Final thoughts....

I do not intend this to be my last post. I enjoy blogging, and now that this assignment is over the restrictions are lifted. I feel that I have the freedom to say and write about whatever I want to and incorporate this into my teaching career, education, and personal life.

This program has affected my lifelong learning goals because it truly made me realize the importance technology has and will continue to play in our lives.  Technology is not only important in our own personal lives but the lives of our students as well. As a teacher it is important that we are able to connect and relate to what our students are learning, not only at school, but at home, in the media, and in technology.

There are so many wonderful resources available to teachers that we have no excuses. I don't want to ever make my students sit through a "boring" class I want our classes to truly be learning experiences where they LOVE what they are learning and find it fascinating and interesting. I think that the internet and technology is making that possible!

I will keep up with developments in web 2.0 but using the websites and resources I have learned here on this very blog! I will check in with the teacher social media networks I have joined. I will use Feedly, Facebook, and Pintrest to browse teacher and education groups. I can simply Google developments in web 2.0 occasionally and I know that the newest technology will be the top hits that I should check out. I can even come back here to this website and see what new assignments you have for students to accomplish!

Thing 23 Last but not least

The APSU 23 things blog was created under a creative commons license. This is evident by simply exploring the websites it is based off of:
Learning 2.0- 23 things
K-12 Learning 2.0

Understanding Creative Commons licensing is a very special tool for educators. We can "borrow" ideas from others, but we don't have to re-create it exactly like the original. We can still add some of our own creativity, as long as we follow the rules of the CC license. This is much more ideal compared to how you would normally reference someone else's work, since sometimes the original doesn't exactly fit our needs as teachers. Just like in this project, the APSU site keeps the same "backbone" but is very different, so that it fits APSU's students' needs more appropriately.

Thing 22

There are so many reasons why staying organized is necessary as a teacher. A lot of time is spent filing papers but this is not necessary with livebinders. Livebinders allows you to electronically store any important information all in one binder and organize it by tabs with useful links. Links to learning and education allows the teacher to communicate with parents and students virtually. My link below is a livebinder I created which includes 3 tabs a link to my blog, link to a newsfeed related to my subject taught, and a link to games. I will utilize livebinders in the future, its free, and keeps subjects/topics organized.

http://www.livebinders.com/edit?id=1153942

Thing 21 Almost there I think.....

Animoto is a creative and entertaining tool. I enjoyed making my 30 second video of 10 photos, my  theme was set for a celebration. Animoto is easy to use and link with a facebook account to retrieve the photos you want to use. Signup was free all you need is a valid email, once you are finished with your video you can publish it to a blog, facebook, twitter, and email. Animoto is a great tool for special occasions, projects, and links to social networking!

My link is below...check it out!




http://animoto.com/play/JfUSR1gAfhsLnYv1YYjd2g

Thing 20 Youtube

I utilize YouTube just as much as I Google, on a daily basis. YouTube, and Teacher Tube is a great resource and informational tool. I filter and lookup videos on the tube that are related to my interests with hobbies, tutorials, and knowledge based videos. YouTube is great for entertainment and educational purposes. This video is a timeline of technology over many years, its remarkable to see the progress technology has made in our lives. No matter 5, 10, or 100 years as technology grows teaching is enhanced.

Thing 19 Social World

The social media is another world that allows you to follow your interests. After exploring Web 2.0 and all the media sites available for educators, it encouraged me to join so I can stay updated on the latest technology, trainings, conferences, and discussions. I also enjoy Pinterest to get and share ideas for my hobbies and its a great teacher tool. Its important to stay involved with social networks and be a leader creating your own blog to share your experiences. You can be a follower learn new things and be a leader teaching new things to others.

Thing 18 Twitter

This was my first experience with Twitter, I was uneasy about creating an account because I am partial to Facebook. When I created my Twitter it prompted me to add follow specific interests of mine, so I added education news, teacher pages, and children pages this was a blend to stay updated with my profession. Twitter allows you to set up lists and add certain people. This would be a great tool for the classroom with students to engage in discussions and for the work place to update on sales. Twitter can relate to any real life social experience and expands our communication for both personal and business usage.

