Thing #16

I had already set up Google as my homepage. I found it was easiest to keep up with everything Google that way. It was fun putting onto the page things I want to keep up with. Since I love the beach so much I have two aquariums I watch. I also chose to have the weather there, newspaper cartoons and to keep up with the sites I am following. I also set up a calendar through my Google account. It e-mailed me at my APSU e-mail the reminders I had put there. That was a handy way to keep up with the assignments I had coming up. I took a look at Zamzar which is a file converter. I don't think I am computer savvy enough at this time to really use this tool, but will keep it in mind if I need to convert files in the future.

I did take a look at some of the Web tools available for students. Gradefix would really be helpful for my students who need to get organized and keep up with their assignments. This tool does cost $5 a month which some parents may not find beneficial to pay.

Thing #15

I will have to re-attempt to edit pages in the 23 Things Wiki. The page would not allow me to edit this time around. I did add a comment on Google as I really loved the idea of the Picasso Picture Album. I can see where Wiki's could be fun to use with students working on a project in an English classroom. We could set up our own literary comment wiki on the books we read. I am concerned about the freedom for anyone to edit and add comment. That is one of the criticisms I have heard about Wikipedia. How reliable is the information if anyone can add and edit a page? It was a source I used in studying this past summer on English literature. It usually rang true with Spark Notes and Cliff Notes though, so I cannot recall personally finding any errors in the website.

Thing #14

I created this flow chart using Gliffy. It is a common graphic organizer used in the 8th grade for students to illustrate their expository essay. Using Gliffy is much like using draw tools in MicroSoft Word; however, I found it easier to manuever and to make it colorful. There was less switching back and forth. The mind map I made could not be shared over the web through bubbl.us. It was a fun tool to use and would link your bubbles together based upon whether you created a sibling or a child. The colors were very vivid, but I was disappointed not to be able to export it. You can share it on-line with friends.

trial1

This is my Zoho Writer document created for Dr. Ann Wall's 5540 Educational Technologies Class at Austin Peay State University.  It is very much like using Word and Works document writers.  I look forward to exploring this tool for usage in my classroom as my students get ready to create a school newspaper.  I am wondering how this tool might help with that but will have to spend more time exploring the options available here.  I am facing having to buy Microsoft Office for my home computer as it can loaded with Works instead.  I have to have Microsoft Office to send lesson plans to my principals.  Works documents cannot be read by the school's computer.  I am wondering how this tool might help me avoid purchasing more software.

Thing #13

http://export.writer.zoho.com/ZExport.do?tstamp=19,3,2009

This is my first time using Zoho Writer. I plan to spend more time creating documents and exploring how this tool can be used to help my students compose the school newspaper we hope to start. It behaves much like a Word software writer which will make writing the stories easy, but I am looking for a way to lay the newspaper out on the web without having to pay a webservice to help me.

About Thing #12 Album

I found using Picasa Web Album tools from Google was very easy and user friendly, however, it does take time to upload photographs. I am also finding that putting it in slide show format on my blog spot is causing the spot to download more slowly. This would be a useful tool to use in putting together a school newspaper website. The students could upload pictures on a common Google account and create a slide show of each sporting event for the school newspaper.

I also set up my iGoogle page. It was fun adding the different gadgets that I would like to see each time I go on-line. I set this page up strictly for fun with news items about television, movies, comics, and other trivia. This feature could be used in a classroom by limiting the menu to news articles that would be of importance to students and their classroom work. It would be a great place to get current events quickly to use in the classroom. I did not see a way to link others to my iGoogle page.

I also checked out the alerts and set up the calendar. The calendar feature would be good to share with my family in Texas as they are always asking when I have time off and what I am up to.

