Thing 16: PhotoPeach and the Final Evaluation

I have to say how much I have thoroughly enjoyed this little learning journey. It has been incredibly beneficial in more ways than one and I am exceptionally glad that I will have it all with me now wherever I go. Overall I feel the discovery I enjoyed the most would have to be making the blog itself. It was always something I wanted to do, but never knew where to began. Now I am beyond stoked and will probably have one forever. I love the idea of blogs, but also the simple fact that your own blog can be about ANYTHING and there is always someone you can find to follow with the same interests. 

I am a proud new advocate of Blogger.com and all the fabulous new technology I have learned because of it. I wouldn’t change a thing! 

Thing 15.5 Twitter

Twitter.. oh the world of Twitter. I guess it was about time I gave in, even if I had no choice and it was course related J (Just Kidding Dr. Wilson). Just like every other website on the internet I feel one of the reasons I had yet to take on this one was because I knew I would get hooked!! It is a really great tool though. You have to opportunity to communicate to others and from others to what is going on right at your fingertips at any given time.

Although my little Kindergarteners might be a tad young to get in on the rave of Twitter several other age-appropriate groups could really enjoy and benefit from using it. You could use it to discuss homework assignments, share pictures, instant meetings and even great to enhance any parent feedback.

Well..go on.. don’t just sit there. Go Tweet!!

Check me out and follow me:  ARog612

Thing 15: Things Like Skpye

Skype is a FABULOUS tool. I have been using it for years. If you haven’t yet, you need to!! Skype is a way to make internet calls for free. You can message, phone, or video talk on your computer. When I was studying abroad in Spain about 3 years ago I used this ALL the time. It was a fast, simple, and free way to phone friends and family back home. The perk too was that you could see them! Way better than a phone. Now a days I use it to keep in contact with all of my friends I met overseas. It would cost a fortune to have to opportunity to see them as much as I would like, but with Skype I am able to actually see them and makes the experience of catching up that much more memorable.

A great way I would love to use this tool is inside the classroom. One thing I have always wanted to do with my kids is penpals around the world. There are some great websites you can go to and find people and classrooms that are interested in doing to same. Using Skype our children from both classrooms could have the chance to really interact with one another and form friendships and a closer bond by being able to see one another.

Kudos to the creator of this TERRIFIC TOOL!

Thing 14: Podcasting & Pinterest

On a side note...

If you haven’t heard of it then let me tell you.. You are missing out!! Although, I must warn you, once you starting pinning it may take over. I have had husbands tell me they have officially lost their wives… to a website!! Haha

Pinterest is an amazing website that is like a virtual pin board.  It lets you organize into categories all your favorite things and new ideas. You literally can find anything on this site! My boards consists of my favorite clothes, home décor, food, and much much more!!

Now that I have started I just can’t stop. If you haven’t starting pinning you must! But I will warn you once more you will be addicted. J

You can follow friends' boards through facebook.. Look me up and check mine out!

Ashley Rogers

Thing 13: Using YouTube

The world of blogging and everything that surrounds it intrigues me more and more daily. Had I known it was so easy to put one together, link information, post pictures and videos, and blog to the world, I would have started this years ago. Everyone that knows me knows I like to chat so this is a marvelous way to express myself and let everybody know what’s going on. (and don’t say you don’t want to know.. you clicked on my blog page didn’t you? haha)

I thought I would share a TEASE I did for one of my earlier classes. Since I am with younger children one of the FIRST things we discuss is community in the classroom and friendship. These are a great way to start a new unit and really get the kids revved up and excited about it. Being able to post these videos is a great way for all the parents to take a look at things we are doing inside the classroom. The children too could also use these to make their own videos to share with one another.

Thing 12: Discovering YouTube

Youtube is just about as fabulous as sliced break..I know I am so original. It is a website that is incredibly addicting and the possibilities of endless! I can sadly stay on the site for hours on end. I will look up everything from music videos, news stories, and tv shows I missed. The lists goes on and one. When I thought of all the things I randomly look up a particular evening came to mind. Me and a friend of mine began thinking of every one of our favorite toys when we were a kid. I know I can tell your mind is already racing. If you remember your toy you probably also remember the extremely cheesy commercials that are still stuck in your head. We had a hay day looking them all up and lost complete track of time. Here were a few of my absolute favorites!

Thing 11: Web 2.0

Google Earth is a tool that I wanted to look into. I have never had the chance to use it but and is absolutely fascinating. I really think it is a program you could use for all ages. Although learning visually can enhance the comprehension in any grade, I feel kindergarten is definitely a key age for that. Google Earth can give you the opportunity to take your kids ANYWHERE around the world in the blink of a “click!” The can see if up close for further observation and discussion. They get to “feel” like they are really there! So fun, so neat!!

 

I also took a look at this program known as, Kideos. It is basically a youtube for kids! The website is safely checked by a video advisory council before any video is a loud to be posted for viewing. This way there is no need for overly worried parents and children can explore the possibilities of all sorts of fun and educational videos. The world of animation and play is at their  fingertips!

