Thing #24 Is This the End or Only the Beginning?

• What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
• How has this program affected your lifelong learning goals?
• Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
• What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
• How will what you have learned influence your practice as a teacher?
• How do you plan to keep up with new developments in web 2.0? Recommend a way that you have found to be useful.

My favorite web 2.0 exercises included playing around with Flickr (Things 7 & 8), making a little movie in Animoto, and learning about all the uses for Google Drive. 
I will definitely try to keep up with all the changes in technology as much as I can!
There wasn't anything that really surprised me about the program, although I did not know it existed before taking this class and starting the blog.
In regards to how to improve upon the program's format or concept, my only (obvious) suggestion is to make sure to keep it current. Eventually the tools mentioned in the 2.0 - 23 Things are going to be outdated and irrelevant, so it will need to be tweaked here and there every so often to keep it fresh.  
As a teacher I know I will be using technology in my classroom and this program made me aware of tools I may not have otherwise heard about. 
I guess one way I can keep up with new developments in web 2.0 is by setting up a Google alert on the subject and also adding web 2.0 relevant sites to my RSS feed. 

Thing #23 Creative Commons

• Find an example or attribution that shows the Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers blog was based on someone else's work and modified from its original.

• Now that you know about Creative Commons licensing, how will you use it in the future as a teacher?

One example I found which states that the Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers blog is based upon another's work and has been modified from the original is in the credits listed on a sidebar on the front page of the blog:

Credits

Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0 - 23 Things, a staff development program for the Mesquite Independent School District. That program was based on the Learning 2.0 program that was designed by Helene Blowers and adapted by the California School Library Association and others. Content and style for Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers has been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Commons License.

Now that I know about Creative Commons licensing, I might use the CC site to find lesson plans and ideas that I can modify to fit my own classroom projects. I will also be sure to introduce my students to CC so that they are aware of what constitutes plagiarism and how they can avoid it. High school students especially need to know what they can and cannot use when completing school assignments.

Thing #22 Keepin' it Together: Livebinders

U.S. History

Key Code: BrightBinder 

The titles of my three binders are: U.S. History: The Civil Rights Movement, U.S. History: The Progressive Era, and American Government. The one I chose to embed is the Civil Rights Movement binder. It includes an introduction to the movement, a video excerpt of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, a timeline of events, information about activists, and a few lesson plans. 
This "thing" was somewhat difficult for me to put together. The LiveBinders website directions seemed "clunky" to me and I don't really like the binders' appearance. It might be because I am a binder novice, but I just couldn't get the finished product to look polished. 
A possible classroom use for students could be a "Get to Know Me" LiveBinder. Each student would create a binder and add websites and links to YouTube videos about topics that he or she enjoys. The binders would tell a short story about each student's life. This would be a fun project to do during the beginning of the school year as a way for students to introduce themselves to me and each other.

Thing #21 Animoto

I enjoyed using the Animoto site. It was very simple and easy to use. This would be a good site to create a little movie using historical photographs to show in class. And it would also be fun to have my students create their own 30 second movies they could show to their classmates. I am sure my students would really have a great time using Animoto, I just need to think up a few ways to occasionally incorporate it into my lesson plans. 

               

Thing #20 YouTube and Beyond

The video I chose to embed in my blog is called "Civil Rights and the 1950s." It is from the Crash Course video series on U.S. history. I chose it because the standard I am building my project around for this class is about the Civil Rights Movement, and also I really like the Crash Course videos. They are great for showing in the classroom as they are relatively short, factual, and use appropriate academic language.

I am already a frequent user of YouTube and there isn't really anything I actually dislike about the site. Other than the ads that play before the videos, but you can install Adblock from Google Chrome and that will block those annoying YouTube ads.
YouTube videos are terrific to incorporate into lesson plans as long as they are pre-screened by the teacher to ensure they are appropriate for classroom viewing.
 
One of the tools I liked is called TubeChop and it basically allows you to edit YouTube videos so you can show only the parts that are most relevant and suit your needs. This is a great tool to use in the classroom to trim down YouTube videos that are too long or that may contain certain parts that are unacceptable for classroom viewing.

Thing #19 Beyond Facebook: Other Social Networks

• What did you discover about the best uses of social networking for educators?

