Last Thoughs....

I really enjoyed the 23 lessons for my Education 3040 class.  Before this class I had no clue what a Web 2.0 web page was.  I actually had used a few of Web 2.0 applications and had no clue what they were categorized as.  I am going to use numerous items from my experiences with the 23 things in my life and classroom.  I really enjoyed Thing # 21.  My family is very important to me, and I made a video with images from my mom's graduation last year put to music.   I enjoyed Thing # 7 as well.  I enjoyed exploring Flickr, and uploading images.   Every lesson used could benefit the classroom.  I plan on blogging after this class.  I have a blog that is my personal page, and I enjoy connecting with friends and family without having to call each person individually and keep them up to date.

Thing # 23- CC

http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

Creative Commons is very important to everyone.  The program allows items and ideas to be used without making profit.  There are a few rules, but overall it isn't hard to understand.   It allows the Copyright of items a little wiggle room.  By having this knowledge as a student teacher, I can pass this information on to my students.  Depending on the grade level I can change the lesson to an easier lesson, or an in depth lesson.

Thing #22-Live Binder

I used Live Binder to create a location for documents, favorite websites, and collections of things.  I think that this is very useful to teachers.  I had to create three different binders.  One for my class assignments, one for personal websites, and one for different sites I like to read from.  I think that this site is useful for teachers, students, and even parents.

Since I set my page to private, I am adding a screenshot of my binders! :)

Thing # 21-Family

 My assignment was to use Animoto to create a 30 second video.  I had to use at least 10 pictures and use music to the pictures.  I really enjoyed this assignment.  I used pictures from my mom's graduation from college Fall 2010.  I really miss my family, the snow, and home.  I really enjoyed placing the song "Small Town USA" by Justin Moore as the background music.  My town is a really small USA town, but I call it home!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Thing #20- YouTube

I love watching YouTube videos.  Most of the time I enjoy just searchingI decided to add a video of a song that is really popular right now.  One of the guys who is singing the song is Hok from SYTYCD (so you think you can dance).

I have found some really good videos on YouTube that instructional.  A few of the videos that I have found useful are simple searches for smartboard, Excel, Word, etc.  If someone knows how to do a task.....I am sure it is on YouTube.

Thing #19-TeacherPop

I never knew that TeacherPop exsisted.  I really enjoyed looking around at other member from my class.  It's great to have a social network that is available to just teachers.  I have been exploring the site and the site is very user friendly.  I am going to keep my page, and try to update as my life changes, especially with education changes!

Visit TeacherPop

Thing # 18- Facebook

I have both a twitter and facebook account.  I enjoy being able to keep up with friends and family.  Seeing as though my family is at least 8 hours away, I have my sister, mom, brother, etc as friends on facebook.  We share photos, updates on life, and status updates.  I found my best friend after ten years of being apart on facebook, and I am in her wedding this summer. :)

I feel that social networks are very important for educators today.  If a teacher wanted to have information shared with students and parents, the teacher could created a page for her class to publish information. Even though this website is a great tool, there are downfalls as well.  When pictures, status updates, and opinions are placed on the internet everyone can read them.  With that being said, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU POST!     

Thing # 17- del.icio.us

I wasn't sure what del.icio.us was at first, but I really like the concept after learning about it.  Funny thought on what came to my mind first was the band member of Black Eyed Peas....will.i.am.  I added the quick links to my tabs so I can bookmark sites as I surf the internet.  I found this tool a great addition to a classroom for teachers who collaborate their lesson plans.  I observed at Barkers Mill Elementary School where the teachers of each grade collaborated lessons.  This website del.icio.us would work great for these teachers.  

The only issues that I can see with this tool would be that one person in the group could end up doing more work/searching than the others. 

Thing # 16 Organize

 For Thing # 16 I have four questions that need to be answered:

1. Which start page did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page? 

  Answer:  I chose iGoogle for my start page.  I really like Google.  I blogged before about my love for Google. 

 

2. How can the online calendars be useful to you?

 Answer:  I have an online calendar with Google and Yahoo.  Between the both I would say that I use Google more.  I can receive update alerts to my email that is directly linked to my iPhone.  This is very useful, because I can set reminders and be alerted at what interval I choose on the web calendar.

3. What about the to-do lists—helpful, too much work…? 

 Answer:  I am a procrastinator.  I am always looking for ways to keep myself more organized and on task.  I explored the page Remember the Milk.  I think that the online tool is useful as well as too much work.  After I set up an account online I downloaded the app for my iPhone.  The problem that I found is that I have to upgrade to Pro in order to sync my devices.  That was a big turn off for me.

4. Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the school or at home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?

I explored the site Zamzar and found the web page to be very useful.  This site allows for files to be converted to different files.  So, if I was sent a file in one format I could go there and convert it to what format I needed to open it.  Or even music can be converted to different file types.

