One last thing...

Favorite discoveries...probably that given enough time, I can do these things.  However, I did enjoy flickr, mashups, and animoto, probably for the personal applications.  Professionally speaking, there have been times when I wish I could do more technology based lessons, but I felt like I had fallen too far behind the techno curve to ever catch up.  This activity, if not completely, did get me on track to be far more techno savvy.  I will definitely take some of the tools I have learned and introduce them into my classroom.  I will also keep current on the new things that come available in the future, using many of the tools, such as blogger, RSS feeds, and social networks.  Okay, I will try to use the social networks, but no promises on that one.  There are tools, however, that I will definitely enjoy using, partly for their value in the teaching of a lesson and partly to just play with the minds of my students, hoping to keep them engaged. Using Web 2.0 Awards List, Blogs and RSS feeds, I hope to stay current on what is new in Web 2.0.

In closing, there are days that I really hated these 23 things...a lot of days really...but in the end, I have learned a lot and will experiment with these things in the coming school year.

Oh, and if possible, move LiveBinders to an earlier point in the 23 Things so that all the tools learned could be added to LiveBinders while we learned them.

Thing 23 (Creative Commons)

http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/ is the link to the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and their version of the 23 Things project.  At the bottom of the site is the creative commons logo and link that takes you to the page to the right, telling you all about the use rights for the 23 Things project.

As far as what I will do with the knowledge about Creative Commons....well, I will know what it means, and therefore,  know whether I can use someone else's material in my own lessons.  I will also be able to teach my students about Creative Commons as I use it, so that they will become as smart as me.  Okay, maybe saying they will be as smart as me is a stretch.  Heck, they may already be smarter than me, especially regarding many things technology wise.  But I am gaining on them, 23 Things later.

Thing 19 (Other Social Networks)

Struggling to get my badge embedded into my Blogger page.  Any of you awesome classmates that have successfully completed this have any hints...or you can just tell me...on how or where I embed the badge info.  I tried looking for a gadget location in the layout, but I am now at a loss.  (Yeah to Katy for showing me how to copy my badge.)


"Yelp" seems pretty useful, especially on those days when you are not really sure what you want for dinner.  A good place to search through for a restaurant based on your likes and price preferences, just to name a couple of the categories.  And while I am on the subject of food, "Tasty Kitchen" is another good site, again for ideas when you are done with that same thing you make week after week after week.  And by the way, if you are wondering if I really like being in the kitchen, the answer is not really, but the way to a woman's heart, though maybe not through the stomach, might just be through the palate or, at least, by sharing in the cooking responsibilities.  Coming up with something different has been good to me.

Someday, when I am no longer taking classes, I think checking into one of the "book" networks will be on my list of to-do's.  I often forget what I have already read, but like that these sites, at least the one I did briefly check out, have "this person read this, so they may also like this..." suggestions.  I can't wait til the day I have free time again.

Thing 22 (Livebinders)

My binders are "5540 Tools" and "Geometry Links".  Still working on what to use for my third binder.  Perhaps it will just be a binder for favorites for person, non education, stuff.

Geometry Links  I am going to use this binder to place links to helpful sites and videos that I can share with my students during lessons.  I will also make this available to students so that if they have questions at home, they can search for meaningful sites/videos.  I will also try to embed it or link it to my CHS webpage, so that parents of my students can see some of the tools available to their children.

Thing 21 (My Animoto Video)

My Animoto Video

Okay...like this may have been the easiest of the 23 things.  Pick your photos, pick your music, sit back and wait....and you are done.  Animoto does all the work.  I love doing this one.  Not sure what I will do to incorporate this in my Geometry class, but it will be fun with my family.

Thing 20 (YouTube)

Pythagorean Theorem Rap "a times itself, a squared, b times itself, b squared, c times itself, c squared, a squared plus b squared equals c squared. What!" A cool "hook" for the students prior to teaching the lesson.  This link came from TeacherTube and is a good example of using this type of tool in the classroom.

