Downloading my creative from Thing 8

I had trouble with my computer at home so I am trying another computer to download my collage from Montager.    It worked I  am so pleased.  Again, What a great class. 

Thing 23

As I reflect on my journey of 23 Things, I am amazed at all of the "Things" I learned.  I started this class in the winter and didn't finish.  I wanted to finish, but had a huge time set back with two major issues with my computer so I decided to try it again.  Actually it was good for me to re-do the first things as it just helped me move along as I had done them previously.  Some of my frustrations were alleviated this time. Of course, there were new ones, but all in all I enjoyed it and feel like I have a deeper understanding of Web 2.0.  am so excited to use my collaboration Wiki.  I love delicious and will frequent it a lot.  I am so pleased to learn how to embed video into presentations and plan to do just that. 

I love the Web 2.0 possibilities. I think about how quickly things change and how technology advanceds faster than the speed of light, and wonder how will I ever keep up to date with all of this.  So I am hoping that RESA will continue to offer such valuable classes.  Honestly, I have been working with "things" my 25 and 28 year old children have no clue about.  That made me feel oaky! 

I also must tell you that the last video embed by Michael Wesch on Digital Ethnography was enlightening for me.  As I was watching it, I kept seeing in the tool bar the mascot for KSU, the purple powercat, (which is where I received my undergraduate degree).   I was trying to figure out if this video was connected with KSU somehow and at the end where the credits were listed, sure enough, Kansas State University.  I was so excited to see that. 

I take with me many great experiences and enough knowledge to be dangerous.  I am keeping up with my blog just because it was fun and I can refer back to what I have done.  I also madea notebook of 23 things and filed all my notes under each thing so I can refer back as needed.  Thank you  for offering such a valuable class.  I think we as educators must sty in touch with technology and use it when we can in our classrooms to engage students.  This is how they operate.  I think Web 2.0 generates some new issues that were mentioned in the video clip in Thing 23.  Thank you for letting me finish this course.  I was so upset that I didn't get it done in the winter session.  Again, I look forward to more technology classes from RESA.          

Thing 22

Ny new wiki is:  http://pcepctewiki.wikispaces.com/
I developed this wiki for my collaboration team which meets about three times a month.  I embedded a calendar and a discussion section.  I have invited all of my team members to join.  (Right now they are most likely wondering what I have done now), but I see this as a valuable tool for us.  I am excited to explain how it works and have them begin using it. This particular thing took me a long time.  I had a difficult time getting the calendar embedded until I realized my enable cookies was off - then when I fixed that, life became much less frustrating.  I like the wiki for my collaboration team as all will be able to edit, add and discuss and will be more efficient than cc'ing  and forwarding tons of emails.  I like blogs because no one else can edit but they can add comments and not change your work.  You can control who sees either of them which is good.  I think each has their place and you have to decide how you will use it and how you want your viewers to be able to use it as well.     For example, I wouldn't use a wiki to provide parents with class information or students with assignment information because I wouldn't want it to have the editing capacity. I like the idea of a blog for students to comments on topics and share their ideas.  I would use wikis for group projects since they could all work from home and still be able to work together.  I would never have dreamed I could figure out a wiki.  I am pleased with my accomplishment.

Thing 21 Thoughts about Wikis

Who knew there were so many wikis out there and all the possibilities.. I loved one that compared the two hemispheres and two different schools corresponded an took pictures talking about the differences between the northern and southern hemispheres.  The one I really was inspired by was: http://arborheights.wikispaces.com/   This was a school wide wiki but different classes and teachers had their own  posts.  They had a  great deal of information on the wiki and it is interactive so dates can be changed at any time by anyone who need to edit something.  It was inspiring because I could visualize a class wiki where students could  make study guides, post notes,  do group projects, etc.  I think you would be wise to control who could edit the wiki.  I think it would need to be monitored and you would really have to discuss appropriate posts etc.  Another wiki that I saw was a collaboration of assignments from students.  There were some incredible entries on that wiki.  They were very professional.  I think it might be an interesting experience to try.  Making sure entries were accuarate and appropriate might be time consuming and teachig students how to navigate the wiki would take some time.  I think I would most likey need to check with administration and  make sure to follow any district requirements but I think it would be worth a try.    

