Thing #23 - A Huge Thing Thank You!!!!

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I loved the pictures and the mashups, of course I loved the podcasts, web awards ... you know I loved it all!!!

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

This program is outstanding!!! I have always enjoyed technology and have worked to implement it with my students. My knowledge has been enhanced and the opportunity to be exposed to and think through new web tools has been outstanding!!!

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Thinking through ways to implement new strategies with new technology!!! Awesome

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

No, I loved it!!!

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?

I'm ready now!!!

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (you said one word, infinite exclamation points)

This has been an outstanding use of my time!!! I thank all that have had any part of putting it together!!! This is how inservice should be conducted!!! Go SBISD!!! Thank you!!!

Thing #22 - Ning Thing

I'm very impressed with the idea of creating your own entire social network. I love the development of the web from web pages to social networks, I bet if we can think of the next level of its evolution we will be rich.... I was very impressed with the with all of the features that Ning allows you to include in your network, blogs, photos, sign in, groups, videos and more. The features will allow a teacher to construct a network for their class that can grow as the students use it. Starting small and growing to the size of the FohBoh Restaurant Network. Having a positive relationship with students is a key to their success and Ning has given teachers a method for helping establish positive communication.

Thing #21 - Podcasts

I have been podcasting for quite sometime. Amazingly all of my podcasts are not online at this time, so I linked one of my early ones. Please don't be too critical it was one of my first.

SWHS MM Pod 1

Thing #20 - Tubers Aren't Just Potatoes

Thing #19 - There Went the Rest of Summer : )

G.ho.st??? I love moments like this..... a totally new concep....  but now I have to get my head around it. When has that happened to you? I think that the idea of a virtual desktop is really neat, I just don't see why I would use one. 

Sooooo many awesome tools!!! AAAAAAHHHH!!! I love Backpack!!!! Curriculum team coordination at its best!!! This is going to be so helpful next year!!! I thought that it was free..well I'm sure that there is a free version available....

I just want everyone to know that the rest of my summer is now booked going through all of the links on the Web 2.0 awards.....  : )

Thing #18 - Google Your Office

Open Office and Google Docs each have their place in your technological environment. Open Office is an excellent and free download. It is not as "slick" as Microsoft Office, but it has the functionality that you need. It is also a great way to support what the Internet use to be, a less commercial web, by having Open Office. Google Docs is great!!! As I mentioned earlier in the blog I have worked on a paper with my 82 year old mom in Illinois using Docs. I love the fact that you can share your documents with others. The only drawback of Docs is that it is an online tool and if the Internet is down you can't work on your document....unless you have Open Office  : )

Thing #17 - Bruce Rocks!!! Mr. Rollyo!!!

Wow, everyone needs to watch Bruce's Rollyo Video! There are two things that impressed me about the video. The first is my total understanding of Rollyo after watching it, the second is that it is such a professionally made video!!! Go Bruce Go!!!

Thing #16 - Edit Write Save Link - Cool!!!

I think that coordinating a curricular team has just been made easier!!! I would love to see each team at a school have their own wiki for creating tests, quizzes, collecting resources and running team meetings!!! Can you think of anything other ways that a team could use a Wiki?

Thing #15 - Icebergs or Ice Water?

"it can be equally disastrous when a profession fails to acknowledge and adapt to radical, fundamental change in the marketplace it serves." Our marketplace has radically changed and we need to make the change too. Our customers are needing our "core principles" in methods that can understand.

Icebergs cause us to crash and Ice water is cool and soothing, which will help us with our students?

Thing #14 - What's News to You???

The Human Experience - what do the humans think is news : )

Do you all think that this was an eye-opening moment from the YouTube video? Think about our students, what do they believe is "real news" Lohan or the war? I think that tools like Technorati give us a chance to see what the world is thinking and adjust our game plan to help educate our students about what is really important!!!! I think that this is just another great example of helping us to learn the mindset of children that have always know the Internet. Is it only me???

Thing #13 - Tag - You're It

One of the issues that I have struggled with is organizing my bookmarks. I have hundreds of bookmarks that are listed chronologically, but this makes it very difficult to find common threads. What a relief when I was introduced to delicious!!! I'm not sure that this suggestion is new, but I would love to have a my class research how to solve equations and tag as many different sites as possible. This process would be a great resource for students finding different ways to solve a problem that is assigned in class. I also think that this will help to organize and save the wonderful birdwalking, rabbit chasing trails that we blaze. Thank you to the wonderful people that posted on my last Thing, I learned some new terminology. Awesome!!! 

