Thing #20: YouTube, TeacherTube, Zamzar

A Moment of Truth........Lost in Cyberspace.......



The video that you have just observed from YouTube is how I felt starting this exercise. However after much review about Html codes I was able to figure out how to embed the video for your enjoyment. My past experience with YouTube has been with my own children, they select funny videos to share with me, I had not thought about how I could use this technology in the classroom. I was not aware of TeacherTube which I know will be handy in the classroom. Below is a video that I found that will help my perspective student teachers understand learning styles.



I also worked a little on Zamzar, I have not mastered this site but will keep trying. I would recommend that everyone takes a look at Bloom's Digital Taxonomy on Blinkx. The video is an updated version of Bloom's Taxonomy for the Digital Classroom. I also visited Andrew Churches wiki space and found that he has posted PFD Files for rubric's that we can use to teach our students about Web2.0.

NEW at Teachers Tube!

• Private classroom environment - Other blogging sites make anything you post available for the world to see... With ClassPress, no one outside your class can view or participate without your permission!
  
• Personalized blogs - Add pictures, videos, polls, and more to your blog!
  
• No advertisements - Free blogging sites have ads that slow down and distract from your blog... ClassPress has no advertisements!
  
• Unlimited student accounts - Let all of your students from all of your classes have a blog! No e-mail address is required for students.

Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards

Exploration of Web 2.0 List of Favorites:
***** Foods: Imcooked & iFoods, offers video's that can be used to demonstrate cooking & recipes that students could prepare in Personal Family Development, Food & Nutrition.

***** Revolution Health = current medical information for Health Sciences, Child Development & Parenting Classes.

***** PBwiki & Wetpaint = opportunities to create websites for the classroom. Recommend you take a look Jeff Utecht wiki's for ideas on how & why teachers should use wiki's in their classrooms. Jeff serves as the ambassador to Wetpaint, here is the link:
http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/page/Wetpaint+Education+Ambassador. Also, I found the ANATOWIKI which is packed with information that can be used in our Health Science Medical Training programs.


***** Mango Languages = My opportunity to learn Spanish at home on my own schedule. Not a lot of $$$$$ and you get to select what to learn. (Please note that the district offers great classes on teaching Spanish to it's employee's, however with my family's needs and changing schedules I miss to many classes to benefit from the training.)

***** Kayak = Lots of travel options. Last summer I used this website to locate travel arrangements for my family to Europe (London, Paris, Frankfurt and Southern Ireland).

***** Craigslist, a new way to search for services in your area.

In addition to finding new 2.0 sites I learned how to link my blog to the sites, don't you think that it is about time, it only toke exploring 19 things to get to this point, maybe we need more basics included in the beginning or our adventure!

Thing #18: Productivity Tools - Web Acessed

My first experience with a computer was a MAC 512 which I added a drafting program named "Dreams" in order to draw for clients. I loved my MAC and the programs that my husband and I added for business and personal use. Then we moved onto a E Machine with Windows based programs which offered very similar pull down menus as the MAC, however with subtle differences. My next experience on computers was working with ordering programs and drafting programs in the home improvement industry which lacked the features and programing was always 3-4 years behind industry. Then came teaching and access to Microsoft Office.................

As you can see from my experience it is important for us as teachers to embrace the changing technology and opportunities on the Web as our world evolves. I feel that our students should be aware of all of the different types of technology that are available to them whether it be a program that that is purchased or free.

In reviewing the options for free online productivity tools I chose to investigate Google Doc's because it did not require me to download a program to my laptop. In looking at the features, I found that it is similar to the products that I have used with Microsoft Office.......some limitations to font, saving, templates, etc.........however nothing that would prevent me from using the program. The biggest benefit that I saw with using Google Doc's was the availability to work with others on creating a project or event or whatever. Yes, this is similar to Wiki's however I believe that it goes beyond.......I watched a video on YouTube - Google Docs: Sharing Household Expenses where 3 people manage their expenses on line with the features offered in a spreadsheet. I believe that this feature would be of great use to our students because it would allow them to each work on a project in different places or jointly. No more excuses as to why they could not access the information when one is absent and project deadlines would not need to change.....etc.....

Thing #17: Rollyo (Bruce's Rollyo Video)

Bruce's 23 Things Project: Rollyo Video

This video is wonderful for visual learners like myself. It truly explains how we as teachers can use technology in our classroom with our students and direct them to valuable resources! Thanks Bruce!

After watching Bruce's video I went into Rollyo and created my first searchroll for SWHS Interior Design with tag of Licensing. This search roll takes my design students to the professional websites that give complete details on "How & What you have to do to become a Licensed Interior Designer." Thank you.......Thank You......Thank you! This is going to save my students and me a lot of time in researching information on the web!

(Note: Firefox has been installed, however still unsure as to what it does, still exploring it features........Thanks!