Thing #16, Tools to Help Organize

 So, recently my Chrome homepage has changed, there are a few of  the websites that I have visited in the past few days on a few tiles. Then today I find this--symbaloo ,a mosaic where I can place many, many more quick links to my most used web pages that includes even more extra junk to look at. Cool. I placed a few of my favorites onto it for this screenshot. I actually reduced the size and left many out.

What I like about this format is that it is all right there, no drop down menu where I am likely to accidentally click on the wrong favorite. I can choose from several backgrounds, too. It is cool. I like it. Do I love it enough to change from the Chrome homepage? I'm still undecided. I like this type of tool, but I tend to wonder what is attached to it. Do I really want to inform someone else about the sites I frequent. When we are given a free tool, do we give up something unknown?

I also looked at 30 Boxes, a calendar organizer. Since I have already tried Google calendar, I don't think I'll actually use this one. I don't need to remember any more passwords. The 30 boxes calendar is customizable and sharable. So is my Google calendar. I'm sure Google is doing all sorts of analyses of my information. I'm ok with just having one company do that. Having many different companies do so is, in my opinion, pushing it.

I signed up for the remember the milk tool also. I don't know if I will use it. I guess I'm just feeling saturated with tools.
Which makes you wonder how we got through the week without these tools. Do we have to be so connected and reliant on devices? Personally, I feel that if I need an app to remember the milk, I'm not that self-sufficient adult that I thought I was. The world doesn't end when I forget to pick up milk, flea treatment, or even coffee. We survive, and definitely remember the coffee the next time.

So that's my rant. Maybe I'm just naturally a control freak. Looking at my desk, you would not believe that I am an organized person. I micro-manage my kids, my pets, my husband, and myself very well. Productivity tools may be necessary for others. I like to leave my cell in my car, where it can often be found dead. I don't want to text myself reminders. Maybe when I'm really old I will need that. And then technology can help.

Thing # 15...Wiki this

Welcome to the wiki revolution

Everyone's go to is Wikipedia.  Back in the day it was Cliff's Notes and then the For Dummies series, which involved acquiring and opening a book. Now we can just about find the answer or explanation to almost anything in a matter of seconds. There are so many wikis, so many places to look, and so much information.

I am a bit concerned about the editability of Wikipedia so I would generally cross-reference any material I find there. I have not experienced education in the age of the wiki answer, but I do know that Wikipedia is not a referable source. It is a great place to do a quick background check or clarification of information on topics which befuddle you.

I never thought that there were so many wikis, and I never knew that anyone can make their own. The wikis in plain English video clarified the pragmatic use of editable wikis. I never knew that this application existed, even though I was aware that Wikipedia was editable. I do like the concept of a sandbox wiki where people can build on each other's ideas.

I would like to set up a wiki in my classroom where students can share their ideas about literature. Perhaps people have ideas about certain books or characters. Other students may be reminded of similar characters. Students can share any position on any literature or fictional characters as long as they can contribute adequate, substantial information. We could use the entries in the wiki for discussion in class. I always thought the best teachers were the ones that would allow us to make any connections, fostering our imaginations and creativities by abolishing limitations on our thinking.

Thing #14 Go with the flowchart or map your mind

My first flowchart created on Gliffy

    When I think of flowcharts, my thoughts conjure up IRS form instructions or WebMd diagnostic charts. I generally don't think of education. I have never used them in any classes. I do see them as helpful when there are multiple steps/outcomes in procedures; they would be helpful in a chemistry class. They could have applications in a grammar lesson or in a research procedure. A flowchart could determine the direction that a research project ultimately ends up going. I don't think I would go through the formality of creating one for my own personal use using software like gliffy. Although it was easy enough to use, it does take more time than drawing bubbles with arrows. I don't know whether I would use flowcharts in the classroom.
     I had never heard of a mindmap before. I think they are a good way of extrapolating ideas from a theme or concept. I enjoyed building my mindmap on examtime. I did not want to use mindmeister because I did not want to provide a credit card. The examtime mindmap was a little nicer than the bubbl.us mindmap. I do think that constructing mindmaps is a good way to get our students to elaborate on concepts, literature, characters, an a variety of other information. I would incorporate mindmap building in a class discussion where we would brainstorm ideas while I would create a mindmap for everyone using their ideas.

