Library Thing (#16)

Let me start by saying I’m an avid reader. I love talking about books as the women in my bookclub can attest. I use iRead (Facebook application) and have gotten some great book suggestions that way. Maybe it’s because the people I interact with on iRead I know personally? I’m not sure.

So, I was excited to try Library Thing. I signed on and began entering the books I’ve read recently. I added tags to most. Sidenote- I’ve enjoyed learning about folksonomy during this course-

Anyway, after diligently entering books I expectantly clicked “recommendations” and was disappointed to see the compiled list. It didn’t seem like much thought had been put into it. It seems they just scanned the authors I listed and recommended their other work. Blah!

I know there are other fancy tools with Library Thing. I could join groups, have discussions etc. For now, I’ll get my online fix with iRead and discuss books the old fashioned way- with friends and a glass of wine.

Delicious (Thing #15)

I’m glad to find this site. I’ve had trouble in the past with my bookmarks being everywhere-at home, school etc. so I can’t find what I need! Delicious is brilliant!

I did some school related searching and tagging. I ended up finding GREAT podcasts of history lectures from Univ of Oxford, England. I also found a great site for students struggling to write history papers.

I started tagging new sites as something generic like “history”. However, I quickly realized that wouldn’t do. I changed my system to “civil war” etc.

Personally, I searched food and cooking. I tagged lots of sites and have some ideas on Thanksgiving side dishes as well!

Google Reader Update (thing # 5)

I read lots of interesting tidbits but only clicked to read the full story a few times. An interesting story about the origin of Veteran’s Day caught my eye. One man from Kansas started the push for Armistice Day (end of WWI) to become Veteran’s Day. Cool.

I also read a rather disturbing, bleak comparison of education to the penitentiary system on the Education Innovation blog.  While much of this is true, I dislike focusing on the problem. It makes it hard to continue teaching with any enthusiasm. What to do?

Online Tools Exploration (Thing # 14)

I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment. I thought of many creative ideas having nothing to do with school! But hey, I’ve got Christmas presents and cards in the works. I even scored some points with the in-laws by forwarding on LetterPop which will make their Christmas newsletter look much fancier!

I found an interactive timeline which I’ll assign my students to use for the causes of the Civil War this week. I also liked Toondoo which allows you to create your own comic strips. This activity would be great for students to show a particular point of view in history or government.

I’m going to keep looking!

Reflections about online conferencing (thing # 13)

I chose to watch the conference Kick it up a Notch: Film School for Podcasters. I chose it because I am interested in having my students demonstrate their learning visually. After all, the most powerful way to teach history is through images.

This conference taught me quite a bit about video technique. There were many great ideas presented for film students. Unfortunately, I don’ think I was the target audience. I didn’t choose too wisely. I am looking for more guidance with sites like www.rockyou.com. I need to learn more and work with Internet based images so students can access them from anywhere and don’t need particular digital equipment. While this conference was worthwhile to those pursuing filmmaking; I think I’ll continue to play around with Creative Commons and rockyou.

I do enjoy online delivery of content. PJs and pups in bed and I’m in class. Seriously though, especially for someone who has taught in the developing world and doesn’t have access to lots of materials online conferencing/classes/videos etc.  are essential

Love it!

Thing # 12 embedding images…….

Though my blog right now looks very raw or amateurish, I’ve worked through most of my technical glitches! I can now appreciate how darn cool this application is!
I can imagine MUCH more interesting ways to grab students attention. Oh, the possibilities………..

Flickr Images Continued……..

My first image collection was on the concept of Freedom. Unfortunately, all of the photos were protected so I couldn’t share (ironic, eh?) My new set of photos is on the concept of imperialism

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lo_/107286908/

by Subcomandanta

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25499318@N08

by Save Tibet

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22955235@N00/582447761/

By Ambrett

Reflections on Flickr, Thing # 11

I’ve just had a frustrating hour trying to upload my selected photos from Flickr. I followed the instructional video exactly! It shouldn’t be so hard.

Well, I’ll have to find an easy solution in order for me to incorporate Flickr (or other Creative Commons images) into my teaching.

I did enjoy browsing through images. I chose freedom as my concept. Here I linked it to our class wiki.

Creative Commons, Thing # 10

Wow, I’ve already explored Open Educational Resources and love it! I 100% agree with sharing teaching materials. Teaching is not a competition. We should all want our great ideas and materials used widely. We’re reaching more students that way. I’ve started scanning in all of my materials I only have in hard copy. I share quite often with teachers at my school. I put ppts/notes on my blog for my students. However, I don’t have a place on the web where they would be accessible to everyone. I definitely need to make that a goal.

I’ve never noticed CC before. It could be I’m not that observant. More likely, I get into a pretty stale routine of accessing the same old sites. This course has reminded me time and time again of all that’s out there. The challenge is to sift through and make the unbelievable amount of information manageable and usable.

I do use digital images and streaming video quite often in class. CC can make these kinds of assignments much more interesting. More importantly, I see CC playing a role more in independent student projects. The only down side could potentially be students relying less on their own creativity and more on that of others. I understand that taking an idea and making it new is creativity. However, at times the most creative type of learning can come from a blank canvas.