Oh! ....and One Last Thing



The 23 Things blog was incredibly informative and I learned so much more about Web 2.0 than I ever thought was out there.  My biggest take away from this is that there is an abundant wealth of tools for teachers to use, the only task is finding them online.  It just helps me know that I can find whatever I might need.

 

My favorite exercise in the 23 Things blog was learning about the LiveBinders.  This is something that I will absolutely use because it is both helpful and organized - and I can organize exactly how I want.  I also think that it was easy to see how applicable livebinders are for the classroom.  While I could think of classroom uses for many of the websites in the 23 Things blog, actually carrying those things out seemed a little daunting.  I like the easy application of this one.

 

I am a scientist and a life-long learner at heart, but this blog has made me see how fast technology is changing.  I have grown up with technology, but it is easy to get comfortable with what you know and never explore then new things out there.  As a result of this blog, I have been challenged not to let my knowledge of technology become stagnant, to keep learning what is possible. 

 

As far as criticisms, I don't have too many.  Each "thing" is pretty lengthy, but I think that is a direct result of just how much there is to learn about Web 2.0.  The biggest thing I noticed is that, even just a few years after the 23 Things blog was created, many of the included sites are not so novel anymore.  Mostly this has to do with the social media sites, and it might be neat to include Pintrest, the latest social media fad.  It is another great tool for teachers to find inspiration from others.

 

I think that this blog has really shown me how technology can make a huge difference in the education of a student.  I want to use as much technology in the classroom as I can, science is a great place to use it, and I like the resources I can make available to my students through a class blog, wiki or webpage.  These are the biggest take aways for me in regards to my educational practice.

 

Collaboration is a big way that I plan to keep up with Web 2.0 developments.  Following popular education blogs, sharing with other teachers online and just talking with my co-workers at school are great ways to keep up with what is going on.  Also, my husband is a technology "nerd" (and I use that term in a good way!) and seems to always know the new stuff that is available, he will also be a great help in keeping up with Web 2.0.

Thing #23



Creative Commons is a neat idea, especially for educators.  As a teacher, Creative Commons liscensing can be very useful in ensuring that work your create and make available to the public is used in the ways in which you intended it to be used.  I think it also gives other teachers a peace of mind knowing that lessons or activities, etc., that they find on the internet are legitimate resources they are allowed to used.  I am not too sure that I will be creating grand things to share online right when I start teaching, but once I have been established in the profession to see what things are most effective, it would be a good thing to share these ideas with others.  

 

As far as shoing that the 23Things for Teachers blog was based on somene else's work and modified, it is expressly explained in the credits section on the blog.  I have included a screenshot of it below.

 

 

Thing #22



 

 

Today I spent far too much time exploring and playing with LiveBinders.  This might be the single greatest discovery for me throughout the 23 Things Activity.  I am an organizer, and my world is happy when everything has a place and is neatly put away in it.  This is largely why I really liked LiveBinders - it allows you to organize dozens of websites from all over the Internet in whatever way you like.  As I created my LiveBinders, the first one I made ended up being a binder that I could give my students access to in order to find supplemental information on what we are presently learning.  I began a binder entitled Cell Biology, it is by no means complete, but I have made a good start on some things that would be helpful for students while we studied cells.  This binder is included below.  I also created a binder like this called Genetics for a similar purpose.  The last binder I made is called Science Teaching Resources.  Often, as I am looking for information, (and this has happened a lot with many of the learning activities I have done for this class) I will stumble upon a website that I think is really great and would be helpful in the classroom.  This could be videos or worksheets or activity ideas, anything, and this binder allows me to have a spot to keep all of these resources in one spot.  Very convenient! 

 

 

Thing #21

In this "thing" we got to play around with making our own video on a neat site called Animoto.  This is a quick and easy site to create videos using your own pictures and video clips.  They have a limited music library available, but it is easy to upload your own song bytes for use.  I made a free 30 second video on this site using pictures imported from Facebook.  Animoto made it incredibly easy to do this by having a menu option for "import Facebook Album."  This was fun and super easy to use.  If you were just wanting to put something together quickly that looked nice and somewhat professional, this is the site to use.  I like making my own movies in iMovie, but that is far more involved, so this would be great to use if I was just wanting to put something together to show my students. 

 

The video I created is made with pictures from an Ohio State - Navy Football game I went to with my family in 2009.  I was still an undergrad student at Ohio State then, about to start my senior year.  This was an especially fun game to go to becuase my husband (then fiance) is a West Point graduate, so the Army - Navy rivalry is also engrained in me, and it was fun to watch OSU play them.

