Technology as tool

There’s nothing like practicing if you want to improve, especially with the proper guidance. Thanks to Shelley (and my coach Jan) for steering me through the last 10 weeks of the Web 2.0 class. There were times that I was frustrated, but I was never lost. The videos and links were invaluable, and I was able to hit replay as many times as I needed to get to the final result. Now that the school year is beginning for 2010-2011 I plan to continue with the habits of lifelong learning that we discussed at the beginning of our classs. One thing that it is easy to see as you navigate the web is that there is always more to learn!

After exploring the Classroom 2.0 and Twitter I can see the advantages of having a group to use for questions  and for the exchange of ideas. However, since I do not want to spend hours a day on the computer I prefer the option of  reading my favorite blogs. There are so many links to click and only 24 hours in a day. Google Reader makes it so easy to save my subscriptions until I have the time to read them.

The idea of reading so many small posts of information when I could be reading a good book does not appeal to me. It may be that in the future I will find a reason to become more involved in the world of “tweeting” but not now.

One benefit of taking this class in Web 2.0 this summer has been using the Google Reader function. I have opted out of the NY Times as it was just too much information, but have really enjoyed several of the education blogs. Just this week I read a guest blog by Annie Campbell on a site geared toward writing. She gives some great suggestions to help get your classes involved as listeners to help promote writing and, I think, all learning. Helping students listen to find theme, character development, relationships, all encourage focus and organization that could benefit learning in any subject area. I plan to try several of her suggestions in my classes this year.

After exploring google docs I can see the advantage of sharing access to a file that must be worked on by more than one person. It sure beats e-mailing attachments and trying to remember what is the latest version. I would definitely consider using it for collaborative power points…and I like the history button, as I sometimes can’t remember when I changed a document.

Scheduling and tracking a variety of activities during the school year might also be more convenient with a shared calendar or spreadsheet. There are so many collaborative projects during the school year that I am sure to try it at least once.

If a summary of a workshop is needed the work can be divided up among the participants, and it allows for different viewpionts to be presented (we all do not hear and see the same thing even when we are sitting in the same training program).

As the new school year starts I am sure that a multitude of ways to use Google docs will become available.

Well, it is finally over! I did go out today and buy a microphone and reconfigure a little in ITunes and was able to publish a podcast. This is one of those things that if I did not HAVE TO do it for the class I would have given up. I am so glad that I finally accomplished Thing 18. It was one of those tasks where one little thing after another seemed not to work with either the lap top or the dest top or the external microphone or well…I am sure that you have had that kind of an experience with a computer or two! Now that I have successfully completed one podcast though I am planning on trying again. Can anyone recommend a good voice teacher??

YouTube to me was like looking for the proverbial “Needle in a haystack”. It was similar to being invited over to a neighbor’s house to watch videos of their vacation. The images were important to the people invested in making the movie…but not as riveting to those of us who weren’t really there. That being said there were a few that I found interesting. 

The one I have chosen to share is not very popular as indicated by the number of viewings it has received…but it was made at my undergraduate alma mater so it has the nostalgia factor. I have to say there were not as many choices of food service when I was there!

I can see the attraction in using content that is already produced if it helps to demonstrate an idea (especially useful in conveying emotion for songs). I just need to find a more efficient way to navigate through the “haystack”.

Up to this point my only podcasts were from NPR (National Public Radio) when I missed a show that I had been looking forward to hearing. However, I only listened to that episode and did not subscribe to any podcast feeds. Even though I have an I-Phone I really do not use it for music or internet. That is about to change as the podcasts that I added and subscribed to are now on my phone. It will make it so much easier to listen to them as I drive, and I could take quite a long drive if I wanted to hear them all.

I have subscribed to a local church podcast and I have several series of sermons on character and leadership to look forward to. In addition there is a PBS series on nature, a NOVA scienceNOW podcast, NPR Playback series ( which gives a overview of the news from a day in history), and an NPR: Education podcast.

For the most part these are sites for personal use although I think that they will provide a wealth of ideas for professional discussions as well. As I continue with this week’s assignments I may find ways to also use the podcast to promote learning in the classroom as well (remembering that my students this year are ages 6 – 10).

Library Thing looks like it might be a good project for next summer! I found it easy to negotiate and appreciated the reviews of people who are not being compensated to say wonderful things about a book for the cover. I have already found some books that I might like to sample and download on my Kindle.

Starting a classroom “LibraryThing” or a grade level “LibraryThing” might be an interesting project for the upcoming school year. For many of us putting our thoughts down on paper is not a comfortable process and requires more thought than a quick, “great book” or “it’s BORING”. The students already recommend books to each other and giving  them a forum to write reviews would allow them to consider in more detail why they liked or disliked a book.

I feel like I am in a labyrinth at times as I explore the world of bookmarking. One turn leads to another as I delve deeper into the web. Of course if I could remember all of my passwords and usernames it would be much less time consuming.  :)

I do feel like I am getting a handle on the process though and I have transferred several of my favorite sites to the new bookmark option. I still have to work on that right click process though…it just does not come naturally. I appreciate the ability to use sites others have already discovered. Thanks to everyone out there for sharing the wealth! It will be such a time saver. The link is http://del.icio.us/leany11 if you are interested in visiting.

Well, I have “unsubscribed” to the NY Times. Way too many deliveries for me to sort through in the time I have.  By the way, congratulations to everyone who took this course during the school year! I have learned SO MUCH but having the extra luxury of summer days to sort through the information has made it much easier for me.

I have just been listening to a few of the sites for streaming music that the Cool Cat Teacher recommended in her blog of a few weeks age. I had starred it as a favorite so that I could go back and take some time to check it out.

Hope you enjoy!