Thing Twenty-Three

Thing Twenty-Three

I feel like the skills I have learned through this course will allow me to be more comfortable with technology in the classroom, in allowing for more than the minimal experience. Instead of simply going to the computer lab to research atopic and type up a response, I feel now that I might be able to attempt a mini-blog type assignment. I may still be a little apprehensive, but that is to be expected with something new and different.

I would like to implement the use of blogging to some extent as a response tool. I still feel that students need to have some skill at traditional writing. There are many real world experiences in which traditional writing skills are still expected, and too many of our students do not have those skills. We need to take care to have a good balance of response methods for them to use in our classrooms.

Another activity that I have already begun to use is collaborative documents. I began to use these this spring at work as I accumulated student names for Spring Awards. It was fun to see if they really worked for me as I sent the lists along. They got where they needed to be!

I will try to keep up with Facebook, if only to see what my own children are doing.  Twitter, I’m not so sure. I think that may take a little too much valuable time that is really too much a valuable commodity for me.

Take aways? I still know that there is a lot more technology out there than I am ready to tackle. I also know that I am capable of tackling a lot more than I was a few weeks ago.   It’s all about progress. J

Thing Four

In completing Thing 4, I see a definite value in organizing all of the feeds of which I might want to keep track, rather than going out and searching for things constantly. I know that just in setting up the feeds alone, I spent way too much time searching around; this is one of the real downfalls of so much information being out there. You can so easily get bogged down in the searching for the sake of searching alone. That being said, it is definitely a good way in which to organize and stream your information.

Thing Five

Thing Five

We see students who are reeling from results of what we are discussing in Thing Five on a daily basis. At the middle school level, students are adept at interacting in social media settings and texting, and they often do this interacting without thinking about what happens after they hit the "send" button. We have all hit that button with regret at some point or other, with that "Oh, no!" just as soon as we have done so. One of the videos I watched talked about TONE; this is something that students don't understand yet but is something that holds such meaning in messages as people read them. I know that I make a point of rereading messages to be sure that they have tone that won't be "misheard."

Who should be teaching students digital citizenship? I suppose that every teacher who asks students to accomplish a task using computers should be doing this. If we are asking them to use the tool, we should teach them how to do this appropriately. They should know digital etiquette, just as if we expected them to behave in public. We, as teachers and parents, should abide by those same standards. Children really do learn by example.

I found a cool thing in my search during Thing Five that does its own take on the Ten Commandments; this has much of the same idea we are discussing here in this Thing.  I would like to share it here.

Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics

 1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.

 2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.

 3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.

 4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.

 5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.

 6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.

 7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.

 8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.

9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write or the system you design.

10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration of and respect for your fellow humans.

Barquin, Dr. Ramon C. "Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics." Online posting. Educator's World: The Educator's Best Friend. Educator's World: The Educator's Best Friend. Linda Starr, 14 July 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2012.

Continue to surf in good conscience!

Thing Twenty-One

Thing Twenty-One

http://theschedule.wikispaces.com-One

This is a wiki under construction. It could service a purpose similar to the calendars posted on my website at school. I think a difference in my feeling about a wiki as opposed to a blog is that it feels as if there is a little less control with the wiki; others are able to make changes to the wikis. I rather like control of my work. That pretty much answers the last question as well; it all boils down to control….

Thing Twenty

Thing Twenty

I found a couple of wikis listed kind of interesting. There was one called “wikiHow” that had link to all kinds of how-to pages. It was kind of fun. Another was one I have used in the classroom, Google Earth; this allows us to locate many places on the planet. It gives students real experience with coordinates and locations, spatial experiences they wouldn’t normally have.

What hurdles might stand in the way of your using a wiki? One of the biggest hurdles in most buildings is getting access to a computer lab.  Most teachers need to get into the labs, and they will only spread so thin.

Another hurdle is that as the only teacher in the lab with a class of 30 students, it is often difficult to get to all the students who need help within the hour(s) we have the lab reserved to get the work accomplished. Inevitably, there are several students who need help during the session.

 To be honest, at this point, I am not really sure about creating my own wiki.

What would it take to remove the hurdles? More money for computer labs in the school or for each classroom would be good starters.

Thing Ninteen

Thing Nineteen

I have seen details about podcasts to be presented but never really looked much into them. I know school district administrators forward some of these podcasts on to us to watch if they find them important to their agendas. As I watched the information being presented, I found there were several of the podcasts mentioned that were very helpful to the students I teach every day. There are many of these podcasts that I would like to use and probably many more than I will ever possibly be able to use.

“National Geographic Podcasts” looks like a terrific place to send students for global connections. It even has a spot where you may choose a photo that turns the photo into a jigsaw puzzle. My mother is a puzzler and would even love these!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day – I really like how this adds to vocabulary. It’s a boost for anyone’s vocab background to add a new word each day.

 iZoofari Audio Tours from the San Diego Zoo – This one allows some great on-site experiences at this terrific zoo. This, and “Storynory,” are podcast connections I would recommend for my grandchildren for fun-filled, educational experiences.

