Today

Time passes quickly - life is a gift - hold every moment close to heart - every sunrise - every midnight - every breath - every heartbeat - adventures to explore - music to share - lessons to learn - moments to reminisce - dreams to pursue - people to love 

Butterflies are Free

Summarizing my Experience with 23 Things

My Journey

It feels like I pushed a fast forward button to move me toward the present day technology, things that my students have been using since they were born. I have found so many useful technological learning tools with 23 Things. As a digital immigrant, it supports my lifelong learning with 21^st Century internet tools that I’m sure will be integrated into education more through the coming years. Based on my observations of colleagues, I don’t think I’m ahead of everyone – but I think I caught the 2^nd cybership toward the future of education.

Suggestions

I will absolutely participate in another discovery education program when it is offered. Things that would’ve helped me are as follows: 1) this program would’ve been easier for me if I had a partner. I don’t know how others feel, but for me, one or two face-to-face meetings would’ve helped me to connect with others. 2) I think using different methods for blogging and interacting with other colleagues would encourage a little more collaboration. Throughout this entire learning process, I was basically on my own. It was sometimes difficult and very time consuming. 3) I would like to learn more about software and interactive internet sites where students play educational video games for learning in content areas of language arts, math, science, social studies.

Favorites in Ning Network

My favorite learning tools were the fabulous student examples in Voicethread found in Ning Network Classroom 2.0 comments in Best Web 2.0 Tools by blogger Wanda Cotta AND the Open History Project found in Ning Network Classroom 2.0, History. Learning with Sound, Motion, and Interactivity group created by Ed Jones. This website has links to many different interactive games to connect students with learning history, geography, and other cultures.

Plans 2010 – 2011

I have many plans for all my efforts in learning through the 23 Things learning journey.

1) I will to continue to build my blog and keep it current. I want to use the blog to communicate school and classroom activities with parents and students with access to internet.

2) I will join a professional organization in education that focuses on teaching & learning through the use of technology, computers, and internet tools.

3) I will be using many of these tools with students through the coming years. I already have plenty of ideas.

4) I want to collaborate with a teacher using some of the tools within the school to see how things go. It’s always nice when there is someone to work with when so many things are new. I also want to collaborate with the librarian with some lessons using library books and Voicethread.

5) I want to develop some teaching and learning modules using wikis. I already have 2 project based learning modules that are created using MS Word. I can merge that information into a wiki, moodle, blog, or whatever works best with the projects.

6) I would like to get involved with social networking in the Classroom 2.0 community with my own Ning Network.

On Staying Current

My plans to keep up with new developments in technology are to begin a doctorate program related to Technology in Education. I’ll also join a professional organization and attend some conferences focused on technology in education.

Thing #23. Beyond Facebook: Other Social Networks

Social Networking

Classroom 2.0

Forums

Readers Theatre Final Project by Sharon offers shows examples of how video can be used in literature. She uses the book Where the Wild Things are by Maurice Sendak Her examples show three way students can demonstrate learning through projects at the synthesis and application levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Storytubes Review: Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus posted by Doug Valentine shows a 3rd grader giving a book review for "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" for the Storytubes context.

I put in a search for ‘Spanish’ and found RTVE.es - a Spanish news website that covers, current events , sports, and other high interest topics. This website includes information expressed through audio, video, photos, and text.

More Groups

History. Learning with Sound, Motion, and Interactivity group created by Ed Jones led me to his website title, Open History Project provides examples of History with Sound, Motion, and Interactivity. There are interactive maps, games, podcasts, animated films, virtual tours, and much more. This is a MUST SEE!

Classroom 2.0 blogsite titled, Whyville for Teachers by Clint Zintgraff. Whyville is a learning-based virtual world for teens and tweens. It has 100,000 users a month. It is a virtual kids world of interactive learning. Students create their own character, chat & play games, hang out with friends, and interact in learning activities.

An adult version of this site would be the avatars in Second Life - 3D Virtual World Community. This website entertains me more than television. I have more control of the messages I’m receiving. It was a little difficult to learn to navigate the website. Just like most of the internet tools, just keep using them and things eventually get easier. This website is visually and socially entertaining. I love the creativity and interactivity in this virtual world.

I’m convinced that I need to join an educational organization that focuses on technology in education. International Society for Technology in Education looks like a good one. Throughout this training, this organization has popped up several times. I’ve seen a lot of valuable topics and ideas coming out of their organization and conferences.

And if all of this isn’t enough to make you integrate 21^st Century teaching skills in your classroom just watch Sweet Dreams of Technology by Doug Valentine who posted this music video “produced with our 4th graders to highlight the use of technology to create a music video. A slightly different version competed in the eInstruction video contest last fall.”

Find more videos like this on Classroom 2.0