One Last Thing....

Each thing introduced an important aspect of Web 2.0. Amongst the ones that stood out for me were delicious, Flickr and Wikis.

I feel that this is just the beginning for me as I put into practice all the things I have learned through this program.

My take aways were the immense and various tools and/or applications associated with Web 2.0, and the overall uses of the same in our every day living.

The program is superb. The content so far reflects the dedication of those who put their time and energy to develop it. Updating the content with newly emerging technologies is the one thing that needs to be done as often, to keep this up to date and relevant today.

In actual fact as time goes by I believe that more web 2.0 technologies will emerge. That will give me enough reasons to participate in an updated Thing23, whatever that number will be.

Henceforth, I will do whatever it takes to introduce and incorporate web 2.0 technologies to my students. Personally, I have found great benefits for web 2.0 technologies.

Like most other things in life keeping up with web 2.0 requires an interest in technology. Thereafter, I plan to regularly visit various technology sites for development updates.

This was exciting and I am glad I had an opportunity to participate!

Thing #23

I found Ning networking a bit different from Facebook, myspace, etc. The discussions are very focused on a particular topic of interest instead of anything-goes kind of discussions akin to most other social networks.

I think it's because networks on Ning are composed of people with similar interests so it's not an open-for-all type of groupings. The resulting discussions are bound to be within common interests.

I noticed users are very willing to help by contributing helpful information.

Ning uses for an educator are valuable. The limiting of a group's members will ensure that only specific people are invited - basically my students, while limiting topics of discussions to classroom material. This will of course give me a an upper hand to better control the discussion topics.

Thing #22

Educational uses for social networking tools are on the rise. Social networking tools allow educators to share, store, sort and search for websites (del.icio.us), people (Facebook), photos (Flickr), and videos (YouTube). Many commercial sites allow some of these functionality as well. Educators can get recommendations for, write reviews of and purchase books and other products (Amazon.com), music (iTunes), movies (IMDB.com). A Wiki is an online resource in which users contribute and edit content while twitter has become popular with micro - bloggers.

Being networked really does expand my mind. There's so much that is being shared online and keeping up just adds to more knowledge. A good thing a bad thing in the sense that it could be easiy overwhelming due to the sheer amount of data and the time it requires to indulge in all that.

API programming has allowed users to create numerous applications of varying interests. So far Facebook users have contributed the most of any social network site - over eighty thousand.

Thing #7b

The story of Jeremy Morris caught my attention recently while going through my reader. He is a British epidemiologist whose comparison of heart-attack rates among double-decker bus drivers and conductors in London in the late 1940s and early ’50s laid the scientific groundwork for the modern aerobics movement.

His is the familiar story all of us know - that exercise is good for you. Jeremy began to exercise early in childhood. His father would take him on four-mile walks.

Almost every day, well into his mid-90s, Dr. Morris swam, pedaled his exercise bike or walked for at least half an hour.

He is credited with research that proved heart patients who exercised were less likely to have another attack, and were no longer considered invalids.

Jeremy Morris, Proved Exercise Is Heart-Healthy, died at 99½ in Hampstead, London.

Thing # 21

After exploring the google tools,I chose to further explore google arlerts and Picasa.

Google Alert is a free, automated research assistant. I found that once I registered and entered up to five queries I would get regular e-mails with up to fifty Google results per topic. I also found that requests can use the same advanced features available in a regular Google search, and after the initial set of results the service is smart enough to send only updates.

I really liked Picasa. It is an image hosting site that stands out from the rest in flexibility, usefulness and outstanding, a free and reliable service. I have used picasa to share my photos online. Here is a sample

PortAransas

Thing # 20

Google Docs rock! Google Docs make it easier for users to collaborate with one another — students working on assignments, colleagues designing projects and presentations, and friends and families sharing ideas and planning events together.

I have not used Goole Docs but I see how I can use them in class with the students collaborating with each other. I will also use google docs in my personal classes as I continue to pursue my studies.

Thing #19

Wow! I am very excited to learn about voiceThread. VoiceThread is a media player that allows educators to use a single tool to host secure conversations using media such as videos, documents, images, or presentations.

It is a safe environment where students can collaborate and publish their work. Links can also be sent to parents to let them know what we are learning in class. I like the comment moderator because the educators filter what the students can view before it gets to the student. The private realm is controlled by the educators and the only people who can comment are invited by an educator.

I have not used voice thread in my classroom but I can see how I can use it with students in different classes taking the same course. Students will collaborate with students anywhere at school or at home. I feel that my students will be very proud of their published work and this also lets them know that their ideas matter.

I found the voicethread "How to measure with a graduated cylinder" to be very practical for use in my class room.