In addition the logo is really cute!
Find me @CandiceRivera2
 

Thing 17 Delicious

I am familiar with social networking and tagging pictures mainly from Facebook. I've never ventured out to any other social networking sites. All these tools support other sites and they have much more to offer! I created an account with delicious and I will never use my favorites on my toolbar again, this site allows you to bookmark and search the most related websites from a tag. You can access this account from any computer unlike the favorites on the toolbar. After I joined Delicious, I searched educational technology and a link associated with it was Technology Integration Matrix. Some of the tags were: technology, web 2.0, and other education resources. There were not any comments but a good amount of tags. This website really allows others to scaffold your ideas, another collaboration tool that would be useful teaching!

Thing 16 Symbaloo

Being organized is a necessity of being productive. I created a free account with Symbaloo, this site offers all your business/personal needs in one location on the world wide web. Organization saves time, reduces stress, and allows the person to work efficiently. Symbaloo makes it simple to add important sites to one page and the user can drag/drop items to organize them in a way that is convenient and practical. Symbaloo acts as a virtual desktop that can be accessed anywhere.

Thing 15 Wikis

The only wiki I ever heard of was Wikipedia so learning more about what wiki's have to offer was interesting. Wiki's are compared to newspapers as the content is updated daily and can be changed from any source. That would explain the reason we cant use Wikipedia for research papers because the content could be based off opinion instead of fact! In addition anybody can add anything to the page, in the past teachers have always told us not to use Wikipedia as a source for research. But when referring to a wiki space this is a great tool if used for other reasons. I think wiki's would be a link for open communication in a classroom to connect students, teachers, and parents with entries on daily events. The wiki automatically time stamps activity so there would be a footprint left of the people that changed and added content. Teachers and parents could filter through the wiki space to keep connected on daily activities, lesson plans, upcoming events, and anything else important in the class.

Thing 14 Mindmaps, Flowcharts

I created a Mind map of my Unit Plan due. Mind mapping helps gather and organize information needed to complete the assignment. It works like brainstorming, a rough draft to help organize information into a tree pattern. Its a great way to visualize the parts of an assignment broken down into pieces. You can see both the small and bigger picture with mind maps. The flow chart serves the same purpose. Below is an example of my mind map I created as a checklist to verify I have everything included in my assignment.

 

Thing 13

Google drive offers everything Microsoft Office has the only difference is its FREE. We all like free things especially when its applications for spreadsheets (excel), documents (word), presentations (PowerPoint), drawing, and so much more. Google drive offers it all in one place, store your information and share it with the world! Google drive is a great tool to collaborate with parents, students, coworkers, and family. It opens a link to communication on a new level by sharing files both the creator and the viewer can make changes and collaborate at the same time. The only cons this product has is the privacy and it does not integrate with the actual Microsoft office bundle. So if you are strictly using Google docs for collaboration within the program then it has so much potential otherwise a preference for office may arise. I tried Zoho and its a copy of Google drive, when it comes to preference I will always go with Google just because of the branding name.

Thing 12 Google

I love Google as a search engine but discovering Google has so much more to offer with alerts I subscribed to daily alerts related to News/Education and Books/New York Bestsellers. I also played around with Google Translate its a great link to communication in the classroom with ESL learners. The Google calendar can be a great way to notify parents with any important dates for homework, tests, meetings, etc. Google is mainly known as a search engine but it offers so much more a link to communication with blogs, email, and download applications with Earth. Google is a verb an action word that can create and do so many things beyond searching! 

