Just the beginning for an aspiring teacher

This was by far one of the best ways I have learned new information. It showed me just how much is available to teachers and students on the internet, and it allowed me to explore and utilize these tools, with guidance of course. This blog will help me become a great teacher one day, and I can not wait to use all the tools in my future classroom.
My favorite things were the live binders, the flow charts, and seeing all the Web 2.0 tools. Majority of the tools will be a great asset in the classroom. However,  I did not see the use of learning about Facebook and twitter. These were my least favorite activities. I think that it will be important for me to always research and learn about new Web 2.0 tools as I am becoming a teacher and once I am a teacher. The best teacher learns as her students does, and I want to be the best teacher I can be.
Education 5540 has been my favorite course this semester, and I felt that I have learned so much that I will use every day as a teacher.

Thing 23

I have officially made it through all 23 things! Woo hoo ( yes, I do know there is another post to follow) As I was reading the About the 23Things Blog I discovered that it was an idea by Helene Blowers, Technology Director at the Charlotte Mecklenburg County Public Library system. She got the idea from Stephen Abram's article, 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006) and the website 43Things. Creative Commons allowed Helene Blowers and Austin Peay to use Abram's idea. 
Creative Commons is great for teachers, because they can get ideas from other teachers use them in their classroom without worry of copyright laws. It also gives me the right to change what I find to fit what I am doing in the classroom. Thank goodness someone created Creative Commons. 

Thing 22

Oh my! Let's just say I love live binders. I think it is an excellent way to create folders online and easily access all the information later. It was super easy to create, and I love that you can look up other education folders and get ideas. You could even use others binders in your classroom. Parents and students can access the information seen in class at home.
The titles of my binders are science websites, The Water Cycle, and The Planets
The Water Cycle: livebinder Here is my binder on the water cycle. The embedded link Livebinder gave me would not link at all, so I created a regular link to my water cycle binder. I would use the binder when it came to discuss the water cycle. All I would have to do was access the binder and use the resources to show my students. I will remember this website and definitely use it later :)

Thing 21

Whitney's Video
Animoto is another great website for creating videos. This is great for teachers to create small videos with pictures, and great for personal use as well. I like that they even ask if the purpose of your videos is for education. The website and even the App are extremely user friendly, so anyone can figure it out. I would also suggest downloading the app. I did on my iPad, and this is how I created my video. It did not take me long to create a video. The only thing it wouldn't let me do was click on the embedded video. I tried several different times, so I linked the video instead. I created a small video of my growing family and home. 

Thing 20: youtube

Phases of the moon song
Above I have posted a link to a YouTube video about the phases of the moon. I picked this video, because it pertains one of the standards I choose for my livetext. This would be a great song video to show to my fourth or fifth graders. Songs are always catchy and majority of children find them easier to remember.
I have always been a fan of YouTube. There is so much you can find and access. There are videos for every subject and every grade level. College professors even use YouTube to show videos to their students. I like that you can add your own videos and your students can access them anytime. Videos allow children another way to see and hear information. YouTube is great for short videos, which will help keep a child's attention.
Kideos

I choose the website kideos.com. There are many videos on this site for all children, you just pick the age range and choose the videos from there. I choose the angle range 9-10, because this is about the age of fourth graders. Some of the videos are virtual field ttrips, which would be excellent to use if they had a place that we were discussing in class. I could show the Video then have a class discussion. They also have educational songs that would be great for students.

Thing 19: things for teachers

Young students often think their teachers are cool, but as the students age they may find their teachers less "hip". It is important for teachers to stay on top of social networking. There are many ways teachers can incorporate social networking in the classroom. At home students can access the selected social network and communicate with teachers and find homework help. There are endless options for teachers and students.
I am a member of Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, flicker, and other networks I have joined throughout this experience.
I love to cook and spend time in the kitchen. I looked at bake space and tasty kitchen. I will definitely use these sites to find new recipes. There was a lot of information on these sites.

Thing 18

Twitter
My link to my twitter page is above. I've had my twitter account for almost two years and barely use it. I think it's important for teachers to be familiar with social websites because teachers should always be knowledgable. Becoming familiar with social networks will also help gain a connection with students.
Even though I haven't had twitter but all of two years, I am familiar and didn't discover anything I didn't know already. Well except oft looking up educational tags.
I can easily see a classroom or school using one of these sites. It will be easier for students to communicate on these websites, seeing as they are probably on there often. Many colleges use them now. They would be great for parent/teacher/student  communication as well.