 





Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

Thing #20

It is interesting to think that YouTube was still a relatively new site when the 23 Things were created, and now, just 5 years later, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who isn't familiar with it.  I have been using YouTube for quite a few years now and love the convenience it offers in finding videos.  I have used it to find instructional videos for the classroom as well as enjoyed perusing some of the funnier videos in my spare time at home.  

YouTube is a great supplemental aid in teaching, especially in science where animated videos of cellular processes, things that cannot be seen otherwise, are becoming more accessible.  This could also be of great use for school libraries to create an online video library as a resource for students and teachers.

One of the thins I love most about YouTube is its plethora of funny videos.  I truly believe that laughter is medicine for the soul, thus these are typically the kind of videos I seek out on YouTube when I am just looking around.  The video I have included is called People Falling Off Treadmills and it is one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time.  Enjoy!

Thing #19

Other Social Networking Sites

 

 

Facebook and Twitter are the biggest social networking sites, so it was interesting to explore some of the lesser-known, perhaps more mature, networking sites out there.  TeacherPop was neat, and you will find their badge at the bottom of my blog page.  They are full of interesting posts and helpful videos. 

 

I perused the list of other social networking sites listed in Thing 19 and found some that I had used, like IMDB, Flixster and Yelp, but had never joined.  I did, however, love finding the GoodReads social network site.  I am an avid reader and thought this was a great site!  It's like iTunes for books, and can recommend good reads based on books that have been interesting to you in the past.  I always joke that Barnes and Noble is my happy place, so this was a great find for me!

Thing #18

Facebook!

 

 

Social networking through Facebook is something that I have done for a while, and truly enjoy.  I was in my undergrad when Facebook first came out and was only available to students with college email addresses.  Facebook has changed a lot since its inception and I think it is important for teachers to know just how much social networking is a part of the lives of students today.  Social networking has the ability to be a great resource for reaching students and supporting their learning, but it can also have negative influences via bullying or inappropriate student-teacher communication. 

 

I like Facebook for its social aspect, but I would be hesitant to use it for my class.  Although you can create a class Facebook page, it is also linked to the social aspects of Facebook and I want to keep clear lines between my personal life and my professional life.  Students just don't need to know everything about me.  I know I can put security settings to keep students from being able to find my profile, but I just don't want to take the risk.  I would much rather create a classroom blog or wiki that is specifically designed for educational purposes.  I did not sign up for a Twitter account because I absolutely do not want one.  I understand that it can be used in a positive way for the classroom, but I just don't have any use for it and would rather not create another social media account.

Thing #17

Tagging & Social Bookmarking with Delicious

 

This was a neat "thing" to learn about.  I had never heard of Delicious, but thought it was a great idea for bookmarking websites and could see how helpful the social aspect of this would be for teachers.  When I signed up for my Delicious account I linked it with my Facebook for an easier login and it automatically brought up sites relating to science when I searched "educational technology."  It was neat that Delicious was able to retrieve my "interests" from facebook and apply them in the search results for websites that also coincided with educational technology. 

 

I can see how this would be a great way for teachers to keep track of educational websites, but I think this site would be more beneficial for teachers to use to plan and enhance their lessons rather than for use with students in the classroom.  It is a great source for teachers to find new ideas and lessons from others, as well as fun sites to enhance lessons with students. 

 

 



Thing #16

Web 2.0 Organization Tools

 

 

Customized start pages was the first organization tool discussed in this "thing."  I chose to create a start page using iGoogle because I already have a gmail account, so it would be easy to link my email, RSS feeds and calendar right to this start page.  It was really easy and I liked having all of the information that I am interested in right there on the start page.  I am always wanting to know the day's headlines and looking up new recipes, so it was neat to have both of those things right there on the first page.  I probably will not keep the iGoogle start page, mostly because Google is phasing it out and it will no longer be available after November of this year. 

Online Calendars are great!  My husband and I use Google calendars because it automatically syncs our schedules so we are always up to date with the other's appointments and such.  I also really like that online calendars can automatically sync to your smart phone.  I also use this tool between my Mac's iCal and the calendar on my iPhone.  It updates in one go, so I don't have to retype appointments, due dates and the like multiple times. 

