the sights that I'll be using in my research because of all of its options. One option that I will certainly be utilizing is the highlighting tool, which will allow me to highlight the important information and the sorting tool will allow me to organize my research and share it out.

I feel that Diigo can also be used in my teaching. This amazing tool will allow me to share educational resources that I find with my colleagues. I can also create lists of sites that allow for practice of the skills that we're working on in class for parents or students to access at home. I'm also thinking that I can use Diingo with my students during their research on Japan. Currently we have a hotlink list sorted into different categories including geography, food, schools, etc. I'm thinking that I can create a Dingo list of credible and accurate websites that have been reviewed beforehand. I can then sort these sites into each of the categories that I ask the students to research. The students will then be able to pull up the sites, highlight, and even take notes online.

Thing 12: Tagging and Social Bookmarking

There have been times that I've bookmarked sights on a computer at home and then the computer gets a virus, crashes, and all of the information is lost. Other times, I've bookmarked something on my school's computer and then need it when I'm trying to plan a lesson from home. I no longer have to worry about these things happening because of Social Bookmarking sights like Diigo and Delicious. I can now bookmark all of my resources in one place and even organize them by topic by tagging them. The benefits of tagging are that visitors can search for a topic very easily. For example, if they are writing a state report on Arkansas, they can simply do a search for any resources related to Arkansas and everything with that tag will appear for them. Another benefit is that users can make connections with others that have similar interests. For example, if I am a collector of antiques and I do a search, I might come across someone who is an antique dealer that has quite a bit of expertise, and who can help me date my collection. A disadvantage to tagging is someone who does not tag a resource thoroughly enough. As a result, someone who could use that resource might not be able to find it because their search term was not part of the original tagger's tag. Additionally, one person may find a resource to be excellent, however, another may night find it that beneficial. The person doing the search may end up with a lot of mediocre resources and have to take the time to weed through them.

Thing 11: Widgets

Well, I must say that this was the most frustrating "Thing" for me to date. I created a Widget in Voki and then was having all sorts of difficulties posting it onto my blog. I suspect that the website is having difficulties because now it won't even let me sign into it anymore, even after resetting my password. I am using a Mac and that might also be contributing to my difficulties. I've spent an entire morning trying to figure this out, so I'm going to have to walk away from it for now before I drive myself crazy.

Even though I am having trouble with the site, I actually found the process of creating the Voki very fun and easy to do. I enjoyed it so much that I'd like to create one to have up on the Smartboard on the first day of school, telling my new students what they should do as soon as they enter the room. That will free me up to be at the door to direct traffic and welcome my students. Additionally, it will be something new and exciting for the students to see in their first moments of fifth grade.

I also played around with Poll Daddy and am hoping to utilize it as well. One way in which I'd like to use it is to gage students' comfort levels about their understanding of a certain topic. For example, after a lesson on the addition of fractions with unlike denominators I might ask the students to vote for whether they understand the topic well, somewhat understand the topic but need more support/practice, or do not understand and need reteaching. This immediately gives me feedback so that I can plan to differentiate the instruction for the following day.

Edited to add:

It worked! Finally!!

Thing 10: Twitter

Well I did it! I am officially a "tweeter". In the short time that I have had to explore Twitter, I was pleased to see that I could follow some things that were of interest to me, including "Library Journal" and "Flashlight Worthy" to satisfy my love of literature, and "Parent's Magazine" to keep up with the latest and greatest trends in parenting. I'm sure that as I continue to explore that I will find many more people and organizations to "follow". Right off the bat, I can see that Twitter is similar to Facebook in that it helps people stay connected to friends, however in this respect, I prefer Facebook. One feature that I found exciting was the fact that I could follow "experts" and people that I admire. For example, a friend of mine follows someone who was on the Nutmeg committee and she was able to be one of the first to see the novel that had won this year's Nutmeg Award because the woman had "tweeted" it.

When navigating through "The Best of the Web 2008" and "Time's 50 Best Websites of 2009, I found many sites that I feel would be an asset in every classroom, including Wikispaces and Google Docs. I am especially excited about trying Google Docs in the upcoming year, both with my colleagues as well as with my students. Google Docs is a way to publish, share and collaborate on documents, including word and spreadsheets. Some of the pro's of Google Docs are that you can access a document from anywhere, not just the computer that it was created on. How convenient will it be to create a document on Google rather than having to email it to myself if I want to work on it at home? Another pro is that it allows for file sharing, so I can share my document with colleagues and/or students. Furthermore, we can work and collaborate on documents at the same time. Finally, it's FREE! In a tight budget year, that is the key word! Now to the cons. In order to access Google Docs, one must be connected to the internet. This is not always easy to do when there are high demands for the computer labs and only one computer in each classroom. A couple of other minor details were that there were too many extra steps to change the name of a google document and you can't easily organize things into folders like you can in Word. I'm sure that I will find many more things that I like and dislike about Google Docs as I become more familiar with it, but from what I've seen so far, I think that it's going to be a wonderful addition to my classroom next year. I can't wait to share it with my colleagues!