Thing 17

I have truly gained a wealth of knowledge from these 23 things so far, but to be honest I did not find this thing very useful to me. Everyone is different and many may find delicious.com a useful website. I, on the other hand, did not. I feel as though other websites are more beneficial and easier to use.
I do see how they might me able to be used within the classroom, but other sites are just as good.
Teachers can take advantage of social bookmarking sites, by bookmarking and tagging items that are relevant to their classroom and lessons. The students could easily find these bookmarked sites, and the teacher could return to these sites with ease.

Thing 16-we are getting closer

I chose to use symbaloo.com to create my start page. This website appealed to me at first strictly because of aesthetics. :) I thought it looked fun and pretty, and what girl does not like her page to look pretty? Children are also drawn to things that look fun and pretty. This does make it east to access to any website fast, but I will not set it as my homepage. This is only because I like the homepage I have now and I can see the news when I open up. I do not mind typing the address of where I want to go. 

The online calenders are extremely useful to a teacher, a mom, and anyone for that matter if your schedule is busy. I use my google online calender to keep up with assignments, doctor appointments, and much more. However, I do use an old fashioned calender as well :).

The symbaloo tool would be excellent to use on all the computers and ipads in the classroom. This way students can click the websites that they need to access right away, and you don't have to worry about them asking a million questions about where to go and how to spell it. The calenders could also be useful to students to help them keep up with what assignments are coming up.

Thing 15

Using a wiki.... I have used a wiki before in my undergrad classes. We used wiki to post articles for a major paper we were all working on independently. The purpose was to allow others to see what information you had found and to see what information others had found as well. It was really helpful, especially if you got stuck and could not find what you were looking for. I think wikis are a great thing to use in any classroom, no matter the age of the students. The information just presented to me showed me more than what I previously knew about wikis.
I could wiki in my classroom, by assigning students a topic and then having them write their responses in the wiki. This would allow them to change their if need be and add comments to what other people may have written. This would give students a way to connect outside of class. We could use their wiki pages to bring discussion into the classroom as well.

Thing 14

Who would have ever thought that teachers could use outside resources besides textbooks and handbooks to create their own diagrams and mind maps? These sights are wonderful! I experimented a little bit with all four websites. I must say I prefer mind mapping over flow charts, but that's just my opinion. I also must say I found flowchart.com the hardest one to figure out. (It could have been user and not the website though ;). The mind mapping was easier and more user friendly, both websites. I also though they were prettier. Gliffy is an excellent site though. There are many more options to go with this website when creating flowcharts. You can change so much, and really make it your own.
It would be fairly easy to use in any classroom. For example, I could create my own charts for the classroom and various subjects. I could create a flow chart and leave some spaces for students to fill in the blanks, and use it as a homework assignment. I could also pull up the website in class and create charts with the students. The resources available to teachers really do allow them to reach and discover anything they would like. Web-based tools are pretty awesome.

This is thing 13.

my Form

Above is the link I created for my first google drive project. I am fascinated by how much I learn in my technology class. I had no idea all the resources google had to offer, but it is amazing! Creating my form was probably one of the easiest things I have ever done, and you can even have your answers sent to a spreadsheet. This would be excellent for classroom surveys, and many others uses within the classroom.
Students could use Google drive to create presentations. You could group your students together and use center time to allow them to work on their presentation of a specific topic.
I prefer to work with Google Drive over Zoho. Zoho does offer more than Google drive, however, Google drive was much easier to navigate and would be more accessible for younger people. I felt like there was more to click on and more to know when playing on Zoho. It was easy to find and create documents or whatever I wanted using Google drive.

Thing 12... Over halfway there

I have attached my calendar for the month of October. Once I figured out how to share it, it was the easiest thing one could ever do. ;) Sharing a calendar on your classroom blog would be an excellent resource for parents and students once they are at home. It could remind me of assignments that are due. I also like there there is a print option. As teacher you could print this out and send it home, but if the student looses it the parent will know where to look and print another one. Google calendar is an excellent tool for personal and teacher use. 

