Thing 16.5: Evaluation

Well, I'm at the end of the "16 Things" journey.  Here are my final thoughts:

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I definitely loved discovering new web 2.0 tools, especially from reading others' blogs.  I am happy that I signed up for Twitter as I can finally see its value.  And I am excited about PhotoPeach, a new and EASY way for me to create videos. 

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
Following the instructions in Dr. Wilson's 16 Things definitely introduced me to more ways that I can use technology and the Internet in my classroom, as teaching tools and as ways for students to create and discover on their own.  More than that, though, creating this blog has inspired me to continue with blogging because I better understand how communicating with others about technology and its many uses is the only way that we teachers are ever going to keep up with what's out there.  Technology keeps changing, and if we don't continue to share what we know and learn about new tools and ways to use them in our classrooms, we're going to fall behind. 

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I am thoroughly surprised that I enjoy Tweeting.  I mean that with no irony whatsoever. 

4. What could I do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Overall, I enjoyed every step of the way, but I was sometimes confused or frustrated when a few of the links didn't work.  I would spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, when I wasn't, in fact, doing anything wrong.  Also, I'm a "clear set of instructions" kind-of-girl.  For example, these questions, numbered and listed so that I can clearly see what I need to respond to, works for me.  Some of the "discovery exercises" were confusing to me as I wasn't sure which activities exactly I needed to do, and to blog about- and I wasn't sure if I'd completed all the components for each "Thing."  In the end, though, I LOVE blogging, and I've already started a blog to share with my 6th grade team.  I'm going to be blogging about various web 2.0 tools that I've tried with my kids- how they work, if they're worth it, other ways that they could be used in other subject areas.  I'm excited to share my knowledge with others, and I love that blogging gives me a means to do so! 

Thing 16: PhotoPeach
This is the video I made on PhotoPeach of my trip to Napa and Sonoma with Jonathan, my husband (boyfriend at the time). I LOVE PhotoPeach. I wish I'd discovered this site before now. I will definitely use PhotoPeach to make some "tease" videos to show at the beginning of my book study units. In terms of my students using this web 2.0 tool, I could see my 8th graders using it to create a photojournal of the photos they take on their trip to Washington and Williamsburg in the spring. As I blogged in a previous post, each student is assigned a theme or topic of sorts, such as "justice" or "peace" or "independence"-and they have to take photos that reflect these ideas in some way. In the past, they've just stuck their photos on a piece of posterboard. Now they have another option for presenting their work: PhotoPeach. Love it.

Thing 15.5 Twitter

I don't know how I feel about Twitter.  I guess I never gave it a shot before now because I just thought it was for self-promoting, ego-maniacal celebrities (e.g., Rihanna and Chris Brown) who like to have petty Twitter battles back-and-forth.  I'm interested in its educational potential, however.  I don't think, realistically, I will every really use Twitter in my classroom or with my students, simply because my school discourages social media communication with students and their parents for privacy and safety reasons.  I can't "friend" them on Facebook, so I'm pretty sure tweeting them is out too.  That said, hypothetically speaking, if I ever could use Twitter within my school community, I would probably tweet my students reminders about upcoming quizzes and tests.  I'd also tweet with my students' tutors.  Many of my students seek outside tutoring, and rather than email back and forth with a bunch of tutors, I could tweet them messages about the homework I've assigned, information on quizzes and tests, etc.  I definitely see Twitter's potential in terms of my own growth as a teacher.  I love checking out educational tips and articles tweeted by people I follow.  And I now have a quick and easy way to share articles that I find interesting as well! 

As for LinkedIn, I've joined.  My husband calls it "Facebook for professionals."  I guess I'm still trying to figure out how it benefits someone, if that person isn't looking to hire someone, or isn't actually looking to get a new job.  I'm doing neither, but it was good to sign up and finally see what it's all about. 

Thing 15: Things Like Skype

As I'm not someone who even enjoys talking on the phone, I'm probably not the best person to discuss the benefits of Skyping.  I'd much rather just text or email, but I suppose there are those people (Mom, best friend, sister) who'd much rather hear my voice than read my texts.  So, I use Skype for that.  Tonight I Skyped with my mom.  She was able to show me the new lamp that she bought for my new house (yay!), so that was fun.  My best friend has also decided to accept a job in Afghanistan (!!!!!!!!), so I'll be Skyping with her.  I also Skyped with Lesley Ayers.  We discussed some work for our courses, and she was able to help me figure out how to schedule when my blog posts would be posted, as my "Things" have been out of order. 

