Is it the end or only the beginning??

Wow! I can't believe I'm writing my last and final blog! When I started this blog I instantly loved it! There were SEVERAL exercises on this learning journey. One of my favorites was Animoto. I loved putting my on photos to music in a slide show. What I also loved about this assignment is how much it taught me about technology and how easy it can be! That is what surprised me the most because normally when people think of technology they think of difficult. I honestly think the program's format and concept were perfect. It was really easy to understand what to do and which step came next. The only thing that was difficult was the time it took to do the blogs. However, that simply cannot be fixed. There are so many things I've learned through this program that I know will help me when I'm a teacher. It not only helped me, but also will hopefully help my future students. Like I said when I first started this blog I loved it, and I also said that I would like to create a personal blog. Also, I would like to take the activities and social networks that I've found and keep using them to help me learn more.

This was a great experience for me and one of my favorite projects so far. As a future English teacher I think writing and creating ideas is extremely important. I would love to be able to use these ideas for my students. 23 things has taught me more about technology than I ever expected to learn.

Thing #23

It's crazy to think that everything on the internet belongs to someone. Most people don't realize this when they copy and paste passages, quotes, or pictures. It's good to be familiar with Creative Commons because it isn't right to take credit for someone else's work. This is especially important for teachers since they are setting an example for their students. It's okay to copy and paste as long as the author doesn't mind. That is why Creative Commons is such a great thing!! Now that I know about Creative Commons I'll know to look for the symbol somewhere on the page. Teachers are constantly using the internet for their lessons, activities, photos, etc. That being said Creative Commons is especially good for teachers!!
http://www.epractice.eu/en/cases/23things

Thing #22

LiveBinders is a really great site for teachers to use. It's a great way to keep all of your information organized. The titles of the three binders that I created are Lesson Plans, First Grade Grammar, and First Grade Reading. I decided to use these things titles because they go along with my standard. LiveBinders is great for teachers to have less clutter and know where everything is at!! It could also be good for students too! If students used LiveBinder they wouldn't "lose"their homework. Everyone wins!! Below I have added a link to one of my binders.

Lesson Plans

Thing #21

Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

I absolutely loved Animoto! This site lets you take your photos and create something create with them. You can choose from several different backgrounds and songs. It's quick and easy to use which is what I like about it. I love slideshows with photos and music. You can pick a song that captures the photograph. On the website Animoto you can set up a free account. However, if you want to make videos longer than you can upgrade your account. You can also download the Animoto app on your iphone! Just in case you need to make a quick video. I'll definitely keep using this account and might even upgrade it in the future.

Thing #20

YouTube is the 4th most visited sites in the U.S. Most people use YouTube more than they even realize. You can use YouTube to look up videos on almost anything! I use YouTube most to listen to music if I don't already have on my ipod. I chose this video to post because I thought it was a cute way for kids to learn different words and how to spell them. I like this site because you can look up so many things. It amazes me the things that I can find. Also, with this site you can create an account and upload videos yourself! While I was trying to find a video of a short English lesson, I found so many other videos that would have been helpful too! This site gives everyone great opportunities to look up anything you need.

Thing #19

I am a member of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and now TeacherPop. There are so many social networks out there that many people don't know about! Many social networks are created for people with certain interest. It amazes me how many networks there are for education, music, movies, etc. A lot of these networks interest me and I'll most likely join a couple of them. Some of the social networks that I found interesting were Shelfari, IMDB, and Project Playlist. These sites concentrate on books, movies, and music. I love all the of these things and that's why I found these networks so interesting. I already use IMDB a lot when I want to figure out when a movie came out or who played a certain role. I'll definitely use Shelfari and Project Playlist in the future because I absolutely love reading and listening to music.

