Thing 23

I have covered a ton of material on this journey and I can say that I am overwhelmed! I know that I need to spend a lot more time on this stuff and I look forward to doing so in the summer. I have some really good ideas that I want to implement for next year. I know that all of the stuff that I have learned about is tools that are going to help me become a better teacher. I think that it is important for us to incorporate technology as much as possble because that is what our students are all about! I plan to spend the summer checking more things out. There are definitely some things that I like more than others. I think the key here is staying organzied and that is going to take time! I am taking lots of new ideas from this experience. I had no idea that some of this stuff existed! I love the blog and I would like to create one for my class next year. I also love reading other blogs about ideas for teaching and the classroom. There are so many great ideas out there...just have to do the leg work!!!

Thing 22

My link is mmlane03@wikispaces.com I think that using a Wiki would be good for huge projects. However, I seem to still only like the idea of a blog. I think that I just need to spend some more time checking things out. I hardly know anything about what having a Wiki entails and I am sure that they can be pretty awesome! I didn't even know what one was until now! So I am learning TONS of stuff! I am not really sure of the exact differences between the Wiki and a blog, but the blog seems more personal where you can just post a comment and others can respond. A Wiki seems more formal, like maybe for a bigger project like a whole paper or something where others can go in and makes changes. I am not so sure. I need more time with this!!!

Thing 21

Well, I am not so sure about these Wikis. I think that I need to play around more and find some better ones that interest me. I liked Mr. Armstrong's US History Wiki that I found under the Educational Wikis link. I thought his wiki was interesting (and cool) because it was his class website. I like how he had things posted like the study guides and worksheets. He also had a way that students could hand stuff in. Interesting. Like I mentioned above, I need to spend more time looking around. I don't think that I would use a Wiki because I like the idea of a blog. It's so hard for me to keep all this stuff straight!

Thing 20

I was not having a ton of luck finding podcasts in the area of Language arts. I did subscribe to the CNN News and I like that. I could use it in my classroom while working with thinking about non fiction and writing. As I mentioned before, I liked itunes the best and I found it to be easiest. I actually did not have any idea that itunes offered podcasts and I look forward to checking it out on a regular basis to see what they have to offer.

Thing 19

I think that the podcasts were interesting. I have watched some of Mike Flanigans Podcasts about education. I was not super impressed with the topics but I did not spend a ton of time investigating. I do know of teachers that use the CNN podcast and I did think that could be used in the classroom. I liked it and I think the kids would too! I had problems with some of the programs needed to run the pocasts except when I used itunes. I found that to be the easiest plus I also have prior knowledge with itunes. At this point, there are some internet safety podcasts that I might use in the classroom but that is really all I found. I use the laptops almost daily and I think the students can ALWAYS use some reinforcement when it comes to being safe and making safe choices.

Thing 18

What Is A Folktale

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What great presentations on that site! I never knew that anything like that existed.  I really like the presentation that I found because it could be something that I would use in my classroom.  Teaching about Folktales can be difficult and often confusing for the students.  This presentation, I think, does a good just of highlighting the important information and leads the students right through the process of writing their own.  I also like that they gave some examples of good ones the students could find and read.  I would difinitely use this is my classroom and I am sure there are many more that would be great!

Thing 17

I looked at Flashcarddb and I liked it!  I know that flashcards are an invaluable tool that many kids kind of have forgotten about!  This kind of puts a new spin on it and incorporates technology.  So, maybe they will really like using it because of it being on a computer and kind of "forget" they are studying or doing homework.  I would have loved to use this when I taught 3rd and 4th grade!  There are so many different subject areas that you can use flashcards with!  I am definitely going to show my students and keep this sight bookmarked for myself in the future when my own kids start school.  Great idea and it seems fairly easy to use as far as I can see.

Thing 16

Now THIS is a topic that I am familiar with!  However, I will say that if it weren't for the people at school forcing me to, I probably wouldn't have!  But now that I have really been using it for PBS, I see how awesome it is for us to use at school.  I also like the idea of using the calendar so that everyone is aware of what is going on and when!  

