Thing # 23 - The End

I am finally at the end of these 23 tasks. This has been a great learning experience and I hope to continue learning. I've really learned a lot of things that will be useful and beneficial.

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite discovery was YouTube and TeacherTube. I've never really looked on YouTube and didn't know it had so many teacher videos. TeacherTube has many wonderful videos that I will be using this year to learn and to teach with.
Another favorite exercise was learning about wikis and nings. I will definitely try to use these in my classroom with my small groups of students.
I also liked the little trading cards. I already have several lessons I could use these with.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This experience has taught me how important it is to continue learning new technology. Technology has become such an integral part of how students learn and it will be my goal to make sure that I keep learning as much as I can to make sure my students are learning in the way best suited to them.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I was surprised to learn about wikis and nings and how they can be used in the classroom to extend and enhance learning. They can be instrumental in making the research process easier and more fun for students. It will help turn my classroom into a community of learners, instead of a classroom of single learners.
Delicious is also a great take-a-way from this program. With it, I will be able to tag the sites that I want students to go to when researching in the classroom.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program's format or concept?
The information gleaned from this was wonderful, but at times seemed overwhelming. There was so much that needed to be learned. It was all extremely useful.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
If it was new information, absolutely. I think it would be great if there could be a lesson or two on setting up your own webpage.

6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE?
A wonderful learning experience.

Thing # 21

This task has taken longer than any of the rest of them. Everytime I'd come up with an idea, another idea would take its place. I actually made 3 different videos. The one that I chose is a project that I'd like for my students to do. They will make a video podcast all about themselves. I hope this posts. This, as usual, is the second try. Fingers crossed.

Thing # 22 Nings- Second try

I was really hoping that the problem with not posting would be solved by now, but oh well. I'm almost finished. I'm going to go ahead with thing # 22 while I'm working on thing 21, which is taking a little bit longer.

At first, I was confused about Nings, until I read "7 Things You Should Know About Ning." I really found that piece very imformative. I would love to create classroom project Ning where where my students and I can work together on projects. My students only see me once a week and Ning would be a great way for students to work with each other from home and be able to contact me with questions. Project information can be posted along with schedules and deadlines and informational websites they can use. I really would like to have the opportunity to implement Ning this year with my class.

BTW

By the way, A Portal to Texas History will be a great site for us to use this year as we study Texas History. There are so many great things on there.

Thing # 20 - Embedded video

The first video is from my favorite BBC comedy, Black Adder, and was found on YouTube. I tried to embed one called, "Pay Attention," that was about how our students are learning. I kept getting an error message. I'll try another one from TeacherTube. The one I found was cool. It was a rap about fractions. Very fun.

Thing # 20 - Embedded Videos

Thing # 20 - YouTube and TeacherTube

I love TeacherTube! It has so many videos that can be used for school. There was a video about a rap about perimeter. Third and fourth graders would have so much fun learning about perimeter and remember what they learned. Students and teachers could have so much fun learning using this tool. I found a wonderful video entitled, "Pay Attention," all about how technology, such as ipods, podcasts and even cell phones, can be used to teach. It was very enlightening. There is so much technology out there that our students are already familiar with and it would be so easy to tap into that. YouTube also had some really great teaching videos about different things. I'm adding a fun one to my blog when I figure out how to embed. For now, I'll post. These are wonderful educational tools that I will most definitely be using this year.