Thing 23 - Final Thoughts

I have finished all 23 things, and I am very glad that I chose to embark on this technological journey. I learned about many things of which I was not familiar, and took some time to explore some things that I've wanted to, but haven't had time to. Technology is always expanding, changing, and growing, and I'm glad I was able to broaden my horizons through this program. I would definitely do a program like this in the future, if it was offered. There are a few "things" that I will definitely use in the future, such as Facebook, Flickr, RSS, and iGoogle, to name a few. There are other "things" that I'd like to take more time to explore, and possibly use more regularly, I just need to be disciplined enough to devote some time to doing so. Overall, I learned a lot. This was a great opportunity!

Thing 19 - Podcasts

I listened to the St. Cloud State podcast--an episode with Sara Martini from Talahi Elementary, regarding the Maud Hart Lovelace award for children's books. I also listened to MPR podcast regarding the music of the day.

I felt all of the podcast sites were fairly equal in ease of use. I really liked podcast.com, podcast.net, and Yahoo!Podcasts.

I don't think that I would feel comfortable doing a podcast, but I can see myself subscribing to one. I'm not sure which one at this point, but I think if I found one that was relevant or interesting, I would be willing to subscribe to it and listen to it regularly.

Thing 21 - Other Social Networks

It is simply amazing to see how many networks are out there. There truly is a social network for EVERYONE! Whatever your interests may be, there is a network out there for you.

I am currently a member of MySpace and Facebook. I have most frequently been using Facebook much more than MySpace. As I explored the other networks listed... I felt that "Gather" was a website that really focused around a certain theme, book, etc. "WebJunction" seems like a terrific tool for library staff to utilize. I also did some of the tasks for the "Ning" network, which seemed very similar to the social networks in which I currently am a member of.

I searched and explored a few other networks that I will likely use in the future. The 3 that I think I will use the most would be Classroom 2.0 Ning, Project Playlist (as I love music), and Bake Space (I love to try out new baking recipes).

Thing 17 - ELM Productivity Tools

This "Thing" was slightly confusing, but I think that these tools would be very beneficial for information searching...for myself, as well as for my students. I'm sure that as I use them more, they would become easier. I think that the Kids InfoBits, and other Gale/Cengage Learning databases would be great for student research.

Collaboration is huge in the teaching profession. I feel that NetLibrary would help to share and collaborate information with my colleagues.

Thing 18 - You Tube

I decided to explore some YouTube videos about Trinidad and Tobago. My brother's girlfriend is from there, and he will be living there all summer. I found some really interesting videos about the culture of these island nations. A couple of the videos I found weren't very relevant, they were just personal videos of a person's vacation.

I've seen other YouTube videos before... some comedians, one of my sister's students singing a song, and others. I'm sure there are some very informational ones, that would be beneficial to use in the classroom.

Thing 22 - What I've Learned

I've learned a lot about the technological world in the last few weeks. I'm glad I took this challenge... it has opened my eyes to many tools that I never knew existed, and gave me experience with some that I've been wanting to explore, but never took the time.

Some of these tools I will use more frequently than others, like Facebook, Flickr, Skype, Puzzle Pirates, and some others. I hope to take some time each week to explore these tools more. I also am hoping to bring some of what I've learned into my classroom, and allow my students to explore technology as I have.

Thing 20 - Social Networks

A few months ago, my husband helped me to set up a MySpace account. It was alright, and there were some cool features (backgrounds, questionnaires, flickr, photosharing, networking).

However... All 3 of my siblings have a Facebook account and convinced me to set one up a couple of days ago. I have used Facebook more than MySpace in just short time. I have my 10-year high school reunion coming up, and I have been able to locate many of my former classmates on Facebook. I have been "catching up" with many of them, and we've been able to email each other, share pictures, and more. I have really enjoyed Facebook so far. It was extremely easy to set up and navigate. I have made numerous contacts with family and friends over the past few days via Facebook.

There are many fun things that you can do with Facebook as well... questionnaires, groups, etc. I have joined a Marketing group for a friend's psychology class, and also a group for my 10-year reunion.

My brother will be living in Trinidad with his girlfriend this summer, and this will be one way in which we will be able to keep in touch, and let him be able to see pictures of his nieces.

Thing 15 - Ahoy!

