Summary

The discovery exercise “Learning 2.0 – 23 Things for Teachers” has exposed me to numerous creative tutorials that will enable me to be successful with my goals of lifelong learning. My favorite activities were related to the video and audio sites. I especially enjoyed creating the photo montage using Animoto. Also, I enjoyed exploring YouTube because I managed to “peel the onion back” on its many features and discover its use beyond entertainment. A big takeaway for me is the confidence I have gained when considering how to incorporate technology into the classroom. The world has come along way from the days of a simple chalk board, and pencil and paper. Learning how to use technology, being creative with its implementation, and knowing where to go for information about its legal use has garnered me the necessary tools to be the best educator I can.

In the future, I plan to keep up with technology a few ways. First, I will make a concerted effort to remain active by blogging and staying involved with the blogs I currently subscribe to. I also, will expand my participation in new blogs of interest when they are created. Second, as an educator it is important to remain current on technology as it applies to the classroom. This is done by taking some continuing education classes and seminar/webinars discussing the current trends in technology. Finally, I feel that it is beneficial to self reflect on where you are in your career. Teachers are lifelong learners, so understanding what your current level of knowledge is and where your education needs to be in the future can be the carrot that is needed to continue to grow as an educator.

Thing #23

The Creative Commons tutorial exposed us to the subject of copyright and fair use of copyrighted materials. As a teacher candidate it is very important to understand what it means to use copyrighted material and give credit to the proper person or entity that owns it. With Creative Commons subscribers can have the confidence to know that the material used via this particular website is lawful to share with others. In the classroom, the educator can freely use another’s ideas because the owners put their particular work on the website and granted that use through Creative Commons. In addition, users of the material can remake much of someone else’s ideas as long as credit is given to the original owner. This is particularly beneficial when students complete projects and conduct research where the proper use of copyrighted material.

The concept of the “Learning 2.0 – 23 Things” is a variation of Stephen Abram’s article, “43 Things I (or you) may want to do this year”. The use of our particular learning activity is granted through the use of the Creative Commons website. When doing current research for my classes, I often find myself asking whether a particular piece of work, article, or other idea has already been copyrighted, and who really the true author is. In the future, I can see where the use of sites such as Creative Commons will assist me as I complete my own education, create projects and develop lesson plans for my future students to complete.

Thing #22

Music

The LiveBinders lesson provides the student with a unique exposure to building a binder on that is virtual and stored on the website. For this lesson I created three binders titled education 3040, music, and history. I chose these titles because they interest me and are easy to recall. I am embedding my music binder into this blog post. There are two songs from my favorite band, Dave Matthews Band, "Ants Marching" and "Grey Street". I can see a good deal of use for these virtual binders because they enable a teacher to organize lessons by subject, then save information and data into each tab. These binders can be expanded by adding new tabs as information is gained and entered. Websites such as LiveBinders also give an educator a place to store large volumes of work on the virtual web; eliminating the need to build physical three-ring binders to store on shelves and closets in the classroom. This will be a real space saver in the long run. Students will also find this beneficial as they can build their class binders virtually, and then have them forever stored and retrievable via the web. In other words, students can create binders as soon as they begin school their first year. As subsequent years come, these students can build on these binders all the way through high school. This will eliminate the need to carry binders, books, etc. to and from school. The student of the future could move from class to class and grade to grade without carrying anything along. That is the school I envision for the future!

Thing #21

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Exploring the Animoto video creator was a good experience. Until now, I had not created any video using photos from my own collection. The site does have some fairly adequate instructions but required a little bit of trial and error for me to figure it out and get it done. I chose ten photos from my family vacations over the past few summers. The vacation photos centered around water, so I chose the Animoto clip that incorporated a water theme into its creation. I chose music that described our “Beautiful World” in a melancholy sound. This was a fun lesson to experience and one that I plan to continue using in the future. For the classroom, I think educators will find Animoto useful for creating personalized lesson plans that use photos from the teachers own discoveries.