My mindmap made on examtime

Thing #13, drive with Google, saving you time and money

Click here to see what Google Drive Tools can do!

Yes, that was my post. When it transferred, the margins were a little out of whack, but I guess I can live with it. All of my content and images were there. I'm sure that the images I inserted were what made the document look a bit off. That's ok! I don't think I will be publishing anything stocked with pictures again. Or will I ?

Thing #12. Google. It's not just for searching anymore

It's huge. It has taken over the way we look for and at things in our lives. What will these people think of next?

     So today I had to chose a few Google applications that would be useful to me. We all use Google. I prefer Bing as a search engine, but I use Google chrome as my browser, and tend to default to all things Google.
     After previewing the options that I could use to blog about, the obvious first choice was Google calendar.  Everybody in my house is constantly asking where I will be on any given date on any given time. All they will need to do is look at my calendar and they will figure it out.

I could very easily print it, but I know better, it would get lost. Those tech savvy kids would prefer to have it accessible on their devices anyway. 

It would be pretty cool to have your entire syllabus  of due dates entered on a Google calendar. This tool would be a great addition to the classroom. At some point, at home or school,  most students do have access to the internet. If they don't, they probably know someone who does. We are so used to using online resources that we assume that everyone has access, so we have to be careful. We could, however, start each day by displaying the month's calendar, so that students are aware of upcoming events. I do believe that I would use Google calendar and share it with my students. I think it would be useful.

     The other Google application that I like to play with is Google Translate. I love looking at written languages and listening to them. Bir neçə dildə fikirlərimi tərcümə görmək üçün gözəl (It's amazing to see the translations of my ideas in several languages). यह टूल अंग्रेजी बोलते है नहीं कि एक छात्र के साथ सहायक हो सकता है, pronouced Yaha ṭūla aṅgrējī bōlatē hai nahīṁ ki ēka chātra kē sātha sahāyaka hō sakatā hai (This tool could be helpful with a student that does not speak  English). ఇది మీరు అనువాదం పదాల ఉచ్ఛారణ వినండి ఇక్కడ ఒక సాధనం ఉంది, such as,Idi mīru anuvādaṁ padāla ucchāraṇa vinaṇḍi ikkaḍa oka sādhanaṁ undi (It has a tool where you can listen to the pronunciation of the translated words, and spells them out in a way that we can attempt to read them when the alphabet is different). 

     Using Google translator can help us as teachers, and our students, as well, communicate with others who do not speak English. Our students could find a blog of a student in another country then use Google translator to understand what they are saying. They could then translate their thoughts into the foreign language and comment on the blogger's posts, making the world flatter. 

Thing # 11- How to find your new best blogfriend

     I have been searching the blogosphere. It is a huge place. I  know I don't have the time to read blogs every day so I want to find blogs with significant content. I need to be able to search for specific interests, then narrow down my findings. 
    I came across my best results using Google Blog Search. It took me directly to the type of material I was looking for. When I entered the same search criteria, Ben Franklin quotes, into  www.blogsearchengine.org, I did not get precise results, and there was a list of google ads that preceded my results. Technorati found nothing in blogs and 1 post that mentioned Ben Franklin's name. Although I find myself Google-dependent, there is a reason-- it provides results.

     Google is easiest to use and not confusing. Technorati had too much going on, and the search bar brought me no results. I don't care about who they think are the top and bottom bloggers. The results from blogsearchengine.org could be confusing since they lead you to a variety of content.
   
     I enjoyed reading the post  from the cool cat teacher blog because what she said made sense; creating a circle of the wise for encouragement, inspiration, and knowledge is proactive. Using this frame, I sought out more helpful blogs like her's. I am now following Will Richardson's blog, Ben Franklin 2006 and Run Jimmi Run. The two latter quotes are for inspiration.

