Thing 4- Blogs

I have been reading blogs for several years. I like to read about how one person develops knitting patterns and about how another writer simplifies their life. I have not really searched for any specific type of blog, but I have read ones sent to me by friends. As I have read the blogs assigned and looked for others I have decided that blogs are like books, some are what I am looking for, some are interesting occasionally, and others just make me want to scream!

People write for different reasons. Some are self indulgent and just want to share their every thought. Some write to solve a problems or to document a journey of some sort. I like the writers that want to share their experiences. It is fun to see  dialogue develop on a blog. A group of people connect with the writer and share their ideas. Reading and adding comments lets the readers and the writers connect.

Blogs could be used to connect students in other places and to share their learning with each other. I am thinking about a current events blog for science or social studies. It will be interesting to set up the parameters and see how the students work it out! 

Thing 23 and beyond

I never thought I would finish this! Now it seems to have zipped by and I am still reading my Google Reader and surfing thought Classroom 2.0. I am very excited with most of the “things” I have done and I have a journal full of ideas to tinker with over the summer. I have found some groups to be involved with and hope to video cast with a classroom in another state next year.  I am not sure I could list everything I am excited about from this class, but I know that I will be using what I learned for a long time. Thanks, all of my flamingos are standing at attention for you, Stacy!

THing 22- NING

I am having a great time on Ning for education. I have found great information( see Digital Storytelling Teacher’s Guide and look at Grading online quizzes created with Google Doc) . I am looking for a blog or post I want to get involved it but i just keep finding snippets of information I want to gather for myself!  I liked Classroom 2.0 more. It seems more organized and user friendly. NING seemed more  like one shot responses to questions.

I love all of the groups in Classroom 2.0 and have joined both a Classroom 2.0 beginner group and and Elementary 2.0 group. I am looking for ways to use all of this in my classroom. I am not the best at envisioning a brave new world but I can copy the heck out of any great ideas I see! I think that both of these groups are a great way for me to start. I see all sorts of possibilities for myself in this.

I don’t think that open social networks are a good thing for third graders. But the use of a network for my class or school is fabulous. So here is another thing I need to play with for next year!!!

Thing 20- Google docs

WOW! I seem to say that a lot, but Google docs has my  mind spinning with ideas for the classroom. My students may have a computer and some have Internet connection but few have access to Microsoft software. They can use the word processing or presentation software to work together on presentations for class. I could create a worksheet with the forms and place it on the class website to be worked on by students.

Google docs would be a good way to share the work on curriculum maps and lesson plans. I like the idea of being able to access a document from any computer.

Thing 19- Video Sharing

I thought that this video would be a good way to start considering we just finished the CRCT. My class loved this and we have practiced the dance. I think that I will save this to use next year before the madness begins. It would b fun to come up with a class video to put on Teacher Tube. I will have to think about what to do.

I could spend hours looking through You Tube and Teacher Tube. I found some fun math videos and School House Rock Preamble (My favorite from years ago!)Ii really enjoyed all of the knitting and other craft videos. You can learn to do anything here. Then I got really serious and started looking for flamingos. Ii have included links to my favorite videos and have embedded one for your viewing pleasure…..

I have also included links to some of my big finds.

Math Mad Easy: Long Division

Schoolhouse Rock: The Preamble

Estonian Cast on for knitting

Thing 21- Page Flakes

Once again I have become overwhelmed with available technology. I looked through the flakes available and I couldn’t just choose 5 or 6 flakes, I wanted 20! I love the idea of having all of this available for myself, but I am not sure how I would use this effectively for the third grade.

I did like the idea of using a them and thought that this may be the way I use page flakes next year. Each January I have my students do an informational writing on a species of penguin. A page that includes RSS feeds from news media, National Geographic, live videos of penguin colonies, and specie specific information would be great attached to my classroom page.

Right now, even the educational template is too busy for me to use as a classroom page. I will try a reference page attached to my classroom page. Personally, i I working on a page with all my favorite things!

Thing 7C Google Reader

I have finally gotten used to skimming my Google Reader subscriptions.I have deleted several and added many more. I have gotten the most out the subscriptions that give me things that I can use in the classroom. My current favorite is from Cool Cat Teacher Blog. The new site is call ClassTools.net and it carries game templates. Games called dustbin, lights off, arcade generator and on and on. There are games that other teachers have generated that you an use and get ideas from. I have a new list of things I want to try as soon  as the CRCT is over!You must visit this site! I even bookmarked it to my Delicious account.

The third article I liked was Google Earth in Science Class by Stephen W. Anderson. He gives great ideas about what is available through Google Earth and how it would fit with the science curriculum. Try it!

Thing 17-Podcasts

I discovered podcasts  two Christmases ago when Santa bought me an ipod Since I am very web curious and very cheap I experimented with all the ways that I could gather free items for my ipod. Podcasts are free!

I have subscribed to podcasts about using tech stuff, math, knitting, and Diane Gabaldon (my current favorite author). They are great to listen to on the way home and are a lot like using the Google Reader. You listen to what you want, keep what you want and delete the rest. I even tried to learn Spanish from a podcast. Itune University has gathered thousands of podcast (audio and video) from international colleges and businesses. It takes time to wade through everything but once you figure out the areas that you want to pursue, it’s worth it.

One of my favorite podcasts is The Math Dude Quick and Dirty Tips to Make Math Easier. I use this to find new ways to explain concepts to my students.

My current favorite writer is Diana Gabaldon. Her Outlander series is historical fiction at its best. Her podcast is about the act of writing more than about her specific books.

Then, I love knitting and Knit Pick’s gives great information about currents book, trends, and how tos.

So, I suggest you look for things you really like personally first. Then once you get used to how to gather and listen, then try to find some for school. Have fun!

Thing 16- The Library Thing

I don’t really understand the interest in the Library Thing. I don’t want to keep a list of all the books I read and I am not sure that I want to see other people’s lists. I might be interested in looking a book reviews occasionally, but I can look on Amazon or Barnes and noble and get that into. I guess that not liking one out of 16 Things  is a pretty good record for the activities of this class!

Thing 15- Delicious

I have spent the last three days playing with my new Delicious account! I of course went right to uploading my own bookmarks and (thanks to the up front on keeping some private, Stacy) I started keeping all of my bookmarks private, there was a place to check  and then I went through each one. I started with 286 and weeded it down to a mere 134. I would never have cleaned up my own bookmarks without this assignment.  So thanks for that!

Then I played with my tags for school stuff, interactive sights, smart board, test prep. WOW! This is better than Google search. After playing around with that I started checking out tags for my hobbies: knitting, e books, beaches. This is a great way to find things, that or specific your tag is the closer you’ll get to what you are looking for. This will keep me from all night searches for specific standard lessons and interactive games for class. Delicious is my new obsession.