One last thing

• What were my favorite discoveries? I really liked the Blogs, Google Reader, Slideshow, and Delicious.
• How has this program affected your lifelong learning goals? This program has changed my mindset that I had to know exactly what and how to do it before I begin. Now I am more apt to explore and click and see what happens.  The fear factor is gone.
• Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised me? I was surprised at the overwhelming amount of resources and new technology available. This program gave me the confidence to talk about current technology with a group of women who were much younger than me.
• What could be done differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I like the flexibility of the schedule.  It would be helpful if the last week was a "catch up" week.
• If another discovery program like this was offered in the future, would I choose to participate? Yes.
• How will what I have learned influence my practice as a teacher?  I will continue to learn from contacts I have made, I will use the slide show I made and will make more for other lessons.  I will use the resources in my teaching.
• How do I plan to keep up with new developments in web 2.0? I plan on checking my Google Reader each week.  I need to contribute and comment more. I would like to pursue my connections with international teachers and allow my students to benefit from a world-wide classroom.
  

Thing #23 Classroom 2.0 and Twitter

I think I will benefit from Classroom 2.0.  I liked the following video sent in by Emily Dahm.  It was very thought provoking.  We need to compare this focus on 21st century learning with how we are currently teaching and preparing our students.  I look forward to collaborating with other kindergarten teachers in Classroom 2.0, sharing ideas and resources.  I like to know with whom I am sharing. I am still a little hesitant to share about myself and about my ideas or questions in sites like Classroom 2.0, Facebook, or Twitter.  Maybe that will change the more I use them.   Twitter and other social networking sites would be great to use for inter-school projects with schools around the world.  I have teacher friends in schools in Ethiopia, New Zealand, England, and Australia.  What an experience for my students to make friends and learn with students from these schools.

Thing #22 Social Networking

My profile is on Facebook.

1. Why is it important that educators know how social networking works?
We need to know how it works because our students and coworkers are using social networking and we need to prepare our students to use these tools and we need to be able to relate to them and our fellow educators.  We need to take advantage of the endless connections and resources that social networking provides professionally, educationally, and personally.

2. What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? 

I found Facebook to not be as scary as I thought it would be. Now I see why my daughter is on Facebook so much.  I didn't realize that it was more than a "glorified email site".  I was surprised to find facebook pages for sports, media, institutions, TV shows, etc. 

3. What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored?
Like:  I can search for friends that I haven't heard from in a long time.
Dislike: I am still not 100% comfortable about the security issues.  I am uncomfortable with the fact that when I connect to a facebook page, I felt like I was eavesdropping because I didn't know the person, only the institution.
I didn't like the ads.

4. Which site had the most useful features?  
I liked Facebook's "Discover Facebook Pages" feature.  I could find Facebook Pages for so many things, connecting me to related websites.

5.Can you see an educational application for any of these sites?
There is a wealth of research possibilities in using Facebook Pages.  Facebook provides teaching resources through connections with friends or other websites. 

Thing #7b

I learned about Quizlet from Rondoes' blog.  I can see how this site could be useful in the classroom and at home to help students with homework and studying for tests.

On elementaryeducationnews.com I read about a new website called www.mrsp.com.  It is a great site for students to have stories read to them. There are many stories to choose from. The site provides the option of having the words appear so early readers can read along.  I had difficulty getting that option to run.  But it is new resource for read alouds anyway.

Thing #21 Google Tools

Google Book Search helped me find a book that was mentioned in our district's math curriculum, but was not in  our local library.  In Google Book Search, I was able to look at the cover and a summary of the book as well as find places where the book is available.  I love to look at  books so I had fun searching for several titles.

Google Alerts is a simple but helpful tool.  I made an alert to get news of Ethiopia.  I still have friends and former coworkers who still live there and I like to keep updated on current events.

Thing #20 - Google Docs

I can think of several uses for Google Docs. Two ideas, I shared with misd23things@gmail.com.  One use was a reminder letter to parents regarding upcoming parent teacher conference. I could send this to team members for their input and then we could all use the letter with some modifications for each teacher.

The second idea was a presentation on adjectives. This too could be turned into a collaborative work, if other teachers have images or ideas to improve the presentation and then we could all use it in our teaching.

I think using Google Docs spreadsheet would be helpful in tracking activities done in reading acceleration with "pull out" teachers. One spreadsheet shared between us would help to keep information organized and available for all teachers involved.

Thing #19 Voicethread

I think this would be a great application to use with kindergartners or students who have not developed writing skills yet. I can see where I could incorporated Voicethread with Writer's Workshop. Early in the year the students have stories to tell through drawing pictures but they are not able to write out in words what they want to say. What a great way to share their stories as they develop their writing skills!

Students' thoughts and discoveries in the areas of science and social studies could be expressed orally as well as in pictures.