To-Do lists can also be very helpful.  "Remember the Milk" is the only site of the 3 mentioned in Thing 16 that is still available for use.  The other 2 have been phased out.  This is now an app and an online program.  Personally, this app seems somewhat redundant for me.  I already have "Notes" on my iPhone, which is also quick and easy for writing to-do lists.  I am not a big "list" writer, so I don't see the need in downloading an app just for this purpose.

I think that all of these online organizational tools can be useful in the classroom.  Start pages can be placed on classroom computers for students to have quick and easy access to information they might need.  Online calendars are great for teachers and students to use to remember assignments, due dates and test dates.  To-do lists can also be helpful, especially if one wanted to keep "work" and school to-do lists separate from home lists.

Thing #15

Wikis!

 

 

I had heard of wiki's before, but never really understood how they worked, so this was a great activity in getting to understand them better.  I really like the concept behind wiki's because it allows for students to collaborate without needing to be face to face.  This is what really struck me as how I could best use wiki's in my classroom. 

 

I am going to be a science teacher, so while there may be room for some debate on issues, on the whole the class will be based more on observable facts.  I thought that wiki's could be a great place for students to work together on projects or current events topics in science.  I like that if I were to set up a class website, I could monitor student collaborations - helping students explore areas they might not have thought of or helping to keep them on the right track if they were to veer or get stuck. It's a great way for the class to be interactive with each other and with the teacher.

 

I edited the APSU 23 Things wiki on the Web 2.0 tools page about the site Quizinator.com.  I thought this was a really helpful site for teachers to use in creating quizzes and tests, and wanted to share that with others who visit the site.  It was very simple and user friendly.  I only wish I had more options for fonts and such to really make things creative. 

Thing 14

Go With the Flow

 

Flow Charts and mind maps are useful tools in education.  They help teachers in planning for lessons and teaching concepts during lessons, but are also helpful for students in understanding ideas and putting concepts together.  I used the site Gliffy to create flowcharts online.  This site also makes it very easy to share the things you create with a "Blog & Share this Diagram" button at the top right.  This would be incredibly helpful if a teacher used a class blog as a place for supplemental instruction and to support the lessons discussed in class.  It was very easy to use and makes clear, understandable diagrams.

 

I also tried out Bubble.us to learn a little about mind-maping.  I had never used any mind mapping program before, but realized once I began playing around with it that it is exactly the same brainstorming/organizing process I use when I write a research paper.  I literally did this same thing on paper when writing my research paper for EDUC 5000 to organize a coherant paper.  This was a great find for me, as it is so much easier and neater to have a program making all of the bubbles and connections and all you have to do is type.  I will definitely be using this site to organize my thoughts for the research paper I will be writing this semester as well!  Knowing this, I think this is a great way for students to use this site and learn to be better writers, which is an important part of every discipline. 

Thing 13

Zoho Writer and Google Docs

 

 

Zoho Writer.  This was an interesting site, but I found it to be not as user friendly as I would have liked when creating my documents.  It is great for making simple documents and I especially loved the ease of editing and review with the "Review" button at the top.  This would be a great tool for students to proof read each other's writings and it would be easy for them to access this both at home and in school without the necessity of a jump drive.  When typing up a mock document I had issues with the cursor that were frustrating and would prevent me from using this application if this happens every time.  So, all in all, Zoho seems a great tool for simple writing that is "mobile" from computer to computer.

 

 

Google Docs.  I have had a Google Docs account for some time now, using it in the same way I use my Dropbox account - for storage space and the ability to open documents on various computers.  I think this is a great tool and have really enjoyed the ease this online app has allowed for me concerning presentations in various classes and printing documents in various places.  I had never used the Draw function before, so I thought I would give that a try as a part of this "Thing."  I imported a picture from my Google Picasa Album and added some silliness to it.  This is a picture of my brother, Adam, and I going on a Segway tour in Savannah, GA.  I was the only one who had been on a segway before, so the tour guide asked if I would be the "safety person" at the end of our tour group.  I got to wear a special vest and all!  It was a fun time. Here is the link to the picture I created in Google Docs, but I also added a screen shot of it below.

 

 

Students and Google Docs. Google Docs will be great for students to use because of its collaborative abilities.  It was very easy to share my picture, as Google already provides the link needed for sharing any document created.  This can make it very easy for students to share work in group projects or, again, edit one another's work.  I think this would be especially helpful for students needing to work together outside of the classroom but who cannot meet up outside of school.  Since Google Docs provides the basic Office programs with a Word Document creator as well as spreadsheets and presentation creators, this will be an ideal online workspace for students.

