Is it the end or only the beginning?

Wow, what a journey the 23 things have been! Probably some of my favorite discovery exercises were animoto, spell with flickr, image generator, calendar on Google, and finding youtube videos related to a specific subject for classroom use. The 23 things was a great way for me to learn about new possibilities the web has to offer and web tools I could use in the classroom. I liked the things being split up, half due at one point and then the rest at the end. The two due dates kept me on track and held me responsible for the completion of the 23 things. I would have to say I might have pushed the things to the end if there wasn't that mid turn in date. I am definately going to try and keep up with my blog. I would love it if one day I could use this exact blog in the classroom to keep parents updated and a way of communication. Technology is going to continue to change and the 23 things was a great way that informed me on some advancements I had never heard about.

Thing 23

The example I found for 23 things is below the discovery exercise a note is listed that says: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. The copyright symbol along with "some right reserved" is displayed as well. Now that I know more about Creative Commons, I believe it would be great to introduce at the sixth grade level or even fifth grade. Your students need to be aware about copying and taking someone else's work and creative commons is a great place to start.

Thing 22

Live binder is a great tool for teachers of all ages. It is a great way to keep track of resources and information you want to use during your lesson. The one thing I like about live binders is that you have access to it anywhere. I am guilty of having left some very important papers at home that I needed that day, but if I would have had live binder I could have uploaded those papers and used them when needed. I have always been a fan of hard copies, but live binders is a great way to back you up just in case I have a forgetful moment.
I could see having a binder for each subject topic such as Math, Science, Social Studies, or Reading or you could have a binder for your sub topics such as multi-digit addition or subtraction, understanding place value, or understanding base-ten numeration system. My three binders are titled: Multi-digit addition, Base Ten Numeration System, and Place Value.
Multi digit addition

Thing 21

Emily's Clip
Animoto is a user friendly site and very easy to navigate. When I saw that this activity consisted of making a video, I was not looking forward to it because I have never been good with that kind of stuff, but Animoto makes a step by step process. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom and show the students creativity side. I could see using this tool in the beginning of the school year and have each student create a 10 picture slide that describes themself, however I believe this would only work for grades fourth or older. I chose to take pictures of my family and myself from a previous vacation to upload to the clip. Attached above is the 30 second video I created. I chose to use the music given on the Animoto site, rather than use any from my itunes. I enjoyed creating the video and this exercise will be very useful in the classroom.

Thing 20

You tube Video for Elementary Math

I really enjoyed exploring YouTube from a future teacher perspective, rather than just searching for music videos. Several videos could be used as a "fun" way of learning in the classroom. YouTube could also be used for tutorials in a High School setting if a certain subject was unclear. The video I chose would be great for a first grade or kindergarten class because it is upbeat and a fun way to learn addition and subtraction. I would've enjoyed this video at that age and it would've kept my attention.

Thing 19

After becoming a member of the Ning network, this site is full of tools and advice for any educator. I enjoyed looking over several of the discussions and reading others views on certain subjects. I really enjoyed the "unwritten rules every teacher should know". Social networking is only going to become more and more popular as technology is becoming a part of our daily lives. Two of my favorites was "Goodread" and "What's on my bookshelf". Reading needs to continue being encouraged in and outside of the classroom and I thought these were two good networks to help find what interests you and what others enjoyed. I will definitely be using teacherpop in the future as well as any of the book networks. I always enjoyed reading when it was something I wanted to read or something I thought I would like, but if I didn't want to read it, it was always hard for me to make it through the book. Therefore, I believe any of the book networking sites would be a great tool to encourage reading.

Thing 18

More and more people are using social networking sites on a daily basis. In my personal opinion, I do not believe that Facebook would be of great use to an elementary teacher because I believe children (sixth and under) should not have a Facebook page.  However, twitter and Facebook would be useful for middle and/or High School students because you could create a page for that class or tweet about an assignment. It is important for educators to know about these sites because on a daily basis students get on one or the other. I believe Facebook would be of greater use in the classroom because it had more useful features. What I like most about Facebook is the instant chat because lets just say you were studying for a test the next day and you had a question about a certain problem, you could message someone in your class group and hopefully figure out the answer. Twitter and Facebook are both great social networking sites, I am just more familiar with Facebook, therefore I am leaning more towards that network site.