I am loving my Google Reader. It's such a great way to keep up with what's going on. I recently was reading a Techlearning article on a free application for the Iphone and Ipod Touch. I had the joy, of purchasing an iphone last month, and was so excited to see this article. It discussed how Kindle created a free app, that allows you to download complete books and read them from your phone. It even has the ability to link to your on-line Kindle account, if you have one, and update both locations at the same time. I am not currently a Kindle user, but I plan on perusing this application........... probably tonight :) Another article from the same site, involved the Solar System and jigsaw puzzles that students can put together on line. From my Quote of the Day site, I thought I'd share what Vince Lombardi had to say "If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you'll be fired with enthusiasm." Harry S. Truman said "It's amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."
Then, after writing my above comments, I found another, quite intereting article about Kindle, from BlueSkunk, it provided some food for thought.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thing #14
WOW, focused play, I had a BLAST. Here's what I did.
I visited 30 boxes and saw how it could have personal applications, it's an on-line calendar. I could see how in my classroom I could use it to post on my blog, to let parents know of upcoming events etc. I also noticed how in a professional use as well, I could see our principal using it to see out events and important dates to our staff. It is a sharable application, that does not allow comments, and can not be rated, but you can ask others to share opinions.
Next, I visited Blabberize. Here's what I created. I was a bit disappointed in the final product. It doesn't look like the one in the demonstration. I would have liked the jaws to move on hinges like in the video. I could see it having personal applications, like in what I created, but not so much professionally. These can be shared, bookmarked, and commented on. They are rated by saying either I liked it, or I object to it. Even though this application utilized a microphone, I liked how it provided options, if you did not have a microphone. This was useful and helpful to me.
On Gliffy I created a thinking map showing a food chain. I can see this having practical and professional used. I can see myself creating several thinking maps for my classroom using this tool, and can even see my students utilizing this as well. It is collaborative and sharable, you can even create a blog on this site. There were times it was a bit hard to use, and restricting, but not impractical.
On Jigzone I created a puzzle using the picture of the food chain that I created in Gliffy. This was a lot of fun. I see myself creating puzzles similar to the one I've created above and using it with my students in the computer lab. I really found this tool useful.
On Letterpop I created a sample newsletter. You can see it by clicking the previous link. My photos come thanks to Creative Commons, Lanuiop and BestFor. Letterpop, I see having a professional use, I wouldn't use it personally, at least not at this point in my life. I do not like how it only has a limited amount of uses, until you have to start paying. However, this does have collaborative features, I see it similiar to GoogleDocs, but more possibilities. I utilize my GoogleDocs almost daily, though.
On mixbook I created a scrapbook of the Solar System, was just playing around a bit. I love to scrapbook, so this was a cool concept to me, but I feel like it was holding back my creativity. I probably wouldn't utilize it often, I enjoy creating my own. I can see this link having personal and professional uses. With parent permission, it would be cool to create a scrapbook with each experiment we do, or field trips, parties, etc. This site is sharable, allows comments and ratings, but is non-collaborative.
I played with the timeline link, and got quickly frustrated and decided not to play with it any longer, however I do see it's application in a Social Studies classroom. I also decided to skip over Picnik. I decided that seeing as how I already use photobucket, flickr, and rockyou, I really did not want to overdo it and have another photosharing site, I can see myself getting very quickly burnt out that way.
I visited pikistrips and created a comicstrip of the Solar System.
I really enjoyed this site, I can see it having practical use, with fun family pictures, I can see myself using it in the classroom, like above, I could see myself using it on projects, and teaching my students how to use it as well. The website allows sharing, rating, comments, but it is not collaborative.
I did not explore polldaddy or quizlet. I do plan on playing with polldaddy, but I can't think of a poll to create at the moment, however I have a coworker that has played with quizlet, and found some very useful information on there. She's even used it in the computer lab with our kiddos to study Science concepts. YEA for pithythoughts :). I explored toondoo a little bit, but did not create anything, it is similar to pikistrips, but is a bit more userfriendly. It seems something that I could see my students utilizing with more ease. It allows for comments and sharing, wiking and blogging, all in one location. A definite winner with the kiddos. I did not visit weebly, nor writeboard, because I've used that in an earlier thing.
My final "focused play" was with using wordle. I liked this to start with, because it did not require me to create an account of any kind!!! YEA, one less password and account to add to my ever-growing list :) Here's what I created about MOI!!!
