Last Thing

Well, here I am at the end of my 23 things. I must say I thought this day would never come BUT I would also like to say that I have learned sooo much. At times my discovery resources were a challenge but I see now that it was just he initial learning something new process. These tools and knowledge that I have acquired will make my life much easier in the long run. I can already see a big difference in my presentations for other classes. Powerpoint is no longer a problem and I can breeze through various resources with a streamlined Google. I love it. My favorite thing is how much all the "things" are connected. I can RSS my blog, facebook badge, to my Etsy online store. Tis the season to be thankful and I must say completing this assignment and being able to apply it to real life situations brings me much joy. Looking down from this hill, I feel much stronger, and confident I can climb the next.

Thing 23

 Creative Commons is an brilliant concept that allows all good ideas to continue growing beyond their original concept. This copyright law allows people to build on an idea as long as it is altered in some fashioned and not just the same idea repeated. This moves past the stigma and fear of being sued from copyright infringement.  This relatively new concept is growing at a rapid pace and it can be assumed that this progressive way of sharing ideas will continue to grow and flourish. 

Thing 22

I subscribed to TED.com for my RSS Google Reader.  It's a site that I have always enjoyed listening to and am happy to have it on tap now.  Also, I listened to some guided meditiation podcasts and videos on my ipod.  Some of my friends record and publish their podcasts and now I know how to do it too, which is really neat.  Podcasts are especially wonderful because they are free.

Thing 21

Animoto was an interesting site. 
I'm not entirely satisfied with my video I made but I'm plan to do more of these in the future.  Animoto videos might be a good resource to have during open houses for my school or for classroom group projects for my future students.  It's nice to have tools like these to create unique pieces that help add a professional touch on things that may otherwise go unmade.  Animoto adds yet another great tool to our future teaching toolbox. 

Thing 20 1/2

Okay.  That last posting was the one thing I was talking about for my delicious bookmark!  Bill Strickland on Ted telling his inspirational story about how he came from a poor neighborhood that "everyone gave up on" and turned out to do a lot of good for his community.  I love that video and always get a little choked up watching it.  I hope you guys like it too.

Thing 20

Thing 19

Teacher Pop is the site I chose to join because it consists of persons with common questions, answers, and ideas.  Of course it's great to keep diversity but we are all diverse!  Teacher Pop is just a way of narrowing the social group to one that is like minded professionally.  It's a great support group and resource for teachers and future teachers.  Believe me, I welcome all the help I can get.  I'm thankful to be part of such a fine establishment (:

Thing 18

Yes, facebook is a great site!  I have been able to find and be found from everyone from long lost family members to old friends to new ones.  It's a great place to connect with classmates, to check up on homework due dates, too.  For some reason asking for someone to befriend on facebook isn't as forward as asking for their phone number and vice versa.  Myspace was the site I originally signed up for a few years ago and was hooked after a while.  I like facebook a bit more these days because it just seems slightly more professional.

Thing 17

Del.icio.us
is yet another great tool to store or bookmark great finds on the web.  I found some really great Ted talks off of www.ted.com and was able to bookmark them in delicious and on www.cnn.com, where I initially found them.  In another class I had a presentation where the video clip didn't come through on my powerpoint and delicious saved me by making it possible for me to access those "talks" quickly.  During mid-presentation I was able to quickly search and find it for the class I was speaking to.  Thank goodness for this site!

Thing 16

Got Organized?   Check.

iGoogle is my new favorite homepage.  It's pleasing to the eye and it's there in the cloud of the web for me to access from any location that has internet.  Pageflakes was very cool too and I love the little calendar that is included.  Calendars are have taken on a new level of importance in my life these days.  With so many deadlines to remember and with so much to do, it is so nice to be able to focus on more of the important things than to carry around a bulky organizer.  These are all wonderful tools that are anywhere my laptop can go.  Stickies are another must have for me. I'm a such a sucker for cute little things like post notes.

Thing 15

Wiki's are a time saving way for people who have similar interests to keep building and sharing information about common interests.  This is beneficial because for some wiki's like the wiki educator site.  These were all great sources of testimonies made by people and a good example of learning from others mistakes and taking their advice.

Thing 14

Flowchart.com is an interesting site that could be used in a visual arts classroom to demonstrate color wheels, color theory, and other sorts of visual explanations.  The mindmap I tried the mindmeister and the bubbl.us site.  Of the two I really enjoyed the bubbl.us site.  It just seemed easier (for me) to read and grasp.  However, I understand there are various types of learners but I think the later is more of a traditional type of brain storming or mind mapping, therefore making it more familiar.

