Thing 5d

Somehow I forgot to do my write up for thing 5d....ooops!!
My favorite thing from my google reader was from free tech for teachers. I know that I have said it before, but this site is great! The site that I really liked is called XP math.. The site has online math games for people of all ages. I thought that I had seen all the leaning math game sites out there...but not this one! :)

Thing 23

I LOVE 2.0!!!! I have recommended this course to everyone that I know! I feel that it is relevant to my teaching and that is something that I can take back to the clasroom, with no expense, and use with my students! I have tried most of the 23 things with my students- just out of excitement- and they have loved it! I have seen them become interested and motivated in ways like never before. I know that some of the things that I have done with them they will use in the future to make them better students and people in the ever changing world. I will contiune to use what I have learned next year and hope to build on what I have already started with them. Thanks Caroline for facilitating this class- it was great!

Thing 20

Google Docs is so easy! I have been using Google Docs since last summer and really like it. I have used it for classroom purposes as well as with my peers. I will contiune to use it for personal documents that I am working on at home and at school as well. Google Docs takes away the need to drag around all the 'saving devices' :) and I love having one less thing to remember to take with me!

Thing 22

I could not stop! Once I started looking at all these great resources I did not want to miss anything- so I spent quite some time looking at all of it. The two that I know that I will use are the Global Gateway and Lulu Publishing.
This year I participated in an International Wiki project and my students loved it. I was anxious to find something to continue into next year that would incorporate other students from around the world. When I saw the Global Gateway I was immediately interested. It is a site that allows people to list their school, age groups of the children and any interest that they have for connecting with other schools. I think that this may be a great site for me to use when trying to find us some other students to collaborate with next year.
The second site that I spent a large amount of time exploring was Lulu Publishing. How exciting would it be for my students to publish a real book? I think that would be great for them. I have some fifth graders that love to write and I am going to email them and tell them about this site. I have uploaded a story that one of my students wrote this spring and am going to publish it on the sandbox site. I look forward to using this tool a lot next year!

Thing 21

I enjoyed creating a pageflakes page! It is kind of like one stop shopping! :) It is convenient and quick and that makes me happy! I am going to work on mine a little more and have it ready for next fall. It seems really easy to work through and is something that I could definitly see myself using.

Thing 19

I know that the end of the year is here and I am tired and quite honestly, just tired of working :) :) but... this was an in depth process for me. It took a long time for zamzar to convert my voice recording and then I could not figure out how to get it uploaded to GCast with out an account. So... I am sure that you can tell I am a little frustrated at this moment- it will pass.
I am sure that after a time or two if will be easy and could be very useful in the classroom. I have downloaded several books for my six year old and think that we could get rid of all those old tape players, buy some i pods and have endless resources to pull from. We could also post inquiry discussions in the form of a podcast. I think that podcasts are great and I am going to wait a day and try it again...when I am in a better mood. heehee

Thing 18

Okay...this is the first thing that I have been really in the dark about. I have heard people talking about using ipods in education, but wasn't sure what they were using them for and how they were using them. Now I know... I spent more time exploring this topic than any other. I am very intrigued at how MANY educators are using podcasts in education. I found myself watching many podcast tutors and teachers teaching lessons on math and technology. I even found one person who did a podcast for everyday of the week. The EPN network has lessons on anything that you can imagine. They also had a radio station that some children created in Nebraska. They called it radio for kids by kids. It was cute to listen to them. I also found countless uses for the itunes downloads as well. Okay..enough blogging- got to go explore some more. :)

Thing 17

As teachers we MUST continue to grow and to learn. I think that one of the best ways to do that is to learn from other teachers. So using a social network to do this would be great. I found a gifted education site that has parent and teacher information. I have bookmarked it and added it to my RSS feeds. I hope to be able to keep up with what is going on outside of my district with gifted education. I do not teach the older grades, but think that I will try to create a Ning for my 5th graders next year. They have used the discussion board on my wiki a lot this year. I have tossed around the idea of blogging with them as well. I have seen a drastic incline in motivation using the wiki this year and hope to be able to incorporate more next year. The only problem that I am having is that some of students do not have computers at home and I only have one in my classroom. I have used the computer lab during the open slot almost everyday this year and I am going to try to work my schedule so that I can use it again next year. :) There is so much out there to learn from.....we just need the computers to get us there!