     There are many odd and unusual blogs. Years ago I googled my name and came across a blog authored by someone with my name that touted the glories of string cheese. Crazy cat people abound. There are blogs for weird phobias, unusual pets, alternative lifestyles of every kind. It can get scary.

     I think one of the best ways to find newsfeeds and blogs is to see what the other bloggers follow.

I'm looking for me

     You're looking for you

                  We're looking in at each other

                   And we don't know what to do

          They call me The Seeker

                       I've been searching low and high

                   I won't get to get what I'm after

                                 Till the day I die          --Peter Townshend

   

How to drown oneself in RSS feeds: Thing #10

Hold that message for me, I'm working

    What do you do when your work week seems never ending? Will it take you all weekend to check and see if there is anything new on all of those blogs and websites you like to see?
   Not when you have an RSS reader to collect your information for you. The RSS reader is set up to watch and collect all of your updates. When you have the time, you simply go to your reader page and view all of your updates. They don't call it Real Simple Syndication for nothing!
 
    What I like about RSS feeds is that I rarely have the time to check on what I'd like to see. Usually it is a maximum of twice a week that I take the time to read blogs or websites, sometimes it's less. I think that RSS feeds do serve a purpose. I know that researchers use them, and I know that people want to be informed. I am currently following 6 feeds on feedly. I am watching blogs Dangerously Irrelevant,  Apps in Education, and Free Technology for Teachers.  I also follow The Impossible Cool, a site with vintage photographs, the Ellen Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live on Youtube.
     After less than a week subscribing, I have 123 feeds to look at. I'm drowning in feeds. If I don't look at them them today, I'm certain to drown!
      RSS feed could be employed in the classroom to check on blogs or informative websites. I would set up the reader to collect our data and take one day a week for the class to analyze what has been collected. In my personal life, I would like to keep track  relevant blogs about teachers and other interests I have. 

The Ninth Thing will Generate More--Thing #9

Extra! Extra! Looks like more fun is on the way!

My son tells me I am now making "memes" which I guess is some kind of adolescent slang. I googled it and it is image generation that mimics something in our culture and has the ability to spread through social media. The newspaper image above was created at image chef. This website has many images available to add your text to, and the process is as simple as entering text into provided fields.

Using the image generators was fun and easy. I made a for dummies book cover using Dummies Book Cover Maker. It involved entering text into prescribed fields and then copying the image.  The happy face generator did not place my text correctly so I abandoned it. I found tons of things to play with at custom sign generator and its link to sign generators.org; including the dummies book cover, the confucius says sign generator, the post it generator, warning and road sign generators, the hollywood star generator, and the fortune cookie message sign generator. I could have literally lost a weekend on these generators. They all have fields to enter text, and most allow for the user to change the size and color of the text.

In the classroom, uses could vary. I think I would create some funny images for my students just to lighten the atmosphere a bit. Perhaps I would use a generator image on a handout or on a test-- I feel that a good laugh allows us all to think clearly when many of us enter a class or a test with a lot of apprehension.

We could also use the images created on name tags, or labels. If students have access to computers and printers we can use these generators to create feedback about a subject, book, or character and display the products on a bulletin board. My favorite high school English teacher, Dr. Gus Franza, marked the walls of the classroom with his own graffiti, statements about authors, novels, and fictional characters. Using image generators to create this kind of graffiti would be an expressive exercise for students.

Thing #r 8-- Mashups are Great!

Mosaic Maker

Hey Mom! Look what I can do!

             

Magazine cover

Didn't the creators of these tools consider that the crazy cat people were going to make all sorts of crazy cat mashups? 

Motivator

Jigsaw

Did they really think we could control ourselves, given these awesome opportunities?

My choice of tools for Flikr included Big Huge Labs and Aviary . My 7th post images were edited and enhanced using Aviary. The images above are all products of Big Huge Labs. There are a number of creative tools available, other than those featured above,  on Big Huge Labs:

Pop Art Poster

also, hockneyizer, movie poster, photobooth, FX, breast cancer poster, and badge maker. There are a few locator and mapping tools, and a bunch of other tools that I don't think I'd use.

