Summary

One of my favorite parts was learning about the awesome signs you could create with the online image generator. I also like the Deli.icio.us account that enables you to access your bookmarks and other people's bookmarks from any computer any where. The RSS feeds were cool too. (This will save so much time.) Another favorite, all the free open source software like ZoHo Writer and iGoogle that allows you to store documents on the web and retrieve them from anywhere. As I think back, I have learned so much and everything was easily accessible and the assignments were all attainable. I could literally go on and on about the many different applications I have learned through this experience.
I loved the way the staff development was set up. I am also thankful that I did it in the summer when I had plenty of time to explore the different aspects of web 2.0. I have spent hours looking and exploring all the online learning tools available through this staff development. (I would look at the clock and could not believe I spent so much time exploring because I was having so much fun)Thank you for taking the time to put this together. I would definitely consider taking another course set up in this style.
My goal is to help my campuses become more familiar with web 2.0. Teachers, please if you are on my campuses, Austin, Cannaday, McKenzie, Tosch, or Tisinger, please give me a call so we can work together to help our students become the best they can be with technology using web 2.0.

Thing # 23 - Creative Commons

I noticed in the side bar, the following: Learning 2.0 is a discovery learning program created by Helene Blowers and adapted by the California School Library Association and others. Content and style for Learning 2.0 - 23 Things has been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Commons License. This gives credit to the original author and uses the Creative Commons License.
I did not know about the Creative Commons License site. I will use it when I am creating blog pages and want to barrow and duplicate things for my page or other technology endeavors.

Thing #22 - Podcasts: no iPod needed!

Podcasts are so exciting for students. Last year students at one of my elementary schools created podcasts in 3rd grade and 6th grade. We posted them on Powermedia Plus. Students and parents were able to listen to the podcast from home. Click on the link above and you will be able to listen to some of the podcasts. These were very simple podcasts to let students learn how to create them. You will need to login to PowerMedia Plus. Remember your login is your email address and the password is your school's name. After you login, type in Austin in the search field and choose Mrs. Vasquez class or Special People in my Life. Students can login to Powermedia Plus, but I have slept since then and can not remember the student login. Next year we hope to have our own server that students will be able to save their podcasts to in our district.

I have subscribed to several podcasts, but my favorite is from my church. They use podcasts to put the sermons online every week. Therefore if I miss a Sunday, I can still hear the sermon.

Thing #21 - Animoto

I created a 30 second video of my daughter and her new husband. It was from the slideshow I made of them for their wedding. It was fun am simple to use. I was not aware of this site. I will use it in the future for short videos. This would be really fun for students to use in 4th grade while studying our great state. After students create a brochure on the state, they could use this to create a short video about their brochure.

Thing #20 - You too can YouTube

I love You Tube and God Tube. There are so many funny videos. You can spend hours looking at the different videos. At school, you could video your students and add them to your library web page. Of course, you will need parental permission before posting the video. (Very important) This is one of my favorite "Cannon Ball Baptism". It is on You Tube and God Tube.

Thing #19 - Beyond MySpace: other social networks

I have joined the 23 Thingster on Ning. I uploaded some pictures. I loved the different social networks you could join. I looked at Fuzzster. It was a fun site to check out and learn more about your breed of dog. Here is a picture of my dog Cricket. Isn't she cute????

Thing #18 - Explore social networking

I have accounts on My Space and FaceBook, but I rarely use these accounts. After this class, I will delete both accounts because I do not like information about myself on a social network. I know with My Space you can choose to have your account marked private with a password, but I am not sure about FaceBook. I can see how this may be used to acquaint yourself with other people who have common interests or want to keep up with friends who live in other places. I also realize that every teenager probably has an account on My Space. Students today are not afraid of technology, they live in the digital age. It is second nature to them to post things on blogs, add music, and pictures to their social network. They use My Space to keep up with their friends. As a parent, I would become very familiar with both social networks because these sites can be unsafe if students do not set up their accounts to insure their privacy.
I noticed that My Space had more options to customize your page while FaceBook had a more business appeal to its page. I am not convinced that My Space belongs in an educational setting. We have too many other options to use with our students like Wikis, but I feel it is very important for us to stay informed about these sites because our students do use them frequently.
This is my FaceBook account.

