SlideBoom Presentation

                       Many students respond to visuals in learning. I tried to teach the concept of sequencing by creating two different PowerPoints. The first had only pictures. The second PowerPoint had both pictures and text. I think the second PowerPoint is more effective for teaching this skill. One the first PowerPoint, I showed pictures mixed up in the wrong order. Then, I used the animation feature to move the pictures in the correct order. I think students would be able to understand the concept with the first PowerPoint however, the second PowerPoint is more effective for teaching this skill.  I used a definition and explanation to accompany the pictures in the second PowerPoint which will result in students developing a better understanding of the concept. I don’t think the images I selected conveyed a message that text wouldn’t be able to. The images would help younger students understand vocabulary terms.  For example, one sequencing activity shows the order of development from a baby, to a toddler, to a kid, to an adult. Some students might associate the word “kid” with more than one picture. Students could use SlideBoom like I’ve used it to share this PowerPoint. Currently, my advanced student is researching dinosaurs and creating a PowerPoint to identify characteristics of specific dinosaurs. He could use SlideBoom to share this PowerPoint with an advanced student from another class. Or, they could each research a dinosaur then compare and contrast the two. I will put more thought into the images I use in my PowerPoint presentations in the future. I didn’t think it was possible to teach a skill using only pictures. If images that can teach in its self is used accompanied by audio and text surely the delivery of instruction would be enhanced.

One Last Thing...

Completing the tasks in Learning 2.0- 23 Things for Teachers proved to be a meaningful learning experience for me. There were only a few tools I've had prior knowledge of before this assignment. As teachers, I think it's important to be current on the new technologies so that we can incorporate it into our classrooms. It's hard sum up my learning experience by only naming a couple tools I've discovered on the way. I could use almost all of these tools in my classroom. Some of my favorites are Animoto, Zoho Writer, Flickr, and IGoogle. My new knowledge of these tools will affect my classroom because I can start using these tools to help in the learning process and to help keep students engaged and motivated to learn. I plan to go back to each thing so I can make a list of all the new tools and websites to have for future reference. It would've been useful for me to have started the list at the beginning of this assignment. I will share my knowledge of these new tools and sites by forwarding the list to other teachers at my school. I am planning to spend ten to fifteen minutes each day learning about the tools I think will benefit my students and to start planning lessons that involve students using these also.

Thing # 23

A Creative Commons license allows you to decide how you would like your materials to be shared with others.With permission, Learning 2.0-23 Things for Teachers was borrowed from Learning 2.0-23 Things. This was made possible by the Creative Commons license. The Creative Commons symbol and information is found on the Learning 2.0-23 Things site. This is also mentioned on the APSU23Things blog and credit is given to the original source creator. 

The Spell by Flickr mashup is an example of attribution. According to Flickr, attribution means you allow others to copy, display, and distribute your copyrighted work. Also, you can use their copyrighted work to create something new. Spell by Flickr takes pictures of letters and creates words. The pictures are under a Creative Commons license that allows you to use their materials to build upon or create something new. Spell with Flickr uses the pictures to makes a new product.

You must be careful not to break copyright laws when making copies to distribute or using information from others. I still don't completely using everything dealing with Creative Commons licensing, but I will use the Creative Commons website to search for materials to use and adapt for my needs.

Thing # 22

Podcasts are great to use for audio learners and students who are not yet reading. This is the first year I've had an ESL student in my classroom. I've been looking for ideas of ways to help this child by searching on the Internet. I used the Educational Podcast Directory to search for podcasts concerning ESL learners. I subscribed to RSS feeds and listened to many podcasts about teaching ESL students. On of the podcasts, American Long o-Sound, could be used to reinforce phonemic awareness since the learner often confuses the vowel sounds. I also added RSS newfeeds to my Google Reader on this topic. Other podcasts I found interesting and useful were the podcasts designed for elementary students. All of the podcast directories were easy to use. I would consider created a podcast with my students. In my free time, I will listen to more podcasts relating to elementary education and ESL.

Thing # 21

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

 Animoto is awesome for making high quality videos of your favorite pictures. The product looks like you spent hours making it, when it really only took less than ten minutes. Furthermore, you can  make all the thirty second videos you want for free. I really enjoyed choosing the pictures, video design, and music. I posted this video to my Facebook account for my family to see. I think this is something I could use for a social studies unit when students create their "all about me" book. They could make the book along with this video.

