Thing 23

I know that you say that this is the end, I am finished, but I feel like I am just getting started!  I have learned a lot throughout this experience.  Many things that I look forward to taking the time this summer to re-explore so I am ready to use them with my students in the Fall.  I think the two things that I am most excited about are my Delicious account for my own personal use and podcasting for use with my future class.  I am going to try my best to create a Podcast with my class next year to share what is happening in our classroom.  I do feel much more confident now with some of the "Things" that I had only heard of before getting started on this journey.  Thank you for introducing me to so much and keeping me current with what is happening in the world of technology!

Thing 22

I have really been procrastinating about creating my Wiki.  I don't know why, it doesn't seem difficult. I just feel that I will probably never have a use for them in the future. 
So I have finally tried it and the link to my Wiki is below.
https://gailhillard1.wikispaces.com/
I hope you will check it out and add a comment to my Wiki.  I will be interested to check in with this Wiki occasionally to see who has added a comment.  I feel that Blogging, emailing or using a Google Doc would fill the needs that I have rather than using a Wiki.  I can understand how people find them to be useful and I am impressed that they are free for Educators to use.  Wikis could be very useful in the classroom creating great discussions and organizing information, but I don't think they are for me. 

Thing 21

I enjoyed looking through the variety of Wikis that were linked to Thing 21, and couldn't believe how many there are!  I found myself getting lost in the book reviews and trailers on the "Book Trailers for Readers" site.  I didn't know that Kevin Henkes wrote books for older children, it seemed like such a dark story from the man who also writes about a little mouse named Chrysanthemum.  I was also amazed at the wealth of information available through the "Wikihow" site.  There were instructions about everything, including how to teach your child multiplication!  I think this site will be very useful to me next year as I begin to teach a new grade level, and as a mom of two boys.  One thing that worries me about a Wiki is that everything is open to the public so it needs to be appropriate for all viewers to see.  I like the "history" feature and the need to sign in so you can see who is adding what.  I think I am more likely to use the Googledocs instead because it gives me a bit more control, but I love all of the information that is already available to me.

Thing 20

I have now subscribed to the "ColeyCast", a podcast created by the 5th graders at Tovashal Elementary in Murrieta, California.  I appreciate all of the hard work that this class has done to get their podcast up and running.  I found this Podcast through "Podcast Alley" as the "Education Podcast Network" was too slow on my computer, I will try that site again later.  Podcast Alley was very easy to navigate and do a refined search in my interest areas.  When I found a podcast that interested me, it was super easy to download and enjoy!  I am very serious about trying this next year in my class and hope parents find it as easy to use as I do.  I also played around a little with the "Add Your Podcast" button so I think I'll be able to share my podcast through this site as well.

Thing 19

Move over Oprah, I am starting my own Podcast!  Well... at least I am excited about trying it.  My husband has been downloading podcasts for some time now and I enjoy listening to them in the car with him.  Until now, I don't really think I understood how he did it.  I loved seeing the different Podcast available for Educators.  I am starting a new grade level next year and look forward to using some of these Podcasts to help with my planning.  http://storynory.com/ was one of my favorite sites and think students would really enjoy listening to the stories that are available.   http://mps.wes.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8&pageid=115312&sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8 Radio WillowWeb is also something that I would like to subscribe to in the future.  I really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into creating a Podcast.  Students would have to do research, do lots of writing, work on teamwork, planning, rehearsing, presenting, etc.  What wonderful lessons!  Parents would love being able to hear what is happening in the classroom especially if the students are involved in the presentation.  I think my Monthly Newsletter might become a thing of the past.

Thing 18

The Love Project 2011

View more presentations from lindamango

I enjoyed looking at this slideshow site and never knew that such a thing even existed. I had a lot of fun searching for a show to post and found this one that includes many AMAZING photos from around the world, some from right here in Michigan. The slide show was one that was featured on this site, but the quote from John Lennon is what sold me. I also impressed myself that I remembered how to embed something into my Blog without having to go back to Thing 10. I might be getting the hang of this Web! I can see how this would be a wonderful tool in and out of the classroom. I did a quick search for slideshows in my area of teaching and found a few that could be helpful. This would be something that I am sure my students would love to help me create in the future.