Pythagorean Theorem in 60 Seconds is a great example of a very simple video teaching Pythagorean Theorem.  I like this one because of its simplicity.  Sometimes the simplest methods can be the best way to convey an idea or concept, even while using a Web 2.0 tool.

A Vision of Students Today   Although already posted on the assignment page by Anne Wall, I decided to add it to my blog because it says a lot about what students are going through today while in school.  I know that if all this existed back when I was in high school and college (the first time) I would have struggled with all the distractions created by texting, facebook, and surfing the web.  It is good that we, as teachers, recognize the world our students live in today.  It was my biggest lesson learned in my first year of teaching, just last year.

Thing 18 (Social Networking)

https://twitter.com/#!/Jim5540  My twitter link, though not real exciting at the moment, I think I will use it more to see what other people are tweeting about on certain topics and see where that leads me.  I am already a facebook user, though I use the term user rather lightly as I don't enter what I am doing daily, weekly, or even monthly.  It is a good communication tool for keeping up on my classmates from school, and sometimes on my own children, but I still just can't update on the things I do every day.

I think it is important for teachers, even if they chose not to actively participate on a regular basis to know about these social networks and how they work because they are important to our students on a daily basis.  Most have a hard time getting through the school day without sneaking onto their mobile to tweet, text or update some social network.  I know of one teacher that has set up a facebook account for his classes only, and posts lessons that they are to watch at night and be prepared to discuss them during class.  He has expanded his class period beyond the 50 minutes the students are actually in class.

Thing 17 (Discovering Delicious)

Social bookmarking is a great tool for searching for information.  The saves (Delicious), diggs (DIGG), and likes (StumbleUpon) helps to give you sites/blogs that are popular and therefore more likely to be useful.  Seeing other people's tags helps to give you ideas on how to zero in on the exact topic you are looking for.  As a teacher, being able to easily look up reliable resources for teaching a lesson or assigning a project on a very specific topic will be not only helpful, but I can see it motivating me to look for more examples of technology based methods to teach.

Thing 16 (Online Productivity Tools)

I choose iGoogle as my start page because I had already created an account with Google while doing a lot of these 23 things. Also, I really wanted to keep things simple and familiar to start.  Since Google opens on most computers I log into, it just seemed to make sense.  This will be pretty cool while balancing APSU classes, teaching, and personal life, being able to see all that I need at a glance, plus some extras just for fun.

Again, staying with Google, the calendar tool will be very helpful, personally, when coordinating who is taking which child to what activity, not to mention our own activities as adults.

I am going to try "Remember the Milk" to-do list tool for a while to see how it works.  I am going to download the app to see if having it on my ipod will help.  If not, then I am afraid it won't help me with things that occur between the times that I use my computer, which isn't a problem right now because of the summer classes I am taking.  However, during the school year, there are some weekends I just don't go online, or even power up my PC.  So, if this works well on my ipod, it may be useful for me not to forget...assuming I put it into the to-do list in the first place.  Hmmmm...back on me, huh?

Lastly, I tried out StickyNotes.net.  This will be helpful for me during research for my own college classes, as well as, bookmarking specific locations on sites where I am using instructions from a DIY website.

Thing 15 (Wikis)

Okay, so have I said this before, I am frustrated.  Okay, at least this time, just for a shorter period of time than previous bouts during my 23 things.  I copied images and saved...and poof, they were gone.  Well, at least I now have a link to my thing 9 on the APSU 23 Things Sandbox, along with a couple of images that are also in my thing 9, but I wanted them to show up without going through the link.


I think it would be fun and interesting to create a wiki that my students (from all my class periods) could access and enter how they might improve how a lesson was taught.  Post a lesson plan or concept for the students to edit, adding their thoughts as to how they might have taught it, providing them the opportunity to think beyond just solving the problem.  I think it would be a great exercise for the student, as well as provide me with insights to student perception of the content/concept and what the improvements I could possibly make to improve the learning experience.