Thing # 20

I love Youtube. I use it almost daily for a good laugh or for informational purposes. I have learned how to change sink fixtures, work out tips, how to repair a broken Ipod screen, and how to curl my hair a certain way all from watching Youtube videos. This can be very addicting.  There are so many things I can learn from Youtube, I have to limit myself or I'll spend all my time on this site. Youtube is great because it helps the visual learners. I could have read about how to replace an Ipod screen, but actually seeing someone do it is much better. Since I enjoy painting, I need to understand how to mix colors. I've always struggled with color theory and mixing colors. After reading several articles on the Internet, I still didn't grasp the concept. After watching videos on Youtube, I could successfully mix the colors I wanted. Since I'm a girl, I love all the "girly" things such as makeup, clothes, and doing hair. I love this informative Youtube video because it does a great job of explaining the color theory while incorporating make up techniques. I think all schools should allow some of the content from Youtube to at least be accessible to teachers. At my school, Youtube is restricted. I've found many great resources that I would like to show in my classroom, but I can't. Schools could utilize the features of Youtube by creating a central location of uploaded videos that are accessible to teachers and students. These videos could be used for both teaching and learning purposes.

Thing # 19

I haven't heard of any other social networking sites besides Myspace and Facebook. I am an active member of Facebook, and I just signed up for Myspace. I think it's great to have networks for people who have similar interests and prefer to be in a community of those alike. I think TeacherPop is a great site to join to get ideas from experienced teachers. It did take me awhile to figure out how to find what I was looking for on this site. All I could see was other people's comments saying how they liked the site. I did have to search to find actual lessons and ideas for teaching. I like how this site has videos and blogs too. I signed up to be a member of TeacherPop but my memebership is pending. I do like how not just anyone can join this site. You have to be reviewed by the site and confirmed before becoming a member. I look forward to using new strategies, ideas, and resources I learned from this network in the future.

Thing # 18

I never got into the whole Myspace thing. My friend set up an account years ago, but I rarely used it. I use Facebook for personal use only. I use Facebook to keep in contact and up to date with my friends and family. I don't think I would use a social networking site for educational purposes. Of course, I do teach elementary students so they're not of age to have an account. I've heard of some teachers using these sites to interact with their students. Usually they have a personal account and a teacher account. Since I know how Facebook works, I decided to give Myspace another try. Here is a link to my Profile. The two sites are definitely set up differently. I think Myspace has more advertisements than Facebook. Myspace allows you to search for music, videos, games, photos, etc. I took some time to try to search for other teachers. I simply typed "teacher" in the search box since I couldn't search for people based on their profession. I was able to view a few people's profiles which I thought would be related to their professional based on their account name. I quickly realized profiles like "best teacher" and "best ___ grade teacher in the world" doesn't mean their page will contain educational information. I love social networking sites but feel it's questionable in an educational setting. I wouldn't use these sites to network with students or parents. These days you can never be too careful. Personally, I feel using social networking sites is not professional when it comes to teacher student use.

Thing # 17

It would be awesome if more people knew about Del.icio.us so more tags would be available. This is the first time I've heard of tagging informaiton besides tagging Facebook photos. The tagging system is very conveinient for anyone who wants to search for something on the internet. I helps narrow the search of keywords by allowing you to select links that are most popular or that has the most tags. I logged into Del.cio.us and looked at other tags from my classmates. I found infomraiton on wikis, blogs, technology use, and lesson plans that I can use for my assignment in my other class. This year we adopted a new reading series at my school. I have spent countless hours searching the internet for websites and resources that related to the Reading Street series. I decided to make this my first search. A list of items popped up. I first looked at the most popular ones. Since the list was reasonable, I decided to look at all the tags. I found amazing websites with tons of resources ready to use. I did find two of these sites on my own. However, I've been searching for these sites since May. I'm thrilled that I was able to find new resources within a few clicks of the mouse. I think this is great resouce schools can utilize. Schools could make one account in which everyone could add tags to like the APSU23things account. Students doing research projects can find resources from other students that they might not have found on their own. Tagging is an easy way to locate things on the web that you are looking for. It helps to narrow down your search and hopefully helps you to discover the answers to your questions. Having a social bookmarking site is a great idea, especially for teachers that are looking for new or helpful ideas in the classroom. I had never heard of Del.icio.us. It is a very organized site. Being able to bookmark your websites and them tag them to help organize them is very beneficial. Having the availability to see what others have tagged will help people to connect to information that they may need or that you may be interested in. Also, teachers can pull their resources together instead of sending numerous emails throughout the school year of links to great websites.