Thing #18

Both sites contain a huge amount of content on various subjects. The video source vary from user generated, to some that are copy righted, and so forth.

Extensive tagging is quite essential to organize and categorise the content. A feature of channels is also quite handy to classify user's videos.

Embedding technology is awesome and very convenient. I don't have to download a potentially big video, then upload it to my site.

An interesting item on both sites is the featured videos of the day. These are good starter feature for when one wants to "hung out" or pick a new interest because they will lead you on to other similar videos.

Teacher tube features documents as well in different formats pdf, word, etc.

I went hunting for science related videos. I found Bill Nye's numerous science videos. In class we have always used his VHS videos. We now have a new science wing that has updated technology and we can no longer continue using the vhs tapes. I have been using Bill's youtube videos in class and so far they are doing a good job as an alternative to the vhs technology. They have really helped us not to skip a beat as far as using Bill's videos.

I embed here a sample of some of Bill Nye's videos that I recently used in my classroom.

Thing # 17

I previewd the sites 60 Second Science and Websters Word of the Day. These two interested me because I teach science and I enjoy learning new words.

On both sites I found the podcasts were eazily accessible and were listed by titles. Since I have Opera Browser installed on my pc it comes with an in built podcast and RSS feeder downloaders. Listening is eazy via VLC Media player.

I have used podcasting in the classroom with my students. After reading, each student expressed themselves using the podcast and they enjoyed hearing their own voices.

I have also used podcasts in the format of an interview and the students listened to their responses.

Our class topics have ranged from subjects like science, English to hobbies and the lengths vary, running anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes.

The students are also excited to download the podcasts to their i-pods.

Thing # 16

I really liked library thing. It is a great site to review books the books that I would like to read before I buy it. Readers share similar collections and interests and find new books based on recommendations, favorite titles, authors, browsing and serendipity.

LibraryThing enables the reader to create a library-quality catalog of his/her books. One can catalog their entire collection or just the books they are currently reading.

With all the catalogs online, one can contribute book reviews, participate in member forums and catalog their personal library.

The users employ extensive use of tagging to facilitate cataloguing.

The $25 life time fee is extremely fair.

I can see myself using the library thing in my professional life as I continue to read and build up my library.

Thing # 15

I really liked Delicious because I can now view articles tagged by different people. This is very exciting because all the tagged items are categorized and/or centralized making for easier viewing.

I found to be very important the ability to centralize articles relating to various subjects from different websites. In addition I get to share my articles of interests with others and also I see what interests other people is also very good. And finally it's very good that I can upload my bookmarks and be able to access them from any computer.

Thing #7A

Green Roof, White Roof, Black Roof or Tiled Roof for anyone?

I read this article very intriguing because going green is the in thing now and for good reasons.


Today's roofing options are limited only by imagination. One can "plant a green roof, modern style, with a layer cake of membranes to absorb and direct water, and perhaps a mini farm to supply vegetable needs. Or, paint a roof white, to deflect as much as some 70 percent of sunlight, keeping a building cool without the air con."

In fact researchers at MIT have just announced that they’ve developed roof tiles that change color depending on the temperature. Hot summer day? The tiles turn white. Cold, drizzly autumn day? Black, which absorbs as much as sun, they say, as the white reflects.

This story is very interesting and you can read it here.

Thing #14

I found the website Pickink very interesting. It has very good professional tools for photo manipulation. In fact many professionals use it in their work, in addition to regular photo enthusiasts.

The site has a two tiers, a free one and a premium one that gives access to more features at a cost. The free one has a respectable number of features that anyone will still find useful. I liked collage, keepsakes creation and slideshows which I found very useful in sharing photo's with my family and friends.

The site comes with blog features where a lot of professionals and photo enthusiasts share their work, ideas, offer tips and suggestions and let others issue their comments.

The site allows users to upload pictures from their computers or import and/or export to popular sites like Flickr, Picasa, etc.

Photo editing is excellent and full of very good features. I could manipulate my photos' to have a professional finish. This site is a good kept secret.

Here is a range of effects I applied on the following photo.
Photo A (with no editing applied)



Here is the same photo with various features applied

Thing # 13

On-line Image genarators

Image generators are a great tool and I can see myself using it in the classroom. The students can manipulate images to show their creativity and make class projects more fun.

Rhino searching for green grass


Cool dog magazine


The web site I used for the above images is Fototrix.com. Generating the image was quite simple. The instructions were straight forward. I had to upload an image from my computer. The next page displayed my image and below offered different effects that I could apply to manipulate my photo. Finally I saved my images.

Thing #12

Biomes

Aquatic and Land Biomes.
Ponds and Lakes are large bodies of fresh water ranging in size from small ponds to huge bodies of water such the Great Lakes in the U.S. Lakes and rivers are closely tied. Some lakes are the source for some rivers. Important rivers, most often, originate from lakes. Some rivers end in lakes. Since both rivers and lakes are freshwater and flow in and out of each other, they share similar characteristics and many species reside in both habitats.