Thing 14 (Go with the Flow)

In my previous life, or at least my previous career, I had to create basic flowcharts, complex "value-added" process flowcharts, and organizational charts.  Sometimes I had access to a flowchart program, but other times I had to create them using word.  Talk about time consuming to create and a nightmare to change.  To have such applications online like Gliffy and Flowchart.com would have been absolutely awesome, especially since I had to work on these both at work and at home.  I wish these existed back then.

Using https://bubbl.us/ , I created a mind map of just a couple of tools we have learned about in this class.  I could definitely see finishing this with a little more detail, including links, in order to remember all the options that are out there for me to use.

Thing 13 (Web Based Applications)

Well I thought I would just start my blog for thing 13 while exploring ZOHO Writer.  So, first I had to create another free account, to which I will need another application to remember from all the other websites I have already signed up for and all the login/password information.  Thank God for my spiral notebook, or should I be using a "notes" application to record all this information?  Okay, I have no cheese, so I need to stop whining.  ZOHO was very easy to set up and use.  If I didn't already have Microsoft Office on my computer, I could definitely see using one of these Web based applications.  I can remember back when I had a PC without Office (or even just Word, prior to there being an "Office") that trying to create a decent word processing document was a pain.  Now, even if I am using someone else's computer, or a public computer with little software, creating a document is a piece of cake.

Okay, so I am going to save this (still in ZOHO) and when I enter "save as", it gives me the option for a file name but no way to set the location, such as to save it to my zipdrive. I am sure there is a way, but why not just put the location as part of the "save as" option.  Arrrgh.

On to Google Docs...why waste your time with ZOHO when Google Docs has the word processer, plus everything else you would need.  Since I am just learning new things about Microsoft's PowerPoint, it becomes a little confusing to try to some of the things, such as the animation, I did on our PowerPoint assignment from Livetext.  It would appear that Google docs does not have as much power/features as PowerPoint, but it is a great substitute for those who don't have access to PowerPoint, or who want to create something online that anyone can contribute improvements/changes.Below is a very short presentation I created using Google Docs on my love for all my logins and passwords.  Looking at the word processor and spreadsheet options, Google Docs looks like a great alternative to Office.  One plus was that saving my presentation to Google's My Drive allows you all to view my presentation just by clicking on the link.  This would be useful to allow students access to lessons and assignments, especially if there were absent from class that day.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HkAMuxse_gtCye2yMXa4ZwoIseoRzstZN4OhuCLrtRw/edit

Thing 12 (Google does it all)

Google Alerts...how cool is that?  I love the idea of not having to search for something every day, but now that I am an RSS expert (NOT!), I can have these alerts sent to my Google Reader.  Man, that RSS page does it all.  I am starting simple with an alert on "Titans football" and another one on "Geometry Lessons" combined with Technology.  This was extremely easy to set up...so what's the catch?  No frustration on this one.  I must be getting good or Dr. Wall was just trying to build me up.  Seriously, this could be very powerful when you one to keep on top of something important, or just of interest to you.

I actually used Google Translate last semester while teaching.  Two weeks into the second semester, I had a student show up to my class that was from China, speaking no English.  I was glad to be a math teacher and not history, as I figured math was universal.  I did, however, need to give him instructions, lessons, the words to "word problems", and the questions on test and quizzes.  Google Translate did great for the words, not so great for the actual math problems.  However, once I conveyed that the translation was for the words only, he was able to read the instructions as they related to each problem.  It was all I needed to get him, and me, though the semester...that and he may have been better at math than I am .  Google translate sample:

Write the polynomial in standard form. Then name the polynomial based on its degree and number of terms.

