#5 Tool

Help!  Has anyone tried to use any of these animation tools or word tools at home?  I can't seem to get any of them to work.  I have used wordle, flickr, and huge labs before when I did 23 things, but they are not working tonight.  I will try again tomorrow, but I was just wondering if any one else was having the same problems???

Well, I finally got wordsift, google docs and blogger (obviously) to work.  I will still work on the others because they look like fun, but never got them working for me.  I have used blogger in my classroom by posting a blog of books that I thought students might have some interest in on my blog and have them comment.  That worked out well, but I think that I might try something more aggressive this year like a class blog or have students create their own blog and comment on others in the class.  I haven't exactly thought the whole thing through yet, so if you have ideas let me know.  I will look at other teacher's blogs so I can see what they are doing and maybe try out their ideas with blogs too!

I really liked the wordsift.  I have seen it before.  I think it would be a really good tool to use when teaching vocabulary words.  It may be too time consuming when you are introducing new words to use it for each one, but you may be able to use it as an example with one or two so they can use the tool at home.  It may even make a good project or study aid.  I wasn't able to embed it in my blog, so I don't have an example of it.  I am going to continue to work on that tomorrow too.

I tried wordsift while introducing vocabulary today.  It is blocked on the SBISD website, so I went to the virtual thesaurus and used that instead.  The students really liked it.  The only problem is that it only lets you view a few words before it makes you subscribe for a fee.

Yay!  I finally got my #5 tools to work!  Google Chrome didn't work, but Internet Explorer did.  Thanks for the idea Dana.  I never would have thought about that.  So, my picture from Big Labs is above and my Wordle is a gadet to the side.  I hope you enjoy these tools too!

#4 Tool

I composed both a document and a form in google docs and shared it with members of my team.  In the document, I shared some common terms I was using to teach a concept and asked them which ones they were using and asked them to add or edit the document.  I created the beginning of a multiple choice test in google forms and asked members of my team to add questions to it.  I can see that this can be a great way to share information with less effort and to collaborate on group assignments both as teachers with teachers (as I have done) or projects for students to collaborate.  I am excited to see how this little "experiment" works with my team and I can see how we can use it for students to collaborate on our upcoming research project.

#3 Tool

Here is one of the youtube videos that I found to help me teach a lesson this week.  We are teaching students how to read dramas effectively and comparing them to the finished product of a movie.  We read the script of the original "The Prince and the Pauper" last week.  We read about this movie in our textbook, but we do not have it on dvd at SBMS, so I found it on youtube.

I learned that most items found on the web can be used for teacher/student use if it is used for teaching and if we don't use whole whole works, but only portions of a work.  In Language Arts, we will be researching next nine weeks.  I will probably use the youtube video embedded in our 11 Tools to teach the students what they can and can not use in researching and creating projects.

I found pictures that I could use in the classroom, but I had trouble using them.  I am not sure if the program was having trouble or it was just me.  I will revisit it again another day and see what happens.  I have used Flickr and Picasca before as you can see on my blog, I just couldn't get them to work today.

#2 Tool

 I really enjoyed reading other teacher's blogs.  I wasn't able to visit the SBMS community, so I looked at blogs from other schools.  I read blogs from teachers who have already finished their "11 Tools" and commented on the blog entries that I liked.  It was fun catching up with other teachers and reading about their progress with the 11 tools.  It was encouraging to read the blogs of the teachers who were finished.  I hope they answer my comments.

I really don't care for the social bookmarking.  I don't know if it is the fact that I can't see the benefit or that I am stuck using the "old way" of bookmarking.  I follow several blogs.  I really like Cindy's blog called "Now Read This"  I think it is a good way for Language Arts teachers to keep up with all the new books for our students.  Thanks Cindy!  I plan on visiting Atomic Learning to learn more about technology in the classroom.https://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/login/springbranchisd

#1 Tool:

Well, here is my blog.  I have created one before, so it was pretty easy.  I also created a voki, but I liked my old avatar better so I am using it instead.  One thing that I learned by using the technology tools is to save your passwords in one place that you will remember.  I chose to save mine in my google docs.  Looking forward to checking out everyone's blog!

Thing #23

Thoughts on 23 Things....

I really enjoyed learning about all of the FREE technology on the internet. This was by far one of my favorite inservices ever. I learned so much and have so much information to go back to school and implement into my lesson plans. One thing that I am really excited about is going back to Library2Play to use a resource. Sometimes I just can't think of a fun or exciting way to present or end a lesson. There are so many new and refreshing ideas. I can't wait to use them!

Q&A:

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I think that personally were my favorites were the online generators, but there are so many favorites it is hard to choose.
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I really want to stay informed on technology that is out there not just for teaching, but for me personally. I really feel like I have come away from this inservice with information to use in my personal life as well as to use creatively in teaching. I will probably use all of the google tools and picture applications like snap fish in my personal life. I have commented all along on ideas that I have had to use this techology in my teaching.
Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I really didn't expect to come away with so much information! It is more of the quanitity that surprised me! There were applications that I knew I would learn like Photostory, but others like the wikis and rollyos that I had no idea how to use.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
It would be helpful if there was a little more feedback. There were times that I was really stuck. It would have been nice to have someone to help. Maybe there were opportunites that I was not aware.
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities? Absolutely! Hands-on

Thing #22:

Nings



The thing about Nings is that there are so many social networks out there that it is just too hard to belong to more than one out there. It is way too much to keep up with at one time. I had a myspace and a facebook page at the same time so I could keep up with my daughter and it was just too much. I just don't know how people do it all!