I loved that this was creative, didn't require signing in, and it prompted me to make sure that nothing "personal" was included! WOW! I also noticed that it had a CC at the bottom, to show that it was crated under Creative Commons, see I'm learning things. This is completely sharable, but also non-collaborative. Looking through the gallery I saw that some students had created a wordle with their spelling list, HOW CREATIVE, I think I will be trying that soon. : - O
I visited 30 boxes and saw how it could have personal applications, it's an on-line calendar. I could see how in my classroom I could use it to post on my blog, to let parents know of upcoming events etc. I also noticed how in a professional use as well, I could see our principal using it to see out events and important dates to our staff. It is a sharable application, that does not allow comments, and can not be rated, but you can ask others to share opinions.
Next, I visited Blabberize. Here's what I created. I was a bit disappointed in the final product. It doesn't look like the one in the demonstration. I would have liked the jaws to move on hinges like in the video. I could see it having personal applications, like in what I created, but not so much professionally. These can be shared, bookmarked, and commented on. They are rated by saying either I liked it, or I object to it. Even though this application utilized a microphone, I liked how it provided options, if you did not have a microphone. This was useful and helpful to me.
On Gliffy I created a thinking map showing a food chain. I can see this having practical and professional used. I can see myself creating several thinking maps for my classroom using this tool, and can even see my students utilizing this as well. It is collaborative and sharable, you can even create a blog on this site. There were times it was a bit hard to use, and restricting, but not impractical.
On Jigzone I created a puzzle using the picture of the food chain that I created in Gliffy. This was a lot of fun. I see myself creating puzzles similar to the one I've created above and using it with my students in the computer lab. I really found this tool useful.
On Letterpop I created a sample newsletter. You can see it by clicking the previous link. My photos come thanks to Creative Commons, Lanuiop and BestFor. Letterpop, I see having a professional use, I wouldn't use it personally, at least not at this point in my life. I do not like how it only has a limited amount of uses, until you have to start paying. However, this does have collaborative features, I see it similiar to GoogleDocs, but more possibilities. I utilize my GoogleDocs almost daily, though.
On mixbook I created a scrapbook of the Solar System, was just playing around a bit. I love to scrapbook, so this was a cool concept to me, but I feel like it was holding back my creativity. I probably wouldn't utilize it often, I enjoy creating my own. I can see this link having personal and professional uses. With parent permission, it would be cool to create a scrapbook with each experiment we do, or field trips, parties, etc. This site is sharable, allows comments and ratings, but is non-collaborative.
I played with the timeline link, and got quickly frustrated and decided not to play with it any longer, however I do see it's application in a Social Studies classroom. I also decided to skip over Picnik. I decided that seeing as how I already use photobucket, flickr, and rockyou, I really did not want to overdo it and have another photosharing site, I can see myself getting very quickly burnt out that way.
I visited pikistrips and created a comicstrip of the Solar System.
I really enjoyed this site, I can see it having practical use, with fun family pictures, I can see myself using it in the classroom, like above, I could see myself using it on projects, and teaching my students how to use it as well. The website allows sharing, rating, comments, but it is not collaborative.
I did not explore polldaddy or quizlet. I do plan on playing with polldaddy, but I can't think of a poll to create at the moment, however I have a coworker that has played with quizlet, and found some very useful information on there. She's even used it in the computer lab with our kiddos to study Science concepts. YEA for pithythoughts :). I explored toondoo a little bit, but did not create anything, it is similar to pikistrips, but is a bit more userfriendly. It seems something that I could see my students utilizing with more ease. It allows for comments and sharing, wiking and blogging, all in one location. A definite winner with the kiddos. I did not visit weebly, nor writeboard, because I've used that in an earlier thing.
My final "focused play" was with using wordle. I liked this to start with, because it did not require me to create an account of any kind!!! YEA, one less password and account to add to my ever-growing list :) Here's what I created about MOI!!!
I loved that this was creative, didn't require signing in, and it prompted me to make sure that nothing "personal" was included! WOW! I also noticed that it had a CC at the bottom, to show that it was crated under Creative Commons, see I'm learning things. This is completely sharable, but also non-collaborative. Looking through the gallery I saw that some students had created a wordle with their spelling list, HOW CREATIVE, I think I will be trying that soon. : - O
Thing 12
I chose to use Rock You because I have used it before and was familiar with it. I do intend on playing with the others as well.
