Final Post

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

My favorite discoveries were the netvibes or blogline, embedding HTML code into my posts, and discovering Flickr. 

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I think it has helped me to document what I find and how to implement what I find. Therefore, I truly think that it will affect my lifelong learning goals. I found that this project has pushed me to read more Edu Tech articles and blogs. I think I am a little better organized now with my ideas and thoughts. Plus I had to get that extra push to join Pinterest and Linkedin!

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

My take-a-ways were the Wiki Technology Poppers, signing up for Pinterst and Linkedin, and learning more about Blogger. 

4. What could I do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I liked everything, except The Web 2.0 link about the best Web 2.0 tools was not very helpful. Wish they would update that site, maybe we can find a new one? Also I understood why I had to upload an iMovie to Youtube but I kind of felt like it was repetitive of what I have learned in my other tech classes. However, I think it is extremely beneficial for those students who are not in the MTT program to learn how to do this. So I was ok with it but maybe you could have an different option for MTT folks? 

Thing #16

I used Photo Peach when I was teaching. I had my 6th and 7th grade Web 2.0 students pick a web 2.0 tool that we had not used in class. They had to create a project I assigned them using the web 2.0 they picked. Photo Peach was on my list of approved web 2.0 tools. I thought the project was a success and every time a student picked Photo Peach they always gave great reviews and said that they would recommend the site to a friend.

I decided to make one about African Animals. Photo Peach is super easy I made the slideshow with in a few minutes. Plus what was great is that even though I signed up for the free version I was able to search Youtube videos for music and it even sited the music at the end of the slideshow. This is an easy way to show your student a multimedia presentation. I think it would be a great intro to a new unit. I love how easy it was to embed the HTML code so that the Photo Peach Slide Show pops up in my post. SUPER COOL!




African Animals on PhotoPeach

Thing #15.5

Setting up a Twitter and Linkedin account was relatively easy. I have been following people on Twitter but I have only posted Tweets for work and not on my own account. However, that has changed because I am now posting ed tech articles. I am following Kathy Schrock and Dr. Wilson. I only have one connection on Linkedin but hopefully my numbers will increase. 

I think that Facebook will be a thing of the past and Twitter will be the next social giant. I think Linkedin is a great site and I know a lot of people that use it. 

Thing #15

I think Skype is great for the classroom. Just a few weeks ago a student had to go to Tel Aviv to visit a sick relative. Our 8th grade English teacher was able to Skype with him a few times to make sure he was up to date on his classwork. Skype is a great resource for students to connect with out students in another part of the world. I think it is important for students to understand and have empathy for other people in the world. I have found that students realize that kids all around the world have chores! I think Skype is easy to use.

Thing #14

After exploring iTunes U for Texas I figured I could find stuff for the Texas history teacher but I found some great stuff for our 8th grade history teacher on WWII, the Civil War, and the US Constitution. I also found a few podcasts for the 5th Grade Science teacher about Texas animals like the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat and Click Beetle. 5th Grade does a Unit all about animals and the students have to create keynote presentations about the animal they were assigned. iTunes U is such a great FREE resource. 

My experience with bookmarking is with Delicious. I added the Delicious Google Chrome extension so it is even easier for me to bookmark and organize my websites. I don't know what I would do without Delicious. 

So because of this assignment I guess I am finally getting on Pinterst. I have held out because I know I will "pin" for hours. However, I do see the good in it for sharing educational ideas. I saw a new website on Edudemic called Learnist that is an educational website similar to Pinterest. I like Pinterest better though. Luckily Pinterest has a education section. 

Thing #12 and #13

After poking around Youtube I had several thoughts. I wish they would have a section of YouTube, actual Youtube that was kid friendly. It would be nice if maybe the videos could be rated like television shows are rated. I am sure this would take a lot of work on YouTube's end but it would still be nice to know in advance if you are wasting your time looking at videos for your class. I remember one incident where I found this awesome Bill Cosby clip where he teaches Theo a thing or two about finances. I used it for my Office App class. Luckily, I watched it before hand and was able to edit it but it had a curse word in the clip.

I also found their education section was kind of bland. I wish the content was a little better presented as I had a hard time finding what I wanted. When I was teaching I couldn't always use TeacherTube because I couldn't find what I wanted in terms of technology, communications, or business. I found a lot of core subjects for younger ages. Sometimes I couldn't find what I was looking for on PBS learning or Discovery Education. I like to use bits of pop culture to reference certain things as I feel like it caught my students' attention.

I found this clip from the Sandlot. This is the epitome of my childhood and growing up. My generation still continues to take quotes from this movie. The YouTube clip I have is great because I think it is fun for students as it says to follow your heart. The Sandlot.

My Short Video

I think there are many advantages to watching education videos. I think it is just another dimension for a student to better understand the concept or big idea. However, I do not know if it is ok for a student to upload a video. I think it would depend on the type and how well the information was researched. However, I would not put another student work up if it had their name, picture, or other information.

I found an article about how YouTube has a Beta version of giving multiple choice quizzes along side a video. YouTube Interactive Quizzes. 

By the way I am really bummed about not being able to convert YouTube videos on Zamzar!

Thing #11

I went to the awards website and I had a hard time navigating the website. I could never find the web 2.0 winners. I decided to check out the web 2.0 tool called "Stop Frame Animator" from Culture Street, because I read about it last Friday from an article that was posted on my Scoop. It account. I get a daily Scoop. It and the website shows me articles and blogs that they think I would be interested in. Mine is all education and technology postings. This one is from the blog Free Technology for Teachers . It is all about Stop Frame Animation .

After waiting for the site to load, I just clicked "Start." I then chose my scenery. I chose a stage with a red curtain, I chose the stick figure, and started to move his arms and legs around. I finally figured out that this is a stop motion so I can't just move it around and expect it to start moving. So every time I moved his arms or legs I clicked the "camera" and it took a picture of the stick figure. I put it props and played around with the music and the sound effects. This would be a great story telling project, however it takes patience and time to create a good looking stop motion as a student will have to be careful how the move the character and how often they take pictures. The teacher would have to come up with a detailed rubric on the details, design, and story of the project.

From what I could tell it was super easy to use. However my only cons were that I could only do a stop motion for 10 seconds and I could not email it or save it. It is still a fun website though!