寫的標準形式的多項式。然後將其命名根據其程度和數量計算的多項式。

I set up a Google Calendar https://www.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1 that has my class set up as a repetitive event to end on July 6.  Other than this class and an online class I am taking, my schedule does not have very much on it, so my calendar is fairly blank.  This was however something that my "significant other" and I have talked about doing so that we can coordinate our schedules, so this is step one in that process.  I will probably not use this for school, as I already use the Outlook Calendar from my school email account.

I have found that all three of these tools were extremely simple to use.

Thing 11 (Subscribe to blogs/newsfeeds)

One thing I experienced during this activity was the ability to find RSS Feed logo with my right mouse button (See Thing 10, as I updated my comment there).  Anyway, I did like the Edublog's award winners, especially as a novice to RSS feeds, because it gave suggestions that obviously had enough good points to rate the award.  I would imagine as I get more comfortable with this technology, and even more so get hooked on blogs and news feeds that would hold my interest, I would learn to search beyond the top rated.  Topix and Technorati, though not giving "award winners" in categories, do provide a quick and easy way to find some feeds.  I thought Topix was a little too busy with all the information, and though that may be a plus for some people, it was overwhelming still for my ADD brain.  For the same reason as Edublog, I did like both these sites over just doing a google search on an item of interests, which provided way too much variation in types of sites.

I think the thing I will like most about this technology will be when something comes up that I want to learn more about.  I will be able to add a number of blogs or news feeds on that topic and then be able to read/learn over the course of a couple days or weeks, learning more than I might if I had just done a single search on any given day.  When I am done with that item, I can delete it so that it doesn't "clutter up my brain", so to speak.

Thing 10 (RSS Reader)

The RSS reader is awesome.  One of the things that keeps me from reading blogs and surfing the net in general is the time that it consumes.  Being able to go to one site to read all your updates is such a time saver, and for me, keeps me focused on the things I need, or want, to stay current on.  On a personal level, I can stay updated on my own interests/hobbies, but as a teacher, I can see using RSS feeds to stay current on useful technologies long after I complete this class.

In adding an additional item to this post, I would like to share that as always, my frustration with learning these new technologies is always high when I start.  And the cure to this frustration?  More learning.  Seems simple enough, but I was becoming frustrated every time I searched for the RSS icon and didn't find one, site after site after site.  But then, after exploring the right mouse button on my PC, I found "View Page Info", and on some of these sites there was the logo.  No more searching all over the website for the logo.  Nice...wish I had found that a couple days ago...or even a couple hours ago for thing 11.

Thing 9 (Online Image Generators)

After the first example that I demonstrate on the board, my students ALWAYS ask, "are the problems going to get harder"?  I mean, it happens every day, without fail.  So, just maybe, if this is posted in my classroom, I can just point to it from time to time.  By the way, in High School, love always gets complicated.

 http://www.dangersigngenerator.com/



I try to tell my students that learning Geometry is not all about learning about triangles, polygons, circles, and such, but also about using your brain to think and to solve problems.  Problem solving is a tool you will use all your life, even if you don't ever use Pythagorean's Theorem.  And yes, I have actually used it in my life, a time or two.

http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/


Creating these images was a very simple process, going to one of many links available on the Web.  Probably the hardest part is coming up with something clever to put on your image.  If your creativity is a little lacking, like me, then the Web is your friend to find sayings, quotes, jokes related to the subject you want in your image.  Or, as in my second example, it may just me a message you want to convey to your students about classroom behavior, rules, or upcoming assignments.  I think I will use these for classroom displays and additions to lesson presentations.  Just something different to capture the attention of your students.  Anyway, once you have the website that you want, both just required you to fill in the blanks, along with some style options, then hit the create button.  One of them required me to copy the image to my desktop, while the other allowed me to just copy and paste the image.  Pretty easy, huh?  I thought so...have fun!

Thing 8 (flickr Mashups)

This mosaic contains family photos of my mom and siblings, my children, and my significant other and her children (the two in my MG nearly 8 years ago).  I like the idea of using this for personal collages to organize trip pictures or events.

