Thing #16

For the online productivitiy tools, I particularly liked Library Thing and Trailfire. Library thing allows you to create not only an up-to-date library collection, but connect with others that have similar tastes in literature or interest. It's like joining the world's biggest book club. You can find reviews of books, talk with others about the book, join a group forum, find local bookstores, libraries, festivals, author readings and/or signings in your local area, etc. It truly is a site for book lovers and book readers! Trailfire on the other hand keeps track of your web research on a particular topic. No longer do you have to remember each site visited or wonder "how you got there". Hence, you can continually add to the web links for a topic under study and keep them in a logical sequence to use in the classroom. There are some trails already published, like the unit on immigration. I even tried one of their links to look up an ancester of mine. I was hoping for more trails on other topics as well. Unfortunately the list already made is limited. Guess I'm just slightly greedy :-) All in all, I think they are both useful online productivity tools.

Thing #15

Loved working with Google Docs. It's just like using excel or Microsoft Office without buying the program (ok, I know I shouldn't tell you that - but it is true). What I personally like about the program is that several folks can be working on a document simultaneously. No more do I have to wait for someone to open their email, revise, and email it back, only to send it on to the next person. If you are working with a group of five or six, this aspect of collaboration takes two forevers to get the work completed. And, have you ever tried to schedule a common meeting time between all these folks? That alone takes 15-20 minutes out of every meeting time and still someone's schedule conflicts.

One of the most important things we do with students is collaborative learning. It is a necessary tool to facilitate instruction. Hence, one can work in groups without actually being in a group. It doesn't take the place of dialogue, but it does facilitate the work of groups. The only issue I can see is how do you know who has completed the major portion of the work. Is it true collaboration, or does one person who is grade retentive doing most of it while others slide? There is always those that do more than others. However, students need to learn the skills of collaborative work and holding all parties accountable for their portion. Like all skills, this takes practice. And, yes, they do need email addresses and the question of equity does come to mind. But, if they don't have access at home we all know the local libraries do and email addresses are still free on multiple sites. Students really can't use that as an excuse or a barrier if they WANT to participate. Where there is a will, there is a way :-)

Thing #14

To podcast or not to podcast..... I don't see many obstacles other than getting the number of headsets (microphones along with earphones) necessary for the whole class to participate. Audicity is a free software and very easy to download. Then, it's just pure practice. We, as a school, actually got nudged heavily in this direction when our AP Foreign Language teachers were told by the College Board that they had to produce recordings of students speaking as part of the AP test this year. So, we scrambled, got frustrated, borrowed equipment, had technology issues, and then finally got the hang of it just in time. Like any new technology, it's great when it works and we know how to use it properly. Yes, I could see classrooms using it - especially for foreign languages. Imagine that students could actually practice with their instructor at home as well as in the classroom. We could even video podcast our student run news program for parents. Without video, I'm not sure just an audio podcast could hold students' attention unless the topic was highly motivating. Given that, students do like variety and it does offer another medium to deliver information, produce a product, and assess understanding.

Thing #13

I did my searching for podcasts and was intrigued by LearnOutLoud Biography Podcasts. The ratings were good and the short snipets of information are useful, retainable information. Although I probably can't go head-to-head with history majors, it might be interesting to play "Did you know that...." Anyway, there are lots to choose from to tickle anyone's fancy. I used Yahoo to find this particular one although any search engine will do. Like anything, searching is somewhat time consuming. I did search several others on the Education Podcast Network which definitely hit all the content areas. What was really interesting was the number of elementary School podcasts available compared with only a few for secondary. Hmmmm..... What are the "single digit" folks trying to tell us about using and integrating technology? Why is it that the older we get, the more fearful we become?

Thing #12

I do subscribe to a few podcasts like "This American Life" (http://feeds.thisamericanlife.org/talpodcast)or and "Splendid Table" (http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/podcasts/xml/splendid_table/kitchen_questions.xml) from NPR. I prefer to download them weekly onto my Ipod for listening at a later time. From the list you provided, others caught my fancy such as the "Princeton Review "(http://www.princetonreview.com/vocabminute/default.asp, "Science Friday" (http://www.sciencefriday.com/feeds/radio/), "Science from Scientific American" (http://www.sciam.com/podcast/#%7C60-Second)and others. I think these would be great to introduce students to. It shows them the variety of sources one can obtain information and they get to hear it from others besides their teachers.

One podcast that I found incredibly interesting was from the State Superintendent Mike Flanagan titled the "Haunting Impact of School Dropouts". I, personally, am a Flanagan devotee. He doesn't put on airs, but instead speaks frankly and from the heart as if he's sitting at your dinner table. He talks of the shame the whole educational community must share in contributing to the crisis. Unfortunately, it is not a small problem but no one wants to talk about it. Many school districts do their best to try and hide the numbers. He makes a plea to "get over the numbers game" and educate EVERY child. He informs the listener that when students who dropped out but did return reported that the reason many of them left in the first place was the lack of relationships. He further highlights the need for smaller high schools in order to help construct those needed relationships. So, I guess I'll have to add him to my monthly podcasts. If you have an interest, try http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-37818_45256---,00.html.

Now, just imagine that you assign everyone a topic and have them research it and then podcast their results on the class wiki. Students would surely love that assignment and might even complete it on time :-) What a win-win situation for students who don't like to write or for students with learning disabilities. Now everyone gets to participate on an equal playing field.

