Thing # 5 Facebook and Twitter

Facebook is such a great way to waste time and socialize with your friends. I go on Facebook so many times during the day which I don't think is a good thing. I always thought of Facebook as a way to communicate and share with friends. I never really thought about it as a way to help education. I did attend a workshop last summer where every teacher was encouraged to sign up for a Facebook account if they had not done so already. We started a group and were encouraged to use Facebook as a way to communicate with other teachers. Share ideas or videos. It seemed like a great idea at the time but as the year went on, I'm not sure anyone had the time. I did enjoy reading the blog 2 cents worth about the girl who started her own group in Facebook for the liberal arts college she wanted to attend to. What a great way to talk with others who will tell you the truth about what the college is really like.
I have never been a fan of Twitter. I think it's because I associate Twitter with celebrities. I just never understood why people tweet. How is it any different from posting your status on Facebook? I did enjoy reading how teachers can use Twitter for the classroom. I think it would be great place to share your thoughts or ideas. Even though Twitter has some good things to offer, I just don't see myself using it that much.

I do like back channeling especially Today's Meet. I know the kids would love using it. I think that was be a great tool to use in the classroom. In third grade in my district, the students have to learn how to type. By the end of the year, the kids get kinda tired of doing the lessons. I think Today's Meet would be a great way for the kids to practice their typing. The students can type their thoughts about a read aloud or lesson we have done. I know the kids would get excited.

Thing # 4 Youtube

Aww... Youtube. What would people to do if there wasn't Youtube? I have never really visited Youtube that often unless people have told me to look up something. It's funny that thing # 4 is about Youtube because my friends and I just uploaded a video on Youtube just this Monday. Now, I didn't upload it myself because my friend already had an account but I was right there while she did it. Does that count? :) Now, in my earlier post, I told you my friend Lindsey is battling cancer. She has been told that she has about a year to live. (We are all thinking positive. Lindsey is a fighter) Many of us were angry and fustrated when we heard the news. Lindsey had a great idea of breaking plates to let go of our fustration. So we all wrote positive words on the plates before we slammed them on the ground. We decided to upload our video on Youtube because we thought we might be able to help someone else with cancer. Here is our video below. ( it's black for a minute or so but then it's fine. )



I think Youtube would be a great learning tool for new teachers. Sometimes it's hard to explain to new teachers how to do things but if they could see a video of it, then they are more likely to do a good job. I have visited Teachertube this past semester and found some good things. I was able to find a good power point on poetry that came in handy. The main thing teachers need to think about before posting a video with students on Youtube or Teachertube is to make sure you have permission from the parents.

Thing # 3- Skype

I have always associated Skype with connecting with relatives who are out of town. I think Skype is a great technology tool. You see it everywhere now from Oprah,news, etc. I see people on t.v. using Skype although I don't know anyone personally who uses Skype. I really enjoyed the website that had 50 awways to use esome skype in the classroom. There were some interesting ways to incorporate Skype. When I was looking at all the different ways, it made me think about my school. This year we had 5th graders who were pen pals with other students in another country. It made me think that if they were using Skype, they could really get an idea of what that contry was like instead of waiting for a letter to arrive. I know the kids had lots of questions. I do think it would be hard to find schools or teachers who were using Skype as well to link up with. I think the biggest challenge, is for teachers just to be open to using Skype. There are some old school teachers out there and when we got the Active Boards in our classrooms... well... it took them awhile to adjust.

Thing # 2

I have always love image generators. I love how I can spend all day creating different things. You don't realize how much time goes by. I first decided to explore Wordle again. I really like how you can change the font and colors. I think the kids would have a great time using Wordle. In my class, I would have my students use the wordle after they have completed a project. They can use the Wordle to present their information to the class. I made my Wordle from an email I sent my friend. She's been told she has cancer that is terminal. I am amazed by her strength and positive attitude.
I decided to play with Glogster this time around. I have tried to explore it before in the past although I didn't spend a lot of time on it and just didn't want to take the time. I've seen many people's glogs and loved them. It took me awhile to figure things out. I still need to play around with the sound and video but was proud of what I made. I decided to do a Anne of Green Gables glog. I think Glogster would be a great tool for students to use when they are done with book clubs. I could asses their glog to determine if they comprehended the story or get their interpretation of the book.

I have seen Voki in the past. My librarian has used it in various lessons at my school. The kids love it and get so excited when they can do their own on the computers. I think Voki would be cool to do school rules with in the beginning of the year. What a change it would be for the kids to use Voki instead of listening to the teacher talk all the time.

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Ok. Now on to Bookr. I heard about Bookr last year. I tried making one although I lost interest but decided to look at it a different way this time. After making my own bookr, I think students would love making their own. I'll be teaching fourth grade next year so I made my book about writing. I think students would love to make one of their own for science or social studies. Last year my students researched an inventor and made a poster about them. I know they would have loved working with bookr to present their information. I think if you incorporate technology into a project, the students will love it and won't complain.


Wow. I think that has been my longest post. I hope you enjoyed my post! :)

11.5 More Things- Thing # 1

Why hello again. Can I just say "yay for summer!" It's nice to relax and not worry about work.

So I am ready for round two. I enjoyed doing 23 Things last semester which is why I was so happy to know there were more things to explore. During this summer, I will continue to post my findings. I hope you enjoy my posts. :)