Sunday, August 24, 2008
Finally finished!
Well, I am happy to say that I have now completed all 24 Things even if I didn't do it before August 13. I'm really glad I stuck to it and have found several "things" I will definitely use again. Thanks to Shirley and Jen for offering it to us and for the words of encouragement. I would be willing to keep going if there is ever more.
Still catching up
Thing #39 Animoto
I'm so glad I went back and did this one! It is really alot of fun. I made a video of my daughter and her friends at the prom this past May. It really turned out cute even though I had some difficulty importing it to my blog. I can't wait to do more!
Thing # 45 Flow Charts
I signed up for this and received an invitation to join. Made a mini test chart about nothing really just to see how it worked. I think this would really be useful as an educational tool when you just can't find what you're looking for anywhere else. You could just make your own chart!
I'm so glad I went back and did this one! It is really alot of fun. I made a video of my daughter and her friends at the prom this past May. It really turned out cute even though I had some difficulty importing it to my blog. I can't wait to do more!
Thing # 45 Flow Charts
I signed up for this and received an invitation to join. Made a mini test chart about nothing really just to see how it worked. I think this would really be useful as an educational tool when you just can't find what you're looking for anywhere else. You could just make your own chart!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Catching up
Thing #36 PicNik
Had alot of fun dressing up my photos! I played around with colors, resizing, cropping and some other features. I made a before and after picture of my son, Tried to upload them to my blog, but I kept getting an internal error message.
Had alot of fun dressing up my photos! I played around with colors, resizing, cropping and some other features. I made a before and after picture of my son, Tried to upload them to my blog, but I kept getting an internal error message.
Catching up
I have now gotten to the end of the 23 things, but I am going back to catch up on a few I skipped.
Thing #32 OmniDrive
I have never been able to get this one to work. I was unable to link to it a few weeks ago when I first tried, so I skipped it to come back to later. Just tried it again and I still cannot link to the site. Did anyone successfully complete this one?
Thing #32 OmniDrive
I have never been able to get this one to work. I was unable to link to it a few weeks ago when I first tried, so I skipped it to come back to later. Just tried it again and I still cannot link to the site. Did anyone successfully complete this one?
Jott.com
Thing #44 Jott.com
Well, I set up the free account with Jott.com and recorded of couple of notes to myself. I can see where this would be useful since I entered my school email address and that's where I'm about to be most of the time. I could try entering doctor and dentist appointments outside of school and since the reminders would come to my school email, maybe I would remember them!
Well, I set up the free account with Jott.com and recorded of couple of notes to myself. I can see where this would be useful since I entered my school email address and that's where I'm about to be most of the time. I could try entering doctor and dentist appointments outside of school and since the reminders would come to my school email, maybe I would remember them!
Google Groups and Midi File
Things #42 and 43
Thing 42 - Google groups - I searched here for language arts groups -- felt a bit overwhelmed at what all came up. I looked around a few of them, but have to admit, it was just too much for me to sort through.
Thing 43 - Midi file - had fun playing around with this. Worked on my own version of "Here Comes the Sun" one of my favorite Beatles tunes. Can't see that I would ever use this, but someone teaching music or really interested in music could find this useful.
Thing 42 - Google groups - I searched here for language arts groups -- felt a bit overwhelmed at what all came up. I looked around a few of them, but have to admit, it was just too much for me to sort through.
Thing 43 - Midi file - had fun playing around with this. Worked on my own version of "Here Comes the Sun" one of my favorite Beatles tunes. Can't see that I would ever use this, but someone teaching music or really interested in music could find this useful.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Retroland and Live Mocha
Thing #40 Retroland
Retroland was a fun site to play around in. Can't see myself using it again, but it was fun to revisit some of the things of my past. Recognized some of the popular groups in high school -- Cheap Trick, Abba and Journey. And toys -- I always wanted a big wheel.............
Thing #41 Live Mocha
This was really neat. I did the first spanish lesson. It was very easy since they show you the picture, let you hear the words spoken and give you the translation. Wish I has time to do the whole course!
Retroland was a fun site to play around in. Can't see myself using it again, but it was fun to revisit some of the things of my past. Recognized some of the popular groups in high school -- Cheap Trick, Abba and Journey. And toys -- I always wanted a big wheel.............