Thing #17 - Tagging and Social Bookmarking with Del.icio.us

I already have a del.icio.us account. This tool has been very beneficial for combining bookmarks from home and work. I can mark the bookmarks private in delicious and choose the bookmarks I want to share with other people. This is a very valuable tool since I combine my personal and professional bookmarks. I also like to tag my bookmarks, therefore making it easier to search for specific topics. Another valuable tool is adding fans to your account. This enables you to see other bookmarks people have found therefore eliminating valuable searching time on the Internet.
Teachers could use this to set up specific sites for students to use during research projects or for specific learning sites.
I took the staff development this summer called "Social Bookmarking". It is online and will give you a better understanding of del.icio.us. and social bookmarking.

Thing # 16- Getting Organized with Web 2.0 Tools

I had set up an iGoogle page earlier. I looked at PageFlakes, but I chose to use Netvibes to set up another homepage. Netvibes was easy to set up too, but I will keep my iGoogle page. I feel it has more choices and options that are easy to integrate the other things I am using from Learning 2.0.
Online calendars are a very valuable resource when you work with a group of people with different schedules. I like the ability to share my iCal with co-workers. When I need to schedule a meeting for all of us, I can check their calendars before I set up the meeting. I also like the fact that I can create a personal calendar on iCal too. Since I already have an online calendar that I share, I did not create another online calendar.
I created a Jott account because I liked the fact that you could create a voice reminder list and send it to your iPhone. However, I used my work phone number and was not able to verify my account since I am not at work yet. I think this will be a very useful way to set up reminders for me. I like the fact that you can post your reminders or do lists to the web and have access to them anywhere. Again, having the ability to access things from anywhere seems to be the best part of web 2.0

Thing # 15- What is a Wiki

I love using wikis. What a great way to collaborate ideas for technology, classrooms, or libraries.

I found wikis were easy to set up and invite users to join. I plan to set up a wiki for Promethean users in our district to share ideas for using the Promethean Boards. I would love for teachers to share ideas on how they used the Promethean board to increase the TAKS test scores for their students. 

Last year I created a Wiki  to share family recipes with cousins who live out of state. Here is the link if you are interested. Singletary Family Recipes 

Thing # 14- Go with the flow

I used Gliffy to create a flow chart. It was similar to Inspiration, but you have to pay an upgrade to get images added to the flowchart. I did notice that it had network images. I also noticed that it was easier to align the objects with arrows than the Inspiration software. It had all the same features as Inspiration so you could customize your flowchart. I also tried Bubbl.us and was not impressed. It was much simpler, but I didn't like it. I didn't like the color choices or the fact that it only made a square or rectangle for the shapes. It was very easy to connect the bubbles. Of course the advantage to both of these flowcharts are they are free, and it is easy to share with other people.

Thing # 13- Online Applications

I have often heard of open source software, but I have never explored any of them before this class.  These are awesome tools that are going to benefit school districts greatly. When I think of how much money our district has spent on Microsoft products, it blows me away! Now we will have the option to use online software that is free. ZoHo Writer is a new way to use word processing, databases, publishing tools and so many more options for us to use in our classrooms that are web based. The tool bar looks very similar to word, however you have more options at your fingertips. The fact that we can create a document and retrieve it from any computer anywhere is fantastic. I especially liked the way they explained the introductory page too. I love being able to insert the emotions. 

However, when I was trying to export this to my blog, I was not successful. I couldn't find enough directions to help me. If anyone is successful, please respond and share with me how you did it. I thought it would be very simple, and it probably is simple.  I have just hit a roadblock.

Thing # 12- Google Tools

I loved all the Google tools. I was not aware that they offered so much. This was really cool to play with and set up the different tools. I like the Google Alerts because it will keep me informed about specific news or events, and I like the fact that it will email you. The Google calendar was easy to set up. I could see teachers setting up a calendar for homework, testing, or any thing specific to their classroom. 

