Summary

Well, I have truly enjoyed this course. I have to admit I felt very unsure about everything at first but I was happily surprised at everything I accomplished. I learned so much that will help in both my personal and professional life. I learned about so many tools that I never knew were out there. I'm really excited about trying the new things I've learned with my students next year. I don't think I could pick a favorite tool because there are so many. I'm really enjoying the calendar and I love getting the reminders on my email. I had so much fun with the gadgets on igoole and my daughter has already made a page of her own after seeing mine. Google Docs is really going to be helpful for my son in high school so he can get to his documents from any computer. I struggled with some of the first few lessons, but they really built upon each other and helped me with the assignments later on. The list of resources and ways to use each one are way too long for me list. I loved the way the class was set up so I could work at my own pace. This was nice especially since I was teaching this summer. The discovery exercised before the learning activities really helped. The videos from you tube were very helpful and seemed to put everything together. My first goal for next year is for my at risk students to create their own blogs and maybe igoole accounts. I know I need to take it one step at a time, but I think this will help me to continue my learning. I think this will give my students a place to feel safe and share what's going on in their life at home and at school. Something they can be proud of. I am so glad I took this class. I did have some frustrating moments and spent many long hours on the computer, but in the long run I learned so much. The work.......turned into fun and I didn't want to get off the computer. I would recommend this class to anyone. Thanks to everyone for their help.

Thing # 23

I really felt overwhelmed with all the information. I played and searched with each section but there was just so much to look at I didn't know where to go next. I found Ning more suitable for me than Gather. I never really got into the groups in Gather. Ning seemed more relaxed,fun and easier to navigate. I played on Ning for a long time and think this will be a good resource. I bookmarked several sites that I plan on going back to. One I found for fun is a Twilight fan site. You will have to check it out if you are a fan. I really like that you can set up your own social network and I was thinking this might be something that our older students could use. I think Ning would be easier for me to help students work with. I went to several blogs from the Classroom. 2.0 and they were all different. Again, you can see the creators personality coming out. Some were very organized and plain and others were more creative and had a sense of fun. They were all helpful and good resources. I found several good discussions and videos on Ning and on Classroom 2.o. I read how some school are using Facebook in the classroom to collaborate with students from all over the world. I have found so many things I've would have never thought of before. :)

Thing # 22

I'm familiar with My Space because my high school son and all his friends have one. I make sure I check it to see what's going with the people he is communicating with. I did find out a few interesting things that I wasn't aware of. I think it's a fun way for people to communicate, but I still worry that something might pop up that shouldn't. This was the first time I've ever been on FaceBook. I do have several friends who are on it and keep wanting me to open my own account. My best friend from high school fills me in on are old friends are doing and I really enjoy looking at their pages. I don't know why, but I feel a little uncomfortable putting my information out there. Maybe it's because it's new to me. It seems weird how you can tag one persons pictures and see all their friends. I'm sure that I will feel more comfortable as time goes. I think the main reason I feel unsure is because I don't quite know how everything works yet. I know that this is the way most people connect today, especially our students. So this is something important for me to learn so I can communicate better with them. I do think is something that is for older students and teachers and parents need to be able to know how to "police" their accounts. I found for me that Myspace was easier to use than facebook. I didn't get as lost playing with everything as I did on Facebook. I think both of these social networking site can have negative (bullying) and positive influences on the teens of today. Positive influences could be collaborating on projects, keeping up with social and extra curricular events. I can't think of anyway I would use either of these sites to teach in the classro0m, but I love to hear ideas.

Thing # 21

I had no idea Google had so many useful tools for home and school. Google Earth can be used in so many subjects especially social studies and science. It's great for school, but I just loved looking at all the wonderful pictures. Once I got on I was addicted and couldn't get off! But when I started working with the Google Calendar I found a tool that will be very useful to me. It's great for me to use at home with my family's busy schedule. I'm going to share this with my son to help him keep his school deadlines and schedules up to date. I already received a reminder on my email from my calendar. I love it! I this is something that will help to keep an unorganized person organized. Next year I will have to schedule times for 6th, 7th and 8th students to work with me. I will also need to meet with their teachers during their planning times and schedule parent conferences. Having so many different schedules to work around the Google Calendar will help me to see the BIG picture on the screen. Sharing my calendar with the testing coordinator and my principal will really help in planning. I also think it's great the way you can pick what people see on the calendar you share. This way they know when you are available, but don't have to know the details of what you are doing. Now, about iGoogle. I couldn't believe how easy and fun this was to use. I created my page then played around trying to add and delete different things. I think this will be something that I will continue to change. I'm sure this could be used in the classroom to create a class page or let the students create their own page. I can't wait to share this with some of my friends!