Thing #16

Teaching and being organized definitely go hand in hand. Managing twenty students or just being a student requires organizational skills. Whatever I can do to keep me more organized...the better. I've been using Igoogle as my customized homepage. My page is customized with my favorite links, newsfeeds, and gadgets. I added a grammar reference with examples, translator, calendar, post-it notes, top ten itunes songs, ect. In addition, I can view my email, Google reader, and blog all from this central location which saves me time from logging into different accounts and websites.

I started using the electronic post-it notes when I purchased my laptop. I always use this on my computer at home  to help me stay organized and help me remember things to do. My computer at work doesn't have the post-it notes, and I can't download it since it's not on the pre-approved list of software. But, I can still use the post-it notes with my Igoogle homepage since this is a tool that can be added as a gadget. Another gadget I added is a to-do list which is also quite handy.

I decided to try the Google Calendar in a previous task. I really enjoyed learning how to create the calendar. You can share your calendar publicly or with certain individuals. If you want to share your calendar with your friends, you simply type in their email address and they will receive a email inviting them to view and edit your calendar. I already added events to my calendar. Plus, I can view my calendar on my Igoogle account which helps even more with keeping me organized! I wish I would've discovered these tools earlier since it makes life a bit easier!

Thing # 15

I have always went to Wikipedia to look up information. Until recently, I was unaware anyone can add and edit the information! I don't care to use Wiki in my classroom. However, I have been using the information from Wikipedia for years. I did add some curriculum ideas to APSU 23 Things Sandbox wiki. At first, I couldn't figure out how to even edit the page until I realize I needed to not only sign in but also join the wiki page. I didn't like how unorganized the 23 things wiki was. I see this is a problem when so many people are editing and adding information that doesn't pertain to the same topic. Some posts were about thing #3 while others were about thing #12. I looked through the side bar and still couldn't find an approriate place to add my information. The front page has a variety of different topics. I decided to find someone's post that was the same as mine so I could list my ideas under theirs. If it was difficult for me as an adult to understand the flow or this wiki, I'm sure students would get frustrated too. However, the APSU wiki would have more people adding things than just your nineteen students. As a first grade teacher, I wouldn't use wiki in my classroom. If I had older students, I might feel differently. 

Thing # 14

Research has shown using charts to display information helps the teaching and learning process. I use graphic organizers such as flow charts and Venn diagrams in my classroom frequently. I choose to create a flow charts using Gliffy and Bubbl.us to create a mind map. The Gliffy program was quite easy to use after playing with its features a little. This program allows you to make everything from floor plans to organization charts. I especially liked the cause and effect flow chart since this is one standard that I teach many times throughout the school year. Gliffy allows you to use different shapes and colors to highlight different ideas or categories in your chart. This also helps you personalize your chart. For me Bubble.us was more of a challenge to use. I was confused on which buttons does what to the chart. It did take me several minutes to figure out what to press to get the chart I was trying to create. I do like Bubble.us because it allows for collaboration and sharing of your chart with others. I think this is a great tool for educators and even higher grade levels to use.

Thing # 13

Zoho Writer is not only free, but it also provides different features than Microsoft Office. If I have to email documents to parents, I always convert my documents to Adobe files before sending it because not everyone has Microsoft Office software. Zoho Writer can be used in place of the widely used Microsoft Word Processor. This program also allows you to save your documents both online and offline which makes it convenient to open your files from any computer without having to email it to yourself or transfer with a jump drive. Zoho also makes it easy to collaborate with others since they can view and make inline comments about the text. I found this tool very easy to use. I even shared the document with myself by using my other email address to see how the collaboration works. If others would give this a try, I'm sure they would catch on quickly too. Zoho uses the same commands keys and has many features as Microsoft Word. I wish I would have know about this before I spent over a hundred dollars purchasing Microsoft Word for my new laptop. It's insane how computers aren't equipped with anything but notepad these days!!! This is yet another new thing I'm going to explore more when finding the time. Guess I need to add it to my to-do list gadget in Igoogle so I don't forget!

