I'm done, and I learned some stuff!!

So after doing 23 Things (for a second time) I was surprised when not only did I finish before the deadline, but that I learned some interesting facts. I thought that when I was going to repeat the 23 things that I wouldn't learn anything, because I had already done them. Well, surprise, just like the technology of today's time, less than a year later and many of the 23 things were totally different! I can honestly say that I learned some crazy easy new organizational tools. I have also decided that when I have free time I may go through and read up on some new technology, because before I know it I will be like my grandma, have a computer and a cell phone that I don't know half of what it is capable of. It is important to keep up with technology, because there are so many advancements being made every day. I will definiely keep up more with technology, because this project has really opened me up to what I missed while I was playing Angry  Birds over the last year.

Thing #23

Now that I know about Creative Commons, I think that I will be able to legally use pictures in my Power Points and on handouts for my students. It wasn't until this class that I realized that just copying and pasting a picture from Google was illegal. But with Creative Commons I can find pictures that I can use, and know exactly what the owner of that picture wants it to be used for. I think that I can also use creative commons in my classroom because I can teach my students to use it, so that they aren't learning that copying and pasting from Google is stealing when they are in college. Creative Commons is a great idea, and I really hope it catches on.

Thing #22

When I set up my Live Binder, the three binders that I have are all about Special Education, one is a crash course in Special Education for subs, other teachers, or students, the second is types of technology that would be useful in a Special Education classroom, and the third is all about ways to teach children with different types of disabilities. I love the idea of Live Binder, because its easy to organize everything, and having easy access to it. I love binders, so having one I don't have to carry around is amazing. Makes everything so much easier.


My Live Binder

Thing #21

I love Animoto! Not enough to pay for it, but it is still a great site. It is really simple, and you can even connect it with Facebook (thats how I got the pictures of my kitten!). It is really the simplest tool I think I have used while doing my 23 Things, its simple just a few clicks and wa-la a video. The one thing that would be nice is if for free you could get a minute of video, but I'm not complaining, free is great. This is a great way to have a short clip in a slide show for class. I love Animoto.

Thing #20

I found this video on the Special Olympics. I love it! I think that Youtube is a great because it is so easy to find videos on almost any topic that you can think of. As a teacher, if you need to find a video clip from the Magic School bus, its there, a funny video clip as a reward for your students its there. Youtube is a great resource for teachers, because its free, you don't need an account and its always there!

Thing #19

I really enjoyed Teacher Pop, I thought that it was a great way to have all the teachers be able to get in touch in one place. While I do love Facebook, I think that a teachers only area is a great idea! This is a way that we teachers (and future teachers) can get together to discuss what is going on in our classrooms, and if we have a problem and need help, we know that there are other teachers out there that can help us. And unlike Facebook, there isn't as much of a chance that a parent will read us asking for help with Johnny and getting him to focus, so its a great resource to discuss with teachers.

Thing #18

I think that social networking in the schools has such a negative connotation, but I think that it can be an amazing tool. Think of the possibilities, if you add all of your student's parents to a group they can see who is in class with their child, you can post homework to the page (no more my mom didn't know). It is a great way to communicate with your parents. Another great way that social networking can be used in the classroom is to get ideas of how to decorate, make new lesson plans, or even have classroom parties. With sites like Pinterest it is now easier than ever for users to share their ideas, because all it takes is posting a picture, and the entire World Wide Web can see and learn about it. Social networking is a great thing, if used properly.

Thing #17

With websites like Pinterest and Delicious it is super easy (even easier than Google, which I never thought would happen) to find all sorts of ideas. And with the way that these websites are designed it is easy to organize. Up until last semester I was worried, how will I ever find fun activities to do with my students, and then along came Pinterest and Delicious, these amazing websites make it easy to find all sorts of activities. I will definitely be using both in my classroom. The nice thing about Delicious is that it is just like the old fashion bookmarking, but better! With this it is as simple as clicking a button, but instead of just having the web page on one computer book marked, any one any where on any computer can see it. Now they also have tagging, which means that if in a year you have bookmarked hundreds of websites, but want to find one that you assigned the tag of '12th grade World Lit' you just click on your lists of tags, and BLAM-O, there it is. The one thing that I didn't like about Delicious (Pinterest has it!) was the pictures that go with your book marks, it makes it simpler to look at a picture, which can help jog memory. Either way, I think that both of these tools will be useful to me as a teacher, and I think that I am definitely going to be using them.

Thing #16

I chose to use the Google tool. I loved the idea of having everything I need right at my fingertips, any where there is an internet connection. Especially with the prominence of Android in today's cell phones, Google is the way to go. With Google, if you enter an important date on your cell phone, it will show up on your homepage the next time that you log onto your computer. I have used this function before with my Mac, and loved it, now I have it on my Droid with Google, and again I love it. If I type a date in while sitting at my computer in my classroom, it updates to my cell phone. This is great for teachers, parents, students, anyone on the go, because no matter where they are when they update their computers and calendars, they have the dates everywhere! I will definitely be using this in my classroom as a way to keep all of my calendars where they need to be, it makes organization super super easy.

Thing #15

I love the idea of a wiki! Like I said in a previous post about Google Docs, this is a great idea for a group project. I know personally, when I am working in a group I get tired of all the emails back and forth, and everyone having a different copy of the document that we are working on. I think that this would be a great way to eliminate all the mess and confusion. Another great way for this to work is at a middle school or high school level the students can use the wiki to edit what they see on the class website. Its a great way to keep everyone updated. The one problem with that would be it would be hard to control what they put, so there would need to be a way to monitor what they are putting online to make sure it is all school appropriate. Overall, I think that wiki's are a great idea though, it eliminates the messiness of group projects, and puts everything in one place.

Thing #14

When I looked at the flow charts and at the mind maps, I made a quick decision, I think that mind maps are a better option (not only for me, but probably most of my students as well). The reason that I like mind maps is the fact that more information can be put into them. When trying to do a flow chart, I didn't think that there was enough room to put all of my information in it. Mind maps are more like the 'old fashion' pen and paper method of brainstorming, which may be another reason that I like the mind map better. If I were to use a computer to have my students brain storm, I would use the mind maps, and I would probably use the website MindMeister. I think that that website let the user create the most natural looking brainstorm (in comparison to what I grew up with in the 90's).

Thing #13

When I signed up for Zoho, I was excited I thought it would be an easy tool to use. But I found it was cluttered, and confusing (for me). I thought that compared to Google Docs, that Zoho was more dated. Part of this may come from where I have used Google Docs before. I think that Google Docs is a great way to do group projects that require a Power Point, because it could include the teacher and all of the students. It would be a great way for the teacher to see which students are carrying the group to a good grade. It also makes for a less cluttered way of working, especially if the group is working on a rolling cart of laptops, it can be hard to make sure that every student gets the right laptop with their work on it. This way, it is in everyone's email, and there are no excuses.