Thing #23

I think that Creative Commons is a much needed tool. The ability to specify what things can be used for and not used for is an especially important topic considering the ongoing debate on intellectual property. This would be great for presentations, videos or audio files that are created and specifying how they can be used. Very easy to translate codes for what is and is not allowed.

Thing #22

Out of the offered podcast directories, the one that I liked the most was the Educational Podcast Directory. The interface was a bit cleaner and subject breakdown was eaiser to search through. I chose to listen to a podcast from the Computer/Tech. Skills section. The title was Simulation and Gaming in Education, Part 1. It was about teaching in virtual environment and role playing environments called Metaverses. It highlighted the application called Second Life and the educational institutions that have a presence there. I did like Podcast Alley as well. It had a great resource section to help others get started podcasting. I think that I will look into using podcast to pass along tips and equipment information to my professors. I subscribed to the instructional tech podcasts with my Google Reader so I can keep up with what is posted.

Thing #21

Animoto is a fairly cool site. I like the fact that you can use your own images and songs to create short videos for free. The site is very user friendly and the interface is easy to work with. This would be a good site for younger students to create videos for projects since it is so easy to use. Not sure that I would personally use it, but I can see some classroom applications for this service.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Thing #20

YouTube is one of the most important sites on the web. Sure it is used for entertainment, but the importance of this site is something that is almost full realized now. Users have the ability to upload a video about anything, anytime. During the Iranian protests, YouTube was one of the only avenues for information to get out. Educational institutions are also major users of YouTube. Most of the largest universities have a YouTube presence for posting event videos as well as promotional materials. YouTube is now universally accessible through smartphones as well as direct connections to newer LCD and LED televisions. The video that I have chosen for my blog is of a band that I love called "Gov't Mule." Like I said earlier, YouTube is good for entertainment.

Thing #19

I think that I am in love with Ning (sorry Alicia). I have been checking out the College 2.0 Ning and it is something that I will be checking daily. I have also already sent a request in to be a part of it. I am currently a member of a couple of different message boards, but nothing professional related. I think that this is a systemic learning process and I say that, because it keeps going and going. I looked into the College 2.0 Ning and it lead me to another resource, which in turn lead me to another resource. It is almost information overload, but I cannot wait to get further into it.

5611 Thing 12

Does it really get any better than Google? I have been using their services for years. The calendar is a great tool since it can be embedded on a web site or other location and can be easily set to keep up tasks, assignments and co-workers. My favorite is iGoogle which, could be the greatest thing ever. The ability to collect the most useful web apps and have them on my homepage is beyond helpful. It saves so much time to have everything in one location as opposed to having to open numerous windows to find what I am looking for. With Google Calendar in particular, teachers can place assignment due dates on it so that students will be able to check them online. They can also add the calendar their personal Google calendar.

5611 Thing 11

Out of all the offered search portals, I preferred Google. It is an interface that I am familiar with as well as the operators that narrow my search results. Syndic8 was my least favorite to use. The main search page was confusing and not as user friendly as Google. The Campus Technology feed was one of my favorites that I have found so far. It has a lot of relevant info for higher education settings. It is a site that I checked quite often, so the ability to add it to my reader was welcome. One of the easiest ways to find a blog is to frequent your favorite sites and see if they are RSS enabled and just add them to your reader.

5611 Thing 10

I love RSS. It is like my own personal paperboy and I use this on a daily basis. The first thing that I do when in get into the office in the morning is to check my feeds to see the updates that have posted. I have a reader window added in my iGoogle homepage so I that I can check things quickly from there. RSS is great because is saves so much time searching for news and materials that are of interest. There are so many great sources out there to check and RSS makes it so much easier to keep track of them all. With teachers as time pressed as they are, this would save valuable minutes by delivering all requested info to a central location.

5611 Thing 9

I kinda liked creating this image. It was fun to look around and see what selections were available and think of things to write in them. I am not sure how I would use these in a classroom situation, but they are fun to play around with.

