Thing 23: Summary

I do not consider myself very capable when it comes to technology and think I held off exploring some of these avenues because I thought they would be complicated. I have been amazed at how easy all of the Things were to do and am excited to start using them in my classroom, especially Photostory and Ning. Not all was relevant or useful for what I do in my classroom. But I think that is part of what Michael Wesch pointed out in his article, technology alone is not enough. We have to be able to use technology in a way that is beneficial and motivates our students, not just use it so we can say we are using it.

What I really enjoyed about participating in Library2Play is being able to take time to play around with all the tools. I enjoyed doing it at my own pace and when I had the time. I think having it laid out in this way I was able to tackle areas I was too intimidated to do so beforehand.

I was very suprised at all the resources that are out there and how much I have been missing out on. I would love to participate in Library2Play2.

Thing 22: Nings

I am really excited about Ning. We wanted to use it in our classroom last year and didn't get around to setting it up with all the students. Our hope is to use it this year with our students as a way to blog about specific subjects, create discussion boards and online tutorials.

I used it a little bit last spring to connect with teachers from other places. It's really interesting to hear how other teachers are using Web 2.0 and other technology in their classrooms.

Thing 21: Podcasts and Vodcasts

I had no idea Photostory was so easy to use! Last year we tried to make videos about energy sources; I think I did it in the hardest way possible. This will be so much easier to use. And I would also like to use it as a way to record material I cover in class so absent students can listen to it at home. I am going to try and upload it but hear it takes awhile to do so.

Just a warning, I am not working on my computer that has all my pics so my video makes no sense.

Thing 20: You Tube, Teacher Tube

I found last year there are a lot of videos available that provide some humor and are a good way to introduce a new concept or provide a refresher on an old one. My teaching partner and I used this video,Lab Linebacker, as a way to start talking about lab safety in our science classroom. We found it on Teacher Tube.

Thing 19: Web 2.0

Last school year I suscribed to Classroom 2.0 and really enjoyed the forums/events. I was able to get new ideas and discuss them with teachers around the world. I also enjoyed the fact that if I missed one I could go back and watch it at a convienent time for me.
I am really excited about the Web 2.0 Award List as it will be such a great resource. I already searched in my subject areas and found useful tools.

Thing 18: Online Productivity Tools

Some of the teachers on my campus have already used Google docs and I plan to this school year. I see it as an easy way for teachers to share documents with each other. A great tool for collabrotive learning and easily accessible for everyone.

Thing 17: Rollyo

To be honest it will take me a little while to use Rollyo. Maybe I'm not understanding the concept well enough. I made a customized search for the math websites I use frequently and know I can use that to search those sites for whatever information. However I think most of the sites I use often I can just go to and find what I'm looking for just as quickly because I know them so well. It's probably one of those things that as I use it more often I will end up loving it.