As for how Skype might be used in my classroom-again, unfortunately it comes down to the issue of how I communicate with my students.  As I've mentioned before, for security and safety my school discourages communication with students through social media sites, and I think Skype might be off-limits too.  In "50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom" I read about the idea of using Skype to communicate with authors of books that students read, and I LOVE that idea.  I wonder if my librarian can help coordinate that and make it happen.  I also like that Skype allows "conference" or group chats.  I could encourage my students to set up a group call so that they could easily communicate about projects that they're doing together.  Ideally, I'd love to set up a group video call to groups of students to offer them tutorials before tests. 

Thing 14: Podcasting and Bookmarking

Well, here's something I can get behind: Gov. Rick Perry's collaboration with Texas Education Agency to create Texas Education on iTunes U.  I love that iTunes U provides free resources for the classroom.  I looked around at the content available on the Texas iTunes U channel- and, while I think it's great for other subject areas, I didn't see much that I could use in my 6th grade or 8th grade English courses.  One video, however, stood out.  It's a McAuliffe MS E-Tutorial video on the literary element "plot."  I make a big production of teaching "plot" by doing an interactive lesson, comparing this literary element to a ride on a roller coaster.  My kids love it- but come test time, they don't always remember how the "rising action" is different from the "falling action," or the definition of "exposition."  I could use this video in different ways.  Since I already enjoy what I'm currently doing to teach "plot," I don't think I'd show this video in class.  But I could use it as part of a "flipped lesson"; my students could watch it at home, and we could talk about the different aspects of plot the next day in class.  I could also make it available to my students as a study tool, a video that they could watch to help them prepare for a short story or novel unit test.  The video's not perfect-and there's a loud cough about half-way through- but it gets the job done: It helps students visualize "plot" while giving explanations of the events in a story or novel. 

In terms of Bookmarking, I'm a huge, huge, huge fan of Pinterest.  I pin all the time- while sitting on the couch, watching TV...on my phone, as I'm standing in line at Starbucks.  When I was engaged, I pinned ideas for my wedding.  Now, I'm pinning home design ideas.  But I've also started pinning educational ideas, and I follow some teachers who have fantastic ideas about writing, literature, classroom organization, and the use of technology in the classroom.  Here are some of my educational boards: The Classroom, The Classroom: Grammar, The Classroom: 6th Grade Literature, The Classroom: 8th Grade Literature, The Classroom: Writing, and Teaching with Technology.  I'm not the most organized of people, so Bookmarking works great for me.  I love being able to click on one of my Pinterest boards and viola!- there are all my favorite ideas for me to see. 

Here are a few more thoughts on Pinterest: In the interest of copyright laws and ethics in general, with the exception of most of the educational pins (because they usually link back to the original poster), I try not to pin anything without giving credit to the source.  This is true of everything from photographs, interior design, wedding cakes, and wedding dresses.  I will go out of my way to search for the original source/creator and add that information, and I hope my fellow pinners do the same.  Another observation: I have been disappointed in  a few of my fellow teachers' unwillingness to give Pinterst a shot for its educational value/potential.  For example, I was recently excitedly talking about my educational boards with a fellow teacher, and her dismissive response was, "Pinterest?  Isn't that just for pinning home design and wedding dresses?"  And she followed that comment with, "You really shouldn't be signed onto Pinterest at work."  The implication was that when I was on my educational boards (and no, I do not pin images of curtains and paint colors between the hours of 8:00 and 3:30!), I wasn't doing my job.  I sent her the links to my educational boards, and she didn't respond, which made my kind of sad.  I have definitely improved my curricula and expanded my knowledge of instructional technology through the use of Pinterest.  People, don't knock it 'til you try it! 

