Thing 20 - Facebook - Social Networking

I set up by Facebook account. I could not believe how easy it was to see others from my graduating classes from both high school and college. They were just there. I chose not to add any as friends just yet. I don't know if I want to become tied down to checking my Facebook page all the time. I sent a message to my daughter. I will have her show me more of her page then. She and I have looked at her page every so often.

My son has a page as well and I cuold find his easily as well. It does seem a bit scary to think everyone can find us that easily. i realize that you have the choice to add friends or not and my children I hope have made those good choices. I know my daughter has.

The social networking piece is so big. My kids used to use up all of our cell phone minutes. Now they spend much more time on the computer with their friends online. I just don't think I want to do that. At least not at this point in my life. Perhaps when I retire (soon), I might but I hope I have many other activities to keep me busy at that point. :)

I chose not to look at MySpace as both of my kids have said they prefer Facebook. I did appreciate the registration for my own site. I did even upload a picture. As with many of these 23 Things, this was so simple.

Thing 19 - Podcasts

I listened to some podcasts by Joan Badger and Ben Hazzard from Canada. They deliver many podcasts on the subject of SMART Boards and their use. They are thousands of miles apart and yet teach together very well. It is a unique way to collaborate. They both use and know SMART technology very well so it is interesting to have them both teaching about better uses of this technology.

The collaborative part of podcasts is a great feature. Students could also be able to collaborate well. Long distance communications work with this as well as right in your own classroom. We are trying to teach our students how to use technology to communicate and this is an easy one to use. There certainly are many podcasts to choose from just to listen to and learn from. Students today seem to be audio users. I can rarely talk to my own children anymore as they always have their ipods in their ears. They mostly listen to music, but I know that if they had a lesson or two to listen to, they would. That is the 21st century way of doing things.

Thing 18 - You Tube

What fun to search for some inspirational video. I wanted to find a short video about reading. This was the best one I could find with only spending about 10 minutes looking. But also how easy to share this on my blog.

I have found many useful videos on You Tube. It has been interesting that our schools district used to block You Tube and now does not. I am glad that teachers are able to find good video clips to share with their students.

I will see if I get inspired to post my own. I would like to try, even if it is very short. I do enjoy learning how many of these technological "things" work.

Reading Inspires Children Video

Thing 17 - ELM Resources

I have been stuck on this one for a couple of weeks and also haven't had time to get back to it.

I use the ELM resources with my students when I can. However to try and do the activities as outlined in this "thing", it proved difficult.

Our school IP address set up must stop some of the options that others see. I could not do the RSS feeds for example.

But the ELM resources themselves are great. I think we are lucky that the legislature pays for us to have these resources. Subscriptions costing what they do, this is a huge money saver for all districts and libraries.

I like to have resources that are current and the students can find articles that are recent. Plus the number of resources is way more than I ever could have here in my media center.

Thing 16 - Student Web 2.0

I had seen the Research Project Calculator before. It's use has been promoted through MEMO. It is user friendly and great for middle and high school students. I could even see it being used with upper elementary students. I think all students need to start early in planning their time for projects. It is so easy to procrastinate and if this tool is used it helps the student to stay on track. The support materials were very helpful. Having all the pdf files available right there makes it easy for anyone to understand the steps. It seemed a simple plan to follow.

The U of M Assignment Calculator was also very good. The support materials were extensive and sent the student to other colleges and university such as Princeton and Purdue for help with their writing. What a great collaborative system.

I thought they both did the same sort of things, it was just more of a level of difficulty. As an elementary teacher, it would be harder for me to use this with students.

But on a personal level, I might try it for a professional project or just to keep myself organized. The only trouble is that it does relate mostly to research projects so it might not work to help me to get my grocery list done. :)

Thing 15 - Online Games

I guess I will never be a great pirate. I liked the game side of Puzzle Pirates. I did OK on the games that I tried. But I never got past the learning stage. I can't see myself devoting as much time as you need to to become a good pirate. Then I ended up on an island where I could buy things, but I had no money. I certainly don't want to start paying for the things you need to in order to participate fully. But I can certainly see how people can get hooked on these virtual sites. I thought it was very well done and fun. I also thought it was a little creepy when I would have others on the ship and I really did not know who they were. I was told a number of times to "get off this ship you land lubber!"

I have watched a friend do the Second Life expereince. Again, I don't think I want to devote that much time to a virtual world. But it is amazing to me that all of this is out there for us to use. Cyber space is way cool!!