Final Thoughts!

Final Thoughts:

• What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I liked this entire exercise. I not only liked the idea of having more than one thing to do, but knowing and being able to do them all at one time. I really enjoyed image generator and YouTube (of course). I will probably create class assignments in this format for my students. Each bit will be due by a certain date so that they can be more responsible and learn to effectively manage their time.

• How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I learned about some interesting new web 2.0 tools, podcasts, and even realized that blogging is not all that difficult. However, finding the time to keep up with and follow posts may be a different story.

• Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I tended to get frustrated with bloglines, I often could not get it to work. I will be asking Francisco to help me out with that. I found that out by reading his blog. It is nice to follow others' blogs and learn about the experiences and difficulties that they encountered.

• What could I do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

The only thing I would say is Thing 6. A class demo would be extremely helpful because most of us were having difficulty with that task.

Thing 16: Facebook

Facebook is awesome, I have been a member since 2007. It was exciting to get in touch with my middle school friends and see what they are up to. I am a little concerned about privacy issues which is why I do not post a bunch of pictures of myself.

I liked facebook a lot better when it was mostly for college students and mature adults. Not too long ago, two of my students almost had a fight in my class over something that was said on facebook, or how it was perceived. Younger children are not mature or responsible enough to be on such social networking sites.

Hey, but at the end of the day when I have nothing to do, I can browse through my friends' pictures :)

Thing 15.5: Twitter

I do not have a twitter account, but I have explored it through my husband's account (don't tell him that I have figured out his password :P). I think it is a bit limited as compared to facebook. I feel like I already do what twitter does through facebook's status updates.

I probably wont sign up for a personal twitter account, but plan on using one for class. Tweets will be helpful in quickly communicating whats going on in 8th grade science class, homework reminders, upcoming projects, tests etc.

Thing 15:Things like Skype

Sometime in the 1980's I remember watching this TV show which predicted how we would be able to have video conversations in the future. Since this was a time where everyone had one of those rotary land-line telephones, I watch with my jaw dropped. Well, video conversations are a reality today and Skype is one of the most popular such software.

I have recently signed up for Skype and enjoy using it. I have connected with family members who live far far away and haven't 'seen' in a decade. I have been in touch with them through facebook, but Skyping is a whole different experience.

My students have video conferenced with NASA and even watched live open-heart surgery through this amazing technology.

Skype can be used to do a group lesson or jeopardy competition between two classrooms at different campuses (What do you think Donna?)

On our campus, when students were reviewing for their technology assessment, students competed with teachers using Skype.

Thing 14: Podcasting

Even though 'podcast' is a widely used term these days, I really did not know what a podcast was before we were given this assignment. After working with podcasts I feel that they can be of tremendous use in class by allowing a convenient means of communicating information to parents and students.

I came across this podcast named Absolute Science. It discusses topics like finding a cure for HIV, bird flu, obesity science, the science behind peoples' risky behavior and if science can make cigarettes safer.

Donna found a podcast named "Lab Out Loud." I found it to be pretty neat.

I will be exploring podcasts to see which ones can be incorporated into my units next year.

Thing 13: Using YouTube

YouTube is blocked at our district. Teacher's have exclusive access through gaggle, which still blocks some educational videos. I use united streaming to get videos for lessons but if I want to show a video from YouTube, I usually download it using YouTube Downloader. I uploaded my Tease on YouTube for this exercise. It took awfully long to upload... take a look.

Thing 12: Discovering YouTube

The following scene is from the movie "A Little Princess" I never get tired of this movie.

Thing 11: Web 2.0 Tools

After exploring the web 2.0 tools, I came across Diigo. Diigo is a cloud based personal management system. It will let you highlight, post sticky notes and capture screens. The best part is when you revisit that page, all your markings will still be there. It can be accessed from anywhere an internet connection is available. The reason I like this is because when I am looking for something online, after opening so many browsers and windows, I usually forget which ones had the information that I was looking for. Diigo comes in handy in these type of situations.