Thing #41 Live Mocha
This was really neat. I did the first spanish lesson. It was very easy since they show you the picture, let you hear the words spoken and give you the translation. Wish I has time to do the whole course!
Comic Relief
Thing #38 ToonDoo
ToonDoo is cute............one could spend a whole lot of time just reading all the different strips. I searched through the back to school ones, but finally found this one under library.
Pandora
Thing #37
Pandora is my new favorite thing! I'd heard people talking about it, but had never taken the time to explore it. I really like it! I typed in Keith Urban and enjoyed the selection of songs playing for the next 30 minutes. Now I open it every time I'm working on the computer.
Pandora is my new favorite thing! I'd heard people talking about it, but had never taken the time to explore it. I really like it! I typed in Keith Urban and enjoyed the selection of songs playing for the next 30 minutes. Now I open it every time I'm working on the computer.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Mini or micro blogging
Thing #35 Twitter
I signed up for a twitter account when working on Web 2.0 and have never used it again. I like it and think it is very user friendly, but just not something I will keep up with. For one thing, I don't know anyone else with a twitter account and I have enough trouble keeping up with my two email accounts and a flixster account where I have friends.
I signed up for a twitter account when working on Web 2.0 and have never used it again. I like it and think it is very user friendly, but just not something I will keep up with. For one thing, I don't know anyone else with a twitter account and I have enough trouble keeping up with my two email accounts and a flixster account where I have friends.
Fit Day
Thing #34 Using the web for better health
I signed up for a free account with FitDay. I like how they calculate the calories for you and then give you a graph of what percent is protein, fat, carbs, etc. Was surprised at how many carbs I eat! I did find it a little time consuming to pick out the foods, but I guess it might become easier the more you actually use it. I think I'll try using the food and activity diaries for a few days and see how hard it is to maintain. I have been a WebMD browser for some time now. There is really alot of information on that site and I believe it is more reliable than some health sites.
I signed up for a free account with FitDay. I like how they calculate the calories for you and then give you a graph of what percent is protein, fat, carbs, etc. Was surprised at how many carbs I eat! I did find it a little time consuming to pick out the foods, but I guess it might become easier the more you actually use it. I think I'll try using the food and activity diaries for a few days and see how hard it is to maintain. I have been a WebMD browser for some time now. There is really alot of information on that site and I believe it is more reliable than some health sites.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Online Art
Thing #33
Skipped thing #32 for now. Just finished playing around with Falling Sand. Have to admit, my son enjoyed playing it more than I did. He had already stumbled upon it and had played it before. Again, not much educational use, but mindless entertainment when you need a break.
Skipped thing #32 for now. Just finished playing around with Falling Sand. Have to admit, my son enjoyed playing it more than I did. He had already stumbled upon it and had played it before. Again, not much educational use, but mindless entertainment when you need a break.
Plaxo
Thing # 31
I really like the calendar feature on Plaxo. I created one and added a few events. I think I would like to try keeping up with this on an ongoing basis. I do have one question though ---- can other people view your calendar? I might not want it known when I will not be at home. I found a link to other Angleton ISD co-workers and spotted some people I know. Tried sending a message to one. We'll see if I get a reply! Even found a former student on the link for Angleton ISD. I was unsuccessful though at getting the icalshare feature to work.
I really like the calendar feature on Plaxo. I created one and added a few events. I think I would like to try keeping up with this on an ongoing basis. I do have one question though ---- can other people view your calendar? I might not want it known when I will not be at home. I found a link to other Angleton ISD co-workers and spotted some people I know. Tried sending a message to one. We'll see if I get a reply! Even found a former student on the link for Angleton ISD. I was unsuccessful though at getting the icalshare feature to work.
Scrapblog
Thing #29
Played around with scrapblog for a while. Really like the templates, but had trouble getting my pictures to fit in the boxes. Never actually got one created where it looked good enough to post to my blog. Seems like I better stick to creating scrapbook pages the old-fashioned way!
Played around with scrapblog for a while. Really like the templates, but had trouble getting my pictures to fit in the boxes. Never actually got one created where it looked good enough to post to my blog. Seems like I better stick to creating scrapbook pages the old-fashioned way!
