Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Getting Ready for the New Year

I'm in the middle of reading a very inspirational book called What Great Teachers do Differently to gear myself up for the new school year. The book contains all sorts of great tips for bringing out the best in students. I also ran across a humor site that provides classroom management guidance of a different sort. My stomach still hurts!

http://specialkindofstupid.com/2008/08/13/ask-kev-tips-for-teachers/#comments

Monday, August 4, 2008

Thing 23

Well I did it!!! I was very worried about completing the course, particularly since I started late and found that most of the Things took a lot longer than I'd anticipated. Please don't take this as a complaint - the more I fiddle and play, the more the information is likely to stick!


Here's my response to the summary questions posted on the site:


1. Favorites - I liked the exercises for Flickr, mashups, online image generators, and podcasts best of all. I have always wanted to become more proficient in these areas and I got a real charge out of creating my own content while taking the course.


2. In an earlier post, I had commented that one of my goals this year was to integrate more technology into my class. This course provided me with the content and practice I need to achieve this goal. In a broader sense, it has also brought me up to speed in many areas that I wouldn't have considered exploring and has provided me with tools that can help me keep current in the future.


3. There were many surprises! Having used the Internet for a variety of things in the past, I knew that it was possible to imbed videos, pictures, etc., but just didn't know how to do it. I had no idea about the great organizing tools available, especially the tagging tools like Delicious, which is going to make me a far more efficient web user. I also didn't know how easy to use many of the web tools would be. I don't think I'll be intimidated again.


4. I'm a huge fan of online learning, having completed most of my certification work in this format. The only suggestion I can make pertains to commenting. I started the course very late in the game (thank you for letting me!) and know that it must have been a daunting task for the captains to comment on all of the participant postings. It was daunting for me to find bloggers I wished to comment upon in the scroll! Perhaps one way around this would be to assign 10 or so bloggers to their very own community of commentators, thus encouraging the connection.


5. I would definitely participate in any additional online courses you would offer, although I would most prefer that they're offered in the summer months. Just thinking about the realities of the school year and the new course I'll be teaching...


6. A great way to familiarize yourself with web 2.0 learning tools - at your own pace and your own place!


Thank you so very much for developing this program. I do think it will change my students' learning experience and my teaching experience for the better.


All the best!

Thing 22

I enjoyed looking through Ning for Teachers and Librarian Nings. Both will be great ways to stay connected, especially once the school year starts. There were some useful discussions about 2.0 tools on the Library Ning and some pertinent lesson plan ideas on Ning for Teachers. Both of my children Facebook religiously and I have a older friends who do as well. I haven't joined this trend because most of the people I interact with don't either ~ and my kids said they won't be my friend (;. These sites will fulfill the dual purpose of helping me with my work and becoming more connected. They're great!

Thing 21

It's getting down to the wire and with the tropical storm fast approaching and the comments about this Thing on the main page I was plenty scared to even try it. I sure hope that I can get my project to download! Actually making the podcast was amazingly simple and fun. I can see spending hours doing this and sending people great birthday greetings. This was way too much fun. I can also see a lot of applications for my classroom. We have headsets with microphones on the classroom computers - now we'll just need to download some music. I think the kids will be amazingly proud to put something like this together, particularly my ESL students who have never used a computer before. I can't wait!!

Thing 20

Spent a lot of time looking at videos on YouTube and some on TeacherTube. For some reason TeacherTube is a lot slower at buffering and the videos are choppy. I'm not sure if this is something that I can fix on my computer or if it's their server. Anyone know or have the same problems?



I found lots of great ideas for how I can use student-made videos in my class along with some good ideas for ESL games. Last year, I was given a Flip for Mother's Day. This is a super-easy-to-use camera that downloads videos directly into the computer. I'm planning on using it more frequently this year, and many of the student produced videos gave me good ideas on how to get started. Early on, I will have students work on videos using "Who, What, Where, When, and Why" and then show these to the class. I'll probably have to purchase a few more Flips though. Hope the department budget can support it!

I liked the idea of a news program found in this video:

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Thing 19

I really enjoyed looking through the 2.0 Awards List. It's a page I intend to go back to and have fun with at a later time. Better use Delicious! I am planning to retire to the Chicago area, so looking around at neighborhoods using Zillow was very interesting and informative. I had heard of Craigslist, but never actually explored the site. I think it is a great example of the power of the medium. Talk about community ~ although you probably have to be careful with the content and wouldn't want to use it at school.

