One last thing

     There were so many discoveries that I made during this process! I have never been computer savvy so I was surprised that I learned so many things, and the tools that I learned about where generally easy to use and understand. Some tools that were really beneficial included the RSS feed and the social bookmarking. The RSS feed allowed me to get updates from all my favorite sites all in one place. The social bookmarking allowed me to put all the websites that I use in one place, and to tag the websites so that I can find them easily in the future. This program just opened up a whole new world of learning for me. I can use tools such as the podcasts to learn about teaching from other educators. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to learn all these tools and to be able to use them effectively. The one thing that I had the most problems with was posting videos to my blog. In order to make this program better, the makers could go into more detail on how to post videos to the blogs. There are so many of these tools that I can use when I become a teacher. I can make podcasts to help my students keep up with the curriculum if they missed a class. I can use the RSS feed to keep up with important news about education.
     My educational journey will not end here! I need to keep up with these tools that I have learned about, and continue to learn about new tools. I will also use these tools in my classroom, such as the podcasts. I may even create a blog for my classes in order to keep parents updated and allow students to showcase their work.

Thing #23

The 23 Things blog is based on somebody else's work. The project is loosely based on Stephen Abram's article "43 Thing I (or You) might want to do this year" and the website called "43 Things." The original work was not particularly talking about education, but the 23 Things blogging assignment was modified to be about education and learning Web 2.0 tools. Creative commons means that you can use somebody else's original work in a way that the person allows you to. They keep some of their rights, but they give up some of their rights. They may allow anybody to use and/or remix their work if they want to. Using creative commons can be useful for me when I become a teacher. I can use the site to use and remix different people's original work, as long as I credit the author. It is also important that I teach my students about copyright and creative commons so that they don't use somebody else's original work in the wrong way.

Thing #22

For this part of the assignment, I checked out the Educational Podcast Directory and Podcastdirectory.com. I found them both to be useful and easy to navigate. Both of these sites had their podcasts tagged so that they were easy to find if you were looking for a certain subject. On the Educational Podcast Directory, their student and class podcasts were divided into elementary school, middle school, and secondary school. I listened to a podcast called Ace Kids. It was created by a class of 5th and 6th graders in one school in Australia. They were doing this project in order to learn about podcasts and how to make them. Podcasts can be useful to me when I become a teacher. I can make podcasts to talk about what we learned in class so that my students that miss class can listen to the podcast and get caught up on the material. It can also be fun and educational for my students to learn to create podcasts. It could be beneficial for me to subscribe to an educational podcast in order to learn about different strategies for teaching when I become on educator.

Thing #21

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I used animoto.com in order to create my own video. It was surprisingly easy! All I had to do was upload some of my own pictures and choose a song from the website, and the website mixed up my photos and created a video slideshow of my pictures. You can also upload your own mp3 to be played during the video, but I just decided to choose one of the songs on the website. The website allows you to create your own 30 second video for free, but if you want to create a video that's longer than about 30 seconds, then you have to pay money for it. This website is useful if you want to get into making videos professionally. You just have to pay to use the website.

Thing #20

I enjoy using youtube.com because there is such a variety of videos to watch. Some videos I particularly enjoy watching deal with music or pop culture. I enjoy watching videos where people are playing mallet percussion instruments, and I like to watch music videos from my favorite bands. There are many videos on youtube that are hilarious! I particularly love the video called "Star Wars According to a Three-Year-Old." The video that I chose to share in this blog is called "My Immortal" Piano Tutorial. I chose this video for two reasons. The first reason I chose it is because it deals with music, and music is a huge part of my life. The second reason I chose this video is because it is educational. This video teaches people how to play the first part of the piano piece to Evanescence's song, "My Immortal." Youtube.com can be used for entertainment purposes, but it can also be used for educational purposes.

Thing #19

I am not a member of any online communities as of right now. I found a couple of these social networking sites to be interesting. TeacherPop was interesting to me because the members are all teachers or teachers-in-training. This could be beneficial to me because if I have a question about teaching, I could post my question on this site and somebody could get back to me with an answer. I could use this site to get advice for teaching. Another site that I found was interesting was flixster.com. I chose to check out this website because I love to watch movies. This site lists movies that have just come out in theaters and on DVD and it shows how people rated the movies. For example, Harry Potter came out this weekend, and flixster.com said that 91% of people who rated the movie liked it. I would use this site later if I were planning on seeing a movie or buying a movie. I could go to this site and see how people rated the movie so I'll know if it's worth seeing or not.


