Thing 23

 After completing "23 Things" I feel more confident with using these tools both in and out of the classroom. The program has changed my views of the internet and how I view education in the digital world. I realize what a valuable resource the internet can be in education for both teachers and students no matter what your content area is. I will continue with learning Web 2.0 Tools by using them on my website and when possible in my classroom.

Thing 22

In your blog post be sure to include the link to your wiki. Then discuss your feelings about using a wiki. How does a wiki differ from a blog? When is one more appropriate to use than the other?

I'm not sure how I feel about using a wiki. After almost completing "23 Things" I have become very comfortable navigating with Blogger and I like using Blogger because I find it to be pretty "user friendly."  Blogs are more of a "read only" where you can only comment back to the blog. A wiki actually lets you modify ones work by making it better. Blogs are more like a personal journal for free writing. Wikis are websites where its users can add, modify, and delete content. These are more appropriate to use for group projects.

https://rmsphysicaleducation.wikispaces.com/ 

 

Thing 21

Describe a wiki you found that inspires you to create one of your own. What hurdles might stand in the way of your using a wiki? What would it take to remove the hurdles? Is it worth the fight?

I checked out Sports and Fitness on wikihow.com and there are a lot of "how to" articles related to sports and fitness. The important thing to remember about wikis is that anyone can add to them and that sometimes the information provided in the wiki can be inaccurate. Teachers could use wikis in their classroom as a means to get students more involved in the curriculum by encouraging participation, collaboration, and interaction.  

Thing 20

Include in your post the name of at least one podcast to which you subscribed. Describe your experience using the various search tools. Which do you prefer and why?

Brain Stuff

I subscribed to Brain Stuff in itunes. This podcast has many questions and answers that might be of interest to many students.  Examples of questions answered in this podcast are "Why can you hear the ocean in a seashell?" and "Why shouldn't you go swimming right after a meal?' itunes offers many podcasts that are free. It was also very easy to search for podcasts using itunes.

Thing 19

Which podcasts did you find interesting? Identify one or two podcasts and describe how you would use them in your work. (Be sure to include links in your blog entry to the podcasts mentioned.)

I went to learnoutloud.com and found many categories of podcasts. From there I clicked on "Sports" and found some podcasts related to sports. I could use these podcasts to keep up on current events in sports and also have students access these podcasts for current issues and events in sports.

NHL Podcast 

Thing 18

What did you like about the presentation you embedded? How might Slideshare be useful in the classroom? out of the classroom?

Labrador Retriever PowerPoint

View more presentations from maesale

I choose this presentation because of the new Labrador Retriever puppy my family will be getting. This presentation had some interesting facts about the dog breed. One of the best features of Slideshare is being able to search and view the work of others. I could see how Slideshare would have many uses in the classroom for the teacher and students. It would be a good source to use when assigning class presentations and a good way for the teacher to keep them organized.  I did try to search a few other subjects but was unable to find any thing. 

Thing 17

Give a review of the tool you explored - what worked, what didn't work, how might it be used in your personal or professional life?


I explored ZOHO Show. This looks like a really cool site to make online presentations. This site also enables you to import power point presentations so they may be shared. I might use ZOHO Show to make presentations in Water Safety to present to my class. 

Thing 16

How might you use this tool in your personal and professional life? What issues come to mind about using this tool with students (ie, they need email addresses to log-in)?

I like using google docs and have already been using it in my profession. Again, the benefit of google docs is that your are able to access google docs from any computer. Students can work on documents together without having to email documents back and forth. Google docs is great too because it automatically saves your documents.  The only issue I see with google docs is students that do not have access to a computer at home and that they need an email address.

Thing 15

Is RSS becoming easier to understand? Do you recognize new benefits of using this tool? Do you remember to check your feeds regularly? Has it become a habit (or obsession!) yet?


RSS is becoming easier to understand. A benefit of using this tool is that it allows feeds to come to you in an organized way instead of you searching for the feeds. I am trying to improve on checking my feeds regularly. I use RSS at home on my mac and the feeds come directly into imail so I find these easier to follow at home rather than using google reader. The benefit of google reader however is having the capabilities to access your RSS feeds from any computer. Checking my RSS feeds has not become a habit or obsession for me....yet.

Thing 14

Include your Delicious username in this blog post so that others can view the bookmarks that you have chosen to share. Then reflect on how you think social bookmarking can be used in your teaching. Does Delicious seem to be a tool that can enhance your productivity?

My Delicious username is delicious.com/pintophysed/ Teachers can use social bookmarking to share useful resources with colleagues and as a means for organizing resources on the internet to have in one place. I still like the "old" way of bookmarking however delicious is a good way to keep resources available to use from any computer and to share with others.

Thing 13

Share your thoughts about tagging. Is tagging a useful way to organize your digital resources and why? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages? What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?

Thing 12

Review the widget you selected. Are you getting comfortable with embedding code? Do you belong to other online communities? Are relationships formed online as meaningful as face-to-face relationships? Why do you think Facebook and other social networking sites are so popular with kids today?

I selected "The Daily Puppy" widget because of the new puppy we are getting. I am getting more comfortable using embedding codes. The only online community I belong to is Twitter. I used to be on Facebook but I deactivated my account. I think relationships formed online are very superficial and not as meaningful as face-to-face relationships. I think Facebook is so popular with kids today because it allows for them to communicate and share what is going on.

Thing 11

What do you like / dislike about leaving comments? How did you feel when you received your first comment? Why do you think commenting is so important in online communities? What might this mean for students who share their writing online?

