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.