Thing # 21

I am completely impressed with Animoto!  I never thought I would be able to create a video!  On top of that, I decent-looking video!  I enjoyed working on this Thing, probably more than any of the other Things.  One thing I instantly thought of when using Animoto, was that a teacher could use this when making, for example, an end-of-year video of the class including all of the things they've done that year.  Although that is just one example, this can be used in the classroom in more than one way.  I definitely plan on using the Animoto site again in the future in both my personal life and my professional one as well.

Thing # 20

I chose this video for my blog because, as it says in the description of the video, it is a homage to Web 2.0.  It shows how the computer and internet have evolved over the years and it shows the different sites and applications people use with Web 2.0 tools. 

Personally, I love YouTube.  I am constantly on this site, however it is usually for my own entertainment rather than informational uses.  I could very much so see how this site could be useful in the classroom, since it has millions of videos that can be used in educational ways.  Although there are many videos on this site that are extremely un-useful in the classroom, if you know what you are doing, you are bound to find something that could help you out.

Thing # 18

I have had a Facebook page for quite some time now, and I am pretty sure I have a slight addicition.  It is so easy to navigate and search for friends, interests, games, and even educational pages such as Cool Cat Teacher.  When it comes to Twitter, however, I did not have an account until I started this course.  I did find it to be very interesting, though.  Not only can you search your own personal interests, but you can also search educational pages, such as TeachersNet and educationnation. 

It is important for educators to know how to work social networking sites because if they are used correctly, it is possible to find pages that can help aid you in the classroom such as the ones listed above. 

This Thing did not really help me gain any new insights on Facebook or Twitter, since I have had both accounts for quite some time now (Facebook much longer than Twitter).  I would say that I like Facebook more than I like Twitter, simply because I am more comfortable with the site since I have had it longer.  I also think that while Facebook allows you to search for educational pages, I personally think that Twitter provides more in this area.  The pages like the ones listed above provide many different ideas and strategies that can be applied in the classroom.

Thing # 17

Social bookmarking is a great way to stay up-to-date on information relative to what ever topic it is you are interested in.  The first time I was introduced the social bookmarking was when I signed up for Diigo at the beginning of this semester.  I had absolutely no idea what the term "social bookmarking" meant let alone how it can be used.

Now that I an educated on what social bookmarking is, I can now use it effectively and to my benefit.  There is an obvious connection between social bookmarking and the classroom--sharing amongst other teachers!  This is a fantastic way to share useful sites, projects, teaching methods, and much more between different.  A teacher who teaches in Tennessee could have a really great lesson on volcanoes and be able to share that idea/lesson with another teacher who teaches in Nebraska!  It's a great way to be able to have the best information and receive it quickly.

When I typed "educational technology" in the search bar on the Delicious site, literally thousands of links came up.  Then to the right of the screen I noticed that you can narrow your search to something more specific like "science" or "brainpop."  This allows you to find what you are looking for more quickly.  Overall, I think sites like this and Diigo  are great ways to stay connected and relevant to the teaching community.

Thing # 16

For my start page I chose iGoogle, simply because I am more familiar with Google than any of the other choices.  I also thought that iGoogle was a little easier to personalize than the other sites.  I actually did set this page as my home page on my computer!  I thought that it was more visually appealing than my previous home page, and thought it would be a good idea to try it out for a few days to see how I liked it.

The online calendars can be extremely useful!  I know that many times when I want to write something down in my planner, I don't have it with me!  However, with an online calendar, I can upload my calendar from wherever I am and add to my calendar.  This also gives me the opportunity to check my calendar whenever I need to.

My favorite online to-do list was Remember the Milk.  This is probably because the title was the most interesting and the site was visually appealing.  I really like that you can load your list to your smart phone and have it with you when you shop.  I love this idea!

I think that the online calendars could definitely be used in the classroom--not for the student's benefitm but the teachers.  This would be a great way for him/her to stay more organized without having to keep track of a hard copy of their calendar.

Thing # 15

I have always felt weary of Wikis.  When you're in school, the teachers alway tell you not to use Wikipeida as a source when writing a paper; therefore, I have always had a negative connotation towards the term "Wiki."

However, after doing this exercise, I have discovered that Wikis are not always a bad thing.  When used in the right context Wikis can be beneficial when learning new things.  Collaborative work is a great way to study new topics and having a wiki page aids this effort.  I posted my mashup from Thing #8 on the APSU sandbox and I was impressed at how easy it way to go through that process.  I also enjoyed that I was able to look at what my other classmates are working on without having to go to each person's individual page--everything was right there on one page and made it very simple to look through.

I now know that Wikis are a great tool! 

Thing # 14

Flowcharts and mind maps are great tools in the education realm.  They are a great way to write your ideas down in a way that makes sense to you.  I chose to use Gliffy and bubbl.us as my flowchart and mind map sites.  Personally, I liked the bubbl.us stie to be easier to use.  I found it to be easier to navigate, and I have discovered that I like mind maps better than I like flowcharts.  Here is what I created on bubbl.us:

I thought this was user friendly and very simple to navigate.  I honestly did not even look at the mindmeister site because bubbl.us looked so much more appealing to me. 

These are definitely great tools to use in the classroom because it would be very easy to show a student either site I selected, teach them how to use it, and let them get to work.  Students could easily get their ideas written down and I think it could very much help them to stay organized, especially in something like writing a paper.