I wasn't going to try iGoogle, but I am glad that I did. I love the gadgets you can add to your page and it was so simple to set up. I also love the fact that you can choose the topics for your tabs, and then it will pull in the information on those specific topics. This is the link to my iGoogle.

I also set up a Picassa Album. It was easy to use too. 

I am very impressed with all the capabilities Google has to offer us as teachers and the many opportunities we have to share this information with our students. 

The only hindrance is that our district has Google blocked, and it is a pain to over ride every time. But you could do everything from home especially the calendar and send the link home with your students.

Thing # 11 - RSS & Blogs

I found it easy to use several RSS feeds, but one of my favorite was Topix.net. It was easy to search a variety of topics from scrap-booking to vacation topics. Topix.net pulled up several feeds on Panama City, Florida, but Google Reader did not pull up anything. I was checking to see if they both would find the same information. 

I found Feedster took forever to download too. I didn't have the patience to wait for it to download to my computer. 

Since Google Reader was my first to set up. I am more familiar with it than the others. I have several RSS feeds set up, and I am sure it will continue to grow. I also have a deli.cio.us account that I am going to use for both professional and personal items.

I find that  blogs are useful for me to learn from other people and share valuable information that may help someone else. 

Thing # 10 - RSS Feeds

I used the Google Reader for my RSS feeds. This was my first time to set up a feed by myself. It was very simple to use. This tool will save valuable time. Sometimes I can spend hours trying to find things on the Internet by reading different blogs. With this tool, I can keep up with the information I am interested in, and it will automatically download the feed to my Google Reader account. I think teachers and librarians will find this a very valuable too that saves them time.

I know things are changing so fast, and I am so thankful that our district is offering some of the latest  technology trends. It has been said before, but we have to step up with our knowledge technology in order to continue to prepare our students for the 21st century.

Thing # 9 - Online Image Generator

I played around with several, but my favorite was the Comic Strip, Sticker, & Fridge Magnet Maker. Here is the link http://www.txt2pic.com/toons/2.htm

To create this one, I use the template and filled in my information.

 I tried to use the Free Text Generator, but it was for PC. I think the cartoon generator would be fun to use in the classroom as well as the Comic Strip. Students could create a comic strip. 

This would allow students the opportunity to work on writing skills in cooperative groups.

With the custom sign generators, students could make signs for rules in the classroom, computer lab, or cafeteria. They could make one for the door for testing. Here is the link for this one. http://www.customsigngenerator.com/.

Thing # 8 - Flickr-Mosaic

This was a little more difficult. Maybe I was not reading thoroughly, but it took me several times to create this Mosaic. I had trouble uploading photos to Flickr. I finally gave up and used some of the same photos.

I liked the spell with Flickr better. It was much easier to use, and I can see students using this in the classroom.

Thing # 7 - Flickr

 I chose a photos of students creating podcasts. Please notice that I did not use names, and I tried to use pictures of students you could not identify. I also have an ulterior motive. I want teachers to see how easy it is to create a podcasts so they will notify their ETF next year to help create podcasts with their students. We always recommend getting parents permission slips signed at the beginning of the year. I have permission slips for these students.

Flickr is a great tool to use to post pictures, and I found it fairly easy to use. I will use it occasionally to post photos to share with family members and teachers. I do like the fact that you can mark your photos private in Flickr.

However, I prefer my .Mac account to share albums with family members because I am familiar with the program. The down side of .Mac, is you have to be a subscriber. It is not free. It costs around $ 109  a year, but you also get a space to save documents too.

Thing # 6 – Web 2.0 Awards List

I set up a del.icio.us account. This tool is so cool because it allows you access to all your bookmarks regardless of what computer you are using at the time. With the del.icio.us account you can share your bookmarks on your computer. Then you are able to access those bookmarks from any computer connected to the Internet. You can also share them with your friends.

At first, this was a little confusing for me when I uploaded all my bookmarks. There were some personal bookmarks that I did not want to share with other people. However, you have the option to edit your bookmarks in the del.icio.us account and choose to share. The editing features were very easy to use.

