Thing 23: This has been an amazing journey!

Wow! I can’t believe this course is over! While it has been hard work, it has also been fun. I’m a little sad that it is over, but I know I have some great tools to take with me!

What have I learned? I have learned that I am more tech savvy than I realized and that jumping in with both feet is sometimes the best way to acquire a new skill! I’m much more apt to try something new, knowing that if it doesn’t work – that’s okay! One of the most important things I’ll take from this course is how to view everything I teach with new eyes. I have started looking at my curriculum to find ways to integrate more technology. I’m really interested in taking what I’m already teaching and making it so much more effective and engaging for my students! There are endless ways to enhance my teaching, and I can’t wait to implement them!

How have my students been impacted by my learning? I have a class of students who see themselves as real authors. They have a love of sharing their work with the world. I have brilliant pod-casters, and they are confident that other people want to hear their ideas. As if all of that isn’t exciting enough, my students’ parents are learning about 2.0 tools from their children. Immediate and distant family members are more involved in our learning, and they feel like part of our classroom! My students have such an amazing view of the world now. No person is too far away or too unreachable for them! They are responsible communicators, sharing thoughtful comments and realizing that what they post online never disappears.

I think my classroom has evolved amazingly through this process, and I’m eager to continue this amazing journey! Thank you, Shelley!

Thing 21: Fun with Pageflakes

I had a blast working with Pageflakes. I found all sorts of “flakes” that would work on a page for my students to use. Check out my page! I added several features that are more fun than educational, but they are still great! One fun feature is the radio. I tuned the radio to Radio Disney. I know that a lot of my students like to listen to that station. I also added a virtual pet frog. I named him Hopparoota! He follows your mouse around!

I did add some educational tools as well. My favorite tool is the I-pod that is tuned to my students’ podcasts from their blog. How awesome is that? I also added a clock, a calculator, and a calendar. Another fun feature is the chat board (a message board). This is a place to post messages for my students. They can also ask questions. There is a section where I can post my bookmarks. I can even upload them from delicious! Students can also see the weather forecast and postings of events geared towards children and families here in Atlanta. There is a to-do list feature that we can use to collaborate on finishing projects.

This is a great organizational tool. It provides my students (and their parents) with a home page for information, tools, and communication. Some parents complain that there are so many podcasts, links, and blogs to keep up with; however, Pageflakes helps to resolve that problem. All of the blogs and links that students may need throughout the year can be organized here, and parents that are not as tech-savvy as others can have a constant feed of podcasts. It provides information that they need in a centralized location, and it encourages the chldren to explore the links on the page.

There are a couple of things I am still exploring. First, Radio Disney doesn’t work on Firefox. I think that the radio goes back to the default station settings when using a browser other than Explorer, so I may remove the radio before sharing this with my students. Secondly, I want to know more about the message board feature. I want to prevent outside people from posting messages. The “share” feature may take care of this. Rather than publishing the page to the world, I could share it with the families in my class.

I think it would be great to use Pageflakes to create a page for the third grade teachers. We could share our bookmarks, post ideas, collaborate on to-do lists, and add events to the calendar.

I really enjoyed working on my first Pageflake, and I look forward to discovering lots of uses for this great resource!

Think 20: Google Docs

I think Google Docs is a great way to collaborate!  I shared a document that I created on Google Docs and another one that I imported.  This allows contributors to rearrange and change content easily.  The chat feature lets you discuss changes and ideas to improve the document.  I also love the form that Shelley created.  The spreadsheet feature organizes the information for me! 

 As I was exploring Google Docs, I thought of several ways to use it. 

• First, the form feature allows you to create questionnaires that can be used in a variety of ways.  Students may share their ideas on particular topics, and they are able to see them collected in spreadsheet form.  This can be turned into graphs or charts for learning purposes.  I think room parents would love the forms as well.  They could send them out to see which parents could send in items for parties or projects, and the spreadsheet organizes all of the information.  I would much rather send forms like these to parents than use so much paper!  This would allow parents to quickly complete the forms and submit them.  They are less likely to get lost or get eaten by a locker monster!
• I like the fact that presentations can be created with Google Docs.  Students can collaborate on presentations by adding in their own slides (and they can even work from home).  This would be a great project for the beginning of the year.  I usually have students bring in photos of their families, summer trips, etc.  With Google Docs, students could work together with their parents to create a slide for an “All About Our Class” presentation.  During our geometry unit, students bring in objects of different shapes.  Instead of bringing in items, students could take photos at home and add them to the slide show.  Side-note:  Just as I finished this bullet point, a teacher came in and asked if we could work on a presentation together as a grade level.  The presentation is for “Move Up Day.”  I immediately showed her how to use Google Docs.  Now, I can add my slides from home tonight.  Hooray!  While meeting face-to-face is fantastic, time doesn’t always permit that kind of collaboration.
• Another idea I had was for third grade teachers to revamp old tests and quizzes using Google Docs.  This prevents us from constantly emailing changes to each other.  It also allows us to access our documents from anywhere! 

