final thoughts

• I really enjoyed the animoto video creation. I will use that for my kids pictures from now on. Going through the 23 things has shown me that there is always something new to learn. I did not realize how many free tools are out there. I would suggest cutting the list down to 21 things because the last two things seemed redundant...we covered them in the main section of our 3040 projects. The concept behind this program is good but each task takes so much time to complete that you lose the fun element of it. Thanks to 23 things, I will be a better teacher because I will have tools to vary my instruction.
  

Thing 23

*Note: This project is loosely based upon the website 43Things (which allows you to set and track personal goals) and the Stephen Abram article titled 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006).


As a teacher I will be careful not to take what doesn't belong to me. I will know to watch for the different licenses and only use what is allowed. It is not fair to steal what others have worked so hard to complete.

thing 22

• http://www.eslteachertalk.com
• I chose this podcast because it will be useful in helping ESL students in my classroom. It contains classroom activity ideas, interactive games, and teaching insights that will beneficial for my students. I thought that all of the directories were a little confusing to navigate but I was able to type some key words which cut down on the confusion. Thanks to Education 3040, I had the opportunity to create a podcast with my kids. I will definitely be doing that again. I will also use this resource in my future classroom.

thing 21

This is the video I made. I really enjoyed this site and will definitely use it again.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

thing 20

I found this on youtube and thought it was a good reminder for teachers to never give up!

Thing 19

Visit TeacherPop

• Are you a member of any online communities? Yes facebook and myspace...but I only use facebook
  
• Are any of these social networks appealing to you? Teacher pop looks like a good source of information for my future as a teacher. I joined today.
  
• What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later? I will definitely check out teacher pop in more detail after my membership has been confirmed.
  

Thing 18

my facebook

Educators should know about social networking sites for two main reasons. One would be to stay in the technology loop. Second would be because it is a free service that you can benefit from by adding colleagues to your friend list. You can then work as a group and keep up to date with everything. I did not really learn anything new from these sites. I have had them both over the years. I have decided that I like facebook more than myspace. The main reason I switched to facebook was because on myspace, people had music playing on their profiles and it slowed my computer way down. Now I just prefer facebook and do not want to go back. The school application would be to connect all members of the faculty in a group and then you can send out one message and the whole group could see it, reply to it, and share ideas.

thing 17

delicious is a really neat idea. I have always hated using my bookmark tool bar because it get crowded and confusing. This site allows you to see your bookmarks from anywhere. That is really handy. I think it will be a good resource for the future. I will be able to keep up with beneficial websites and also share valuable information with my colleagues.

thing 16

• Which start page did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page? igoogle..I already had a google account. It was fun to add a countdown till my vacation and also a hangman game. I did make it my homepage.
  

• How can the online calendars be useful to you? They can keep you informed about upcoming due dates and birthdays. I prefer to just use a paper calendar. If I had a laptop and could take it anywhere, I may be more into the online calendar
  
  
• What about the to-do lists—helpful, too much work…? I love to do lists but it is just easier for me to make them on paper. My favorite part of to do lists is marking things off!
  
  
• Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the school or at home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others? I would recommend igoogle home page because it has a lot of ways to customize it to suit your interests.
  

thing #15

I learned that there are good uses for wikis. You can use them to brainstorm ideas but you must remember that ANYONE can put their two cents into the mix,whether or not they really know what they are talking about. I tried to add information to the 23 things sandbox but was unsuccessful. I created an account and went in to edit but was never allowed to post anything. I became frustrated and just quit!

Thing #14

I chose gliffy for flowcharts. Truthfully, I chose this because of the name. I thought it was silly. Overall, the program was easy to use and I will find some uses for it in my career as an educator.

I chose Bubbl.us for the mind charts because it had bright colors and looked more user friendly. It was easy to use but I am not sure that I will have many uses for it.

Thing #13

I found the Zoho writing documents to be very useful. I liked the idea that you do not have to worry about program version clashes. Also, the fact that you can save it on the internet instead of having to track down a thumb drive or email account. It was simple to use and resembled microsoft word.