Visit TeacherPop

Thing #18

I made a profile on facebook.com two years ago when I started college. I don't necessarily think that social networking is important for teachers. Maybe it's an effective way to keep in touch with co-workers, but I don't think it's appropriate for teachers to be friends with their students on facebook. I think teachers should be informed about the dangers of social networking sites so they can warn their students about the dangers. It's also extremely important that teachers express themselves in an appropriate manner on facebook. If they make posts on facebook about going out and getting drunk, and a potential employer sees their profile, that could keep them from getting the job. I like using facebook.com because it keeps me in touch with friends that I otherwise wouldn't be able to keep in touch with. However, I am extremely careful to keep my profile appropriate and to not put too much personal information on my profile. I don't know about how I could use this site for my elementary students, but I have seen colleges use facebook.com to post pages that students can get coupons and discounts by visiting the page.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1485060345

Thing #17

For this part of the assignement, I searched a site called delicious.com. This site is used for social bookmarking. By using this site, you can tag websites that you come across that you want to be able to get to at a later time. It's like creating a list of your favorite websites, but when you save the website to delicious.com, you are able to tag the website. For example, if you want to save a website about math, you would give the website the tag "math." In this way, when you want to find the website months from now when you have several other websites saved to delicious.com, you can type in the tag "math," and all the websites that have to deal with math show up. This could be helpful when I become a teacher because I can bookmark different educational websites for my students to view, and I can find the websites easily because of the tags. It's called social bookmarking because you are able to view other people's tagged websites. This can be helpful for me when I become a teacher because I can see the websites that other people have tagged that have to deal with the subjects that I am teaching my students.

Thing #16

I chose iGoogle as a start page. It appealed to me because it asked me about my interests and customized my home page to fit my interests. For example, I'm interested in music, so my customized home page tells me about different concerts that are coming up in my area. I also explored the calendars and to-do lists. Calendars can be helpful in reminding you when an event is or when a project is due. To-do lists can also help you keep track of what you need to do and what you have already accomplished. While these tools can be helpful, I prefer not to use them. Instead I just keep a real calendar and write down my events there. Also, for a to-do list, I just write what I need to do on a post-it note and stick it on my desk. Another tool that I found useful was Google Docs and Spreadsheets. This tool is useful for creating documents and spreadsheets online for free, instead of using Microsoft Word for these items.

Thing #15

Wikis are used in order for people to collaborate with each other for different purposes. I discovered several reasons why people use wikis to collaborate with others. People can start a book club and use the wikis to review the book and to see what others wrote about the book they read. Also, people can use wikis in order to share information with other people. One wiki that I looked at was created by somebody to inform people about the different places to go in a certain city. Other wikis that I looked at were written for librarians and by librarians. They were sharing information that they thought was useful in order to help other librarians. In the future, I could use a wiki in order to write about my experiences in the classroom and talk about what worked for me and what didn't work for me in the classroom. Other teachers could post on my wiki and tell me and other teachers startegies that work for them in the classroom.

Thing #14

For this part of the assignment, I discovered the differences between flow charts and mind maps. I went to the websites for them and decided to use them both for something that I needed to think about. For both the flow chart and the mind map, I thought about the same question, but went about the question in two completely different ways. The question had to do with what I should get my boyfriend for Christmas. For the flow chart, the process dealt with how I should figure out what to get him for Christmas. For the mind map, the process dealt with different possibilities of things I could give him for Christmas. What I concluded from using flow charts and mind maps was this: Flow charts are used for describing processes. Mind maps are brainstorms in which the user thinks about a certain topic and divides that topic into several sub-categories.

Thing #13

I had never heard of Zoho until I started this assignment! It's amazing what all it has to offer. With Zoho, you can create documents online without having to use software, such as Microsoft Word. Zoho Writer allows you to create documents and share them with whoever you want to share them with. This allows you to get feedback from somebody about your documents. You can allow people to just view your documents, and you can allow them to view the document and make changes. Zoho Writer has many similarities to Microsoft Word. Like Word, Zoho Writer allows you to change the font in your document, make your font bold-faced or italicized, create headers and footers, insert images, and use spell check. This is a great way to create documents to be printed and/or shared without having to buy software, such as Microsoft Word.