Thing 13

For this thing I set up my free online account for Zoho Writer.  This site will make life much easier and boy, did I wish I knew about this before!  In the past I have lost jump drives, emails, and word documents completely.  Had I known about Zoho Writer before I could have saved myself a lot of heart ache.  Although I will continue using my jump drive, it will be a comfort to know that I can use Zoho as yet another back-up.  Having these sorts of resources set my mind at ease.

Thing 12

This is a wonderful tool for a busy teacher.  For no fees, unlike other calender sync services, I can keep track of all my calenders for no charge.  This is so very helpful if I forget my laptop, notebook, etc. in the morning.

http://www.google.com/calendar/render

I enjoy Google's is iGoogle and Adsense (I've made $0.46!) Again, it just makes sense to take advantage of all the different doodads Google has to offer.  Hey if I can make some extra change and do some homework at the same time, I am a happy girl.  Google is for the multi-tasker and one thing is for sure in today's world is that you have to be able to juggle in order to keep up.

Thing(s) 10/11

I've already been doing RSS feeds and had not realized it (:
I follow my friends through Google Reader, which is so beautifully simple!  My favorite thing about Google is that you have accounts and access to most things Google when you set up a G mail account, which I have.  I made sure to subscribe to all of my classmates so I would stay on top of everything we have going on with class.  This is how RSS would be utilized in my classroom.  Students will be encouraged to not only keep up with what is going on in their classroom but also what's going on in the rest of the world.  This is a truly exciting thing!

9 Thing Nine

addams-family-morticia parody



www.CustomSignGenerator.com has hundreds of online image generating gadgets (banner ad maker, sign generator, label designer, custom e-cards, button creator, etc). Make your own words show up in images to use on your website or blog!

Thing 9 was fun for the most part.  Except for the overload of ads!  It was so difficult for an old fogy like me to navigate throughout all the advertisements to generate my picture like I wanted it.  After spending the better part of a day working on this I have a finished, with a Mortisha quote that I am satisfied with.

7/8 hybrid = Fire call box

Fire call box
Originally uploaded by niznoz

Colr Pickr is a tool that generates images, based on the color you choose. My favorite color is pink and I also love graffiti, so this is a great image I was able to find on Colr Pickr that merge the two. This is a very cool site and would be awesome to use in my art classroom.

Thing 8

This is an example of the Spell With Flickr site tool. I could see myself using this as a fun tool for students to use for design practice. All of the sites given for the discovery exercise were fun and informative. I couldn't chose just one so here are a few examples of me just playing around with these mash-ups (:

Memento Mori

Memento Mori
Originally uploaded by thaneeya

Thing 7 continued.

Thing 7

Fun with Flickr

On the Flickr site I decided to look up some artsy "Dia de los Muertos" or "Day of the Dead" photos from the site. This Mexican celebration honors the dead with brightly colored art work, full of life. I've always been fond of this genre of art and I hope you enjoy it as well. The featured artist I have here is Thaneeya McArdle and here is a beautiful example of a Dia de los Muertos style drawing.

Thing 6

Pandora radio!

I've always heard good things about it and finally got a chance to check it out for myself. Pandora's a really cool site that creates/finds radio stations based on music you already know and like. For example, I type in "Muddy Waters" and am given a whole radio station, for my viewing pleasure.. for free! I'm loving this so far! Check it out for yourself and see what you think;

http://www.pandora.com/#/

Thing 5

Upon reading the posted articles for school 2.0, it appears this new collaborative style of learning is a must, if we're to stay in competition with the global community. This ever growing technological sector of learning appears to utilize time wisely. Interactive and collaborative learning seems to be the most sure way to stimulate different modalities. Web 2.0 is narrowing the gap between nations and so far it seems to be a progressive direction for education to be moving. Change is one constant in life and I feel the more we are able to grow and adapt, the better off we are. However, keeping up can be a challenge but it can also bring fruitful rewards. My only concern is lower income and rural communities, that may not have access to certain technologies needed to contribute to an ever changing global community. I realize this concern won't cease web 2.0 learning but I can only hope funding and support will be made available for all children to be represented.

Thing 4

Commenting and why it's so important..