Thing #11

My Flickr Reflections

Waoh what a huge source of images! The site is truly rich in photographic content. And whoever thought of tagging was a pure genius! Groups are also a convenient way to homogenize diverse images into common interests between different people.

It's a great tool to use in class by creating virtual tours. I intend to use it to create a biome virtual tour, specifically aquatic, in our Environmental class.

The general photo presentation layout is great. Save for the fact that to display each photo the page has to reload all over again. That is just cumbersome and tends to test my patience. I suppose because google's picasa is faster and I am so used to it.

Features wise though Flickr has alot more than picasa. Overall it was a nice experience to explore and discover more about Flickr.

Aquatic Biome


cc jrphoenix12

Land Biomes by Ennor (unwell)

Thing #9

In the sandbox I was very sandy I mean my shoes, pants, everything got very sandy from playing hard. LOL

I was impressed by the speed of getting permission to join the thing23 wiki. Afterwards the wiki site is designed with a lot of ease to help one maneuver around, create pages, editing, etc.

I enjoyed reading the burning questions and exploring the responses. Actually that feature is very important.

For the section sites we like I shared the Discovery Education a site that transforms classrooms and inspires teachers and students with engaging content including streaming videos, short educational videos, etc. It contains tons of stuff that we are using in my classrooms.

The steps to create my page were very easy to follow as they were really self explanatory. I had fun creating the web 2.0 stuff specifically the slideshow, click here to view. I had some trouble with the table of contents.

Thing 10 - Creative Commons

I have been aware of copy rights on line as well as from text books as this has been stressed to me in college as well as at work. Every year, I have to read and sign that I understand the copy right rules.However, creative commons is new to me. I do not recall coming across the CC logo online. It releives me to learn that cc is available because I do use images and works from the internet in my classroom.
It is imperative to educate both teachers and students on the proper way to use information posted on the web. I do not beleive many students understand the copy right laws otherwise I would not be recieving work that is cut and paste straight from a web site.
It is a relief to learn that I can confidently attach images and works from the internet to make my classroom presentations more interesting.When correctly used, creative commons can make teaching and learning easier.

Thing 8 - Stretch Activity

I enjoyed reading the stem cell wiki article. It was very informative and had useful hyperlinks for further reading. There has been a lot of heated discussions regarding the use of stem cells. So the issue has not been void of controversy, notwithstanding the benefits of stem cell usage. Thus, the extended discussion about the stem cell article. It's history is replete with numerous changes reflective of the updates from various research efforts from around the world. The earliest version differs significantly from the current version (see link above). It's obvious numerous people have a great interest on this issue.

Thing 8

Yes, I can definitely see wikis in my future. Vicki's blog gave me a lot of encouragement and I really liked the way she organised and lead her students to exactly what she wanted them to do.

I read codeblue. The wiki was very detailed in science and gave the study a good source for self study. She has posted links to sites relevant to her students needs. I thought that this wiki was overcrowded and overwhelming. The material on it was too much.

The wiki Discovery Utopias introduces students to the functioning of the government in the society. The teacher encourages the students to think deeper and ask questions using the "HOTS".I really liked this wiki. It was very direct and encouraged the students to come up with good questions which I think to be great because the student has to be knowledgeable on the particular topic.

Dr. Reich's chemistry wiki gives the student an outline of his class hours and objectives in his lesson plan. He encourages his students to join the wiki and participate. Wiki participation are 10% of the grades.I liked the way the teacher posted previous wikis so as to give the students an idea of his expectations.

Thing 7

Commenting on blogs is very important because it gives the writer new ideas. The reader and the writer can share their experiences on a particular issue. The readers can enrich the writer's perspective. Conversely, the reader has the opportunity to disagree or critic the writers ideas. Blogging technology allows the reader to link to more resources relevant to the topical issue. I have found that more often a reader may stumble upon another blog of interest while reading others' comments.

Thing #6

Part 1
The The Fischbowl is a blog by Karl Fisch Director of Technology for Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado. This blog explores "constructivism and 21st century learning skills, as well as integration of current web 2.0 technologies into classrooms.” His feed library includes James Blogging a math blogger. Another is Kristin's Blog an English teacher.

Part 2
I decided to follow "A blog for all" after I came an interesting article on titled Unintended Consequences Of Fast Food Calorie Counts. Here is a screen capture of my success!








Part 3
I subscribed to Texasteacher12 and What I'm learning about 23 things .

Part 4
For a "Fun" Feed to my reader I added Dictionary.com's Spanish Word of the Day - and here is the screen capture of the same.