Thing #20 Podcasts

Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed this exercise.  I do like using the itunes podcasts - seem much easier to me.  I subscribed to two different ones.  One was "Delicious TV Veg EZ".  I am teaching a foods class this year and thought this would be a great healthy way to get some new ideas for cooking vegetables which is one of our units.  I also subscribed to Scrap Time which is a podcast on scrapbooking which I love to do but often need ideas to get me started.  I enjoyed watching them and will continue following them.  I can see using this in the classroom as well.  EPN would be my second choice for obtaining podcasts and podcast alley would be my last choice.  I tunes was easy to use and it made mroe sense to me.  

Thing 19 Podcasts

I sat and listened to several  podcasts.  I heard several that I think might be beneficial for students,
The grammar girl is a good one for students.  Merriam Websters, Word of the day is another good one.  The word of the day today was "fester", not exactly what I wanted to  hear this early in the morning but I do think it would be a good podcast for someone wanted to expand their vocabulary.  Not being much of an auditory learner, I found this difficult to just sit and listen to.  I noticed on Grammar girl that you can get a text copy of the podcast, which I would find helpful. 

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx
  
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl

Thing 18

I chose this powerpoint because it is about web 2.0 and good resources for classroom use.  Many of the tools on the presentation are "things" from 23 things. I thought it would be a great reminder for me.
I can see using this in the classroom for many uses, but I also seeusing it with my collaboration team as well. 

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2008

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Thing 17 Online productivity

Well this was a great experience.  I created an acct on flashcard db.  I created a set of flashcards of terms my students need to know for one of the foods classes I am teaching this fall.  I actually played with it.  Students can take quizzes, study.  It is awesome.  I created this set for them, but they could actually create their own so they could study.  I think they might be more apt to study on the computer than with an actual set of flash cards.  It is certainly worth the try.  I also belileve they would be studying while they create.  I am hoping that by doing one set for them and showing them how it is used, they might be more apt to try it again in the future.   This was a great find. 

Also played with 30 boxes because the title intrigued me.  This is a calendar site which can remind you of birthdays, schedules, etc.  It was easy to use and will send reminders out via email messages.  If you get your email on your phone or check it daily, this could be very helpful.  Outlook will do somethig very similar if you use outlook.  I did like that it will print a calendar by the week or by the month for you.   I want to go back and play with bubbl.us  as I think this woul be a great help in working with students.  It was about concept mapping and free to use.  I will be exploring this one as well, just need to move on with 23 things.    Great assignment.  I know I will use this a lot. 

Thing 16 Google Docs

Last year I needed to upload something on my Zangle account and it wouldn't upload.  Someone suggested Google docs and walked me through it.  Whn I logged in today, there it was....I spent some time searching through the educationoptions.  Rubrics, report time lines, forms of all types.  Wow there is a lot of information here.  This has great potential.  We have a program at school for uploading documents so they can work on them at home, but I see this as great in that you can edit and make comments back and forth.  This would be wonderful for group projects as well.  I can see huge benefit in working with my collaboration team as well.  Sending them an email and having them peruse a document makes so much  more sense than sending an attachment and reviewing all the attachments people send back.  This is awesome.  I plan to use it right away with my collaboration team. 

Thing 15

RSS is a  great way to manage links that you want to follow routinely.  I try to check on it when I check my email but it is one of those things that I skip if  I am in a hurry.  I do think it is effective and will try to do a better job of  following it more closely.  I love all the information out there, but I find myself spending hours sitting in  front of the computer screen.  I am going to set a timer and allow myself only a certain amount of time on the computer.     

