Thing # 7b

The post from my professional sites focused on many different topics. I chose several that were of interest to my position to read. One was about bullying and how this is being addressed in other school districts across America. This is especially interesting since this is Anti-Bullying week in MISD.

Other articles I have found interesting dealt with:

• Censorship of Children's Literature
• Effects of War on our students and comforts we can offer
• Economic Recession and schools

These are all issues that impact our students and schools.

As I continue to receive information on a daily basis. This has become like reading the newspaper to me. Only the sections I am most interested in have already been sorted out for me. So I continue to read and learn in many different formats.

"What did I learn today?" A Summary

I really enjoyed 23 Things.

Now I know a lot more about Web 2.0 than I ever thought I would. This is fun!

The information keeps us in the stream of all that is current and new in our world and profession.

Yes, I am a lifelong learner. This experience has opened up many doors for me that will lead to many more.

So many things in the course were new to me that it is hard to say what stood out the most to me. But I really like the blogging and the RSS feed to my Google Reader.

I enjoyed working at my own pace and in my home.

I found that some of the sites like delicious were not district friendly as far as accessing them from my office computer.

All in all I am on my way.

Thank you.

Thing 23

The Ning video demo by the CEO was a great intro. It was hands on, presented step by step which was easy to follow. I found this an appealing site to follow up on for my own use.

In visiting Classroom 2.0 I took a look at all of the suggested tabs from Forum to Videos. I found a group for Middle School Math Teachers that I checked out. There was a lot of tagging being used to collaborate on documents which even offered templates to get you started. The members were extensive. I looked at page 1 and found 5members from Texas, yahoo. There were 2399 pages to flip through. Also, the latest activity has been moved to the middle of the page.

All in all I thought this a wonderful way to start your own site and to take advantage of those already set up for educators. There is so much out there. It seems you really must be able to sift through all of the info and focus on what interest you the most.

I found lots of valuable groups, discussions, and tags. This is a great place to start social networking for educators and learn from the experiences of those that have gone ahead of those of us just starting.

Twitter now makes more sense when I look at it as a conversation between people of similar interest that are not always able to be in close physical proximity. It is also 141 characters or less and should be substantial and interesting in order to get followers for you to follow back.

The UT classroom that used twitter was definitely a success. It gave students an opportunity to be heard without being intimidated by the large audience sitting in the classroom. Instead conversations, questions, and clarification were sought by class members. Much like students working on their homework together.

This will take time for me to institute in my own work environment. But the wheels are turning.

Thing #22

I have already established a facebook account. I set this account up in order to keep in touch with my two daughters. They are both facebook users and I can view some of the things they are doing without requiring their attention and time to be "mom time".



I view facebook as a useful communication tool. As I am learning more about how to comment and post through our 23 Things this has made membership in facebook not so scary. Of course, I am still in a tight circle of friends but have been amazed at how many people can be connected to the same people. I guess it really is a small world.



As educators it is important for us to be familiar with facebook and the other ways our student communicate in order to understand them. I really enjoy being a forever learner. Our example of keeping up with new technology will hopefully instill confidence and a habit of doing the same in our students.



The facebook network seems fun and useful in many ways. However, we need to make sure that our students are careful about sharing too much specific info about themselves for all to see. By this I mean specific locations they will be at on a regular basis etc. should not be advertised for all to see. This makes them vunerable to outsiders. This is my main concern about young people on facebook.



I like the ease with which a facebook profile is set up. I also like my anonymity. By this I mean I do not have to open myself up to everyone.



I feel like we all need to be careful how we represent ourselves on facebook also. I have seen some people make the mistake of thinking that what they did on facebook had no impact on their work and social relationships outside facebook.



Right now I do not really feel comfortable recommending facebook as a teaching tool for the classroom. Maybe as I learn more and have time to investigate facebook further I can see some applications that are not visible to me at this time.



So for now I am signing off as a facebook member.

Thing #7a

I have been reading mostly things that have to do with our profession of education in my Google Reader. So to spice things up a bit today I would like to share with you the newest and best from Scrapblog.

They have a spotlight item on Friday's called the Friday Five. This is where from the many contributors five scrapbloggers are chosen and spotlighted. For their design, content, originality, and quality of the post.

