Thing 21

Exploring the wikis done by students, schools, classes shows there is no limit to how students can be challenged. One called Aristotle had an outcome of shifting responsibility for learning from teacher to student. http://aristotle-experiment.wikispaces.com/ Browsing the pages revealed some pretty heavy duty topics and student work. Comparison of platforms of presidential candidates done in a blog, Pros/Cons of the death penalty in a wiki, as well as more traditional topics Moby Dick and Romeo and Juliet in wikis. The products are not as polished as in some other tools but the student learning is obvious.

Wikihow is a neat project too. I'd like to write and add an article. Thoughts on the collaborative writing tasks still leave me with a bit of hesitation when it comes to edits without borders. A comment about accidently deleting someones edits caused me to worry a bit. Still I'd like to try it a time or two before forming a final decision. As always, thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 19 Thing 20

Exploring podcasting and video casting (like the video casting better) was not as interesting as some of the other explorations. I did not subscribe to anything. When I checked my Bloglines for today, I found the greatest segment on the Concord school in Australia. They are a great example of a school where students and staff use several of the 2.0 tools we have explored. Photo sharing, blogging, social networking, and students are now creating and generating their own tools. By the way, it’s a school for students with disabilities. I attempted to embed it into this post but it kept crashing IE. Instead, I added it as a gadget. I think I like it better there anyway that way its always up and visible whenever you visit my blog. It is certainly worth checking out. Let me know what you think. As always, thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 17 Part 2

Here is my first Knowtes deck - had some trouble with embedding the code and on the website.

Thing 18 General Colin Powell Text

I like SlideShare. Check out this SlideShare Presentation from Colin Powell on Leadership Lessons. Tough talk...I like it.

General Colin Powell Text

View more presentations from Joan Boyer.

Thing 17

Questions I asked while exploring the various tools included: Do I need a tool like this? Do I currently have a tool that does something similiar? Is this version better than what I currently use? Should I consider switching or use both? For four of the tools listed I do already have a tool and from what I can see I'll stick with what I have. Inspiration and Kidspiration software work fine for generation of concept maps, org charts etc. I'm pretty stuck on PowerPoint but would certainly consider uploading and sharing a presentation online. Milk and 30 boxes might have more appeal if we didn't use Groupwise - I'll remember them if I'm ever not in the Groupwise environment anymore. As for LibraryThing and Trailfire I don't have a current tool and I'm not sure I have a current need.
Of all the tools explored Knowtes has the most potential for both personal and professional use for me. Excellent for vocabulary development, helping cement in memory the steps of a process, memorization of Scripture, review points for a test etc. You might be suprised at how many K-5 teachers still give out spelling words in isolated lists - I imagine that even the most stalwart of teachers would consider producing flashcards with words and definitions or sentences. I even know a teacher or two I'm going to try it on. I'll let you know if it works :). As always, thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 16

I was unable to locate the 23 Things spreadsheet but I did upload a document of my own and explore the possibilities of sharing. I did discover that Word 07 docs won't load you must save in the compatability mode. I wonder about having multiple editors on one document - do they all have the same rights? I'd like to try that out with a group. I've been listening to conversations in IS about the google doc they use to track the work liaisons do in districts do I've seen an example of how that can work. Look forward to trying it. As always, thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 15

When I subscribed to 2¢ Worth I had no ideas how many articles were going to show up. I did discover the clippings link which allows me to save any part of the post I choose in a file. It gives me the option of reading them later, keeping it for future reference and sharing them with others. I don't feel so bad now when I "Mark them read" and they disappear. I'm not so worried that I missed something or eliminated something of importance. As always, Thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 14

Roughly 3 hours ago I started working in Delicious. I had asked a question about the bookmarks I had on my computer - well it imports them for you in no time. There is a catch - they had no tags so now I must organize all 289. I'm thinking that since I'll be able to access them anywhere I won't complain. It's just going to take me a while to get all 28 pages done. I'm up to page 6 and the bundle feature seems to be working the best. I am shellie161. Back to Delicious! As always, thanks for listening, Leslie

Thing 13

Just in time!! I have folders in my favorites on my home computer and recently started grouping sets of web sites together so I could easily have them all open in tabs for easy access. Well, bless my soul I was having to put websites in multiple folders AND my home computer is all organized but have to do it all over on my work computer. Just like Thing 13 said! I'm convinced - now all I have to decide is whether to try to move those 150+ favorites into delicious. Is there a quick way to do that? As always, thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 12

Time to blog!



Some blogs are so busy I have a hard time locating the main content. (I find the same to be true on lots of web pages). This stuff is truly addictive but how much is too much? Perhaps today's multi-taskers aren't as bothered by all that stuff - maybe it's just me. What are your thoughts? As always, thanks for listening.