Thing 12 & 13: Discovering and Using YouTube

You do know that J. Peterman is not just a character on Seinfeld, right?  I've been a huge fan of the J. Peterman Company for years.  Growing up, I'd search the mail for the catalogue-and while I never actually ordered anything, I spent hours reading the descriptions of every article of clothing featured in its pages.  To date, I've ordered only one thing from J. Peterman- a sweater for my husband.  But I still love reading the romantic little vignettes on each page.  But I digress.  How does J. Peterman relate to my classroom?  I go on Youtube often- for fun and also to find videos that I can use as teaching tools.  Well, I recently discovered a great YouTube video on how to use the J. Peterman catalogue to help students practice strengthening voice in their writing.  Brilliant!  I love this idea- and I'll definitely be checking out Dena's website: http://www.denaharrison.com/.

 

Here's some "food for thought"- a page from the J. Peterman Catalogue.

I've also created a few videos to use in my classroom.   I created the below video in MovieMaker to show parents at Open House.  It's a little preview of what the 6th graders will experience in my English Workshop course this year.  I enjoyed making it- and I hope that other teachers who find it on YouTube will be inspired by it as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thing 11: Web 2.0 Tools

When I went to the link for the Web 2.0 Awards, I couldn't actually see the list of awards.  Browsing around on other people's blogs, though, I found Popplet.  I could definitely see a use for this Web 2.0 tool in my classroom.  I just wrapped up a Nonfiction Reading Strategies unit with my 6th graders.  One thing we covered was the use of graphic organizers.  My students practiced using webs to organize their ideas- and Popplet would have been great for them to use to make their webs.  My students are also doing group presentations in which each group must present the main ideas of a particular section of a nonfiction book.  I showed them Prezi, and I gave them the option of using Prezi or PowerPoint for the visual component of the project.  Wish I'd known about Popplet!  Next year, I'll include it as a presentation tool option. 

I also checked out Go Animate.  This is a fun site, but it might be stretching it to find educational uses for my classroom.  My students might be able to create videos to use, but I do think that this site has more entertainment value than it does academic value.  I signed up for a free account, and was able to create a little animation.  It appears that I can't save her without actually purchasing "GoBucks"-and I am not going to do that, nor would I want my students to do that.  Here's my Go Animate girl.  What should I name her?

I enjoyed checking out StoryJumper, and I definitely see how I could use it in my 6th grade class.  My students write short stories throughout the year, and this would be a great tool to bring those stories to life.  I also like what the website had to say about the Classroom Edition. The Classroom Edition is designed to...

• give teachers an interface to manage and review students' work.
• enable kids to share stories between the classroom and home.
• maintain strict privacy controls over student information.
• enable educational discounts when ordering books.

In particular, I love that StoryJumper makes it easy for kids to share their work with their parents, and I believe that my students would be proud of the work they'd created through StoryJumper and would be excited to share their work with others.   I like the stories can be shared online or printed as hard copies. I know the parents of my students would love to order their children's stories as books.

I can also envision my students using StoryJumper as a collaborative tool.  My 6th grade students "buddy up" with the kindergartners at my school.  We do fun projects with them- but so far, none have been educational.  I recently sat on an airplane with a woman who described a similar buddy/mentoring system at the school at which she teaches.  She described older students collaborating with younger kids to write a simple story to help teach the younger students literary elements like plot, characterization, conflict, setting, to name a few.  I've been wanting to try this story activity with my students and their buddies for awhile, and now StoryJumper has made me more eager to give it a go.

 I'm also pleased to read about the privacy controls.  As my school gears up to become a 1:1 laptop community, and as we continue to integrate technology at a rapid rate, we are also stringent about students' safety and privacy online. 

Finally, though StoryJumper is clearly geared towards student-use, I could see ways that I could use it to teach.  I'm always looking for new ways to present information to my students.  I use PowerPoint, but I also use Prezi quite a bit too.  I could see myself using StoryJumper to create not necessarily a story- but a book of notes on a particular unit.  With interesting graphics, my students would be more inclined to pay attention to my presentation. 

Thing 10: Online Productivity Tools

I discovered Google Docs last year and have just started to use it more frequently this year, but I'm happy to discover Zoho Writer.  These tools are especially helpful to me because I don't have Microsoft Word on my home computer.  I have it on my school laptop, so of course I can use that to create word documents, but it's nice to know that I can use Zoho Writer any time, any place.  I tried to embed the link to the document I created, but something went awry.  In any case, I am pleased to have another tool, like Google Docs, that I can access anywhere and that also allows me to "share" and "add collaborators."  For planning purposes (like planning an upcoming trip to Fredricksburg with friends) Zoho Writer will definitely come in handy! 

