Thing 19 podcasting

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This was a slow process for me. Deciding what to say was hard enough. Converting my wave file to an mp3 with Zamar was easy, but it never seemed to completely download. When I checked back latter it still did not look as if it had downloaded, but I had an email with the mp3 waiting for me to download. Gcast kept kicking me back and forth while I was trying to use it as if I was not logged on, and being the impatient person I am it was frustrating waiting for the file to appear after I had successfully downloaded it. Since I finally got it done, I feel a little better about it, but i am not sure I would use this technology with my class. I think the practice, timming, and planning required to create an effective podcast would make it a great project for my class, but I can not imagine using it for a weekly show. I think I would be a lot more likely to use a podcast to teach something, than have my students involved with its' creation. Maybe I would use it for something I wanted to share with other teachers.

Thing 18 podcasts

Although I am a music enthusiast, I am not much for listening to music on the radio, or at home. I have never even considered purchasing an Ipod or any other portable music storage/listening device. I can sit down at a piano or other musical instrument and bang out any melody that I am familiar with but I do not seek out music to keep me occupied. This assignment however has opened my eyes to a new realm of possibilities with podcasting that don't involve simple music downloads. In the students section, I checked out the Radio Willow Web # 34 podcast. Gregory the Narrator had an interesting speech impediment that drew me in and made me smile. The lesson was entertaining as well as informative, and I am sure the students got a lot out of putting the podcast together. I viewed a GP at the met short video that was just a glorified commercial, and I watched a presentation off of Karen's educational mashup. Karen's presentation was a glorified slide show with some video footage included. These three podcasts were all different in their presentation and gave me a good idea of the possibilities with podcasting. I picked up all of these podcasts from the Education Podcast Network. I subscribed to a couple of podcasts that I thought might interest me, and am waiting to catch a glimpse of them on my Google Reader. I also downloaded Itunes, but have not had a chance to use it yet.

Thing 17 Social networking, and microblogging

Ning Classroom 2.0 kind of blew me away. What a massive amount of information, and tools. It was more than I expected, and I know I will be returning. I read a few threads from the forum, perused some photos, watched some interesting videos, and looked for some upcoming events which gave me ideas of other places to visit online. I think I can get some valuable ideas from the forum, and will use it to help develop my PLN. I do not see myself setting up a ning for my class at this time, but may in the future. I was able to find a Ning that I think could be useful with future lessons. It was called Video snacks , and I got some helpful tips on using videos in my lessons. I am going to have to make more time for ning in my normal schedule.

I have been a texter for a little over two years, and find it a useful tool to communicate with other coaches, students on my teams, and of course my family. I have not thought about using it as a professional part of my PLN, but can see how it could be effective as a tool to get quick answers. I also recently started using Twitter, but have not put much effort into it. I could definitely see my students enjoying a private microblog communit. they would get a big kick out of twittering from there cell phones in class. I do not usually have trouble with discussion topics, but waiting for a turn to speak is a big problem in my class. Being able to respond as soon as you are ready would be a bonus for my students. The lack of impulse control would allow them an immediate outlet as well as giving them a physical act to concentrate on. It is very possible that it could cut down on behavior problems in the class. I think there would be a positive Hawthorne effect, but wounder how long it would last. Most of my experiments are good for 1-3 hours.

Thing 16 Social Networks

It goes without saying that Social Networking has its pitfalls if used unwisely. I personally will not use Facebook, or Myspace, and I am glad they are blocked at school. There is not a kid I have taught who does not have a space on one or both of these sites. Kids with extremely low reading levels, and no computers at home have sites. As we are well aware, teachers can get themselves into trouble if they are not cautious about what they post on social networks.

I felt cautious about social networking before this coarse but can see the value of creating a PLN. I have gotten a lot of great information from my Google reader, and when I am able I take the time to click away on interesting articles and let them take me where they will. I have ended up more than six links away from my reader on several occasions. I have dabbled with twitter, and have yet to develop a network, and am not seeing the value yet.

