Thing #10

I have been playing with all the fun sites and have been trying to brainstorm lists of things I can do with my kids to incorporate some of these things. I am teaching summer school, and I think I will ask those students to help me with some ideas. They obviously were turned off or not served adequately during the school year, so I'm going to ask them what they think could be done to "punch up" history lessons with technology. I worry about being sure there is accurate content rather than just lots of flashy fun. One suggestion for a lesson I saw was for kids to be given 10 minutes to receive a text on their cellphones from someone off campus. I worry about liability: what if they contact someone inappropriate, what if parents resent paying for texting, what about the one or two kids who don't have phones-or kids make fun of them because they are not the latest technology. My school is a very have/have not campus. How do you control inappropriate content? Every site leads to many others. I guess at home kids have access to all this stuff, but I am somewhat uncomfortable sponsoring or assigning something that might initiate inappropriate contact. At school we have a firewall, but can I take that much class time from a TAKS tested class to take all the students to the lab the number of days it might take to get these kinds of things produced? Am I just too much of a worrier? I have liked some of the videos that were produced in a classroom and then posted on a web page for others to view. I can see that being a manageable projcet.

Thing # 9

First let me say that I really enjoyed and appreciated the information in the blog by Cool Cat Teacher. The advice about how to choose the things to include in your blog list
Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use? I went to sites that I have read in the past and looked for the RSS button so I could add it to my Google Reader. For some, I had copy and paste the URL.
Which Search tool was the easiest for you? I Like the Technorati site. It was easy to search. I also used the Topix.net site but it was more mainstream media news and entertainment with lots of ads.
Which was more confusing? Syndic8.com was confusing to me.
What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels? Or what kind of unusual ones did you find? I found some sites dedicated to American History and to educators who teach history.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/historycoalition
http://blog.historians.org/
There are lots of blogs about traveling, and those interest me. I didn't add a lot of new ones tothe reader, because I find that a few good news sites will generally link to others if you are interested in reading simialr articles onthe same subject. Most all news sites have a place for people to post comments. Putting too many in the list will just cause me to tune it all out, I think.

Thing #8

Okay, I've spent several days on this and I have created a newsreader on Google. I have added several blogs and looked through thousands. Then I typed up this scintillating commentary on the whole adventure. Then I clicked off the page without saving and lost the whole thing! I know this will not be as witty as the original, but the gist of it was a recurring theme in my previous entries. There is so much out there-on any subject imaginable! I have a custom Yahoo page that has blogs about the Astros, which is really all I follow regularly. On the Google page I put lots of news sites. I enjoy watching the "fun" videos on all types of subjects. You Tube is insane. People are basically exhibitionists at heart, I guess. I think the political sites will be very interesting to follow in this historic presidential election year.
As for using this with my students, there are applications as far as incorporating writing projects in with their history lessons and networking with other students.
I am a curmudgeon, I guess, because I am not so very interested in ready just anybody's opinion about just any subject. I am more interested in being out there doing things than to read about other people's adventures. I barely have time to read the newspaper that comes to my front door every day. And I am more interested in laying across the bed reading the articles in print than to be hooked to the computer screen. Is that just wrong thinking?

Thing # 7

It amazes me the sheer number of photos on the web! And they are so easy to access, share, and manage. I downloaded Picasa and then uploaded some of my millions of family photos. There are a lot of little ones in our family so I am constantly getting pictures. This is an easy way to organize and share them. Adding a caption right away helps me remember the event. My niece used to maintain a web page with a calendar and photos posted so all the family could access them, but it became difficult to manage. I think blogging would be a much easier medium for her since it is so informal and has so many easy options available. I didn't create anything I am ready to share here.
I can see the Google notebook as a great organizer and time saving device when doing major research projects. Kids love to use Google maps and we have used that tool before to look at the major battlefields of the Civil War.

Thing #6

I've had a lot of fun exploring these sites. There are so many things that can be done so easily. One site I had a lot of fun with is in the Bigbluelab at fd's Flickr Toys. I played with the magazine cover maker and could see a use for it in my history class. Students could use iconic images from various time periods in U.S. History as the backdrop for creating their own magazine covers "of the day." It actually was not as easy as it looked as far as coming up with good, clever tag lines and attention getter phrases that would let the reader know what to expect inside the cover. Students would be able to incorporate knowledge of specific events with overarching concepts and issues. They would also be able to add in information related to events happening in other parts of the world at the same time.

Remember that old TV series, Just Shoot Me, where every new episode focused on a different part of the magazine cover? It was a lead it to the next segment of the show. That's what I felt like when I wa mking my own feeble attempt at a cover. It was fun and challenging at the same time.

Thing#5

Flickr is a lot of fun and I can see how it can be useful to share photos with friends and family as well as make images available to students. I am always interested in seeing photos from around the world to see different landscapes and views, and yet also notice how we are all alike. Seeing photos of cats, or children, or weddings shows that we are a diverse group of people that really all have the same basic interest, needs and desires.

I chose to download a photo of Ruth the Acrobat because it reminded me of the book I just finished, Water for Elephants. I know this was supposed to be about a topic I teach. I'll do better next time!

Thing#4

I emailed my information. Every time I get into this site I discover new thing and go off on some discovery journey or another and look up to see that time has flown by. The obstacle of time that I was worried about has started to happen because I go to log on to do the next Thing, but look at the time and know that I will have difficulty limiting myself to just completing the next activity and then getting back off the computer. I seem to either be here for 3 or 4 hours or avoid the whole thing for fear of being on the rest of the day!

Thing#3

Deciding on my avatar was fun. I couldn't decide between making a complete fantasy or representative of my true self. I settled on somewhere in between. (Actually leaning a lot closer to fantasy as far as age and figure are concerned!) She has a much sweeter smile than I do by this time of year. I am teaching summer school so I can't afford to be that easygoing just yet!

Thing#2

Viewing the 7 1/2 Things video really made me start to think of what my goals are for this class. I originally signed up because I want to earn hours but I am teaching summer school. The classes offered this summer conflict with the hours of summer school. If you had talked to me about blogging just a few days ago I would have said I was really not interested, but now I am daydreaming about the ways to use this with my students. I am sure my goals will continue to change as I learn new "things."