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.