Thing 14

I LOVE delicious.  What a time saver this will be.  I have already tagged some sights that I want my students to check out.  This is awesome.  I love being able to search and then being able to access my searches from any computer.  My username is: delicious.com/hutchison.cecilia incase you are interested.  I am teaching a foods class for the first time in quite a few years so many of my tags are about cooking, nutrition and food.  I see this as a valuable resource for teachers or anyone for that matter.  I could literaly spend an entire day searching on this.  It seems a little more friendly than google as it gives you some ideas about how many people have viewed it before and I like beign able to tag articles.  Yeah for Thing 14.....    

Thing 13

I do think tagging is a great way to share digital resources.  So much of the time we spend an incredible amount of time searching on the computer for information.  If we tag the information it will be easy to go back to when you are at school or at home or anywhere for that matter.  By making it public, it can be useful to collaboration teams in your school or in your department.  We have always asked why re-invent the wheel? This is a great way to save sites for future use.  I can see where it is important for people to be specific when they are tagging.  I also think it is great that you can identify tags for others.  I do have concerns about web sites no long being there when you go back to them, but that can happen even with favorites or bookmarks on your own computer.  My other question is how can one web site hold everyones favorite sites?  Won't this bog down the system?  I think it is important that we make sure we are tagging a useful site and that it is accurate.  Looking forward to tagging.... I have tons of sites on my favorites at home, but that isn't always helpful when I am working at school.  This may be the answer to my problems, well one of them anyway.           

Thing 12 revisited

I added my widget.  That was fun.  I can see how you could add interest to blogs, presentations, etc. with widgets.  There are some very fun things out there.  Who can possibly figure all this out?  It is mind boggling to me.  Actually I think embedding video is easier than downloading and uploading.  I belong to facebook and have been able to reconnect with some old cronies from high school - man do they look old!  Funny how we don't see ourselves aging.  Honestly, I must say that online relationships scare me to death.  If I know the person I am commenting or writing to that is one thing.  If I am just in a chat room talking - no way.  There are so many predators out there and who knows who you are talking to.  Kids today are so saavy with technology and I know they have all the newest gadgets out there.  I do think it is good to use the technology available and teach them how to be safe with it.  I thought my generation wanted to get things fast, this one has us beat.  They don't want to wait for anything. I also think texting and tweeting is an example of this instant need.  Call me old fashioned but I still like talking directly to people, be it face to face or over the phone.  I think we need to communicate by listening to one another. Technology is great but we need to remember to make those human connections.            

Thing 12

Thoughts on Thing 11

I enjoy reading other students blogs.  It is a good way to get ideas and see what other people in this course are doing.  I feel most inadequate about respnding to blogs because I am such a novice at Web 2.0 issues.  I like reading comments from others because it validates some of your work.  This is fun to do, but it requires a great deal of time so it is nice to know others are reading your work.  I can see where you could get some interesting class blogs going.  I think students might be more willing to participate on the computer. 

Thing 10

Well the video that I embedded was about making a children's Christmas ornament.  I teach early childhood education to high school seniors who are interested in becoming elementary teachers.  My students are required to develop lesson plans that are age appropriate.  The watchknow link that was suggested was a great resource.  I embedded that video from there.  It will be a great site for my students to utilize as well. I downloaded a video on the importance of creativity in the classroom which might also be a good clip for my students.  I was glad to learn about the regulations on using video.  That was helpful.  This was a very helpful assignment.  Sometimes you want students to watch a short segment on something and this keeps you from having to go through an entire video or constantly purchasing new updated videos (DVD'S) better get with the times here.  I enjoyed this very much and I know I will use it alot.    

Thing 10 (video embedded) Making a tree ornament

Watch this video on making a Christmas tree ornament.

Thought on Thing 9

You tube has some interesting videos and it is easy to get caught up in sitting and watching them forever.  I also like teacher tube and saw some rather interesting videos I could use in classes.  We are able to gain access at school to you tube and teacher tube.  Friday I got the email about Watchknow and I spent some time there as well.  That is an incredible site.  There are some wonderful video clips that would be great for activities for students to search for.  I was impressed with most of them I watched.  Ofcourse like anything else, one would want to proof it before showing it.  This is one of those "things" one might want to set a timer for or you could spend many hours watching these clips.  This is a great resource for teachers. 

