Thing 2 of 11.5

With 4 things on Thing 2 I am beginning to wonder how many things are really in 11.5 Things....

Wordle was lots of fun. Right off the bat I thought that when I was an 8th grade remedial reading teacher this would have been a great way to teach stated main idea. I think it would be a great way to use to access prior knowledge and look at key words in a passage to make sure further comprehension was developed. Students in 4th grade might have fun making Wordles out of some of their TAKS writing prep they do. It would be easy to see if they are over using a word in their writing. I made one from the pledge since the kindergarten start learning that and I see the kinders in the library from the beginning. Nothing like starting a little word recognition right off the bat!

Voicethread was very cool. It took me a minute to understand that some of the shared voicethreads had more than one slide. I happened upon a 10 year old's trip to Washington DC. Wow, he learned a lot on his trip! I think it would be awesome to use with students especially if they are studying other parts of the US or world. The element of others commenting on an idea. I was also hooked into viewing one slide where an educator had a picture of a man sitting in the park with a laptop and simply asked "Is this the classroom of the future?" There were at least 20 comments from other educators all around the globe and every imaginable answer. Very interesting.

After Voicethread, I found Bookr to be a bit boring. It would be a great alternative to ppt for some students. Sometimes in flickr it is hard to find the picture one wants so it would be nice if a user could upload their own photos. It might be a simple alternative to the ppts that the 2nd grade do on birds every year.

I have used animotos and voki this year at school and think they are both great. I love the idea of using a voki for an email. Maybe then teachers would "read" their email. I will need to try that this year.

Thing 1 of 11.5 Things

The video is great in the way it simply explains a very complex thing which is learning that students will be doing in the 21st century. I thought it was very important how at the beginning the video it addressed that the student would first build a basis of knowledge and learn how to evaluate websites. Then proceed on to building a network of his/her learning. I loved the term Learning Architect for the teacher at the end and I certainly think a librarian could be many of the roles listed as the teacher at the end. We certainly can be the Network Sherpas (I like that term, too!).

Photo Story

I had a learning experience with V! Remember there are two ways save!!

Audio

Wow! I learned that if you have trouble loading an audacity then save it add an image and make a photo story.

Life is in the details

My new elementary school was given a face lift this summer. New paint, carpet and tile (in most places) will greet students when they arrive next week. However people are missing little things that are important to them and a large pile of unclaimed items resides on top of a shelf in the library. We all spend time looking for a remote or a missing cable and things that are really important tend to show up by the end of the day.

I have been wondering what details will the students notice when they arrive.

After two intense days unpacking the library with faculty in the building, I must admit that a couple of teachers probably walked away unimpressed by the "new librarian." Oh well, the learning curve I am in is pretty steep with regards to where their remotes might be hiding, but I have a couple of things up my sleeve I know they will be impressed with and if not... I make a great brownie!

Thing 23

I have finished 23 Things, but by no means am I finished with learning.

My favorite discoveries in this journey were Google Reader, Google Docs, Photo Story and creating my blog. It is hard to narrow down because I feel that I discovered a lot of things I will use such as delicious – I have used that everyday since I learned about it. One of the best things for me was to exercise my mind and continue on my learning journey. Since I am a digital immigrant, I must keep learning.

This program was a great assistant to my lifelong learning goals and just reinforces my desire to learn more about technology that can assist me in my daily life.

There were tons of take-a-ways in this program, actually too many to list. I can’t say that there were any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised me because my expectations with any thing related to the SBISD library program are quite high and were only reinforced by this program.

Improvements in the program could only come in marketing ways to convince other teachers/librarians to take the program. The program took me more than the 18 professional development awarded. I am probably about average – not as fast as some learning technology and not as slow as others. So maybe convince the powers at be that this program will help teachers do the job they need to do and one way to get the teachers to buy in would be to award a few more hours – say 24.

If you offered another discovery program like this I would definitely take it.

Since I have begun to use daily the “things” I learned in 23 Things I would describe it as life altering. (which is way more than I can say about 90% of the inservices I have taken since I became a teacher). Thanks for the opportunity!

Thing Ning (#22)

Sorry about the title, I just couldn't resist. I think nings are things of the future. List serves would be the things of the past. I have learned a lot from list serves, but I hate how they clog up my email. This is similar information in a different format that is at another location. I like this better because it feels more like a help that a responsibility to clean out my email. Now that I am thinking about it the list serve does have a way to opt out of the email and I should have done that!

Anyway, I joined 2 communities of learners this morning so I am bound to learn something new today!