Thing # 12

I decided to try Google Calendar and IGoogle to explore further. I really enjoyed learning how to create the calendar. You can share your calendar publicly or with certain individuals. If you want to share your calendar with your friends, you simply type in their email address and they will receive a email inviting them to view and edit your calendar. They can add events in case you forgot something. You can click the link below to view my calendar. I will defintiely use this tool when I'm at work. My mom calls me a little kid because I'm always writing notes on my hands with markers so I don't forget things. At school, my desk is covered with post it notes of different dates I need to remember. By using Google Calendar, I can lists my events in a calendar that I can view at both home and at school. In addition, this tool allows you to sync your calendar to your cell phone. It will send you texts reminding you of upcoming events. In the elementary level, I can see teachers utilizing this tool. Middle and high school students could also use the calendar to keep them organized and help them manage their time. Students can make events to remind them of homework and project due dates.

View My Calendar

Next, I tried IGoogle. This allows you to add links, newsfeeds, and gadgets on your homepage. I can see teachers and older students using this to save time because you can put all your tools and favorite websites on one central place. This comes with a ton of gadgets you can choose to add to your homepage. I added a to do list, grammar reference with examples, translator, calendar, post it notes, top ten itunes songs, ect. Since I am always on youtube, I added a youtube link. Instead of having to go to the youtube site, I can type in my search on my homepage to find the youtube videos which saves time. In addition, I can view my email, calendar, google reader, and blog all from this central location.

Thing # 11

I tried all the search tools suggested to find newsfeeds. I thought they were all easy to use. First, I tried to search for blogs with information about the Reading Street series. I couldn't find any new sites even though I used the search tools. The search results included some newsfeeds that didn't even mention the words reading or street. I decided to change my search to teaching and found several newsfeeds. I subscribed to a few of them including blogs about being an effective teacher and tips for classroom management. If I had to pick a search tool that I preferred, I would pick google blog search since it's easy to remember. Another way to subscribe to newsfeeds is to go directly to your favorite sites and look for orange icon that allows you to subscribe. I used this method to add my favorite sites that I use quite frequently.

Thing # 10

I have always heard the term RSS feed but never knew what it meant. RSS feeds makes life much easier and convenient. I have spent many hours checking websites for updates not knowing the information could be sent to me. I made a google account and started subscribing to all my favorite sites. RSS will definitely save me time. Teachers should also take advantage of the benefits RSS offers. I continuously search websites for new teaching ideas and resources. Learning from other teachers is the best resource. With RSS, teachers can subscribe to other teacher's websites and blogs to get new ideas to implement in their classroom. This will help both students and teachers time by condensing all their information sources in one place that doesn't require them to search for the information. Applications such as Google Reader is great for organizing the wealth of information.

Thing # 9

I created my “danger teacher at work” sign from www.dangersigngenerator.com. This was very simple to create. The website had templates from you to choose from. I picked a picture for the sign after deciding what type of sign I wanted (danger, warning, ect.). Then, I choose the color scheme and created the text to accompany the sign. The two other pictures were created from different websites. One website allows you to transform your pictures in many ways from putting them on a calendar to changing their body. I simply uploaded a picture of my dog and started clicking on the magazine covers.  I would use this website in my first grade classroom as a story starter for a writing activity. Students could create a story around the picture they created. This is a great way for them to practice using their imagination in their writing. I’m not sure if I could realistically use this website in the classroom because there were provocative photos on the website.  

http://www.fakemagazinecover.com/

http://www.fototrix.com/props/

Thing # 8

I decided to play with the Flickr mashup called “Spell with Flickr.” This was extremely easy to use. All you had to do it type in the text and it spelled out the text using different pictures. I love the way words look by using this application. I can see myself using this in my place of work. For example, I could use this for making headings for newsletters, bulletin boards, or websites. Each week, I create a spelling activity that I call letter tiles that has letters in boxes. Students cut and paste the letter tiles to make their spelling words. I am going to use this application to make my letter tiles for next week’s spelling assignment. I think the varying pictures will keep my first graders interest more than if I use the plain font. I feel you shouldn’t post photos online if you don’t want everyone to see it. You can put privacy settings on photos, but I generally don’t post anything I wouldn’t want the whole world to see.