 

Google Docs vs Zoho Writer.  Hands down, I prefer Google Docs.  Zoho writer wasn't as easy to navigate and its document creator was not as user friendly as Google Docs.  Since I already have a gmail account as my primary email and use Picasa and Google Reader, it is much easier for me to use Google Docs than Zoho reader, because it is interwoven with many other online tools that I already use.



Thing #12

The Power of Google

Things #1-11 have opened my eyes to so much technology in the Web 2.0 sphere that I have been amazed at how much is available on the internet for free.  I once thought I was up on all of this "technology stuff" but that was clearly far from the truth.  However, getting into Thing #12 I found something that I was familiar with!  I have used Picasa for pictures in the past and have used it to share albums with friends.  Google Calendar and alerts has been sync'd with my computer's calendar (iCal) for a while, and that helps my husband and I keep up with what events are going on in our lives.  This has been especially important since he has been deployed in keeping up with various plans when we can't always talk about it with each other.  Alerts are great and keep my life on task.  I use this with my phone so that I don't miss appointments and the like.  However, I think I need to start doing this with my schoolwork assignments as well.  Might keep me from forgetting when something is due!

For this particular Thing, I created a Picasa album to share photos from.  This is an album from when I visited my brother in Savannah in 2010.  My younger brother, Colin, is an amazing artist attending the Savannah College of Art and Design.  In the Fall of 2010 my family traveled, from all of the different cities we live in, to see him for a long weekend.  I got to Savannah first and explored some of the beautiful architecture with Colin and we all went on a segway tour of the city.  So nerdy, but a blast!  I highly recommend them!!

Leopold's Ice Cream 

Segways!

Thing #11

Finding Good Feeds

With this activity I learned about how to find RSS feeds for blogs that I am interested in.  Since the concept of RSS feeds is still relatively new, this was a useful tool for me to continue exploring the concept of using RSS feeds and blogs.  I began using the provided link to Technorati to search out some blogs.  What I liked most about using this site to search for blogs is that it is topical, and I can look up general topics to then peruse until I find a blog I like.  This was particularly fun when I looked through the DIY link found under "Lifestyle" in the tool bar, since I love getting into a house project and renovation.  It's neat to see others' tips and tricks.  I did find this site somewhat difficult when it came to searching out specific topics, so for that I went to a Google Blogs Search.

Google blogs was SUPER easy, as one might expect Google to be.  Since I was trying to discover how this whole thing worked, I chose to search for blogs about gluten-free cooking.  I recently discovered I have a gluten issue, so revamping how I cook has been a necessity that I need some pointers on.  Blogs are great for this, so this was the perfect avenue to find a blog to help me out!  The first link that popped up was awesome (Jules Speaks Gluten Free Blog) and I have already subscribed to it on my Google Reader account.

I found most all of the provided blog search engines pretty easy to navigate.  For me, it's a matter of finding one that really captures my attention.  If I'm not interested by the first few words, I'll just move on to the next, until something catches my eye.

Thing #10

RSS Feeds

RSS feeds are simply brilliant in that you can stay up-to-date on information that you care about and have all of that information come to YOU rather than searching it out on the web.  With my Google WebReader I subscribed to Science Daily (a site dedicated to sharing the latest in science research in every field) and the National Center of Science Education.  These were important RSS feeds that I wanted to sign up for because, as a science teacher, I think it is especially important to have up-to-date information.  Science is an ever-changing subject, so it is important to know what knowledge is being gained that might be changing what we know about a certain topic.  The science education RSS is also important because I want to stay updated on what is being stressed in science education and how things will be changing as states move to the Common Core Standards.  It may be helpful to see what other science teachers are doing.  I also subscribed to Free Technology for Teachers and Cool Cat Teacher as a way to stay up on what tools are available to me as a teacher and insight from someone more experienced in this field.  These are great tools for professional development without going to a mandatory faculty meeting.  A lot more fun too!  Lastly, I subscribed to the Pioneer Woman RSS feed.  I love to cook and enjoy finding new recipes to test out at home.  These feeds are great ways to aid in particular hobbies at home and to challenge the mind.  I love to learn and this is a great tool to have pertinant information come to me, rather than me trying to figure out how to find it on the internet!

Thing #9

Online Image Generators

Online image generators allow you to create a custom looking image without all the hassel of creating it from screatch.  I always wondered how people made these!  I see memes all over facebook and pintrest and never could figure out how people made them.  Now, I know!  I used the Dummies Book Cover Maker to make this image.  I thought it might be silly enough to elicit a laugh out of my students without them rolling their eyes at my attempt at science teacher humor.  It was very easy to use, every section of text had a separate editing box and once I was finished, I just saved it to my computer to use wherever I might want.