Thoughts about Thing 8

I did some interesting things with images.  I used montage and made a great collage in the shape of a heart from pictures from my flower gardens.  I also made a mosaic pictures with plates of cookies.  It was especially interesting.  I took the word generator and made a picture of the title of one of the classes I will be teaching in the fall.  I was able to save them, but for some reason my computer is being most difficult about uploading pictures so I can't get any of them to upload. I will keep trying and get a link posted as well when I get one to upload.  I was happy with all of them and really enjoyed playing with this.  I can see using it in presentqations, handouts, etc.  I also played with the scrapbook generator but my photos would not upload to fill it in.  There are some amazing image things one can do.  I will get at least one of them uploaded as soon as I can but I want to move on to Thing 9.

    

Thing #7

I added some photos to my Flickr account and tagged them.  It was fun to go through the pictures that people have tagged.  There are a lot of them.  The nummber of photos out there is endless.  It is amazing how many photos are downloaded each day.  I can see using this to add to presentations.  It would be a fun assignment to get students to search and tag photos for the class to see (given set perameters).  I literally could get lost on Flickr.  This was an enjoyable "thing." I look forward to using it in my classroom.  I am teaching a foods class next fall and it will be fun to use the pictures for the cake decorating unit.  I am excited.    

Thing 6

Well I spent way too much time exploring on Flickr. I think I will have to learn to set a timer. It is so amazing to see all of the different interesting pictures people take. I wish I were so talented. I uploaded some fun photos. I can see where you could incorporate these into presentations, dress up documents, or just print and have some great photos to frame. One of the photos I picked and found very interesting was a lady reading. It appears to be an old photo and I searched for pictures of people reading. I have some that are more current but this one caught my eye. I think it would be fun to do a slideshow of these reading photos.

Thing 5 Thoughts

I like RSS. I think it is a great way for teachers or anyone for that matter, to follow someone's work or keep update on certain topics or issues. I like the idea of having all of the blogs you are following in one place. My biggest issue is finding the time to check it frequently.
I will use it to add to my curriculum and stay abreast of current issues in education.

Thoughts about Thing 4

There are so many blogs that are intersting. Bloglines seems to help funnel them into one spot. I just have to make myself check them periodically so that it doesn't get bogged down with information. When I get overwhelmed by something I tend to ignore it....I will make myself check it once a week. I need to think of it as being similar to checking emails. I love staying intune with the new information and the education issues. This is a great way to do just that!. Thank you 23 Things!

Thoughts fromThing 3

As I think about Thing 3 and how I can use blogs in my classroom, I can see how students would be motivated to check a blog to find missing work, or respond to thoughts or comments from a class discussion. I think this would be a great way to get students to "revisit" what went on in class that day. I also like the idea of the creativity on the students part that would be required to create a blog or comment on a class blog. I saw some incredible blogs as I was clicking on the list from our assignment.
My biggest concern about blogging is probably the time it would take to respond to students comments. I do think it is a good idea and as I reflect on the amount of time it may be no more time than grading a stack of papers. A lot less to carry home, too. I do feel the students might be more motivated to complete a blog assignment where they might be less compelled to write something on paper.

Thing 1 Revisited

I am excited about this class. Thing 1 sparks my interest and makes me want to learn more. I am excited about podcasting class disucssions for absnet students and for parents to view allowing them access to the dynamic class discussions that we have in the classroom. I want to be more savvy with the computer and explore the myriad of possibilities that are out there in the web world. I started this class in the spring and had major computer issues such as losing a hard drive, then my sound card right after the spring class started. Needless to say I didn't get to complete the class so I am starting over. I decided to keep my same blog as I was happy with it and it will be good to compare my thoughts now with the thoughts of the first session.

Thing 2
Hey, I found my blog and my postings were still there. I really want to start a class blog for my students and share ideas and thoughts with them. I think it will be a great communication tool especially since it can be a two way communication system. I have posted information on some of the tools my school uses but students don't really communicate back unless you create that type of assignment. I did start following some great blogs and love checking those. I think it is good for students to find some blogs that relate to my class and have them share what they are learning. I am excited to get back to using my blog. Actually I sort of missed blogging. Maybe the second time around will help me remember the information better.

