Last but Not Least! :)

     Some of my favorite "things" were things # 21, 9, and 8. I love doing creative things like this, and it's even better that I now know how to use them for a classroom! However, all the "things" together have really effected my ideas for a future classroom. I now realize just how many free and easy resources are available at my fingertips that will help me to create a great learning environment for all of my students. I never thought I would ever enjoy learning about and doing some of the exercises that we had to do, but since I had to think about how they would actually be used in a classroom setting, they seemed worthwhile.  I plan to continue to use my RSS feed to stay up-to-date on current and trendy web 2.0 tools that truly work in a classroom setting.
     To blog or not to blog.....well I'm not sure if I will keep up my blog or not. I think I would really enjoy posting about everything I learned in my classes. It would also help me keep track of what all I am learning since I would be putting it into writing for the world to read. However, knowing me, I will probably forget and go several weeks without posting. Who knows, keep an eye out because I might be the next cool cat teacher!

Thing #23!!!!!!!!

 The first thing that I realized that signaled that this was not an original work was the statement on the first page of the 23 Things Blog: "*Note: This project is loosely based upon the website 43Things (which allows you to set and track personal goals) and the Stephen Abram article titled 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006). " It also states under the thing #23 that it is under a creative commons license. These both give credit to the first people to come up with this idea. I can see me using something to teach my students copyright in my classroom because it is such an important topic. I would never want any of my students to get in trouble for stealing ideas that weren't their's. I will probably make a worksheet for them to follow so they can learn more about copyright and possibly have special games about "stealing" that would be more kid friendly. 

Thing #22

I made three binders titled Technology to Use in a Classroom, Special Education, and Good Teaching Resources. I could see using the binder sites if I was planning lessons out for several weeks for my classes. I could create several binders for each subject and then I would have all of my resources at a click of a mouse. The only thing I really did not like about the online binders, is the fact that I kept getting confused on how to do certain things. It is pretty straight forward for the most part but sometime things, such as figuring out how to put a image and a video on a page, is hard or impossible. I also got really frustrated when trying to embed my binder because it wasn't working right, and when I tried making it public the direction on the help menu were wrong. If I had a upper grade class, I would have my students keep up with their research paper cites and information in a binder. I would also have them place their paper in it and submit the binder as a whole. However, I think this might get confusing for the lower grades I am wanting to teach.

My Binder #1

Special Education

Thing #21

Untitled Project

Make a video of your own at Animoto.

This is probably one of my favorite "things" so far. I loved making this video and will probably end up making several more. At first I uploaded way too many pictures and couldn't figure out how to chose just the ones I wanted to be in my video, so I had to start over. But once I got it I loved it. When I'm a teacher, and if I make a lot of slideshows, I might end up paying the $5 a month to get the full length videos. Enjoy!

Thing #20

     I had so much fun searching videos on YouTube. I always find something useful or funny on there every time I look. I like how I can pretty much find anything I want on there and for safety sake there are some videos that are blocked unless you're over 18. The video I found that I liked the most stars one of my childhood favorite characters....good ol' Goofy. I thought it was hilarious and some of it very true. Although I'm hoping I'll be able to keep my classroom in better order, it still shows that with kids you have to be ready for EVERYTHING! It also show how much a teacher has to do in a humorous way. There is a lot on here that would be of use on a library website, including anatomy, language arts, math, and all sorts of other instructional videos. And the best part about YouTube is that it is free, always a plus for a teacher. 

Thing #19

Visit TeacherPop

Right now my online communities consist of the groups I am apart of on Facebook. I am not really apart of too many other communities, but I am sure I will be soon. I really like the craft one because I love doing crafts and I think that there is some great classroom activities on it. Yelp would also be good if I was trying to plan a fun field trip for my students. I joined the TeacherPop and was able to read through and comment on a few peoples' posts. I think this could be a great place if people continue to post ideas and projects for teachers. I love exploring these sites and getting ideas for my future classroom. Before this class I had no idea how many resources were available to help teachers create the best possible classroom.

Thing #18

I have actually enjoyed having my facebook for a couple of years now. It has really allowed me to follow various groups that post about education stuff and photography. I have learned a lot from the different people and groups I follow. I liked the College of Education a while back so I could keep up with the things going on in my college. I think it is important for educators to know how to and use a social networking site to keep up with other people in the field and get ideas from them. I don't think I really gained anything more from looking at these  sites because I have used them all in the past at some point. I really love facebook because it is so easy to use and to keep up with everyone. It's allowing you to post statuses, photos, and create groups can all be very useful features.  I am still not sure how I feel about twitter..... I can see using both sites for classroom use. Probably, though I hate to admit it, the twitter would work better for a classroom because you could follow more educators. However, I do like facebook the best.