 

Thing # 15- Wiki

    I explored a few wiki sites that were provided for the assignment titled  thing # 15. I actually thought I knew a lot about wiki.....I was wrong! I really enjoyed this assignment.  I can see myself in the future creating a wiki page for a classroom, a future trip I want to take, or even a place for out of town family to collaborate a vacation together.

    I was asked to add my favorite part of this courses assignments to a wiki page set up for our class.  The Sandbox is the location for the wiki for our class.  This is a place where we can "play nice together", and learn from each other the favorite parts of the assignments.  I added Thing # 8 to the sandbox, because I really enjoyed making the puzzle picture.  The picture I chose for my assignment was the first quilt I made my parents.

 

Thing # 14-Brainstorming

   The assignment for thing # 14 is to explore different flowchart and brainstorming web sites that can be useful for class/teaching in the future.  

   I chose to use Gliffy for flowcharts, and use bubble.us for brainstorming. I am a person who normally uses these tools to complete thoughts or assignments.  I attempted to make a flow chart with Gliffy on my procrastination to do another class assignment. 

 This chart shows that if I do my performance based assignment now that i will be able to turn it in early, but if I wait I will be up late tomorrow night!

While using bubble.us I attempted to brainstorm ideas for an assignment coming up, but I felt that most of the ideas I had already discovered.  

I can see how these tools could be useful for classroom assignment, especially for the lower grade levels.  Student are learning about sequential items.  What happened first, next, and then last??  So I can see how flowcharts could be useful.  Not everyone learns the same way.  With that being said.....I am sure that some would benefit more from these tools that I do.

Thing # 13

   This assignment is to compare the two web-based productivity cites, Google Docs and Zoho, and tell which I prefer and why.  I began the assignment by setting up an account on both sites.   This part was really easy.  I already have a Google account, so I could just go to the Google Docs easily. I found Zoho was just as simple to join.  The website allowed me to log in with my Google account information.

   I am working on a performance based assessment for another class and uploaded the document to both sites.  Each site was easy to upload, edit, and save the document without any hassles.  Even though both are easy to use, I prefer Google Docs.  I can use Google Docs to do household spreadsheets, share information with classmates, and share documents with my Family. 

   I think that either web page could be useful in classrooms for teachers and students.  I searched for different documents on Google Docs and found multiple spreadsheets to track almost anything you can think of.   This could be useful to track grades, expenses, and attendance.  
 

Thing #12- I heart Google

 I have loved Google forever.  I have a hard time remember when Google wasn't a household name used daily. 

I have an iGoogle page.  I inserted a picture of my home page.  I have a To Do List gadget, YouTube gadget, and a Rachael Ray gadget to name a few.  I am not sure if I you know this or not, but I LOVE GOOGLE! 

I have Google Calendar too, but I wasn't too excited about sharing that publicly.  I just feel that my information isn't that much fun, so why clog up the public domain with my boring calendar.  

The Google Translator has came in handy before.  I had a pen pal who spoke Spanish, and sometimes her emails would be a little in English and a little in Spanish.   

Thing # 11-New Useful Blogs

1. Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use? I used the site Google Blog Search to find blogs that interested me.  It was super easy to use.  I typed in "Rachael Ray", and right away there were many to choose from. 
2. What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels?  I found a blog called Everything Rachael Ray.  It has a lot of cooking tips and ideas.  I love to cook, I love Rachael Ray, and I love the tips given on this website.  It is a total win!
3.What other tools or ways did you find to locate newsfeeds?  I began going to websites that I go to on a normal basis and found that Local News on The Leaf Chronicle was available for RSS.   I have been to other websites and now I am beginning to notice RSS on sites I go to daily.  I had no idea! :)

Thing #10-Google Reader

Before this assignment I had set up a Google Reader site.  I like to keep up with a friend of mine who has a blog. Heather's Blog   It is easier than bookmarking numerous sites and having to click individually on the different blogs.   

I added a few of the blogs to my Google Reader that were suggested in our lesson for thing 10.  The teachers in the blogs have great idea and share their educated opinion on new technology.   Teachers can use the RSS to connect with different bloggers who have more information on technology, and learn from them and offer insight into a problem the blogger may have.  

Thing # 9-

Thing #8- Puzzle

I chose to make a puzzle with Flickr photos.  Instead of using a photo from Flickr it allowed me to use a photo from Facebook.  I chose this picture of a quilt I made for the puzzle.   I thought it was really easy to do.  From the website a full puzzle can be ordered.  I think it would be nice to order for friends or classes.  

I tried a few of the other applications.  I really like the Flickr Color Pickr.  It was really neat how you can pick a color and all the pictures pop up around the wheel.  I am sure this would work great if a certain color is needed. 

I am not sure how comfortable I am with placing my pictures online.  Maybe my mind will be changed with all the activities of blogging. 

Thing #7- Flickr-Get better flowers

 
Get better flowers, a photo by jenniferdjackson on Flickr.