    Other than locating work to view, or use such as that in creative commons, my interest and use would be in getting creative with my own images. I do think it's fun to create comical images for entertainment or writing prompts, so I may use them in the classroom. I really like playing with images and sharing them. People probably think I'm a little warped when they view my images, but I don't really care. I like to share.

My Friend Flikr--Thing #7

Sept10, a set on Flickr.

A few pictures that I took this morning...
I went outside and snapped a few pictures of the horses. they were more interested in eating.  Mocha is really starting to dapple with her fall coat growing in; it shows great on the black and white.  I took a picture of  Calista Rae in the den, posing was least she could let me do--this is a cat that requires a lot of food. I actually took several pictures-- horses, goats, cats, dog.  When I was downloading, I found that I still had a bunch of pictures on my card. My favorite shot of Molly in the leaves was begging for a thought bubble so I added it.


Anyone who knows me knows that I will spend an enormous amount of time wasting time on Flikr  now that I've found it. It gives me the tools I need to play with. I don't know whether I will use it in the classroom or not, although it is a great source of images that could be used for any subject.  I had used Photobucket in the past to edit my pictures and re-size them for other uses, but had not used it for many years.   I consider Flikr to be an excellent application. It was extremely easy to use....I downloaded my pictures off of my camera rather than onto my computer, and it was fast. Flikr has tons of storage space and downloaded my high resolution pictures with ease. I love the editing capabilities because often I end up with a very different version of my picture, which can be fun.

I love the galleries of photos and the ability to search for specific images. I searched Flatiron building and found some awesome shots of the Flatiron building...not likely too difficult to find.  The I searched Woodhull Landing which is nothing more than about 300 feet of beachfront in Sound Beach, New York.  Other than real estate websites there is very little information on the web that proves this place exists, other than somebody's Flikr pictures-- which to me is the coolest!

Woodhull Landing is where this photo was taken, long long ago. I'm the cute one. I believe the photo was taken by my father or grandmother.

Photos are such an important part of my life, so I enjoy sharing them. My love for photography stems from my grandmother,  Adele (Polacek) Ericson who always had a camera in hand, and my father, David Ericson, who loved to reproduce images of nature with his camera. I am not overly concerned with the fact that my pictures are public. What good are these things if we keep them to ourselves? If I can make somebody think, or smile, about my pictures, they have served a purpose.

Thing #6, finding something fun to play with in the go2web2.0 toybox

If you have figured out anything by reading this blog, you have probably discovered that I love pictures, whether they are photos that convey deep meaning, or are simply catching people and animals at their goofiest.

Because to me, a picture has so much to say. Although I am language oriented, I find that pictures can express so much. I think that creative photos have the potential to evoke creative thinking in students.
 So it probably comes to no surprise that I was seeking out some nifty photo editing tools. I sorted through a few because some had limited capabilities. Some had too many ads intermingled among the procedural buttons. I tried pixlr and found that it did not have too many cool effects. I found that picnik was gone, as was slide.com. I played a bit with loonapix, which places your picture within another picture, among other things. The TV above is the product of loonapix.I could impose my image on their stock images, cut and impose heads on bodies, add frames, and crop my photos in different shapes.  It was fun,  but I felt limited with this tool because I was looking for more special effects. 

What I really wanted was a photo editor that could take my already warped collection of photos and add some special effects. I ended up  choosing fotoflexer. I had used this tool years ago on my photobucket account. I like fotoflexer because there is not an overwhelming amount of ads. Also, having no software to download is always a plus, but that is true about most web 2.0 tools. Fotoflexer can also take photos from other sites, Facebook, myspace, flickr, picasa web albums, and photobucket. If you don't want to register with fotoflexer, you can upload from your own computer or memory media. 

What I dislike about fotoflexer is that it is very slow! Saving, editing, converting and reverting took forever at times. Shockwave crashed a few times too. I tend to work with high resolution photos, so I think that may add to my impatience. 

My photo of Eleanor "Bayo" Snippes and her friend Captain Jack Sparrow has been modified in many ways. I like to play with special effects.I'm not sure whether these effects make particular creative statements, but they are good for decorating blogs. 