Thing #12

View Album

Get your own

Thing #11

Google Blog Search was the easiest search engine to use. It gave me numerous hits on simple keywords and also helped me narrow my search. I added one new blog spot from my search to my RSS. I had heard that the White House has a blog spot, so I added it to my RSS. Feedster was down for some reason, so I could not use it. A search on the web revealed that it may no longer be available. I found Topix.net a little complicated at first. It is helpful in that you can narrow your search to local news, but it's graphics and layout make it difficult to find your search results at first. Once I got the hang of it, I played around for some time looking for news information about education closest to me. It also showed me news feed from as far away as Adilabad where 40 teachers are in trouble for attending a conference that contradicted the accepted Model Code of Conduct. Technorati is categorized on its home page so I found it to be very user friendly in searching for blogs. You can begin your search on this site based upon broad intersts or use the search engine for a narrower category.

Thing #10

I chose Google Reader for my RSS. I already have a Google account through my blog spot so the account was already set up for me. I liked that I could keep track of both news sites and blog spots through Google Reader. I also like the fact that through RSS I can receive updates as they happen and not have to search favorite websites for information. I chose a variety of sites to keep track of including Coolcatteacher and Dangerously Irrelevant as recommended by Dr. Wall. I also chose to keep track of blogs concerning educational trends, tips from other English teachers and news reports on education. I plan to use this tool for my personal learning and to keep myself informed about changes in educational policy. In today's political environment, I believe a lot of changes in education will be coming about and I want to stay informed. I believe other teachers might find this tool useful for the same reasons. What an easy way to stay connected to people in your profession world-wide where you can daily exchange information without wasting time checking to see if someone has updated or commented on their blog.

Turn Loose The English.

Enter a word for your own slogan:

Generated by the Advertising Slogan Generator. Get more english slogans.

Image generator at http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi?word=english

This image generator uses one word and turns it into a slogan. You could even order a t-shirt with this slogan. This could be a fun tool to use in a student contest or just for fun. The teacher could generate slogans and have the students explain in essay format how they make sense or why they would be a great way to advertise something. There are many applications to using this generator in an English classroom.

Thing #9

This image was created at http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/. I have always been a fan of happy faces and believe they are a fun way to convey messages. I would use this in Powerpoints and in a student newspaper.



This image was made at http://cooltext.com/Render-Result?RenderID=415872661. These images are buttons you can use as hyperlinks or just to enhance your blog spot or web page.

My Presentation

I created this mosaic using Splashr. This is pretty cool and could be used on the student newspaper website we plan to create at my school. As you click on each photograph it moves and then will click to a snapshot of the picture. This would be a fun feature to use with personal pictures you could share with family and friends. As an avid scrapbooker, I believe Flickr and its toys would definitely be fun to use and would save on paper and mess. Though I am still a bit leary of putting my pictures out there for public display, I might just have to trust Flickr's privacy features and put its tools to good use.

Thing #8

These images were found by using Flickr Spell. This feature could be used in a variety of ways by students in an English classroom. It would be a great way to encourage students to go on-line and play around with their spelling words as a way to practice them. I could also use this as an attention grabber in a Powerpoint display. Students could also be encouraged to go out and take pictures of letters around their school to create words for spelling purposes or to use in the school newspaper.

Thing #7

This photo was taken by Keven Law and according to the Creative Commons was available to share with attribution. Photo found:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/2919179438_35c8879bdd_d.jpg

I chose the Tiger because that is the school mascot where I teach. I am planning to lead the students through putting together a school newspaper called "Tiger Times" as a year-end project and was looking for images they could use. I am planning to web publish the newspaper.

I found it a challenge to get the URL into blogger to use this picture, but otherwise did not have problems finding an image I liked. It was frustrating to find some really cool images that were not for public use and sharing. There are some really talented photographers out there. They inspire me to get out and take some pictures when the world is green and pretty again.

I will use Flickr to help my students find images for the newspaper and also as a commons to publish the school pictures we plan to use in the newspaper. This will be a great tool to use as a place to put all the pictures the students have taken over their years at their school. They can then select the pictures they want to publish in the newspaper.

I do not think I would use Flickr for personal use as I am very private and still leary of putting myself out there on the web, but I believe with the right privacy restrictions there can be some great classroom applications here.