I really like using Flickr.  At one point in time, I had a yahoo account that allowed to view/share pictures with others.  The only other place I have stored pictures since then has been Facebook.  I am not a public person.  I would rather share only with people I want to see my pictures.  I think that I will use flickr now for my photos.  I am not sure if I will use it just for personal use or for the classroom too.   I guess it would depend on the school policies, and the requests of parents if pictures are taken.

Thing #6-

   I chose Etsy from the list of Web 2.0 Award Nominees.  I chose the link because I wasn't exactly sure what the website was about.  A lot of the other Web 2.0 sites I had used.  Once on the site I decided I really like it.  It is a shopping tool, but the items for sale are mostly handmade items. I like that I did not have to register unless I was going to purchase or list an item.

  I am a crafty girl in many ways.  I really love to take pics, scrapbook, sew, and quilt to name a few of my hobbies.  I think that this site could be beneficial to me in a few ways.  It could give me ideas by looking at other works on the site, as well as a place to sell my handy work.   I am not sure if it would be useful in school setting unless I was looking for a specific item that I would use in the classroom.

Etsy  <---------------weblink :)

Thing #5- School 2.0

   Web 2.0 applications are a way for people to interact with each other on the internet.  From the articles I read for the assignment I realized that over half of students between 12-17 are already using web 2.0 application to interact with others.Article  The old way of banking, shopping, buying music, printing photographs, and watching movies has changed.  So why shouldn't school change?  

  School 2.0 seems like a great idea.  Education needs to take a advantage of these web 2.0 resources for learning and teaching as well.  When I was in high school we had a distant learning class where we would go to a classroom, but we were taught by a teacher on the computer screen.   The teacher was instructing 4 high school classes at the same time, and we would interact with the other classmates in different school.  I think that this worked great.  Why shouldn't more classes be taught this way.  Or have a set of podcasts that would be listed for students to do their lessons? A teacher could even use a blog as a classroom.  I am sure that with smaller children an adult should be present, but I feel that the home school online would work.  

Technology is 2nd nature to kids.   Technology is the future for the generation that is school age now.  I say take advantage of every opportunity for School 2.0.

Thing # 4- Commenting on Others

For Thing #4 I will be posting on all semester.  There are numerous goals that are expected in this post.  I will be commenting and changing this post for a few weeks.  Please be patient.
 

These are the goals expected of me for post 4:

 

• explain why commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction
• discuss two other points from the readings about commenting that you found important
• give the names of the seven blogs (5 from our group + 2 others of your choice) you selected to read and comment on and tell why you selected them
• discuss the comments that you chose to make and why you made them

Thing # 3

Blogging can be useful for many different purposes for students in the education field and teachers in the classroom.  As a student teacher, I can use blogs to discuss issues that I have with assignments.  Bloggers are all over the world and can have different opinions that may be specific to a region in other countries.  Fellow bloggers can comment and give insight on assignments that I would not think of or I could assist them with assignments.

Before this assignment I really hadn't given any thought to blogging besides for personal use.  I like to blog to keep my family involved in my life since they live so far away.  Now I have the idea that I want to have a blog for my classroom to keep parents involved in classroom activities.  I would have a calendar of events, weekly homework listed, and have a place where I could display student art work.  I think that this would be helpful for parents who have busy lives who can just log onto the blog and find all the information in one spot.

Thing #2

   I chose to use a combination of my name and what grade I am going to teach.   I am not 100% sure what grade I want to teach, so I at least wanted to put k-6 in my title. My actual title of my blog is "Jennifer's 23 Things for Summer". I thought it was easy to create the blog.  The only problem I ran into was the fact I had a blog on blogger.com a long time ago.  The information wanted to coincide with each other.  I fixed the problem by just deleting the content from the blog before.

    I attempted to dress my avatar the way I would dress on a casual day.  My hair is similar, my eyes are green, and I love coffee!  So my avatar reflects me in many ways.   I chose to do this, because this blog is my blog.  I feel that I want to be totally honest in who I am, and where I am going in my life as a "teacher in training".

Thing #1

      The lifelong habits that I find easiest for myself is to set goals and to present each new problem as a challenge.  When I have a new assignment assigned I immediately begin thinking of how I am going to tackle the assignment.  I make a checklist of what needs to be done, set daily goals to complete on time, and begin working right away.  I have a hard time with the lesson of confidence.  I am my own worst critic.  I can set goals and problem solve, but I will still be unsure of how my work stands up to others.

     I am excited about using the Web 2.0 tools this semester.  I have used a few before and didn't know that they were 2.0 tools.   I am interested in learning more about technology.  Technology is important in today's day and age.   As Dr. Jerles said in class "children starting kindergarten have always know that iPads exist, they know no different".   

     As I worked on this assignment I felt that the process was pretty simple.  I have blogged before, and I try to keep up with a blog on a normal basis.