The next picture I made was from Famous People Message Generators.  I went through their library and couldn't find a "famous" person base picture that I liked, so I chose this comic picture out of their library.  This image was also a cinch to make and again, editing boxes for each block of text were readily available.  Once I had the wording I liked, I just clicked "update image" and then saved it to my computer.  Super easy!  I thought little comic pictures like this might be a fun way to post classroom rules or exam tips, like I have here.  I think using these image generators creates a fun environment for students to walk into.  It makes the classroom feel more creative and hopefully gets them excited to learn.

Thing #8

Flickr Mashups



1. HIER S R E PR CARD GASTALDVS, 2. At the end is always light, 3. Vatican, 4. Basilica di San Pietro, 5. Berthillon Glacier, 6. Louvre, 7. Nap near the Louvre, 8. Chic boulangerie, 9. Moulin Rouge, 10. Small part of the gardens of Versailles, 11. A window and a piece of art inside Musei Vaticani, 12. Fontana di Trevi, 13. Vatican, 14. Beggar, 15. Old Roma, 16. Piazza di Spagna, 17. Obelisco del Pantheon, 18. New art in Rome, 19. Roman Forum, 20. Goodbye, Michael Jackson..., 21. Coffering on the ceiling of the Pantheon, 22. Inside the Pantheon, 23. Pantheon, 24. Gondola traffic, 25. Staircase of the Vatican Museum, 26. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, 27. Disneyland Paris, 28. Teatro La Fenice, 29. Venice, 30. An amphicar in Venice, 31. Parc Güell, 32. Font Màgica, 33. Barcelona sky, 34. Barcelona, 35. Port of Barcelona
 

For my Flickr Mashup, I used Mosaic Maker to make a compilation of pictures of Europe that I found on Flickr.  It was so simple to use, all I had to do was find a picture set from a photographer and use the html link provided by Flickr for the photo set in Mosaic Maker.  I chose pictures from Europe because my husband and I will be traveling there this summer and they get me excited about the kinds of things we will see while we are over there.

Using Flickr Mashups could be incredibly useful in the classroom.  One idea that came to mind was to use Mosaic Maker to create a compilation of student work at the end of the year.  By taking pictures of projects or students working (although the details of this might have to be fine tuned) a teacher could create a compilation of students' work in the classroom over the course of the year for students to look at.  It would be a great testament to how much they accomplished over a year and can help them realize just how much they actually learned!  I would also love to use these Mashups personally.  I enjoy online photosharing, within moderation of course, and would love to use these tools to create unique photos and works of art for my own home.  Such an easy and simple way to make something so neat and complex!

Thing #7

Flickr!

I have to confess that until today, I really had no idea what Flickr was.  I had heard about it, of course, and knew that it had pictures but I didn't understand what it was all about.  Overall, it was pretty easy to navigate my way around the site.  I really enjoyed the Getty Images Gallery, which had a huge collection of historical pictures from all over the world.  What a great way for teachers to give "some ol' dead guy" a face and personality to help students understand who this person is.  I browsed some of the other collections and oogled at picture after picture and had a lot of fun with that.  Then I started searching more specific photographs.  The picture I decided to share from Flickr encapsulates three different aspects of me: I am a devout follower of Christ, I love to travel and have a love of art history.

St. Peter's Cathedral, The Vatican - Looking down the Nave                                                   (photo by John Dalkin, 2012)

During my undergraduate study at Ohio State I minored in Art History and my absolute favorite thing I ever studied was the great cathedrals built throughout Europe.  There are many that I love, but I do not have such a connection with any like I do with St. Peter's. This picture looks down the Nave of the church.  Cathedrals were traditionally built in the shape of a cross, and the Nave is the name of the hallway of the longer part of the cross (the one that goes "up & down").  The brown structure straight ahead is called the Baldacchinno (ball-da-kee-no), it is the monument that houses the church's relic, the chains St. Peter wore while imprisoned before his death.  St. Peter's Cathedral was built over the course of many years, but was completed by Michelangelo.  It was intentionally built to be the largest cathedral in the world and if you visit St. Peter's you will see silver lines set in the stone floor with the names of other cathedrals below, designating where that cathedral, literally, stops.  It really does give you an idea of just how much bigger St. Peter's is than any other church.  I was fortunate to visit St. Peter's and the Vatican in 2004 with my dad. Walking into the cathedral, I had never in my life seen something so grand and all I could think was This is a church worthy of being called God's house! It happened to be Sunday morning when we visited and as we were leaving, after having explored as much as we could, the Sunday morning mass also ended and the organ started to sing throughout the church.  Now, if you have ever heard an organ you know how it can fill the room with sound.  Imagine that sound reverberating throughout a building completely made of stone.  Yes, we were stopped dead in our tracks.  Not only did this church literally look like the house of God, now it sounded like it!  My dad and I just stood there in awe as tears rolled down our cheeks.  It was one of the most moving experiences of my life and St. Peter's will forever be a special place to me because of it.  

