Thing #17

Searchrolls was interesting as a good tool for someone who does lots of searching. If I got into heavy Internet research with my students I can see how this would help to keep them from wandering off into inappropriate or inferior sites. As for my own professional use, I can see how I could develop a set of go-to sites to help build Activboard flipcharts using tried and reliable sites. For my personal use, I don't do so many intense searches that plodding along on Google won't suffice for. I think I created a searchroll, but I am not sure. And I'm not sure that I am ready to be this organized since I'm still stumbling around.

Thing # 16

I often use Wikipedia for a quick source because it seems there is an article about just about any topic imaginable. I also know that the information is not always reliable, so I just use it as a starting point. I think a wiki set up around a common topic that kids can contribute to is a great thing, but if it is editable by the general public, it is open to misuse. A wiki would have to have a log in requirement for a specific group in order to prevent malicious editing. I went onto the sandbox portion of the Spring Branch Library Future wiki and made a comment about how useful I think this class has been, and how this format can be a model to teachers who are trying to develop technology components to enhance their classroom. Developing purposeful, self-paced lessons that can be shared with and commented on by the others in the group will be extremely motivational to today's students. I am impressed at the forward thinking of the library department of our district.

Thing # 15

I think the downtown Houston Public Library reopening is a perfect example of what the future of libraries is. It is so much more than a room of musty books where everything is muffled and quiet. The new library is a multipurpose building that provides a wide variety of resources to the public. It is alive and vibrant and ever changing. Libraries (and whoever makes up the collective "them" of librarians) have really taken the lead in making sure they remain relevant and essential. It is a hallmark of the freedom of speech and information in our country that allows and encourages such access to all of what the Internet and technology have to offer.

I enjoyed reading Web 2.0: Where will the next generation of the web it take libraries? I especially liked the discussion of getting away from the "just in case" backup collection that librarians feel compelled to keep. I can really relate to that hesitance to throw out the paper copies and just rely on the ability to retrieve documents from the cyber sphere. I think we all have stories of the Internet going down at a critical time or platform changes that made old data irretrievable. And what if somebody pulls "the plug" and there's no electricity? What will become of us if we don't have everything written down? And don't get me started on conspiracy theories of hackers or black ops government groups manipulating the data to make it say whatever they want it to. I've watched Total Recall and RoboCop and Conspiracy Theory !

I think subsequent generations will have less trouble with this reluctance to let go of the paper, but I don't know that I would ever want to.

Thing # 14

I have explored Technorati and visited a variety of sites. I found it pretty easy to maneuver through and understood tagging information and how that works. I found some good information to expand my understanding of using technology in the classroom. I also found some good book review sites and have gone to the library and checked out some interesting titles. Now I have even more stuff to read with all my bookmarks on Google Reader and that seriously cuts in to my read a book time. I was reading a blog post where a woman was telling how she visited her reader 7-14 times a day. When do you sleep?! I want to DO more than I read about what other people doing. There are times when I am interested in a specific topic or am collecting information for research, but a daily search just for the sake of searching is too overwhelming for me. I do feel increased confidence and success in my internet abilities!

Thing #13

I had been hesitant to tag things in the past, but with this tutorial and exploration I can see the benefits of tagging sites that have a common theme or that are easy to return to. I have a very long list of sites in my "favorites" so I can see this would help clean that up. There are times I read something that is interesting, but I don't really have immediate need for. later, I'll wonder, "Where did I see that?" The tagging system will help me to mark a page and then have some hope of retrieving it later. As far as it being a social network, students can certainly share their resources with others who are in their class or accessing tags from people who have marked sites. There is so much stuff out there, this is at least a starting point for an organized look at what is available on a given topic.

Thing # 12

I hope everyone is enjoying their Independence Day holiday, brought to you by U. S. History! I have been reading and commenting on other posts since we began this process. I guess I have never been one to keep my opinions to myself. The suggested readings for this lesson, though, were very helpful and led me off into another voyage of discovery.
I have been reading blog posts about other educators who have begun to integrate technology into their daily classrooms-meaning that they have developed class blogs or wikis with lessons embedded and ways for students to post their work as well as comment on others. I have found some good information, and one really cool thing I found was Voice Thread (see sidebar for information). It allows for a visual post and for comments to be provided both in written and spoken form. I think that would be a very useful tool on a class wiki page. A college professor who apparently was part of a 43 Things class sometime in the recent past posted his journey with a class wiki and spoke of the successes and difficulties he has encountered. http://michalska.wordpress.com/ Vicki Davis, on her Cool Cat Blog http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/ also has very in detail information about her award winning wiki and is very good at explaining and showing examples of what has worked for her.
On a completely unrelated search, I went looking for movie reviews because I like to check out DVDs, especially in the summer. I found lots of sites, but most were difficult to read. This one was pretty good. It covered a variety of topics and had a lot of different contributors so you can get a sense of what the movie is about and whether it fits what you are interested in. http://www.moviesvideos.com
Here comes the daily rain shower. I'm going to log off and enjoy a nap!

Thing #11

Okay, so this is is a pretty awesome site. One of my daydream fantasies has been to be locked in a library and having nothing to do but read. This site is great because it lets you honor the great stories you have read and read what other people have to say about books you love. You also get to see what other people are reading and find treasures that you may not have found on your own. I determined this year to quit spending so much money on books and instead use the public library. On the one hand, I enjoy browsing for the book and reading it, but I have a difficult time returning books that I like. I want them to be on my shelf so I can return to them when I want. Anyway, I joined, added some titles I thought of off the top of my head, and will return to refine my page as well as read recommendations for future reference. Now if I can just find the time...
I have been thinking a lot about how to integrate what I am learning in the class into teaching U S History. Here are some ideas I am working on developing lesson plans for: If you found George Washington's Ipod, what would be on his playlist? Write a text or email dialogue between John and Abagail Adams or Washington and Hamilton during the Revolution, or Jefferson and Hamilton, Paul Revere and Sam Adams on the night of the Boston Tea Party. etc. Create trading cards for the first five presidents and have a swap meet with other classmates. Create a magazine cover published in Massachusetts (or Virginia) dated April 13, 1861. Research to find 10 titles Jefferson had in his personal library. Use those titles to write about
I still have 7 days of summer school left and I have just accepted a position as a secondary support specialist for social studies. After 27 years in the classroom I am due for a sea change. Now I just have to figure out how to sort out what I want to keep and what will be sent to the dumpster. I had to do this when I moved from elementary to middle school. It wasn't easy then and will be more difficult now.