Thing 17

I just can't believe all that is capable in Web 2.0.  I am a huge list maker so "Remember the Milk" was very fun for me to play around with.  This site lets you organize your to do list and will send you reminders if you would like.  My problem is that I just do not have the time to sit at my computer to get this organized.  I prefer to grab anything that is on the kitchen table (ex. a receipt, a napkin, a piece of cardboard, etc.) and jot down whatever it is that I need.  I also took a look at the site called "30 boxes" which I also enjoyed.  I have a terrible time remembering dates, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  I recently bought myself a book to organize my cards each month to mail out for people's birthdays.  This site will allow me to enter all of these dates and then send me reminders as the date approaches.  Again, my problem is finding the time to enter all of my information!  I know that these sites are designed to make my life easier, it's just a matter of taking the time to do it.

Thing 16 Google Docs

We use Google Docs quite often at my school.  For my Principal it is a quick and easy way to gather information from her staff.  I like it so I can see what others have responded to her questions before I make my decision.  I think this would be great to use with older students who have an email account, as my first graders do not.  I love the idea that students are sharing their work with their peers and not just the teacher.  I think you would see better writing from them if they know another student will be reading their work and making comments.  I liked the quote from one of the teachers in the video that said, "I thought I was a good writer until someone else read my work." 

Thing 15 Managing RSS

Just the other day I was thinking...Gee, I should probably go back and check my Delicious account to see what's new.  I just went back and I had 911 unread items!  I knew this was not for me.  I am not one that has the time to sit at my computer for any length of time during the day.  I have a classroom full of energetic first graders at school and at 4:15 I run home to be with my energetic 3 and 1 year old sons.  By the time I get them in bed, I need to catch up on household chores and spend a little time with my husband and then...I am exhausted from the day.  I do see how beneficial this can be and even a bit addictive.  If I had the time I would really enjoy it.  Of the 911 items, I quickly and easily scanned a few and got some great tips and ideas.

Thing 14

My delicious name is "ghillard" so you can check out my bookmarks that I have chosen to share.  I have found things for teaching first grade, my family and fun!  One of my favorite sites that I found was called "wordle" where I created a fun word picture for my family.  I love looking at what others have chosen and adding it to my own Delicious account.  It is amazing how lost you can become in this crazy web.  Time flies right away from me while I am on this computer. I feel productive at times while I am planning for school or family meals, but I also feel like I should be cleaning my house, doing the laundry or just getting some sleep instead of staying up so late playing on the computer.

Thing 13 Social Bookmarking

What teacher has the time to sit down at their computer at school and find ideas and plan for their lessons?  I teach a class of 25 first graders that just don't give me the time to do that, nor do I want to!  What is that saying about how all great teachers steal their ideas from other great teachers?  Why recreate the wheel that has already been created for you?  We all know that teachers spend so much time outside of school working on our plans.  I love this idea of being able to find sites and ideas on my home computer and then be able to access them from my work computer in an organized manner.  I also look forward to looking through sites that others have tagged that may appeal to me as well.  We need to remember that this is public, so we have to be careful what we tag as important to us.  What we tag tells a lot about us!

Thing 12 Widget

This looked like a very fun Widget to add to my blog, I hope you enjoy it too! I think I am getting more comfortable embedding code. did I really just say that? Who am I becoming? This is actually a lot of fun.
I do not belong to any online communities at this time. My friends, especially from college, are constantly trying to get me to join facebook. With two little ones at home I just do not have the time to dedicate to this activity. I would so much rather be outside playing with my boys. I understand why kids love them so much though. how fun it is to connect with others without having to plan a get together. It is instant and ideal for kids who are always so busy.

Thing 11

I had a hard time deciding who I would write a comment to on their blog. I think it is so funny how there is so much etiquette that goes along with your comments. I am glad to know that kindness and proper English and grammar are expected. I can't even send a text without capitals and periods. I decided to comment on the people that I know that are taking this course and also those with clever names for their blogs. I do love receiving comments and can't wait until more people get to this "Thing" in hopes that I may get a comment. I think comments are important to make us remember that what we are writing is being read by others and that our voice can be very powerful. Students would love sharing their ideas and finding others that agree with them.

Thing 10

We are studying Keven Henkes now in my classroom of first graders.  I have found this interview with him on YouTube talking about his book "White Rabbit."  I know my class will enjoy hearing the author tell about his work.  this gives new maning to my author study.