Kind of neat to relive experiences like that from just finding a photo on Flickr.

Thing #6

Discovering Web 2.0 Online Tools... and they're free!

Have you ever seen the wall of paint sample cards at a home improvement store?  A wall covered in little, colorful squares just barely different from the one next to it.  At first you are a little mesmerized by all the color, but then you realized you can only use one and you just wonder, where do I begin in picking just one?  That's how I felt when I first opened the Web 2.0 Tool webpage. I had no idea the shear amount of sites that were available!  The neat thing was that with a little creativity, teachers could make a lot of these sites suitable in their classrooms and the only thing it would cost them is their time.  I spent a fair amount of time perusing different links trying to find a good site that I thought I might really use in my classroom someday.  After trying quite a few options, my favorite site I landed on was QUIZinator.

QUIZinator is a website designed to help educators create, manage, and store tests and quizzes.  A unique feature to QUIZinator is that the site stores questions individually, rather than whole test documents, allowing the user to drag and drop questions to change the test difficulty or add variability between test versions.  The site can also automatically rearrange questions or answer choices on a particular test or quiz to reduce the likelihood of cheating.  There is quite a bit of storage space on QUIZinator, which prevents that panic of losing the test with a lost memory stick or hard copy.

I really liked the ease of test and quiz creation this website offered.  It is free to sign up, and appears to be really user friendly.  I thought this was a great tool for teachers to use to store a large test bank and make one part of teaching just a little easier.

Thing #5

Thing #5 addresses the questions, What is Web 2.0?  And, what does this mean for schools of the future?  Big questions in two little phrases.

Perusing the various Web 2.0 informational websites I certainly learned a lot more than I ever expected to know about the Internet, how it works and how it is changing.  The Wikipedia – Web 2.0 article is incredibly informative, providing history and various views on Web 2.0 and its differences from Web 1.0.  However much the scientist in me wants to take Wikipedia information with one skeptically raised eyebrow, this article seemed well-informed and scholarly in its presentation.  It certainly helped a novice like me feel better about the information I was seeing outlining key characteristics of Web 2.0.  I loved reading the 50 Web 2.0 Tools Every Teacher Should Know About and jotted down the url’s to the sites I thought might be useful in the classroom.  One website I saw, Go Animate (goanimate.com), is a free online tool allowing users to create their own animation videos.  Seeing this, my mind immediately thought of using this as a tool for students to create their own videos of the cell cycle, mitosis or meiosis.  I think that would be a much more fun way to learn these cycles than drawing each and every step, which is how I learned it.  The other sites spoke a lot towards how technology is changing and will continue to change the classroom and how we teach.  The Horizons Report had a staggering statistic, reporting that “In the U.S. alone, 61% of Americans age 12 and up own a mobile device, and 44% specifically own a smartphone.”  I think this implies that most of our students will have their own smartphones or tablets that can be readily utilized in the classroom for learning.

So what is Web 2.0?  I thought the Wikipedia article put it most succinctly calling it “Web-as-Participation.”  When in its youth, the Internet followed a “Web-as-Information” M.O. and information was searched similar to the way one would look up something in an encyclopedia.  It was already stated and you merely read it.  With the emergence of Web 2.0 information is not merely read, it is shared, changed (Wikipedia for example), and critiqued by millions of online users.  Information is not static anymore, it is infinitely linked to other websites that are linked to even more new websites, and before you know it you are asking yourself, “How did I end up on this page?”  That is the beauty of Web 2.0.  Information is words, music, and videos all shared on the same page or blog.  The hallmark of Web 2.0 is social networking.  Whether this is through sites like Facebook and LinkedIn or by personal creation in the use of blogs, social networking has created an Internet where people are actively involved in the lives of others all across the globe. 

