Tuesday, July 14, 2009

And now....Thing 23

23 Things

This experience was really good for me. I spend a lot of time with my computer and computer related paraphernalia--cell phone with internet, ipod Touch. What I don't do is learn how to manage all the stuff I do. I tend to stick to familiar habits when there could be an ohsomuchbetter way to do things. I also depend on the kindness of others to nudge me to learn new things. I have those people in my life, fortunately.

The 23 Things class, in my mind, granted me permission to spend time managing all this stuff. I still have a long way to go, but this summer was a good start.

I know so little, but I find that I know a lot more than some of my colleagues--even young ones. It will be fun to dazzle them with (imagine sparkly glitter in the air and whisper...)Magic!

To any who visit...thanks and have fun with your learning.

Thing 22

Video

I convinced my school's parent group to buy a Flip video camera. It's a lot of fun and I found some great uses for it. One of the best was recording student conversations about books. It helped the students see how to talk to each other and it was a great way to share these with others.

It fits in my pocket and I can record on the spot...kids don't even have the chance to make faces or give their friends bunny ears.

It's really hard for us to use this application on the web, however. The school district blocks YouTube and many video applications, so it's just not practical to count on using video in this way. There are lots of other ways, though. The Flip camera plugs right into the computer for viewing on a Smartboard, or into a TV monitor.

It's pretty fun and I want to spend more time with it.

Thing 21

Twitter

When I first learned about Twitter I thought using it was like talking to myself like a mad woman or shouting into the wind. I went ahead and signed up for an account and I wasn't so wrong. No one really wants to know that I cleaned the cat's litter box today.

I'm kind of a news junkie, though, so I found that following some tweeters was a quick way to keep up to date.

My kids use it, so I know what they're up to, also. I can tweet from my phone and use direct messages to send a text message. It's pretty fun.

One of the things I learned to do, which might be a good way to use Twitter at school, is to link to articles or images I think might interest my colleagues.

Thing 20

Social Bookmarking

There are so many times that I find an article that makes me want to get right up and share it with someone. It's not very practical for me to make a paper copy and slip it into a mailbox and not very likely that a busy teacher could easily overlook it.

Sending a link in an email is another way to send an article to colleagues, but there are problems with that, too. One is--who has time to open and read stuff that comes through email?

I can see using social bookmarking as a way to share some good stuff with others--others who want to check it out. That means I get to check out the shared bookmarks of others, too.

Check out my shared list. My delicious username is jeri.corey