Thing #12

Google is a website that I live by. If I can do it with Google, I usually am. I started off as an avid user of Google search back in the day when they were still growing. From that point forward, I have been using many of the services they offer. I use Google search, Google translate, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Voice, Gchat, Google Drive, Play, Google Maps, Google+ and others. I never used alerts, but one of my friends has and uses it for following things that happen with this work. I created two alerts; one for Austin Peay State University and one for my job. Also, I use Google Calendar and have found many useful features on it. I think both of these services could be useful for teachers because creating alerts and staying up-to-date on topics is important for teachers. Also, I definitely see myself using Google Calendar for my job in the future, especially if I am a teacher. I can create events (such as assignment due date, meetings, special class activities) and invite parents and other teachers to view the event on their calendar. That is very beneficial.

Thing #11

For Thing #11, I went to both sites, Edublogawards.com

edublog.org

and topix.net. Although my preferred method is to subscribe to blogs and sites that I find my self viewing willingly, I think expanding your circle with blog-gathering-sites can be beneficial. I went to Edublogawards.com and found many of the blogs that I have already subscribed to because of Thing #10. When I went to topix.net, I immediately felt confused.
Although I a am fairly tech-savvy, I despise sites who have 50% or more

politix.com

of their page covered by advertisements. I understand a site needing to profit to pay for the hosting and domain costs, but when a site has that many advertisements, it usually means the owner is making a little profit from annoying me and other website goers. I did find http://politix.topix.com/ through this site, but only because the colorful map caught my attention on the top of the homepage before I closed out of the window.

Thing #10

from squidoo.com

RSS feeds are very cool and fun to use. Prior to this class, my friend actually made me create a Google Reader and subscribe to his favorite sites. I have never used it since creating it because I had no reason to follow the sites that he likes. Since doing this Thing post, I cleaned out the sites that I do not want to follow and added a few that I like. I created a folder for "News" where I have sites like CNN, TIME, New York Times, BBC, and France 24 (the last two are my favorite international sites who do not always take a favorable view of America, but it is interesting to see the news that we make in other countries because they do not usually make our news.) Then I created a folder for "Education" where I subscribed to a few blogs, some that were listed in the activity description. Just for the fun of it, I also subscribed to my own 23 Things blog. 

Some things I like about RSS feeds is that you do not have to go to each and every website to check for new news updates. For example, I may not be interested in everything that the New York Times posts about, but if I check my feed every morning or twice a day, I can quickly scroll through it and see everything that all of these sites posted. If something interests me, I can open it in a new tab and continue scrolling. My friend would check his feed every morning and would open no less than about 20 new windows with articles that he wanted to read. 

I never thought about using it for class, but I could have an RSS feed in my class and at the beginning of each class, a different student could be assigned to check the feed and choose a news article that seems pertinent to class (or some variation of that). With my plan to teach US Government/History I think there would be many ways I could use RSS feeds. Also I think that if teachers in a school are blogging, then each teacher needs to have an RSS feed and subscribe to every teacher in the school so they are in the loop about what is being told to parents, what teachers are doing, and what is happening around the school.

Thing #9

For Thing #9, I was having fun creating various different images, but I decided to settle with something a little cute and fun. A big problem that I have heard teachers of high school say was an issue with the students at that grade level is citation and plagiarism so I created this image. It is something that I can put on assignments or even as another poster in my room just to remind students that they have to cite their work. There were others that I created with the danger sign, but I think this little dog is cute and could be more benefitial than a "Stop" or "Danger" sign. I want to keep my classroom friendly and inviting, but this puppy's spike collar will not stand for plagiarism.

Thing #8

For Thing#8, I chose the "Motivational Poster Creator" at http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php. I created the one on this post because I wanted to see if I could create something geared towards the students that I plan to teach. The United Nations is a great example of collaboration and teamwork. This is also a quality that will be needed in the classroom.

I think this site will be beneficial because, as an instructor, I would be able to create my own posters and possibly decorate my room with class related posters like this one. I might even be able to have students create one towards the beginning or end of the year to help them stay motivated to continue to explore information about the US Government.