Learning Activity
My introduction to web 2.0 tools and specifically blogging has been a fast, whirlwind experience. I am also excited to learn just how much more there is "out there" that is applicable in my profession beyond just the ubiquitous email. Hitherto I never thought there enough hours in day to blog, then catchup on facebook and myspace, twitter a tweet and all else that I still had on my plate not to mention read and reply to my emails. My participation in this course has been so instrumental to my hitherto impervious attitude to web 2.0 tools beyond what I considered my turf - email. I acquiesce boldly that these tools are too important and inevitable to my success and that of my students.

In fact as an example of my implementation of a reader interesting information seems to be finding it's way to me. An article in my reader is titled Unintended Consequences Of Fast Food Calorie Counts caught my attention. First and foremost weight management is at the forefront of our daily news. There are constant reminders of just how much this issue permeates our daily lives today including an inspiring TV reality show "The Biggest Loser". I can recall when the city of New York enacted a mandatory requirement that fast food restaurants provide calorie counts on food items sold at local restaurants back in July 2008. For sometime I have wanted to catch up on the updates, specifically what has been the effect of this requirement, if any. Therefore, I found the information contained in this article to be quite an eye opener of sorts. For starters, a study found instead of reducing caloric intake that went up to 846 from 823 before this measure. That point alone would make one wonder okay... what then now. There's an obvious failure on the part of this enactment. One would think that when it comes down to the consumer, the one who is intended to be protected by this measure, is there a failure for appreciation for an individuals personal responsibility for one's health? The next phase on this will be interesting.

Thing #5

I found "We Need More Examples from the Classrooms!" by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, very interesting because he interacted with the students and the teachers in the classroom. As a technology integration facilitator the duties of his position are in the cross hairs of what we are learning about in this course. He is able to support the teachers in their classrooms to the extent required. He applies web 2.0 technologies akin to our interests here to document his work with the teachers, students and other interested parties. Consequently, teachers share what works and doesn't work in classrooms in their blogs reducing guess time.

Thing #4

The five blogs I read have a broad variety of genres. Why I Don’t Assign Homework is a scholarly blog that challenges the norm about homework. The author has expressed his opinion about homework. The information, being a from a research done on a masters thesis, lends credibility to the author while he invites other educators to rethink their position on homework. Commenting allows the author to gather different views from participating educators. In Mrs. Edmison's Class: Questions for One of Our Favorite Authors: Grace Lin I thought it was interesting how the teacher interacts with the author. This blog is written in an interactive style of genre where the author has to respond to the educator.

Blogging lingo is made up of abbreviations of common phrases. An example is the "afai" family. Afai stands for "As Far As I. . ." and has several common variations such as afaic (As Far As I'm Concerned), afaics (As Far As I Can See), afaik (As Far As I Know). Blog writing is similar to texting, twitter, etc.

The foregoing forebodes that blogging literacy is very important because the abbreviations can throw one off and as a result the reading would make no sense making the reader disinterested.

As an educator I feel that students hwo do not have a good command of English are being short changed. They extensively use the abbreviations in class writing.

CoolCatTeacher (Vicki Davis): Spies Like Us informs fellow educators about the dangers of technology in the classroom. Teachers should be aware of portable technology that students can use to undermine them.

Thing #2

Web 2.0 matters because the new technologies emerging everyday are redefining interaction between people, and between people and software in a 21st century. The technologies such as social networking sites - myspace, facebook, twitter - and other concepts like podcasting, blogging, rss feeds, google reader, etc have a far reaching effect on how people access and utilize information in our lives both online and offline.

Web 2.0 tools have changed the teaching profession as an increasing number of teachers are leaning towards teaching across the curriculum. A teacher can access blogs, podcasts, etc to learn what is being taught by other teachers in other subjects then reinforce particular concepts to the students.

We are able to use these new tools to engage today's "digital learners". Digital learners have embraced web 2.0 techonologies extensively by active participation in facebook, myspace, texting, twitter and numerous other technologies. Facilitating a concept of "switching" from pen and paper to web 2.0 technologies such as a writeboard and blogging, is one way of engaging them. This keeps them interested and the class lively for all.

Todays world is already an e-world. It is therefore inevitable that todays learners get equipped to effectively employ web 2.0 technologies in order to interract and contribute in this e-world.

Thing #1

I really enjoyed the steps and the structure presented in the 7 ½ habits. As i pursue this course, integrating new technology (podcasting, blogging, etc) in my lifelong learning experience will be challenging. I look forward to learning about podcasting. I know that teaching and mentoring others will be the easiest for me. I look forward to sharing the knowledge I learn with my students. I need to learn how to use current and emerging technology so as to implement it effectively in classroom.