Thing 9 YouTube

I have used YouTube quite often in my classroom for a variety of reasons.  You really can find pretty much anything on YouTube that you could need.  Last year we watched the life cycle of butterflies just before our own study of them.  I was able to put this link onto my website so the students could share this experience with their families at home. 
You do have to be very careful and make sure to watch any clips before showing them to students.  A fellow teacher and I were looking at cute kittens once and the next thing we knew we were taken to an alarming video with very adult content. 
I have never left a comment on a video before so that was a new experience, but I do not think I would need to do this in the future. 
I have heard of so many highschool students given the assignment of creating and posting a video on YouTube to go along with what they are doing in the classroom- what a great idea, I bet my first graders would enjoy that as well!

Thing 8

This is my favorite thing that we have done thus far!  I am in love with bighugelabs.com!  I plan on doing all of my Christmas shopping right here this year, I can't believe it is free.  I decided to use a picture of my son and create this pop art picture.  I think this would be so fun to use with my class as well.  It would be fun to make posters, collages or just fun artwork to display what the children are working on.  I know parents would love to see their little one's creativity, I know I would!

Thing 7

I can't wait to have time to play around with Flickr this summer!  We have some family that lives far away and this would be so great to share our photos with them as well.  I look forward to using it personally to upload all of my family photos but I can see its usefulness within the classroom as well.  It would be great to help my first graders see step by step directions rather than having them read the directions, which can be a challenge for some. I think parents would really love to see what is going on in the classrrom as well.  We would be able to share all of our fieldtrip experiences with those who forgot their cameras. 

Thing 6 Flickr

I love taking pictures!  I have two little boys that I of course think are the cutest kids ever so anytime I can take a picture of them, I do.  My husband thinks I am crazy for taking pictures of cute little naked bottoms or spaghetti faces but I know I will be so happy I have the pictures to look at someday (not sure if my boys will appreciate it so much).  One of my greatest fears is loosing all of the photos that I have or something happening to my camera.  I have now added "upload pictures to Flickr" to my summer to do list.  I am so excited to finally have a safe place to store my photos, right now I am using the Costco website.

I have chosen the above photo to share on my blog because my boys and I just planted some cosmos seeds in an egg carton and we can't wait to watch them grow...Spring is finally here, we are heading out to enjoy it!

Thing 5

Now I feel like I am really getting organized.  I have subscribed to a few more sites for my family including one to help with feeding a very picky three year old.  I love reading and trying new recipes and craft projects for my family.  This will be so nice to always have access to new ideas on some of my favorite sites that are personalized to my interests.

Thing 4 RSS

What a neat new feature to learn about.  I have often wondered what the little orange button was for on some websites but never thought to try it out!  It seems like a great way to organize all of the articles that I am most interrested in and keep up to date with my reading.  It is a great way to personalize the wealth of information that exists and narrow it down to what is relavent to me.  I liked trying all of the different ways to subscribe and now that the subscribe icon is on my favorites bar I will most likely choose this option. 

Thing 3

I really enjoyed viewing the different blogs that were given as examples and I am amazed at how many other educational blogs exist.  I appreciate the amount of effort that goes into creating and maintaining a blog.  Being a first grade teacher myself, I loved seeing what the other first grade teacher does with her students.  I am sure that parents love seeing what is happening in her classroom.  I have tried very hard to keep up with my website this year and show parents different assignments and projects that we have been working on.  They seem to love viewing this information, I have recieved many positive comments.  I do worry about showing too much personal information about my students, not knowing who may be viewing it.

Thing 1 and 2

I am enjoying the class so far and love to hear what others are doing in their classroom.  Lots of questions have come to mind including how I will be able to apply what I am learning to my first grade classroom.  My students do not have cell phones and many do not have a computer at home.  I wasn't really impressed with the sample assignment in the video of using the cell phone to gather information.
I have been able to do a few things involving technology within my classroom this year and the kids always get so excited!  Right now we are watching the Live stream video of the eagles that have hatched in Iowa.  The class gets really grossed out when it's feeding time. 
I do worry that podcasts are going to put me out of a job someday, could they replace teachers altogether?  I think people need to have real face to face interactions with others.  I am already seeing a lack of social skills in my first graders. 
Creating a blog was fun and I look forward to following others and reading their posts.