Thing # 7 b

I've got a little better at checking my reader and did delete a few subsriptions that I never read. I did find an article by Elona Hartjes that really hit home. The article titled My Web 2.0 Tool Kit for Struggling or Reluctant readers and Writers really makes you think. We know that at risk students have many factors that influence their lack of drive and success. Lack of support, learning disabilites, school is not valued at home and peer pressure are a few. Student may not spend time reading and writing outside the classroom because they don't feel confident. They do however read and write all the time by texting, emailing, using My Space and spending an average of 44.5 hours on line every week. The articles states that we should use this to our advantage to reach and motivate students. Students are comfortable working on line and are use to collaborating. So she created a 2.0 Toolkit for her students to use. I know from teaching for 19 years that we have to start at the level where the students are. Ms. Harjes uses Web 2.0 to motivate and engage her at risk students. Today our students are emersed in technology so we should use it to help them learn in and out of the classroom.

Thing #20

This was really different and new to me. I guess I'm behind the rest of the world because I'm still using Appleworks for everything. I really like the fact that on Google Docs you can get to your documents on any computer. I don't have to worry if I remembered to bring my flash drive with me or not. This will make working together and sharing among students and teacher so much easier. The first document I decided to make was an agenda for me to follow on a staff development day. This will also be easy to update or change when I meet or should I talk with the other presentor. We don't have to meet, but can still work together on the same project.
I'm excited because I think the spreadsheet is going to really be a big help next year. I think this is what I will use to track and monitor the progress of my at risk students. I can make different spreadsheets for different subgroups. The best thing about this is part of my job is to work closely with the testing coordinator and this will be perfect. The testing coordinator, principal and I can all look at the spreadsheets anytime we want to monitor progress. I will also have several parent education meetings covering inclusion, TAKS, tutoring and mentoring. I think the presentations will help me to prepare and present the information.

Thing # 19

I've never hear of a voicethread until now. I think this has great potential for learning in the classroom. I love the idea of setting up an account for your class. When I was watching several voicethreads I thought what a great way for students to share their learning. I think it takes learning to a higher level. A voicethread not only adds technology to the learning, but promotes higher order thinking. The Venn Diagram where the students share their learning about the human body was fantastic. This would be great to share with parents or even another grade level. We have book buddies at our school and I think this would be a great activity for the older students to help the younger students complete. Every year our third grade team works on two large social studies projects. The first is a Pilgrim simulation and the second is on the history of Mesquite. I think I would start using a voicethread with these two units and then branch out to something a little more difficult. I think this class did an awesome job showing that geometry is all around us. Check out their voicethread. I think this will be a fun tool to use in the class for any subject.

Thing # 18

I've had a little experience playing on You Tube because my children have shown me things th.ey had found. Then I would get on and before I knew it two hours had passed. You Tube is fun, but you have to watch out because there are some things you don't want to see and you especially don't want your children to see. The first thing I searched was TAKS because you know the importance of TAKS. I found a couple of fun videos made by high school students to music that is popular today. These might be fun to show in the classroom to give the students a little boost before the test. Then I searched for videos focusing on at risk students. This short video discussed research that show rewards don't work on at risk students because they have so many different issues hindering their success. The video gave ideas such as giving these student new and varied experiences. They need to have a stronger personal bond to their teachers and school so they can see value in themselves and their future. When I searched for a how to do something I looked at changing VHS to DVD. I know that may sound prehistoric to some of you! But I have tons of old VHS tapes from when I was in school and of my own children that I've been planning to switch to DVD and just haven't. Maybe I will now! When I searched for the last video for something fun I really had a hard time picking something because there is so much out there. I watched old I Love Lucy videos, scrapbooking videos and many more. I finally decided to pick one from the upcoming movie New Moon from my favorite book series. I love You Tube but, for use in the classroom I found Teacher Tube more useful. One thing that's great about Teacher Tube is that is safe for students to use. I found some great math videos that I think would be useful when teaching patterns, multiplication and division. These videos help put a picture in your head or pattern that helps students to really understand the process.

Thing # 17

I use itunes quit a bit and we've had some classes create podcasts at school with our librarian.
Pocasts are so great because you can look at them on your own time and schedule. It's really not like the old days when you missed your show you missed your show. Times are changing and we
have to keep up. I love the podcasts because like so many of the things I've learned about in 2.0 you can make it whatever you need it to be. I looked at a few podcasts in each section covering different subject areas and found some that were very creative. I was amazed about how the students seemed to know so much about what they were doing. A few of my favorites that I had to subscribe to were Just One More Book and Dragon Page. When I was listening to the pod casts and playing with the extras on Just One More Book I couldn't help but think.......I want to do this! If I get excited about this, just think how my students will feel.