Thing 11

Now that I have clicked on every Blog participant in the 23 Things list I'm left with mixed feelings. First, I did not leave any comments, the things I read were interesting, some very well done but as lifehacker says, "Don't comment for the sake of commenting. " Second, several times I really wanted to know who people were, maybe not a name but at least a few ideas about the author. Most of the links on view my profile contained little or no information. I'm going to work harder on my own. Privacy is important and security is worthy of all the attention we give it. I guess I still want some kind of personal touch to help me connect with the writing. Third and last to refer back to lifehacker's thought on commenting for the sake of commenting so it is with blogging for the sake of blogging. I am reminded of why I chose the title for this blog. For the purposes of K-12 education, curriculum drives technology - not the other way around. Where time is limited and resources dwindling I repeat - choose wisely and go deep. As always, thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 10

This video is too cute. I left a comment that it was "Amazing". I would have loved to see the work as it was being made and observe the lessons learned. I wonder if they journaled their work. Both the School Tube and Teacher Tube sites are far more "fruitful" - pardon the pun - and I hope schools can access them. I found them both to be worth spending time in, looking for PD for teachers, samples of lessons and classroom projects, samples of student work like the fruit bowl. This was a good use of my time. Thanks, as always, for listening. Leslie

Thing 9

So call me lazy - rather than think up an answer here is a great quote about YouTube from Alex Iskold: Great Blog - here's the URL: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/is_youtube_the_next_google.php

"Like any search engine, YouTube is not perfect. In general, short queries on generic topics, like Astrophysics, do not work very well. Somewhat surprisingly, George Washington and Chicken Noodle Soup do not yield good results either. But some searches do work very well. Ian said that his son frequently searches for episodes of Bakugan, which come up perfectly. Another likely search for a 9-year-old, Lance Wataru (a Pokemon character), works well, too. More specific searches, such as Donkey from Shrek, work even better. Anything that can be a video will be a video
I walked away with the impression that we are not quite there yet, but was intrigued. Clearly a lot of things lend themselves to video, not just movies and music clips, but educational videos, tourism and a lot of other things. If video content continues to grow, could video eventually replace text?
Most likely not. The main reason that text rules the web today is because of hyperlinks. Linking pages via text links is what makes the web possible. Hyperlinking videos would be a harder thing to do. Not impossible, of course, because you can link objects and insert text in videos, but it's just not as elegant as text. Besides the linking issue, not everything would be an effective video. For example, a research paper could be made into a video but would not be as easy to follow as the text."

All that said - YouTube has its uses but how do you know what you're getting. For a site "leaning towards entertainment" I'm not ready to say open the floodgates and let YouTube in the classroom. As always thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 8

Montage - What a fascinating idea - still thinking on application - hmmmm...

Also created a new HPSI (High Priority Schools Initiative) logo from the letter blocks - don't think Kate will have to worry about any logo creating competition.

Tried the color site... love the quote "To those that question the utility of this little application, let me point out that it is a toy -- like all the stuff on my website. Its purpose is simply to provide wonder and delight. Nothing more, nothing less. Isn't that enough? -- jbum

Memory game - great fun - All these are would add novelty to the right content - kids would love it - I love it. Thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 7

I searched the RESA23 photos and was pleasantly suprised at the variety of topics and interests. I happen to love butterflies so I created a set with pictures I already had on my computer and some new ones from Flickr. I immediately thought about the challenges our students face with writing -what a great way to encourage journaling around topics of choice or an assigned topic. Of course copyright issues, appropriate content issues, as well as filter/firewall blocks abound but you have to start somewhere. Even if you download the photos to your computer or flashdrive and have students work from there. Where there is a will there is a way! As always - Thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 6

Ha, Ha, Ha. I searched the Library of Congress photos (great link) and found this picture. I was all set to upload and comment in Thing 6 about how far we've come in Home Computers since the projections of 1954. Turns out the photo is a fake and the computer is actually a nuclear submarine missle console picture that was edited (turned to black and white, old TV inserted as well as the 1950's gentleman. I am impressed nonetheless and humbled by how our thoughts, opinions, "knowledge" can be easily manipulated if we are not alert and careful. Let the surfer (internet surfer :) beware!! Thanks for listening. Leslie

Thing 5

I recall a statement in the 23 Things introduction that warned not to be suprised at changes and differences that might be encountered. Got it - I did struggle with subscribing -not only because of instruction changes but apparently the Vista operating system does things differently too. I was able to subscribe two out of the three ways -like the bookmarklet the best. Lot's of stuff to read but like my Ipod its what I chose and want to read. That increases the likelihood I'll actually read it. I think that would work well for a principal - initial set up might be intense but once you get it going you can stay informed about your favorite topics and ideas quickly. Thanks for listening.

Thing 4

I could sit for hours and click that NEXT BLOG link and randomly read each one - If I had time! As much as I'd like to do that, I can't. So-o-o-o-0 I have to pick some favorites (which is another challenge), and then I can stay up at night :) and up to date on the latest posts.
I liked the folder aspect of Bloglines and being able to organize them by topics. It's kind of like having new book chapters sent to - you get to watch the story unfold. I also like the fact that I don't have to go check but that info is sent to me. Lee LeFever's explanation was too funny!! Love that low tech explanation of high tech information.
Still struggling with thinking about how a school principal might use this. Communicating with staff comes immediately to mind, things like weekly notes, calendars of events etc. It seems especially helpful for times when there is a need to notify and update frequently. It would also be wonderful to engage teachers in dialogue around instruction - I just worry about the time. Thanks for listening...Leslie