Friday, June 29, 2012

thing14


I started by doing a test run with Gliffy. I have a little working knowledge with flowcharts so I tested the tools available.  Flowcharts are efficient ways to show concepts and steps for many processes in a way that is easy to follow. I could use a flowchart to diagram the concept of a sport  and the major steps involved in playing. For instance, a flowchart diagramming the basics on how to run bases in baseball could be made with an if then design that allows players to understand choices.
Mind maps seem to be more like an updated and computer centered version of brainstorming on paper. I messed around a little with Bubbl and I wasn't all that successful. I could see value in it if I had time to adjust to it.

thing 13

I signed up with Zoho writer and it is very similar to other word processing applications like Microsoft Word. Cut and paste is not quite as easy as Word. I can see where in the future students will have exorbitant access to software that is free and user friendly.
 Well here we go again, my brain is popsicling (freezing up). I am learning about Google docs. Ignorance has served me as a patient friend compared to the tech. stupidity I have found  myself  abounding in recently. Google docs may be slightly easier to use and therefore I shall give it the edge in the battle for  thing13.





Monday, June 18, 2012

Thing4

Commenting certainly does help create a sense of community and interaction. People with similar interests are able to state facts and opinions from their perspective. Comments invariably lead to personal growth  for all parties.New ideas, challenges, perspectives, and confidence can all come through the interactions started in comments. I think The Blue Skunk is  also correct in the assessment that people want to be heard or read. People are naturally self absorbed and comments are words of attention.  Comments are fuel  to the blogger.
 Katy Martin
I just happened to get stuck in a group with her in another class. That was a joke, people.  Who would have guessed she is an NFL fan. She is extremely knowledgeable and witty. Her blogs help to motivate me in this class.  And by the way, Katy, it really is user error all of the time for me! Keep writing and I will keep following your lead.
 Jason Drumm
I chose Jason's blog because he has a unique teaching background as a Spanish teacher. It gives him a little different perspective. I like this about his blog.
Melanie Reese
Melanie writes with the same passion and fervor that she carries into class every morning. She always has super pictures and style. She is also very informed and I learn a lot from her. She seems very open and cheerful in her writing.
Amy Horner
I first started following and chose Amy because she seems very humorous. She is funny but she is  awesomely thorough in her work. I think she will be a great English teacher.
Thomas Schlaugh
I have to admit that I began following Thomas because he was in the library when I was. He is funnier than I expected. Wouldn't have seen the guitar coming either. I am glad I chose him to comment on.
EDge21 This is a blog I found through the RSS project. It is devoted to teaching and learning in the 21st century. The Comments of the Day remind me of our website of the day. 


thing 12

Calendar Print Preview
esto es impresionante! Wow!  I have managed to feel like an idiot for about 10 days straight and Google translate succeeds again. I have had access to this all along, like so many other things, and never looked past my gmail account. It is like magic. Many times in the past this would have been awesome for me in business. I could have written out instructions, proposals, etc. and translated them into Spanish for those working for and with me. I am definitely going to have to upgrade my phone so that I can translate materials to ESL students at school. Okay, enough with this site for now.
I think the Google calendar may be better than the Microsoft Outlook calendar I can't keep up with. I especially like how it will send email reminders. I can certainly use this in my personal life. I am definitely trying this out as a replacement to organize my time.



















Communication system
my world


thing 11

My reader is setup and is updating along at a wild and rapid pace. I tried several methods to locate feeds of interest. I did not like the explore recommended items avenue at all. I did have success with simply clicking the subscribe button and then entering search information. It not only gave me sites and blogs of interest to me but gave me recommendations based on the feeds I was interested in. This was a good style for me since I have a screw up and try again style. It was funny but in my searching I had some of the recommended feeds (from the 23 things) recommended as feeds I might like. For example The Cool Cat Teacher came up as a recommendation  when I was subscribing to P.E. Central.
animation library

thing 10

Well it seems I am already enrolled in many services that I was unaware of.  There is obviously a lot of time saving potential bu using the RSS feeds.This is a great way to stay on top of important and relevant things. Just having Google Reader setup will allow me to follow people and sites I like. I like following the class blogs from here. I set up a folder to separate the content in my reader and I really like it so far. This helps me separate  education, sports, news , personal, etc. Using current information from sites like P.E. Central will help keep me current with trends in wellness related topics and keep me locked in to new and exciting ways others are teaching.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