I just spent some time with the Puzzle Pirates game. It was lots of fun. There are so many online games--most of which I am unfamiliar. My husband and my daughter have started spending some time with WebKinz. I have also seen some students playing a penguin game (not sure the name of it). I enjoyed playing the bilging and carpentry games. It's something I could spend a lot of time playing. My interactions with other pirates were good. I'm wondering if there is some sort of filter, if young kids were playing?

Thing 16 - Assignment Calculators

Very Cool! This is something I could use to help myself stay on track while finishing my Thesis. This would've been very handy in college when trying to stay focused on the steps toward creating a project or paper.

I liked the RPC! I could use this for my students when conducting extensive research for projects such as the Science Fair or History Day projects. I like that you can create some tips and guidelines for the students, as well as a rubric.

In my experiences, the goal of an extensive paper or project seems much more attainable when working on it in steps. I think that this would benefit my students as well. Sometimes they can become overwhelmed at the beginning, and feel that they are incapapable of a larger project. This tool would help to break up that seemingly unattainable task into more manageable chunks. It also gives the student tips and pointers for what they should be doing each step of the way.

Thing 14 - LibraryThing

LibraryThing was very easy to use. It was neat to see how many other people enjoy the books that I do. I can see many benefits to this program! Libraries, colleges, and booklovers alike can use LibraryThing to list, rate, and share about books.

As a teacher, I could make a list of recommended books to share with my students. Although, they would probably need an account?

Thing 13 - Online Productivity Tools

I chose the iGoogle start page because I have a gmail account, and briefly started an iGoogle account earlier in the 23 Things process. It will be my permanent page, because I found a lot of tools that I would like to have on my start page.

I found LOTS of tools that I will use both at school and at home. Some of the tools I added to my start page were a calendar, word of the day, games, birthday countdown, and some other fun things.

I am the type of person that likes to make lists, use planners, sticky notes, etc. So it was cool to see the different online tools that I could use. I have a feeling that I will still stick to my lists on the fridge, and my planner calendar, because I like to have those things "in my hand" and not always start up the computer to look at things like that. At school, I always have my computer on, so it would be more likely that I use those things at work.

Thing 12 - Social Media Tools

I have looked at, explored, and read stories from various types of Social Media sites. Usually I go to one of these sites because something sparked my interest. For example, a news story, entertainment news, or something interesting.

I think that these tools can be both a productivity enhancer and distractor. It depends if you have a purpose for it's use or not. I don't usually just go to a social media site to just explore... I could spend hours just searching and being "distracted." I usually have a purpose in mind for when I go to one of these sites. I have a question or topic that I am looking for specifically, which ends up enhancing my productivity.

Students can use some news websites for research or other purposes online, and don't need to receive the newspaper at home any longer!

Thing 10 - Wikis

I like the example of using Wikis to organize a "camping trip." It seems very easy for people to edit and save to a wiki versus editing and resending emails. It seems like it would work to use Wikis to collaborate with coworkers on a project this way.

I am one of the people who suggest students don't use Wikipedia as a source for research. I find it too loosely monitored. Students assume that everything on the Internet is fact. With Wikipedia, it is all too easy for them to find incorrect information.

I went onto the 23 Things On a Stick Wiki and added a comment to it. It was extremely easy to edit a Wiki... which brings me back to my previous comment on not using it as a trusted source for research.

Thing 9 - Collaboration

I felt like Zoho Writer was probably the most user-friendly of the three tools. I felt like the toolbars and settings were much easier to navigate using Zoho. I'm not sure how much I would use this type of technology. Maybe if I have more experience with it, or see how my colleagues use it, it would give me more ideas. It seems like there are many functions to use with editing or creating documents, which is very cool. I think the Founding Fathers would've loved to have some help in the creation of the Constitution!

Thing 7 - Communication

I can't really remember life before email. I think that email increases productivity, overall. It is easy to send and receive emails from coworkers and parents of my students. I can quickly reply to someone confidentially without distracting my students or taking too much time out of my teaching.
My only experience with web-conferencing, is when I was taking a Master's class. Most of the students in my class were from Fargo, and we were conferencing with our professor who was in Minot, 4 hours away. We also had a few students from other cities join us. It was amazing to think that we could have a class, live, with people in 3 different cities. It's not like having class with someone face-to-face, but still was very productive. We were even able to share documents with each other.
As far as Instant Messaging... I've never really used it. IM and Texting are definitely new means for communicating with friends. I have text messaged many times in my personal life, but haven't used it for professional reasons.