Thing # 21

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

This was so much fun and easy!! My daughter helped me pick the music and when she saw the final product she could not stop laughing. Animoto was very user friendly. This would be a great tool for teachers to use. They could create a video for their class (with parents permission of course).




Make your own slideshow at Animoto.

Thing # 20 Love Youtube

I love YouTube! It has helped me get through math several times. I learned how to do the purl stitch in knitting. One night really late I wanted to try a new stitch. It was too late to ask anyone. Amazingly, I found several videos on YouTube.This is a wonderful place for learning. It's also a great place to laugh! I wacthed this video several months ago, but everytime I watch it I can not stop laughing :)

Thing # 19 NING TEACHER POP :/

This was my  LEAST favorite Things to do! I had to request to be a part of this. While waiting I forgot about this THING! I have tried time and again to get a badge on my blog and was unable to do so. So, (sigh) I guess you can figure that I was unable to get widget on my blog. I think it is a nice place for preservice teachers to get some helpful advice from others. I know I will need all the advice anyone has to offer. I begin student teaching in the fall so maybe I will revisit this site.

I was able to post on one person's page!

Thing # 13 Google Docs

Thing # 18 Social Networking

I used to have a Facebbok account and I deleted it. When I first began to use it I loved it. I thought what a wonderful way to keep up with friends and family that live far away. I just got tired of it and how some people portray themselves on it. I still keep up with friends and family by calling them personally or texting. It's much better to hear their voice.

I did create a Twitter account just for this class. I rarely use it. I do think it could be a useful tool for teachers to send their students and parents quick messages pertaining to school. For another Thing I used an educational Twitter.  I liked her tweets because she provided a lot or reading resources and links. Here is my link to my Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/nwilliamson2

Here is Sandy Flemming's Twitter account. She posts useful resources for literacy.
https://twitter.com/#!/tutor1235

Thing # 17 Delicious

I think Delicious is a great tool for teachers to use in their classroom. Students can use this when working on group projects and and want to pull all their resources together. Teachers can post resources for their students to use at home. For example, math websites so they can have extra practice.  This tool makes it easier  to  access my favorites anywhere I go. I also like that I can see what other people have bookmarked and what they think of it. I did not care for Digg, but I liked StumbleUpon.

Thing # 16 Getting Organized

I already have an iGoogle homepage set up on my personal computer. I love it because I have it set up to meet my needs. I have both of my email accounts, news, weather, sticky notes, and a couple of other widgets for entertainment. I think it makes it easier to have everything on one page. I like to change my background theme every couple of days just to have something new.

 I also already use iGoogle calendar. I find this very useful because I can access it at school or home. I like that it emails me a reminder of what I have scheduled for the day. This is a great tool for teachers because they can plan at home and see it the next day at school.

I created a Remember the Milk account and I think it is too much work. I already have sticky note reminders on my iGoogle homepage and iGoogle calendar to remind me of things I need to do. I would recommend iGoogle homepage and calendar. I love these tools and use them on a daily basis. I like having everything already connected to my google account without having to create a lot of different accounts. 

Thing # 15 Wikis

I am not crazy about using the information from wikis. I have always been told that the some of the information is not valid. I do see how it can be convenient for students for communication like the camping example in the video. I posted my Thing # 9 in the APSU sandbox because I enjoyed that activity the most thus far. I found the fact that information can be changed by different people interesting.  How are people supposed to know what is a true fact? I had a difficult time navigating and had to look some stuff up on YouTube. I was not that crazy about this activity. 

Thing # 14 Flow Charts and Mind Maps

I chose Gliffy for flowcharts and Mindmeister for mind mapping. I did not use Bubbleus because I did not want to wait for an invitation.  I found both the Gliffy and mindmeister sites user friendly. Gliffy provides a SWOT option which focuses on strengths, weaknesses, opportunity, and threat that a student can analyze.  I had never seen but would be good for older students. It also provides Venn Diagrams which I am a big fan of and use for myself to help study. I also really liked Mindmeister's format. I never thought I would say this, but I like the big icons the site provides. I believe teachers and students would both benefit from these sites.