Thing 23 - Final Thoughts

Whew! I am done! Nothing like finishing up at the last minute! I learned a lot, but sure would have liked doing this in another format... maybe a workshop... a few full days, maybe a month apart, to play with each of the tools. I think most of these tools can have applications at school, and if it is important that we know it (and it is) then we should dedicate the time from our work schedule to learn the tools in depth.

Blog Prompt: What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or content?

I think what that really wore me down was that each Thing was really between 3 and 10 Things. I spent hours on end on each Thing, trying to learn each aspect of the Thing. By doing this, I frustrated myself. And after avoiding doing more Things for a while, it was very hard to get back "into it" and complete this program. My procrastination gave me some extra stress.

I am looking forward to having time to review some of the tools at a later time.

Yea!

Thing 22 - What Did I Learn Today?

I will try to regularly keep up on news and information by using WebJunction-Minnesota. I will aslo try to set aside some time at work once a week to really sit down and go back to some of the 23 Things that I think are good tools for teachers and promote them. I am also interested in doing more with the Web 2.0 tools, and would love to participate a workshop on more in-depth investigation on some of the tools. I would feel much more confident if soemone was working with me, instead of trying to learn all this on my own.

Thing 17 - ELM Productivity Tools

ELM. I have placed links on my school media page for these databases, along with a couple others. I like to demonstrate good searching techniques for students, and I think this year I will suggest they set up an account on Ebsco Host and keep selected articles in their folders. We have a couple College Comp classes and I think they would find this very useful.

I was able to set up an RSS feed on iGoogle Reader, but not on my blog. I still have trouble navigating the Google site... getting from the Reader back to my iGoogle homepage. I am sure it is right in front of me.. just can't see it!

I hope the people responsible for giving access to the ELM databases know how much the kids use this resource. It is an invaluable tool.

Thing 21 - Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

Today I am going to keep my comments specific to a blog prompt:

2.Are any of these social networks appealing to you?

I visited the Teacher Librarian Ning, and found that it would be a very useful tool for people in the media profession. I might even sign up for this one, or one that's similar. For work purposes.

I have no interest in keeping up my profile on Facebook. I'm old fashioned, I guess. I like to meet and talk with people live, and in person. The more I investigate all the social networking sites, the more I think that although people can be "more connected", we are decreasing our time available to interact in real life. I worry about this. Really, I do. Are the people you "meet online" your friends? Will they be there when you are in trouble and need help? Will they come to your funeral? I guess I believe that THE MOST IMPORTANT thing in life is the relationships we have with others. Whether the relationship is a simple as holding the door open for someone, smiling at a person who walks past, caring about a student, or loving family and friends... all of these things happen face-to-face, and I don't want to lose that. OK, I'm done venting.

Thing 20 - Libraries and Social Networks

I was introduced to Facebook last year when some of the students I work with showed me their pages. I was amazed at how many of the students have accounts on this site. It wouldn't surprise me that Facebook is the fastest growing social network, since you can see your friends, and their friends, etc. It is like that old commercial - I don't even know what they were advertising - but the words said something like... you should tell two friends, and they will tell two friends, and they will tell two friends, etc. Navigating this site isn't too difficult, plus with all the people using this site, someone you know is bound to be willing help you!

I looked at My Space, but didn't spend much time on it. A few years ago, I heard that my niece was on the site, so I checked it out. There was no need for me to sign in to find out all about her. All I did was type in a first name in a 30 mile radius and found her right away. She had a pic posted, info on where she goes to school, where she hangs out, etc. I was shocked. The red flag was flying high! At my urging, she took off her pic, and I guess now you can make a profile private or something, but it scared me knowing that ANYONE could find out so much info about a minor! Very scary.

I think Facebook is much more safe, and can very useful for communicating with people who are physically distant from you. I am afraid that it could be another of those interenet "tools" that take over your life, so you sit in front of the computer instead of actually going outside and doing something!

