Thing #23

I have enjoyed this experience! I originally picked this program for summer continuing education credits, because I missed other available classes due to the wedding. Now that I realize how valuable this experience is, I would recommend the "23 Things" to everybody! I would like to thank our librarian, Mrs. Nance, for recommending this program.
Some of the most fun tools I discovered are Rollyo, Photostory, and Image Chef. I would say the single most effective item that leads to lifelong learning is the "71/2 Habits" video. I will review that video frequently. I did not expect to find so many tools with multiple uses. A lot of the exercises are useful personally as well as professionally. Another discovery program would be of interest to me in the future, most likely during another break. A single word to describe this program would be... informative. IF I could use two words, I would say... entertainingly informative.

Thing #22

I looked into Educator Ning and Ning for Teachers. Both of these social networking sites seem useful. They include groups you can join in order to learn more about your field. I like the idea or connecting with people who share your professional position who may live far away. This allows educators to share their ideas and ask questions. I think a social networking site for libraries would be very helpful to teachers and students. I think Ning sites can be good for parent and teacher communication. A Ning could be used to show a specific unit being studied in the classroom. If an educator kept their Ning site current, parents could stay informed of what is expected from the teacher without relying on their child. It allows the teacher to communicate with a large group of parents or other teachers without creating individual notes, e-mails, or phone calls.

Thing #21

I made a video cast of our wedding use Photostory. I enjoyed making this video, but I encountered some problems ("challenges") with the music. I tried to "select music" instead of "create music". I wanted to use a song from my iTunes library. I guess the music I have is in a MP4 form. I didn't know how to convert the file, so I tried inserting the CD I wanted to use. The CD did not come up correctly when I selected the drive and folder that should have held the music. The folder showed nothing inside. After much frustration, I decided to create music for the video. I am happy with it, but will continue trying to figure out how to use the music already on my computer.



While I was making this video, I thought about how useful this activity would be for children that stutter. We often use explanation or reading to work on fluency. My students could create a story about themselves or an activity they participated in, and practice fluency while reading or telling the story to the group. Having pictures or video might make the experience easier and more enjoyable for the child.

Thing #20

I embedded a video of a Speech Pathologist telling a success story from TeacherTube. I think that access to large quantities of video is wonderful for may reasons. For example, this video is inspirational to me. It reminds me why I want to go back to school to be a fully certified Speech Pathologist.
Videos are also great for visual learners. Sometimes it is much easier to comprehend a new concept or idea by seeing a demonstration. I think YouTube and TeacherTube are useful for both students and teachers. I knew about the uses of YouTube before this exercise, but I was not familiar with TeacherTube. I do not have access to YouTube at work. This school year I will try TeacherTube.

Thing #19

Many of the tools are useful. I am already familiar with YouTube which I think is extrememly helpful for demonstration and cueing for some children. Occassionally some of our younger students are reluctant to repeat the word or sound that we are trying to elicit. Sometimes showing them a video or clip or someone making a similar sound inspires them to try. I think Delicious is wonderful for keeping bookmarks easily accessible.
I looked into Revolution Health for this Thing #19. It is the top ranked health tool on this award list. This is a useful tool for me because it provides information and suggestions for many health issues. Several of the students I have close contact with have more than speech impairments. I like to read about other involved conditions, so I can understand more about each child. Revolution Health has a lot of information on Autism and other condidtions relevant to me. It also has some parenting information, which is helpful to us all.

Thing #18

I explored Google Docs for this exercise. I think this is a great way to create and upload old documents while making them accessible to you everywhere you have the Internet. That is the true beauty of e-mail accounts already. I recently had a situation where I saved a document on my Dad's computer and needed it shortly after I left his office. I had to drive back over and e-mail it to myself in order to have a copy. If I knew about Google Docs, I would have created the document using this tool. I think Google Docs is perfect choice anytime you are not using your own computer.