This slideshow shows us our Galaxy from far away, brings us in for a closer look, and then explores the Moon and it's glory.
Blue marble thanks to Woodleywonderworks
Earth from the moon thanks to The Pug Father
Earth hour thanks to Aussigall
Earth rise thanks to Image Editor
Our Milky Way Galaxy thanks to Sir Mervs (pinoy biyahero)
Mercury_Venus_Earth_Mars thanks to Royalty-free image collection
Jupiter_Saturn_Uranus_Neptune thanks to Royalty-free image collection
Solar_system3 thanks to Royalty-free image collection
Earth rising thanks to forsetius
eclipse 2/20/2008, 8:55PM EST thanks to Paul Keleher
Full Moon! thanks to I'll Never Grow Up
Conjunction over Brisbane thanks to Richard.Fisher
Here's the link to my wiki, where you can also view my slideshow.
This slideshow shows us our Galaxy from far away, brings us in for a closer look, and then explores the Moon and it's glory.
Blue marble thanks to Woodleywonderworks
Earth from the moon thanks to The Pug Father
Earth hour thanks to Aussigall
Earth rise thanks to Image Editor
Our Milky Way Galaxy thanks to Sir Mervs (pinoy biyahero)
Mercury_Venus_Earth_Mars thanks to Royalty-free image collection
Jupiter_Saturn_Uranus_Neptune thanks to Royalty-free image collection
Solar_system3 thanks to Royalty-free image collection
Earth rising thanks to forsetius
eclipse 2/20/2008, 8:55PM EST thanks to Paul Keleher
Full Moon! thanks to I'll Never Grow Up
Conjunction over Brisbane thanks to Richard.Fisher
Here's the link to my wiki, where you can also view my slideshow.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Thing #13
Custom image generators are a good way to personalize your 2.0 tools. Even though blogs are already personal, because you are creating the content, it's nice to be able to add your flavor to them as well. :) In my classroom I could see myself using the Bumper Sticker creator on Image Chef to create an inspirational message, or using the Newspaper Headline creator to write one thing stuck out to them today... etc. Personally, I see myself using them on my classroom blog, on this blog, on my wiki, on Facebook/MySpace etc. I love playing with these things. Here are a few personal ones that I created.
St. Patty's Day is a big deal in my husband's family, just thought I'd share the "green love" :)
I created the following images at Image Chef. The process was simple, I clicked on the type of picture that I wanted to create, I added the text, and then copied and pasted the code. Very, very easy, luckily I've done this before, and did the Thing #11 Stretch, so it was pretty easy.
Can you tell I need a break:
This is what I like to be called, I never really felt like a Jennifer, even though I use it professionally. :)
We lost my grandfather last month, and it was difficult coping, so this is just one more little remembrance of him.
A few years back, we made "U rocks" for our kiddos taking the TAKS test, to remind them that they ROCK. The kids loved it, here's your "U rock" :)
My husband and I......
St. Patty's Day is a big deal in my husband's family, just thought I'd share the "green love" :)
I created the following images at Image Chef. The process was simple, I clicked on the type of picture that I wanted to create, I added the text, and then copied and pasted the code. Very, very easy, luckily I've done this before, and did the Thing #11 Stretch, so it was pretty easy.
Can you tell I need a break:
This is what I like to be called, I never really felt like a Jennifer, even though I use it professionally. :)
We lost my grandfather last month, and it was difficult coping, so this is just one more little remembrance of him.
A few years back, we made "U rocks" for our kiddos taking the TAKS test, to remind them that they ROCK. The kids loved it, here's your "U rock" :)
My husband and I......
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Thing #11
Flickr..............WOW.......... I have spent hours upon hours fishing through all of the available pictures. It's amazing to me the vast majority that are available to use through Creative Commons. I was disappointed at times, when I realized that a photo I had viewed previously was not available to use. I found myself reasoning, why it was okay to still use it. Don't worry, I kept myself from temptation and ended up with some awesome pictures. My topic and theme is Space......... and the things in it. I spent a huge focus on the Earth/Moon relationship as well. Blue Marble is thanks to WoodleyWonderWorks on Flickr.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Thing 10 - Stretch
I played around with OER (Open Educational Resources) a bit. I was amazed at the amount of content that people are so willing to share. It has such a wealth of information. I can't wait to sit with my lessons and "remix" them to contain the new information.