Thing 19 - Podcasts

I listened to a few podcasts - from MPR and the SCSU podcasts. I didn't realize that a person needs to download them. I thought it would just be streaming audio. I was at TIES a couple years ago when the media staff from Holdingford shared their daily news podcast. I think it is a fun way for kids to gain confidence in both participating in a news broadcast, as well as speaking to an audience, without having the "audience" right in front of them to make the kids nervous! I have done a live morning news show, which would be really fun to post online, but the audio only (podcast) would eliminate the concern for students privacy issues.

Is there a reason that the podcasts from MPR and SCSU have a video component to it? The screen "saver" was quite distracting. I suppose that if I really wanted to just listen to the podcast, I wouldn't be watching the screen anyway!

In the future, if I found a good podcast, it would be great to sign up for the RSS feed and listen to it on a regular basis.

Thing 16 - Student 2.0 Tools

The University of Minnesota Assignment Calculator is a great tool! When I taught 4th grade, we used planners to keep the kids organized. The assignment calculator is like a 4th grade planner on steriods! The optional reminders for each step in the research process will keep the student on task, and they won't tend to procrastinate... like I did on the last several Things! :)

I am very impressed with the number of tools/worksheets that are provided for both the teachers and the students. This site has everything you could ever ask for when teaching research skills, from topic-finding to refining an internet search, using seldom used boolean characters.

If I were an classroom teacher, I would use this site all the time! I will be certain to share this site with the English teachers at school. Actually, the Social Studies teachers do a lot of research projects, especially investigating controversial topics. I'm sure they would love this site as well!

I have to get back to learn more about this site at a later date!

Thing 15 - Online Games and Libraries

I tried Puzzle Pirates. I had my nephew help me put together the characters. He had much more fun with this game than I did. It was difficult for me to figure out how to play. A different nephew plays online games like this all the time. "All the time" being the critical words here. I think this type of thing is very addictive - to all ages! I don't see a real use for this at school - the kids are too distracted as it is. I did take a quick peek at Second Life, and although I didn't create an account to play, it reminded me of SimCity, which we did have at school. All in all, I think plaing online games is a waste of time. Have any of you read The Last Child in the Woods?

Thing 18 - YouTube & Other Online Video

I am jumping around a bit on the last few Things. I have only used YouTube a few times. I searched for spoofs on some Classics for an English teacher last year. The kids thought it was a ton of fun. I have also found some useful videos for both home and school use.

I can imagine that this site can soak up many hours while searching for funny things to watch. I used a couple different search terms, and found both home videos as well as portions of TV shows and movies. I'm not certain how people can publish home videos with copyrighted songs on them. I wonder if anyone has ever gotten in trouble for this.

This was a rather entertaining Thing, and although I did spend a bunch of time on it, it was nice to play a bit, instead of just try to figure everything out, like on many of the Things. Plus, I didn't have to create an account and think up another username and password. Thanks!

Thing 14 - LibraryThing

I like the idea of LibraryThing and have been looking for just this kind of tool. I have an English teacher who has a list of book recommendations for her students. We want to be able to list these books, and give the kids the ability to write comments about the books. LibraryThing seems to do just that, but I don't want so much clutter... I just want a simple site that allows only my students access. Any ideas?

Thing 13 - Online Productivity Tools

I used iGoogle for my start page, and customized it. I liked some of the gadgets - the most helpful being the weather and date and time gadget. I would like to be able to place links on the page, so I could get my booksmarks from Delicious, but I couldn't figure out how to d that.

I also worked for awhile on Don't Forget the Milk. I guess I still do most of my "listing" in my head. I don't write things down. I have all kinds of sticky notes on my computer at work. Unless I see my "jobs" right in front of me, it doesn't help me to make a list, plus, I had hard time figuring out a easy way to add tasks and due dates. I don't think I wil use this tool again.

I think I spent about 2 minutes in my chair at work today. I wrote a few important emails, and even at that, I had them half-done and got interrupted, and finished them later. I guess I should get my life more organized... and maybe using lists would help, but I would need to find the time to write the list out! I blame it on the fact that I never used an organizer growing up. :) I am too "by the seat of my pants", and have trouble sitting down!