Thing #11

In thing #11 I made my own wiki. I'm so impressed! Most of the hurdles I reported on in thing #10 were removed! As you can see, I've gotten pretty good at importing video, making web links, and uploading pictures. I can't wait to share this with my colleagues! At first I thought a wiki was just another way of blogging. It's much more than that! Yes, I can import video on my blog page as well and add web links. However, a wiki allows multiple users to add information versus only one person blogging. I think it would be an excellent tool for student presentations as well as a learning tool for educators. For all those interested in my blog, be sure to visit examples of educational wikis. The trick is to keep up with my wikispace. I'd like to add educational links for teachers, links to other teacher blogs and wikis in our building, informational articles, and some building curriculum dialogue. Could this be the "new" way to build professional development? I think so :-)

Thing #10

I absolutely LOVED the wiki on http://flatplanet.wikispaces.com/About. Take a peek and look at the topic of global warming. Wow! What a way to get students involved in their topic! Teachers in our building are just beginning to use blogs and wikis as a way to interact with their students. Yes, this is all very nice, and we are making progress (yipee!). However, the real power to enhance learning is to get students involved in their own knowledge acquisition. The above wiki shows how students work collaboratively to demonstrate their research and learning utilizing resources available. They put it into a format that entices other students to learn (the videos, music, etc.). Hence, they become the teachers and we become the students. Isn't this the end goal of all teachers everywhere, at every level - to produce independent learning?

So, what's holding teachers back? What's holding me back? My guess would be lack of knowledge and lack of experience. Currently, I'm unsure how to embed the youtube videos (or other videos for that matter), how do I embed the powerpoint presentations to share, and what other tools are out there to entice my audience. Another hurdle is that our school doesn't allow access on campus to youtube videos (which is a real shame). Yes, there are inappropriate videos out there. Those who violate the "appropriate use" should be disciplined. Otherwise, let us use the wonderful plethora of resources available. We can use schooltube, but often the two mediums do not match the lesson needs. One could use a wiki for students to access at home. Unfortunately, not all students have access and equity becomes yet another hurdle. Given the above, it is still a worthwhile venture and it allows faculty and students the creativity to create and learn with mediums that suite their own learning styles. I say, "Go for it!"

Thing #9

Boy oh boy, did I spend a lot of time on ImageGenerator.org (where I was able to make this magazine cover). The link is http://www.fakemagazinecover.com. The picture to the left was of my daughter when she was young. Yes, mom is partial and thinks she does belong on a magazine cover :-) Between ImageGenerator.org and Bighugelabs.com I was able to make calendars, jigsaw puzzles, movie posters, CD covers, and so on. To be truthful, I got a little carried away and time just rolled by. It was easy to do. If I can do it, anyone can. I do know many people who use the calendar creator option and give these away as Christmas gifts.

So, the big question is "How can you use these tools in the classroom?" One idea is to use the trading card option from Bighugelabs.com to create historical timelines or interesting points from specific lessons and have students trade cards to form creative study guides to enhance recall. I would suggest they glue them onto 3X5 cards to make them sturdy. Try punching a hole in the top left corner and file them onto a cheap keyring for safe keeping. Imagine adding lesson after lesson on their keyrings! Also, I could see extensive opportunities for the comic creator to enrich writing across the curriculum. There are a ton of political cartoons online that teachers could use or have students create their own for specified topics. Further, they could create magazine covers with pictures found online. Yes, there are lots of possibilities here! Mostly, it's just plain fun...

Thing #8

I have to say all the mash-ups using Flickr.com were somewhat entertaining, but in coming up with ideas to use the Sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, the memory games, etc. in the classroom is a bit of a stretch. I could see using the mosiac tool for the school yearbook or possibly the Retriever for an art class project. What would actually be interesting is to introduce the tools to high school students and see what they might come up with. We are presently designing a "Digital Tools" class for students and incorporating several of the topics that were addressed in the "23Things" class. These types of tools would probably appeal to the students and their need for creativity. The "Spell" tool does increase visual appeal of the blogs or web pages. I'm wondering if one might be able to create their own "spell" function using some other sort of photo morphing. Although the tools are nice, students would much rather create their own.

Thing #7

The thing to remember when uploading pictures from the classroom is the possibility of sharing photos of students. Yes, there are pediphiles out there. Also, I don't think parents would love the idea of showing pictures of their darlings. Be sure to ask permission.

On the other side, taking pictures of projects, places or things could be very beneficial for specific lessons. I have several pictures from Australia or Germany that could be used to graphically describe architecture of a certain period in history, art, etc. . Hence, you could correlate it to lessons in the curriculum. Another way we've used sites this like this in school is to print the website and ask students to identify what the picture is of. They definitely have to do some background searching and some digging to explain its significance. One could really have some interesting learning experience. Imagine learning for the sake of learning.... wow!

Thing #6

Loved this picture from the flickr site. We visited the redwoods in Northern California last summer and was just awe struck by their beauty. They are absolutely one of the most stunning aspects in nature and should be a "must see" on everybody's list. No wonder they are contained in the book "1000 Best Places to Visit Before You Die". The picture doesn't really do their size justice. They are incredible! You just have to see them to get the full experience. We were in Lady Bird Grove on the day she died. My guess was that she was there with us.

I thought the play of light in the photo was inspiring - sort of reminds me of an awakening, a new beginning. It, simply, was a Kodak moment where the photographer was just in the right place at the right time.

Thing #5

The RSS feeds are interesting, but my concerns are having the time to read all the interesting blogs out there. The more you look, the more there are. I love Will Richardson's blog. I saw him in a presentation last August. In general, he works from home which is why he has so much time to write prolifically. I just love all his links and can certainly get absorbed in all the information. Obviously, sharing some of the links and information onto other staff members would be beneficial to enhance teaching and learning. I've even passed on some links in the school newspaper for the students and community to investigate - it makes the school look so technically literate.

Personally, I like anything to do with recipe collection. Again, there are a ton of these blogs out there. Trouble is, I'm reading more and cooking less. I really need the summer to catch up :-)