Round 2 - Final Reflection

We are at the end of the 17 Things to Chew On, Round 2 class. I really enjoyed the Master class that was offered this year. The best part was making 3 student assignments with different "Things" we learned last year. It really forced me to start applying what I learned. Although I loved many of the tools from last year, to be honest, I was lazy and hadn't planned on using any of them this year in class. After doing the Master class projects however, I have made some permanent changes to traditional projects that I like to assign every year. I also loved how the students liked learning new web tools. The positive feedback from them made it all worth it.

I personally believe that teachers should integrate a lot of technology into their classrooms. With all that is available, it is our job to educate our students and to prepare them for college. Some of the web 2.0 tools would be excellent things to use in college and in the future. Anyways, these tools are not difficult to understand and can be easily incorporated into any class.

If I had to describe my learning experience in one word it would be: innovative.

Round 2 - Thing 5

The final "thing" for this project was to explore Evernote. I really loved it! I've downloaded the app for my phone as well. Basically, Evernote allows you to organize websites, pictures, videos, etc. all in one place. It's a fantastic research tool! Also, it saves paper because you don't have to print all your sources. Simply highlight part of a website, right click, and save to Evernote. Once in Evernote, you can organize into specific folders. This would be awesome for students to use. So many classes have research projects attached to them, and students can save all their information and sync it with their cell phone app so they can access it at any time. If we can have Evernote installed on all the computers in the school, I think it would really be the next step to making our school paperless!

Round 2 - Thing 4

Thing 4 was iPadio, which is a phlogging tool (telephone blogging). It basically allows people to call a number, leave a message, and then the message is translated to a blog. I thought this would be really useful for my biology class. My students often have major issues pronouncing some of the complex vocabulary words, and if I could have recordings of me correctly saying the words, it would help the students a ton.

Here is the link to my channel:
http://www.ipadio.com/phlogs/KristiSterling

Master Class Project 3

My third and final project was with Animoto. Again, I used my Zoology class as the guinea pigs! The goal was for them to create a "Most Wanted" video about an invasive species. Their animoto was limited to 30 seconds (which was nice because it forced them to really focus on the important facts) and had to include pictures and text. The students really enjoyed using Animoto and I would use it again!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pevVmga2RQboxn_IspuO5g2FJz4lAfOA0Til1069FC8/edit?hl=en&authkey=CKLm6dUJ

Round 2 - Thing 3

Diigo was a pretty cool tool..I especially liked using it for articles and other reading material. Although I agree that it takes some good research knowledge in order to use this tool, juniors and seniors might be able to grasp the basics. For example, my senior zoology students are doing a research project right now and instead of printing the material from the websites, they could just highlight and bookmark them to save paper. I like that you can go back to your bookmarks later to review them. Perfect for a research project in progress.

Here are my annotated links:
http://diigo.com/0fcby
http://diigo.com/0fcbz

Master Class Project 2

I assigned aPrezi project for my Applied Zoology students. The goal is for them to research a specific aquatic animal of their choice and present their findings in a Prezi. I hoped to get great Prezis with lots of information, pictures, and maybe an embedded YouTube video. Just like with the webpages, my students blew me away! The presentations were amazing. I gave the students plenty of time to fine tune their presentations out of class, which really paid off. Some of them did things that I don't even know how to do on Prezi. Take a look at the examples, I put in the links to a few of the coolest ones.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y0GeDPcsfDhUunPAtjNviXZfJOYcBYMry-t4bMtePno/edit?hl=en&authkey=CPWbqc8H

Master Class Project 1

I completed my first project which was for my Applied Zoology students (seniors) to make a website through www.weebly.com. I decided to have my students make websites instead of making PowerPoint presentations or posters. The benefit was that I was able to hand out all the website addresses to the class and the students can go back to revisit the information when they are studying for the test.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MsEuf0w49FWw2N8NQGD4FQ9LxN37iTKpGPAfDGNr4VA/edit?hl=en&authkey=CN_VqeMJ

Thing 2 - Round 2

This thing was to explore Prezi, which is another way of creating presentations instead of using Microsoft PowerPoint. I really liked it, but I struggled to figure out what I was doing. This must be a popular web 2.0 tool because when I was working on my video, two different students asked me if I was using Prezi and said they had to make presentations last year for different teachers (some from RB and some from jr. high)...which impressed me. I think I would use this in my classroom as a different way for students to present materials. I often have the students make posters or powerpoints, and I think I'll try Prezi for my next project. That will probably end up being one of my Master Projects for 17 things to chew on.

Here is the Prezi I created for my freshman biology class. The goal was to visually show Protein Synthesis. I'll have to play around with Prezi a lot more to get more creative!

Protein Synthesis on Prezi

Thing 1 - Round 2!!

So I've started the Master's Edition this year and our first thing is about email blogging. I've set up a Tumblr account and my link is: sterls.tumblr.com. I like how easy it was to add pictures and video (much easier than on blogger) but I think it's pretty much the same as using a regular blog website. I'm not sure I would use this in biology class because my freshman might not use it correctly. It might be cool to start a zoology blog where my seniors can post about animals that they research and then comment on each other's blogs, so I'll have to play around with it for a little bit. With an older set of students, I really think this could potentially turn into a an innovative way to sharing information instead of traditional presenting.

Final Post

So this is the end...

Overall I thought that the 17 Things to Chew On experience was great. I learned so much. It forced me to go beyond my comfort zone and try to learn something new. It also forced me to think of ways I can use these websites for education. I feel confident that I have a bunch of new technology in my bag of tricks to use in the classroom! I think the most useful web 2.0 tool for me was weebly.com. I loved how easy it was to create a website and I'm going to create one for my class. Previously I had only used FrontPage, which took forever.