Thing #12 - What I Think I Write....

Two of my favorite points are be polite and (I'm going to pull several together) be interactive.

Being polite enhances the entire Internet community, I feel that it also will get you more traction with the initial blogger than flaming them. Intelligent discussion will always prevail over ranting and raving. 

Being interactive (Asking questions, responding when people comment, being open ended) helps bring more people into the discussion. These tips really helped me to think more about new techniques to use when blogging. : ) What do you think?  : )

After posting on the five players on our team I went searching for two others. I found a really awesome poem on the split finger fastball and the knuckle ball. I also found a great blog from the Highline Community College Library that had a great deal of Astronomy information for August. It was really cool finding this information when I was actually looking for something different. : ) Has that ever happened to you???

Thing #11 - Warped Library

I'm in the process of reading a book called "Warped Passages Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions" and it was so cool to find 7 groups reading the same book. I also enjoyed searching for some math related books. I think this would be a good exercise for my students to find that there are math books "out there" that are not "mathy". I would help to break down the poor attitudes that some students have about this subject.

Thing #10 - Eye Get It!

Fun with Image Generators!!!

Thing #9 - Lost and Found

Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use?

It is easiest for me to "Google", I use Google so much that I have grown very comfortable with that type of search.

Which Search tool was the easiest for you?
I really liked Google and Topix. They seemed very user friendly, simply formatted, and clear.

Which was more confusing?
Syndic8 was by far the most confusing to me. I believe that it was simply a layout problem. The information was good but the layout did not flow very well for me.

What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels? Or what kind of unusual ones did you find?
Best librarian / library blog
A Library By Any Other Name, Vaughn Branom (Blogger)

This is the most exciting find during this lesson!!! Way to go Vaughn!!!

What other tools or ways did you find to locate newsfeeds?

The Heart of a Teacher is a blog by my mentor and Mother. She is a retired teacher and one of the most inspirational people that I know. I have learned so much from her about being an educator that I wanted her to share her wisdom. She is very new to blogging, but I look forward to being moved by her experience, stories, and advice. Thank you!!!!!

Thing #8 - Read Read Reader

All the information in one place and more. I do have one problem with Reader, there is not enough space on the home page for all of the feeds that I want to read!!! Reader can be used in the classroom by having students blog what they have learned set it up as an RSS feed then have each student (and the teacher) pull that information to their Reader. Fun Fun Fun!!!

Thing #7 - Ga Ga Over Google

Google Calendar - I love it. The coolest things that I found in Google Calendar is that you can "drain" all of the information off of it into iCal. iCal is the calendar that I use on my Mac. Now I can create a school calendar and when I get home all of that info is on my home calendar. I also found out how to include the calendar in a blog. I didn't include it here, but I do know how.

Google Document - Bottom line. My Mom and I worked on a document together and she lives 1,000 miles away. Wow!!!

Thing #6 - Mashups = Motivation

Student Motivation

It will be very exciting to use the trading card maker for student motivation. When a student does well on a test or quiz it is now possible to make a card for them. The card can be taken home collected, even traded with other students. I don't even have to use their picture, maybe a gold star or some other symbol that represents excellence!!!

Teacher Motivation

The motivator gives you the opportunity to motivate students as well as teachers. We all know that we can all use a pat on the back every so often.....

Thing #5 - Flickr

This is a really cool photo! I found it on Flickr and would love to use it in my math class! Check it out, soccer ( kids love it) and the net makes the coordinate plane!!! Wow!!!

Thing #2 7.5 Habits

This was a very interesting "Thing". I have preached all of the 7.5 habits but have not taken the time to look at them as they relate to me. The habit that I do the best is number three - View problems as challenges. I actually look forward to the problems that arise in situations so that I can try and find the solutions. I have come to the realization that problem solving is the key to a successful teaching career. I'm not very good at creating a toolbox. I use all of the resources that I have access to, but I do not always have them right at my disposal. Great Activity!!! 

Breaking Down Traditional Walls

What a great opportunity for educators!!! Pushing us to embrace technology that our students have always known. Many years ago I came up with the saying "Breaking down traditional walls and replacing them with infinite planes." as a way to visualize our goal as a Technology Applications Department. We have now adopted the saying in our Math Department. I think that it is a wonderful way to see the new face of education.