I love tools like Google Docs because they make our lives easier.  Why didn’t I think of this idea?  I think Google Docs allows for even more collaboration between teachers, parents, and students.  Now, I need to end this post and get started on my part of the “Move Up Day” presentation!

Thing 19: YouTube & TeacherTube

I had fun doing this assignment. There are so many great videos on YouTube and TeacherTube. I like the fact that it is possible to use Zamzar to convert the video for off-line use. This will give me the ability to share a video without some of the inappropriate comments listed on YouTube. I found several fun videos of bands that I like. It was great to see clips from concerts and old music videos. I also found several “how to” videos on using photographs in Movie Maker for stop motion animation. This is something I would like to explore with my students next year. I think they would really enjoy creating animated projects on the topics we’re studying.

I found a great video on lattice multiplication that really sparked my interest. I think it would be wonderful to videotape projects, performances, and lessons and post them on my blog for students to view. How great would it be to have an array of tutorials available to help students and parents?

I think it is fantastic that this video of Coral demonstrating the lattice algorithm is available for not only her classmates but other children as well. I use a lot of cheers and songs to help my students learn math processes or other information. It would be so helpful to make those available in order to share our learning with others.

Practice the Lattice Multiplication Algorithm along with Coral:

This YouTube video has given me some problems, depending on the browser.  Sorry if it doesn’t work for you!

Thing 18: Podcasting with Evoca

It was easy to use Evoca to record my podcast.  I use Audacity with my students, but I like the convenience of Evoca (the files are online and can be accessed anywhere).  I like the idea of people having an opportunity to comment on podcasts.  This creates a community feel. 

I plan to practice my “reporter voice” more, so I will be as great at podcasting as my students are!  Check out my podcast!

Thing 17: Podcasting

I enjoyed listening to several podcasts from Radio WillowWeb. I also listened to some selections from Our City Podcast. These podcasts gave me some great ideas for how to further develop podcasting in the classroom. My students listened to several of these podcasts as well. They were impressed with having several “reporters” within one podcast, as well as the use of music within the podcasts. This is something they are very interested in exploring before the end of the school year.

After listening to quite a few podcasts, I was really struck by the variety of podcasts available. I think that I will continue to explore what is out there, so I can find some more favorites.

The word “podcast” is greeted with cheers in my classroom. I started experimenting with podcasts a few months ago. Starting in January, we have a star student each week. As part of the star student’s duties, he/she must create a podcast to tell about what we are learning and share exciting details about our week. I use a podcast template that my students helped me to create. Each student fills in the template to create a news report. In addition, my students have posted podcasts of their class council speeches. After electing our class council, the officers met to discuss some of their ideas. Before meeting, they insisted that there should be a podcast of the meeting to give the class (and parents) a glimpse into their discussion. I was so proud of their desire to use a podcast as a forum for sharing their ideas.

Podcasting has created some unique opportunities for my students. They are very aware of the fact that they are writing for a large audience, and they put forth their best efforts when thinking about what to include in their star student podcasts. Because they read the scripts they have written aloud, they have taken care in editing their work for clarity. There have been many occasions when our star student will say, “I can’t read this word that I wrote here. I must have spelled it wrong.” My students have really gained insight into writing as a form of communication, rather than just as an assignment. They also rehearse reading their scripts, and gain valuable reading fluency practice. By podcasting class council meetings, it is obvious that our students are remarkable communicators and leaders. I was impressed by their thinking and their ability to see value in each child’s ideas.

Podcasting has given my class a sense of accomplishment and a desire to share more of our classroom with the world. They are already discussing new ideas. They want to “spice up” our weekly podcasts with music. They also want our future star students to give the podcasts a “news report” feel to them. The end of the year is fast approaching, but you would never know that from listening to their excitement about podcasting book clubs, class meetings, and poetry readings. Their enthusiasm is boundless!

Thing 16: 43 Things

I checked out 43 Things, and I see how this could be a great goal-setting site. The people posting their goals probably feel more accountable after making their goals public, and I thought the “cheers” were really neat! It must feel great to have so many people cheering you on. I’m not sure that this site would be something that I would use.