In the Blog sphere, commenting is a must to keep things moving along. Bloggers need that feedback to know that their voices are being heard. It is here where a special phenomenon occurs and opinions really DO matter. It's not that personal beliefs don't matter in spoken words, it's just when someone blogs they are putting themselves in a position for acceptance or possible ridicule of their ideas. This is because there are no real filers in blogs. There is no, "Nice weather we're having" empty conversation. Blogs are your topics and how you feel about them and in turn, the readers comments /opinions and how they feel about them. Of course these opinions can vary, depending on the degree of the topics' sensitivity. Blogging is an impersonal way to voice opinions or concerns but is also capable of becoming quite personal. All of these passions wouldn't be possible without the commenting and feedback that is shared on blogs.
For this thing, I found the 10 techniques for getting more comments on your blog helpful. Leaving open-ended questions and trying to make my readings easier to comment is something I will try to be more mindful of. Also helpful in the Discovery Resources were the 'Your Comments?' by Blue Skunk (nice name). Most of these resources echoed the same advise; be genuine, polite, and just be brave and comment already! I wonder what my fellow classmates got out of the discovery resources and which ones helped them the most? If I missed anything, please let me know. To me this is all about learning and growth. Any insight is totally welcomed here (:
To be continued..

Thing 3

Okay, I honestly wasn't looking forward to having to blog for class. I had never done it before and prejudged by liking it. However, I must admit so far so good. Blogging is turning out to be actually pretty enjoyable. I can see why we would be required to do this for class. Enter "Thing 3". The assignment has forced me to familiarize myself with technology and my classmates. Sometimes it's those things that you fear most that end up bringing the most reward. It's like times in other classes of mine that we were offered extra credit to go to a musical, a lecture ,or something like that. Sometimes I whined about going but after it was over I found myself happy I went. Sometimes it's like that, being a single mom too. I might not truly WANT to go to Chunky Cheese whirl (hope that passes copyright laws!) but my kids end up having a wonderful time.. I usually have a headache but life is about pushing yourself outside that comfort zone. At times I become very 'comfortable' with the way things are, when really they could be much better.
During class we really don't have time to get to know one another, in depth. Blogging is a way to notice the real PEOPLE in our classroom. We see moms, dads, teachers, mentors, and real people. When we can see ourselves in others it takes away some of the anxiety of getting to know someone. This is totally an assignment I would use in the future. I don't think bringing people together to share ideas, concepts, and experiences could ever be a bad thing.

Thing 2

For starters I spent way too long changing my avatar's wardrobe! It was like me in the morning shuffling through my closet. The doppelme site was cute but I really wish the monocle (in eye wear) was free.. always wanted one of those. I hope my avatar is recognizable, sometimes it's hard to really see ourselves. I know my hair is WAY more fuzzier than my avatars but c'est la vie. I'm sure I will be going back and changing my colors and template around some more, too. As far as blogging, I am going to keep it real as possible and just write from the heart. Hopefully my viewers will see a little of themselves in me and vice versa. So far blogging strikes me as being very therapeutic. Although I'm only on Thing #2, I've learned a lot so far. Hopefully when I get the hang of this a bit more, my 'things' will improve, too. I want my blogs and profile to look like "Pioneer Woman"(s) haha. Believe me, I know I have a long way to go but it's important to dream BIG. Stick around to see what develops!

Oh yeah! I finally got my momocle!!!

Thing 1

I'm used to being called a professional student but never a life-long learner. Probably because I've never heard of it until now. Well I've always loved yoga, fishing, reading, and playing, so looks like I already am showing some of the symptoms of the LLL. The tutorial was very structured and easy to follow. Some of the habits, like the ones listed above, are already loves of mine.. and I always try to keep my mind open. Just like It's open to this, new to me, concept. I need more structure in my life. Sometimes when I'm about to teach a class I go in with the 'winging-it' attitude. That's got me through many a time but I'm getting older and feel the need to map things out IN A more concise method.. perhaps because my memory isn't what it used to be, either. Take for instance this current situation.. typing my first blog at 11:45p.m. on a Friday night. I'm just hoping I'm doing this right so far and kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Note to self, stop procrastinating!

Web 2.0 is totally awesome! I could get lost for hours looking through all the different avenues for learning. Most of the sites I had no idea about but am certainly going to toss in my toolbox. I'm going to have to use the advise given in this class to move more confidently through the Internets. Yes, I've been too stubborn and need to learn how these newfangled gadgets work. I must say I'm looking forward to it.