As a teacher, I love the possibilities Web 2.0 technology offers me and my students.  I think what I like most about it is the creativity it allows me to incorporate into the average lesson plan.  I know that not every student that walks in my door is going to find science as fascinating as I do, but I can sure try my hardest to show you why I find it so fascinating.  How?  Technology.  Videos, animations, high resolution photos of macro- and microscopic organism are all tools that are now available to enhance lessons.  Smartboards and new education software can make lessons more interactive and the housekeeping tasks of teaching easier.  Greater still are the interactive capabilities of Web 2.0.  I think, slowly but surely, schools are headed towards classrooms where students are using their own smart devices.  The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to class is very neat and the number of apps teachers and students can use to enhance lessons and learning are growing every day. The more I learn about, the more ideas I come up with integrating these technologies into my future classroom.

But, I am curious.  In what ways does learning about Web 2.0 - the resource websites, apps, etc. - inspire you?  Does it inspire you?

Thing #4

Thing #4 focuses on commenting on others blogs.  I have to admit that when I read Thing #4's requirements about commenting on others' blogs I wasn't too excited.  Commenting on posts during online classes can feel like busy work to me, so it was with some apprehension that I read the provided blog entries speaking to its importance.  To my surprise, I was glad that I did read these posts, because it helped me to see exactly what commenting on others' blogs can do.  In essence, commenting builds comunity and interaction on blogs because it allows bloggers interested in similar topics to discuss, or debate, issues related to that field.  It aids in connectedness among bloggers, who may wander to another blog in curiosity after that person has posted on their own site.  It creates networks and online friendships.  I thought it  interesting that some bloggers discussed how commenting can add trust and validity to your site, citing the importance this has with getting "newbies" or "lurkers" to post on your comments.  I had never thought about it that way, but it made sense to me to see that if someone had many comments on a topic it meant that many people were actively reading and participating on this person's blog.  This in turn would make me pause and take what they had to say a little more seriously.  The other thing that I thought very important was the responsibility to monitor the comments recieved on your blog.  Since my blog is a reflection of me and my thoughts, I would not want to allow comments that were not well thought and worthwhile, even if they disagreed with any point I may have made.  I would love comments and healthy debate, but I think there is no place for slander or foul language in an oral debate, so why should it be tolerated in the blogosphere?  I liked that one of the sample blogs on commenting had a "commenting policy" on their blog, making the rules for acceptable postings easily spelled out for all readers.

As a part of our Thing #4 task, we are to comment on other blog posts from both within and outside of our class.  As I read posts that I feel compelled to comment on, I will add them below.

1. Gina's 23 Things, Thing #9 - She created some really neat images related to the science classroom using an image maker that I hadn't tried.  I wanted to share that I thought they were witty and fun.

2. Rockstart to Teacher, Thing #8 - I loved the mosaic he created using photos from Flickr via Mosaic Maker.  I thought it was incredibly creative and a good way to incorporate technology into school spirit.  It was just very original and I wanted to compliment that.

3. Anetta Patterson's 23 Things - Thing #9 - Anetta had an awesome idea using the image maker to create various kinds of classroom passes using a monopoly card image generator.  Hall passes or homework passes, these would certainly get students' attention!

4. Scott Davis and the 23 Things - Thing #7 - Scott had a beautiful picture from Flickr that really captured a Robert Frost poem and it helped me realize the way that images can be used to speak to students and to create an emotion for them when they might not get anything out of mere words on a page.

5. Twenty Three Thing - Thing VI - Benton found a great site in Blurtopia.  I thought it was a unique way to integrate technology in the classroom and make lessons interactive for students.  

6. Amazing Paleo - Bacon Guacamole - Paleo is a specific type of diet that is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.  Every now and then I like going uber-healthy in my eating and this was a delicious recipe I found to indulge in my love for MExican food in a healthy way.  I commented on this blog post about how the recipe tasted and turned out when I made it at home.  I always like seeing how other people review recipes they find online, so I wanted to help others who might do the same.

7. It's Okay to be Smart, A Blog About Science - Surface Tension - This was one of the most incredible pictures I have seen because it captures a scientific concept perfectly.  It would be an excellent way to provide a summary to a lesson about surface tension.  I discovered this blog because of this "thing" and I have added it to my RSS feed because it is so great!