I use google scholar frequently when searching for scholarly articles for papers. I find it easier to use and often times will find an article that seems interesting then search for it on the free library databases. If I were to teach high school students I would recommend this to them doing research papers, because often times high school students only know what is availble to them on google. Google scholar will teach them about peer reviewed and safe to use resources. 

Number 11

I did not realize how many resources were available to look up RSS feeds. I found blogsearchengine easiest to use. It was not confusing and the blogs were right there available for me. The googlesearchblog was a bit more confusing. It did not take me to to straight to the blog always, up it took me different websites. One for example was parent magazine that had a craft from another blog. However, it had no access to the blog so I could not look up more posts from that blog without searching for the specific blog. I could spend hours looking at the feeds and searching new blogs.

Thing 10

I have never heard of RSS feeds, but then again I have never blogged until now. When I look at my Pinterest to go to the blogs I like for crafting, I do it one by one and it takes so much time to do that. I forget at times where one blog might be or how many I really do love. The RSS feed will save so much time when I want to look at my blogs. I can go to one place and look at everything I want. It really is wonderful. I added six pages about education, but now I will have to look for my favorite craft blogs or cooking blogs, and I must not forget new mom blogs. I am way too excited about having all the blogs I like in one website. I even downloaded the app to my iPad, making it that much easier to access.
Teachers can easily use RSS. Being a teacher requires constant research and learning new ideAs. The RSS feeds will allow teacher easy access to other teacher and new technology ideas. I will definitely use this when I become a teacher and even now while I am in school. I will be getting ideas on ways to teach my students. It is never to early to learn ideas.

Thing 9

I chose to use the smile face generator. After spending the time working on this, I discovered that this picture didn't want to copy and paste to my blog. I found a new way though :)! I snapped a picture of it on my iPad and just copy and pasted. I like the use of the smiley face generators because there is so much you could do with this. Students could find these funny. I created this one, because sometimes I had teachers that would come in perky and wide awake when I just wanted to go to sleep. I will surely use these for my own purposes.

Thing 8

The flickr mashups provided easy and simple to follow instructions. These would be quite easy for me to use in my classroom. For example, I could use the letter spell (like the above pictures) on my classroom blog. The puzzle maker could be used and set up for students. I could easily create a picture that coordinated with the topic we are learning. The only problem I had this one specific mashup, I could not get each word on a different line.
As my previous post said, I do not have problem posting pictures online. If my pictures contain information that I don't want seen by people I do not know I will make the pictures private.

Thing 7

 I made this wreath for fall. It was really simple, but time consuming. I love crafts and can't wait to make my Christmas wreath.

This is my new puppy, Midori. My other dog and her decided to shred their new toy last night. We usually do not buy stuffed toys, however, it said durable and felt durable. Two days later we were proved wrong. Once they here a squeaker in a toy, they must shred to get to the squeaker. Silly dogs.

My experience was flickr was fairly easy, as I was already aware of it operated. I love that there are many pictures for almost any tag you choose. It it a great way to find appropriate pictures. I would use flickr in my classroom, because there could be endless opportunites for it. I don't mind that these two pictures are public, as they do not have anything in them that I am afraid to post to people I do not know. As a general rule, I make all my social websites private.

Thing 6

I created a resume. This was so easy and FREE. Everyone loves free and easy. I used the site http://www.kickresume.com/Create-cv-2. I loved everything about this website. You simply just put the information in and it places it on the resume for you, no worrying about where to place it. You can preview it at anytime, it is easy to make changes, and you can change the design if you don't like it.
I think this would be great senior English class and the library in high schools. Teaching students to make resumes is an excellent source for them.

Thing 5- Web 2.0

School 2.0 is a new way to incorporate learning in the classroom, keeping students engaged. When I was in school we did not use a lot technological resources. My teachers used powerpoints, that were read straight from. Often times, I finished reading what was on the slide faster than my teacher. ( I can not stand to have a teacher read something to me, especially now that I am older.)

The 50 Webtools that every teacher should know are amazing. I wrote several of them to keep and use for later. This is an excellent source for teachers, and endless opportunities to use these in the classroom. I feel students would love to see interactive things and it could potentially help them remember what was being taught. 

