Thing #23

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!! YEA ME!!!!!

I have learned so much over these past couple of weeks. My favorite activities had to do with the digital graphics pieces. I love digital graphics and just had a blast using the various sites that were included. This program has increased my learning goals by teaching me so many new things that I wasn't even aware of. I was also able to learn new things about the areas that I was already familiar with. I feel that I can now share this new learning with others, or participate in conversations that I was not able to before this program.

What surprised me the most about this program is how many of the "things" introduced items that I could implement immediately in my daily life at school. I feel that my department and the students will benefit from Nings, Wikis, the image generators, etc.

I found the program to be very user friendly. There were a couple of videos that were very dry though. I did however like the "...in plain English" videos. These truly helped me understand each of the topics quickly and easily.

Please let me know when there is another program like this in the future. I would JUMP at the chance to participate and learn new "things".

So, to sum up my summer experience with the "23 Things" I would have to say that this has been truly one of the best trainings I have had. Almost everything that I learned was incredibly relevant to me as a school improvement specialist in math and in my personal life.

McGruff...signing out!

Thing #22

I think that Nings would be effective for classroom discussions outside of the classroom. I like how this would create a strong sense of community amongst the students in the class. I also think that the shy and not students would respond more to classroom discussions on Ning than in class. They would have time to prepare their answer and with the privacy of being alone at a computer, not as intimidating. I think that this type of classroom community and their conversations will be incredibly benefical for the students of today.

Thing #21

I never knew that creating a Photostory was so easy! I used to do a powerpoint presentation to show students pictures of symmetry in real life, but this was just a breeze compared to that(and the music adds a nice touch). Students are always asking "when are we ever going to use this" and I think that Photostory could help students see the real life uses of all subjects.

Thing #20

I love that there are so many videos at my fingertips. When I was in school we rarely saw videos in a math class. When I did a search for math there were hundreds of videos to wade through. Then I did a more concentrated search, such as money management and I found the following video. I think this would be a fantastic way to introduce a unit on money management to students attention and interest. Whether you use these videos before, during, or after a lesson you will capture your students attention!

Thing #19

I just explored Lulu.com. This is a self publishing site for books, cd's, dvd's, calendars, cookbooks, and photo books. When I searched what it would cost to bind one 100 page paper back book it was only $5.30. I am shocked. I thought it would be much more expensive than that. I can see using this at school for a collection of essays. The art teachers could use this site to publish a book of student art work, perhaps a coffee table book. These could be sold for a fundraiser for the art department. There would be many uses for this site. Personally, I am thinking of using this to create a cookbook for family Christmas presents. My grandmother is 92 years old and recently moved into an assisted living community. My mother received her entire recipe box full of all of the family recipes that we have enjoyed over the years. I just love that I learned something new that can pay tribute to one of the best cooks that I have ever known!

Thing #18

I think that both Open Office and GoogleDocs are great options for people that do not have Microsoft Word. However, what if your internet goes down? We have all had those unfortunate times when we have been without internet for awhile, and I would hate to not have access to my document/s. I'm a creature of habit, and since I have Microsoft Word I will be sticking with it.

Thing #17

I want to first say a big thank to Bruce Goodner for the video on how to use Rollyo. This made creating my own customized search a breeze.

I see many great uses for this in all classrooms. I can't tell you how many times I have had to write web addresses on the board for the students to follow. Inevitably someone would always type in the address incorrectly. This is going to save everyone a lot of time. Here is the search I created for math games. http://rollyo.com/housera/housera/