Thing #23 - Reflections

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I have quite a few favorites and discoveries for different reasons. The two that were the most fun were creating my avatar and starting a family cookbook using Lulu (#19) and starting to write a science fiction novel. The one that has been the most useful to me personally has been LibraryThing to catalog my books. The one that I think will be the most useful to me as a teacher will be my searchroll in Rollyo. I plan to add sites throughout the year and then take out the ones I don’t use that often.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I used to teach Computer Science as well as math and for a few years I spent so much time on the computer doing things I had to do that I didn’t think of the computer in terms of relaxation and entertainment. The 23 Things has rekindled my enthusiasm for the computer again. After I assimilate all of these things, I am going to start exploring other aspects of the web. Having stepped out of my comfort zone, I don’t intend to lose what I have learned and plan to go on from here.

3. What were any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

The biggest surprise is that I have enjoyed all these hours so much, and don’t feel that a single minute has been wasted. There are some things I will use more than others, of course, but the joy of learning something I would never have done on my own has been worth the journey. I feel that I have taken a world tour, going places I never thought to visit and meeting people that I never would have known. Anne McCafferey actually commenting on my comment was a thrill. Who knew I would be writing a cookbook AND a novel?

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I can’t think of anything that would improve the program. There were a few places that I got confused – Sandbox and Audacity – but I think I just missed something the first time around in the instructions.

5. If we offered another discovery program in the future, would you choose to participate?

Sign me up!

6. How would you describe the experience in ONE WORD or ONE SENTENCE?

Finally, a professional growth that is not only educational but enjoyable – well worth the effort!

Comments on other Players’ blogs:

I made lots of comments on lots of blogs. I read almost every blog. The vast majority seemed to think this experience has been totally worth it. I agree.

Thing #21

T

This is it!! My last thing!! Thanks, Vaughn!

Thing #20 If I Only Had the Nerve..

I have always thought of YouTube as Facebook or MySpace on steroids. There are some useful and entertaining vids. I also found some done by nieces and nephews that I KNOW their parents don't know about. There have been some lively discussions about what I've learned in 23 Things when the family has gotten together. I can't wait to casually mention YouTube, my inlaws' lake house and tattoos the next time the family gets together.

In Teacher Tube I found some math jingles created by a high school teacher. She had a whole DVD of these. She and her classes perform the songs. The one included here shows her wearing a 'pi hat' and costume while performing. Who knows - since I have gotten so far out of my box with the 23 things, I might even be brave enough to do this. Or at least, let the students make some videos and post them on my web page for review.

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1692049fca7e1bb5c4ac

Thing #17 Search me!

I made a searchroll in Rollyo and added a few sites I use repeatedly. I am going to have to play around with this one some more and figure out exactly how I want to use it. Her is the link (I think) to my searchroll. I have a lot of sites I need to add to this when I have some assimilation time.

http://rollyo.com/search.html?q=Try+it+out...&sid=414241&x=13&y=11

Thing #16 Wild about Wikis

I have used Wikipedia countless times, but never really thought about the development of a wiki. Once I finally figured out how to get into Sandbox (I'm still not sure why I had so much trouble) it was easy.

I may use a wiki to let students suggest problems for reviews and/or tests. I am going to have to think about this for a math class.

Thing #12 A Few Comments about Comments

This one has taken me some time, but it's been worth it. I looked at Cool Cat (as a teacher, where does she find the time?) and the 10 Commandments. Cool Cat talks about using comments as a communication tool. I had never thought of it that way. Teaching good commenting is teaching effective communications. Many of our students need to learn to communicate more effectively using different mediums. Most of them can shortcut text messages, but can't write a complete sentence using proper grammar and punctuation. Another comment she made was comments being a source for renewal of purpose. Several comments I read from teachers were exactly how I feel. The summer's too short, but I can't wait for school to start to try out all the new things I have found this summer. The 10 commandments suggests using emoticons as well as using comments to actually contribute and add ideas rather just saying 'I agree'. The 10 commandments also suggests going back to look at the comments made after your comment - this could get a meaningful dialog started.

I made a comment on Anne McCafferey's blog telling her how much I have enjoyed her novels through the years and that every year I reread every one of her books. She commented back and I was thrilled!

I have added comments to several blogs of fellow participants. I read most of the blogs and my goal is to send everybody a comment about something.

Thing #14 - Tagging more than the side of a building

I went through blog posts, tags and the blog directory searching for School Learning Library 2.0. I don't know if I did something wrong, but they looked the same to me. I was surprised when I looked at popular searches to see what looked like Arabic script. I wonder if those sites are terrorist related??

As more and more information is available through the web, tagging is going to become an absolute must to use in doing research. When a search request pops up with 1 or 2 million links, it's difficult to know where to start.

Thing #13 Tags

Tags would be invaluable for research. With descriptive tags someone could save a lot of time by not going to so-so websites and find the ones best for the topic. A teacher could use tags to bookmark the best sites for students to use for a project and keep students limited to 'teacher approved' sites. Teachers and librarians could use the social tagging sites for the best tags to use for their blog, picking widely used tags instead of more obscure ones.

Thing #22 Nings

Part of me thinks that all we need are more Myspaces and Facebooks. But I can see a use for subject dedicated Nings. I read several comments from teachers. Reading other teachers comments could save a bunch of money on therapy, knowing others are going through the same thing. I found some useful blogs by Geometry teachers I plan to use during the school year.