Thing 13

I made this picture using http://www.dumpr.net/



Free jigsaw by dumpr.net


I feel there are many things that this can be used for in class. I think students can take pictures for a project and do something creative with them. It gives them something fun to do.

Outside of the classroom I could have a lot of fun with these types of sites. Since I have two children it would be fun to allow them to make funny pictures of themselves online. I look forward to playing around a little bit more with these sites.

Thing 12

The use of Flickr in the classroom would be a great asset. Students could use Flickr to find pictures for a project. For example, if students were doing a biography on a professional athlete and they wanted to find some pictures on the athlete they could look to a site like Flickr. The problems that arise with using a photo sharing site would be that not all pictures a student would encounter may be appropriate.

Thing 11

Digital Storytelling

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: storytelling)

I found this presentation and found it interesting. I am currently working on Digital Biographies in my class.

SlideShare would be a good thing to use in class and it would allow students to share PowerPoint's that they have created. The biggest problem that I feel I might face with this is that not many people are ready to make that jump into the World Wide Web as something that is useful in the classroom. Students are more open and willing to do things like this but I feel the problems rest more at the teacher level. While I know there are many teachers who are open and willing there are some who just don't want to "learn" something new. I am not 100% sure how to solve this problem. It would be interesting to see what could be done to handle that situation.

Thing 10

It would be nice to use google docs in the classroom. The possibilities are endless. The idea that students could write a paper and share with each other and do a peer editing all without paper being used is exciting. The problem being that not all students have access to computers to do this along with many of the other "23 Things." Not all schools have computer access on a regular basis either. While I see the benefits of Google Docs I also see the problems too. But one of the things I do like is that my documents that I create can be used anywhere and this has proven useful. I started typing up this blog on Google Docs at school and was able to go home and finish it there.

Working in the "cloud" does have some advantages. One of them being the opportunity to work on a project with people from all over. I can see the benefits of this in a group project in class. Where students are able to easily work on a project from home without have to get together for group work outside of class. Students essentially would never have to "meet up". I also find this as a disadvantage too. If we continue to do things online how will people ever develop "in person" relationships?

Thing 8

I like the idea of social bookmarking. It makes taking your bookmarks to other places easier. I don’t know how many times I have been at home or school looking in my favorites to find a link that I need only to realize that it is on the other computer. The prospect of taking those “favorites” from one place to the next without losing them is nice.

Using del.icio.us in the classroom would be great. I am currently working on digital biographies with my students and it would be nice to use this site. Having students create a del.icio.us account and save what they find they can have it for another day not to mention another place. I also like the idea that if I am doing research on something I can bookmark it and share it with my students in class and they can easily find it.

As I learn more and more about these “things” I am finding the value of using them more in my classroom. But first, I still need to have a better understanding of them myself.

Thing 5

I feel that using “Web 2.0” in the classroom leads to students being more involved and excited about projects and class assignments. Using wiki’s in the classroom can also create better writers which in today’s society is a good thing. Students are already absorbed in technology and by incorporating it into the classroom they can become better students.

I look forward to using more of the things that are on the web in my lessons. It will be a gradual process but one that will benefit all involved. Because “Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century” is heading in the direction of more technology and more hands on experiences than in the past.

Thing 4

The biggest change in education today is that we are now educating for a global market rather than for a local market. Children today encounter people from around the world more easily than when I was a child. I remember having to lug books out of the library to do a research project on another country or looking in the World Book Encyclopedia. Now students with just a few clicks of the keyboard are able to access a wealth of knowledge on every country. Students are even able to talk with people around the world.

In the Did you know video I found it amazing the amount of hours that 21 year olds have watched TV, played video games, talked on the phone, and the amount of emails and IM’s they have sent. Was I surprised in those numbers? Not really. I think we all know that the kids we face in the classroom are easily racking up those numbers as well. Gone are the days of going outside to play with your friends in the neighborhood. Today, kids are able to play video games against people all over the world via the internet.

In the classroom, things have changed but they have also stayed the same. Students are still sitting in desks in rows listening to teachers lecture. Students are still expected to be quiet in the rooms and to not get up and move around. Students are still being assigned homework just for the sake of giving homework. The comparisons from today’s classroom and yesterday’s classroom can go on and on.

I think the challenge for teachers is how are we going to start moving away from what has been expected in the classroom for so long to what children are expected to do in the classroom today. Hopefully this 23 Things course can help move us in that direction.

Thing 3

I have been blogging since June 2008 and really enjoy it. Even though I don’t get onto my blog on a daily basis to add something new, I do find myself wondering what will be added next. This blog is based around my family. It is mainly for my friends and relatives to view that aren’t around to see my kids grow up. I have blogged about injuries to new jobs to the first day of school. This blog gives those family members and friends who live far away a chance to see what is going on in our lives.

How does it feel to share my thoughts publicly? Well, like I said before I enjoy it. I know that I can’t always make that phone call or email to people to let them know what is going but I can always take a few minutes to jump on the computer and type up a few sentences or download a couple pictures. This way I am hitting a larger number of people that I can’t reach otherwise.

I do have fears when it comes to blogging just like anything else. I worry who actually is looking at the blog. I know I can’t control every aspect of life but the thought does on occasion creep into mind “who is really out there”.

Now as a teacher I do understand and appreciate the concept of blogging even more. I know that working in education that kids love technology. That is what they know. They have grown up with computers in their homes and schools. I feel it is time to start embracing this technology and look forward to ways in which I can bring the world of blogging into my classroom.