Of course, I chose to view a couple of the post for tomorrow that have received rave reviews. Each one was eye catching and used some of the techniques we have been learning about in our 23 Things course.

Another item that was posted for tonight was a sale that is going on of Christmas cards that the templates and setups are free for tonight. The cards themselves can also be purchased at 30% off if this is something you have not taken care of yet.

Another day of reading that is very informative not only in our field of education but also in the area of hobbies.

Thing #21

I found that Google has a lot more to offer than just being a search engine.

The two tools I chose to explore were the Google Alerts and Google Book Search.

The Google Alert that I set up is for Baylor Bear Football. I set it to be updated on a weekly basis in order to check the latest game scores etc. Of course I follow Baylor Football already but this will be very handy to have pop up on my email. I can just forward the good news about wins to other Bears.

I would like to provide a link to the Baylor Bear Football alert that I created but did not see a share button.

The Google Book Search surprised me in that I could actually choose to read the text of the book. I did not know that such a sight existed. It also allows a reader to have a list of favorites, current reads, and to read.

By learning more about Google I realize that I have easy access to several applications that are offered at other individual sites but are all offered by Google. That makes Google pretty amazing.

These two Google tools that I explored did not have a share option that I could find. However, I enjoyed getting a first look at them and will enjoy their continued use.

Thing #20

Google Docs is used by our campus and district in many different ways. A few that come to mind immediately are calendars, list, agendas, gradebooks, etc.

I created a document and gave access to misd23things@gmail.com. My document is something I find comes in handy every day. Any time a new student enrolls I must get the transfer grades to the teachers on the students schedule. So I made the layout for that particular use. I could actually enter the grades and post for the teachers to access. This of course is just an example of how google docs works.

A project that I could use collaboration with staff on is planning Spring Orientation for our campus. We could all have input to the Agenda. Once the agend is finalized all staff members could refer back to the document as the date drew near.

Typically the more I use an application the easier it becomes. And I have found this to be true with googles docs.

Thing #19

Voicethread is a fun digital-storytelling tool that I immediately could see
myself using.

During the welcoming of a new enrollee to our campus they are given a tour by one of our office workers. I could see voicethread being a video tool to introduce our campus to new students and their families. By addressing several of the topics below.

• Introducing the teachers on each team.
• A tour of the physical building and getting around campus.
• Giving a welcome from our administrators.
• School immunization requirements discussed by our nurse.

Voicethread could also be used within my hobby of scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is storytelling too. So I believe that it would add a lot to digital scrapbooking to also have the voice of the storyteller along with the pictures.

A perfect example of this is in the "What is Voice Thread Anyway" where the mom in the picture is talking about how happy she is and at the same time explaining the disgruntled looks on a couple of her children's faces. In hands on scrapbooking using your own handwriting is encouraged because it will be treasured by family and friends. So I know that being able to hear the people in the pictures talking about what was happening would be a lifelong treasure for generations to come.

As I said before. I can see myself using voicethread in many ways.

Thing #18

As a middle school registrar much of my job focus is on curriculum. Therefore, I explored You Tube video's on Curriculum in Middle Schools.

The first one '>"What Makes McKinley Middle School Special" was particularly engaging. It is fast paced and features the students in hands on learning activities which appear to be fun and educational at the same time. I would feel comfortable sharing this with some of the teachers at my school in order to piggieback on the success McKinley Middle School has had.

I chose a how to video that was funny. I was taught how to '>tie a tie by my father and chose this topic for my how to video. Of course now days tie's are not worn as much as they used to be. Therefore, some men may need a refresher every now and then. Some of the middle schoolers I work with might find that this comes in handy when wearing a tie on game days.

Teacher Tube was very interesting. I was able to find lessons on most any subject and found that many might be great introductions to a lesson. This is a resource I will explore more in the future in hopes of finding some attention grabbers to start a presentation.

I also found that the timer idea was a good one. It is quite easy to loose track of time while on You Tube.

Thing #17

Well, I believe that podcasting in education definitely has the advantage of bringing other worlds and their people into the schools for us to experience. My example of this is the podcast I heard on the Education Podcast with John Merrow - PBS, the podcast directory that I chose to subscribe to.

