Thing 19

I like the idea of having a social network that is centered towards teachers.  Teacher pop seems easy to navigate and very similar to Facebook.  I do not think that I will join another social network besides the ones that we have already joined in the APSU 23 Things.  Even though I do not get on Facebook that much anymore, I still like it the best.  I guess the reason for that is that I know how to use it.  We all are creatures of habit.  I would have posted to other people but my request to be a member is still pending.  I will check back again later to see if I can do more things on Teacher Pop.  

Here is a link to Teacher Pop badge

Badge

Thing 18

Social Networking

I would like to start off by saying that I have a Facebook and Twitter.  The only thing wrong with that is that I maybe look at them once a day.  Now my students on the other hand can't wait till class is over to check their Facebook and Twitter.  When I was in college I use to get on Facebook every 15 minutes.  Now I just get on there to see what some of my old friends are doing these days.

I think it is important as educators to understand social networking.  The reason why I say this is because the students we teach live their lives through social networking.  It is almost like they cannot even have a conversation face to face anymore.  I honestly don't think I could gain any new insight on either one of these sites because I literally felt like in college that I lived my life through these social networks.  I think I use to be one of the robots I teach.  What I like the most about these sites is that I can keep everything private.  I like that I can make sure that only my friends can see what pictures I post or what people post on my wall.  I do not want everybody to know what is going on in my life.  I especially do not want the students to know.  I think Facebook has the most useful features simply because it can do anything.  I feel like twitter is just a text message.  You can't really get to see someone's life just by a tweet.  I believe this could be useful in a classroom setting because students love these social networks.  If we could add our homework to a Facebook page, I feel like more students would do it just because it is on Facebook.  This is the life we live in and we better get with it or get left behind.

This is a screenshot of my Facebook page.  The lady in the picture with me is the teacher that is right across the hall.  This is from our high school's prom. 

Thing 17

Delicious

First off who came up with this name?  I was just a little bit afraid of typing in a web address that is called delicious.com.  I really liked the tutorial video because if I would have not watched it, I would considered this a complete waste of time.  The reason why I say that is because I already bookmark sites on my computer.  After watching the video and exploring the site, I see how this could be useful for teachers.  The science teachers in my department are constantly sending emails to each other about science websites that have ideas for classroom activities.  We could tag and bookmark sites on delicious instead of constantly sending emails and junking up each others email.  This way we could just log on and see the sites that the other teachers bookmarked with tags that fit the subject we teach.  I get emails about Physics activities, and I don't even teach Physics.  This could save me time and energy because I could click on a tag that was useful for my subject that other teachers in my department thought would be a good resource.

I see how this could be useful in the classroom.  I could post websites or articles on delicious for my students to browse at home or in the computer lab.  The only problem I see with this is that my students could also post websites that are not related to Science and tag them under my class.  I could just see problems that might arise from social bookmarking with your students.

Thing 16

IGoogle

I chose IGoogle as my start up page since my homepage on my computer is Google.  I really like IGoogle because it gives me all the information I need on one page.  As soon as I created the front page my email and my calendar were already on the page.  I also liked having the weather gadget on the page because I am constantly checking the weather.  I also added a sports gadget to the page.  I love sports so why not have a sports gadget.  What I liked best was having everything that I need on one page.  This would save me so much time when I get on the internet.  Instead of searching the internet, I have everything I need on one page.  Great tool that I plan on making my homepage.

Online Calendar-Google

I picked the Google calendar because I already use this app.  I like this online calendar because it is also on my phone.  It helps me keep with upcoming events that I have to attend.  This helps me keep up with things in my life because it is hard to keep up with things while coaching two sports and having deadlines at school.  I also like that it sends reminders to my phone.  That way I have no excuses on being late or forgetting about an event.  

To Do List- Remember the Milk

I think the To Do List Remember the Milk is really to much work.  The reason why I say this is because I could do the same thing in Google Calendar.  I could set a time and date for something to be done and have it remind me as often as I want it to.  I do think that this tool could be useful if you had the time to sit down and navigate the site.  I really did not think that it was very user friendly, but remember I am not that great with computers!

Thing 15

This was my first time to play around with Wiki's.  I am not very computer savvy, so this was great for me.  It taught me how to edit Wiki pages. At first I could not figure out how to edit the wiki, but after I figured it out  I thought it was really easy to edit the 23 Things Sandbox Wiki.  I decided to upload my favorite app that I have learned how to use during this class.  I thought the Wiki was easy to use, and I also liked seeing what my other classmates had posted to the Wiki.

I think this would be easy to use in my classroom.  I could post things to the Wiki, and allow my students to edit the posts.  I could place wrong information in the Wiki and have my students read through it and correct it.  This would be a great practice for my students.  This would ensure that all of my students are learning the material that is being taught in class.  I believe this would be a great study tool.  The thing I found the most interesting about Wikis is that you do not have to be an expert on the subject to be able to edit it.  This is why it is important to not trust everything you read in Wikipedia.  

Thing 14

Bubbl.us
At first this website made me angry!  I could not figure out how to make new bubbles appear on my document.  After I figured out how to make the bubbles appear I really liked this app.  I actually thought it was easier to make a mind map than a flowchart.  I could see how this could be helpful in science.  This app could allow for brainstorming regarding a scientific experiment.  If I had to choose between the two apps, I would choose bubbl.us.

Gliffy

I really liked this website.  After going through the tutorial I soon realized there was nothing to making a flowchart on Gliffy.  I only used one shape on the flowchart I created, but I played around with many of the shapes.  I just wanted my finished product to look clean.  I made my flowchart on a standard that I have to teach in my class which is learning the scientific method.

Thing 13

Zoho Writer

This was my first time ever hearing of Zoho.  At first I could not really figure out how to work this app, but after a few minutes I realized it was really user friendly.  I liked how I could import any document that I have on my computer and be able to share it with other students or share it with the whole world.  I also played around with creating a presentation.  To my surprise it is very similar to making a PowerPoint presentation.  Overall I liked this web-based app.  I could see how it could be easy for group work.  A group of people could actually work on a presentation without being in the same place. It allows people within that group to edit the document.  Overall I think this app could be a real asset to students that are working on group presentations.  This is a PowerPoint presentation I present in my class and this app could allow me to share it with my students so that they could study the PowerPoint slides outside of class.

Ch. 1.1 Slides

Google Docs

This was also my first time using Google Docs.  Just hearing the word google made me think that it would be easier to use than Zoho.  I soon learned I was wrong and I should never judge a book by its cover.  I just thought that it was harder to use than Zoho.  It was harder for me to figure out how to upload documents that I already have on my computer.  I am not saying that Google Docs is not a valid web app, but I would use Zoho before I ever tried to use Google Docs again.  I just believe that Zoho is easier to use, and when it comes to technology I will always choose the easiest thing to operate.  Both of these free apps would allow students to collaborate outside of school.  They can view the documents and make changes to them.  This would allow all people in the group to contribute as long as they have the internet.  The best part about both of these apps is the word FREE!  This is a document I created in Google Docs which is a short one week outline of my class.

Lesson Plan Outline