Thing #20

YouTube is one of my most visited websites I frequent. I always enjoy watching the funny clips of the crazy things that people do. Mostly, I enjoy watching music videos by my favorite artists. The video of Dave Matthews Band playing their song titled, “You & Me” is perhaps my favorite. The song’s lyrics are reminiscent of me and wife as we enter our 24^th year of marriage. In the classroom, sites such as YouTube are a great asset because the videos are easily incorporated into any lesson and because the site stores the data, you can retrieve it from anywhere. For me, there really is nothing to dislike about the website. I find that the majority of the material I am in need of is readily accessible through YouTube. One of the components I find to be useful is the ability for others to comment about each video. The comments often provide useable feedback about the video which allows another’s analysis to be considered when deciding about its applicability in the classroom. In the future, I feel that websites such as YouTube will be my go to site when preparing or presenting lessons for the classroom.

Thing #19

The social network sites like Ning, Gather, and TeacherPop seem to provide professional people with a place on the internet to share and collaborate as part of an online community. The discussions and dialogue exchanges enable professionals to engage in thought provoking ideas concerning important issues. Unlike Facebook, TeacherPop’s membership appears to be composed of educators and not just anyone seeking to join. This style of communication does have some purpose and can be beneficial. The benefit should be limited in scope and not be used to socialize outside of the school. The idea of joining social network sites and actually participating in one of the sites I explored during the lesson is not very appealing. I do not necessarily support the mainstream philosophy that just because it’s technology that teacher’s must get on board with it. As a private individual, I feel that one must be careful with how they use the internet. That means that one must consider carefully the consequences of joining social sites that are designed to be social, but used as a means to monitor its activities. I will never share information with one of my students on a social site, nor will I continue to be a member of them once I begin my teaching career. I will limit my social communications to those few Facebook friends that I have in order to closely monitor what information is out their about me. For me, the idea of socializing via the internet is not what teaching is. Instead, it is the concept of enabling my students to learn and grow through engaging lessons, and well delivered strategies. This is where educators should place their focus.

Thing #18

Social networking sites serve as a modern communication service for the planet. The fact that someone can sign on for a free account, search for friends and colleagues, and subscribe to favorite groups and pages makes social networking services a premier method for people to share information. This information sharing is important for educators because social networking opens the lines of communication across classrooms in multiple areas of the world. Teachers can use these services to stay abreast of current real time issues with friends and group members without having to do much more than sign in on their account using the internet. In addition, educators can use these sights to seek answers to relevant questions via a query of their colleagues. Since I currently use Facebook, I am most comfortable with it and its features. Facebook enables me to reestablish friendships with many people that I haven’t seen in years. Without this tool, I may have never heard from any of them. Also, Facebook groups are a great way to be active in issues and participate in communities that may be important. I check my Facebook page daily, but seldom update my status or make comments to others as these kinds of activities are not what I enjoy. I mostly send messages, or wish happy birthday to my friends and leave it at that. One downside to social networking sites is the fact that the language of its rules can be lengthy to read and complex. So, you must be careful when signing up or you may find more information is open to the public than you thought. I also do not like the use of social networking for work or school. I find it offensive when my work attempts to pressure us to join their page. This is a big issue with me as privacy is a right of all individuals. As a teacher candidate, I am not a supporter of having students, or my colleagues searching for information about me via social networking. I do encourage the use of social network sites, but feel their use should be for the social aspect and not so much for information sharing and educating.

Thing #17

The use of websites such as del.icio.us and Digg.com allow the educator to create a virtual storage place for tags of important information that may be beneficial for the learning environment. I found them extremely friendly and easy to use. The information available on the web today is so abundant that a good strategy to keep what is important organized is needed. These tagging websites give the user this organization. The benefits for the classroom can be endless including the tagging of key words for easy retrieval during a lesson plan, or storing tags on the website when students are conducting collaborative work assignments from multiple locations such as the school or home. Other sites such as Digg.com also provide a means to categorize information in a virtual storage place for retrieval as needed by the user. One of the downsides of using these types of websites is the fact that many networks in use by public education block this activity because they may be considered a security risk. Another issue is that some schools lack adequate internet service and low band width may prevent or restrict the accessibility to these sites. In the future, I feel that school systems will move forward with their rules and regulations regarding internet use and these issues will disappear.