The first podcast that I listened to was from Haiti after the earthquake, it was entitled "Read, Read, Read" in English but in Creole it is called "Li, Li, Li". The gentleman speaking is in the courtyard of the demolished school where a tent city has sprung up. He is part of a group that is taking books to the children during the day. They carefully select the books to be read so as not to cause the children to become upset by the subject matter. Such as a book about a child's room would be upsetting because these children no longer have homes.

As the gentleman reads he starts out with say 12 children and a few older students standing around. The group increases to around 40 as he reads several books. The children all ask if he will return tomorrow. They have enjoyed the luxury of thinking only about the topic being read to them. This is also something that families did not do on a regular basis prior to the earthquake. So hopefully this will benefit the children as their nation recovers.

The second podcast that I hear was "A Brand New Ballgame". The subject this podcast dealt with is the loss of learning in low socio-economic areas during the summer break. The summer break is a time when these students do not receive the same nutrition as they did during the school year. The partnership of schools and communities is encouraged as a way to provide food and a summer learning environment even though we are having budget cuts in the non-profit areas.

Also, looking at summer school as a way to prepare for the next grade level. A time full of learning that is fun and full of new teaching ideas.

I saw this as relevant here in MISD. Because we do have summer lunch programs and our summer school is evolving into more of a preparation time for the next year. Hopefully, this trend will continue making summer full of learning and promise.

After listening to these two podcast I felt that our ideas can be shared and we can also learn from other teaching communities by listening to each other. This can all be done in our own schools without the cost of travel and with the same benefits in many cases.

Thing #16

By far this has been my favorite site! Wait, I believe I have felt this way several times throughout our 23 Things journey. It is very exciting to see author sites, groups, and recommendations. I looked up mysteries, romance, some of my favorite authors using Zeitgeist.
And I found the 50 Book Challenge group a good way to start my January. This is also a great tool to encourage students to read throughout a school year. You define when you start, set your own parameters and goals.
Recommendations for books a reader will like are right at your fingertips. This will encourage many student readers. They may exhaust all the books written by that first favorite author. But by listing their favorites they can receive recommendations for books they might find just as enticing! I know that I will put this feature to use myself.
Thank you so much for an intro to such a fun learning site.

Thing #15

Thing #15

I really enjoyed using delicious as a bookmarking and tagging tool. It is easy to see which sites have proven themselves to others by the number of users listed. This being my first use of delicious I would search by topic and then visit the most popular sites. Books have always been fun, entertaining, informative and part of my life. So I did a search for books and found one site called Overbooked that was very user friendly. I feel like this site would be a good one to search for books on for professional and personal use. I also explored scrapbooking which as you already know is one of my hobbies. Just follow this link to my delicious offerings http://delicious/ccwildcat10. I am glad we are sharing our links. This will offer a variety of tags.

Thing #14

Thng #14
As I have been checking out some of these sites I found the Timeglider https://timeglider.com/login.php. This site allows you to make a timeline.

My first thought was how this could come in handy when preparing students for a project, sharing history, doing a family scrapbook etc. So it was one I chose to try out.


As you can see I just did a few dates and hope to use in many different ways than this in the future.


I was also attracted to TaDa List @ http://tadalist.com/! This is a great tool for those of us who are natural list makers. I have made one that I would like to share about registration requirements. I already have such a list but used this as my dummy try.

Registration Requirements
If you live in a house provide one of the following: gas,electric, or water bill in the parents name.
If you live in an apartment provide a lease with the parent and students names on the lease.
Students Birth Certificate
Students Social Security Card
Students Immunizations
Students most recent TAKS scores
Students last report card
Students withdrawal from last school attended
Parents Drivers License or other State ID

The cool thing about the TaDa List is that I can make it public if wanted and it can be emailed back to me also. So you have your list right there to use. Pretty spiffy and useful. Until next time. cv

Thing #13 - Mashups

Thing #13

I have had quite a good time with the mashups. The word "mashups" even makes me think of the Munsters TV series from years ago.

I made a sign for one of our dogs, Jackie. She is a welsh terrier.
dog-k9-guard-dogs_www-txt2pic-com


This second sign is about Orientation which I handle in the spring at Wilkinson Middle School. I think some of these tools will come in handy when getting ready for such events. We can print and run through the sign maker for a large version.


I also made a playing card with myself and one of my lifelong friends, Carrie.



