Is it the End Already?

I can't believe this semester is already over. I can truly say I enjoyed this semester and especially this class. I have always enjoyed technology and learning new ways to use it, so this class was a great learning experience for me. I have learned so many new resources that I look forward to using in my own classroom. Some of my favorites were Animoto, Delicious, and Gliffy. I think most of the resources we used I will use in my own class. I set up an email account just for all the websites we had to register for, but I think this will be an easy way to keep up with all the sites. I really enjoyed this blog as a whole. I don't think I would change anything about it. I look forward to being able to keep up with these websites and also Web 2.0 to see what new things come along.

Thing 23

http://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/

I found this website while searching 23 things in Google. I chose to use this website because it has many links to reliable websites that talk about Learning 2.0. I plan on using the creative commons tutorial that I have made along with my knowledge of creative commons to make sure that all the resources I use in my classroom are legal.

Thing 22

Math

Livebinders I created 3 Binders to help me organize some websites that I have found in the past. Creating these binders will help me to stay organized an be able to easily find the websites that I am looking for. I created a binder for education, math, and geometry. These binders will all be helpful as a math teacher to find resources to use in my class. I think Livebinders would be good for students when working on a big research project to organize their websites to be easily accessible later.

Thing 21

I am not going to lie, when I started seeing other classmates posting these videos on their blogs, I was a little worried about having to figure out how to make a video. Animoto made making a video of pictures so easy. I was amazed at how easy this was to use. I thought it would be hard to put my own pictures and music in the video but I was wrong. I think this website would be great for making videos for special occasions or even in a classroom. Being a math teacher it would be simple to make my own video of graphs or shapes to show the class so they would actually pay attention. Making a video would also be good to show progress on a project that the students may be working on. Animoto has many uses and I plan on trying out this website in my own classroom and sharing it with others.

Here is the video that I made.


Make a video of your own at Animoto.

Thing 20

                         


I love Youtube! I have been on Youtube for awhile already today, listening to music and watching some videos. Youtube is probably one of my favorite websites. I love Youtube because you can find a video for almost any subject. I chose to put this video in my blog because my unit that I have been working on all semester has been on polygons and this video goes along with it. Just like this video, I plan on using Youtube to find other videos that could be used in my classroom. Using videos would be a great review or learning tool for the students that are a more visual learner.

Thing 19

Visit TeacherPop

Teacher Pop was a really neat site for teachers. It is a great place for teachers to go to share lessons or just talk to other teachers. I really liked this site to be able to get new ideas from other teachers. 

Besides Teacher Pop, Facebook, and Twitter, I am also a member of Pintrest. I think that Pintrest is another great website for teachers. I have found many different ideas of crafts and activities that I would like to incorporate into my class one day.

Thing 18

Social Networking websites have gotten significantly more popular lately. I have been a member of both Facebook and Twitter for a long time. However, I am not a fan of twitter. I don't find any interest in keeping up with people on that level. I like Facebook though. I can keep up with friends that live in overseas without have to pay a costly phone call. Facebook and Twitter also has some advantages for teachers instead of just personal use. As a teacher Facebook is a good source to keep up with other teachers for insight when creating lessons. Also parents could be your friend to be able to contact you as a teacher for important information regarding the classroom or their child. Twitter is a good resource for teachers to collaborate with other teachers or teaching websites for ideas on lessons.

As much as I enjoy Facebook, I think it can be used for the wrong reasons. As a teacher, you have to be careful what you post on your Facebook when you have co-workers or student's parents as a friend. There is no need for a teacher, who is a role model, to post about their weekend outing or Friday night fun. Facebook and Twitter need to be used responsibly when you have many people that look up to you.