Thing 9: Copyright and Creative Commons

As a result of Web 2.0, I see technology taking learning to a whole new level. As educators are learning and becoming more comfortable with the tools, they will begin to embed much more technology into their instruction. They need to not be afraid to take chances and try new things for if they are afraid, their students will suffer. However if they open themselves up to change, the opportunities are endless. Students will be more active and invested in their learning because technology is something that they know and can relate to. In the future, I predict that every child will have a computer on their desks and that all or most work will be done completely on it.

One of the opportunities that are emerging that I am most excited about is being able to interactively communicate with students as they are working, for example in a Google document. I also think that an amazing opportunity would be for students to participate in podcasts. For example, a student studying Spanish might listen to a podcast from a teacher in Spain.

In order for educators to teach the ethical use of all of these interactive resources, they must first learn about the latest copyright laws and procedures, and then make sure that they are following them at all times. When children see that the adults in their lives are modeling correct procedures, they'll be more apt to follow them as well. Additionally, I feel that it is important to begin teaching students very early on, even in Kindergarden, as five year olds today are already on the computer. It's never to early to learn.

Thing 8: Embed and Download Video

The video that I have chosen to share is entitled, "How to Use Chopsticks" It is approximately three and a half minutes long and was created by Howcast. I chose this video because the speaker spoke very clearly and explained each step in a very easy-to-understand manner. Many of the other videos that I viewed on this topic were very difficult to understand. This is once again affirmation that teachers need to view the videos beforehand to ensure that they are appropriate for the students.

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Currently in the fifth grade, we teach a unit on Japan. As part of our unit study, we take a trip to a Japanese restaurant where the students have the opportunity to taste many of the delicious dishes made and enjoyed by the Japanese. Often times the students have much difficulty using the chopsticks, as for many of them, it is their first time in an Asian restaurant. Therefore, I plan to show this video before attending the restaurant so that the students will have the opportunity to see, step by step, how to use the chopsticks correctly. As a follow up, I will have the students practice, using chopsticks and something small like dried beans or peanuts. Once they have mastered this, they are ready to attend the restaurant!

Thing 7: YouTube and Video

I guess I'm not such a digital native after all! I have used YouTube in my classroom, as well as Teacher Tube (therefore I know that it is not currently restricted in my building). One way in which I have used it is during our "School Families". Each of the teachers in the school has a family that consists of students from all of the different grades. In our families we discuss various topics, including tolerance. During one such family discussion, I showed India Arie's video, "I Am Not My Hair", featuring Akon. After viewing the video, we had an amazing discussion about not judging people by the way they look. I feel that the students were hooked in because it was a video with contemporary singers that they listen to all of the time. One of the things that really came out was that some of the students felt alienated because of their cultural differences. As a result, the students brainstormed a list of ways in which we, in our school, could highlight and appreciate the different cultures that we represent.

There are so many videos on YouTube that can be used to improve instruction. Just a few of the ones that I found include a "School House Rock! Electricity", "Life of an Exchange Student in Japan: School", and "Barack Obama Born in Kenya!!" It is important to view the videos beforehand to make sure that they are appropriate for the grade level and that the content is factual. Anyone can post to YouTube, therefore one must be careful not to show a video that has inaccurate information or opinions. Additionally, I found that some videos are amateurish and hard to understand because of background noise and/or hard to view due to poor filming or equipment.

Thing 6: Flickr Fun

I have always had a problem with keeping and organizing my photos. Because my husband is in IT, we've had dozens of computers coming in and out of my house. As a result, once a computer's hard drive goes, so do my pictures. I've learned to back them up on a zip drive, however, storing them on the internet is also an excellent option. Now that I see how easy it can be, I can't wait to upload more. I noticed that there is a coupon code for 30% off of creating a photobook. I have a friend who creates these and they are a wonderful remembrance of the special event. I plan to upload the pictures of my daughter's 7th birthday and create a photobook with them.

Not only will I be able to use Flickr for my own personal reasons, but I see how it can be utilized very effectively in the classroom. Since I teach all subjects, I've outline one way in which I can use Flickr for each subject area.

L.A.-Show an image and have it be the impetus for a writing prompt.

Math-Show an image and have the students create a word problem based upon what they see in the picture.

Science-Show a picture of a lightbulb to explain the different parts during our light and electricity unit.

Social Studies-During our culture studies of Japan and Kenya, I can show pictures of actual people, landforms, etc. from that culture.

Thing 5: Flickr

This photo was taken from Drakulina_ak's photostream on Flickr. This photo has some rights reserved. I am free to copy, distribute, and transmit it, as long as I give the photographer credit. I am not allowed to use it for commercial purposes or to alter it in any way.