The three things showing here were made at the following sites:

Trading Card: http://bighugelabs.com/deck.php
Signs:http://www.signgenerator.org/

OK - So making the items is not a hard thing. Each site listed has step 1, step 2 and so on directions. Then I saved directly back to my computer under my pictures. The hard part for me was simple early on in the class, I am having trouble linking to my blog. I push the link button and nothing happens. Anyway, it seems I am making things harder than they need be. And like I said the making is a blast. Thanks for the intro into mashups.

Thing #12 Slide Show

Thing #12 Slide Show


Thing #12

Wow, I have already created a slideshow in very little time with the three pictures I had downloaded earlier. The program I used also added music by Sara Barellis which is a plus for me. I really enjoy her songs. Ok, so things were going really well until I tried to download the slideshow that I made and kept getting an error report. So I went to Slide and made a slideshow there. I have not been successful at getting it to download either. So I will try one more time.
http://www.slide.com/r/cBTfmxuk6D8ho6S9TpvZ1wazQVs77o4y?previous_view=lt_embedded_url

Thing # 11

Thing #11 Flickr Photo Fun

I really liked opening a Flickr account. The Most Interesting Pictures were all very well taken photos. The ease with which Flickr is navigated was delightful. Getting the hang of not spacing when searching was my biggest challenge.

For some time I have known about Flickr and its uses. Mostly I thought of it as a way for people to share photos with friends or post professional photos. The use of slideshows, geotagging, and adding notes to photos will enhance the use of photos in classroom projects. One thing that will be a concern for student use is the wide variety of pictures available. They will definitely need screening before students use them at school.

As a counselor I chose to download pictures that had to do with Red Ribbon Week. The red door I have included above was done during October and has played off of Halloween with the ghost theme. I found this unique and wanted to include it for that reason. The teacher that took and submitted this photo to Flickr was Wm. Chamberlin. http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/wmchamberlain/4071862981/

So until later....

Thing #10 -- CC = Creative Commons

Thing #10 -- CC = Creative Commons

I have not really been looking for the CC logo. My system seems to be on overload from all of the colors, music, pictures, podcast, etc. I will now be keeping my eyes open for it though.

I believe that CC will impact our students in a positive way. They will be able to use works from other people with their permission via CC. Also, they themselves without being charged may also lay claim to their own creations. Say of photos, templates, papers, podcast, etc.

I have been using digital images in my newsletters, emails, etc. But after seeing all that is out there on the web realize how limited I have been by using only those images I have purchased up to this point. I will now have more resources.

The materials that I create I have not shared on the web. I have accessed things made available to me from other sources though.

Some negatives can be just learning how to navigate the CC and use it. To make sure that you are very clear about the permissions you are giving others with the materials that you have created.

I do know that some photographers have built a career on that first award winning photo. So now people must decide what will be sought after and whether to place it in the CC or not.

Until next time.

Thing #8

Thing # 8 Educational Wiki Projects

I looked at:

1001 Flat World Tales

Code Blue

Discovery Utopias

Grazing for Digital Natives

Room 15 Wiki

I found that all of these while being organized to fit each of their unique needs that each wiki had specific perks.

The 1001 Flat World Tales has contributors from Seoul, Korea - Honolulu, Hawaii - and Littleton, Colorado. The main page explains the premise for the writing workshops these students are participating in. They had a Project FAQ section that had recordings of the teachers from each country talking and explaining the wiki function, premise, and how to use it. I found this very helpful and interesting. Done at the 9th Grade Level.

Code Blue - Set its wiki home page up differently in that it gave good links for research by topic and resource. The topic of vaccinations was very informative with a history of vaccinations all the way up to a time schedule for vaccinations. They also used the sixth grade student art work on each page. You accessed their pages on the left and the links as the main home page.

Discovery Utopias - Had Discovery Blogging Rules with a parent and student signature required. This was a class rules of order so to speak. Very beneficial.

Room 15 Wiki - Is classroom teacher, David Lindsey's classroom hub. Not only is student work posted but also included here are - News/Events, Homework, Student Blogs, Teacher Blogs, Parent Help Desk, Brainteasers, and Curriculum. This set up was not only helpful for the students and teachers. But also integrated parent info.

I really was impressed by a wiki. This seemed to me off the top of my head to be a great resource in many business settings. However, the first thing that popped in my mind after viewing the video on wiki's with the camping trip demo was my daughter planning with her college roommate for their dorm room appointments. What we have and what we need. They can both collaborate without emailing back and forth so much.