I honestly have not thought about how I would use this with students.  I do not think that having to have an email account would be an issue because they all pretty much have them.  It is an awesome tool for collecting information with a large group...I will say that!

Thing 15

RSS is not hard to understand it is just so time consuming to get set up. I feel like I need an entire weekend to work on things and make them just how I want it. Searching for good stuff takes time and that is just not on my side. I know that this is a great tool and I will dedicate more time to getting organized say...over the summer? But right now, managing all the things that I have created for 23 things, how to get to them, websites, blogs, passwords and usernames...it is crazy overwhelming! I do not check my feeds regularly but I promise to work on it over the summer because I do see the value in it!

Thing 14

My Delicious username is mmlane03 I have not had a ton of time to go onto the computer and bookmark websites at home because the computer I need to do this on is at school. That is the computer that I use the most. I think that social bookmarking can be super helpful because you are being able to see what other people have found. It kind of gives you an idea of what maybe good so by seeing your friends bookmarks, some of the hard work has been done for you! And vice versa! You can help out your colleagues. This goes back to the old saying..."why re-invent the wheel?" Delicious seems to be a great tool for staying organized. It lets me organize my own findings and also look at what my friends find useful. It definitely increases productivity because we are all kind of networking together, sharing good websites and often doing the leg work for each other!

Thing 13

I think that tagging is important and helpful because staying organized is key! With all these blogs and websites full of great information, I do find it overwhelming. I like the fact that tagging will help me easily access websites that I have found useful in the past. And, I have also realized that just by adding to your favorites, it kind of hard to remember exactly what the site has to offer. So, by tagging and adding those key words, it seems that it would be easier to narrow down to the specific topic that you are looking for. I think that it is super important to be very careful when assigning tags so that you have good solid categories to file websites into. I know that while using Pinterest, I had to go back and rename some of my boards to be more specific. I realized that as I go into finding more stuff, I needed to go back to fix my categories to be a little more specific that I had originally started with.

Thing 12

Well that was fun! I had no problems embedding that. I do have a Facebook account and I enjoy going onto Facebook and keeping up with old friends. It has given me an opportunity that I may not have had if it weren't for Facebook. There are many old high school and college friends that I have been able to reconnect with! I think that these relationships are just like acquaintances and my close friends continue to be close friends. I do not think that social networking sites take the place of face to face relationships because those friends that I see regularly, I still continue to see. However, I think it is great to see pictures of an old friend's family now that we've grown up. If it weren't for Facebook, I wouldn't even have that! I think that Facebook for kids is a totally different story. I see it as an avenue for bullying and being mean to each other. All I hear in school is negative comments about this and that. I do not think that young kids see it in the same light as maybe adults do. In fact, I have heard far too many students say they wish they never had a Facebook because it has created so many problems with their friends and people at school. It's hard enough being a middle school aged kid...now you throw Facebook in there? Not good!

Thing 11

I have been reading the other blogs for quite some time now and I have left comments on a few, but they did not show up and I have no idea if they will or not. I like the idea of leaving comments because it gives you a chance to tell someone that you like their idea and also ask questions! I like reading the comments of others and I think that it is vital to building that "community" feeling. I have been blogging with different people about teaching ideas that I have seen and even have had a chance to get more information on topics. The feeling of "conversation" feels weird at first, but since I started I have actually enjoyed the comments. I have learned some great things reading these blogs! I think that students using a blog for writing in classes is a great idea. I do know a few teachers that do it and the kids seem to really like it. It is a different way to get their input on things and because it doesn't require a pencil and paper, they seem more open to doing it!

Thing 10

I chose this video because I use them all of the time in my classroom. Even though they are dated, they are classics and the students seem to enjoy them. There are several videos that address grammar. This particular video is on adjectives. My students can always use a good reminder about what an adjective is and examples! This video is fun to watch and gets the point across. They can hardly believe that I watched these same videos when I was in school!