From the TCMS Media Center

First, let me say that I can’t express enough my gratitude over being admitted into this online learning community.  How neat is it that being over three hours away from all other participants, I have been able to participate in such a valuable experience.  My thanks to Kathy Bailey and Shelly Paul for the grace extended to me.

I feel like I have a tool box bulging with new ideas.  Even though I am approaching the end of what has been a particularly difficult school year for me, I am ready to plan out some new activities for next year.  In fact, today a teacher and I made plans to meet over post planning to plan out some activities utilizing Web 2.0 tools for next year.

Even though my new addiction to my Google Reader may be of concern for some, I think that has to be my number one favorite tool of the session.  PageFlakes is a close second.  I have already begun inviting myt faculty to please use my PageFlakes page as their home page as it contains some very valuable information concerning our school and upcoming deadlines/events. 

We have examined many great Web 2.0 tools and shame on us all if we forget or choose not to use them!

Somehow I forgot completing a blog post for thing 11.  I embedded a slide show created on  RockYou to my wiki page in our wiki sandbox.  Creating the slide show was easy once I selected my pictures.  I have used slide and RockYou before to create slide shows for my MySpace page.  What I like most about this thing and thing 10 is that it truly allows the user to add some personality/flavor to pages whether the purpose be social or educational.  Using well crafted slide shows can prompt all sorts of discussions and writing assignments. 

Ning was not new to me.  I had a invitation to join ning focused on the Georgia Southern University ITEC community.  I had not, however, fully utilized the my ning access.  I have spent some quality time in the last couple of days exploring through Classroom 2.0, and I was amazed by the wealth of information there.  I was so amazed that I joined Classroom 2.0. 

In my searches over the past couple of days, I found groups that interest me greatly.  Connecting Content and Technology will be of great benefit in assisting my teachers to connect Web 2.0 in their classrooms.  Inclusion Revolution — Technology is Special Education will allow me, who has minimal instruction in serving that specific community, to be better informed on how to assist with technology needs in special education classes. 

One implementation that I can see in our school would be to use the social networking sites to facilitate professional learning conducted within our school.  In the last year, our principal has required several teachers to complete a study of various texts and awarded professional learning credits.  Use of a social networking site would be a great place for each participant to post to forum questions generated by the group leader.

Love it, love it, love it.  I have been kicking around the idea of creating a media center page on a blogging site using widgets and what not to personalize the page for our school.  I have changed my mind.  PageFlakes is so very easy to set up and modify.  I prefer using PageFlakes.

 Turning my attention to the end of the year, I created a PageFlake more focused to teachers rather than students.  I included a to do list focusing on those things that teachers have to do, blogs and RSS feeds to help the teachers begin focusing on innovations in instruction for next year. 

Something that I would like to do, but haven’t yet figured out how to do is add a flake of a video from TeacherTube.  I’m working on that.

This is the page I created in PageFlakes:  Toombs County Middle School Media Center

Before this course, I didn’t use or encourage the use of Google docs.  Why?  To be honest, I am not sure.  I like the ease of Google Docs.  It gives each person with whom you collaborate easy access without multiple digital copies hanging around on your hard drive, jump drive, on in your inbox.  I will strongly encourage our teachers to utilize Google docs with our students.  I have lost count the number of times students come to me with floppy disks (yes, some of our students still use those) or USB drives on which they have saved a document or presentation, but the saved file can’t be opened.  With Google docs al least the student could get to the saved file and turn in the assignment.  In my view, Google Docs is a great Web 2.0 tool.
Recently, all of the media specialists in my school system were asked to give input on revisions for the system technology plan.  Each of us were emailed a copy of the tech plan and then we revised that copy and emailed it back to the originator and just like that 8 copies of a document that is not totally up to date were created.  Collaborating via Google docs would have saved the digital space, but foster more collaboration through the participants as well.

Way back when (Thing 5 and 6) I discovered the ease of subscribing to podcasts via my Google Reader.  I like that option because of the ease of access — I’ve become as close to addicted to my reader that one can be without needing intervention, so the podcasts I like are handy.  I did go though the stretch task and download iTunes.  Via iTunes, I found the Women of the Women of the Web 2.0 podcast that I have read references to over the past few weeks, so I  subscribed.  Podcasts subscriptions are easy, and I would recommend them as another way to gain access to some quality information.