The Backpack site seems similar to many of the advanced Google features in one handy location. This site is comparable to office intranets and could be used for departments or disciplines within the larger school setting. Departments could use the site to track their budget and expenses, publish agendas and minutes, and generally keep information organized and accessible.

I was also very impressed to note how well-versed the participants in this class will be on so many of the categories listed on the awards chart. Thanks for that!

Thing 18

I was very excited about OpenOffice, especially when comparing the ~$200 you have to spend on Microsoft Office vs. this no cost option. I was not so thrilled about spending more than an hour trying to get the suite to download without positive results. The link shows on my desktop, but I must be missing the shortcut or something because I can't get in. I'm sure with more playing I will get it to work, but it's Sunday and my "Things" must be completed by Tuesday, so I'm giving this a pass for the moment and will revisit if I have time. I'd appreciate any comments or guidance on this. I do love the concept!



I had already registered for GoogleDocs and can think of many ways I can use this feature to improve my personal and professional productivity. Prior to receiving my district laptop, I would often create documents at home and then email them to myself to save on my computer at work. GoogleDocs will allow me to access these documents from any computer. I also will use the collaborative abilities of the site when planning lessons or creating documents with other teachers. Students can edit group research projects through GoogleDocs as well, even if they don't have a personal email account. I plan on using it a lot in about 3 weeks! Yikes - that's soon.....

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Thing 17

I can see many uses for Rollyo for both myself and my students. I've mentioned before that I'm a huge "googler", but often the number of results is overwhelming. Using the rolls of others to obtain more succinct and useful results should help me to find what I want without having to go deep into the search pages.

My students do a number of research projects throughout the year. In the past, I've linked specific web pages to my school web page and have directed the students to use these sites to find their information. While this controls their content, it also limits their findings. Using Rollyo to achieve the same end will expand their search options with the same result. It will also allow me to leave my tailored searches on the web instead of having to remove them from my website once the project is complete.

Here's the link to my first (rather sketchy) roll:
http://rollyo.com/msmoore60067/esl_3_branches/

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Thing 16

I have just added a post to the Sandbox, but I'm not sure how to add my name as Sue's Scribbles and since the changes have been saved, I'm not sure how to go back and do this even if I knew how. Obviously, I need to practice! Any tips would be appreciated.

Despite my unfamiliarity with the details, I feel that I have learned so many things over the last week or so that I've been working on the course. I knew that the web could provide many wonderful learning opportunities for students, having been fortunate to visit the classrooms of teachers who successfully apply technology in their classrooms. My goal for the upcoming year was to try and enhance the interest of the curriculum to my students by using available technology whenever possible. I think this course will go a long way towards helping me achieve this goal.

The main benefit of the course to me has been that it has demystified many of the resources available on the web. I have become a huge fan of CommonCraft because they have a great knack for simple, user-friendly explanations. (As an aside, if you haven't watched the CommonCraft Zombie video, it's a hoot!) I think this course buttresses these explanations with useful practice, providing a framework to put the tools into use.

I am currently on a college road trip with my son. As soon as I check into the hotel today, I found a computer, went to my RSS feed to check out what's new, and then logged on here to my "community". I feel like I'm slowly getting connected...and I sure like it!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Thing 15

The content with this Thing had some interesting information to view and digest. The first extremely evocative video brought home again how much of what students hear and learn in the classroom is completely irrelevant to their lives. In all candor, I felt much the same as the student in the video when I was in the midst of my undergraduate education back in 1976 at a very large public university. The difference was that most of us didn't have other options for learning.



At that time, I completed many research papers at the university's extremely large library. I had a pass to go into the stacks, and poking around the books and finding a carrel to settle into was one of my favorite experiences as a student. In some ways, this might have been similar to what students experience today when they do a search on the web, although a lot slower! The excitement of finding information pertaining to your subject, the agony of sifting through mounds of information and trying to form a coherent argument, and the immense satisfaction of completing a cogent, polished product ~ it may be only relevant to a few, but it can be immensely satisfying. In contrast to today, however, the research and work that I did was essentially completed in a vacuum. Until graduate school, there was rarely any collaborative effort whatsoever, with the only exchange being a few notes made on the paper after it had been returned.



When I contrast this with what is possible today, with all of the tools available to learners of all ages, I am humbled by the possibilities. We are certainly faced with many difficult challenges, but we also have ways like never before to share information and innovations. These possibilities extend into the classroom. Will American history ever be relevant to the lives of eighth graders? Maybe not. But, by harnessing the technological tools available we can make the means by which they learn it more relevant and interesting. And if it's something they can discuss in present day terms with their social network? It's probably a lesson they'll remember.



