One Last Thing

There is so much technology that I was not aware of.  I have learned so much by taking this class. At times I was very frustrated and overwhelmed by the many Things I had to do. However, I have learned so much and I am proud of myself for finishing this course.  I have gained so many new tools to help make me a better teacher and use more technology in my classroom.  I will encourage my students to use more of the technology resources that have been provided for us. I can't believe that I actually made a blog, embedded videos, and pictures in it.  This class allowed me to expand my mind when it comes to technology.  There are several Things that I enjoyed more than others and I can incorporate in my classroom to enrich the curriculum.

Thing 23

There are other social networking sites other than Facebook and My Space.  I do not have a Facebook or a My Space account, however, I am thinking about joining Classroom 2.0.   I like Classroom 2.0 because it is a site for educators to share ideas and resources.  Classroom 2.0 allows teachers to read comments and ask questions.  Teachers  can network and discuss topics, ask questions, and share ideas. 
One site I really enjoyed was the English Companion.  This site was a place were English teachers can help each other by asking questions, getting help with teaching various concepts.
http://englishcompanion.ning.com/?xg_source=ningcom 

Thing 22

Social Networking allows people to connect, reconnect, form relationships, and share interest and ideas on line.  Many people use My Space and Facebook  to social network.  Both newtworks seem to have their pros and cons. With My space you can keep in touch with your friends through email, blogs, forums, and bulletins, and you can add music to your page. The cons to using My Space is that anyone can contact you. I am not sure this is safe for teenagers that create My Space pages.  I think it is important that educators know about social networks because our students use this to communicate.

Facebook is a great way to keep up with friends, upload photos, and meet new people. 
I do not have a Facebook or a My Space account.  I have no interest in Social Networking at this level.  I took this class so I can learn more about using the computer and I am not so sure this is one avenue that I am ready to fully explore. 
I did create a Facebook page using an alias. I was able to find some of my family's member's page. I requested to be their friend, however, I doubt if they will add me to their page since I used the name Thomas Cook.  


http://www.facebook.com/gettingstarted.php?step=contact_importer#!/profile.php?id=100001359269085

Thing 18

I love using Teacher Tube and You Tube.  Of course like most things on the internet, I have to sort through different sites to get what I want.  There are videos, speeches, clips and raps  for just about any topic.  The students love it also.  This gives teachers another tool to help their students learn various concepts.  My wife went searching for a concept to help her students better understand a Science concept. The kids loved it and always wanted her to play it before they left class. She used it as her closure for the lesson and a a grabber for the lesson the next day.  Using Teacher Tube and You Tube is another way to meet the needs of those students that my be visual and auditory learners.
There is a negative side to using Teacher Tube and You Tube in that students need to understand that not everything that is put on their is going to be error free. They need to do their own research on different topics before settling on a particular site. One video I discovered that I thought would be great for my students is a speech form the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Thing 21

I had fun playing around in Google. It has so much more than I was previously aware of.  I set up 2 Google Alerts. One alert is from TEA so I will know the new information about various changes that may occur. The other alert I set up was about diabetes since it runs in extended family.  My only concern with Google Alerts is that it will overwhelm my account with alerts.
I looked into the  Picasa Web Albums and it seems like it was easy to use. I can see my wife using it for her many digital photos. Google calendar can be used to keep me more organized. The problem would be finding the time to put all the information on the calendar. Google Earth has some interesting 3D pictures that would be good for Science Students.I never realized that their was so much to Google. There is a lot the teachers and students can use for extended learning.

Thing 20

I am not sure if I have gotten a good grasp on the concept of Google docs. My wife showed me how her school uses it to keep a record of student discipline. The teacher logs on and puts in various information on a student like parent contact, out of dress code, detentions, etc. It seems like a great tool to use but I am not so sure if I am comfortable with creating  Google docs. I see how they can be used for spreadsheets, inventories like a book list. One good thing that I saw was that once I put something on Google docs, I can access it from any computer. There seem to be many features of this program that I will explore later. I would like to using the Instant forms to create a survey or poll for my students. I can have them to create and Instant form and they can compare their findings.  

Thing 7 b

I came across and article that I found has some interesting and encouraging information. It was titled Negativity: 3 Home Truths You Need to Hear.
The article stresses that we need to let negativity go and to not focus on the why-did-this-have-to-happen-to-me type questions, move forward to solve the problem by asking the right questions, and hopefully we will learn something positive from the negative. The 3 truths that we need to hear is that other people don't live perfect lives, life isn’t always a smooth ride, and those who take risks get rewarded.
People need to get out of your comfort zone and take a chance.
http://www.dietriffic.com/2010/12/09/negativity/