LOLCats
Thing #30
This was really fun browsing through these cat pictures! Not much educational application but good for a laugh. Here's one of my favorites -- it was so hard to just pick one.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Magazine Cover
Thing #28
Creating these magazine covers is really alot of fun! This is a picture of my daughter when she went frog hunting! She actually picked up the slimy creatures. Think maybe she was looking for a prince!
Creating these magazine covers is really alot of fun! This is a picture of my daughter when she went frog hunting! She actually picked up the slimy creatures. Think maybe she was looking for a prince!
Photobucket
Thing #27
I have used Photobucket before. Very useful tool for managing and sharing your pictures. Has alot of other stuff you can do that looks like fun, but who has time?
I have used Photobucket before. Very useful tool for managing and sharing your pictures. Has alot of other stuff you can do that looks like fun, but who has time?
Yourminis
Thing #26
Had alot of fun looking at all the Widgets on Yourminis. I finally got my weather Widget added to my blog. (Actually copied it from 2techbusy). =D
Had alot of fun looking at all the Widgets on Yourminis. I finally got my weather Widget added to my blog. (Actually copied it from 2techbusy). =D
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Letterpop
Thing #25 Letterpop
Just finished looking at Letterpop - loved the examples of the different kinds of newletters you can make. This is a lot like scrapbooking, but all done on the computer. Maybe I'll try a Christmas one this year......................
Just finished looking at Letterpop - loved the examples of the different kinds of newletters you can make. This is a lot like scrapbooking, but all done on the computer. Maybe I'll try a Christmas one this year......................
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Zamzar
Thing # 24
Just finished trying out Zamzar, a free file conversion program. What a great way to manage your files! I attempted to convert one of my files. Still waiting on the confirmation email. If it doesn't come, I may have to try again later.
Just finished trying out Zamzar, a free file conversion program. What a great way to manage your files! I attempted to convert one of my files. Still waiting on the confirmation email. If it doesn't come, I may have to try again later.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Summary
Week #9, Thing #23
Whew! I can't believe I made it to the end. I have really enjoyed this experience. I got a little behind during TAKS time, but it was definitely worth the effort to keep plugging along. I have learned about so many things I never knew existed. Things I probably would have never found on my own. It really is mindboggling! My favorites are Flickr, RSS feeds, ImageChef, LibraryThing, Zoho Writer and of course the Audio eBooks. I plan to try to regularly use at least some of these things personally and in my classroom next year. This summer I may even go back through the 23 Things when I have more time to spend on them! Hoping the Web 2.1 class makes, so I can play even more!
Whew! I can't believe I made it to the end. I have really enjoyed this experience. I got a little behind during TAKS time, but it was definitely worth the effort to keep plugging along. I have learned about so many things I never knew existed. Things I probably would have never found on my own. It really is mindboggling! My favorites are Flickr, RSS feeds, ImageChef, LibraryThing, Zoho Writer and of course the Audio eBooks. I plan to try to regularly use at least some of these things personally and in my classroom next year. This summer I may even go back through the 23 Things when I have more time to spend on them! Hoping the Web 2.1 class makes, so I can play even more!
Podcasts and Ebooks
Week #9, Things 21 and 22
Wow! There are so many podcasts in the directories. I spent some time looking around epnweb.org. Found a couple I like -- Americanwriters.com and whosaid.org. Whosaid.org gives you quotes or speeches by characters in novels and you try to guess who said it. This weekend, I visited Librivox and subscribed to the podcast through my Itunes account. They send you a chapter at a time from a selected book three times a week. Thought it might be fun to listen to this summer when I'm out walking (good intentions anyway). Right now, the book they're reading is Wizard of Oz I think. All of the audio books on Librivox are free, however they are not newly released books.
Wow! There are so many podcasts in the directories. I spent some time looking around epnweb.org. Found a couple I like -- Americanwriters.com and whosaid.org. Whosaid.org gives you quotes or speeches by characters in novels and you try to guess who said it. This weekend, I visited Librivox and subscribed to the podcast through my Itunes account. They send you a chapter at a time from a selected book three times a week. Thought it might be fun to listen to this summer when I'm out walking (good intentions anyway). Right now, the book they're reading is Wizard of Oz I think. All of the audio books on Librivox are free, however they are not newly released books.