Thing 11

RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication' and its beneficial to the user if you search the same websites multiple times a day and if you want to follow blogs to keep updated. I enjoyed searching Technorati, its user friendly because it condenses the material search to related information. I searched through many education blogs, I added health and children to my search and I was intrigued. These tools to blogs and saving them to RSS feeds provides information overload on any topic you want to read about. The link between health and children focused on Too much TV and other alternatives to encourage children to be active.

Thing 10 Rss Reader

RSS reader is a way to organize your favorite informational tools and choose automatic updates. Its a newsfeed to keep you posted about current events, news, and interests. On my feedly I added all 5 of the recommended sites. In addition, I added a 6th site for Education Weekly. I see myself in the future utilizing this tool and adding many more sites to read and enjoy. This site can be used for professional, and personal interests with all your favorite things in one place.

Thing 9 Online Generator

http://www.bodyswitcher.com/

I created an astronaut with my face. Starting a lesson with this picture would engage students and make it a personal experience. They could journal a story along with the picture presented.

http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/

Posting this announcement on the smart board would be a great greeting to the student on their birthday.

Thing 8 Flickr FUN

Flickr is a fun tool, I created a puzzle of my cat. Puzzles can be made of any image, and this can be used when teaching any subject. If you are studying Social Studies/maps, Math/numbers, Reading/spelling, Science/animals. Spell with flickr is great for spelling words or to highlight key terms. There are so many options with flickr, it takes a picture and transforms it into a learning, and social experience.
          

Thing 7 Flickr

 

A picture says a thousand words! This sunset picture was taken over the summer while camping at the lake. If I were to describe this picture, the colors and intensity of the light is just enough to calm the soul and the sun is an inspirational fire in the sky. I'm not a professional photographer but I was able to capture a beautiful moment in time. Exploring Flickr I discovered millions of photos from all over the world. My favorites were the photos shared of nature and animals. I will consider using Flickr in the future for personal and business usage. Its a great tool to store all your special moments for FREE and the option to share public or private. Personal use I would create a private group for my family and friends to share personal pictures; vacations, holidays, and other special moments. Business use as a teacher I could collect pictures on certain topics/subjects for lessons because a visual opens your eyes to imagine and think.

Thing 6 Exploration Web 2.0

The site/tool I selected from Web 2.0 is Path, share your background, education, experience with parents, students, and administration. We live in a "melting pot" society with different combined elements. Understanding teachers, students, families on a personal level can help us adapt to a diverse classroom. Path is a journal where you could log hobbies, education, experience, and goals to share with parents, students, and administration.

Thing 5 Web 2.0

Technology is ever changing and utilized daily in this generation. The web has changed significantly over the past decade, being used only for research and read. Nowadays we use the world wide web for searching, communicating, and sharing a ton of information. By implementing technology into the classroom it allows teachers to connect with the students on a new level.

Teachers 2.0 tied in several facts about Common Core and how web 2.0 helps with these standards. Teachers are underestimated considering the role they play as a parent, disciplinarian, nurse, comforter, protector, and safety net among many other things everyday. To be a teacher you have to hold a passion for your role. Teachers are under payed but the rewards of the job are priceless.

50 Web 2.0 tools shared useful links to FREE tools we can use for all the busy demands of teaching. All the tools are helpful, I explored Doodle. Doodle allows you to organize and manage your time through easy scheduling. Invitations can be set up to invite other teachers, parents, students to appointments, meetings, and conferences. Open communication and collaborating with teachers, parents, students brings up the morale and involvement in the classroom.

Thing 4 Comments

Comments are a great way to build a community around specific content and interact with the people involved. There are many advantages of a comment to share opinion, relate to topic, and provide supportive feedback to the blogger. Building business relationships through blogging is a great tool to earn recognition and gain a reputation. Blogs are a form of social networking when its used positively it can be very effective.

I commented on 5 of my classmates:

Carrie Ingram's Thing #12, I agree Google is my Go to for almost anything! Google's format is so simple and easy to use. A few facts about Google, it was launched out of a dorm room in 98, it employs 32,000 people, processes one billion searches a day, and earns the U.S. over 30 billion a year! Google is a very powerful tool that everybody uses daily.

