Is it the End or Only the Beginning?

I think that my favorite thing is the LiveBinders. I thought that I would use Del.icio.us for organization until I got to Thing #22. I also like Animoto, it is so easy to use and gives a professional appearance. Google Translate is also a wonderful tool that will be useful and fun for the students.
I had always thought that I was pretty good on the technology front until I got to grad school, little did I know that just because I knew more technology than my sisters really didn't mean much! I was really surprised by how little I knew about copyright laws and had never even heard of Creative Commons before.
I think that the program does need some updating and fine-tuning. It was rather inconvenient for links not to open in separate tabs. It would also be nice for the list of things to be at the top of the page instead of the bottom. I have no idea how to operate a white board, so a tutorial on this would have been helpful.
I know that with all of these new skills, I will be a more effective, organized and efficient teacher. This course has given me new tools to differentiate instruction with, something that is definitely essential in keeping students engaged.
The RSS feed will help me stay on top of new developments in web 2.0. I have several websites and blogs in my feed to keep me up-to-date on current issues.
I will definitely keep a classroom blog and now I know how to do it! I think that it is such a great communication tool and I plan on making it as exciting as I can for students and parents alike!

Thing #23

On any of the pages of "Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers", you can look under the heading "Credits" to find the original authors and permissions granted to use this program. There are several links to follow here and it was very interesting to look at the original Learning 2.0 site and compare the orignal "23 things" to our "23 things".
I will certainly be very careful about what I use in the classroom and give credit to the correct people. Creative Commons takes the guesswork out of that equation. It is important to set a good example for our students and teach them the importance of copyright.

Thing #22

I really like LiveBinders and I have moved quite a few things from "My Favorites" to it, with many more to go. So far I have created binders for Language Arts, Lesson Plans/Worksheets, and History. Here's one of them:

Lesson Plans / Worksheets

This will certainly make my life easier when planning. Students could create their own LiveBinders tailored to their own interests. I could also create LiveBinders for them with pertinent resources for them to explore and use for assignments or to further their understanding on any number of subjects.

Thing #21

Animoto is one of the coolest websites I have seen in a while and I love it! It is so easy to use and makes you look oh so creative! I just used some of their stock photos from nature and Animoto basically does everything else for you. I love to work in my yard and have tons of flowers so the end product came out very customized for me and my interests. This would be fun to use for a classroom blog featuring the students.

Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.

Thing #20

I started my search in YouTube by entering "4th grade poetry", thinking that I would tie a video in with my 4th grade language arts standard. Well, you know how one thing leads to another on YouTube.......The sidebar had some interesting looking videos so I decided to watch "Whole Brain Teaching: 4th grade: The Crazy Professor Reading Game".....who could resist? It is definitely worth watching! The title drew me in and I have never seen anyone teach this way, enjoy!

YouTube

Thing #19

I have just joined TeacherPop and it looks like a great place to connect with others in the education field. I have read through several posts and enjoyed it. I went to Leslie's post and left a comment and a gift. I don't know about the gift thing, there was only one free one and the rest you have to pay for. I guess everyone will just have to be satisfied with the free red ribbon. I uploaded a picture of a pink zinnia, I love zinnias :)
I took a look at: Crafters.org because I have been a crafter all of my life. I could get lost in this for hours. One of their slogans: "Justify your hoarding instincts". I can relate. I will have to revisit this site!

Thing #18

I have been on facebook for a few years and the information on my account is only visible to my friends. Here's my link:
facebook
It's important for educators to know about social networking sites so that they know what their students are talking about.....that goes for all other technology that they use as well. I don't think that I would use this in the classroom, however it could be a communication tool to use with parents. I think it's a big no-no to be facebook friends with your students!