Thing # 16

Well, I found the Library Thing interesting with the way everything was put into groups. I found someone who was compiling a list of books that had been made into movies. People from all over keep adding to her list. I love this idea! I have a deal with my children and we try to read the book before we see the movie. Then we compare the two. My son teases me all the time and calls me a book nerd, but he ends up reading whatever I've read. I was just at Borders looking for something new to read and I wish I had known about the Library Thing before I went. I will use this on a personal level, but I think this would be great for students to use. I know my daughter who is a sixth grader and her friends are always talking about books they have read. This would just be another great way to have book talks and share.

Thing # 15

I have to admit that I was very nervous when I started this assignment. I felt that I was really going to get frustrated and disappointed in myself. I was very pleasantly surprised and had a great time. I think taking the time to "play" in the sandbox really helped when it was time for me to make a page. I was very impressed at several of the other pages I looked at and it really makes me what to try and experiment with more "things" later on. I didn't struggle embedding the video like I did earlier. I made a few mistakes, but it didn't take me long to figure it out. The assigments we had to do earlier really helped me to be successful this time. I know I have so much to learn, but I'm having a great time!

Thing # 14

I've had a little experience with wikis signing up for special events at school, but that's all. I had no idea there were so many different things you could do. I enjoyed exploring and seeing the collaboration between teachers, students and parents. I thought the sites were organized and easy to read and follow. I could see some the different personalities coming out of the people who created the wikis. Some were very organized and structured and some had cartoons to add a little to their wiki. I loved the site where students set up book discussions about required text. Students can make posts about the novels they are reading in class. There are also games on the site students can play to reinforce skills learned in class. The teacher also made a section for must see T.V. or video that she felt related to class. I think this would be something my son could use in his high school honors classes. Vicki Davis' blog post on her first wiki was great. Her students made places on their wiki for other students to make posts about their projects and assignment. This quickly led to students creating links to other websites. They worked together to study, review and help each other on projects. I plan on revisiting this post again to help me get started next year. I loved looking at all the student projects that were displayed. I think this will not only keep students engaged in learning, but give them a sense of pride and ownership in their work. I was very impressed by the gowest wikispace. The third grade students had to have learn so much. I love how they used thinking maps. They were very specific using the timeline. I think one thing I learned by exploring is that wikis can be used for any grade level and any content. Teachers from k-12th can make a wiki to meet the needs of their classroom.

Thing # 13

I found searching on Delicious easy and fun to use. It was hard for me to decide what to look for first. I searched and found several great sites for reading instruction that will be useful. Next year I will be working with students who struggle in reading, especially nonfiction text. I found several resources I plan to use. I really liked the sites sharing ideas with graphic organizers. These sites share lessons about textmapping and teaching nonfiction text I think Delicious will be a helpful resource at work and at home. I'm always looking for something new to read and was excited to see so many book recommendation sites. Several of my favorite books are books that I would have never picked off the shelf. But, with the recommendation of others decided to try something different and was pleasantly surprised. I look for to using Delicious.

Thing # 7 a

I have to admit that I haven't been as good as I should have about checking my reader. I think it seems like I have so much to read when I check it. But I have to realize that I can pick and choose and I don't have to read everything. I think this will become easier the more I use it. I did read some very sad articles about the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. I like to read articles from The New York Times when I can. The article that really got my attention was where a minister asked the members of his church to bring guns to a service. I am thankful that I live in America and have the rights I do. But I don't want to sit anywhere in a room full of guns, even a church.

Thing # 12

Wow! I feel like I have been living under a rock. There are so many things my students and I can do with these tools. I am going to start using the Tada List right away with the many projects I have planned this summer. I think it would be great to create list for the students to use and hold the responsible for checking off their list. I loved playing on Wordle. It could be used it so many areas such as science, social studies and reading. Letterpop would be a great tool to use for teachers to show pictures of their students working on newsletters that are sent home. I think Quizlet is a great resource for parents and students. I plan on sharing this with my son who is in high school for him to use. The site even has SAT vocabulary words with ways to familiarize yourself with the words, games to play and tests to take. These are just a few of my favorite tools that I know I will use now or in the near future. I can't wait to play more!

Thing #11

I couldn't believe all the images I found on the generators. I never new this was available for us to use. I had fun playing with the different Flickr mashups and generators. I could see how my students and my family could use both to make different signs, poster and logos. I made the trading card of my dog by using Big Huge Labs. The trading cards could be made into several types of games to reinforce objectives taught in the classroom. I had fun playing with the different images on Custom Sign Generators because there were so many funny and creative images.

