Thing 23

After a busy end to the school year and the following week that flew by, culminating with family, friends, and a wedding, my mind is now clear and I am able to reflect on the journey that is 23 Things.

There is no doubt that this experience has been nothing but positive. I have been exposed to areas that I had only heard about, but not explored previously (e.g. podcasts, google docs, wikis, RSS). Other teachers at CMA have shared wonderful ideas and thoughts of how we can use technology with our students. All in all, 23 Things was an educational experience itself, along with the opportunity to learn from each other.

Exploring the 23 Things definitely reiterated that technology is a reality and in reality, it is not going anywhere. Preparing our students for the future, definitely involves use of technology. Of course there are concerns about technology, which each of us recognized throughout this journey. I like that in the last video we watched, it mentioned concerns about privacy, copyrights, authorship, ethics etc... I think that if they are issues that we are aware of, that in time with comfort and knowledge, they each will become less of an issue.

This upcoming school year, I would like to incorporate the use of a blog for sharing writing and ultimately, I would like to be able to include audio in these blogs so that students are able to share stories through audio as well. I also like the idea of google docs and a wiki in creating schedules for students and sharing information in the fall. Being the lover of photography that I am, personally, I'd like to use Flickr and Big Huge Labs more, which were two of my favorite "Things" to explore.

Overall the 23 Things journey has been just that, a journey. It definitely doesn't end here though. I personally need to go back and explore a few "Things" a bit more to become more comfortable with them. There are excellent resources on the web as well as with each other, so I'm looking forward to what the next school year brings.

Thing 22

My wiki is: http://specialed-hodgepodge.wikispaces.com/
It has a very rough start....more information is definitely needed!

I plan to use my wiki this fall as I begin setting student schedules. I think it would be wonderful if general ed. teachers would be able to sign in and see if the times I choose work with specials schedules or are good times in the classroom as well. If they don't work, they would be able to go in to make changes or let me know that there is a time conflict. I also think my hodgepodge wiki space would be a good place to put our gen.ed./sp.ed. meeting information (e.g. meeting times, time changes etc.). Overall, I hope the space would be a good place to go for new information, schedules, or even questions.

Wikis vs. blogs....both are beneficial. I think that wikis are an excellent resource for a group, be it students working on a project, reflecting, editing or teachers planning, scheduling, researching etc. In other words, I can see wikis being beneficial where outside input is needed and a necessary part of the process. Blogs, are usually one person orientated. One individual is sharing and others can respond, but they aren't able to edit the entry.

I really need to make sure I experiment with my wiki this summer because I would really like to be able to try it out this fall.

Thing 21

I found the wikiHow to be an interesting one to check out. It provided many examples of how-to writing, which is something I have incorporated in writing with my students. It's a way to work on sequencing and writing skills together. If planning on using the WikiHow as an example, I would choose a few school appropriate prior to sharing with students.

I like the idea that writing can be edited by anyone in a wiki (e.g. in working on a group project), however, I can see two major hurdles with this unique possibility. The first hurdle being communication. The group members would beyond a doubt need to have open communication and also be open to others critiquing and editing their ideas. The second hurdle is the unique opportunity of editing itself. Unwanted editing could occur. I did notice, however, that there are options for allowing only members of the group to edit, so that could alleviate unwanted editing.

On a lighter note, in connection to a possible hurdle, or possible benefit (e.g. brainstorming) I can't help but share this quote from The Office: "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information." (Michael Scott)

Thing 20

As I mentioned in Thing 19, I am not that familiar with using podcasts. As a result, I actually had some difficulties with subscribing. I have an Mp3 player, but it is not an ipod, so iTunes is foreign to me. With the unfamiliarity, I have taken into account the positives, but I have also heard negative stories about the iTunes application. Due to these stories, I wanted to stay away from downloading the program onto my home computer. I was going to try the bloglines route and hit a road block when I realized that I needed some form of a player to play podcasts. Eventually, I successfully (with help) downloaded the podcast aggregator, Juice, and subscribed to the LD podcast found on Podcast Alley. I like Podcast Alley because it gives the option to search for specific topics. What I did notice, however, from trial and error, is that some podcasts did not actully have any podcasts to play, or I received error messages when clicking subscribe to this podcast. This thing is definitely something I need to feel more comfortable with and gain more experience with.

Thing 19

I had heard the word podcast many times, but honestly did not have much information about what they are. The videos and searching around definitely helped to open my eyes.

A podcast I want to subscribe to and explore further is devoted to learning disabilities: http://ldpodcast.com/ I liked that there are the interviews available for listening, but there are also additional resources (e.g. links, accommodation guides, info. on dyslexia and ADHD, books). Overall, it appears to be kept up to date (when searching through, I did find a few did not have recent podcasts available) and would be a beneficial resource!

Another podcast I found to be intriguing was Colonial Williamsburg Past and Present. They discuss various topics connected to Colonial Williamsburg (e.g. events that took place there) and offer additional resources to students after they listen, which I really liked. I thought it could be a neat supplement to social studies topics that students more often than not find to be "boring."

Finally, I noticed there are quite a few "book talk" podcasts. I especially liked Hopkinton High School Library Booktalks because each of the books is chosen by middle school aged students and is part of the Isinglass Teen Award Read Award project: http://www.hopkintonschools.org/hhs/library/podcast.html The books discussed are for older students (ideal for our 7th/8th graders) and some of my students are younger, however, I liked the idea that books are student chosen and that they are discussed. I'm sure that there are podcasts available discussing literature for younger students. I need to do some more searching! I overall like the idea of "book talks" because I feel that they could be a fun way to introduce a new book to students. If there are author podcasts available, I also think it would be another fun way for students to get into a book. Students could actually hear the author of the story share details and answer questions.

One last thought on podcasting.....not only could our students learn from others through listening to podcasts by adults and other students in different schools, but I also think that it could be very doable with the right resources for our own students to do as well...share with others through their own podcasts.

Thing 18

Key Reading Strategies

View more presentations from Michael Klingensmith.

I chose this presentation because I absolutely loved the content! It's what we all try to teach our students...to become active, independent readers who use strategies. It's my number one goal for my students to use these strategies and we work on building these pieces to the puzzle each day. It's an ongoing process as I learn and they learn, but my hope is that with practice the strategies will become more automatic for them as they grow. I also liked that the presentation was straight forward and to the point, without too much clutter.

I think Slideshare would be a beneficial tool for both students and teachers in sharing presentations and lessons. We could pull up a presentation in a classroom, the tech lab, the library etc without searching a flash drive. On another level, I think many good ideas could be generated and "ah ha" moments could be had through searching topics from others in education.

Thing 17

I explored 30 Boxes online calendar. It did require a sign-in, but you can limit the amount of information you want to share (e.g. location, blog urls, and privacy settings etc.), which I liked. I'm usually pretty on top of things date wise...I have a traditional calendar hanging in my kitchen and make lists all the time. The neat thing about the online calendar, however, is that it can be shared with others that are registered for 30 Boxes or it can be placed on blog sites. This could be a way to share important dates with family members and keep up with them as well.

I was initially drawn to the calendar because I thought it may be a possible way for students to keep up with assignments and activities online and for parents to as well. The only issue, however, which seems to be the looming issue, is student access to email.