I like being able to leave comments. So far I have only received 1 comment. Commenting is important in online communities to create discussions and provide feedback. Students that are sharing their writing online need guidelines regarding comments they are posting. Examples of this might be; use appropriate written language and to not attack the writer personally in their comments.

Thing 10

Add comments to the video you embedded. Why did you select it? Were you also able to download a video?

I choose this video because my daughter made it. Her computer teacher asked her to make a video on teen suicide to show to her entire high school.

I have downloaded one video so far to my YouTube that is also on my website. My 5th grade P.E. class participated in sport stacking for the world record of "most people sport stacking at multiple locations in one day."

Here is another YouTube video my daughter made for an assignment in her computer class.

Thing 9

What do you like or dislike about YouTube? Did you find videos that would be useful for teaching and learning? Is YouTube restricted in your building?

I like using YouTube. There are many videos that are useful for teaching and learning. I already use video's on YouTube in my classroom for lessons in Water Safety. Physical Education GLCE's include Aquatics and Water Safety Instruction. Even though our building does not have a pool I am still required to cover the Water Safety GLCE's. I think this is important considering we are a state surrounded by the Great Lakes with thousands of inland lakes and rivers. Also,  the city of Dearborn has community pools such as Levagood and Camp Dearborn that many students here at RMS frequently use. You Tube is not restricted in our building.

Thing 8

In the same post in which you placed your creation, briefly describe your experience completing Thing 8. Which of these tools intrigues you and why? Was it easy, frustrating, time-consuming, fun? Share some of your ideas for using the images you can create.

While it was fun playing around with Flickr montager and image generator I had a difficult time getting the images I created to appear here in this blog. That being said it was all of the above...easy, frustrating, time-consuming, and fun but I still don't know how to get some of these images to appear here on my blog. I have followed the directions by trying to copy and paste and I keep getting something that says "the image can't be found at the URL" so........I found this image for now...

deck80e4386417a4bff4a8996e8115dbabcaeda80f6a, a photo by pintophysed on Flickr.

Okay...so I think I figured it out. After clicking the "more options" link on Flickr where I saved my image I noticed an icon that said "Post to Blogger" I clicked that and the image loaded directly to my blog.

Thing 7

Think of ways you may be able to use Flickr in the classroom or in your work and share your ideas. What issues might you face?

I could use Flickr in my classroom to take pictures of weekly activities that we are doing. I could then post them to my website or provide a link on my website to Flickr. 

I think a big issue might be students or parents of the students that do not want to be photographed. If educators want to use pictures of students on the internet it might be a good idea to make sure you have permission from the student.

Thing 6

Create a post on your blog about one of the photos you downloaded. Why did you choose a particular photo? What is it about the photo that you found interesting?

I choose this photo because my family will be getting a new Labrador Retriever puppy around the end of February.  We are very excited to have the new puppy join our family!

Here is the link for the new puppy that we are getting! We get first pick of the males and still haven't decided yet which one we want. http://www.crestkennels.com/ScoutsPuppies.html

Thing 5

RSS can be a difficult concept for some to grasp right away - what questions do you have? It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of blogs out there - how do you handle information overload and how do you think RSS might help with that? Find anything in your searching that you'd recommend to others?


I don't think using RSS is that difficult to use. I like having the ability to let the feeds come to you instead of you searching for them. 


There are numerous blogs out there that can become overwhelming however understanding how to organize your feeds into folders makes it much easier.


Of course I searcher "physical education" and there are many blogs that came up using this search. Most professional organizations related to physical education such as AAHPERD and NASPE have blogs that I subscribed to.

Thing 4

How might you use RSS in your personal or professional life? Which method of subscribing do you prefer? What didn't work or doesn't make sense?

I was already using RSS at home on my mac. Now I am able to use RSS on my work computer. 

I prefer to simply use the SUBSCRIBE button in Google reader. All 3 methods were easy to use.

As with anything, the more you use it the more comfortable you will become with it.

Thing 3

 

How might a blog support the work you do? How might you use a blog with students? How might they respond to a blog assignment? What concerns do you have about educational blogging?

I have already designed a website to keep parents and students informed. I would use a blog with the students so I could assess one of the Michigan physical education GLCE's that "requires students to participate outside of physical education."

Participation Outside of
Physical Education
Students will…
A.PA.05.01 participate in physical activities that are vigorous in intensity level (i.e., a minimum of 60 minutes per day for 7 days a week while maintaining 65% of target heart rate) outside of physical education, including: locomotor activities, activities inclusive of manipulative skills, dodging, chasing, and fleeing activities, modified games that include combinations of locomotor and manipulative skills, and daily non-structured and minimally organized physical activities outside of physical education.

My students are aware of this expectation however assessment of the expectation individually is rather difficult. I would use a blog to help assess whether or not students are meeting this expectation by requiring them to blog.

My only concern to educational blogging is of course all of the excuses as to why the assignment did not get done.  "My computer was down. My internet was down.  The printer was out of ink." etc...

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Why are you participating in 23 Things? What do you hope to learn? What new insights did you have during Thing 1? How does writing on the Internet, knowing anyone could read it, change how you write or feel about writing?

I am participating in 23 Things to earn required Continuing Education credits. I hope to learn more about technology and how to use the technology to enhance and support learning in my classroom. 

I like the phrase in Thing 1 as it relates to technology in the class room..."If you can't beat them, join them."  In today's technological society we have to embrace the fact that we as educators need to harness the power of these new technologies to engage and motivate students in the classroom.

The fact that anyone could read what I write on the internet doesn't really bother me.