Thing 10
Creative Commons is such an amazing concept. I've noticed on the right hand side of some of my browser's there is a Creative Common's search box. I never knew what it was, nor explored it prior to know. Copyright is such an overshadowing part of our society, always in the back of our minds, especially as teachers. I know how hard it is to want to share something that has that "not for reproduction" or "not for distribution" etc., on the bottom right hand corner of it's pages. I haven't ever noticed the CC logo, but I will be looking for it now. I'm guessing the pages, that bring up the search box I mentioned earlier, are probably, Creative Commons sites. Hmmm................ I think Creative Commons provides us with the opportunity to do so much more for our students, and for them to share, reuse and remix what they and others have created. I use pictures often in my teaching, Science simply can not be taught with out visuals, and I often find myself wondering if the pictures I use are "okay" to use; now I have a place to go to find pictures and KNOW that they are "okay". In Lawrence Lessig's blog he mentioned that certain books that are copyrighted, can not be read aloud!!! OMG!!! My only response to this nonsense, is Why???? I share content quite frequently with my students and their parents on my classroom blog. When reading this "thing", I found myself questioning if the items I was putting on there were okay to share, "Where did I find that picture?" "Can I link to that website?" etc. The videos really helped me to understand the concept behind Creative Commons and how now we have "some rights reserved" versus "all rights reserved".
Thing 9
My wiki on our "sandbox" page is JandMEchols. Well, I first started playing with Wikispace for another class that I am taking. I very quickly became frustrated and overwhelmed, and mad at myself for struggling with creating a page. I consider myself to be somewhat savvy, but this had me down for the count. After reading your instructions and creating my page, it was like a breath of fresh air, so much more easy. After creating my wiki, I found myself wanting to go back and change my URL, because I thought it wasn't "creative" enough. Oh well, it is what it is, right!!?? I really enjoyed being able to create the page about me, and getting to see those that others created! I especially enjoyed creating my banner for the top of my page. I also loved learning how to create a Table of Contents on our page. It is so useful. This one "thing" created so many "ah ha" moments for me, it was like the proverbial light turned on. :)
Thing 8- Stretch
I chose to look up the term "softball" on Wikipedia. I originally had searched the term "blogging" which led me to "blog". Though I thought, this information would be interesting and useful to this course, I was upset that there was no discussion. So then I tried searching "softball" this response included information that seems very factual, and is written with very good grammar. However, when looking at the discussion tabs, I only found 2. These provided wikis that you can link to, as well as a post stating that this page was nominated for "good article", and one stating that it did not win. Once, again I felt let down. I think many viewers may be like me, without this class, I was "uninformed". I had no idea what a wiki was, nor that Wikipedia was interactive, especially that you could discuss topics on it. I had heard people talk about how you couldn't trust all of the information, that anyone could change it, but I did not know how. Unit Now!!!! When looking at the history, I learned that this page was created on April 17, 2007 and has not been updated since February 3, 2009.
Thing #8
Wiki teaching seems to be a very useful tool. I love the opportunity that they provide for collaboration in the classroom. While exploring, I visited Go West, a wiki in which the students were broken up into groups, I'm assuming, and the students each reported on different aspects of the Oregon Trail. Some of the information included on the pages I explored were; time lines, explorers, hardships, luxuries, and women. I found this a much more meaningful way to explore the Oregon Trail versus the game I remember playing in the computer lab as an Elementary School student. :) I also visited the Thousands Project. This site was a bit confusing to me, but had such an awesome concept. The teacher/class authoring the Thousands Project posts a new topic of discussion each month. Their goal is to receive 1,000 responses by the end of the month. This would be a good tool to foster communication amongst students and set a basis for acceptance and a gain in knowledge of other cultures. It seems to me however, that this wiki is not maintained quite how it should be, the content seems scattered and incomplete. I'd love to see what the teacher does with the responses, to give the last bit of "meaning" the "why" to why they are doing the projects. Lastly, I chose to visit 1001 Flat World Tales. This wiki provided the opportunity to "share" a writing project. It's an ongoing story/stories, that are edited constantly by different people. I love the premise behind this, however I found the wiki a bit confusing to navigate through. In the Intel class that I am currently taking I created a "sample" wiki that would be a student example of work that would be expected. The process was very eye-opening for me, and I think our students could really benefit from the shared experiences.
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