thing9



Well, it was a tight race until the last keystroke where Custom Sign Generator beat out the  Comic Strip Generator as image for the post. The process to make the sign below was very simple and straightforward. Making the sign was easier than navigating the website itself. I really liked all of the image generators and I can see a lot of potential in education. One would have to be very careful if they let students on the sites because of potentially inappropriate material. I could see using this sign generator to increase motivation or merely state expectations in a p.e. class.
ROOKIE BLOGGER 
ONLINE
Custom Sign Generator.com

thing8

My Family
I used a mosaic maker for these images. There were several websites with potential for educators. I chose Big Huge Labs for thing 8. I can see potential for the classroom in building mosaics, ID cards, magazine covers, or great projects of any type. A mosaic of presidents or other history pictures would certainly increase student participation. There are tons of other applications in Big Huge Labs with potential for classroom activities. Unfortunately, I spent too much time playing with the mosaic maker to look deeply into the others. I don't feel very comfortable sharing photos online but I can see value in many of the ways these mashups could be used.
I have had to update this because I screwed up something and the mosaic wasn't showing. I hope it works now.


 

Saturday, June 16, 2012

thing 7

I had heard of Flickr in passing conversations and postings on the Web but this is the first time to actually look at the website. One of the most pertinent facts to me was that there are varying levels of control. I had been under the impression that all of the pictures were public. The ability to designate family, friends, or even give out a guest pass sent via email is something I was unaware of and certainly increases its attractiveness to me. 
I have popped open the photos at the library of congress like a package of biscuits. I must limit my viewing time here. It is difficult to pick out an image from this website but I have stumbled on one that is quite captivating.

Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range, Madison County, Montana (LOC)

Lee, Russell,, 1903-1986,, photographer.







 http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2050/2213311495_38f03ba94a_m.jpg
 Take a good look around Flickr and discover an interesting image that you want to blog about. You can explore Flickr photos, search the tags, view various groups, and more without a Flickr account.

b. Use any keyword(s) you wish to find photos with those tags. When you find an interesting image or group, write a blog post describing your experience finding images, using Flickr, and anything else related to the exercise. Upload an image to your blog, being sure to credit the photographer. Don't forget to include a link to the image in your post.

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thing 6

Remember the Milk  is a great website with an equally compelling name. I really liked the concept of this application. With three kids, sports, animals, work, school, etc., I cannot remember the milk, the bread, the anything. I barely remember me some days. This website is designed for memories like mine. One of the best components is that you may access your lists through Gmail on your phone or all kinds of other internet messaging ways. I am going to try this and if I actually remember what to remember I am going to be thrilled.
I really can't think of a necessary way to use this in a library or classroom setting. By the way, the cow is cool too.


thing 5


    To me, School 2.0 is the way technology has moved from an information retrieval system to an entire platform of technology that is interactive. The first article I looked at was the Wikipedia 2.0. It discusses and makes reference to many of the new interactive technologies available. I really like how it hyperlink's relevant topics so you may delve into further detail on a topic. I have been very impressed by the number of interactive websites that are devoted to learning and instruction. These websites offer invaluable help in finding an avenue to teach to every child's style of learning. As a side note it seems Teacher 2.0 is having a few problems. Another website Web 2.0 A guide for educators had a plethora of information to offer from new technologies that can be purchased to what is happening in the world of education. I can really see the use of this site as it will help me learn to integrate technology into the classroom. I see the future of the classroom as a place of possibilities that allows teachers to use interactive resources that suit their style with students.

    Friday, June 15, 2012

    THING 3

    Hello to all my people, eh hem , person. Blogging can be an effective way to help reach students after school. This would be a good way to link heath related videos to help motivate and inspire kids to exercise and live healthy. Maybe I could go old school and link the video(commercial) of the egg in the frying pan: This is your brain, This is your brain on drugs. I could blog this and maybe the students would watch.

    thing 2


    My posting name is just the initials for class. I guess it wasn't a rather creative moment.  I would not necessarily classify the blog setup as difficult. I would say I was a little apprehensive about the concept and it did take me longer than expected. It took me longer than expected because I have no idea of what I am doing!
    Okay, for starters I now know what an avatar is, a little strange. It was funny trying to pick out clothing and accessories. I never was quite the barbie doll type. I guess millions of you are. At least it isn't anatomical. It does seem to be proportional to my height, though.

    thing1

    The 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners designed from the idea of Steven Covey's book are very interesting. The easiest habit for me is to view problems as challenges. Viewing problems as challenges comes natural to me.
    The most difficult of the 7 1/2 habits  for me is probably using technology to your advantage. I would assess that this is probably because I do not use it regularly. This class will most likely be both enjoyable and frustrating. It has certainly been so thus far.
    Using the Web 2.0 tools is certainly exciting from the standpoint of capabilities and general technological innovation.