Thing 16

Thing 16 PhotoPeach and Final Evaluation:

This is my first time using photopeach and I love it! It reminds me of imovie an app I have on my mac. Making videos like this is always fun, and a great gift! I have made videos like this for friends for their birthdays, and they love them!

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I am one of those people that can sit on my computer all day, so exploring some of these sites really showed me some things that I didn't know the internet had to offer. Doing this blog has inspired me to incorporate a blog in my classroom for parents to follow. I also enjoyed wordle and photopeach, stumble upon and pinterest. 

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I think doing this helped to show me a lot of different resources that the internet has to offer that I can use educationally and for leisure browsing purposes as well. 

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I did not think that I would enjoy blogging, and I didn't think that it would be something that I would continue, but doing this blog helped me to realize how easy and fun blogging can be.

4. What could I do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I think if I were you I would keep it the same, and if new and more exciting sites come along you could replace some of the easier thing's that we have been using for years. Other than that I think it was a great learning tool.

Thing 15

Thing 15: Twitter

I have not been a member of twitter until today. I never had a desire to tweet, and I think some celebrities are a bit twitter crazy, but I think it is entertaining to read tweets. I also like that you can tag people in your posts. My twitter account is MeredithORourk1 I probably won't tweet, but I think that I will continue to use the app to follow some of my favorite celebrities.

Thing 14

Thing 15: Podcasting and Bookmarks

Podcasts are something that have become very popular in the past few years. I have downloaded a few podcasts before of interviews, and I have downloaded music collaboration podcasts on iTunes. I have also read about teachers using podcasts in their classrooms for homework assignments. I have come up with the idea to use a blog in my classroom for parents as a weekly newsletter, and I think I could use podcasts on the blog and upload the children singing our classroom songs so the parents could hear the songs they are learning, and I could upload other podcasts of me talking and giving the parents tips about how to help their children if they are having trouble in certain areas. I could also link them to other podcasts that could be helpful at home, and if they are interested then they can download those.

When I explored the Texas Education on iTunes U I found some great podcasts for Teachers that give resources for different lesson ideas, articles, and even educational videos I could play in the classroom. I even downloaded an audio podcast called, "Children's Thinking in Measurement." I will definitely continue to explore the Texas Education podcasts, and I think that they are a great resource for teachers.

Things 12 and 13

Things 12and 13: Discovering YouTube

YouTube is a site that has a video of just about anything. This is a video that is always a crowd shocker, and I love it! If you have not seen it before, you have to watch about a minute into the video to see why this is one of my favorite videos.
I am an avid youtube user. I love to watch videos that people post on facebook, or that I hear about from word of mouth. I love youtube, and I will continue to use the website on a regular basis.

Thing 11

Thing 11: Web 2.0 tools

GoAnimate:

I am planning to use go animate in a lesson I am doing that will be a technology interactive writing lesson. I will make the animation with the students, and they will come up and help me spell words and find the letter on the keyboard.
I was just messing around on GoAnimate, and this is the link to the animation I created:
Proper Greeting

Web 2.0 sites:
Stumble Upon
I am a recent subscriber to StumbleUpon and Pinterest. The are two different web 2.0 websites that are amazing is similar and different ways. To become a member of both of the sites you can sign up to be on a list or you can be invited by friends. After creating a username, you must click on different categories provided by the website that interest you, for example: music, fashion, design, art, photography. On Stumble Upon they "stumble" your interests, and each time you press stumble it provides you with a pages that might interest you. Pinterest has you create boards, and pins, but stumble upon just gives you a like option. I am obsessed with both of these websites, and I have recommended them to all of my friends. I think these web 2.0 tools are not a great boredom buster, but they are useful when it comes to just about anything. I have a board on pinterest that is titles "cute classroom ideas" and I have pins of differnt pictures from blogs, and photos of classrooms that are inspiring to me.

Thing 10

Thing 10: Online Productivity Tools

I am familiar with google docs, which is a great website for group projects because it allows for students to  share information with each other, and each member of the group on google docs is able to edit information on the public document. This is my first time to hear about Zoho, but I think it is a great concept for people who need to make a word document, but they do not have the program. It is very easy to use, and very similar to microsoft office when it comes to the formatting of the document.

Thing 9

Play with Wiki's

I made an account with www.technologypoppersforclassrooms.com and I was able to write my discussion about how to integrate technology in the classroom. I was also able to read other people's discussions and cooments. This website reminded me of  a "wiki blog," because it is a wiki site that people can post comments and discussions on.

Thing 8

Wiki's:

I discovered some Wiki's that I think I will definitely use in the future.
I looked at the SJCPL Subject Guides wiki, and there were many different subjects on the main page to choose from, and search. I also liked that book lover's wiki, and the information the site has on reviews of different books is good, but I believe if this site was better advertised it could have more reviews from fellow book lover's. I also went to the Bull Run Library, and I was very pleased to see that their website operates in 52 different languages. I was looking around on this site and somehow clicked on an article about when to use a wiki, which I thought had some great wiki information.
When to use a wiki (click this link)

Overall, I think wiki's can be a great tool, but I personally do not usually depend on wiki's for papers or projects, because there is no way of knowing which information is valid.

Thing 7

Image Generators:

Wordle:

Wordle is a fun website that makes "word clouds" with text that you type into the generator.
 I think using wordle in the classroom is a great idea, for this wordle I would take out the word DOG, and just keep these description words on the wordle, then the students would guess what I am describing.

I also explored the website voice thread. I was able to look at other voice thread videos as well as try and make my own voice thread. I think this website would be wonderful for the end of unit projects. I could have the students upload the pictures or video streams they want in their video, and they can say what they want to on the video.

Thing 6

RRS and Newsreaders:

I had never heard of RRS before this, and I found that it stands for "Really Simple Syndication." I also set up an account with bloglines, and played around on that site a little bit. I also viewed the teacher blogs, and read some good blogs, that I am going to add to my bloglines account.

Thing 5

Flickr Mapper!


Using Mapper I was able to put this picture on the map! Since I already had San Francisco as the location, a map of the city was pulled up and I put the picture in Union Square. It was easy, and I really like Flickr because it is an online photo album, and I really love the fact that I can out the pictures on a map to show pictures of all of my trips!

Thing 4

Flickr:

This is not my first time to hear about flickr, but this is my first time to explore flickr. I decided to create an account to see what it was all about. I uploaded 2 pictures to my account, and I wrote descriptions. I made one of them public and one of them private. This is the photo I made public and my description of the photo.
                                    San Francisco Hearts!

In Houston we have cows, in San Fran they have hearts!

Thing 3

Photos and Images


My friends and I just went to San Francisco! It was beautiful and we fell in love with the city! Here are some of my favorite photos that were captured on our trip!

Thing 2

Blogging:

This is my first blog, and I really don't have much "blog following" experience either. I am learning so much, and I think it is something that I will continue in the future. Although I am not too familiar with blogging, I think that it is a great concept, and I am glad that I am finally getting a chance to blog. Using blogger.com has been very easy thus far, and there is a tutorial that is helpful as well.

Thing 1:

7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners:


1. Begin with the end in mind.
2. Accept responsibility for your own learning.
3. View problems as challenges.
4. Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.
5. Create your own learning toolbox.
6. Use technology to your advantage.
7. Teach/mentor others.
7 1/2. Play!


In this video tutorial I learned that lifelong learning means it is never too soon or too late to learn certain methods. I believe that lifelong learning is something that I practice because I am always trying new things, and trying to go outside of the box. For example I am always looking for new workout classes, and new recipes. I am also a firm believer that it is never too late to learn as long as you are willing to work hard!

Learner's Contract!