Thing 16

Before I began this course I was very limited in using any social networking resources. When I needed help, I simply asked a friend. However....the more I am involved in out of county networking the more I realize there is so much more out there than what I can learn from just people in my school!!!! I recently signed up for a twitter and plurk account. I read the posts daily on my plurk account and sometimes, probably not as much as I should, make comments. I can definitely see that being involved in a PLN could be beneficial for educators. You can ask questions, see what others are doing and help other educators. I wish that we could access plurk at school. Everything I do has to be done at home- between children and husband and dinner and church and house and everything else in between there is not enough time!!! If I could use it during my planning period I would really like it better. :)

Thing 5c

As usual, my favorite google reader site was from Free Tech for teachers. If you have not added this site to your reader you really should! :) It is great!
I was really interested in the post titled Top Ten Online Games for Children The games are all interactive and fun! I am planning on adding this list to my wiki page for my students to access at home.

Thing 14

I use EduBlogs A LOT! There is so much out there and a good bit of it we cannot access at school. Edublogs comes is very handy when needing to show a video that is on YouTube. It is converted quickly and is accessible almost immediately. I think that the more we can bring the outside in to students the more relevant it becomes to them. I use YouTube videos a lot to show how people use specific math skills in the real world- to prove to them that it is something that they can and will use forever.

Thing 13

As with any new tech possibility I was excited. I also wondered how much time it would take me to figure all the gadgets out. I was thrilled when I saw that it was VERY EASY! I am really impressed with the options that Voicethread allows for teachers. As soon as I saw some of the examples, I immediately knew that I wanted to use it with my fifth grade group. As all of you know by now, we are finishing up our unit on climate change. I have them collaboratively working on publishing a book for our library now and thought it would be a great idea to have them use Flickr pictures to tell tell their story. Each group can choose their pictures and then use Voicethread to tell the story. I will post the finished product in the next week or so.

Thing 12

This was one of my favorite 'things'. I really had fun and I must say so did my own children. We were taking family photos (which I prefer not to post) and changing them and adding effects to them. We were all laughing and having fun with it. We first started with the befunky site. We took several pictures of my two year old and made them into sketches and cartoons. It was hilarious! Then I went down the list and tried most of the other sites as well.
Then I began to think of ways that I could integrate this into my classroom. Wouldn't it be great if we could write a story and then digitally tell it with a picture storybook? I think that there were several sites that would work for this. Or better yet...write a script and let the characters on the screen tell the story.
I really liked the xtranormal site! The possibilities are ENDLESS! I will have to update you all on what my students come up with over the next couple of weeks. Enjoy your spring break! :)

Thing 5b

Environmental Education

My favorite blog thus far has to be the free tech for teachers. I love technology in the classroom and I love things being free! :) I have been working on a unit with my fourth and fifth graders about global warming and climate change. So... as I have been following this blog I happened to notice the title Environmental Education. Immediately, a red flag went up and I began checking the site out. It is a great resource for my kids. It has ideas for service projects (which I also love), online games and information as well as links to google maps and glacier pictures. I guess I really like this particular blog because it goes so well with what we are talking about in class.

Thing 11- SlideShow

**I deleted my slide show after adding my video because of the overlap in music
Sources:
Sir Watkyns Photos

A Grinberg's Photos

Foreby's Photos

Chucksta 420 Photo's

Thing 10

I love Flickr! I love the way that you can search based on the specifics of an image that you want. You can search for images that the creator only wants attribution for, ones that can be used for commercial purposes, and even ones that you can change. There is a side bar that explains what all the symbols mean. I searched for pictures of the Earth and pictures of climate change. Oh my gosh... there are thousands! The one that I posted was entitled where water and earth meet by Lady-bug. There was just something about this picture that grabbed my attention, or maybe it was the title, I am not really sure. But what I am sure of is that I liked the concept that it sent me- of being on the edge of something. Whether it be a decision, learning something new, greatness, etc., anyway you get it....
I cannot wait to show my students the pictures that I found. I am sure that they will want to search the site for pictures for their projects they are working on.

Thing 9

Sadly, I feel very uneducated when it comes to copyright. All I really knew before this project about copyright was from a class on educational law. When I was working on my masters degree I remember my Law Professor saying that educators were pretty much in the clear with copyright if we were using the content for educational purposes and not for mass production. As long as we gave credit to the person who created it -we were okay. So, I really and truly have not given copyright much thought since then. I use video clips, digital images, and audio from the web to help me teach. I love being able to build upon and use other peoples creativity to help educate my students.
I do feel that educators have a wealth of information at their fingertips. Not being able to use it would be such a waste so I am thankful for Fair Use in Education. I will be more vigilant about giving credit for images that I use, etc. and I will also be more vigilant about making my students do the same.