Thing 14

Delicious is incredible. I love spending time and looking up sites, tagging them for future use. It appears to me that you get much better web sites than oing through a regular search engine. At first I was confused about the term social bookmarking. I now fully understand how social fits into the term. You can go in and check others bookmarks. I actually spent so much time on this assignment. I got caught up in all the incredible web sites and the vast amounts of information out there. This could be addictive. I found a lot of information for school but a great deal on my hobbies as well. I just used my email address for my username. mhutch3865@woway.com.

Thing 13

Who thinks up all these terms? Blogs, wikkis, tags, mashups? It is a whole new language. Right now trying to remember what each is without looking it up is tough. I get blogs because this is our reporting mechanism for this class. I think tagging will be wonderful. I can't tell you how many sites I have listed as favorites and then I wonder what I wanted them for. The other down side of the favorites is when you lose your hard drive and you lose all of your favs. It will be nice to put them on a web site to keep track of them. I am looking forward to spending some time on delicious and tagging away.

Thing 12

I put a gadget on my blog. I now see where people find some of the pictures I get from emails about cute animals etc. Where do people find the time to search all of this stuff? I could literally spend hours doing this. I found one of the sites I get recipes from that could be a gadget as well. I did the rainbow pictures to keep my OZ theme going.
I know that many students use facebook and social networking sites. I also understand that I am from the "old school" but I do have a facebook account. I think young people need to be very careful about what they post. I don't think they realize how far these pictures they post can go. I am all for sharing pictures but when they display pictures of themselves doing illegal or inappropriate activites I think they have crossed the line. I also realize that what is over the line to me doesn't even phase many of our youth. Honestly, when I read some of the comments people post on facebook, I often think to myslef, why would I care that you just took a shower or you just finished doing your laundry. I guess I have too many papers to grade and school related things to do to post my every action. I do think you lose a great deal of personal interaction with web communication. I like to read people's expressions or listen to their tone of voice and that can be easily mistaken online. Okay, I'll stop rambling and move on to Thing 13.....

Thoughts about Thing 11

Reading and commenting on classmates blogs was fun.  I feel very inept at making comments on these blogs that involve web 2.0.  I can make comments but I don't feel like I have enough knowledg or experience to help too many people.  I am learning and I loved seeing what others have done.  It is amazing to me how different they all look.  I guess that is what makes blogging so interesting.
Off to learn about widgits....      

Thing 10

This was a great "Thing" to learn. I have always wanted to know how to download video clips for class.  As I was searching on YouTube, I found several really good clips to use in my class.  I also searched teacher tube but I must admit that I found the ads on teacher tube most annoying.  I am really enjoying learning all these new techniques.  I have asked my grown sons several questions about what I am doing and they keep saying, "Mom, I've never done that before."  Now that could be that they don't want to help me but I don't think that is the case.  I am enjoying this so much.

Thing 10 (video embedded)

This is a great video on Piaget's Stages of  Development. 



This is a video clip that I would definitely use in my class that I currently teach.  The music is well done and I think students would watch it. 

Thing 9

Well, thing 9 proved to be quite entertaining.  I watched Carol Burnett clips for quite awhile.  I did find some wonderful clips on types of children's play that will be great to use in class.  Would also be a good assignment for students to find educational clips as part of an assignment.  I often get emails from people that are linked to a utube video but haven't really spent time searching utube or teacher tube until now.  This could be habit forming.  Very nice tool for my technology tool box. 

Thing 8

Thing 8 has been interesting and challenging.  I have created some awesome projects.  I made a motivational poster but did not post on my blog because I would have to pay or join to improve the resolution.  I made a sign using Flick speller, and played memory and suduko.  I also made a collage but I can't get it to upload.  I think the file may be too large.  I can see many uses for some of these creative tools.  Memory games for the preschool children would be great.  Assignments can be made for making posters or you can even beautify your classroom.  I am gong to move on to thing 9 and hopefully will be able to come back and upload one of my creations. 