To find this picture, I did a search for Nazare, Portugal because this is the beach where I have an apartment. In fact, this is the exact view from our front veranda. Nazare is a traditional fisherman's village. To this date, many of the men and women still dress in the traditional costumes to show tourists a piece of their culture. Additionally, the fisherman still go out every night to fish and then sell the freshly caught fish at the market in the morning.

Thing 4: Custom Homepage

Wow! This was easier than I thought it would be. I decided to go with Netvibes to create my custom homepage. I found it every bit as easy to navigate as it claims to be. This is definitely the answer to my concern in Thing 2 about how I was going to remember all of the different email accounts and passwords. This is the perfect tool for organization.

Some of the widgets that I added were my various email accounts. I do have a couple of questions about this. Is it possible to add my school email account to this homepage, as it is something that I often check from home? I tried, but it told me that there was no information for this account. Also, I have a gmail account for this workshop, however, I will also be given one for the ARCLMS cohort as well. I am not allowed to use the one I have already set up. Will it recognize two different gmail accounts? Additionally, I added The Hartford Courant, a To-Do list, a calendar, and a teaching blog called Maupin's House Blog that has teaching tips for k-12 educators. I'm sure that I'll find more as I continue to search and investigate.

Thing 3: Blogs in Education

I think blogging is going to definitely be something that I will be able to use to enhance my classroom instruction. As I mentioned in my previous post, I would like to use a blog as a forum for my students to respond to their reading. Additionally, I would like to use a blog as a form of communication to the parents. From the article "33 Ways", I discovered that I could communicate class and school information with parents, including upcoming field trips, after school clubs and activities, and pacing calendars for upcoming projects, among other things. I also liked the suggestion about using the blog to record steps in how to do certain tasks. An idea that comes to mind is that it can be used to record the steps in how to go about solving certain math problems. For example, say we are working on solving long division problems in class. Our math program uses the "forgiving method". Many parents do not know the "forgiving method" and in the past have expressed that they feel helpless in aiding their child when questions arise. Therefore, if I were to be able to post the steps on a blog, then the child and/or the parents can go to the blog and review the steps. No longer will the parent have to hear, "That's not how my teacher did it!"

The only concern I have about educational blogging is being able to keep up with it. If I commit to a blog and communicate it to the students and parents, I need to find the time to keep it up to date. With all of the increasing demands of testing, correcting, bubbling, data collection, meetings, etc. I'm not sure where I can find the time to each day update the blog, especially if I plan to incorporate "how to" steps. My thought is that I need to start slow and then build upon it from there.

Thing 1 and Thing 2

I definitely learned a thing or two (or three or four) from the video, the article, "A Day in the Life of Web 2.0", and from creating a blog. The big ideas that I came away with are...

#1. that kids today are much more "digital learners" than kids in the past, and many educators are not meeting their needs. I think that some, like me, are a little intimidated by all of the technology that is out there. That is one of the main reasons why I am partaking in this professional development opportunity. I want to be confident in the use of all of the wonderful resources and tools that are available. I also want to be able to find creative ways in which I can incorporate them into my teaching. Others are trying to find the time and resources into their classrooms, what with increased emphasis on standardized testing and diminishing budgets.

#2. that I have a lot to learn about technology (thus the "Digital Immigrant" title). I have visited blogs in the past, just recently joined a Wikispace, and have been a part of social networking sights like Facebook, but have yet to "Twitter", create a social calendar, or partake in podcasts. I look forward to delving into all that Web 2.0 has to offer!

#3. that I can create a blog, post, and add avatars and images to my posts. How excited was I to realize how easy it is? For years I have been struggling with wanting to create a new way for my students to respond to their reading. In the past, I've had them keep journals where they respond to specific prompts that I give them. I've also had them write letters to me and then I would respond to them in letter form as well. Both of these have been very beneficial in many ways, however, the journals were cumbersome to take home and correct, handwriting letters to every student on a weekly basis was a lot of work, not to mention, time-consuming, and to be quite honest, the kids dreaded them. After seeing how easy it is to create a blog, I'm thinking that this might be the perfect solution to Reader's Responses. Students will be more motivated to produce a better product if they know that they have an audience other than me, the teacher. Additionally, they will be able to learn from viewing and reading each others' posts. Not to mention the fact that now they'll be able to use their favorite medium...the computer, rather than having to hand write each of their journal responses. Now I need to find out how I can make this work with a class of 24!

#4. that with knowledge comes responsibility. In response to the question, "How does writing on the internet knowing anyone can read it change how I write or feel about writing?", I feel that I need to be mindful of not giving out too much personal information. It's a bit disconcerting to know that a total stranger could be reading my posts and learn more about me than someone I know personally. Furthermore, I feel that it is important to make sure that privacy settings are in place and that I act professionally at all times. Finally, as an educator, I feel that it is important that I am careful to be grammatically correct and to not fall into the IM'ing-type language, abbreviations, and emoticons.

Needless to say, in just two "things" I've already learned quite a bit that I didn't already know. However, there is one final thing that I learned....

I need to keep all of my usernames and passwords straight! I'm already confusing them and I've only done two things!