Thing #17

Rollyo
I created two searchrolls.
One is called "know it all". I am often debating facts with my husband and friends and turn to the internet for answers. This searchrolls will be perfect! I like that I can always add more sites as well.
"know it all"

I also track my daily calorie intake and calories burned during my workouts. I google foods and exercises often but there are a few choice sites that I prefer to use.

"calorie log"

I can definitely see how Rollyo could be useful! I appreciate tools that are helpful and easily edited.

Thing #16

I completely misunderstood Wikis before this exercise. I am embarrassed to admit this, but I had not idea they could be set up and edited so easily. I often look up information on Wikipedia and took it as fact. I realize that a lot of the information on Wikipedia probably is factual, but I will be more cautious before believing what i read now that I understand Wikis.
I actually like them more now that I understand. I think Wikis will be very useful to share lessons and materials with Speech Pathologists in my district and others as well. I also enjoyed the example on Common Craft because it shows how a Wiki can be used for personal collaboration too. I am currently planning an event with friends. We email short phrases back and forth several times a day. A Wiki would be perfect for us in the future.

Thing #15

I think Library and Web 2.0 is a wonderful concept. I think that advancing technology needs exactly these kinds of sites in order for common people to be able to use the available tools. I agree that with the advancement of Web 2.0 and the decreased need of printed literature, we need more librarians in the schools as mentioned by Rick Anderson in Away from the "icebergs". 23 Things is helping me understand Web 2.0 and I think there should be more people in locations such as the library to provide support in this area.
I completely understand and appreciate the evolution of printed resources to web resources, but feel that more resources should be free on the web if this is the direction we are moving. It is very inexpensive or free to have a library membership and check out resource books. Now that we are using the web, there are meany sites that charge as some of us found when searching with Google Scholar. Maybe the answer is to have cheap or free memberships to these tools, more like the library. I don't know but it seems like the more complex things get, the more expensive they also get.

Thing #14

Technorati
I searched for "School Library Learning 2.0" in blogs, posts, and tags. I got a different set of results each time. I feel Technorati is still intimidating at this point for me.
The popular tags are topics that you would expect for the most part, such as "music" and "news". There were a few tags that I thought would be more popular, such as "celebrities". People always have something to say about them, so they must be tagging them as another keyword.
I think that tags are helpful, but not always precise. I think that searching popular tags is the smartest decision when you are looking for information, since many people have accessed that information by searching that tag keyword. From what I understand information could be tagged inappropriately. Searching popular tags will lead you to information that more than just one other person believe is in the right place.

Thing #13

From what I understand so far, Delicious is ideal for a research project. You could access tons of information tagged with your research keywords. You can add those articles to a Delicious account and access them in any location. I am excited to learn more about Delicious before returning to graduate school soon!
Delicious also allows teachers to share ideas and websites they use for lesson plans and teaching material with colleagues. You can search for popular tags to see what other people think is important and helpful. Groups of teachers can choose a tag word to keep all of their shared information under one heading on Delicious.

Thing #12

It is important not to be afraid to comment and also to keep in mind that comments should be meaningful. These two aspects keep blogging fun and informative.
I commented on some very cool blogs on library2play, and then I commented on two unrelated blogs. The first blog I commented on was information on bathing puppies. I searched "Shih Tzu puppies" because I just got two! I love them so much and this article caught my eye because they seem to really dislike baths. The second blog I commented on included many beauty tips. In addition to tips, this blog does a weekly giveaway. I found this appealing!
I will do my best to continue leaving meaningful comments on blogs of interest.

Thing #11

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Kris2cross2

I keep my personal books in order quite well so far. As for books we use with the children at school, they are often in a bin. I am not quite sure what all we have! The Library Thing would be useful in order to search for a particular title from our classroom selection.
I enjoy Library Thing as an inspiration to read more often myself. I find myself reading school work or magazines more often than choosing a title for myself. I prefer light fiction reads, and when a book is suggested I am far more likely to read it. On Library Thing, I can read book reviews and decide what I want to read before going to the bookstore.
I looked into a few groups and found out that I mostly like to read what is referred to as "chick lit" or contemporary fiction. This is helpful in choosing my next read!

