Thing # 15- Del.i.cious!

I really like the "bookmark" network that is offered through www.delicious.com. In times past, I have added bookmarks to my toolbar on my personal or work computer and they have somehow been deleted or I never seem to have the ones I am needing on the computer I am working on at the time. This is a great option to have all your bookmarks saved to one place without worrying about which computer you are logged onto. BRILLIANT! I could also see the benefits of using this with students for a research project. Students could access the various links through "bookmarks" that are saved rather than having to type in the links. I do a lot of webquests in my Science class and it sometimes delays the lessons if the student has to type in the link themselves. I use our librarian often to post certain webpages to the School website, but this is just another way to access certain information. It would also be extremely useful to show the students how to use because they can create their own bookmarks for websites they are using for research and then go back and have all the information to make sure it is cited properly!

How Delicious!

http://delicious.com/kturleytx

Thing #9 - Playing in the sandbox

When I went through and set up my own page from the Wiki Sandbox, I remember it gave me a lot of trouble. I was beginning to get frustrated because I catch on so quickly to learning new things, but this time proved more difficult. I was forced to sit down and read and re-read the instructions. It was only after I viewed some other pages that I was able to decipher how to go in and edit my own page. Once the editing began though, I was more than excited to add the photos of all my favorite things. We all love to talk about ourselves, right!?? Just kidding, but it was fun to have a personal page to show people a bit of my personality and things I enjoy in life! Learning is always better when it can be relaxing and fun!

Check out my page...

http://misd23things.wikispaces.com/TeacherTurley

FInal Thoughts

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? I enjoyed learning the widgets and fun tools to add to blogs to make it more customizable. As far as staying organized, personally and professionally, I liked the tools that Google had to offer under their templates. There were some good templates for creating a resume or planning a monthly budget that could be useful.


How has this program affected your lifelong learning goals? I always want to stay current on the new "internet trends". I want to make sure that I am connected to the latest technology so I don't miss out on new opportunities.


Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I was surprised at how easy it is to blog. I have never had a good impression of blogging and always thought it was a way for "unhappy people to vent". But it was interesting to see how useful blogging can be, personally or in the classroom, because it connects you to so many other networks. It can be a personal page of enjoyment, or blogging can a purpose to share ideas or stay engaged with current networks.


What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? Sometimes the directions weren't always clear or easy to understand or locate. Since there is no face to face communication it was difficult to get started but then the real journey began...and it was so much fun!!!


If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Of course!

How will what you have learned influence your practice as a teacher or school librarian? I look forward to trying to incorporate blogs or a Ning Network into my classroom at some point! There was also a website that I was introduced to, Animoto, that I am now obsessed with and look forward to creating more projects!

How do you plan to keep up with new developments in web 2.0? Recommend a way that you have found to be useful I want to make sure that my blog stays current and that I am always updating myself on new technology vocabulary...I continue to hear the word "moodle" and now need to go familiarize myself with how I could use a moodle in the classroom!

=) thank you so much! I learned a lot and it was a fun journey down technology lane.

Thing #23- ahhhh

What were your overall impressions? I am not a fan of the Classroom 2.0 or of any of the Ning Networks. It was fun, however, to join the MISD 23 Things Ning Network, but the overall layout of both was not always user friendly. I would like to think of myself as more tech savvy than most, but I found it difficult to go through and search any of the forums and find one of particular interest. Maybe it was because it was missing all the "flash" and "bedazzle" that some of the other social networks offer, but it appeared boring and unexciting to go through and find new information.


Did you find any discussions or resources of value? I went through and searched some of the forums related to science, since that is my content area, but I was shocked to see how little networks there were considering how the internet can reach millions.

Do you have any ideas for using social networking in your own professional or personal learning, or in classroom learning? I would be more interested to see how I might be able to use the Ning network, similar to what MISD set up for my students to follow. I am still unsure how the "acceptable use" policies would come into play and how protected my students would be from advertisements, etc. I do think professionally, it would be a fun way to network through departments on campus or district wide. It may be a quicker way to share ideas than emailing!??! Regardless, it connects you to people that you may have otherwise not communicated with!

Visit 23 Thingsters

Thing # 22- Social Networking

1. Why is it important that educators know how social networking works? I think social networks are important for educators because we can be "in the know" about what our kids are saying, looking at, or portraying. Some of my students have Myspace pages that list them in their 20's when in reality, they are 13 or 14. It is very sad to see, but it can open up our eyes to the problems our students are facing. I always try to teach life lessons, as well, and their have been times when parents have to get involved because sometimes they have no idea.

2. What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? These sites are great ways to reconnect with old friends, share pictures or catch up with people all around the world! Some of my best friends currently, are ones that I found years after highschool on Myspace. There are ways to secure your "pages" so that only certain people can see and your information isn't out there for everyone to know!

3. What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored? I prefer Facebook a lot more now and have realized that Myspace is more for the younger crowd. I am seeing more and more older adults using Facebook. My dad is on Facebook for goodness sakes!!! haha Facebook is also a GREAT way to use for free advertising, whether it is an individual starting up a new business, or a huge company trying to get ad space.


4. Which site had the most useful features? I have seen commercial ads, even, on prime time giving their Facebook link at the bottom of the ad. Myspace is more creative as far as getting to change your page backgroud, add music, and post pictures in more creative formats. Facebook does have networks though that will keep you linked to certain groups and it allows a more user friendly messaging and "invite" system to a number of individuals.

5.Can you see an educational application for any of these sites? Unless there was a group page for students to access, it would be hard to restrict certain aspects of either site that may not be school appropriate.

Thing #7b

http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/25302

I found this interesting in my Google Reader...it mentions information that is very similar to the class we are going through now. Technology is now just a part of life. As part of lifelong learners, our professional development should be focused around learning new technology tools to help us in the classroom and in our everyday lives. We are surrounded by technology everywhere we go. We must always be learning how to implement this new technology so that we can work and learn more efficiently. Our students are more up to date on the current technology than we are and it is a great way to keep them learning through a more engaged means than reading out of a textbook.


I liked how the author compared the different lifelong learning approaches with the current tools that we have online. These tools can be so useful, and once we learn how to use them to their full efficiency, we can create great things, all while saving time!