I have used social networking with my coaching, particularly wrestling. I have professional contacts from all over the nation who share insights, tips, and the love of the sport. When I go to a local wrestling event and meet new people, many of them already know me through forum posts, blog responses, or general reputation. I have been at it with the wrestling world for about six years. I think I can build my education PLN much quicker.

Thing 15 Google Docs

I had no experience with Google Docs before this course. I had only used Google as a search engine. I did not even know about image searches till fairly recently. I like the fact that I do not have to access my hard drive to get to documents that I have created on Google Docs. The freedom to pick up where I left off at school from home is a big advantage. The cost savings on Flash Drives, plus the fact that they are so easy to loose also makes using Google Docs a big advantage. I am thinking of converting my final exams onto a Google Doc with the auto grading format just for fun. Using Docs was just as easy as Word, but it did not cost me a thing to use it. I am going to incorporate Google Docs as my main processing tool from now on. As soon as I get some files created, and get organised, I may just copy all of my good files to Google.
I know I can set the files to private, but I still feel a little squeamish about putting any of my IEP files out there. They are going to stay on my hard drive, and Flash Drives.

Thing 14 a lesson in loading.

I viewed several videos on anger management for my social skills class. A couple of videos were not bad so I am putting them here for you to view.



I was introduced to youtube a few years ago by my students. They would look up funny videos, and fights when they had free time. We would end up huddled around a monitor enthralled by what we were seeing. Before this assignment I never looked to youtube as a possible teaching tool, but easily found some appropriate video that I could use with my class. I can use these videos as a time out tool to give my students a chance to cool down when they get heated, or as a precursor to help prevent problems.




This is my instructional video. It combines a technique I like to use with a technique that Dennis Horne likes to use.





This one is just for fun.

Teachertube was a little more friendly for instructional materials. I did not end up sorting through as much inappropriate materials looking for something useful. I will look at teachertube more in the future for lesson ideas.

On a side note, I have DSL on my home computer, but it is no where near as fast as my school connection. This was extremely slow and laborious at home. If I did work like this on a regular basis, I would definitely invest in faster connections, and more memory.

Thing 5C

Sometimes my Google Reader can be overwhelming, so I have gotten very good at skimming and finding the articles that truly interest me. I stared the following article just for this post. I always enjoy things that are free. As Tommy Lasorda always says"If it's free it's for me". Free Technology for teachers is right up my alley. This particular post informs us of Big Huge Labs. This site does not require signing in to do work. I have enough passwords and user-names floating around so I really like the fact that none is required. I tried Hockneyizing a picture from an earlier project. It only took a minute. Try this site out if you have a minute, that's all it took me.

Thing 13 stretch

This is an interactive lesson I will be using with my Social skills class. I may let some other students comment as well.

Thing 13 Voicethread.

I don't recall ever seeing a voicethread before this course. I enjoyed listening to comments from younger students especially in the Pecos Bill, and the dragon voicethreads. The science experiment and science fair experiment were also great examples of students using this technology to present material in a professional manner. I am going to attempt to set up a short lesson using voicethread and see how it goes with my students. I am going to use the same pictures I used in my slide show, and give the students an opportunity to make comments. Unfortunately we do not have wireless in my classroom, and my laptop is the only computer in the room with a microphone, so the use of this tool may not be totally practical at this point, but if I was at a school with those capabilities, I would use this tool a lot more often. I think voicethread could be a much better tool for me when compared to slide shows. The ability to interact will definitely enhance the involvement, enjoyment, and retention of my lower learners.

Thing 12 All glogged up!

Using glogster was very easy. I enjoyed playing with it. I could easily recommend this to students to use on classwork assignments, or even as part of a project. I could see using this as a tool to get basic information across in a non standard format. It looks way more interesting than a powerpoint, and you can easily get just as much information in the glog. I can definitely see myself using it in the future, and recommending it to my students.

Thing 5b

Dave Clarke has a lot of great Blogs on coaching soccer. I read one recently that was good for almost any sport. In my seven tips to make a difference on match days he created a list of dos and don'ts that every coach should follow. I really like what he has to say, so I added his blog to my google reader. The down side is that I get lots of emails for other helpful tips he is willing to sell me.