Thing #12

     I didn't realize you could do so many things with Google! They can send you e-mail updates about topics that are important to you. You can create a calendar with Google. I created a customizable home page with Google. When I was creating it, I was asked about things that were important to me, such as music and sports. I said that I was interested in music, comedy, art, and games. When my home page was created, there were all sorts of links and information about the areas I'm interested in! There were links for games, comic strips, information about concerts in my area, and even an artist of the day. There is also a news feed that could be useful for keeping up with current events.
     Another tool Google has is a translator. You can use the translator to translate from one language to another. There are over 50 languages you can choose from! You can also listen to a voice saying the translation. This could be very useful for learning how to talk in a different language.

http://www.google.com/ig

http://translate.google.com/#en|fr|Hello.%20Where%20is%20the%20bathroom%3F

Thing #11

     One search tool that I like is Topix.net. It's not used for blogging, but it includes all kinds of news information. You can search for any kind of topic that you want to read articles about. There's even a "top stories" section and a section on local news. None of the search tools were hard to use. However, when I tried to get on Syndic8.com, it said "Syndic8 is offline-- database backup in process." Therefore, I wasn't able to search that site. I found several interesting and useful feeds while I was searching these sites. When I put "school library learning 2.0" in the Google Blog Search, several blogs came up about the 23 Things program. Technorati.com is also a useful site to search for blogs. On the site, the top blogs of the week are listed. Also, you can search for any topic that you want to read about in a blog.

Thing #10

     I like RSS because it allows you to subscribe to different websites and news feeds and puts them all in one place. Because of this, you don't have to check these websites all the time. All you have to do is subscribe to the website and the updates all go to one site.
     I could use this in my personal life by adding websites of interests to me. These websites may include sports websites or websites with cooking recipes that I want to try out. I could also subscribe to websites that supply me with information about my schooling.
     Teachers can utilize this information in many ways. They can subscribe to websites that keep them updated about breaking education news. These sites can also keep teachers updated about statistics, such as how students are doing in school percentage-wise.

Thing #9

    
     An image generator that I found that I liked is ImageChef.com. This website allowed me to create a mosaic with any words or graphics that I wanted. I chose to create a smiley face using the word "Smile!" I was also able to create a photo frame with a picture of my choice. I picked the beach photo frame with a picture of a couple of jellyfish that I took a picture of at the aquarium last semester.
     Personally, I could use this website to create images and photos in frames to share with friends and family. I could make a "Get Well Soon" mosaic to send to a friend that is sick. There is also a generator on the website to make jerseys with your name on it. In the classroom, I could use this website to teach my students about image generators so they'll know what they are and how to use them to their advantage.

http://www.imagechef.com/

Thing #8

     There are several applications that involve flickr and other websites. In one application I came across, people can upload photos from flickr and turn those photos into jigsaw puzzles. I used this application to create a jigsaw puzzle of one of the photos I uploaded to flickr. I could use this to create jigsaw puzzles to do in my spare time or to give to somebody as a gift. Another application that I found that was interesting is Mappr. This takes photos that people have taken of places around the world and puts them on a map. I could use this in my classroom to show people pictures around the world that have been taken by people. I think that sharing photos online is a great way to show people different things and places that you have seen.

Thing #7

Above are some photos that I uploaded to flickr.com. Creating an account and uploading photos on flickr was surprisingly easy. The site is easy to navigate. When people upload photos, they can tag the photo so that people can easily find them. For example, my photo at the top is of the sun setting in California. Therefore, I tagged my photo as California and sun setting. Now when someone searches for California or sun setting pictures, my photo will be one of the ones that shows up. I can use my photos in personal ways. For example, I can create albums of family gatherings and share them with my family. I can also use other photos to put in powerpoints for classes. The only other site that I've used for uploading photos is Facebook.com. There people can upload photos to share with friends and family. They can also adjust privacy settings so that either everyone can see the photos, or just family and friends can see the photos. I'm not really concerned with having my photos in a public place. If I didn't want people to see them, I'd adjust my privacy settings to allow only the people I want to see them.