When I finished undergrad, I thought (and hoped) that there must be a better and more satisfying way to learn, something that would approximate the wonderful, expansive feeling that I had when I read a great work of literature or a heard well-reasoned argument. I was lucky to have experiences like this later in my academic career. We all read a lot today about how our schools are driven by the tests and in many cases this is true. But I also think that we can go beyond this by offering students an entirely new format in which to learn. I'm very excited about what this will mean for their learning experience and for how this can give them that same wonderful feeling of poking amongst the dusty stacks and finding that great idea that will make them say "Aha, so this is what it means to be human."

Thing 14

Well I've taken a look at Technorati and I have to honestly say that I'm underwhelmed. The past few "Things" have provided us with ways to organize the content that we're faced with as we review the web and also give us a way to facilitate a dialogue between users. My initial reaction is that Technorati is more of the same, but in a more general fashion where number of hits and potential advertisers is the ultimate goal. Granted, I am a newbie who, until I started this course, thought I was pushing the envelope by having two email accounts and a really long list of "favorites". But given all of the other tools on the Internet, I'm not sure how this particular site adds any value except for monetary. Please let me know your comments. It is entirely possible that I'm mistaken!

Thing 13

I've just viewed all the tutorials and have signed up for a Delicious account. http://del.icio.us/msmoore60067 I know this will be a huge time-saver for me. The district issued us lap tops at the end of last year, and I currently have an unwieldy number of favorites that I search for ideas or use as a resource. After the August 5 deadline for this course, I intend to organize and tag all of these sites in my account.

I can also see applications for students, particularly if they are doing research on a particular topic. What a great way to organize web materials.

I have one question? In the Magnolia and Furl tutorials they emphasize that the original content of the web page you tag is preserved. This is critical for me since it is often a specific lesson idea or technique that I wish to return to at a later date. Is the same true for Delicious? Thanks for any response!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Thing 12


The articles and posts about adding comments were informative. I am a "lurker" because I feel that I only have a limited amount of time to read and digest a lot of information and also am a bit of an intimidated newbie. But as these writers point out, this one-way flow of information essentially removes me from the community aspect of blogging. This is something I will have to work on! Commenting on the Learn2Play blogs has been good practice.

I will add more later about interesting blogs I've encountered..... In the meantime, I'm so excited about adding images that I've included a photo of my dog, who is a lurker extraordinaire!

After finishing this post late last night, I did a quick search for blogs pertaining to ESL. I happened upon a post from a new teacher in the area who will be facing some challenges in his classroom this year. It brought home to me the power of the blogging community and the support and help and support we can provide one another through this medium.

Thing 11

Spent some time today exploring Library Thing. I added five of my books, putting star ratings on all of them and writing very short reviews for three. I wish this site had existed years ago so that I might have entered and rated all the books that I've read. My middle-aged brain doesn't have the recall powers of old and it would be great to have a written summary of my favorites. One woman in my book group keeps a book journal. This site could serve a similar purpose.

I checked out a couple of the groups and think that they would be useful for students who want to find a good read. I doubt that I'd ever participate in one of the group chats, but it's nice to know of another site that has reviews by genre.

Website Welcome


ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

Thing 10

Make your own free clipart like this @ www.TXT2PIC.com with free web based tools (hundreds of image generators that run through a web broswer, no software to buy or install).
Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com
I discovered how to add a picture directly into a post. Hooray! I think these image generators are fantastic and that my English language learners will enjoy using them to write humorous captions.

I also found a way to add cool moving graphics into my blog. I just went to this site: http://www.imagechef.com/ic/blender/ , put in the text changes where necessary and then just filled out the handy upload form to get it in my blog. Our school requires us to update our website on a weekly basis. I now have a way to spice it up a bit. You told us this Thing would be fun - and it was!

Thing 9

I have again spent many interesting hours reading blogs on a myriad of topics. After using the more general Google-type searches, I have come to prefer the more specific tools that allow you to narrow your search up-front. In particular, I liked the Edublog award winners.

After reading many posts from Cool Cat Teacher's blog, I've added it to my Google Reader. There are great motivational tips and practical suggestions on this site. I'm going to start a new notebook with a file for teaching suggestions, which will be a big improvement over the hard-copy file I started last year called "web ideas"!

