The Grand Finale

I've really enjoyed my time working through this class. A lot of the tools, though I may have had experience with them in the past, were presented in an educational context that I hadn't previously thought of because of my prior experience.

In particular, I enjoyed reviewing Google Apps before the start of the school year. It gave me a chance to revisit what I learned in the spring and get started on my new modifications. I'm also excited about using both VoiceThread and YouTube more often this year in the classroom. Of course, the most recent ones come to mind first, but I certainly enjoyed played with Library Thing and exploring the whole idea of creating a Wiki.

I know that social networking sites are one great way to keep up with the updates to technology, but I'm actually planning on using some of the blogs I found through my Reader to keep tabs on how technology is being used in education. For me, it seems like a better solution to the whole "staying current" problemo.

After finishing this course, I can say that I am pleasantly surprised at the amount of knowledge I realized that I already had pertaining to these tools. It taught me that I really need to repurpose my skills and start digging deeper to find the best ways to teach my chillins - I'm certainly not going to run out of ideas any time soon!

Thing #23: Networking with Ning

Alright, so I spent most of my time on exploring Ning, because that's kind of just the way it worked out. I thought that Gather was interesting, but it didn't do a whole lot to entice me to explore much.

Ning, however, I really enjoyed exploring. My overall impression of the site was that it was not only easy-to-use, but it made connecting with other educators very low-pressure and open. In fact, I spent a lot of my exploring time kind of surfing the forums. It was interesting to note how respectful most of the discussion was, simply because a lot of people lose their filters when they're commenting online and tend to make things more personal than they are. For whatever reason, these forums were pretty well behaved, and I actually enjoyed reading them, even when the group consensus didn't line up with mine. I can see myself using this as a "sounding board" resource through the different groups, often without even having to ask the question myself.

I can spout off a lot of different uses for social networking in the professional and educational fields, such as idea sharing or resource lending. However, if I'm completely honest with myself, I would have to admit that my only current plan to utilize social networking is through my students. I'm planning on having the students create a group for the Yearbook this year to promote it, where they'll post photos that they've taken recently in addition to the public wiki/flickr account we're going to set up.

Sometimes it's good, in my opinion, of course, to set boundaries between your personal and professional life. In my case, I'm much more comfortable keeping social networking purely social and personal, rather than trying to overwork my tools and burn out on this idea. In the future, I may choose to broaden my networks with Ning and other sites, but I think for now, I'll focus on the long list of other tools you've presented us with and leave social networking where I like it: outside of work.

Thing #22: Facebook and its minions

I love facebook. No one should really be surprised at all. I'm am obsessive about writing, internet communication tools, and photos. Thus, I love love love facebook.

Despite the fact that I can't actually remember what you all will be able to see (I think my privacy settings are fairly strict) you're more than welcome to click on the link to my profile and "friend" me. Now it's time to answer the questions.

1. Why is it important that educators know how social networking works?

We need to understand these sites because our kids use them. I'm a big advocate of understanding our chillins' lives through their activities, and when the internet is such a huge part of them, it's something we can't ignore. If we aren't going to make an effort to see what kind of public exposure they're getting on the internet, how can we expect to understand problems that might arise from it? In addition, we need to be able to show students the positives and negatives of using social networking sites. I can't tell you how many students I had at the college level that didn't believe employers checked the Fbook during hiring until they found out they didn't get the job because of their profiles.

2. What new insights did you gain about these popular sites?

Ah, no new insights, I don't think. I completely understand the appeal of this networking site, and the only thing that I noticed today is that it's another example of how students truly desire the ability to take ownership of something and make a statement as an individual. Facebook and Myspace give them that opportunity, we need to remember to provide it in the classroom as well.

3. What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored?

As a former Myspace user, I'll say that I greatly prefer Facebook if only for the protection it offers its users. Myspace privacy controls are often times a joke, even if they seem like they work. Funny story - I thought my profile was closed on Myspace when I started teaching, but learned very quickly that it wasn't when my students started asking me about my "top friends" and asking where my tattoo was on my body. Lesson learned, profile shut down.

4. Which site had the most useful features?

Useful? I suppose that Facebook has the most applications and groups. Actually, come to think of it, some of the applications on Facebook have an educational component to them, like word games and the Notes function, etc.

5.Can you see an educational application for any of these sites?

Honestly, not at this level. In middle school, they're just starting to figure out how to interact with their peers face-to-face, which makes online interaction all the more awkward. However, as they get older and more mature, I could see it becoming a real tool. When I taught college chillins, they sometimes used the "Notes" application to work on their projects, and the groups created a real bonding tool for them. It could work for younger students too, but I'm just not comfortable opening my own profile to my students, even if it was one I created for that sole purpose. It would give the kids an illusion of a different kind of a relationship with their teacher, which is a little concerning for a teacher as young as I am. Maybe in a few years...

