I've spent this afternoon exploring podcasts, video, and downloadable audio as the sixth and final session of this Web 2.0 workshop. I've located several great sources of podcasts that fit my professional needs, and I've seen and heard many examples of authentic student and teacher podcasts from all kinds of educators and technology professionals. I'm filled with a desire to do more, create more, stretch myself to learn and share more. Simply put, I'm inspired. I'm inspired to grow as a teacher so that I can nurture growth with others. That's the best feeling I can leave any workshop with. Thanks for the opportunities, Annet and Patty, and the wealth of learning you set before me.
When I reflect on the goals I set only two days ago, I'm excited that I've accomplished each of them. However, I'll keep them as guides while I continue my personal education. I'll continue to use this blog as my planning platform. That paradigm shift I talked about in a previous post is in the works. I'm trading my old school lesson planning spiral and notebooks for this space and the other tools I've begun using this week. I'm not throwing everything out, but I'm digitizing things and stepping up to a new existence as an educator. Watch me learn, grow, and blossom in...of all places...a sandbox!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wonderful Web-based Collaboration
Mmm-mmm-mmmm! This morning's session is a savory delight as I work with wikis, Google Docs, and other online collaboration tools. I've been working within several Wikispaces wikis since the beginning of the year, but I've not set up my own wiki yet. I'm not sure that I'll create one right now as I don't have a real need for one. I'll keep working within the ones I've already joined and learn my way around them and see if a need arises for me to create one. If so, it's just a matter of clicking a few buttons, entering text and other data, and inviting others to join me there. How easy and how convenient!
Google Docs have piqued my curiosity and started the questions for application in my mind. My mom is a successful principal in South Texas, and we often talk about different projects we're working on in our own jobs. E-mailing presentations doesn't always work between servers, filters, and other technical hindrances. Google Docs appears to be a magical connector that we could use in myriad ways to collaborate. What a wonderful idea - creating a connection we just haven't had since I moved. She's presenting at a national conference this week, but have I got a learning project for her when she gets back!
Google Docs have piqued my curiosity and started the questions for application in my mind. My mom is a successful principal in South Texas, and we often talk about different projects we're working on in our own jobs. E-mailing presentations doesn't always work between servers, filters, and other technical hindrances. Google Docs appears to be a magical connector that we could use in myriad ways to collaborate. What a wonderful idea - creating a connection we just haven't had since I moved. She's presenting at a national conference this week, but have I got a learning project for her when she gets back!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Fun with Flickr and photos
Our focus this afternoon was photos and images and the many Web 2.0 tools that allow users to do all kinds of things with them. I've spent time working with Flickr and set up my own account with a set of photos. I've uploaded, renamed, and grouped images. I've created the same album twice by mistake, erased one of them, and cleaned up the remaining set so that it is what I want it to be. I even deleted a photo I don't need and have set my viewing rights like I'd like them.
I can tell that adding photos and images will add a richness to any Web 2.0 publication I create, but it will make the process more time consuming. For personal use, I'm going to have to manage all those photos I've got on memory cards and on my home computer hard drive, most likely by uploading them into Flickr so that I can work with them as I'd like. For school, I'll have to take or find engaging photos and follow copyright to incorporate into lessons and plan for the page development with them when I rejuvenate units of study. I can start with simple applications incorporating blogs and a single photo at a time and work from there. I think that would help me learn the management of it, but part of me wants to create really neat, comprehensive Web 2.0 lessons. I think I feel a paradigm shift coming on!
I may have a solution in RSS feeds
I'm navigating completely unchartered waters this morning as I learn about RSS feeds. I was familiar with the concept before - you tell which information sources you want to deliver information to you to and let them do it electronically - but I had never actually subscribed to a feed. In fact, I didn't even know where to begin.
Now, I've got a beginner's working knowledge, a feed reader I didn't have before, and a strategy for using this as a management tool related to my work - woohoo!
Since beginning a new job on my campus in April, I subscribe to several listservs. A few send me monthly updates while several are busy flooding my junk inbox. Today, I've gone into that brimming inbox, worked my way back to the originating websites, and set up RSS feeds in Google Reader. I've been able to customize the feeds I receive and let Google help me keep up with these resources. I can even go back in and delete a few of my listserv subscriptions for those creating an information nuisance of my e-mail. I may have found a solution to a potentially troublesome aspect of digital learning. What a discovery!
Now, I've got a beginner's working knowledge, a feed reader I didn't have before, and a strategy for using this as a management tool related to my work - woohoo!
Since beginning a new job on my campus in April, I subscribe to several listservs. A few send me monthly updates while several are busy flooding my junk inbox. Today, I've gone into that brimming inbox, worked my way back to the originating websites, and set up RSS feeds in Google Reader. I've been able to customize the feeds I receive and let Google help me keep up with these resources. I can even go back in and delete a few of my listserv subscriptions for those creating an information nuisance of my e-mail. I may have found a solution to a potentially troublesome aspect of digital learning. What a discovery!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
More homework...yeah!
There's something to be said for being intellectually hungry. Today, it's "Oh my goodness, have I got a lot to learn! Thank goodness for easy links to learning opportunities."
I'm really wanting to do The 23 Things list that may have inspired this week's training. Visiting with my workshop facilitator has led me to a second list, a new one titled 11.5 More Things, that extends beyond the original learning opportunity. Good thing it's summer and I can do this during what would normally be work time!
I may begin by reading Stephen Abrham's 43 Things I might want to do this year. I think this piece of writing, originally published in the February 2006 edition of Information Outlook, precipitated both the 23 and 11 itemized compents of both links above.
I'm really wanting to do The 23 Things list that may have inspired this week's training. Visiting with my workshop facilitator has led me to a second list, a new one titled 11.5 More Things, that extends beyond the original learning opportunity. Good thing it's summer and I can do this during what would normally be work time!
I may begin by reading Stephen Abrham's 43 Things I might want to do this year. I think this piece of writing, originally published in the February 2006 edition of Information Outlook, precipitated both the 23 and 11 itemized compents of both links above.
Wow already
Okay, I was excited to establish a blog this morning, but I'm already realizing how much this workshop is going to stimulate my educational planning and taking things up more than a notch in a one-to-one computing school. I've spent the last hour learning about tags, del.icio.us, and Technorati. Two weeks ago, I set up a del.icio.us account and imported the bookmarks I had on my school computer. But that's as far as I got...importing the 187 bookmarks stored under My Favorites in Internet Explorer. Today, I've already learned to add tags. I added a new bookmark and tagged it so that I can find it about 8 different ways. Now, I've got that original group of 187 bookmarks to tag. Looks like I've got homework.
To make tonight's homework easier, I'm adding this link to del.icio.us so I can easily get back to those bookmarks and get started.
To make tonight's homework easier, I'm adding this link to del.icio.us so I can easily get back to those bookmarks and get started.
Let's scatter some sand and see how it falls
Here I am, blogging to learn it. It's a new experience for me although not a totally unfamiliar one. I've read blogs; I've written lots - LOTS - both as an English and Communications Application teacher and a newspaper reporter and editor before that! But this venture is new to me. So, I'm here to scatter some sand as I use create, edit, and use this new dimension and see how my sandbox looks as I play.
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