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the information and technology that is available. How will I find enough time to sift through all of this and then integrate it into my classroom in a meaningful and effective manner? Once I've made it through all 23 things, I will probably have to step back and select one or two things to do well each 6 week period. I'm concerned that I won't have the technological resources available to make it happen in my classroom. I think I need a grant!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Thing 8

After far too many hours hacking around various blogs, I've finally set up my very own RSS on Google Reader. I've added Simply Recipes (great blog - wonderful recipes), BBC news (I already get NYTimes and Washington Post headlines in my inbox), an educational blog called Teachers Teaching Teachers, Mike Falik's blog (which I really enjoyed), and one of the funniest blogs I've run across called 15minutelunch. The author of this last blog tells a great story. Check it out!

I think it will be great to have all of this information on one page. Once the school year hits, I hope that I'll be able to keep up with all of the posts. I figure I can just add the recipes from Simply Recipes to my recipe notebook. Now if I could only find some way to get those recipes prepared! I think that the RSS feature could be useful in a classroom where students are following current events ~ or in any setting where the most current information or trends is a necessity.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Thing 7

I love Google and Googling! I constantly rely upon Google to research lesson plans, look up phone numbers, find products and services, and so on. I can't imagine functioning without it. My research today made me realize that I've barely scratched the surface.

After years of using Epicurious and Simply Recipes and any other odds and ends I've found on the web, I started my very own recipe notebook, complete with keywords for sorting. Once I've cleaned out all my closets, I might even add in the overflowing plastic file folder in my kitchen with all of my recipe clippings..... What fun.

I also experimented with Google docs, uploading lesson plans from last year. Next year I will be teaching a language arts section in addition to my ESL duties. Preparing the lessons will be a collaborative process between several teachers, and I think that the document sharing and modifying capabilities could be a big time saver for all participants. Great stuff.

Thing 6

I really enjoyed hacking around on the Flickr mashups and can see a lot of applications for my class. My beginning ESL class has to learn a lot of basic vocabulary. Students could search for images, use bubblr to put the word for the image on the picture, print a cube with 6 words on it and use the cube to study. If each student were assigned 6 words, a cube to make and responsibility for printing out the pictures without the bubble caption, they could teach other students their words and develop a short quiz. I can see tying this in to a class novel, etc. Great tool!

I also teach ESL social studies. The trading cards would be great for famous people or events. Last year, we did group projects on the three branches of government. Mosaic maker would be a great way to display the images for their particular branch. At the end of the year, each student did a Powerpoint presentation on a famous person - I'll have to play around with using Flickr in conjunction with Powerpoint although I imagine it wouldn't be difficult to add Flickr images to a presentation.

I do have one concern: in looking around, I noticed a page that searches for "sexy images" on Flickr. Is there some way to block such searches or will the district filters prevent such images from showing on student screens?

Monday, July 21, 2008

Thing 5



Well I've just explored Flickr and am determined to upload my personal photos and organize them if nothing else! What a wonderful alternative to the boxes of yellowing photos I have stashed in various closets.

Last year my students wrote some amazing stories about their journeys to the U.S. They included pictures that represented their homeland and their new home in the U.S. that they found on the web. I hadn't given much thought to teaching them about copyright restrictions and the like. Using Flickr will help educate them about proper usage and make sure that we aren't somehow using images improperly.

I've selected the image of "no ESL" because I find it sad that some people feel negatively about ESL (even though the photo was actually of an "environmentally sensitive landscape"). The other image is of the main plaza in Mexico City and is similar to the type of photos my students have used to illustrate their narratives.

Thing 3

Well I'm up and running. It was fun playing around with templates and avatar outfits for the blog. Really much easier to do than I thought.

My students kept written journals last year. It would be so great if we could do this as an online activity and they could read and comment on each other's postings. Very cool!

Thing 2

It's taken me a lot longer than I thought to just set up my blog. Since I'm very late getting started on my 23 things, the next two weeks will be consumed by all things computer. Should be fun!

I enjoyed the synopsis of the Covey article. With the myriad of concerns we face today, I think it's imperative that people cultivate the life-long learner within themselves. For me, the biggest challenge is in the area of technology. I have a tendency to remain static in this area unless I'm forced to learn a new skill for work. I'm taking this course in hopes of improving in this area since my students will benefit from a more technologically advanced curriculum. I've been fortunate to have opportunities to Iearn in many different settings. This has given me confidence to try new things, both at work and at play.