Thing #6

     The Web 2.0 site that I explored was Flickr. This site is used for uploading photos and videos for everyone around the world to look at and share. I found several interesting things at this site. First of all, there is a map of the world. On the map, different places are tagged with pictures of those places that users have uploaded. Users can also create photo albums about whatever topic they want to create a photo album about. For example, one person created a photo album called "Me and my Um-ber-rel-la." It was all pictures of different people with different umbrellas. The site could be very useful for assignments. With copyright laws, it can be hard to find a picture on the internet that you can use. With flickr, people could use the pictures in a powerpoint for a class.

http://www.flickr.com/

Thing #5

     Web 2.0 is internet websites that are interactive, including social networking sites, video sharing sites, and blogging sites. In one article about Web 2.0, the author mentions that it is for everyday people. That means that you don't have to be an expert on technology to be able to use these websites. They should be user-friendly and encourage everybody to participate. Teachers are now using this technology to teach students. For example, teachers are creating class blogs and having their students participate.
     For me, School 2.0 means a whole new learning experience. On top of using textbooks, students can use the internet to find any information they want to find. They can go to interactive sites to learn about the subjects taught at school and play games that go hand-in-hand with what they're learning.

Thing #4

     There are many reasons why it is important to comment on blogs. It encourages writer and reader interaction. The reader is able to give their input on what the blogger is saying. They can also give positive feedback to encourage the blogger. Bloggers can then respond to the reader and give their thanks for the reader's comment. A sense of community is made because different readers can comment on a post and talk amongst themselves about the topic. The blogger can also join in the conversations.
     After reading about the importance of commenting, there were a couple of points that I found to be interesting. One point I read about was ways to get people to comment on your posts. People are more likely to comment on your posts if you invite them to comment, or if you ask questions in your post. Also, if you comment on reader's comments, they are more likely to respond to future posts. Another point I found interesting was the importance of being open-minded and listening to your readers. It's important for readers to feel like their input is valued. If they don't feel like the blogger is considering what they have to say, they're not going to continue to comment on posts.
     The people from my class that I chose to comment on their blogs are Alexandra Lee, Michelle Carpenter, Cheryl Morgan, Asante Pugh, and Heather Goodman. The people from other classes that I chose to comment on their blogs are Elena Blair and Kawana Atkins. I chose their blogs because I saw that they had little to no followers, and I wanted their posts to be read by at least one person. I made comments to encourage the bloggers.

Thing #3

     Blogging can be important for me when I become a teacher. I can use it as a tool to reflect on my teaching and share my experiences to help other teachers. I can post about tools and methods that worked in the classroom, and what didn't work in the classroom. Also, I can tell about games and activities that can be used to teach students.
     I can also create a class blog in order to share information with students and parents. I can use the blog to post links that are related to material being covered in class. Also, I can post outstanding writing assignments from students to give pointers to the class on writing.
     I can also teach my students how to create a blog for the class. The students can use their blog to write about their ideas and thoughts about class assignments. They can use the blog to write about current events. Also, they can post their opinions about my teaching methods in the classroom to help me adjust to the students' learning styles.

Thing #2

     My posting name is the first initial of my first name followed by my last name. I decided on "HBrown and Web 2.0" as my blog name because this blog is about all the things I'm learning about by using Web 2.0 tools. The blog was easy to create because Blogger is easy to use. Also, it was easy to create an avatar and put the avatar on my blog because the 23 things guidelines told me exactly how to do it.
     My avatar reflects my personality because she is holding an ipod and listening to music. Music is very important to me. I've been in band since the 8th grade, and I was even a music major when I started college. I tried to make my avatar look as much as me as possible because I'm happy just being me. I don't have to pretend to be somebody else.

Thing #1

     Out of the 7 1/2 habits of successful lifelong learners, the easiest habit for me is viewing problems as challenges. This time last year, this habit probably would have been the hardest for me. I was going through a lot of problems, and I didn't think things were going to end well. However, I took those experiences and used them to become more independent and to learn more about myself. Now whenever I face a problem, I treat it as something that I need to learn from.
     The habit that is hardest for me is accepting responsibility for my own learning. I tend to be shy and not speak up in class or ask questions. I also have a habit of not attempting to learn about things unless I'm required to learn about them for a class. However, I am trying to change that about myself. Recently, I was required to do step aerobics in my health class. I realized that it was fun, and I decided to learn more about it. So now I'm going to start going to step aerobics classes.
     I'm excited about learning by using the Web 2.0 tools. I hope to learn about different strategies for teaching, as well as learning on my own behalf so I can be a lifelong learner.
     Setting up this blog was pretty easy. Blogger helped me to register and create my blog step-by-step. It was fun selecting a template for my blog that showed my personality.