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.