<div style="width:425px" id="__ss_12989237"> <strong style="display:block;margin:12px 0 4px"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/pistachio/whither-twitter-12989237" title="Whither Twitter?" target="_blank">Whither Twitter?</a></strong> <iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/12989237?rel=0" width="425" height="355" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="padding:5px 0 12px"> View more presentations from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/pistachio" target="_blank">Laura "@pistachio" Fitton</a> </div> </div>

Thing Eighteen

What I liked about this presentation was that it applied to something we had recently discussed in one of our "Things." We had been asked to explore Twitter and sign up for this. While Twitter is still something of a mystery of sorts (since I really won't have a lot of time to play around with it a lot until school is over), this is just one more piece to add to the collection, helping to explain it a bit.

Slideshare could be used, I think, in much the same way that I use United Streaming, if I understand what I am reading correctly. My understanding is that as long as you have signed up for Slideshare, you are able to borrow any of the presentations, as well as add your own to the collections. This might help add to the ideas you already have, adding to your arsenal. Out of the classroom, I think you could post home movies of your grandkids or your pets. Everyone, of course, would want to see those!

What did you like about the presentation you embedded? How might Slideshare be useful in the classroom? out of the classroom?

Thing Seventeen  

We have actually been asked to use Livebinders at work recently. I am part of a group of team leaders who met a month or so ago, and we were shown this just a bit and asked to begin using this so we could share files and communicate with one another concerning curriculum. It’s one of those things that I have been putting off until the summer so that I can really have time to explore it the way I really want to, to know the ins and outs of how to work the program.

Thing Sixteen

Professionally, I have already begun to use this tool. I used the spreadsheet function in constructing the awards lists required for the year-end broo-ha-ha in the building. I needed to put the list together, and I had just read about using the Google Docs tools; I thought, “Well, why not? “ It would work or not…  It seems to have worked just fine. Go figure. J

Thing Fifteen

I am really excited about the epals opportunity that I found during this Thing. I would be able to locate classrooms from all over the world, and then my students and/or I could communicate with them via e-mail. Since we study cultures across the globe, that is a very exciting prospect!

T hing Fourteen

Down into our reading, it said that many people were beginning to use Diigo rather than Delicious, so that is the option I chose to register in. My name there is daholmes. That being said, for the time being, I am simply registered without anything tagged for a lot of reasons. This is something that I will come back to at a time when I have more time or when I truly have a need to tag items for using them for school.

I do think this could be useful as I find sites that I am using for school information. I am always finding things then either forgetting them or adding them to my favorites. As the video said, that gets a little messy after a while. This looks like it may help clean this up a bit, which, in turn, does enhance productivity.

Thing Thirteen

Of the applications I encountered in Thing Thirteen, Facebook is probably the one that interests me the most. My family, here and away, uses it as a tool, and this makes it a tool that would help me stay connected with them a little more or a little differently.

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post or a response to someone else’s that I had a Facebook page set up at one other time, but I couldn’t remember the password, or I thought I knew it – and still think I did  :-)  - and they locked me out of the system. I had tried all of the routes they suggested, and none worked to retrieve information. The frustrating thing to me there was that there was no “customer service” to speak of to straighten it all out; you were just stuck.  Setting up this new page makes for a new opportunity to contact others across the miles since so many I know are distances away.

I think that social networking sites are so popular with the kids for a lot of reasons. When they are younger, they cannot drive. This allows them the opportunity to connect with their friends in a way that doesn’t require a car or a driver’s license. As they get older, it does the same, but it can expand those connections.

Students must always be aware of predators out there as they are taking on this technological world. They cannot assume they can put out all sorts of personal information and it won’t ever be seen by anyone but the one person to whom it is specifically being sent. The “networking” part of social networking doesn’t work that way. They must protect themselves and be careful about what they put out there for others to see.

They also need to be careful of the kinds of things they say to others or about others in networking. Things can easily get out of hand and even lead to violence because of one flip comment. Good friends can be lost forever because of one silly posting. Charges of cyber bullying may be filed because of words tossed about unthinkingly.

Social networking is a tool. It could be useful; it could be a valuable tool. It could be fun. It could be all of these, if it is used wisely.

Thing Twelve

Thing Twelve

I am getting more comfortable with the idea of embedding code; that doesn’t necessarily mean I am completely comfortable with the actual task of embedding it. I’m sure it’s something that will come with time and the ease of having accomplished this over several hundred episodes of usage. J

Do you belong to other online communities? Yes, and no. I joined Facebook a bit ago (probably about a year ago) when one of my daughters sent me something, wanting me to do this. I set up the initial page, revisited it once or twice over the next few months. I even added some pictures one of those two times. Then, of course, I couldn’t remember my password, and the powers that be at Facebook locked me out. I haven’t been able to find anyone to contact for help, so I am just locked out – although, they keep sending me notifications about all the friends I have who have this or that happening. Hmmmm  I’m not sure if relationships online can be as meaningful as face-to-face ones. There is not the same empathy in play through technology, and that is huge in relationships. Then again, people are often more open if they don’t have to face the person with whom they are speaking, so maybe there is a positive there.