• Are you a member of any online communities besides Facebook and Twitter?

• Are any of these social networks appealing to you?

• What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later?

  
Educators can use social networking to collaborate with other teachers, find educational resources, and most importantly, find moral support. Teachers can also use social networks to keep students up to date on important classroom information like homework assignments and due dates.  

I am a member of IMDB and Goodreads, as well as Pinterest. I really like the Pinterest teachers site and and started following some of the boards there. Although I am a member of these sites I really don't have time to post on them, but I do read them for information and opinions on movies and books. 

Classroom 2.0 looks like a good site that I may use later on once I start teaching. I added it to my bookmarks. Tasty Kitchen also looks like a fun cooking site that I will be able to get a lot of recipes from, I had to leave there because it was making me hungry!

Thing #18 Explore Social Networking

• Write a blog post about your experience that addresses these questions. Why is it important that educators understand social networking? What new insights did you gain about Twitter? What did you like or dislike about your hashtag search? Can you see a classroom or school application for any of these sites? 

 

I created a Twitter account, my user name is @Historyandcats (yeah, I know). I did a hashtag search for #ntchat (new teachers chat), #histedchat, #sschat, #edtech, and #edchat. I did find some good links to articles this way, especially under #ntchat. This seems like a good one to check often for moral support, we all know the first year of teaching is the hardest.

Before this "Thing" I never used Twitter, it just seemed unnecessary for me because I am already on Facebook to keep in contact with friends and family. I think I'll keep my account open after this semester at APSU and the "Things" blog are over. I can use it to search for teaching resources and support.

It is important for teachers to understand social networking because the majority of our students are on different social networking sites. I am sure they are all on ones I haven't heard of yet. I know once adults are on a social networking site, all the kids leave it because they don't want to be where the "olds" are! 

I can see the benefits of social networking for teachers and schools. It's a great way to keep students, parents, and teachers informed and on the same page. I might use this account to post homework and class assignment reminders for my students if enough of them are on Twitter and my school allows me to do so.

Thing #17 Tagging and Social Bookmarking with Delicious

• Can you see the potential of this tool in the classroom? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere? How can teachers take advantage of social bookmarking sites?

I explored Digg, StumbleUpon, and Delicious. All the social bookmarking sites are easy to use. I can see myself using Delicious to tag and find information about lessons and educational topics that interest teachers. As a new teacher I know I will gladly use all the help at finding resources that I can get!
I don't know whether I would use it in the classroom or not. I might because many students are probably already familiar with Delicious and the other social bookmarking sites. I am sure it would be a helpful tool for students to use when doing a webquest assignment or other online research. The tags would help point them in the right direction so they are not lost in all the information that is available on the internet. 

Thing #16 Get Organized with Web 2.0 Tools

• Which start page did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page?

• How can the online calendars be useful to you?

• Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the school or at home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others? 

For my start page I chose Symbaloo, I like the simple design and how easy it is to use. There are a lot of tiles to choose from to add to your page to personalize it. There is even a JSTOR tile. I am probably going to make it my permanent home page because it is so convenient.

I already use the Calendar tool from Google. I like how it is integrated to work with all the other features in my Google account. I have it set up to give me reminders on my smartphone. I use it for appointments and to remind me when school assignments are due. I would really be lost without Google Calendar!
                                                                           
The PDF converter is one I can see myself using both at school and at home. It will be especially useful to convert PDFs to Word documents to edit and then convert back again to PDFs. This tool is helpful for school and personal use. I would recommend the PDF converter, Symbaloo, and Google Calendar to others.

Thing #15 What in the World is a Wiki?

• Create a post in your blog about the experience. How might you use a wiki? What did you find interesting about the wiki concept?

I enjoyed adding to the APSU 23Things Sandbox wiki for this "thing." I added my name, Mrs. Bright, using the the Spell with Flickr site and also a simple flowchart I created in Gliffy for Thing #14. It was fun and interesting to see what my classmates have added to the wiki so far.  I might create a class wiki for my future U.S. history students to add to as part of their class assignments. It would be great for them to see how their wiki develops over the course of a school year. I like that so many people can be a part of a wiki at one time. I can see how the wiki concept encourages people to work together in a creative manner.