Thing #16

For this activity I explored several different web based programs. These tools are designed to help students increase their productivity by organizing all of their internet based data into a more streamlined application. I really enjoyed learning about the many gadgets available that might assist me in organizing the numerous events, assignments and appointments I have each day. After looking around the different start pages, I chose Google. I guess I am just a creature of habit, and prefer to keep things under a uniformed appearance. Google just requires you to sign in and within a few seconds your start page is complete. I am seriously considering using this as a permanent start page because the one I currently use is too generic and no longer supports my needs. Plus, I can access my calendar I created with Google by adding it to my start page. I believe this online calendar is useful for tracking some of my appointments, and my class schedule. I am not sure that I would put my entire schedule on an online calendar because I worry about the security of my personal information.

For me, the to-do list programs were not very functional. I did not feel that the final product was worth the effort. What I did find useful was those programs that converted file types so that they could be read on my computer. In the past, I would attempt to download and open a document only to be prompted that I needed additional software to view it. Having the PDF converter enables me to convert the document into a portable document for viewing. I definitely will be using this one in the future.

Thing #15

So, basically stated, a wiki is a central location where users can edit and save information without having to send, receive and organize separate emails and files. Instead of planning an activity by sending information to all participants, the participants can simply sign in to the wiki and retrieve or add information about the activity. While exploring this activity, I found wiki’s to be extremely simply to use and navigate. Educator’s will find wiki’s beneficial because it enables a streamlined process for planning events such as dances, afterschool activities, and other collaborative efforts. Similarly, wiki’s provide a place for students to use when planning their own activities. Organizations such as the Student Government Association can use a wiki to successfully plan and run the Student Government when planning social events both during and after school hours. Students are no longer limited to the school day when conducting meetings or performing other coordination efforts that would normally require large amounts of missed time from the class. Wiki’s free up that time by centralizing the information and allowing access from any remote location with internet capability.

For my APSU23thingssandbox exploration, I decided to add two pictures from my blog and post about them. I also posted a copy of “Thing 2” from my blog. To be honest, I was unclear on the instructions and spent some time attempting to figure out the intent of the sandbox. I am still not clear and honestly could have spent my time on something a little more constructive for me. However, I gave it my best effort and feel pretty good about using wiki’s in the future.

Thing #14

Mind maps and flow charts are useful tools for assisting the user in completing projects or assignments by providing logical sequencing, and archiving of information. Mind maps allow the user to see connections between various thoughts and ideas by mapping them out on the computer screen for visual representation. Similarly, flow charts take ideas and information through a sequence of events from its beginning to its end. For me, mind mapping is the first step taken in completing a project because it allows you to get all of your thoughts out. Then the information can be “mapped” in sequential order to show the connections and eliminating any information that is not needed. Once the mapping is complete, a flow chart can sequence the information so that it flows seamlessly from its beginning to its end.

I plan to use the mind meister tool to archive my notes and brainstorm ideas for my upcoming paper about my observations of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp at a local area high school. This tool should enable me to complete my project by organizing everything in a clear, concise manner which I can then use to produce an organized, complete representation of my observation experience.

Thing #13

Zoho Writer has quite a few useful tools. The idea that web based documents can be stored, retrieved, edited and published without actually saving it to the hard drive is outstanding. As a teacher, having the ability to collaborate with colleagues is quite an advantage given the possibility for corrupt files, viruses, and worms that could destroy your work. Students can also find web based applications for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations useful when working on group projects. Each student could access the application, update or review the collaborative work, and then publish the finished product for grading without it being necessary to be in the same place. Web based productivity tools such as Zoho writer and Google docs offer students an alternate means to store their individual work for retrieval from any computer. As the student moves from the classroom to the library and then home, the files are ready for retrieval and use whenever they are desired.

Personally, I was more comfortable with Google docs only because I have a Google account. Zoho Writer did appear similar to the common Word application used by most people, but was not a deal maker for me. I like the way that a Google doc allows you to upload your file directly, then share it with your friends, coworkers, or colleagues. In addition, while working in Google doc one could easily transition to other Google applications using the toolbar at the top. In all, both Zoho and Google offer the user a secure and effective way to create and use documents, spreadsheets and other applications right on the web for easy retrieval, sharing and convenient publishing.