This mosaic represents a projects I have done, either woodworking or renovations.  This may be something that would make a good advertisement or portfolio for summer work I plan to do when no longer going to summer school.


I liked this activity for creating mashups for personal uses, but I could see using mosaics, for example, to create displays of common geometric shapes or concepts that I could post on my classroom walls.

I have some concerns about posting personal pictures, but I have nothing that is embarrassing or inappropriate, so any harm should be minimized if these were copied.  Still, I will probably keep all personal pics private, just to make them a little more secure.

Thing 7 (Explore flickr)

http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8011/7369733066_b3925ef02b_s.jpg
or
Cedar porch project





The photos above are just a few shots of a screened-in porch that I recently installed solid cedar plank siding.  I got the wood from a friend who has a saw mill, then I planed one side, cut to size, and routed the edges for aesthetics.  My friend and I are considering a little side business where he cuts and mills the trees and do my part and install solid cedar paneling to customize closets. I was thinking that flickr might be a good place to store examples of the work I do as a form of advertisement.

I enjoyed this activity, as it was easy, straight forward, and I can see using it for personal photos, the reason I mentioned above, and possibly for school, as well.  For school, I could see using it for images that may relate to a lesson or storing pictures that I may embed into a lesson powerpoint.

For non-personal photos, I don't have any concerns about my photos being public.  For personal photos, even private, I worry about a little about security.  I am not a normally paranoid person, but in lieu of CMCSS's databases recently being hacked, it does remind you that nothing on the net is 100% safe.  I do like that I was able to use the flickr app on my ipod to download pics, so I can see this as a good place to store my pics.

Thing 6 (Explore Web 2.0 Awards List)

http://www.wikihow.com/Category:Mathematics

I have spent 25 years in manufacturing management and manufacturing engineering.  I like to know how things work.  I found that wikihow.com is a great tool for someone who wants to know how to do something.  In the math category, I found that, in http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-a-Square-Root-by-Hand, not only did wikihow show me how to do this operation, but then explained why it works, demonstrating the method graphically.  I like this because sometimes I feel that the education of mathematics has become more about how to use a calculator or take a test, and not enough about understanding how the math works.  For some, there is no need to go beyond how the use a calculator.  However, for others, such as engineers, it would be nice for them to know why the calculations they just performed prove that the bridge they just designed will not fall.

I see this as a great supplement to a lesson, during class or as a means to encourage further exploration of a concept as homework.

Thing 5 (Perspectives on Web 2.0)

To me, School 2.0 means that my career change into education will be nothing like I thought it would be.  A little naive to be sure, but when I decided to transition from my old career to teaching, I didn't consider the changes since I was in school or the impacts that technology will have on teaching today and in the future. Recently, I have taken two college courses which used Smartboard and iClicker technology.  I immediately thought both technologies were awesome and I see them having great value in my High School Geometry class.  On the other hand, technology just for the sake of technology can become a distraction, both to the teacher and the student.  A new teacher spending too much time on the technology may produce a lesson lacking in substance of content knowledge.  In the early stages, I think teachers will have to balance how much technology is introduced, or at least how quickly it is introduced.  Availability of the technology in the schools and at home will also needs to be taken into consideration.  It is the future and it has endless possibilities to engage students who's entire lives have had the existence of computers.  School 2.0 will be a challenge for me, to put myself back "in the know" of today's technology.  This class certainly has opened my eyes to that...and here I am only on Thing 5.  Lord help me, there are 18 more eye-opening "things" to come.