You Tube
Week #9, Thing #20
My kids introduced me to YouTube a long time ago, but I had never visited TeacherTube. Spent some time looking around there. Found a video from School House Rock on nouns which I always loved, but had forgotten! Also found many short history videos on a variety of subjects. The math one - integer cheer- was great. Would put it on this blog if I knew how. Think I need more explanation on how to do that :( For anyone lucky enough to have a presentation station in their room, this is a great and easy to access resource.
My kids introduced me to YouTube a long time ago, but I had never visited TeacherTube. Spent some time looking around there. Found a video from School House Rock on nouns which I always loved, but had forgotten! Also found many short history videos on a variety of subjects. The math one - integer cheer- was great. Would put it on this blog if I knew how. Think I need more explanation on how to do that :( For anyone lucky enough to have a presentation station in their room, this is a great and easy to access resource.
Zoho Writer
Week #8 Thing #18
Just finished setting up my free account with Zoho Writer. I really love this. So many times I have been working on something for school from home and have had to save it and email to myself so I could continue to work on it at school. This eliminates that. Great for students too! They could work on an assignment from home, then pull it up for their teacher at school. Tried to post a document from Zoho to my blog, but was unsuccessful.
Just finished setting up my free account with Zoho Writer. I really love this. So many times I have been working on something for school from home and have had to save it and email to myself so I could continue to work on it at school. This eliminates that. Great for students too! They could work on an assignment from home, then pull it up for their teacher at school. Tried to post a document from Zoho to my blog, but was unsuccessful.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
LibraryThing
Week #8, Thing #19
Love LibraryThing! I set up an account and catalogued 5 of my books.
Great place to find out what people are reading and what they recommend. Discovered here that other people enjoyed reading Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold as much as I did.
Love LibraryThing! I set up an account and catalogued 5 of my books.
Great place to find out what people are reading and what they recommend. Discovered here that other people enjoyed reading Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold as much as I did.
Wikis
Week #7, Things 16 and 17
Wikis are at least something I'm a little more comfortable with. Explored many educational wikis and found so many ways educators are using them -- from novel studies to history units to science research papers. Might try to find time this summer to create one of my own my students could use. On a personal note, I really like the booklovers wiki where book reviews are posted by genre.
Successfully added a post to the Learning 2.0 sandbox.
Wikis are at least something I'm a little more comfortable with. Explored many educational wikis and found so many ways educators are using them -- from novel studies to history units to science research papers. Might try to find time this summer to create one of my own my students could use. On a personal note, I really like the booklovers wiki where book reviews are posted by genre.
Successfully added a post to the Learning 2.0 sandbox.
Copyright
Week #6, Thing # 15
Enjoyed the copyright video. Someone spent hours editing that! Copyright is really something our students don't understand. They think because something is "out there"on the net, they are free to use it in any way they choose. We really should devote more time teaching copyright law to our students especially since they spend so much time in the internet world. I also viewed the video on creative commons. I did not realize all the different ways someone can share their work and still retain rights.
Enjoyed the copyright video. Someone spent hours editing that! Copyright is really something our students don't understand. They think because something is "out there"on the net, they are free to use it in any way they choose. We really should devote more time teaching copyright law to our students especially since they spend so much time in the internet world. I also viewed the video on creative commons. I did not realize all the different ways someone can share their work and still retain rights.
Technorati and tags
Week #6, Thing #14
Wow! My mind is officially on overload with all the things you can do with blog posts. It's almost too much information. Think I'll stick to just using blogger for now and ease my way into some of these other tools.
Wow! My mind is officially on overload with all the things you can do with blog posts. It's almost too much information. Think I'll stick to just using blogger for now and ease my way into some of these other tools.
Tagging
Week #6, Thing #13
Del.icio.us seems like a great timesaver when researching topics. It's so much easier to have sites organized instead of having to spend a lot of time searching. I plan to try to remember to use it next time I'm looking for information on the internet.
Del.icio.us seems like a great timesaver when researching topics. It's so much easier to have sites organized instead of having to spend a lot of time searching. I plan to try to remember to use it next time I'm looking for information on the internet.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Rollyo
Week #5, Thing #12
I can see where Rollyo would be a great tool for the classroom when working on special projects. I created a searchroll for Texas History and added it to my blog -- although I can't seem to get it to work now that it's there. =( Will try again later.