Thing #3

I think the world of blogging is opening so many doors for teachers and students alike.  For teachers, it is a wonderful tool to share ideas and learn from one another.  Just from browsing the blogs nominated for the Edublogs award I learned quite a bit about how other teachers are using their blogs.  Many of these blogs were designed to help other teachers learn about technology, including new apps or websites to enhance student learning by integrating technology into lessons and projects.  One of my favorite projects I saw utilized the photography app Instagram.  An English teacher gave her students a project in which they were to use Instagram to create a pictorial essay describing the theme of the drama A Raisin in the Sun.  I thought this was a phenomenal project and so creative!  The wheels in my brain have been turning ever since I read this trying to figure out how I could do something similar in my future science classroom.  There were numerous blogs with tips on how to be a better educator or working within different educational philosophies.  They were very interesting and can be useful in helping teachers think about teaching in a different way and spark creativity. 

Thinking about blogs in regard to my future classroom, if I were to use a blog I would want it to be a resource for my students.  I would want it to be a place where students can ask questions, find homework assignments or even videos of missed lectures to prevent them from getting behind.  It would serve as a secondary resource and for my students that I could monitor and participate in, and I really like that aspect of it.  I think blogs provide a great opportunity in the classroom and I am excited to give it a try!

Thing #2

Thing #2 is learning to blog and create an avatar.  I must admit that any previous experience I have  with blogging has been quite unintentional, and is typically a result of internet recipe searches.  I've seen some great blogs in my quest of the never-ending question: What to cook for dinner?  So, while I have read a few blogs I am pretty new to this idea of running a blog of my very own.  It's kind of exciting! 

 

For practicality during this class, I titled my blog "Bailey's 23 Things" however, I am not entirely sure I will keep that title once the class is over.  Blogs are a great way to keep friends and family up to date on what is going on in your life, so I may end up keeping this blog as an online journal.  My husband is in the military, and since Army life can be somewhat unpredictable, blogging creates an easy avenue for sharing new life events.  My posting name is also practical, just "Bailey" - my first name.  I don't have any intentions of making my blog open for everyone to see nor will I be talking ill about any one person, so I had no reservations about using my own name. 

 

Creating my blog wasn't too bad.  The editing format was new to me, so it took me a minute to process it all and find my way around to do what I wanted.  I am usually a quick learner and with enough hunting I can typically find what I'm looking for.  I look forward to doing some more exploring to format the blog exactly as I want it.  Creating my avatar was also very easy, although it did take me a minute to figure out exactly how to get it onto my blog.  I had fun looking through all of the options for the avatar and giggled quite a bit with some of the more ridiculous fashions.  In the end, I designed an avatar that looked like me.  I figured this was my blog, so I wanted it to be a good representation of me and thought that someone reading my blog might get a better idea of who I am connecting my personality through writing with the avatar that looks like me. 

Thing #1

Thing #1 is all about life-long learning.  Just think, how boring would life be if we stopped learning new things?  The 7.5 Habits of Life-Long Learners provides some great ways to incorporate learning into life's events, with some easier than others.  As I perused this PowerPoint slide show there was no narration or sound, as I thought there would be, so any explanation for the tips are a result of my own pondering and reflections.  For me, the easiest "habit" was #7: Teach / Mentor Others.  I enrolled in the MAT Program at Austin Peay because teaching is a part of who I am, not what I am going to do.  I have always loved learning new information and sharing that with others.  Heck, I even study for exams as if I were teaching an invisible classroom, just talking out loud into the (hopefully empty) room.  The teacher/mentor is a role that, I feel, fits me very naturally. 

 

 However, not all of the 7.5 Habits come very naturally.  Habit #6: Use Technology to Your Advantage is something I must actively work on and could use some improvement.  I have a basic understanding of programs like Word, PowerPoint and Excel that give me a passing ability to use them, but don't ask me to do anything fancy.  Past the basic functions, I call for my husband to come help me.  He is far better with technology than I am, so I tend to let him fix/set-up whatever technology we're using without challenging myself to also learn it.  This is where I need to become a better learner. 

 

I am so looking forward to all of the skills we will learn in this class because I have wanted to learn how to do many of these things and never knew where to start, or sometimes what it was even called.  I think fluency with the most current technology can really grab students' attention and lend more credibility to a teacher, since they can speak the same technology "language" as their students.  It's a great way to keep student engagement and be creative.  Plus, as a science teacher I really like the idea of using technology to be connected to the most recent information and scientific findings available.  Learning how to use blogs, wikis and other educational Web 2.0 sites will be a great asset to me as a teacher.  These skills can make my class more interactive and provide better access to information in order for my students to succeed.  Setting up this blog was a cinch, and I look forward to playing around with it and learning all of the things it has to offer.