Thing #12

Google calendar

U.S. News

Nascar

For this exercise I chose to explore and create a Google calendar and Google alert. All of the tools for use in this activity offer a degree of application for educators. The calendar tool is always something that can be utilized as a schedule keeper, or to track assignment deadlines, etc. The alert function is an advanced means to receive updated feeds about literally anything you want. I chose to have my alerts sent as an RSS feed to my Google reader account. However, the option of sending them to a particular email address is available. In an educational setting, the calendar would be of particular use provided the school does not mandate using their calendar tool. In addition, the alert feature does not seem to be of value for the classroom. To me, this feature is more for personalized preferences such as sports, news, or happenings geared towards those things that interest the user. I also tried the Google translator tool and found it fun and extremely easy to use. You simply type in what you want, then hit the translate button and it is retyped into the new language. This is a tool that can come in handy for quick translations in the classroom.

Thing #11

For this exercise I found myself a little overwhelmed with the amount of RSS feeds there are. I reviewed the search tools and found the Google’s Blog search was the simplest way for me to add subscriptions to my reader account. I managed to subscribe to several feeds that I would like to follow and will read them daily. For me the search tool “Syndic8” seemed very complex and a little confusing. The web page was extremely cluttered with various links to different content feeds. As a new user of the RSS function, I am still not sure of what exactly I want to subscribe to, so the less busy it looks the better. During my exploration, I was surprised to find that just about every website and blog has the capability of RSS feed. The options are limitless when it comes to decisions about what to include in your reader and what to leave out. I just kept it simple and chose a few feeds to subscribe to the discuss history. I will monitor them for a while to see if I need to add any feeds that might better fit my desires. I was really drawn to the Google search tool for finding different feeds. Since I enjoy reading the news headlines, I am mostly attracted to news type feeds that discuss the day’s events from a global perspective. I will let everyone know what I find out.

Thing #10

The subject of RSS feeds really did not interest me prior to completing this learning activity. Usually, I would open the various web pages of news that I like to read in order to be updated on the latest headlines, or facts. However, I now know that subscribing to those RSS feeds that I am interested in, makes my time management skills a little sharper. I especially appreciate the fact that from one web site, I can view and read everything I enjoy. This will definitely come in hand when I want to be updated about current events and there is a time constraint such as lunch time or planning where quick reading is necessary. Also, RSS feeds may assist with lesson planning by enabling me to research history headlines or current news events more systematically. With RSS feeds teachers can import a “feed” that fits the current discussion directly into the class for the students to see for themselves. Personally, I chose to subscribe to the following feeds using Google Reader: the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, ESPN’s Major League Baseball feed, Fox News Headlines, the Stuff You Missed in History Class, and Today in History. I plan to read them every day or so in order to familiarize myself to each of their particular features. I will let everyone know how my progress is.

Thing # 9

http://www.imagechef.com/ic/final_widget.jsp

http://www.headerbar.com/templates/

For this posting, I chose two image generators that focused on my home state and my blog name. For the first image, I used one of the generators called "Image Chef". This particular image maker allows the user tocreate a personalized license plate. I chose to create a license plate from the State where I was born, Maryland. The name “Bocephus” is the name of our family’s dog. "Bo" is a Treeing Walker Coon Hound and he was adopted from an animal shelter in Kentucky. This particular image generator was very simple to use and required no software to download to your computer. To use it, you simply open the desired license plate image you want and type in your desired name. Then import it directly to where you want by following the directions listed. The second image generator I chose is a header bar creator. This program allows you to import new headers into your particular blog by simply selecting the style you want and saving it to your blog. I found this program just easy to use as the license plate maker. In the classroom I may use image generators such as these to spruce up some projects my students may work on either individually, or in collaboration with others. Importing images into class projects using image makers found on the internet are a fun way to make history lessons come alive. If used correctly, projects and lessons plans developed using animations usually captures attention, and sparks positive thought processes.