Thing #7b: Revisiting the Reader

Until today, I was waaaaaay behind on my reader. A week-long wedding in Vegas will throw off a lot of routines, even if you're not the bride, I've learned.

In any case, I read through all of my updates (well, skimmed all and read through some) this morning to jumpstart my day. After reading this short post from The Choice blog of the NYTimes, I was definitely ready to tackle the lawn and blow off some steam. The post explained that student loan defaults have been vastly underreported, with $50.8 billion worth of loans in default at the end of the 2009 year.

I know, I know, this isn't about English, reading, ESL, or even yearbook. But it's a concerning subject to me for many reasons. If this trend continues, the way education loans are awarded and limited may change, further limiting higher education possibilities for students with an economic disadvantage. My particular subject area has a ridiculously high percentage of Eco. Disadv. students who I'm hoping to encourage to attend college one day.

Middle school may seem a little early to start the real planning, but for these students, they need to hit the ground running as freshman to have a real shot at earning enough financial aid to make their dreams come true. It's good for all secondary teachers to keep tabs on, I feel.

Source: Student Loan Default Rates Come Under Scrutiny By RACHEL GROSS

Thing #21: More with Google

As I mentioned in the earlier post, I'm a big fan of the Google tools. In fact, I use it in my classroom fairly often and it's already factored in to some of my earliest lesson plans for next year.

To make sure that I wasn't getting away too easy with these couple of assignments, I created a public calendar just for the vacation that I'm about to take my younger sister, Hilary, on as a graduation/18th bday present. Do I know how to create a link to it? Nope, sure don't...unless I'm using a google site, and then I certainly can.

Which is why I'm including the link to my site that I created with the Google Apps program this spring. I really enjoyed creating the content, and one of my main goals as a teacher this year is to incorporate it more into my teaching and truly make it a part of the curriculum. I would have created a yearbook site today, but I'm still thinking that I'm going to do a wiki for them, so I'll have a full year of using both a wiki and a google site for the classroom setting and I can pick the one I think best fits my students' needs at the end of the year.

Thing #20: Google Docs = Everyone's BFF

Once more, I have to admit that I've been using Google Docs for a while now. Our administrators have used it to manage ISS and detentions, as well as to hold documents such as role sheets for OEYP.

In fact, I actually took Paige Wester's Google Apps course in the spring, where we created a Google website for our classes and explored the different ways that we can use GoogleDocs in the classroom.

Some ways that I've already used the tool include:

• Creating forms as quizzes for the kiddos
• Using the site to manage a calendar of deadlines
• Creating a page of alternative activities for early-finishers

In the future, I'm planning on using GoogleDocs for the group book report projects that my reading students do, as it will make it SO MUCH EASIER for them to all be held accountable for the work when each student can modify the document at the same time. Sure, it'll be a long first day of instruction, teaching them how to use the PowerPoint-esqe application and troubleshooting, but it will be worth it in the long run.

I'm also planning on using it for all of my students as a way to save their documents, rather than relying on their ability to remember to save it to their student folder on the network, etc. That's a great way for them to lose things, it happens all the time. However, I'm hopeful that if they actually are required to UPLOAD the document, there will be fewer "I don't remember where I saved it!" excuses.

Oh, and PS- here's the link to my published document!

Thing #19: Voicing an Opinion on VoiceThread

Okay, I was skeptical about how I would feel about this particular tool. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find some great ideas and uses for the tool as I watched the assigned VoiceThread and explored some of the suggested created Voicethreads. Some of the uses I could just flick my wrist at, but I found myself really liking the last suggestion on the list, the "Library from A to Z" VoiceThread. After watching it, I came up with three similar ideas for use in my own classroom.

• In Yearbook, I could have the students create a presentation for the next year's staff as their final project, showing them page-by-page the different departments they created that year. Not only would it be good for ideas next year as an intro, it would also be good for the class to reflect on their work.
• In ESL, I could have my beginner-intermediate students create a VoiceThread with the vocabulary they are learning on a weekly basis. This wouldn't be a huge project for them, more an on-going one that they could work on during times when their newcomer status excludes them from traditional curriculum or testing.
• For all of my 6th graders, instead of making a poetry memory book out of paper, the students could create a digital presentation in groups where they would read the poems aloud and scan in pictures, illustrations, etc. This would be a better alternative to last year, because it gives them the opportunity to practice their speaking while getting multiple attempts to get it right. Less pressure = more success for my reluctant speakers.

Overall, I'm excited to use this tool, and creating a VoiceThread educator account is at the top of my list for when we come back from vacation.