Thing # 10

I really enjoyed making the slideshow and I can see how this would be a great tool for teachers and students to use. I know students would be very engaged when creating a slideshow to share their learning. Making the slideshow was easy, but I had problems embedding the video to my post.The pictures I selected show that people of all ages and backgrounds can use reading to escape into another world. I know I do.

The pictures selected are from
The Thomaston Library
The Graggs Family and
Read to Dogs by H.H.H. Ellen

Thing # 9

Well, I typed in several different words or themes and seemed to search forever trying to decided what to use. Then I decided that I should find something to do with technology in the classroom since I plan on using what I've learned from this class next year. I enjoyed looking at all the pictures from all over the world and didn't want to get off. I think this could be a fun and creative resource for students and teachers to use. I would like for my students to create their own blogs next year.
Picture selected is from Monique.2424's photostream.

Thing # 8

I have not heard of the Creative Commons until now. What a great idea! I know that as educators we are always learning and get some our best ideas from each other. Creative Commons really opens to door to unlimited materials. We really plan as a team, but our team resources expands so much by using Creative Commons. I think this is a great way for teachers and students to work together especially on projects using the internet. We are always concerned about breaking the strict copyright laws and this will really help teachers and students to have a clear picture of what they can use. I never used digital images or video clips from the web but I hope to next year.

Thing # 7

I have to say that I was a little nervous about commenting on a blog that was outside our class. I guess because this is new to me and maybe I was worried what someone would think. Several of the blogs seemed to help because most people really want to read comments from their readers. I think it is important to try to make comments meaningful so the author really understands what your point is. One thing I didn't think about is that they would want to know more about the person making the comments. When I was reading How to Comment Like a King or Queen it made me realize that information about our backgrounds and experiences would help them to know where we are coming from.

Thing # 6

I think I got a little carried away adding subscriptions to my reader. There are just so many wonderful blogs that I was interested in. I explored many blogs and found several great educational sites. I couldn't help but come back to coolcatteacher. There are so many things on her
blog I stayed on forever. I was excited to see many blogs on programs and mentors for at risk students. I'm hoping this will help me with my new position next year. I did find a scrapbooking blog to subscribe to for fun. I think the more I read and play with the reader the more comfortable I will feel and do a better job navigating.

Thing #5

I've never heard anything about the RSS before and I think it's great. Think of the time it will save you because you don't have to go to each site. I can't wait to share this with my friends. You can control what news you want to be sent to you reader. It really it is like Netflix. I love it! I have to say it is very overwhelming, but interesting. I read many specifics about the cap and trade from the Obama administration and the economic impact of the changing climate. I would have never heard from the evening news. It was an eye opening article from the New York Times that makes me very concerned about the future.

Thing # 4

I really enjoyed reading the different blogs and found them very motivating. I spent a lot of time just exploring each blog. It was fun just playing! Some blogs were very professional and others seemed to be more casual. I really got some wonderful ideas of things that I would love to try in the classroom. I think the thing that struck me the most was that you can make your blog what you need it to me. You can create it to meet the needs of your students. I loved reading the comments about using blogging in the classroom with old routines (self selected reading) but with a new twist. I was touched deeply when I read Patrick's Update. I thought this would be a perfect idea for my new job At Risk Coordinator. I felt this was something I could do with my students next year that could really make a difference in their lives. I can't wait!

Thing # 2

I am amazed at all the endless possibilities that the Web 2.0 can create in classrooms. I know my students and own children are more aware of current technologies than I am. These new technologies create a classroom environment that promotes critical thinking, problem solving, idea sharing, parent and community participation. What a great way for teachers and parents to communicate and keep up to date. It allows the classroom to be part of a global community where students, teachers, parents and community leaders can teach, mentor, solve problems, express and share ideas. This would be a great way to keep students engaged in learning and think out of the box.

Thing # 1

When I read the 7 1/2 Habits of Effective Lifelong Learners I had both positive and negative feelings. I'm very excited about taking this class, but at the same time a little nervous about getting everything done correctly and on time. I feel the hardest challenge for me will be scheduling a time
to dedicate to this class without any interruptions and the confidence in myself to accomplish it. The easiest challenge for me will be to take responsibilty for my learning and to play. I love learning something new and playing with it either with my students or my own children at home. The most important thing for me is to know how to use these new tools and not get frustrated when I come across a problem.

Hello friends,

Welcome to my blog. I know this is going to be a fun way to meet and learn from fellow educators.
I've been teaching for total 19 years in MISD. I taught first grade for 15 years and third for the last 4 years. I'm very excited about next year and my new position as the At Risk Coordinator at Wilkinson.