Thing Eleven

Something I like about leaving comments on someone’s blog is that I am able to make what I might believe to be a valid addition to the conversation concerning the topic being discussed. It can certainly be a continuing conversation among people or communities, and that is something that I do like.

Something I dislike is that nearly anyone can comment on your blog, unless you’ve placed safeguards that allow you to determine what comments are posted/not posted. Some of these comments, posted or not, could potentially be inappropriate, which could be upsetting, and in the viewing of children, more than that.

I think this has become more important for online communities because more of what we do is via online communities rather than face-to-face. It used to be that we would go to the university and sit through hours of classes, but we now will most likely complete those classes through an online experience, making the communities an important interactive experience. This will also hold true, as time goes on, for our students, as they share their writings interactively in online communities.

Thing Ten

This video I selected because, first of all, I thought it was a very captivating video to watch. It gives us information about how our world’s population is changing every second, whether we think about it or not.

I also chose this one because I could actually use it in my classroom as we talk about population during our class curriculum. I had previously pulled up the population clock from the internet, which showed the students numerical data, and they were captivated, but this would give them a much more visually impressive portrayal of what the population changes really mean.

Also able to download a video?

Thing Nine

YouTube seems to be one of those never ending fountains of resources. There is information about nearly every topic you might want or need – and then there is information about just about every topic you might not.  That could be considered a like and a dislike. There, again, are so many options that you could be looking for quite some time before you notice how long you’ve been there. A downside I found was wading through the inappropriate material.

There is much that could be useful for school. In fact, our entire building is showing the same YouTube video about bullying tomorrow. Our district does have restrictions on YouTube, so things like this have to be “reconfigured” in order to be used.

Thing Eight

In completing Thing Eight, I was very interested to see some of the options available when I began to explore them. I spent some time with Flickr Color Pickr and Flickr montage, as well as played a little Flickr Memry.  I was totally psyched to find a link that would get me to all things purple ~ and then it wouldn’t cooperate to allow me to do anything with it beyond clicking on the colors. I thought the mantage would be fun to use for family photos, for the dogs pictures, and even for pictures of concepts we are using in class, tying those together in one place for the students. Again, no success. I thought the Memry game would be great for the grandkids; they would get a kick out of playing a game like this with pictures of themselves in it. 

So, I played with these and played with them and…. I was excited about what I had found. This was at the first. I spent several hours, over two days (because I put it away and went to bed, thinking that would help) and was still left frustrated because I couldn’t accomplish what I set out to do. Even admitting that is difficult because I always finish what I begin. This will be an exception. It is one of those times in which I say that I need to move on.

Thing Seven

I think one of the biggest ways I might use Flikr in the classroom is to upload pictures of student work or students during classroom activities. These could then be placed into newsletters, blogs, websites, etc. for parents, communities, or any interested parties to view.

I think it could also be a good way of my posting pictures for students to view and respond for assignments, whether written or blogs. The possibilities are almost endless.

Issues I might face? I could find it difficult to come across photos in the area I want to use that are not copyrighted. That is partly what I ran up against with the time element in Thing Six; I was looking for something specific, and most of what I wanted was under the head of "Rights Reserved." Time is certainly not an element of which I have an overabundance.

Thing Six

I think it is an exceptionally easy thing to sit looking through pictures, or any information, on an internet site for hours if we let ourselves do this. The topic I chose, puppy dogs, I could look at for hours as I have this incredible weakness for animals. I would save every one of them if I could.

This is one of the many photos I found that resemble our dog in many ways. She is an unusual breed around here; I usually get one of those double-takes when I tell people what kind of dog she is.

Thing Three

I think that blogs could help support the work of my classroom in many ways. It could be an avenue of connection between myself and parents, both as a simple communication tool and as a message board. 

Blogging could also support our work in the classroom as students use this resource in accessing academics electronically, rather than using paper and pencil methods for everything they do. They could respond to a comment of the day or comment to something that is happening in current events. They could respond to a prompt, which would be the assignment's end, rather than a list of endless questions they needed to answer and I needed to read, then I could respond - or not. There is an endless realm of possibilities for this.

Concerns I have about educational blogging? There is always the possibility of someone misinterpreting what you are trying to accomplish in an electronic format. Face-to-face always  seems to be an easier way to read people. Another concern is in student responsibility; how will I know for sure who has truly completed the required work? These are just a few of those concerns.

Thing 2

I am participating in 23 Things for a variety of reasons. Some reasons are presonsal, and some are professional. There are a lot of things I must ask my own children to help me with when it comes to technological issues because I don't know how to solve the problems myself and I become frustrated.  My students are so much more advanced than I am and are able to follow through on tasks or problem-solve issues far beyond my reach.

I am hoping that by participating in 23 Things I will be able to be on a more even playing field with my students. If I am, we will be able to communicate in more ways than ever before, certainly we will be able to complete assignments and assessments in different avenues that are more interactive.  This is also a field in which others, such as parents, might be able to view how students are responding to the work at hand since it is open on the internet. That is one aspect that makes you stop and think about the ideas that you are posting in terms of appropriateness when there are many viewing your words.

I hope to learn the things that will allow me to do this. I also hope to learn how to get there without being frustrated along the way with not understanding how things work or don't work.