Week 8 - Thing 20

Ning

I was a little skeptical at yet another professional social network, but was really impressed with the Teacher Librarian Network. I spent quite a bit of time exploring this site and viewing the videos and photos and checking out some of the forums. I was amazed at what Doug Valentine did with his "Hot Dog Book Reviews" and Read posters. Would love to do something like that at DVE, but would need a lot of help with the animation from Denise! Along with the Teacher Librarian Network I signed up for the BookVideoNing which is a great resource booktalks. I believe the kids could get a good idea on all the different options that are available for a booktalk. I tried to directly embed them into my blog as the website said was possible, but I didn't have any luck. I will do it the old fashioned way and include a project from Doug Valentine of Plano, Texas along with a link to his page. I believe the students would love to do projects like this!

Find more videos like this on TeacherLibrarianNetwork


Check out all of Doug Valentine's work. I'm sure you will be just as impressed as I was!

Week 8 - Thing 19

Google Earth
This a tool I have used a lot in the past, but never to this extent! I have always used it a a fun way to see things from space and it is really much more than that. I was able to experiment a lot with the layers and found that a very neat feature. I explored the Google "sky" which I didn't even know existed! I think this would be a great resource for students studying space!

Cool Tools: Legally Using Web 2.0 Tools to Spice Up Your Training

One of the few where I could see CC clearing listed to share. Great info on Creative Commons!
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Cool Tools: Legally Using Web 2.0 Tools to Spice Up Your Training

View more presentations from Michelle Lentz.

Week 8 - Thing 18

Below are some links that I found interesting on the Slideshare site. Must admit that I think this is a very useful tool that I will definitely use. Did find it frustrating that most of the presentations I looked at just had the Big "c" and then it gets more complicated what I can use and not. Most of the items I saw that were clearly marked cc, were those presentations on Creative Commons. I'm wonder if the others just didn't understand what that was and so marked it just as copyright?

I am partial to the Slidecast as I learn better from that form of media, but there are so many great resources that I feel it is a tool we all in education should use.

I was impressed that it let me directly up upload to my blog...great feature. Very cool that I could create my own "widget" of presentations in my favorite list....maybe most impressive was the fact I was able to actually upload that in the sidebar of my blog.

May have to take a break as I've exhausted my mental abilities for the moment...

Extreme Book Talking
BookTalking 2.o

Week 7 - Thing 17

Podcasts
I know many people who use Podcasts on a daily basis. I think it is a great way to have those resources available to you when you are ready. I will download specific ones that I need, but have not done any on a regular basis. I think the directories are great resources to find exactly what you are looking for!

I did add the following feed into my Google Reader. Nancy Keane is like the guru of booktalks. I think it would be great for our students to listen to some of her examples to get a better understanding of the purpose and principles behind giving a good booktalk. I chose to link to her Diary of a Wimpy Kid because of the high demand for Jeff Kinney's books at DVE. Be sure to check out all of her great booktalks!
Nancy Keane's Booktalks Quick and Simple
Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Week 7 - Thing 16

Watched the TED video with Ken Robinson speaking about kids creativity. I do believe that the trend in the past has been to produce these very left-brained students...even if your child doesn't fit that model because that is what our society necessitated. But I believe we are beginning to see a shift in that model. Educators are seeing the importance of a more "whole-brained" approach and I believe that will benefit everyone...both left and right brained!

YouTube is a favorite at my house. We search it for anything from "how-to" to just plain funnies. YouTube provides a very simple way to search for your subject. You are able to link to either related videos or videos created by the same person. The ability to save your videos to favorites is a great way keep those your enjoy or are needed for your research purposes.

I embedded two videos that are very similar. In fact both of them come from work produced by Karl Fisch right here in Colorado. They focus on how things have changed in our world in just a short time and how the will continue to change rapidly over the years. I fell that the whole brained approach to education will much better prepare our students for the unknown of the future.

Week 6 - Thing 15

Flip Camera
This is one of those tools that is absolutely addicting! We've had the students using them to tape book talks and events around the school. It is very easy to use & edit and you have a finished product in no time at all!

This is one of the many flip videos my son has done during his treatment time. He is using this to help keep in touch with his friends and family while he is away and learning a lot of cool technology in the process! Most of his videos have a "Magic Movie" that he uses as an introduction. Unfortunately this one exceeded the 100 mb upload, so here is the shortened version.

Week 6 - Thing 14

Voice Thread
I think this is an amazing tool that the kids would just love. It was great to browse the voice threads and see how each one is different. Denise works with many of the teachers on collborative projects and I can see how she can work this into their projects. Last year the kids did a Power Point Presentation...how neat would it be for them to put it into a VoiceThread and bring their presentation to life with their own words!

Week 5 - Thing 13

Google Docs...
We've used Google Docs at Doug Valley for a number of years and I think it is great when working on collaborative projects. Fastest way to share the information for everyone to see and edit. I think it is an invaluable tool for all schools!