These are really useful sites.

Thing #7 ---Comments

Thing #7 ---Comments

Comments are a way to communicate with other educators and people with the same interest. Sometimes I understand that people with different views and ideas may reply as well after taking offense to a posting. However, the blogs and feeds I have solicited are ones that I have an interest in reading and felt comfortable giving a comment to. Most of my comments will be positive.
Why say something unkind? I would rather say nothing at all.

I'm not talking about disagreeing but about being negative. Anyway, the comment assignment was reflective and fun.

Commenting gives a voice to all who care to have one.

Thing # 6

Thing #6
I have really enjoyed this activity. I love reading and now see that the reading choices on blogs are endless. They are not just about our educational or professional arena but also about hobbies and outside activities as well. The more I investigate and learn about the web the more vast it becomes.


I find it very enlightening to read weblogg-ed. It is refreshing to be up to date on the classroom teachers perspective of new technology and how it is being used in their classrooms. Also, I found a sight for Free Technology for Teachers.

The Google Blog Search brought up info on my favorite hobby of scrapbooking. I am also following two of our classmates blogs. Which I find very encouraging as they are both on the final stretch of this course. Thanks guys.

The fun feed I added was Rotten Tomatoes.

Thing #5

Thing #5

I have been looking at the TechLearning Blog and realized that I had an interest in The Top 10 Sites For Creating Digital Art. This site was particularly interesting to me because it has digital art sights for adults and children. One spot called bomono was very easy to use but I found that I had little controll when using it. However, the crayola site had your choice of medium and you could paint or draw with each tool using your own hand. Pretty much the same as if you were at your desk or easel. I really like the more literal art. I did not like the bomono site as much. I also went to one of the sites that was very much like photoshop which is very interesting to me. I love to scrapbook and find that this link could come in handy. At any rate, I would recommend that all of you check out this digital art site and enjoy your creative side.

Thing # 4

Thing #4

I enjoyed reading five of the post as instructed.



The ones I chose are as follows:



Why I Don't Assign Homework

Is this SSR 2.0?

Spies Like Us

Teaching Brevity

Power Point Reform - A First Chapter



Each of these blogs was interesting and brought up points to consider for our schools. The homework premise of Mr. Meyer that homework is connected directly to teacher shortcomings and has no other benefit for the students that really need the practice deserves consideration.

The second blog about getting students to read. Whether they read a blog or a book is brilliant! We started our youngest daughter reading on magazines and comic books. She is a constant reader now at age 18 and has been since at least middle school. So I agree that students need to be hooked into reading and once that is done the love grows. So just start them reading. If this is done with little effort or resistance from the students it sounds like a success.

I feel like this post illustrated the fact that blog reading is totally different from reading a book. The blogs I selected to read were all about current events and interesting to me because of that. They were written in common language and easy to read and understand. I gained a lot of information from the blogs. Several included personal experiences and others included research with their sources listed. That way I could look at the source myself for better understanding. The resource is easily accessible too. You can just highlight and go directly to the source. You do not have to go to the library, look for the book source you need and check it out which is a much more time consuming process. For a society that is drive thru oriented this is a perfect fit.

When I read for leisure I enjoy reading books that entertain me. Like a mystery, psychological thriller, or romance. Therefore, when I read a blog the objective is totally different. The blogs are more like watching reality TV. Whatever I have read thus far is about something that directly involved the author as well as research on the interest. But not something that is written totally to entertain. I do know that entertaining blogs exist and I have read a few. Those are written by totally creative people who are capable of writing a novel I would choose to read.

All in all blog reading is an excellent source for reading experiences and current research. I feel that it is similar to other reading in that you are gaining information through written form. The info may be about your direct interest with well documented easy to access sources. Where as a classroom reading assignment may have been written decades ago and not in current jargon about something that is currently taking place in a students life. A blog often offers the reader an opportunity to comment on the subject matter as well. Giving the student an opportunity to express his/her opinion directly to the writer and receive a response. A book does not afford such communication between the writer and the reader.

I feel that blogging facilitates learning because we are digesting information presented by someone else and have the opportunity to comment back and forth with the author which really makes me think my stance through and may even encourage me to research and provide sources to back up my opinion in order to impact the thinking of the author. So I do see blogging as an excellent tool to use in classroom learning.

