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!