5611 Thing 8

I am into photography and I think that Flickr could fill the content delivery service that I have been needing. I really like this service and the ability to tag photos will better enable my viewers to search and display what they want to see. I think sharing photos online is fine. I would just make sure that photos of my daughter are locked down to family only. Not ready for her photos to be on the public stream just yet.

5611 Thing 7

Flickr is a great service for sharing photos online. Users don't need any web knowledge to start uploading images to either a free site or a pay site depending on size needs. This simple interface will allow for users to share their photos with friends, family and the general public with out needing any special instruction. The image I chose is of Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a 2 week trek twice out there while I was involved in Boy Scouts and had the opportunity to spend a summer out there as a photographer while in college. It is a photo of a trail that I hiked while out there. It brought back a lot of memories seeing this photo.




Photo By Phil Romans

5611 Thing 6

The application that I chose is Twitter. This service is something still intrigues me. I still believe that while it is very popular, it still has not found its true purpose. There is everything on there from breaking news feeds to celebs letting everyone know that they just got Starbucks. I think that its usability and functionality would be a great communication source in the classroom. It works as a good backchannel communication tool that would allow for students to communicate with each other as well as the professor during class. This works great as a real time communication avenue that can help the professor target specific themes and lessons that students are interested in or are having problems with. If there was one draw back that I have to point out is that it could serve as a distraction with students "tweeting" during class.

5611 Thing 5

School 2.0, for me, is not just a catch phrase. It embodies living education because it is powered by both the students and the educators. It continues outside of the classroom in the homes of students. The great thing is that by pushing the content to a Web 2.0 style and interface, is that it is reaching students where they live digitally. For modern educators to succeed with these students, they must adapt to these new technologies. Students in the 21st century are much more fast paced and they want it now, with no waiting. That is one of the beauties and pitfalls of the School 2.0 concept. It is instant and often times without filters. Educators need to develop strategies to pass on to students on how to use the web to do research and use it as a educational resource.

5611 Thing 3

I thing that using my blog in the pursuit of an advanced degree could be a real plus. It will be a place that I can display my work so that others that I work with will be able to see what I am doing and offer their insight and opinions on what I am doing. This online critique will better enable to me to look for other ways to look at problems and allow me to garner other ideas to assist with course work.

5611 Thing 2

For this part of the 23 Things I kept the name of my blog the same. It reflects that this is my very small section of the web and is in essence, my "house." It was very easy to get the blog started. I already had a Google address so I was able to use my credentials from this to start the blog. My avatat is a close to real life reflection of me. I am always wearing a hat and cannot get my day started without a large cup of coffee!

5611 Thing #1

While reviewing the 7 1/2 Successful habits, I would have to say that accepting problems as challenges is something that I have a hard time doing. I am often prone to getting frustrated when working on something that I do not understand. I have to really take time to calm down and work through the problem.
The thing that I find the easiest is to create a learning toolbox. As I review new technologies and come across informative site, I will add them to a folder that I have setup in my Google Bookmarks so that I can access them from any site.
I really want to find new items to add to my toolkit by working through the 23 Things. I enjoyed re watching this segment as it allowed me to reevaluate my selections from the last time I worked on this.

Google's Top Ten Tricks

View more presentations from bchatchett.

5612 Lesson 2 Assigment 4 - friv.com

This is the kind of site that will end up getting me in trouble. I am already a fan of video games as it is and to have access to the amount of free games that this site has to offer means that I will have hours of time wasting ahead of me.

Lesson 2 Assignment 2 - Jing

Jing really is a simple, easy to use application. The fact that it is free makes it that much better. My favorite aspect is that it runs in the background until you are ready to use it so it is not taking up valuable screen real estate. It does get better in that the video is hosted by Jing and is in the universal Flash format. Steve Jobs might not like it, but I am a fan.

My Jing Video

5612 Lesson 2 Assigment 1

The Allman Brothers Band with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi playing one of my favorite songs. Glad that I could share it with you.