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.