Week 9 Thing 22

I was amazed by the amount of audiobooks available for free at a moments notice. At first, I was thrilled by the possibilities...listening to books while I clean, work out or play with the kids. Then, as I searched the lists, I was disappointed at the selection. I love the idea, but wish there were more modern selections. I did find that, if one were willing to pay, there are other websites out there with a more current list of books. I might have to try one out.

The ebooks that were available seemed outdated as well, and didn't appeal to me as much as the audiobooks. I don't like staring at a screen and they're much less convenient to curl up with in bed. Also, they don't provide the ability to do other things while enjoying a great story. I'll stick with books for now, but it was an eye opener to see what's out there.

Week 9 Thing 21

Recently, I discovered podcasts during another technology class I'm taking. It was nice to have more time to explore podcasts that are available on iTunes. I found everything from learning Spanish (which, interestingly enough, had a podcast about speaking Scottish) to science and grammar podcasts. I could see spending quite a lot of time listening to different news podcasts which also sounded interesting. I did go ahead and subscribe to several regular podcasts so I can keep up with them.

There are several ways to use podcasting with students. The grammar podcast was particularly interesting and could easily be shared with students to begin a minilesson. There are many examples of podcasts in a variety of subject areas that could be used directly with students.

Also, I am currently teaching my class how to create a podcast. Students wrote a piece that is now being recorded with a background track. It will eventually be linked to their locally-hosted webpages.

Week 9 Thing 20

I thoroughly enjoyed the video links provided! How Not to use PowerPoint was definitely my favorite! I would love to share that with my sixth graders who will incorporate every crazy font and spinning title they can locate.

I created an account in TeacherTube and had a great time looking at all the fabulous videos that were available. As soon as I saw We Didn't Start the Fire, based on the song, I had to add it to my file. I often create iMovies to introduce a new topic of study to my students, but I've been too busy lately to make a new one. So...I'll be showing this beauty which ties in perfectly with our social studies projects. As I crack open my fortune cookie...it says that I'll be spending less time creating these intro videos now that I've discovered TeacherTube. Yeah!!!

Week 8 Thing 19

I created an account in LibraryThing and quickly set up my bookshelf. It was easy to link to my blog, which was nice. I really like the way so many of the web 2.0 applications have a link right to Blogger. It was interesting to read the reviews about the books I selected since my bookshelf consists of some that I have already read and some that I'm interested in reading. Actually, I decided not to purchase the Spanish book from my list because the review wasn't very positive and made several good points. On the other hand, I'm even more excited to read some of the books about parenting a teenager that sounded interesting and got rave reviews.

I can see using LibraryThing with my students. They could create bookshelves like I did, but they could also use the site to help in book selection. A few of my students always have trouble finding a book they like, so the reviews and recommendations would be helpful.

Week 8 Thing 18

I've heard people talk about Google Docs recently and was excited to try it out myself. I began by setting up an account and watching a tutorial on youtube. Then, I selected the presentation feature and got started. I just put a little text on to try things out and decided to see if I could incorporate photos from flickr. I was surprised at how easily I was able to search for photos and simply drag them onto my project. After some searching, I was not able to locate the information to cite the photos I selected. I know it must be there, but couldn't find it. From there, I wanted to email it to my home address to see how that would go, so I set that up in sharing and will see if I can open and change it on our PC. I was also able to embed the slides into by blog very easily.

My students will begin working on group projects soon, and I think Google Docs will be very convenient. In the past, we've had difficulty opening Mac documents on their PC's, so many students have learned to move their work on a thumb drive. Using Google Docs will be much more convenient and allow each member of the team to edit the project as it's created. I really like the ability to create a presentation right there, although it's not as fancy as the Keynotes they've been making this year. I think my students are really going to enjoy using Google Docs.

Week 8 Thing 18

Week 7 Thing 17

Well, that was interesting. At first, I was excited to read all the great ideas for using web 2.0 tools with my students. I spent a lot of time reading the posts from several different tools. Then, I joined the wiki so I could post my own ideas...and it went downhill quickly. I clicked Edit This Page, scrolled to the bottom and added my idea. When I was finished, I selected Post, but then couldn't find my addition anywhere on the page. When I hunted around, I saw that it appeared as a comment to someone else's post. I tried to fix the problem by going to the Discussion tab which looked more like the window to post in my blog. Again, I typed my ideas in and selected Post and...it still didn't appear on the page it should have. Clearly, it's my first time posting to a wiki. Anyway, I can see how a forum like this could be a useful way for a class to conduct a discussion if I could figure out how to use one. I'll try again another time. I do like the sharing of ideas that is available on the wiki.