Thing #8



My Currahee Rendezvous



For my learning activity I used a mosaic photo sharing application. The pictures in my mosaic carry on the theme from my previous blog about my adventure to Currahee Mountain. The 3 mile run to the peak of this mountain provides some interesting scenery and beautiful landscapes. The application itself was extremely easy to use, and best of all required nothing to download to my computer. I find that in the past, when I’ve attempted to use software that must be downloaded, my computer always becomes infected with some undesirable viruses. Two ways that the mashups presented in the learning 2.0 exercise can be used in the classroom are tools for large class projects such as online murals, and geography map quests. The advantage to utilizing such online tools over traditional means is two fold. First, these types of projects are eco-friendly since they use no actual paper, paint or other materials normally discarded following the projects completion. Second, the fact that the project is online allows for expanded collaboration between classrooms which results in the input of perspectives from many cultural influences. Personally, the mashups are a great way for me to share family photos, personal stories, and other shared endeavors with those who are important in my life. For me, sharing photos online does present some feelings of apprehension about privacy. The level of security of such mashups does help to ease this feeling, but one can never be completely sure that photos shared via the internet are going to remain private. Teachers must be concerned about this issue because sharing such private pictures of seemingly innocuous activities may be perceived by others as unacceptable and result in problems in the workplace. The best advice I could give is to always be aware of your surroundings, and cognizant of your behavior when deciding whether or not to use such photo sharing applications online.









Thing #7



3 Miles Up!



Currahee Mountain







 

          
The photo’s I chose are important to me. The mountain is Currahee Mountain in Toccoa, Georgia. That very mountain is where the famous “Band of Brother’s” of the 101^st Airborne Division trained prior to participation in World War II. The second photo is of me and my wife’s feet posed at the top of the mountain having conquered the three mile uphill run. I served over five years with the 506^th Infantry Regiment and felt it was important to run in the footsteps of those that had before me. While exploring Flickr I was able to perform the steps of uploading my pictures with relative ease. My family already had an account, so it was easiest to just sign in and upload the photo’s I wanted to talk about in my blog. Adding these photo’s to my blog proved a little challenging, but with some trial and error I have succeeded. I’m not sure that I will need to use Flickr for my personal photo sharing experiences in the future, but it is good to learn that this tool is available if I change my mind. Also, the only other photo sharing software I’ve used has been the software preloaded on my computers. So, I feel this lesson was definitely needed in order to broaden my knowledge in this area. As for having my photos in public, I’m not too upset at this point. I feel that technology is not going away, so it is time to become involved. I only feel cautious when I hear of others having trouble with their careers after posting photos, or sharing their feelings through blogs.

Thing # 6

The Web 2.0 Award nominees provide a broad review of the newest web based applications available today. One particular application is Google, a search engine designed to provide the requestor with instant feedback, suggestions, and answers to literally any question or search term entered. Of particular note is Google Scholar. Google Scholar allows the user to request peer reviewed access to articles, journals; anything published and available on the World Wide Web. I’ve used this service on many occasions while doing research for history classes and found it very beneficial. In addition to standard searches, Google also provides results of maps, directions, photo images, video feeds, news, and email. Naturally, search engines provide easy methods for students and teachers alike to conveniently retrieve information. Google is an easy to use search engine that can be a great tool for the classroom because it is a free, user friendly tool.

Thing # 5

Having reviewed the articles on Web 2.0 a few things come to mind to share. The biggest thing that came to me was the fact that the classroom is no longer one dimensional. The creation, introduction and evolution of the World Wide Web are forever changing all of our lives. As educators, we must stay abreast of this technology in order to lead our students into the newest learning environments. One article, “Web 2.0: A Guide for Educators” by Susan McLester hinted at this when pointing out that it’s “second nature to kids”. With that in mind, school 2.0 means that teaching will no longer be consist of simple lectures. Teachers, parents, and the community must look towards technology as a means of imparting knowledge into the minds of our children. Blogging about historical events, tweeting math homework questions, and podcasting the lessons of the day are all ways to grow the classroom into a community style venue. Schools of the future will be built with technology integrated into its makeup. Smartboards will be standard; internet access will be available to all students and teachers alike. Children will be able to participate in classroom discussions where classes from throughout the world are linked together via the Web. Teachers will integrate families into the class by simultaneously conducting lesson plans with students using skype, VTC, or the latest video software. Anything is possible for the classrooms of tomorrow, provided we are willing to step up and make the necessary decisions to bring it all together.