Thing #10

Thing #10 is super fun! I could spend forever playing with these tools and sites.

I used Image Chef to write our names in the sand. Then I went to Dumpr, and I put our image into a museum format.

I also love the cartoon captions on Custom Sign Generator!

So....even though I practiced these tools by having fun with my personal pictures.. I certainly think many of these are useful applications in teaching! In speech class, we practice asking questions. I use picture cards showing scenarios in which the person involved needs to ask a question. The students then look at the card and decide what an appropriate question would be. They also practice using correct question forms. These cartoon captions will allow us to make similar scenes with our own photos and other images on the web!

Thing #9

I found Technorati to be the most user-friendly search tool. I dislike Topix. I feel like many of these tools are too cluttered and unorganized. I realize there is a lot of information to include on one page, but it is overwhelming when you are trying to learn these tools.

I found some useful feeds by accident when typing in a desired keyword. I think some of the feeds require extremely narrow search terms in order to find what you want. I do feel that these tools will be more helpful when I have the need to find the answer to something specific. I won't give up just yet!

Thing #8

RSS and readers are nice because they can save you time. If you are a person who regularly searches multiple topics on the Internet, RSS readers allow the information to come straight to you.
I can use Google Reader to stay current on topics and ideas for speech therapy. I may also use it to keep up on personal interests while at home.
School personnel can use RSS readers to combine information on one research topic or subject area and access it in one location.

Thing #7

For Thing #7, I signed up for a google alert on Speech Pathology. My first alert receives a broad range of articles. Some of the headings are about people who are involved in Speech Pathology but describe unrelated activites. It seems I will find some very informative links and some that are irrelevant to me. I may go back and narrow my topic of alert, so that I will only receive certain topics.

I looked into Google Scholar as well. This search tool helps me to search information on specific disorders and challenges I face in my career. For example, I used Scholar to search articulation disorders. This narrows my results from the general topic of Speech Pathology. This application of Google is useful for locating research studies and interventions in my field.

Think #6

I like the mashups. The Flikr Color Pickr and FD Toys' Trading Card Maker mashups can be useful to teach sorting and description. The Flikr Color Pickr pictures could be used for simple descriptive sentence practice also. Ex/ The flower is purple. The ball is red., etc.

I experimented by making a trading card while I was exploring the various mashups.

Thing #5

I am posting a picture of Cabo from Flikr so that everyone who has not been there can see exactly how beautiful it is! I am a primary school Speech-Language Pathology Assistant. We frequently practice describing nouns in my class. While I was in Cabo San Lucas, I was thinking about all of the different adjectives my kiddos could use to describe the different areas of Mexico.

Thing #4

I am now an official player of 23 Things! I just got back from Cabo San Lucas, where I got married. I am leaving tomorrow to go to Illinois for my wedding reception. I plan to take my computer with me, but will be more active when I return the following week. : )

Thing #3

I enjoyed this step. I think it is really fun to have my own blog spot! I usually have a lot to say, and now I can say it here. I enjoyed picking out my avatar. I am becoming more interested in other people's blogs now that I am blogging myself. Several of my friends have blogged before, but this is a first for me. I followed the directions, step by step, and it wasn't hard, other than the avatar placement. I read the directions further and was able to figure that out too. Thank you for giving such clear instructions.

Thing #2

Of the 71/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners, beginning with the end in mind is the easiest for me. I decide to start most activities in my life in order to obtain my final goal. School and learning are no exception. I try to keep in mind my goal in order to motivate myself in times of struggle. Which leads me to my hardest habit, Habit # 3. I seem to react poorly when a problem occurs. I would like to improve my reaction to problems by learning to look at them as merely challenges. This will help me upon returning to graduate school at the end of this year!