Until next time. cc

Thing #2

Thing #2

I have not been using the Web 2.0 as I viewed and learned in this presentation.

Several things that I read and viewed were very interesting. I know that we have a Monday morning newsletter from our Principal that would definitely be enhanced by her being able to access teacher blog postings at a set time and include that information to the rest of us.

I could see how this would impact the function of our campus in a positive way. I believe that the teachers would also be able to improve their communication to colleagues, parents, and students.

As a counselor I have worked with parents and teachers on several occasions to set up a way to make sure the parent was aware of classroom requirements and whether the student was fulfilling the requirements. A blog would definitely fulfill most of these requirements and not take up extra time on the teachers part for individual students with this need. Instead ALL students and parents would be afforded this opportunity if the need ever arose to double check that weeks assignments, projects, and test dates.

The idea of students keeping a blog to enter their assignments into is also excellent. They are able to not only benefit from hearing the discussion of classmates but also to view what other students are turning in for assigned writings. I would liken this to learning a sport and doing drills like in tennis. If I practice with someone that is at or above my level I tend to go up to that persons level and benefit from seeing how they respond and handle certain situations as they play. This will help round out all students as they write and commumicate with each othe in written format.

The wiki sounds awesome in that it lets the teacher set up the main site with general info and resources that can be seen and accessed by the whole class as a web textbook. How many times as a parent or teacher have we had to make sure that our student had the needed resources at school and at home to complete the assignment. Here the student can access resources already provided as well as adding the resources they find for others to view. You do not have to be sitting right next to each other physically to do all of this either. I can really see this as a benefit if a student has an event out of town and can still access and work with his or her teacher and classmates while away and returning.

I have heard of podcast before but did not realize what it was. I can see how posting a class discussion would help many students that might have learning differences. Say if they cannot get things down on paper quickly because of a temporary broken arm. But they can go back and replay a podcast that evening withour worry of missing something in their notes. This would be a great tool for teacher lectures / notes. This would also help the parents to better understand what assignment was issued.

I can see this becoming a great tool in the future of education. I feel that students are already using and benefiting from many of these. So we must always manage to stay up or ahead.

Thing #1

Thing #1

I would like to start by letting everyone know this is an exciting class for me. I have a daughter that is really good at blogging and I have read many of her postings with interest and pride. So for me to start my first blog is a delight.

I was impressed with the 71/2 Habits of Lifelong Learning. Of course, I have chosen learning as my career and thus take it very seriously. I do consider myself a lifelong learner and felt affirmed in many of my beliefs and habits.

I feel like the most challenging aspect to apply as I do the 23 Things will be using technology to my advantage. I use technology daily in my job. I feel very comfortable with the programs, their use and helping others with them. However, wiki's and blogs are not things I have ever used much less on a daily basis. That said, I expect the learning curve to be steep but enjoyable. I am also excited to share some of this with my family. I have two daughters that are really good at communicating through blogs. So I look forward to creating my own.

The easiest habit for me will be goal setting. I am a list maker and a task setter. I will be able to set goals for myself and feel successful as they are met. This is second nature to me and helps keep me focused. An example would be my weekend plans. I am attending a scrapbooking retreat this weekend with a close friend and past college roommate, Cheryl. We do this each summer. We just got off the phone from planning or scheming as it may be. We have spent many hours scrapping together which requires planning and goal setting. This weekend my goal is to complete my youngest daughters senior year scrapbook. I have requested that my husband (my photographer) edit photos he has taken the last of this year. These photos include graduation day, graduation party , cap and gown pictures, band banquet, prom, senior dinner at church, senior brunch, Orchestra concert, blue things, etc. After much work and selection all of these photos are developed and ready for me to add to her senior year book. So let the playing begin!

The most important habit for me will be creating my own learning toolbox. I have already asked my oldest daughter to help me in setting up my blog. And yes, her help was quicker than reading all of the instructions for myself. I did read over the instructions and found her knowledge to be quite comprehensive. She is after all a journalism major. So I would expect nothing less. However, she cannot be my only resource so I am sure I will find myself learning many things through use of the web, reading, Marnie, Misti and my other friends. So be on alert you guys I will be seeking info and help. Until next time.