I think that one way this experience could have been better was to make people look at what others have done. I didn't really check up on anyone I followed and although I can scope out their blog, I was never required to, so i never did.

I would definitely recommend this to people in the future. It was super easy and could be done on our own schedule. There were no meetings to make it to, and I could complete it either at home or at school. Plus, everyone can use technology in their classroom!

If I had to sum up the experience in one word or phrase it would be: A fun and eye-opening experience.

Thing 17

Ah, my last blog. So when checking out the CNET Webware 100 winners website, I looked at a few of some new websites that caught my attention.

#1 Mozy- As someone who has lost school data twice already (once from a zip disk crash and once from a computer crash) I could really use some data back up. $4.95 is pretty cheap for unlimited space. And I really like that it automatically syncs my computer files whenever I add something new. I just saw that a home user can get 2GB for free, which would cover all my precious school documents.

#2 Tripit- This is a cool tool for traveling! It can organize all my travel documents (like airline itineraries, hotel confirmations, etc) into one online document that I can access from my cell phone! It will even include current weather, relevant maps, and photos. I could have really used this 2 years ago when my husband and I went backpacking around Europe for 27 days...

#3 Skype- This is the tool I chose to look at more in depth. I've heard of it a little, but really had no idea what it was capable of! I think it is great that someone finally developed a program that will enable video chats for free! Basically Skype works by importing a contact list with their phone numbers and you can text, call, videochat, or IM them on their computers. You can also download Skype on your cell phone so you can use it on the go. I would definitely use this feature to video call my brother who lives in Miami, that way I can see him when we talk...it'll be much better than chatting on the phone. I can see this as a useful tool for new parents to show off their new babies to family members who live far away. The video chat is priceless and the possibilities are endless! As long as the person you care planning to talk to downloads Skype, everything is free! They also have great rates for calling land lines or mobile phones, which could be a great alternative for calling friends/family who live overseas.

Thing 16

I did a screentoaster shot of me using www.brainpop.com. I had a lot of issues using this website though and therefore I don't like it. The biggest problem was that 2 of the computers I tried using this on were old and couldn't handle the website. The computers froze up and had huge lag times. Therefore my video isn't that great. Also, after creating my video, I couldn't figure out how to save it because the computer kept freezing. I think this is a cool tool to use, especially for a classroom that uses a lot of computers. I could easily show a screenshot video for my students to watch instead of me teaching a short concept. Make sure you're using an up to date computer that is very fast when trying to use this website! It's the only one I had problems with!

Thing 15

I really liked Voicethread. I think it's such a unique and interesting tool. I'm not sure that I would actually use it in my classroom, because I would need more of an online classroom setting. Maybe we could go to the computer lab and use it one day where I require each of my students to leave a certain number of responses on the voicethread that I have created. It could be a nice review tool where students could ask questions and have their classmates answer them. So actually now that I think about it...I might actually start using it in class!

Thing 14

This is also my first experience with wiki. I think it's cool and could be a valuable classroom tool. In science, I can see wikis being used in much of the same ways that Kellie talked about. I could have my students post data from whole class labs or ask each other questions about homework assignments when they need it. I could also have a wiki for use during research projects, where students could post other useful websites. The possibilities are endless.

Thing 13

This is my animoto video. I chose to do a video that showcases the amount of fun we have in cross country. I liked animoto, but I was hoping to be able to make it more interesting by adding text...but since I only did a 30 second trial, I didn't get those options. I thought it was very easy to use and might want to have students use it someday as a project. Here is my video:

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Thing 12

I think that the creative commons idea is a good idea. I always search on google web or images for tons of stuff that I use in my classroom. I use a lot of pictures during powerpoints. I think the the owners of the pictures should get credit, but then again, I don't want to not have access to the pictures anymore. I use those pictures to help the students understand the topic we are covering or to see an example of it. Without them, my class wouldn't be as good.

I could see how it could be used with student projects, especially those that students don't want to be stolen or copywrited. (for example, papers) This way the students can realize that if they post something online, anyone can search for it, find it, and use it. This will prevent that from happening if they don't want it to. I also think that creative commons can help students to understand more about copywrite laws and user privacy.

Thing 11

I created a GoodReads account and my username is sterlingk. I added a bunch of books since I've read the Harry Potter and Twilight series. I've also read a couple of Mitch Albom books and one that I am planning to read once I get some free time. I like the website but unfortunately I don't read a ton, so I wouldn't use it much. Most of my reading happens over the summer and then I usually just pick something popular. I could definitely see a website like this being used in a literature class where students can post books that they've read and give summaries of them. It could probably be a pretty neat aspect of the classroom.

Thing 10

I like the idea of Ning and I think it could be a very cool tool to use for your activity or sport. I loved how RBTV uses Ning to keep the students up to date with what is going on. I personally use facebook for cross country, so I probably would never use Ning. We have a RB cross country facebook where we post pictures from races and information about practices. Most of our runners are friends with the page, so they are able to access all the photos and comments the coaches make for the team. I've found it very useful!

Thing 9

I customized my blog by adding my Flickr photosteam, some of my favorite links, and a fun fish bowl! Enjoy my new personalized blog!

Thing 8

Flickr.com is a neat website. I currently use shutterfly, but I like that I can use my existing yahoo login on flickr. My account name is Sterls, so feel free to look at my photos! I don't think I would ever use this in my classroom because I don't do much with pictures, but I can see how this could be a good way for students to all be able to access pictures from a project/lab/assignment in class.