Where do we go from here

This has been a journey for me as I did not fully buy into the tech savvy people. I literally have changed my opinion and realized how much more I can be doing in the classroom with technology. The bottom line is you have to be willing to change, you cant be forced. Certainly a veery eye opening course and I have all my materials.

Dr. Wall, I have been asked if it is possible to download your course as it has all the neat links. Possible or not?

Thanks,

Stephen

Thing 23

The creative commons certainly shows how we should give credit where credit is due. It is a wonderful tool for sharing information that also shows us as educators where we can save money and time.

I did not find an example as I ran out of time and we hit midnight.

Thing 22

I went into the educational podcast directory. As I was surfing the directory, I came across several wine podcasts. One in particular, "ebottleo" caught my eye as I was interested in wines that are expensive. I dont even like wine, but because everyone else seems to, they intrigue me. A restaurant on tv 3 nights ago had the biggest cellar with a 10,000 dollar bottle from 1856. I dont know why, they just interest me. I do not forsee incorporating podcasts into my lessom plans in the near future.

Thing 21

Best website I found. Funnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...............................Here it is of my daughters in California



http://animoto.com/play/Fg3xiatZMD2k4NzUanSysg

What a great site.

Thing 20

This site was chosen because of my love for the sport of wrestling. I truly believe it is the greatest sport ever invented and teaches young men and women how to deal with struggle, sacrifice, and discipline that will carry with them the rest of their lives. It is the individual competitiveness that drives us to succeed and wrestling seems to do this the best of any sport in my opinion. You will find the attached video interesting as it simply shows what we as coaches can go through just so kids can learn that there are multiple levels of success out there and should strive to push themselves further then they think they can possibly go.

I simply believe embedded in the very nature of athletics is the true measure of teaching and learning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJgiKN_tYNY

Thing 19

I am a member of facebook, Twibe, and TeacherPop. Facebook seems to appeal to me more and more whereas 30 days ago I thought it was idiotic and had no place value in society. After seeing an old buddy pop up, My view changed quite dramatically.
I really found the Bake Space just awesome. It intrigued me so much as I am the main cook in the household. From linguini and clams to blackened cajun chicken with spanish rice, black bean soup with a special pecan sauce that is a secret. I love to cook and cannot wait to exchange some recipes over the internet. I am particularly interested in italian from the old country as well as fresh fish and seafood recipes. Nice site!!!!!!!!!!!

Thing 18

Probably the most fun I have had. Spent an hour creating a facebook page which a bunch of people I knew I added as friends. How? I have no idea how it works, but definitely cool. I thought the website was easy to negotiate and looked at all the little widgets I could do to really have a professional website. I am not really sure how I add to my blog, but for grading purposes, here it goes;

facebook.com/stephen.shone2

Anyway, I found it fun and enjoyable, maybe I just know I am closing in on the deadline of this class. I think it is important to know about these social sites to be able to stay current in your knowledge of the children. also, we know knowldge is power and when you can talk intelligently about "stuff" that is hip with the younger ones, you tend to build a better rapport and thereby build trust and breakdown barriers. I only went to the facebook, so I dont know which site was more useful, etc. I just heard Facebook was a little more mature/grownup. Currently I cannot see a classroom application for this tool.

Thing17

I will be honest, I don't know much about bookmarking. The more I read, the more I realize what it is and how much more of an effective teacher I could be as I go to each of the web sites that I deem important. I think what is interesting is you have the ability to type in a key word and tag. This is a concept "RSS Feeds" that still alludes me. I must do more research. However, I thought the idea of sharing sites with other teachers around the country was awesome and that RSS Feeds can keep you updated on th latest changes.

Thing 16

What a very interesting exercise. I chose iGoogle start page. This to me made it the easiest to add things like blogs, wikis, other type widgets as well as emails. I would prefer this to be my homepage as it has easy access to my calendar of events which I really like. I put my kids softball and basketball schedules on so as to remind me of everything that is going on in this hectic world. It was easy to move around the widgets and I never became frustrated like I did with Netvibe, it just locked me out of a lot of things, I'm sure Iwas the problem though.
I am not a fan of to do lists on a computer as I constantly carry around paper for easy access. It Simply is not beneficial to me. However, I do recommend this start page and can see extreme benefits from it.

Thing 15

I thnik Wikis could have a tremendous impact through self-discovery. Lets say I wanted my class to research triangles and their effectiveness in bridge design. A wiki could be created where the students keep adding information on bridge design hence building a so called portfolio. As more and more ideas are contributed, new ideas will eventually merge. This will be and excellent way for students to go through a self-discovery project that allows for posts and collaboration; each building on the previous post and or concept.

Thing 14

I found FlowChart.com a very useful tool as it took you through each an every step of the process. However, I found that there are so many options per step that you must stay focused on what you are trying to accomplish. I found its charts effective as they easily allow the user to follow a concept or someone's train of thought.
Mindmeister was even more creative as it took you through steps and allowed for easy corrections when you made a mistake. One of the things I like about some of the computer software are the programs that allow you to make a mistake and then fix that mistake with ease. Mindmeister allowed for correction quite easily and you didn't always have to go back to the start.

Thing 13

I was introduced to Zoho through my main man Dan. I became a member and learned how to navigate the site. We used ZOHO Projects as we posted all of our work to the site. I could not believe, however, how much of this web sitehad all different kinds of tools. We created the timeline with this as well as posted all work and their due dates to include the final power point presentation. The tools with spreadsheets, document writing like ZOHO writer are incredible. What a web site. You can even use ZOHO show for presentations.

Other Information - Student Learning and Creativity

Other Information - Student Learning and Creativity

Too many times teachers will shy away from technology. I want to reverse that tendency and shift teacher's thinking to embrace technology. Why wouldn't we use cell phones in class? Everyone has them and I would bet you that students would enjoy knowing how to fully utilize them. Go ahead and post your thoughts on this concept. I would like to hear from different people and their varying views.