I can see where Rollyo would be a great tool for the classroom when working on special projects. I created a searchroll for Texas History and added it to my blog -- although I can't seem to get it to work now that it's there. =( Will try again later.
Web 2.0 Awards List
Week #5, Thing #11
I Explored several sites from the Web 2.0 short list. Set up an account with http://twitter.com -- a social networking tool which allows member to post short messages answering the question "what are you doing". Great way to keep in touch with people daily without spending alot of time doing it. I also like http://librarything.com where you can read book reviews and even network with people with your similar interests. I can't wait until summer when I have more time to explore and use some of these sites.
I Explored several sites from the Web 2.0 short list. Set up an account with http://twitter.com -- a social networking tool which allows member to post short messages answering the question "what are you doing". Great way to keep in touch with people daily without spending alot of time doing it. I also like http://librarything.com where you can read book reviews and even network with people with your similar interests. I can't wait until summer when I have more time to explore and use some of these sites.
Online Image Generator
Week #5, Thing #10
Love the different online image generators! I played around with ImageChef. Added the animated waves on the sand to my blog. Thought the visual poetry one would be fun for students to do when working on a poetry unit.
Love the different online image generators! I played around with ImageChef. Added the animated waves on the sand to my blog. Thought the visual poetry one would be fun for students to do when working on a poetry unit.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
RSS & Newsreaders
Week #4; Things 8 and 9
Really enjoyed learning about RSS feeds and setting up a newsreader account. Subscribed to CNN news, Librarian's internet, Tech Dirt (so I can learn even more) and Wordsmith. I have been trying for two weeks to get my bloglines to appear on my blog. Finally gave up. If anyone can help me in a few easy steps, I would appreciate the help! Right now I just have them on my desktop so I can check them everyday.
Really enjoyed learning about RSS feeds and setting up a newsreader account. Subscribed to CNN news, Librarian's internet, Tech Dirt (so I can learn even more) and Wordsmith. I have been trying for two weeks to get my bloglines to appear on my blog. Finally gave up. If anyone can help me in a few easy steps, I would appreciate the help! Right now I just have them on my desktop so I can check them everyday.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Anything Technology Related
Week #3; Thing #7
If you haven't had time already, check out Ann's (Tech Busy) link to Kathy Schrock's Guide For Educators at Discovery School. I perused many of the links and tried out some new tools for teachers that I was not familiar with. I particularly liked http://www.netvibes.com/. At this site, you can create your own home page with your favorite information. Also found some amusing clip art like the mouse on this page at http://discoveryschool.com/. I often feel just like this mouse! Discovery School will let you download 10 images for free.
Stumbled across a site with quotations while making my motivational poster for Flickr http://quotedump.net/-- it really has some good ones.
Clip art licensed from the clip art gallery on discovery school.com
Week #3
Things 5 and 6
I have spent the last couple of weeks exploring Flickr and all the fun things you can do. I finally managed to create this poster of my cat using Big Huge Labs. Having a little trouble retrieving some photos that were emailed to me -- when I try to open the file, it immediately opens Flickr but my pictures aren't there. Anyone have any ideas what I am doing wrong?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Lifelong Learning
Week #1
Thing #2
I noticed that several people were commenting on the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners and realized that I had not done that. After watching the video again, I have to say the easiest habit for me is accepting responsibility for my own learning. I know that I first have to want to learn about the latest technology and then be willing to tackle it! The hardest habit is having confidence in myself. I often feel overwhelmed when getting started with something new.
Thing #2
I noticed that several people were commenting on the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners and realized that I had not done that. After watching the video again, I have to say the easiest habit for me is accepting responsibility for my own learning. I know that I first have to want to learn about the latest technology and then be willing to tackle it! The hardest habit is having confidence in myself. I often feel overwhelmed when getting started with something new.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Classroom Learning 2.0
Week#2
Thing #3
This is my first post. I have to admit my 11 year old son is sitting beside me helping me -- knows more about technology than I do. Which is why a signed up for this class -- got to keep up with the times. He's going to help me import an avatar next.
Thing #3
This is my first post. I have to admit my 11 year old son is sitting beside me helping me -- knows more about technology than I do. Which is why a signed up for this class -- got to keep up with the times. He's going to help me import an avatar next.
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