Thing 11 Slide show

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worak/2074966747/

angry girl

worak

http://www.flickr.com/photos/randysonofrobert/636336624/

happy coffee

Randy Son Of Robert

http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/1824233430/

sad girl

Orin Zebest

http://www.flickr.com/photos/polinasergeeva/3051541583/

fight

Polina Sergeeva

http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangeacid/137551747/

cry boy

orangeacid

My slide show will be used as a lesson with my Social Skills class. I will let them watch the show as a warm up activity to a discussion of what to do when you have strong feelings. We will incorporate discussion on stopping and allowing yourself time to decide on your actions, proper ways to express your emotions, and taking control of your emotions away from others.

I found the use of Slide.com to be very easy, and would recommend it to anyone.

Thing 10

I was doing a search on the creative commons portion of flickr I used the word angry, and thought this was a great example. here is the page link. The picture is from a collection by Worak. I think I might use the picture as a writing prompt next Monday morning. Most of my students look like this on Monday mornings.
I enjoyed using Flickr, and I think I will be more likely to use it as opposed to google image searches. My students get a big kick out of changing the background of the spare computer in my room. I am going to encourage them to browse through Flickr for the next great background. I am going to continue looking over creative uses of pictures for my lessons. I have more low learners this year than in the past. I hope I can get more out of them with the use of pictures, particularly because of the low reading levels of some of my students.

Thing 9 cc

I have noticed the cc on some sites in the past, but never paid much attention to it. I do think it is important for students to understand the purpose of the cc, and the implications of using these materials in presentations. I have linked images or videos in the past, but I have not included any in a presentation. I know now that I can make the decisions on how content I have created may be used, and can therefore take ownership of that material if I decide to share it. The only negative i see with limited sharing using cc is the fact that you may prevent someone from using a great resource that they may need.
Students consistently use pictures from Google in projects at school without consideration of cc. Based on best practices most of the ones I have seen have been within guidelines, however, I can recall a few projects which stretched copyright at best. A lazy teacher who is not willing to check out information on the web may not realize that a students entire project was nothing more than a cut and past job. In future projects, I may move away from assigning pictures quotes, or even music on a power-point presentation. I may look for more creative input from my students, and less Internet research. I have always enjoyed student produced materials that had a little more creativity to them, and this gives me more reason to push to that end.

Thing 7 Stretch

I picked a random topic to view at Wikipedia. For some reason I looked up Mother's Finest. I used to be a big fan back in the 70s, so I thought it would interest me. The information seemed well organized, complete, well written, and valid. There was some heated discussion about the rock group having both black and white members. Some of the people felt as if you could accurately state that Mother's finest was the first integrated rock band. That was more fun to read than the article. There were plenty of revisions, one as recent as July 25th of this year. I had no idea that Wikipedia was such a living thing.

Thing 7 Wiki Wiki

Wiki Wiki- Hawaiian for quick quick is being used as a learning tool in real classrooms. In my discovery process, I saw many different ways in which educators have used the wiki.
In code blue The site was set up with a plethora of links that students could use as a resource for basic anatomy, and physiology. It was kind of blank on the opening page with just a large list of links. I would have liked to see something jump out at me before I clicked on a link.
In Civil war Sallie There is a project you can request to be involved in. The originator has a Teddy bear that will be sent to you to take pictures of at historical civil war sites. Information for Sallie is entered in the form of blog posts, twitter updates and flickr pictures. I think it would be great to get a class involved in this project. I loved the way the site looked, and the audio really caught my attention. I liked the instructional links in the sidebar.
In Thousands project A 5th grade teacher has set up a site with some simple questions that he would like answers to. He hopes to get at least 1000 responses for every question. The home page lacked pop, and the ability to grab my attention. The links did not have a lot of pop until you got to the blog which was very visually stimulating.