Thing #7

I have spent a good part of my day on this thing. I loved the idea of searching for pictures and loading them on my flickr account. However, I have had a terrible time trying to upload my personal photos. Photos I have searched on flickr have uploaded fairly quickly. I went into upload my personal photos and it takes forever and then I get an error message. Not sure why, but it has been most frustrating. Finally uploaded five successfuly so I could tag one for 23 Things and then it didn't show up. I will look later to see if it successfully loaded to RESA 23. I absolutely enjoy learning new things but when I run into snags such as this, I get so frustrated. I think it would be a neat thing to do with a class, but I am having a difficult time figuring out how to incorporate it into my particular content area. I am going to try uploading pictures on a different computer and see if it is quicker. On to Thing 8.....

Photos of interest to me

I chose these two photos to upload in keeping with my theme, Thoughts from Oz. I was born and lived the majority of my life in Kansas. My family moved to Michigan in 1995. I have always loved watching the movie, "The Wizard of Oz" and since I am a Michigan transplant, my attachment to Oz has given me an identity. The really ironic thing about all of this is my mother's name is Dorothy and no I 've never had a dog named, Totto. This was a very fun assignment from 23 Things. I spent a great deal of time looking at pictures. I did find when I did the Creative Commons Licensing option it limited the number of pictures you could use. I enjoyed perusing the pictures. The thought of storing my photos there is a good idea. I always worry that I am going to lose all of them if something happens to the computer hard drive. I have burned many of them on disks, but that can be a hassle as well. I think this is another great tool for students to use for power points or their own blogs.

Thing 4

Well RSS is an interesting addition to my knowledge bank. I like being able to click on and check the blogs I want to follow without looking them up each time. Seems like an efficient tool. I can see how this would help organize student blogs you might want to follow. I can't believe how many blogs are out there!!!! WOW

Thing 3 revisited

Well I think I have finally figured out why my blog wasn't showing up on the 23 things site. I think I need a tutor.... I don't understand why I let a machine make me feel insecure and unsure of myself, but I do.... I want so much to learn how to do these "things". I have decided you need to practice or do them more than once to remember what you are doing. Wow, it is just like teaching...The old motto, "Repetition is the key to learning" still holds true even with technology. I will move on to my next task...

Thoughts about Thing 3

There so many blogs to view....the information on the computer is endless. Trying to decide what to read is difficult. I have seen so many great ideas on different blogs that I have found. I am having a difficult time trying to wrap my head around fitting something like this into an already packed curriculum. I am sure you become more selective as time goes on but I found myself getting sidetracked reading blogs. I want to learn more and more and become more efficient. I feel if we don't keep up with the technology, we will become extinct! Now being more serious, I look back to my college days and my first computer experience (this will date me), but we had punch cards and you worked forever punching these cards and making sure they were in the correct order. You double rubberbanded them on your way to the computer (a room with a massive machine). You prayed that you didn't drop them or get anything out of order or your program would not run correctly. If I shared that story with my students, they might even asked if I had to dodge dinosaurs on the way to the lab. My point in all this verbage is the pace that technology has changed is nearly impossible to keep up with. Learning the vocabulary is a daunting task. Am I twittering, blogging, facebooking, texting? Who would have ever thought that cell phones without internet capabilities would be a thing of the past? Back to blogging and 20 more things to learn about.....

Thing 1 thoughts

Technology in the classroom is certainly a method for engaging students. I want to be more efficient in using technology in the classroom, but to be honest I find it very frustrating. There are so many new terms and things to keep straight, it can be overwhelming. I also get frustrated with the workings of computers and technology. When everything is working well, life is good. When you lose your hard drive one week and your wireless router the next and then your sound card doesn't work and you are at the mercy of your grown children to come and fix it so you can do your class assignments - it is daunting. Obviously, you can see I am frustrated but I want to learn more and so I trudge on. Today I feel like the tortoise from "The Tortoise and the Hare".