#23!

WOW, what a fantastic learning experience this has been. I feel energized and excited to have been a part of this online class. You have challenged me beyond what I expected! I spent far more hours on this course than I ever intended. The hours at the computer flew by and yet I feel like I have only scratched the surface of what I would like to learn.

Favorites...there were many...Flickr Toys was amazing...(trading cards, photo collages, etc). The text generators were fun to explore...I especially liked Wordle. Learning about Wiki's and the potential for school collaboration was enlightening. I also was glad to discover how easy it is to add RSS feeds. I NEED to learn more about Web 2.0 and all it offers.

I would definitely be interested in continuing to participate in more discovery programs. Technology is changing our world and the way we need to teach. It is vital that all teachers be exposed to the opportunities for integrating technology into our classrooms.

Thank you Carol for facilitating this class and exposing me to opportunities that I never would have found without your leadership.

Audiobooks

Thanks for introducing me to the availability of audiobooks through the FC Library. I found several titles of interest but thought the first I would download is "The Kite Runner". Can't believe I still haven't read this book! Also, thought it would be fun to listen to Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series of books. What a great way to make a long car trip go quickly.

Podcasts

After listening to the recommended podcast information posts I spent a great deal of time searching for educational podcasts that I thought would be useful. I found one with science experiments and since I work at a school of science thought this would be useful. However, the site wouldn't let me connect. I had the same problem with a PBS educational site so decided to try a personal interest site. That's when I found Frommers travel and decided to add that link to my blog. I intend to do further searches for educational podcasts in the future. http://www.frommers.com/rss/frommers_podcast.xml

YouTube

My previous experience with YouTube was primarily entertainment. During my exploration I found an excellent video promoting Ft. Collins as the Best Place to Live in the US. I also listened to Obama videos (comedy and serious). A favorite video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZobdcwO_c8U This video is about reading strategies. I searched "Guided Reading" and found several excellent clips. These could be used for staff development and also for personal ideas to improve instruction.

Web 2.0 Tools

For this activity I first chose a geneology website that intrigued me but then decided to change my selection because it required a download. My second choice was "I'm Cooking". This website contains cooking videos from around the country. I found it very easy to use. It provides an area where you can add friends, post comments, rate recipes and gives you the opportunity to share with others. I thought it was a great site and more casual than the Food Network or other more well known commercial sites. Several guys in our family love to cook and it would be fun to post a family video and share with others who live at a distance.

ZOHO Writer

The possibilities of ZOHO are endless. I was especially impressed with the ability to create documents and have others collaborate and edit with you online. As people's schedules have become more harried this option will be very valuable. I can think of times when serving on a state committee that this would have been very useful. We spent so much time e-mailing documents back and forth before final agreement could be reached. ZOHO would have simplified this project immensely.

PB Wikis

Creating a wiki for a school would be an amazing opportunity for collaboration. Each grade level could have their own folders and ideas could be shared. Teachers who work with multiple grade levels could have access to the appropriate files. It would be a great time saver--fewer meetings AND better knowledge about what is happening in various classrooms. This would help with integration of subject matter across departments.

I was not able to locate the Rocky Mountain 23 wiki but will keep trying.