I think that if I am going to use a Wiki, it will have to have some eye catching quality right of the bat. I have some very low learners in my class this year, and I am having trouble thinking of good ways to use these great tools with my class. I will have to get it as close as possible to a video game to keep their interest.

Thing 6 Diigo

My diigo account I know that i will enjoy using diigo. The dificulty with getting work done at home without all of my school bookmarks has always been a hassle. I have struggled with this problem several times. It will be nice to access all of my bookmarks from anywhere. Diigo was very easy to use. I realy liked being able to highlight some text, and it show up in the description. I am looking forward to playing with it more at home.
Professionally I believe Diigo will help me work away from the office, as well as share information with people within the field of education.

Thing 5 stretch

Michael Vick is back in good standings with Nike. I set up my custom news feed for a glorious sports page. I am getting way to much information, and am really just skimming articles until one catches my interest. It is the same way I used to read the newspapers sports section, except I don't have to throw away a bunch of political posturing to get to my beloved sports. I honestly think that Vick has been punished enough for the crimes that he commited, but am surprised that Nike still wants him as a front man.

Thing 5-A

Trying something different This article is related to coaching inexperienced Soccer players, and encouraging them to try new skills. It reminded me of what I am doing currently in my Web 2.0 class. As we venture into uncharted territories of our own experience, we will often have hiccups, or straight up failures. We have to be our own motivators and or coaches and keeping pushing for the glorious goal at the end.

Thing 3

In Back to School blues. here It is entertaining to here of this teachers plans on feeling relieved of his teaching duties.
Chart Go Gave me a new tool for creating charts and graphs. I find the use of graphic organizers really helps my lower level learners.
Infinite thinking machines had a lot to offer. I really liked this article on using search engines.
instructify gave some great resources including this pandemic game.

Langwitches has great resources available at the click of a mouse. I liked the use of Google maps in this atypical newspaper lesson.

Thing-2

In why I don't assign homework
The style of the blog is very specific to people in the field of education. Information is quick without extraneous details.

In is this SSR 2.0
The author describes the use of blogs as reading material. the students seem to have more interest in reading blogs than traditional chapter books.

In spies like us.
The author does a visually outstanding job to drive her point home. It made it very difficult to look away from. Multiple links and bold text intermixed with what appeared to be text messages made the article visually stimulating.

In Teaching Brevity.
A student blogs on using less more appropriate words to get your point across. I found it a little wordy.

In Patrick's update 5th grade.
A 5th grader makes a post about passing 5th grade to prove to his brother that he is smart. The post is much less impressive than the encouraging comments.

Thing 1-B

• Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice. I use very few text books in my classroom. We use content we have found on the web. I spend less times on dictionary usage, and more time on google searches. My class often dictates the direction of lessons based on information they have gathered from the Internet.
  
• How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today's "digital learners?" If you are not a classroom teacher, how might you be able to use these tools to engage your stakeholders? Through the use of interesting links, and clear cut assignments on a web page, I believe it would be easier to engage my students.
  
• Why would you want to? To get more accomplished during our limited time.
  

Thing 1-A

• Where you teach I am a teacher at Apalachee High School
  
• What you teach - I am a self contained EBD specialist. I teach Study Skills, Social Skills, and careers.
  
• How long you've been in education- I started teaching in 1987, but left the field for many years. I have returned over the last 6 years.
  
• Why you chose to take this course - My friend Dennis Horne asked me to.
  
• What you hope to gain from this course - more confidence in using Internet tools.
  

Coaching High School

I am not much for being pictured with my teams unless someone insists. This was one of those instances when a parent insisted, and this picture actually was used by the local paper.
This is a High School JV Soccer team that managed to win a tournament without a great deal of talent. They won two games in one day, and were quit satisfied with themselves. I was pretty happy myself.
Coaching girls is a difficult task. You have to find a way to push them just as hard as boys, while at the same time dealing with an enriched layer of drama. You have to make practice fun, while at the same time getting the most out of the limited time you have. As with all high school sports you also have to work with a wide variety of skill levels, and fitness levels. I am still trying to figure it out.