Thing # 21

I think podcasts are wonderful - I teach the children at my church and seldom make it to the service, so I listen to the podcast each week. Another thing I like about podcasts is that I can relisten in case I missed something or just want to hear it again.I have never used a vidcast before but I can see lots of benefits from them. It would be great to have vidcasts of different trainings so that we could view them more than one time.

I made one but cannot, cannot seem to get it to my blog. I tried and tried but finally gave up. It was fun to make it, not fun to try to get it on my blog.

Thing # 20

I checked out both Youtube and Teachertube. I have enjoyed Youtube many, many times - it can be distracing but fun. I looked at different subject areas. I did find our drumline and karate group on Youtube! On both, I looked up different subject areas and found some interesting things for guided reading. And I think I am enbeding one of the videos in my post (I hope).

I think the children would enjoy some of these videos and could learn a lot. Kids really like to watch videos so I think they would learn without realizing that they are learning.

Thing # 19

WOW - I could have spent a long time on Web 2.0 Awards List. It sure helps with trying to find different things. Some of the sites I recognized - kind of nice to find old friends. But the new sites were exciting - It sure cuts down on the time it takes to find what you are looking for.

Thing # 18

Openoffice/suite is free and that would be very helpful to my students since I work at a Title One school and if they have computers they cannot afford the programs that they might need. The multilingual program sounds wonderful. I had no idea that there were free programs - I think they are a great idea, but I will probably continue to use the Microsoft Office that we have installed on the district computers. Partly because they are what is installed on our computers and it is what I am used to and partly because I wonder if the free options are as private as our Microsoft Office.

Thing # 17

I really liked using Rollyo - it should help me keep organized and I do like customizing my own search engines. Yet, I think it might not be as easy for my students - they are in the lower grades and sometimes they aren't even sure what they are really looking for or how to spell it.

Thing # 16

I had used Wiki before and had a vague idea of how it worked, but now I know a lot more. And it is fun! I can see how I could use it for my students. I have different groups of children who are on similar reading levels and we could use one for students in different groups to add comments and have a 'book study discussion'.

Thing # 15

The web 2.0 idea and tools are great ways for making classroom learning in this new century more interesting. The articles about library 2.0 were very interesting. Libraries can be more important – we do truly need all the technology – it is what catches the interest of the kids – and it makes the information accessible to many when they are unable to get to the library.
Yet, there is nothing to compare to snuggling up with a book, smelling the book, savoring the experience – a parent’s holding a child in his or her lap while reading a book or snuggling up with a book on a rainy day. There is a time and a place for the technology and I do really love using it often and yet, I do hope that we never do away with books. I and also my children have fond memories of trips to the library and an image I will always remember is when I took a 4 year old child for her first trip to the library and she is so excited as she sat on the floor, surrounded by books, picking up one after another, holding it to her chest, rubbing the cover, and reading – or actually looking at it, smiling as if she had been given a million dollars – and she began a hopefully lifelong love affair with books and reading.