I do the idea of the site, though: posting a list of goals and providing updates on your progress. My students do this with their portfolios. Each quarter, they fill out a personal report card and set goals for the next quarter. At the end of each quarter, I meet with them to have a “conference.” They talk about their previous goals and how they have progressed. They also discuss the grades they have given themselves on the report card.

It might be fun to post three class goals on our blog at the beginning of each quarter and have the students provide feedback on how we’re doing. This would create a team mentality. If some students show an interest in posting their personal goals, they could post them (along with updates on their progress) to get “cheers” from parents, teachers, and classmates.

While I’m not sure that the 43 Things site is for me, it did give me some great ideas to use in the classroom!

Thing 15: LibraryThing – Where Books Meet Web 2.0

I signed up for LibraryThing right away, and I love it. I added a book, and I got see the average rating and lots of other information about the book. I also found a discussion where the book was mentioned and posted a comment. I rated the book as well. I think I’ll save writing a review for next time.

The suggester was really neat! I got lots of suggestions for other children’s books I might like, based on the book I entered. The unsuggester was funny. It was pretty much dead-on about the books I wouldn’t want to read! I looked at the groups and noticed that a sixth grade class had set up a group. What a great idea! They were telling about books they would love to have if they were stranded on a desert island.

Several teachers I know have mentioned wanting to have a book club for teachers after school, but this site would allow teachers to participate when they had a few moments. . . rather than having a set time after school when we all have so much to do! I love to read, so this site would provide me with lots of book recommendations. I can find great books for relaxation reading at the beach and books that might be fun to read with my students.

I am looking forward to doing some more exploring on LibraryThing!

Thing 14: Delicious is sweet!

I love Delicious! Where have I been? Why haven’t I used this before now?

I had so much fun tagging those sites, and I kept thinking how great this will be to use with other teachers. We can all tag sites for a particular topic and share them easily without emailing so many links. Parents could also join in on the fun and see sites that were tagged as great math games, etc. I was also thinking about how fun this would be to use to share links with my friends. We often share websites and tell each other about great places to order things from…how cool would it be to share all of that in Delicious? I have grown to despise my “favorites” list. It is full of stuff…great stuff…but it is not organized. It also isn’t accessible from other computers. Hooray for Delicious!

I experimented with adding a subscription. I am still looking through what comes up to see how I can best use that. I also added someone to my network, and I created some tag bundles. This made everything much more organized, and that made me happy. I tagged sites as I was working on things for school, and I tagged a lot more of them than I realized. I love the fact that so many people are involved in organizing such a vast array of knowledge.

This idea of people coming together to make the internet more manageable reminds me of a game called Phetch that a friend told me about. You play against people anywhere in the world, and you describe (create tags) for images. The other person tries to find that image by using your tags as clues. These tags are used to create descriptive captions for images. When a visually impaired person visits a website using a screen reader, the image caption is read as well. I thought that was really cool! People playing a game are actually making information more accessible to others…

Thing 12: I attended a “21st Century” Conference (in my PJ’s)

I attended two online conferences.  The first was “Learn to Blog:  Blog to Learn” by Anne Davis. The presentation was a short introduction to Blogmeister.  By clicking her links, I found a web quest to aid teachers in introducing blogs.  I thought this was a neat idea!  I visited some class blogs to get an idea of what other teachers and students are doing.  There is a lot more to explore, so I plan to visit her site again in the future and peruse the different links.             

I also attended on online conference session entitled “Using Web 2.0 Tools in a Grade One Classroom” by Kathy Cassidy.  She is a first grade teacher from Canada.  I was impressed by all of the Web 2.0 tools she has integrated into her classroom.  Her students have “Blog Buddies” in New Zealand, and their partnership has encouraged her students to research New Zealand.  It is so exciting to see children take ownership of their learning and seek out information in that way.  She also mentioned that she uses her blog to communicate with parents.  I plan to expand my blog next year to include a section for parents to ask questions, blog, and communicate.  I like the fact that she mentioned that parents who travel frequently are able to maintain a connection to the classroom.  I have found that this is an amazing benefit of our classroom blog.  The children feel that their parents are involved in their learning, and the parents feel connected to our classroom, even when they are far away.  Kathy also shared her experiences with wikis in the classroom.  She admitted that some wikis take off and others fizzle out.  She mentioned that she had to create several wikis and place students in teams to work on them because only one person at a time may work on the wiki.  I wonder if this is still the case, as this conference is several years old.  It seems that Kathy has had the same experience with web 2.0 tools that I have:  the children are so motivated to learn and share their ideas.  Isn’t this what it’s all about?