Steve Hargadons post about Web 2.0 is great for teachers who don't know about it and are afraid of it. He is right, it isn't going anywhere. Prepare yourself, learn about it, and use it. I think Web 2.0 holds a lot for the future of schools. Technology advances everyday and new things become available. STEM is huge in schools and technology is a part of that. Teaching students about technology, how to use it and when to use it could be great for them.

Thing 4-Commenting is important

     When we communicate with someone we are voicing opinions, sharing ideas, agreeing on subjects, showing others we care and appreciate them or what they do. Not all the time will be communicating be friendly, but when we disagree there are effective and polite ways to go about it. When we take the time to read and comment on others blogs we are opening up a line of interaction. We are creating a conversation that brings a sense of community in. (The sense that others agree or like what I am doing.) 

     One of the techniques said was to create boundaries. I think it is very important to set boundaries on how you want you readers to comment. Let them know that extremely rude comments will not be tolerated, but if there is another opinion you would appreciate it. I also found it important that when you comment it leads others to your blog. This is great if you would like more traffic to your blog.

     Two blogs of my choice were: Imperfectly Beautiful and Delightful Mom Stuff. I selected these two because I have posted some of their posts to my pinterest page. I love arts and crafty things and Imperfectly Beautiful has wonderful tutorials and things on her blog. I am a first time expecting mom and delight mom has wonder posts on new babies and other great things that are of interest to me right now as I learn about new babies and ideas to use later. 

     I choose fellow 2.0 Bloggers to comment on: Emily Barr, Peyton Goodner, Joya Threakill, Chelsi Hardester, and Laken Bowlin. I choose theses people at random and either because I liked what they had to say and/or because their blog is aesthetically pleasing. The comments are made we different for each persons blog. I agreed with what Laken was saying. Chelsi and Peyton, I liked the ideas they had and will have to remember them for future use. I agreed a lot with Emily's posts and liked her personality from her blog. 

Thing 3

I have officially created my first blog and am making my third post :). As I looked through a few of the Best Teacher blogs, I realize that blogs are helpful and useful in the education field. As educators we should constantly be learning new things, so that we can enrich the young minds we will before us each and every day. The blogs allow teacher a way to communicate what they are doing, what works, and what does not work in the classroom. Looking at others blogs and adding to mine will help me become prepared and learn ways to run my classroom and teach new lessons. I could also set up a blog specifically for my students and their parents about what we are learning, the daily assignments, reminders, and useful online learning tools to be used at home. I am sure parents would feel more involved with this approach. I am looking forward to seeing how others use blogs in their classroom.

Thing 2

Creating my own blog was probably one of the simplest things I have created (as I love to craft.) I have never created a blog and was not expecting it to be this easy. I didn't choose any fancy or creative name when naming my blog; I just kept it simple and easy to remember. I have limited experience with writing as I typically do not write things unless it is for school. However, in grade school I used to enjoy writing simple poetry, and occasionally I will write a poem. I feel my time is consumed with school writing ;). On the other hand, I relish in a good book. I do not have a specific author I enjoy, because I enjoy reading almost all types of book. My one exception is biographies, I am not fan of them so much. Forced reading, books I am forced to read, I typically do not like. 

The avatar was really simple to create as well. I can see easily adding an avatar to other web pages I am sure to create. I choose one the reflected me. The short brown hair-anyone that knows me knows I do not like long hair on me and always have mine cut in a short hairstyle. Every now and then I get a wild hair and grow it to about shoulder length. Most of my shirts hanging up are v-neck tshirts- plain and striped. I like to be simple and throw that on with  a pretty scarf. I wanted my avatar to reflect who I am so that when others view my blog they can have a sense of who I am.

Thing 1

The hardest habit, for me, in the 7 1/2 learning habits is viewing problems as challenges. When first faced with some problems they seem too big and look scary. It often takes a second look and a few steps for me to realize that I can conquer this problem.
The easiest habit would be beginning with the end in mind. I enjoy setting goals and checking them off as I complete them. This gives me a sense of where I was, where I am now, and how much closer I am to the ultimate goal.
I did not know that setting up a blog was so easy. (It only took me a matter of seconds.) I see blogs all the time and how much people enjoy writing in their own blog but have never taken the time to start one. I guess here is my chance. :) I am excited to see what all I will learn and take away from working with Web 2.0 tools. I am confident that I will use these tools in the classroom one day. Why not be prepared? I hope I learn tools that are easy to use and easy to teach to others.