Thing 9: Play with Wiki's

I've started to figure out how wiki's work, and the intimidation factor is decreasing.  I posted on the Technology Poppers Wiki about how I used easel.ly with my 8th graders the other day.  On a side note, this is a great wiki and particularly relevant/inspiring to me because I've been trying to integrate technology in my classroom for the last year--but I always get hung up on these loooooong projects that eat up so much time and make me feel as if I'm focusing too much on technology and sacrificing other important lessons/activities that aren't necessarily conducive to technology.  For example, last year my 6th grade students spent forever creating online storyboards with Little Bird Tales, and they were cute and all--but in years past, my students created amazing storyboards with good ol' fashioned paper and pens and enjoyed it--and the whole process took a fraction of the time.  My point being: I love discovering quick and easy ways to integrate technology into my classroom, and I will continue to return to the Technology Poppers Wiki to find out more ways to do so.  As for how I could use wiki's in my classroom--I think I could show them to my students as a way for them to communicate on group projects.  From what I gather, they're more of a communication tool, not necessarily something that a student or a group of students would submit for a grade or create as the finished product of a project.  As a communication tool, they're definitely better than email--but I'm still wondering how they are better than Google Docs.  Time/exploration will tell. 

Thing 8: Wiki's

Ok, here's where I get a little lost.  I was browsing around, trying to get some information on Wiki's, and according to one site I looked at, "wiki" means "quick" or "easy" in Hawaiian.  I'm not sure I agree.  I get the basic concept of a wiki--but I'm confused as to how it's different from something like Google Docs.  Or is that an example of a wiki?  I am definitely interested in the wiki's developed by libraries and also those focused on 21st Century Learning.  I think the concept of the "wiki" intimidates me, though I'm sure that's silly as I probably read them all the time without even realizing it. 

Thing 7: Image Generators

Ok, just the other day I discovered Tagxedo, which is like Wordle, but BETTER!  I prefer it because you have more choices in the shapes you create.  I've been brainstorming ways to use it in my classroom with my students--but I think I'm going to use it in Advisory.  I'm a 6th grade advisor, and I do character lessons with my students.  I'd love to create a Tagxedo "word cloud" on the Fruits of the Spirit, including Bible verses that illustrate these "fruits."  I went ahead and made a poster for my classroom using Tagxedo.  It's on "CUPS"--the acronym helps kids remember the important writing conventions of capitalization, usage (grammar), punctuation, and spelling.  I also made an image that I used to create a cover for my 2012-2013 school year calendar/lesson plan binder. 

I'm also really excited to discover Flipsnack.  I know my students would love this tool--and I am brainstorming ways to use it in my classroom.  I think that Flipsnack would work well for the photo project that my 8th graders do when they return from the 8th grade trip to Washington and Williamsburg in the spring.  Each student is assigned a term or a trait (like "bravery" or "justice" or "sacrifice"), and they take pictures that illustrate these concepts and journal about them.  In the past, they've brought in some gorgeous photographs--taped to a posterboard.  Flipsnack is going to change all that!  Also, like Tagxedo, and so many other web 2.0 resources, it's free, which is great for my students and for me!

Thing 6: RSS and Newsreaders

I was never really sure what an RSS feed was until now.  I surf around and explore blogs all the time, and in the past I "subscribed" to some of them.  I say "subscribed" because I'm not sure what I did exactly; I just know that my inbox was filling up with tons and tons of blog posts, and I couldn't possibly read all of them, and it took all the fun out of perusing my favorite blog, and I ultimately just "unfollowed" them all.  Long story short--I've been afraid to "follow" anything for awhile now, and I've avoided that little orange button.  Instead, to keep track of my favorite blogs (and there are MANY), I created bookmark folders, where I saved a list of the web address of my favorites.  It works just fine.  But today I created a Bloglines account. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I think I might like this.  I subscribed to the feeds of various blogs, including some education ones like Dangerously Irrelevant, which I discovered as I was reading Nathan's blog.  It looks intriguing.  Going back to the Bloglines concept, though, I'm not sure sure that I won't just start adding interesting feeds right and left, which kind of defeats the point, right?  The whole point is to make exploring the Internet more streamlined, more convenient. If I go RSS feed crazy, I'll feel overwhelmed by all the posts.  I might just stick to saving the addresses of my favorite blogs in my "favorites" folder or bookmarking them in the folders I've created.  They're neat and tidy and organized there. 