Here is an example one of the thousands of videos you can look up! Everyone loves a little educational School House Rock. :)

Schoolhouse Rock - I'm Just a Bill | Kideos

Thing 10: Online Productivity Tool

I looked at this program called Zoho Writer for the first time. Upon first glance it looks pretty similar to Google Docs. Because I have never used this program I thought I would check it out.

There are several different ways you could implement a website like this one. An idea I thought would be helpful in my everyday professional life is with lesson plans. A big thing that our team is trying to do this year is really stay on the same page with one another. With Zoho Writer you can create a lesson plan document and be able to share it with your whole team. This way you can all collaborate and edit to fit each ones needs while keeping everyone in the know! What a fabulous program!!

Here is an example of what I did!

Thing 9: Playing with Wiki's

This TechnologyPoppersforClassrooms is really an easy little setup. I have never used a wiki so this is all very new to me. All I had to do was go in and not only could I read up on everyone’s great ideas, but just by clicking the “edit” button I can add my own.

I started going through all of them and they gave me some great ideas for my own classroom. I could even have to opportunity to add or comment on some of the ideas given in case I had a little input of my own.

This not only would be great in an educational or professional setting, but I could also use something like this in my own life. One thing I thought about was weddings. I feel like everyone I know is getting married these days and has so many great ideas and blogs they use to get these ideas from. Between me and my friends we could have our own little wedding wiki so that each of us can collaborate and post great new styles, color schemes and so on. If we wanted to make it completely public then we could get even more commentary and feedback from others who have already been married and know the do’s and don’ts of the wedding day chaos!

Thing 8: Wiki's

A wiki is a website that lets anyone become a member. You can create or edit the actual sites information. It is a living collaboration whose purpose is the sharing of the creative process. Inside a school or educational setting wikis are being used as a communication tool.

I thought since my little ones are only 5 and 6 this could be a wonderful way to bring together the community of our school. Each grade could have their own wiki giving advice from classroom techniques to activities and projects. As a team we would be able to see, edit and compromise together new ideas to share and publish.

On the TeachersFirst website if gave some great information on how to use wikis in an elementary setting of young students:

Wiki ideas for younger students (elementary):

·         An annotated virtual library: listings and commentary on independent reading students have done throughout the year

·         Collaborative book reviews or author studies

·         An elementary class “encyclopedia” on a special topic, such as explorers or state history – to be continued and added to each year!

·         A virtual tour of your school as you study “our community” in elementary grades

·         A travelogue from a field trip or NON- field trip that the class would have liked to take as A culmination of a unit of study: Our (non) trip to the Capital and what we (wish) we saw.

·         Detailed and illustrated descriptions of scientific or governmental processes: how a bill becomes a law, how mountains form, etc.
A wiki “fan club” for you favorite author(s).

·         Family Twaditionwiki- elementary students share their family’s ways of preparing Thanksgiving dinner or celebrating birthdays (anonymously, of course) and compare them to practices in other cultures they read and learn about.

·         A Where is Wanda wiki: a wiki version of the ever-favorite Flat Stanley project. Have each Wanda host post on the wiki, including the picture they take with Wanda during her visit. Even better: keep an ongoing Google Earth placemarker file to add geographic visuals to Wanda’s wonderful wanderings as a link in the wiki. WOW! Where in the world IS Wiki Wanda?

Thing 6: Wordle & Voki

I think Wordle is such an amusing site to use for children of all ages. Wordle is cloud of tagged words used to express or explain a certain subject area or idea. With my little ones in Kindergarten one unit that I thought about was our insect unit in the spring. By this time they have been to the computer lab for several weeks on end and are comfortable with using the computers in front of them. I  could use this as an opportunity to see what kind of insect vocabulary they have remembered and produce a neat piece of art that could be all their own. Here I have a couple of examples of “Insect Wordles”.

Voki is my new favorite thing to use! I have only had a chance to utilize this website a few times, but I am already hooked!! I think one great way to apply these little virtual characters is on your class page. Whether it is a quick reminder to the parents or a homework assignment for the children this site can be used for all ages. Here is a little example of one that I might post.

Thing 6: RSS Feeds

I never really looked into what an RSS feed is.  An RSS feed, known as a “Really Simple Syndication,” is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated words. These can be anything from news headlines, blog entries and videos.

Bloglines gives you an opportunity to register for free and view  these feeds with convenience. This website is a really great idea and asset to have when collecting information with ease. This website lets you save different feeds from all kinds of websites so that you can have easy access to them.

I enjoyed putting my own feeds together based on my personal likes and common pages I look at daily. It is something I can pull up now to check all of the web pages I like to browse without having a mass amount of tabs or pages up on the computer at once. Here are some of my feeds I posted:

-Perez Hilton

- Houston Chronicle

- StubHub

- Youtube Video Player

- Mtv News

- Billboard

- Urban Spoon

- Pop Sugar

-USA Today

Check my page out!! 

Thing 5: Mashup

Spell with flickr is a super awesome website that enables you to take any letter or text and find several different options and pictures to match it.

I saw this on another student’s blog and I just could not pass it up. I have seen these before and I never thought I could find a 3^rd party site so that I could do it myself. Not only do I want to print one out and frame it for myself now I have a fabulous new gift idea for others who share my interests and likes! You can use any name or word of your liking and turn it into a work of art!