Week 5 - Thing 12

Wiki-Wiki-Wiki
I was unsure of the whole "wiki" thing at first, but the more I use it, the more I like it. I've looked at the samples on the ASD20/20 Things page and they are great and serve their purpose. I'm sure if you are working with them you'll find them easy to use, but I find them a little burdensome. BUT I love what Miss Warner and Mrs. Longhenry at Rockrimmon have done with their wikis. By embedding their glog into their Front Page it makes it very colorful and easy to navigate. My son has used this idea to make a wiki to chronicle his time at Children's Hospital. Although I might not use the graphics and fonts he has chosen, it has been a great learning process for both of us.

I think a wiki is a great way to communicate with parents and students alike. I can see the kids loving to use this tool, just as my son has!
You can checkout my son's wiki at: http://wackyjacksdiabeteswiki.pbworks.com

Week 4 - Thing 11

As much as I dislike Twitter, I love both Tagcrowd and Wordle.
I will say I'm a little partial to Wordle and only because it is pretty! You can customize it to look like you want...the color palettes the arrangement...just makes it more yours. There are some functions of Tagcrowd that are nice like grouping like words and the frequency the occur. And I do like that you directly embed the code into your website from Tagcrowd or save it as a pdf. Wordle requires a little more effort to get it to save, but I think well worth the time. I found that there were some differences with using a URL to create your cloud...what worked in one program did not work in the other and vise versa.

I have used my blog site to create the following clouds. Below the first is an embeded code from Tagcrowd and above the saved jpeg from Wordle.

archive atom bad basis believe beneficial blog book bookmarks bump bunch collaborative comments complete computer definitely del deleting dinner dve eating eliminate everyday exploring facebook favorites feel follow friend guess helle icio iffy info information kate kinda lesson library linking listed loading love main maybe monastery months moving neat number older people personal picture pm posts professional profile project reconditioning remember research separate setting share sidebar site skip something strahov students stumped subscribe success sure tabs talks think thought thrilled times tried twitter type used video view wanted week working worth

created at TagCrowd.com

Week 4 - Thing 10

Del.icio.us
I'm kinda iffy on this one. I love using the tabs and can see how that would be very beneficial. A great way of linking all of your sites. Not sure that I would use it for my own favorites, but maybe once I got used to it! I would be thrilled to use ANY computer and have my bookmarks right there. So many times that I can't remember or find a site again and to eliminate that, it may be worth exploring. I can definitely see Del.icio.us working in a research setting, especially when students are working on a collaborative project and moving from computer to computer. It would take some reconditioning to use on an everyday basis!

Week 3 - Thing 9

I didn't skip Thing 8, it is a number of posts back.
I do believe that this is where I got stumped a few months back. Just don't get the Twitter thing. I've tried following a number of people before without much success. I thought maybe it would be neat to have something that you could share professional information in this type of setting, but I can't seem to separate it out. Even if I just follow those that were listed under the week's lesson, I still get a bunch of personal info. If I wanted to know what they were eating for dinner...I'd ask them to be my Facebook friend! I guess this way at least I don't feel bad about deleting them...

Week 3 - Thing 7

So yes, I'm a tad behind...but what else is break for? I've been able to experiment a little with the Google Reader and much to my surprise, I actually like it. I had attempted to make it work before with very little success, but lately it has been great. I'll admit that my favorite subscription is to Yahoo. Love that I can choose what subjects I want it to watch and then just go to one place and up pop all of my unread articles on the subject. It is pretty slick. Still experimenting with it to see what else I can make it do!

Week 2 - Thing 6

Working my way back and trying to catch up. "Found" my libary glog and will continue to work on it. Right now I am helping my son maintain a wiki and glog while he is undergoing a 2 week treatment for diabetes. You can take a look at his glob at:
http://wackyjacksdiabeteswiki.pbworks.com/

Week 3 - Thing 8

I chose to comment on Warner's Wonderings created by Brittney Warner. I think that she has done an amazing job with the blog. Her blog is cute, through and up to date...oh, and she is my son's teacher! Take a look at it and I think you'll agree it is one of the best out there!

Week 2 - Thing #6

Created a Glog for my Blog and had fun...but now it is not showing up....maybe tomorrow it will be found!

Week 2 - Thing #5

This was not my idea, but think it is a great resource for students. Denise had created a trading card and thought it would be great for kids to do along with their book talks. I know the kids would have a fantastic time creating them and it would be so simple! We imagine a whole collection of Book Talk trading cards that the kids can browse through we selecting a new book to read!

I would definitely like to play with it more to see if we can have more control over editing...font size, bullets, & adding more pictures.

A picture!!!

Did not have trouble linking the picture, but I was finally able to add the picture....not sure if it was the right way or legal for that matter, but will check on it at class...I'm hoping it falls into that gray area of copyright!

Check out this picture called Mates! It is a collage of lots of different pictures that have inspired the creator. You can scroll over it and see people's notes. Very cool!