Thing 23 – Final Thoughts

Whew. I did it. And it was great. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and got SO much out of it…I’m still sorting it all out. Besides an understanding of lots of new, wonderful tools, the most important thing I come away with is a shifted perspective about technology and its importance in the classroom. Oh, I’ve always been a supporter. No reluctant technophobe here. However, I know now that I was merely scratching the surface of the uses and extreme collaborative quality of technology and its impact on our students and world. Yes. I’m seeing things very differently. And I’m seeing my classroom next year very differently. I have a million ideas. Most notable having students creating Wiki Portfolios as I’ve mentioned on a previous post. Today I decided to create a Pageflakes page for my college prep and honors English classes. They will be a central hub for all things Ms. Reid. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to get started and I can’t wait to see what new idea pops in my head tomorrow.

Thank you Shelley and Amy for ALL of your help and support. Great class!

Possible Part II/Intermediate class next summer?

Thing 18 – Podcasts

My podcast is a reading of one of my favorite poems, “somewhere I have never traveled,” by ee cummings. I discovered this piece in middle school and have loved it ever since. The experience of recording my voice, converting the file, and uploading to our K12 O-rama site took a couple of tries (right click, right click) but I got it and it was fun and useful, I believe.

I have a couple of ideas about how to use it. It would be a great resource for assignments, especially those that require a great deal of detail or complex explanation. Also, I can see students using it to read their papers and listening to the playback for clarity, word choice, agreement – anything! Finally, students could use it as a studying tool for vocabulary practice, etc. I really think the possibilities are endless!

Thing 22 – Social Networking

I was familiar with Ning as the Green Team environmental group has one at Holy Innocents’. It is a terrific resource for collaboration – no doubt. I checked out a few on my own and found Bloombla, which doesn’t seem to have a lot of use in the English classroom, but HOW fun! People all over the world weigh in on random things they do and the results are tabulated for a quick view. Fascinating. But I digress…so easily distracted by all the fun stuff.

I LOVED Classroom 2.0 and signed up to join. I can see the usefulness of this site – especially in terms of support for all I’ve learned this summer and all I want to apply in the classroom. I’m delighted. For me, looking at these tools really reiterated all I want to do and apply with regard to 2.0 tools. Every time I do a lesson or explore a related resource, I have dozens of ideas of how to incorporate them AND ultimately create a central, virtual classroom for my students and connect them to the world they will be entering in shortly. This has been truly inspirational and my early fears about applying my new knowledge are gone. I have to use them. I won’t be able to help it!

Thing 21 – Pageflakes

Okay. Yet another very cool tool. I love the customizability and I can think of several uses in the classroom. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am very interested in having my students create individual, online portfolios for their work for me. I can see Pageflakes being a terrific central point for instruction by creating a page that provides resources and direction for this large project. Also, it seems like it would be an awesome administrative tool for assignments, announcements, etc.

I wonder if my school would let me use this instead of my HIES web page for my students? It sure is more feature friendly and more organized. Can’t hurt to ask!!!

Thing 19 – YouTube and TeacherTube

I LOVE YouTube and am delighted to explore TeacherTube as a new resource. I already use YouTube in my classroom. Here is one of my favorite humorous videos that I show my kids after they read Crime and Punishment.

Crime and Punishment…with Legos

I know it’s terrible but it certainly adds some MUCH needed levity to the study of this grim novel. In addition, I’ve found useful instructional videos for myself and my students relating to English study and writing. My frustration with YouTube is all the junk you have to wade through to get to the good stuff, but when I find things I like, I can save them and use them over and over. Another huge benefit is how these videos can reinforce instruction or bring in an experience students wouldn’t have otherwise. For example, when we read In the Time of the Butterflies, I have my students create a research project presentation on some aspect of the DR. ALL of them use YouTube at some point to complement their presentations. It brings a cultural richness to their work, and, I believe, a better understanding of life in Hispaniola.

Video? Thumbs up!!!!

Thing 7C – Goggle Reader Reflection

In a recent Teacher Magazine article, an English teacher wrestles with how to teach writing effectively on the site’s Blogboard. Of course, this caught my interest as I wrestle with this daily, so I was impressed that that Mr. McNamara confessed his shortcomings/frustrations, and was interested by other teachers’ responses. Nothing groundbreaking, but good reminders and suggestions.

Tips I took away…

• start with the big picture
• do not focus on grammar and mechanics initially
• break down the projects into goal-oriented segments so students can see progress

Thing 20 – Google Docs

This is SUCH a useful tool. Case in point, my father, who fears technology, wanted to apply for a new job recently. HE DOESN’T HAVE WORD ON HIS COMPUTER! Seriously.

In order to help him with his resume, we relied on Google Docs and collaborated successfully. The best part is that he is much more confident now and it worked out very well.

For this class, I uploaded and edited a literary terms document that I am developing for my students for the upcoming school year. I want them to have a master list to work from, so this document is the starting point. I can think of a lot of uses for Google Docs in the classroom included posting assignments/resources for students, student/teacher and student/student collaboration, using tables/spreadsheets (as we are doing in this class) to keep up with work/goals, and much more! I definitely foresee incorporating Google Docs next year!

Thing 17 – The Podcast

I was excited about this activity because I already have and use an iTunes account, though I must admit that I don’t take advantage of the podcasts as I should. Happily, being “instructed” to view the many tools turned me on to some great shows! I love Grammar Girl – I had already stumbled across her website, but I found Just Vocabulary and Grammar Challenge, too. Grammar Challenge is produced by the BBC for English language learners, but it has some good tools that I may be able to use as well. What terrific resources for the English classroom. I can’t wait to use them and more! I can think of so many uses for podcasts. Instruction, posting assignments, individual feedback for student papers. I could evaluate papers as I read them and provide the feedback for students to read online at their leisure when class time is short. Love it!!!

Thing 16 – It’s a “Library Thing”

Library Thing is very cool and reminded me a bit of Good Reads of which I am a member. The Suggester and Unsuggester did the same thing and only seemed to pick up on key words and not content which was disappointing, but I LOVED the Zeitgeist page and immediately forwarded it to my husband who is a voracious reader, as well. I can certainly see using this site for personal use but I’m still considering how I could use it in my classroom. Even many of my honor students don’t “love” to read, and getting many of my students excited about this venue – well – could be a challenge. That said, I’m still thinking…

Photo by Lochaven

Thing 15 – Delicious.com

Delicious.com is a great deal of fun and I can see how it will be very useful. I love being about to look at others’ tags for interesting sites and inspiration. How/what to tag is something I’m still not 100% confident with, but I imagine experience and observation will help a great deal. Take a look at my links and please share your goodies. Fun!

Yum!!!

Pic by Rakka