Thing 4 (Comment on Blogging Experience)

On the surface, commenting on another person's blog changes his/her post from a monologue to a dialogue.  Two-way communication on a thought, idea, or issue that now has solicited the interests of others.  Commenting, communicating, engaging with others on common interests bring you closer to those people.  As you share your comments, you open up a little of yourself to others about who you are and what are your beliefs.  As with people often liking to talk about themselves, people also like talking about things they like, see, hear, or know in common.  How often do you see a group of people hanging out talking about a sporting event, cars, etc., and another person walks up and just joins right in?  They don't need to stop and go back the the beginning and start over, just jump in and keep it going.  If the new person repeats something said before he joined, no big deal, we can talk about it again.  Same with commenting on posts, just don't have the face to face, but the community is still there.

I thought that making "meaningful comments" was informative in that it isn't just about your comments adding to the blog, but that also has several side effects, letting the original author know that he/she is being heard and that someone thought the post was important enough to capture someone's interest.  In addition to what it does for the original author, it may also bring people to look at your blogs to see what else you have to share.  As a student new to blogging...ah yes, a "newbie"...I found it encouraging to read about not being afraid to comment on someone's blog.  That newbies have important perspectives was encouraging and inviting.  I wouldn't normally see myself as a blogger, but who know...this class and some positive experiences, I may get hooked.



Looking outside my group, I thought I would look up an interest of mine...British Classic Cars.  I choose American MGB Association Blog as it is associated with the classic car that I own.  I wasn't sure really what to post, but when I found this blog (http://blog.amgba.com/?p=697), I posted about my ownership of a 1969 MGB.  I commented about MG RV8 that I loved reading about cars still being designed/made with the MG tag.  I told the author that I enjoyed his blog about a new design called the Icon.  In the end, I asked if the author knew whether MG has any plans to market vehicles in the future for the US market?  We shall see what the author thinks of my "newbie" comment.

Within the group:
In Katy Martin's "Thing 1" Blog, I really liked how she personalized each of the habits by putting her own actions next to each habit.  I think that is a great way to put the habits in real actions that will become her own habits.

I commented on two of Thomas Schlauch's 23 things.  On "Thing 1", I commented that I think Thomas's easiest habit, turning problems into challenges is probably the best habit to have as it means the others are just the challenges that Thomas says are so "fun".  On "Thing 2", I only commented that I had the same issue with the background on my avatar.

My post to Drumm commented on his choice for his avatar and its accessories.  We had both designed our avatar to look like ourselves, but choose different settings, work versus play.

To Killebrew123, I commented on his Thing 3 about the usefulness of creating a blog for the parents of our students.

On 23 Horner-Licious Things, I commented to Amy about School 2.0 and the use of the new technology tools for teaching.  In my comment, I supported 2.0, but did add a word about using the right tools, not just lots of tools.

Thing 3 (Register Blog)

In teaching Geometry, I could see posting assignments on a blog and then encouraging my students to post questions when they struggle with a concept.  One thing this may provide is a forum for students to help each other get through difficult parts of the assignment and not just give up and wait for someone to show them how to do it the next day.  I often see students that if they struggle on the first problem, they give up.  However, when they get some assistance to work through the first problem, they start to find they know how to solve the subsequent problems.  Additionally, this would provide feedback to me on what my students understand or don't understand, which would guide me on how much I may need to reteach versus going forward in the lesson.

Thing 2 (Set up a Blog)

When choosing my posting name and the name of my blog, I didn't get too creative.  I just decided to make them relevant both to my name and the 23 Things activities.  Creating the blog was not that difficult, though I did get hung up a little on the instructions, until, with some assistance, I found that I just hadn't gone far enough in the set up process.  I am not sure if it was because there was a step missing between the screenshots in the instructions or if it was just me.  My avatar has some similarities to me, though missing some of the white in the whiskers, but representing me when I am probably happiest...relaxing at the beach, even though the beach background did not copy with my avatar.  I will have to fix that or solicit some help, perhaps my daughter.  Just kidding.  Any classmates have any ideas where my background went?

Oh, and I would not be holding the Stout if this were a blog for my classroom or students.  Just saying.