Pamela Wood's Thing #3, In addition to a child being absent, posting video lectures through a blog can also be implemented in flipping the classroom. This instructional technique could be used for homework, assignments, and projects that require more cooperative learning in a classroom setting. Special needs students can benefit from flipping the classroom because they get more one-on-one with teacher/students. I think flipping the classroom is beneficial sometimes depending on content and expectations.

Joya Threalkill's Thing #4, Blogging is a form of social networking it can cause social anxiety and social acceptance. Comments are an important way to provide feedback positive/negative to enhance the blogging experience. Opening links to communication breaks down those barriers and creates a stronger community. Once you get acquainted with blogging you will open up more with commenting. Blogging involves the writer and the reader, by leaving your comment you make a difference.

Debra Millan's Thing #4, It's important to be an active participant instead of a passive observer because it gives support to the writer of the blog. The writer can connect with the reader when feedback/comments are provided. Great idea to return a comment on a person's blog that commented on yours.

Davie Wallace's Thing #1, I can totally relate to her easy/hard habits. I believe begin with the end in mind is easy because there are many roads to travel that lead to the same destination. I tend to be a very serious person and I like to be in control, so play is hard for me as well. I believe each easy/hard habit can be broken/created and these habits can be our weakness/strengths depending on how we teach.

The outside blogs I commented on were:

The Principals Page (http://www.principalspage.com/theblog/archives/parents-just-say-no/comment-page-1#comment-41162), this blog was interesting from a principals perspective. The principal is wise and set in his ways but addresses a valid point to say "no" when necessary to children. Its our role as parents and teachers to provide discipline for children so when they grow into the real world they have self-control to make the best decisions. This was not sugarcoated, I agree that we can give an E for effort but not a trophy for every child and by saying "no" sets boundaries for our children to learn about our world.

Regurgitated Alpha Bits (http://regurgitatedalphabits.blogspot.com/2012/10/homewhat.html) This blog was called "homewhat" the teacher does not believe in homework! Homework is considered a tradition but its not necessary. Class time is utilized for formative assessment to provide feedback a the students need during class time, this assessment can be through small groups, discussions, projects and so much more.

Thing 1 Habits

Thing 1: Easy/Hard Challenges

I can relate to all these 7 1/2 habits portrayed by lifelong learners! There were many habits associated with lifelong learning that I find quite easy. If I had to pick one, I believe that beginning with the end in mind is the easiest habit for me.  I am constantly making goals for myself, and holding myself accountable to reach those goals. I find that setting expectations and standards helps me accomplish more. I hope to teach my students how to set goals, and that follow through to reach those goals is important. The habit that I find the hardest is play because I am a serious person and I like to be in control. I can enhance learning through play in the classroom with designed structured activities to relate to real world experiences. Children learn best through play because they can use their imagination and problem solve hands on. All these habits support each other in some way and if a habit is your weakness you can apply it as a strength.  All these habits can be easy and hard depending on how you apply your teaching skills to overcome the challenges.

 

Thing 3 Discovering

Technology is at our fingertips everyday , by taking advantage of our resources we can communicate effectively with staff, students, and parents. A blog is a way to share information about any topic to assist the community. Within a school system its important to keep open communication with parents because it increases parent involvement which in turn benefits the student/teacher relationship. Teacher collaboration is important sharing ideas that encourage students to excel. Blogging allows teachers to reflect on their experiences for personal growth. Blogging is a powerful professional development tool and when we learn something new we are able to record it.

Thing 2 My Blog

This is my first blog ever! Creating this blog was easy and it is user friendly. Since this is my first blog I kept my name and avatar simple. I'm being optimistic blogging because it will allow me to reflect and journal my thoughts. On the path to being a teacher, I am open to reading and writing in the blogging world. Parents, teachers, and students can connect through blogging it opens up a new perspective on communication.