Exploring YouTube is not a new thing for me.  However, I will admit that using it for professional searches is new.  To this point, YouTube has been more recreational than professional.  To explain myself, I decided to share this link to what must be in the top 10 of cute on YouTube.  Please take a moment to listen to little Zoei Toh sing The Lord’s Prayer.
I was tickled to find the following clip of a speech given by Gary Paulsen.  Paulsen’s books are not only favorites with our male students, but we have teachers who use the parts of his novels to teach descriptive writing as well as other concepts.  I truly enjoyed listening to Paulsen talk about how a library saved his life.
Writing scores at my school were down drastically this year.  Of course, that means we will search for ways to reverse the downward trend.  Blogging has not been well received by some of my faculty, so finding the following clip inspired me.  Need a rationale for utilizing blogs in the writing curriculum.  Perhaps this will help.
Download Video: Posted by rachelboyd at TeacherTube.com.

And last, but not least, I have found the following instructional video.  Before you begin to question why this video, let me just say that I have a niece who loves to dance.  She, in the way only a 20 month old can, has inspired me to learn to dance.  So…..enjoy and learn a new dance step.
Download Video: Posted by rachelboyd at TeacherTube.com.

I have created my very own podcast using Evoca.  Recording with a computer mic was very simple.  I was actually suprised by how easy it all was to complete.  Shame on me — I went two seconds over!

I felt near panic when 23 things became 43 things as I am running a bit behind schedule getting my things completed.  I didn’t care for 43 things.  Here’s why:

First, I just have a difficult time believing that everyone needs to know what my goals are.  I’ll admit that I wouldn’t care for any one here, there, or wherever knowing if I am meeting my goals or not.  I get enough criticism from my faculty to know that many of them have issues with my performance as it is!!  Who needs to add strangers to the mix?  Not me — at least not right now.

I also don’t see myself using 43 things to check out other people’s goals.  Does that make me uncaring?  Insensitive? Obnoxious?  I hope not for I see a mix of 640 kids daily here in my media center, 50 + staff members, all of whom I need to gently affirm or correct whatever the need may be.  Some days, I just feel a bit too drained to care about one more person.  Oh – that does make me sound obnoxious and for that I apologize. 

I also don’t see utilizing this with students.  I have been introduced to too many other great Web 2.0 tools that I would want to focus on with students.  Sorry, but this one is just not for me.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am not associated (other than finding favor with my nephew’s mother-in-law and through Kathy I found favor with Shelley) with any other school utilizing this great opportunity to learn more about Web 2.0.  In the public school system where I am employed, funds for professional development are devoted to the four academic areas.  Other teachers have been excluded from many great opportunities because of the funds required for teachers going through training for Georgia Performance Standards.  Notice:  I didn’t say I disagree with the policy, but I am concerned by the policy.  Many teachers in our system have been given the message that the subjects they teach are not as important simply by the constant denials to attend valuable and applicable training sessions.  Tools like K12 Online Conference can help those of us who have been denied access to quality training to take the matter  of our personal professional development into our own hands.  Does the phrase “taking ownership of your learning” ring a bell?  Well, it does with me.  I am not going to get access to quality training if I don’t push to find it. 

 I’ve listened to two of the presentations offered at the K12 Online conference site. Each presentation, though in two different divisions of the conference, were very from very positive presenters who gently encouraged the listeners to take the step into the world of Web 2.0 in the classroom. 

Sylvia Martinez, in her presentation titled Web 2.0 Share the Adventure, encourages the classroom teacher not to view bringing Web 2.0 into the classroom as a big step, but rather as a smaller series of steps in which our students help us, the teachers, make discoveries of uses for Web 2.0.  She encourages the teacher to use the students to create classroom wikis, blog pages, or other tools to be utilized.  Martinez makes mention that teachers should not be embarrassed that students seem to know more about the Web 2.0 tools than the teacher seems to know.  Utilizing the students knowledge will give the student more ownership in the process.  I’ve enjoyed listening to this presentation.

The second presentation I listened to/watched was from Chris Harbeck.  Harbeck shared how he utilized Web 2.0 tools in his classroom to facilitate learning.  I enjoyed the visuals of the student work he presented.  I thought that it was interesting that he wrapped up the presentation by sharing several things he would do differently next year.  So many times we hear how others do things that go so perfectly and the things they describe just do not seem doable in the normal classroom.  Harbeck seemed real and genuine to me. 

 I have a teacher on my staff who has made the comment several times that his classes would never utilize computer technology because the students knew more than he did about computers and he didn’t want to seem dumb to them.  Perhaps I should stream the two presentations about into his classroom and see what happens!