Thing 7

I must admit that I have become very addicted to my class wiki. I have spent a lot of time searching for projects this year for students that incorporate the wiki. My students feel that learning about the Presidential Election, the Stock Market, and writing a narrative are not so bad when they can do it with other students around the country and world! So... with all of the time that I have spent I have noticed that 'all wiki's are not created equally'. They come in all sizes and shapes depending on their creator. Some are organized and some are not. 1001 Flat World Tales is one that I will specifically talk about because I am taking part in that project now. This wiki project allows students from all over the world to participate in a collaborative writing project. I have partnered my 4th and 5th grade students up with 4th and 5th graders from Argentina and Canada to create and edit narratives. The wiki is very organized. We are all divided into small groups. The small groups make it more individualized for each teacher and student. It is like a tree; it has one main page for everyone and then branches off into small groups. Yargo is in group E if you want to take a look.

Thing 5a- (7a)

Wow- there is way to much to read and far too little time to do it. I found several posts that I flagged so that I can go back and investigate them more. My favorite one so far is one that Caroline sent me about a week ago. It's title is Free Technology for Teachers. It is full of information that I feel is useful for me and my students. One of the blogs mentions a site that I have not heard of before. It is called SlideMap. SlideMap is a combination of Flickr and Yahoo maps. You can search a location on the map and it pulls pictures that have been taken there. I even searched for Winder, Georgia and we had pictures of several places in town on the map. I think that this site will be an amazing resource for teaching about geography or specific locations in the world. For me, it will be useful when collaborating with other schools throughout the nation. I will be able to allow my students a view into the world of their peers. The blog on SlideMap also shows applications for educators.

Video on Blogging for Students

This video says it all.....

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=be6ec9b852b0a542e2f3

As I read through the feeds I found something that was interesting to me. It was a teacher who was taking her students around the world in 80 days.
The feed was particularly interesting for me because I am working with my students on global warming and we have been looking for a way to collaborate with other students. I really wanted to go International with this project, however, I was worried about time changes and not being able to access Skype from our school. After reading the blog I got several ideas as to how to make it all work. I also liked the way that they used Google Maps to show the distance between the schools. I liked the break down of time she allowed the students too. I found this blog to be inspiring. It was a validation for me that it can be done! I actually bookmarked the site with Diigo to show my students the videos. I look forward to learning more from this innovative teacher.

Thing 2

If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write. (http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-it-okay-to-be-technologically.html)

Wow! I love it. I did find myself smiling several times throughout the authors blog or 'rampage' better yet. It does seem harsh but it is so true. Why are we allowing people to educate our children that are unwilling to learn- unwilling to make advancements in their own education? As a school system we need to realize that technology is now a part of life not something that is an 'extra'.

Now on to the assignment....I think that blogging is very informal and allows people to voice their opinion to something. There is no right or wrong- just an opinion. I feel that being able to comment back and forth with someone can validate an opinion or make someone stop and reevaluate what they wrote. It is like a conversation that takes place online in writing.
I think that blogging can can be incorporated into the classroom in several ways. It can be a student to student blog or student to teacher. Either way collaboration takes place! I would like to use blogging in the near future for book studies and shared inquiry with my fifth graders. I know that they have really enjoyed the discussion board on my wiki page and think that they would enjoy blogging as well.

Thing # 1-B

Web 2.0 has changed the way I teach forever. I love being able to collaborate with my students and them with each other online. My students and I have used Wikispaces to collaborate with other schools throughout the nation and am currently beginning to explore the international realm of video conferencing. I feel that I am no longer confined to the four walls of my classroom. We can collaborate with other schools at the click of the mouse. My students love taking an active role in publishing content. I find that they are checking the Wikispaces site at night to see what is posted. They seem to think that it is not 'homework' if they are discussing a book online versus writing about it on paper. My wiki site is: mrsmcnall0809.barrow.wikispaces.net
I feel that I must incorporate as much technology into my curriculum as I can. Not only do they enjoy it, but I feel that it is imperative that they learn to use the computer and the 'new technology' available or the world is going to pass them by!

I loved the video students are changing! Oh, how true! :)

Thing # 1-A

Hi, My name is Meggan and I am the gifted teacher at Yargo Elementary School. I have been at Yargo since the doors opened in 1999. I am excited about taking this course and look forward to using what I learn with my students.