Thing # 4

Commenting on another’s blog is very important in sense of community and interaction because of the communication factor. Communicating with others is a social action that a human does seem to thrive upon. Before the internet and blogging, people wrote correspondence such as letters, cards, articles, etc. in order to speak and pass information to one another. Now, blogging via the internet enables us to expand our audiences and reach out to the global arena. From the lesson, one important thing to consider when commenting on someone’s blog is the use of proper etiquette. Ensuring that your words do not create a negative exchange of information is crucial to keeping one’s blog moving forward positively. Another aspect I found interesting was the steps you could take to increase comments on your blog. Things such as open ended posts, setting boundaries, and most important, rewarding those that comment with acknowledgement all help make any blog more productive. While reading through my classmates blogs about the 23 things has been very informative. I’ve grown to appreciate the viability of blogging within the education environment and look forward to learning more about it. Several of my classmates post’s caught my eye. First, I commented on Delbert Scott’s, Sottsspot. I found his blog engaging and interesting to follow. The second blog I commented on was Brittany Finnie’s, Finnie 3040. I chose this blog because the name, Finnie, captured my attention. Third, Lauren Yurus’s blog was an easy choice. Lauren sits next to me in class, so I think it is important to know those around you. Fourth, Gage Morse’s, gmore’s 23 things blog stood out. I was looking for an interesting post about the eighth learning activity and noticed how Gage had tied in a mashup with the number “8”. I thought it was cool so I commented. The fifth blog I commented on from the class was Lea Avrit’s, Musings from the Brier. She posted about Pandora radio, and rewarding her class with music seemed interesting and something I had not thought of.

Thing # 3

The idea of using a blog in the classroom has a certain level of appeal. For me, the concept of blogging is to establish a form of communication by interjecting a thought, concept, or idea into the blogosphere in search of others retorts. As an educator, blogging will allow followers to subsequently respond to posts with their own insights which, in turn, will perhaps illicit responses from others. The possible communication benefits seem endless given the widespread coverage of the Internet today. Students and former students, parents and former parents, and many others can directly impact your blog. In my training for teacher license, I expect this blog will enable me to gain knowledge and appreciate the opinions of others; as well as see what others are blogging about. In the classroom, the speed of blogging can be used as an asset when information about daily, weekly, and monthly activities needs to be disseminated quickly and efficiently. Additionally, provided they are legally allowed by the school administration, blogs can be used to post schedules, up coming assignments, events, calendars, i.e. just about anything.

Thing # 2

For me, creating the blog was an enjoyable experience. I was actually able to maneuver through the sequence easier than I am finding writing about creating it. In naming my blog, I wanted to use a name that was simple and easy to remember. This is not very creative, but does allow me to recall the necessary information from memory versus writing everything down. I chose my avatar to be a pretty direct reflection of my physical appearance and personality. My current job as an infantry platoon sergeant in the military requires a substantial amount of stoic, authoritarian style leadership. This style enables me to have immediate results of my tasks with little thought and only minimal input from my subordinates. This not the most effective way to teach a student, but for military purposes while in combat, and when lives count, correct results tend to override other styles.

Thing # 1

The easiest habit for me is Habit 2, “Accept responsibility for your own learning”. As someone who has spent more time in the military than not, I have learned that being responsible for myself is extremely important. So, I find myself looking inward if a situation arises where I am not performing at a certain level or standard. I have learned how not blaming others, or society for my own shortcomings helps me to become a more focused learner. The hardest habit for me is Habit 7, “Teach and mentor others”. It’s not that I don’t enjoy, or are not comfortable with this habit. I feel it’s more that I want to do a great job at it. Since teaching and mentoring is judged more by the persons receiving the help, I feel it’s hardest for me to be satisfied with the job I’ve done.

Setting up this blog was not very difficult. I did have a bit of trouble registering it, but was able to figure out my error and correct it. The take away I most look forward to with this experience is to gain some insightful knowledge about using the web, its technologies, and how to properly apply it to the classroom.