I would probably use a combination of  loonapix and fotoflexer to because there were aspects of each that I enjoyed using. And I will probably keep looking for more of these type tools to play with. And I will keep looking for the opportune Kodak moment! 

The fifth thing, which is reflections of web two point nought (a/k/a thing #5)

The future is before us...the near future is right in front of us, ready to grab. I am not looking into the distant future with robot teachers and students remotely logging in for classes, by then I will probably be dead. But I'm considering today's technological tools and the positive reactions they can illicit in our students.

A huge problem in education is in reaching our students, conveying our material, and keeping students engaged. We need to do whatever is in our power to help our students learn. Web 2.0 tools are being used by many of these students already in their free time, in social media, Google searches, and video sharing. By middle school, most of our students are well aware of what is out there.

I found Steve Hargadon's article, web 2.0 Is the Future of Education very insightful about the impact of technology in education. According to Hargadon, what makes this technology so adaptable to the field of education is that the web 2.0 technology is interactive, it has a two-way nature that requires participation.

In particular, Hargadon's Trend #3, states "everything is becoming participative" which we see in virtually any shopping website where consumers can review their purchases. We have the ability to sort through reflections and opinions from reviewers from all walks of life that may live anywhere on the planet when we consult TripAdvisor, and we are encouraged to offer our own opinions. Likewise, on social media sites which employ web 2.0 tools, people constantly interact and comment on each other's entries. We can look at the posts of friends, friends of friends, or celebrities like Ellen Degeneres. We can sort through their pictures, take part in surveys they have taken, and look to see who their friends are. We can voice our reactions to any of this information.

Web 2.0 tools give us access to a plethora of information, in fact I just used it to determine the correct spelling of plethora. Hargadon infers that access to information, which in itself is immensely powerful, can be expanded to access to people. Imagine the options--we can read about Australian Aborigines in text books, we can read about them informative online articles, or we can read their blogs, or we can converse with them online. Given these options, we know that the ability to make personal connections will impact learning. The obvious choice would be to incorporate primary sources with our  learning to make it meaningful.

It is the natural course of education to follow web 2.0 because education is a means in which we gather meaning from and about the world we live in. Tools that help us interpret our world will help us truly learn, whereas the current state of education often fails to do so because we teach rote facts for high stakes testing rather than teaching concepts for application.

In 50 Web 2.0 Tools Every Teacher Should Know About, Jeff Dunn introduces Jane Hart's compilation of 50 free web 2.0 applications that have many uses in any classroom. I found several that I would use to make my teaching more fun, interactive, and more effective.

One example would be blabberize, which allows you to upload a picture and make it talk. Imagine you are teaching a unit on Shakespeare's Macbeth. Wouldn't it be fun to have a picture of William, himself, explain what was meant by Macbeth's soliloquy of Act 5, Scene 5? Students would certainly find it entertaining. We could then go to Go Animate and make a video about Macbeth lamenting life or interacting with the other characters. If we wanted to spend even more time on this unit, we could even try writing soliloquies and putting them to music in garage band or Ujam. After an interactive unit with lots of outside of the box activities involving creative thought, our students are unlikely to have disengaged, and highly likely to have incorporated knowledge that will stay with them.

These collective learning experiences facilitated with web 2.0 will allow our students to enjoy the learning experience, get more out of it, and internalize learning. Taking them outside of the books and mortar reality of the classroom and elevating the experience to one that has fewer boundaries will open their minds to higher learning.

I am Will, Will I am. I am here to explain a few things that my man Macbeth was trying to say, and I will put it in plain English for those of you that didn't understand just what he was ranting about!