Thing 5: Flickr Mashup

I had fun playing around with Jigsawed, an app for the iPad or iPhone that allows you to create and do puzzles from pictures you choose.  I used a photo from Flickr to create my puzzle.  I searched for images of "Texas" and found a great one of a horse in a field of bluebonnets.  I had no idea that mashups like this existed.  This one lets you explore great images, have fun, and be creative.  Jigsawed is one of those tools that could suck me in for hours. 

Thing 4: Flickr

I've browsed Flickr before, but I was never tempted to sign up for an account.  I'm glad that I did because I now see how using Flickr makes it so convenient to share photos with friends and family!  People have been asking to see my honeymoon photos, and now I can share them by sending them the link to the album I created.  So far I've added just a few photos, but they're some of my favorites of my husband and my journey throughout Ireland and to London in June 2012.  The photo I linked to the blog is of my husband, Jonathan, at the Cliffs of Moher.  The Cliffs are a "must see" if you are in Ireland! 

Jonathan at the Cliffs of Moher

photo (10), a photo by Kjetertx on Flickr.

Thing 3: Photos and Images

Here is a photo of my niece Allie with her parents at her Baptism.  This photo is quite old as little Allie is already almost two and half.  I thought I'd post this picture because a)I always seem to post photos of me or my husband or my husband and me--and I thought I'd give someone else the "spotlight"; and b) because it's such a happy picture of my husband's brother and his wife, both of whom simply ADORE their daughter.  They should start a blog because-no exaggeration-every day my email inbox fills up with about ten different photos of Allie: "This is Allie on her first day of school!"  "This is Allie trying on her new shoes!"  "This is Allie eating a banana!"  So, this is beautiful Allie on the beautiful day she was baptized in an old, white clapboard church in Brenham, Texas. 

Thing 1: Lifelong Learning

I was not able to watch the online tutorial on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective people as the link did not work, but the summary of these habits was enlightening.  The easiest of these habits for me is being Proactive.  If I foresee a problem, I don't wait for other people to solve it.  If I see that change needs to occur, I move in the direction of that change.  The area where I struggle, however, is "putting first things first," which I interpret as prioritizing actions.  Though I consider myself proactive, I have a hard time balancing areas of my life, and even though I know it is important to take care of "a,b,c" before I get to "x,y,z," I'm not always good at making that happen.   

One of the reasons that I am in graduate school is because I believe in lifelong learning. I don't want to stagnate, and I think that there is always room to grow as an educator; moreover, to stay relevant, a person needs to continue to change with the times. I think it's helpful to look at myself through the lense of these 7 Habits and to apply them to my lifelong learning goals.  In terms of being proactive and "putting first things first," I think that while I should continue to explore- through research and through all that I have learned in my graduate program- where education is going, I should be careful not to get in over my head.  For example, sometimes I become so excited about/involved in researching new web 2.0 tools and planning how I can implement them in my curricula, that I put aside what I need to take care of first--the lesson plans, the grading, etc.  I need to make sure I can see the forest for the trees as I continue my path of lifelong learning in the area of instructional technology in the classroom. 

In my Learning Contract, I outline how I am going to continue to learn and improve my teaching by researching, using, and evaluating different web 2.0 tools; however, recognizing that I need to be careful not to get in over my head, I also spaced out my "tasks" so that I do not try to try out a new tool but every two weeks. 

Thing 2: Blogging

I have no experience blogging, though I follow many different design blogs.  Since I have plenty of experience reading blogs, I am familiar with the format, good design vs. bad design, and I also know how to comment on others' blogs.  Creating a blog, however, is another story, and I admit that it is rather intimidating.  I really wanted to find a fabulous background to apply to my blog, and while I've found a few, I haven't yet figured out how to apply one.  I am excited about this blog as it is somewhat of a protytpe for what I hope to do in the classroom and for fun.  I would like to blog about my experiences as a teacher, and I would also like for my students to be able to create their own blogs.  At some point, I would also like to create a "lifestyle" blog such as the ones that focus on interior and clothing design, food, travel, books, etc.