Thing 11.5

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite things were Skype and making a screencast. I love learning all of the amazing tools and websites available to aid in my teaching and my students' learning.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I certainly feel like I am behind on my technology education (compared to my students), but by doing this blog, I am aware of what I need to do to keep up. And the journey is exciting.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
Since I did the 23 things last summer (and thought it was amazing!), I wasn't super surprised by anything. I do think that SecondLife is a little spooky, and I saw endless possibilities for Skype!!!

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I love this program and its format, and I hope there is something like this offered every summer! It is not only useful and applicable, but also fun!

Thing 11

I think a digital citizenship lesson would not be something that stands alone. I think I look at it more like problem solving in math...it should be embedded in everything we do related to technology. One of the articles said that when we use websites with students, we should start at Google, and show them how we chose that particular website. Also, just the constant modeling of the rules, laws, and norms that govern the digital world, should be present in every lesson that uses technology. One article said that it is not something that can be taught by one teacher one time, and I totally agree. It is like reading. It must be present all the time, and the more kids practice (correctly), the better digital citizen they will be!

Thing 10

I am still trying to figure it out...but I am having fun. Listening to people have conversations about my avatar is really creepy! I was at SL University (I think), and i typed in the reason I was there (elementary teacher exploring this site for staff development purposes...trying to see how this could benefit education). Someone read my post aloud and said "ELEMENTARY STUDENTS!!! TELL THEM TO STAY AWAY! This is not apporopriate." But someone else posted that t hey learned about it in high school. I just think it is really neat to be able to connect with people around the world. I also think this could be a way to connect classrooms/students and teachers!

Thing 9

I think slideshare is a good resource for teachers, as well as students. I had never heard of it before this, but now I am excited to have a place to go to find pre-made powerpoint presentations. I think students being able to post and share their presentations gives them a larger audience and another purpose for creating one. It can also be used as another source of information. When looking on other blogs, I enjoyed the slideshare on summer reading! Very useful tool!

Thing 8

I was a little intimidated my the screencast at first, but now I love it. I think it will be wonderful for computer lab lessons! I also think it will be great to have prepared lessons for the activboard saved in a screencast. I used ScreenCastle and thought it was very simple and quick. I think I may use screencasts on my class blog as well, to help get parents involved in their child's learning.

Thing 7

I like these video resources. I use Discovery Education quite often in the classroom, and I will enjoy having these new resources. I think I like the PBS site videos best. I will be teaching third grade, and they seem more appropriate.

Thing 6

I downloaded some of the iTouch apps mentioned. I think they are fabulous! I will be trying out some of the free word challenge apps and math practice apps with my 4th grade son. I think it would be very useful in the classroom, especially since it is these devices that will be the way of the future (our students' generation). I don't know that I would bring my personal iTouch to school, but I still think it woould be beneficial to teach students how to use them for more than just music.

If there were one (iTouch) in the library, these apps could be downloaded and opened by students . I don't see why one iTouch could not have multiple users. You do not have to go into a personal iTunes account to download these apps (I know the iTouch can only be liked to one account).

Thing 5

Facebook is a site that I personally use to keep in contact with friends and collegues. I use it professionally in that, many of my friends are teachers from school. I feel chatting on Facebook allows us to get to know each other better.

I also have a Twitter account, however I do not use it very often. After watching the CommonCraft show, though, I will try to use it more.

I think that these sites are a wonderful way to communicate with people and a great way for students to get information (like the girl that created the group for the college). I am amazed at the multitude of uses for these social networking sites!

Thing 4

I uploaded a video on Austin...a trip we took this summer. It was super easy to do, and I think my third graders would have no problem posting a video. I think one of the advantages to having them post a video (or photo story project) is that they would be doing it for a larger audience. It could be set to no more than 25 viewers (to protect their privacy), but I think kids will look at a project differently if the audience is more than just the teacher. It is like publishing a piece of writing. Uploading to video hosting sites will allow their work to be viewed by more people, and it will give them more of a purpose for their project.

Thing 3

I love SKYPE! I think I've gone Skype crazy. I added it to my I-Touch and I chat (by texting) all the time now. In the classroom, it will take the place of me running back and forth to other teachers classrooms to get information. I can quickly "skype" them. I think it will also allow students to see that we collaborate with teachers in other grade levels. I would like to use it in my classroom to have an "ask the experts" session, where we (third graders) "skype" the fourth graders and ask about new material that we are learning (that they learned last year).

I also like the idea of using Skype for a homebound student (as mentioned in the blog). Its possibilities are endless!!!