I think this would be a valuable tool for teachers to use with their classes. Many teachers surf the Internet at home to find resources to use in their classroom for research etc. With the del.icio.us account the teacher would have access to all the bookmarks regardless of what computer they are using at the time. They would have access to the bookmarks at school, in the library, or computer lab. How cool is that!!!!

Thing #5 - Perspectives of web 2.0

Web 2.0 provides so many opportunities for us as teachers to acquire information and share it with our students. While some of the terminology may seem different to us, students are already using many of these to communicate with each other on a daily basis. Our students are "digital natives" and have grown up with technology. They use texting, My Space, You Tube, and Yahoo on a weekly basis. As educators, we have to broaden our horizon and embrace Web 2.0 for the many possibilities it offers us to engage our students in learning. Blogging is a great way for students to participate in a discussion. It will enable a shy student the opportunity to voice their opinion in a non-threatening manner. If we, as educators, do not embrace web 2.0, we will do a disservice to our students.

Thing #4 - Commenting is important

Commenting helps create a sense of community and build rapport with people who interact with your blog. Some of the things I found important are: If you don't care, don't comment, but if you feel strongly about the topic and have something to say, it is important to share your view. We reinforce opinions we agree with when we have real world examples. In the blog, "How to Feel Like a King or Queen", I agree that meaningful, relevant, real world comments add power to the blogs. What an awesome tool to use with our students. Blogging allows them the have a vote or opinion and give students the opportunity to express themselves. Students are so much more tech savvy then most of us. They use texting all the time on their phones and this is just another way for them to share their ideas using technology.

I also liked the blog, "Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting" These are rules we can apply to everyday life too. The hardest for me is to read carefully before commenting. I tend to scan and sometime miss valuable information, and I post too quickly. I also like the suggestion "Smile" to add emotions to your blog. Sometimes the smallest thing like a happy face with a smile will give someone encouragement and validate their comment. Again, leave comments that add value to the discussion. Blogging is the future!!! 

I feel the above comments provide a guideline for us to use when blogging. As always it is important to have guidelines to hold you accountable to your posts and to others who post to your blog.

I will add to the names and comments to the seven blogs at a later date.

My blogs that I commented on:

1. I commented on Teachers Summer because she like the site for pets. I also liked it too because I am a dog person. She was a cat person. It was fun reading the posts of other people.

2. Poo-Phil was the second blog. Hie liked image creator and created a cool T-shirt jersey.

3. Teacher's Summer was the next one, and I wanted to encourage her to create a podcast. I also gave her Curtissa Greene's informations since she is going back to Poteet to teach ESL. Curtissa is wonderful with Podcasts and uses the iPods in her ESL room at school. She will be a great resource for teachers.

4. Gigiread seemed a little frustrated. I wanted her to know that I felt overwhelmed at times too. She did a great job. I also wanted to encourage her to contact her ETF for help with technology related items and especially for podcasting with her students.

5. Tech Savvy was not sure about podcasting. I encouraged her to try it next year with her class and to contact her ETF to help her because she is an awesome teacher that loves to use technology.

The two other sites, were my daughter's photographer's that took her wedding pictures and I used some while setting up my Del.icio.us account in the Social Bookmarking class.

Thing # 3 Register my blog

I have registered my blog. I think it would be cool to set up a blog for users of the Promethean Boards in our district. Teachers could create a blog to share ideas and help other teachers who may have questions about building flipcharts. 

I could also use a blog to get feed back from teachers about specific technology they would like for me to help them with on their campuses. 

A blog is a great way for interaction between teachers, students, and parents.

Thing # 2 Setting up your Blog and Avatar

Setting up the blog was easy since we had so many templates to choose from. The fun part was designing your avatar. So many choices from clothes, to backgrounds, etc. I followed the directions on posting the url and had no trouble posting my avatar to my blog. I am looking forward to learning more about blogs.

Thing # 1 - Lifelong Learning

I watched the video of the 7 1/2 Habits earlier today. The easiest for me is to accept responsibility for my own actions and to use technology to my advantage. The hardest part will be to view problems as challenges. I usually want to seek help instead of figuring the problem out myself.