Thing # Four...the value of commenting

I got my first comment today! I know that it was a course requirement, but I'm still excited because it means that someone has read my blog. The picture above is part of an analogy. The closed gate is isolation. When we are out in the world working, educating ourselves, traveling from one point to another, then back, attending to whatever we have set ourselves up to-- we are all in our own zones, masters of our own spheres of influence. In my blog, this little reflection of my place on the planet, I am here, but physically, without commentary, I am at this place, my physical address,  and the gate is closed. I chose a winter scene because it screams isolation; perhaps that was overdoing it.
    Without interaction, blogging is nothing more than transcribing for the voices in your head. Interaction creates a sense of community. Nobody wants to be invisible, regardless of what they say. Since I really don't know anyone well in the class, and they don't know me, I think it is helpful that we can express ourselves, hopefully erasing any preconceptions any of us may have. I feel very awkward at times, almost that geeky awkwardness you feel as a middle schooler, being probably the oldest student in class. Believe me, all of the extra years I have have not matured me, at least according to my oldest daughter.

When we comment thoughtfully on other people's blogs, the authors know that somebody out there in the universe is reading and thinking about what you have written.


Maybe you have just vented about having a bad day...now isn't that nice to know that somebody out there cares. 



When you start making intelligent or interesting comments on someones blog, people may be attracted to your blog, thinking, wow, that person has a lot to say, I'm going to follow her. 
Truth is, Everyone wants to be associated with the cool kids!

I have soo many more followers than you

But I'm friends with everyone, I'm more popular

Or, just people that you find interesting, or those who share your way of thinking. 









And when we all connect, we can learn more about others and ourselves.

    And now a word or two about the blogs I chose to follow
The seven blogs I chose to follow are: Stephanie Fortner, Natasha Long's 23,000 steps to learn the 23  steps, Tonya Van Winkle, Alexa Aguilar, Whitney Butts, Regarding Horses, and the Crazy Cat Lady.  Other than our class blogs, I chose not to follow any edulogs. 
   I chose Regarding Horses because it was written by a person who has a lot going on in her life and cannot devote the time she would like to with her horse, kind of like me. Most equestrian websites were all hoity toity about their eventing or showing activities and I had nothing in common with the authors who were mostly childless and did not work. 
   I chose The Crazy Cat Lady because I wouldn't be surprised if that vocation is in my distant future. When I looked at KittyKye's site I felt a connection with her. She wasn't your typical crazy cat lady going on incessantly about furbabies or talking about her cats like they were her best friends. She is a mom with demands that likes cats. Me too. 
   Classmates that I chose to follow had completed several posts. Since they appeared o be in as deep as me, I followed them.
   Most of the comments I made on these websites were intended to be supportive and uplifting. That's what I do. For example, I reassured Jackie, the writer of Regarding Horses  that it is not a crime to have a horse and not ride it. To understand that comment you will need to know that the professionally horsey set finds that unacceptable-- horses have to have a job, go to work, and interact with their people regularly in their opinion. My comment to The Crazy Cat Lady was one of curiosity about her son's foam blocks that her cat liked to play in...would the cat chew on them?
   I intended for my comments to my classmates to be uplifting. For Stephanie, I wanted let her know that I was impressed with her pursuit of her second Master's Degree. She expressed some frustration with the intensity in which she studied, and I wanted to convey that we all feel that sometimes, and it has obviously not prohibited her. 
   For Natasha's blog I wanted to reflect my opinion that learning is a constantly evolving process. We really don't start in kindergarten and we never finish until we draw our last breath. 
   On Tonya's blog I wanted to share my perspective of technology. I understand how things can be frustrating when we don't use them regularly. I, for one, get frustrated just remembering all of my passwords when I am having a busy day.
   My comment to Alexa was intended to convey that confidence and self-efficacy develop over time. As teachers we will have to recognize that all students are unique learners. Don't feel like you are so unique that you can't do this!
   When I commented on Whitney's blog I told her I thought a teacher's class blog would be a great application. As a parent, I am overwhelmed by those Welcome to the Classroom, This is our class schedule, Here is our Syllabus, You need to sign up for this, ad infinitum papers that my children bring home and pile on my desk. The idea of a teacher's blog would alleviate a lot of tree killing and a lot of Mom, I needed you to give me that check for my field trip YESTERDAY!
   I feel  that the commenting aspect of blogging can be beneficial for all.

Be free and let it take you where you need to go