Thing #18

Samantha Lambright's Facebook
Samantha Lambright's Twitter

My two social networking sites are listed above this post. Social networking has grown rapidly and is still growing. Every day more people join Twitter and Facebook. Both of these sites have become used not only for personal reasons, but for organizations and business as well. Also, let's not forget about education!! Many schools, classrooms, and teachers now have one or both of these social networking sites. I think it's important that teachers know how social networking works because it gives them a great opportunity to reach out to other teachers. I am a member of both Twitter and Facebook and like them both. I created both of these accounts to use personally, but I now follow educational scholars and sites! Personally, I like twitter more than Facebook. However, on the educational and organizational level, Facebook has more useful features. Since both of these sites are becoming used by business, schools, and organizations, I can definitely see schools or classrooms becoming members of Twitter or Facebook. If we take a look around us it's easy to see....Technology is growing in our society in every way. Let's take advantage of it!!

Thing #17

I found the Delicious website very interesting. Just like many other websites, Delicious proves to us that technology and society are growing. I like the idea that you can share documents on this website. I'm not sure I would use this in the classroom but I would definitely use it personally. However, I do think that as our society and technology continues to grow this site has the potential to be used in the classrooms. Students in high school and college could use this for projects and various other things. Also, I think it would be a wonderful site for a teacher community. Teachers could share ideas, lesson plans, photos, etc. Social bookmarking and tags can make researching and organization much easier.

Thing #16

For this blog I noticed that I use all three activities in my everyday life. I'm a major to-do list person. I am constantly writing down things I need to get done. I also liked the online calendars. For my starter page I used iGoogle. I use my Google account daily for various things. I liked how I could create iGoogle as my homepage on my personal computer. Also, I loved that I could customize it to make it feel and look a little more personal. IGoogle appealed to me because like I said I use my account daily. My customized account is now my home page when I open safari. The ocean is my background, and yes I chose it because I wish I was there!! The online calendars can be very useful because I like having all my events written down. Online calendars are even better because since I'm always on my mac I can check my calendar when. I wouldn't have to worry about losing it! I found the to-do sites helpful but I most likely wouldn't use them because generally I don't like to waste a lot of time writing down what I need to get done! Especially if I have things to do!! These websites were very helpful and I could see myself using them at home and in the classroom. I definitely recommend them to everyone!

Thing #15

For this blog we were to look at APSU 23 Things Sandbox wiki. I created a entry and although it was fun to do, I had difficulty understanding how to get started. Once you figure out how to use this website it can be really useful. Wiki can be used with your students for a group project where they have to share documents, images, etc. It would be extremely convenient and could be less of a hassle. I found it interesting that you could edit other things. I like the fact the you can share things with other people. I'm not sure if I would use this website, but it definitely can be useful.

Thing #14

I really enjoyed this exercise. The websites that I chose were Bubbl.us (mind map) and Gliffy (flowchars). Both of these websites would be great for teachers to use for their lessons. Flowcharts and mind maps are great to incorpperate into a lessons because they are easy to understand. I know that when I was younger I loved when my teacher would use flowcharts. To me, they made things easier to understand. As an English  major, I hope to one day teach English and use flowcharts and mind maps in my own classroom. I think this is an excellent way to help students brainstorm ideas before writing a paper. Personally, I liked Gliffy better because it gave me more options. By using Gliffy I had the opportunity to create many different things. When using this website, you can pick different charts and shapes. Although Gliffy was my favorite, the Bubbl.us was definitely easier to use. In the future if I have to create a lesson plan quickly I would definitely go to this website first.

Thing #13

Zoho Writer looks a lot like Microsoft Word. It has most of the same features and tools. While I did enjoy looking around Zoho Writer, I'll most likely continue to use Microsoft Word. Google Docs is an application that I already use daily. I use Google Docs for work and find it very convenient. Through this application, my co-workers and I can share documents automatically. In an office that can be very helpful.  Of these two applications I prefer Google Docs because I am already familiar with it. In a classroom, students can work together using any tool in Google Docs. They could collaborate because they are able to share documents. I created a calendar using Google Docs without difficulty. I found it very easy to use!! Click on my calendar to view my activities!!