Final Post

I can't believe I am done with this program. It was great to explore some tools I probably would have never chosen to explore otherwise. I have found ways in which I can communicate better with my students using technology. Creating a useful website for the students in my classes is now a goal for me. I have a start and want to continue to work on it more to make it better. Having this website that I update daily is a take away from the program that I never expected. I never thought that I could make a website.

If you offered a program like this again in the future, I would definitely recommend it to others. I would also suggest you keep the longer timeline. Having at least 1 week to complete each "thing" is nice. I felt rushed at the beginning, but then when the timeline changed I began to realize that I can finish this program.

I would describe my experience as amazingly unbelievable.

Thing 17

I chose to look at Justin.tv, Picasa and Photobucket. I looked at Photobucket more in depth. It is a way to organize, edit and enhance photos. It also allows you to make slideshows. The slideshows don't include music like Animoto does. However, I do like that without paying a fee I can make a slideshow using as many photos as I'd like. It also allows me to put up titles and pictures at the same time. It was very easy to use. My slideshow of the math team at Regionals is below.

Thing 16

I found screentoaster pretty easy to use. I decided to show how to use image capture in flow works (the software for the wireless tablets) to create a document I use with my classes. I made this with my girls around, so things took longer than they should have. Working with Kaelyn on my lap was not easy.

Voicethread

I found voicethread easy to use. I don't really see any uses for me in my classes. I can see how it would be great for the visual arts classes and even some of the history classes. It is a great way to have conversations about photos. I could see personal uses where people would want to share pictures and have an audio commentary about the picture.

Wikis

This is my first experience with wikis. I'm not so sure I think they will be so useful for me. I really like the website I have created on yola, and the students seem to be happy with it. Since I am just posting information for the students, I don't see where wikis will come in handy. I don't need to have the students adding any information. Also, I am trying to figure out how these are different than social networking sites. It seems like they do a lot of the same things. They do seem to be easy to use. I think they are a good idea for sharing information, but I'm not sure I will be using them. Melissa G

Animoto

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I LOVE animoto. It was so easy creating this math team video. I even posted it to the math team's website. I hope to make more videos from our other competitions to put up on the website.

Creative Commons

I think creative commons is a neat idea. It is a good idea of allowing people to let others use their work under the conditions they like without having to deal with all of the copyright laws. This is especially great in this day and age with the internet and all that is available to people. I do wonder if this will hinder students knowledge of copyright laws. I think it might.

shelfari

I created an account in shelfari. My user name is Melissa G. I think I may like using this in my personal life. I really like how I can keep track of books I want to read. With two small children I don't have as much time to read as I'd like. There are many times I read or hear about a book that I want to read, but by the time I actually have a chance to read I forgot about it. This will be an easy way to keep track of books I would like to read.

Social Networking

I have been using facebook for about a year now, and love it. It is such an easy way to keep in touch with people I don't get to see or call very often. I spent some time exploring Ning and think it can have some potential uses in an educational setting. I can see how it can be used to easily have discussions with classes and post updates for activities. I don't know if I would use it, but I may try to do more exploring with it.

Moved my website

I found out that uploading documents in weebly took FOREVER. So, I recreated my website in yola. I think yola is actually easier than weebly. Here is the address of my new website: mrsgordonsmathworld.yolasite.com

Thing 9

I did customize my blog by adding a picture of 3D geometric shapes, a welcome note and my flickr slideshow. I had a really hard time figuring out how to link my flickr feed with the blog. After a lot of playing around, I finally figured it out. If you need any help with yours feel free to ask.

Flickr

I created my flicker account and uploaded some picture of the word walls in my room and the 2009 ICTM state math competition. It was really easy to upload, label and tag my pictures. My screen name is M Gordon. Check out my pictures.

Google Reader

I set up my google reader account. I had never heard of google reader, but I really like what I see so far. I added the blogs I am following, the nbc local news, two local coupon sites and a printable coupon site. I like being able to view the new coupons and local news updates as they become available.