Thing #7

Flickr: For this post, I am choosing option 1: I am going to find an image through Flickr Explore and blog about it.

This is the image I selected 

Although I can not post an image, I could ask the author if they would allow me to use the image (but I would rather those who read this blog, follow the link to the image so they get more views).

A few things about this photo. The link above takes you to the "light box" version of the photo. I like to view photos in this format because it is usually the largest format and it blocks out the surrounding light from one's computer so that the viewer can see the details in a photo. If you close out of the "Light box," You can still see the image, and below the image are the comments. The interesting part is the right side of the page.  On the right side, you see the basic information: Name, poster, views, "likes" or favorites, and comments. but below that you can see the "Album" that it is a part of so if you wanted to see more similar images, you could browse them there. The next part "Tags" is what makes Flickr special. The tags for this photo are BW, Tokyo, Pentax, K-5lls, Japan, Black, and White.  Seeing these tags can let someone know more information about the picture but also, aids when a user is searching for specific photos. If I want to see more photos with the tag "K-5lls" I can click on that tag and it brings up more photos with the same tag. (ooh cool pictures).

Also on the right side of the page is "Additional info" which happens to describe the settings of the camera, and "Licence" information. I decided to view pictures in the "Commons" and searched for Gettysburg Address. I found a very cool photo and below the image, it has a "Persistent URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1813.001/60r" If you follow this link it takes you to the original image. Using Flickr this way for schools or teaching a lesson about the coins, presidential candidates, or other historical information could be aided with photos from Flickr. For the second photo, there are many more tags, but because this one was found in the "Commons" if has " No known copyright restrictions."

There are many academic uses for Flickr if an instructor wants to teach with many visual aids.

Thing #6

For my Thing #6 post, I chose Smore.com (sorry I am currently hungry). There is a cool video they use to introduce you to the website. Basically it is a interactive new-age "flier".



As president of a few organizations on campus, this seems cool to me. On the opening page (after I signed in with my Facebook account) They have a few template options...

Smore.com - New Flier

 For this I am going to create an Event Flier... I clicked on event and it gave me the option of creating on for a Facebook (or other social media) sites. Actually, the event I wanted to
create a flier for is on facebook. It automatically incorporated those events and I chose the correct one.





After choosing it, Smore.com complied all of the information correctly in to the correct modules. I can edit the information and modules them selves... I can move the map and directions to the bottom.

 

 This seems to be a very useful tool for advertising events, sending and updating newsletters, and other various class aspects as you can see from the first image on this posting. When I finished with my flier, which really only took about 10 minutes - with taking intermediate screen captures-, I was able to share it on Facebook and other social media sites. It even gave me an embedded code ...




  This is a great Web2.0 tool that I can see myself using more often in the future!

Thing #5

This posting actually interested me. As a aspiring future teacher, and I am sure everyone else that is an aspiring teacher, I have a thought that I will change education and have students excited about learning. I have always despised the current system of schooling. Throughout my educational classes, I have always thought of ways to reorganize classrooms to make it not the 6 by 6 classroom cell. I think sitting behind someone and having people behind you is not a good way to educate students. Personally, I have issues with people sitting behind me whether it is in a classroom, restaurant, or library, I can not concentrate if I know people are behind me. When I was in school, I either sat in the back where I could not see or I sat near the front and was constantly distracted knowing people were behind me.

After reading the Thing #5 posting, I decided to read the articles and event take on further research. To me, School 2.0 is more than just connecting students with Web 2.0 and technology, but rather, creating an environment where teachers can be more versatile in their teaching. I saw a YouTube video that addresses this. Creating a commons where students minds are constantly being engaged, where teachers can move around the students, students can sit where they can concentrate, and the harsh overhead lights are take over by the natural light from the windows can increase the versatility of teachers. Many years ago, in the days of Alexandria, the schools the helped educate some the brightest minds were not Cell and Bell schools. They were miniature lecture rooms off the side of a street. I think this video is the definition of School 2.0.