My Commentary

Needless to say this course was very difficult for me since I'm very technology challenged. This class made me sit down and try and figure things out. It was very difficult at times because I didn't even know the simple terminology of computer lingo. At times the instruction were not clear at all and even people who I asked to help me weren't even sure what to do either. I didn't like the fact that I had to take more than two or three whole evenings on one thing. I'm definitely glad I took this class but I'm also super happy I'm done with it.

Thing 23

I enjoyed looking into what Classroom 2.0 and Twitter had to offer. There is so much to see and to try out. I am so surprised as to what Twitter has to offer. I'm really amazed. I never expected so much. I didn't read any discussions that really had much of anything new to say. There are however, many resources that could be used like typing a keyword and bang the immediate results to go looking further. Google Earth is a good resource along with may others. Videos, collaborative learning sights and issues concerning local,national and world issues. Classroom 2.0 also had a lot to offer. I liked the fact that it is available to everyone and anyone can join the group. The resources available were from robotics to YouTube. Also available were resources to find events, wiki participation, workshops and chats. Very cool. It would be cool to set up a way that the kids could use these social networks to help each other on homework, projects and to come together to practice a foreign language.
As for myself, I will try and log on again during my free time to glean from so much that is available.

Thing 22

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001751296467&ref=profile&v=info


This is the link to my profile on Facebook. I definitely believe that social networking is great for educators. I would like to see something for only teachers. Facebook to me is to personal and I wouldn't even have a student as one of my friends. These sights are extremely popular and reach around the world. The wonders of technology. Who would have ever thought that in our lifetime this would be the norm. I like the fact especially on Facebook that we can have groups and we can control who are in these groups. I loved the fact that on Facebook there were short videos on how to use this network. I sure need these. As far as I'm concerned this was the best feature. Using these networks can be helpful to the kids when they use them to help each with assignments, projects, and test reviewing. I think this is a fun way to utilize these networks rather than the old way-phoning.

Thing 21

http://www.google.com/alerts/manage?hl=en&gl=us

I loved looking at all that Google has to offer. It is fun for me and there is still so much to discover. I liked igoogle because there is so much to offer and see. For the kids this is another search engine with a lot to offer. I like the calendar which I will definitely use. The book search was good as well and the kids could use this to locate reading books. My favorite is the Google Alerts. I like to know to what is happening in the news and especially news concerning immigration law. This was very enjoyable to me.

Thing 7b

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fmagazine.edublogs.org%2Ffeed%2F

This is the permalink for the magazine that I subscribe to. The article was Using Technology in the Classroom. It had to do especially about using Powerpoints and Moodle software. It does help to bring alive what kids will be interested in. I really want to get more involved in doing these things when there is more time.

Thing 20

I really enjoyed working in Google Docs. I had already done somethings using forms that we have to use to submit to our principals. I was sort of intimidated because I really haven't used the document word processor and I didn't know how to do simple things. I feel more comfortable and I want to use it more often.I had always wanted to come up with a spreadsheet to help me keep track of my extra credit information. I worked on one and have an idea how to improve on it. I also like the fact that have a way of making my worksheets and having them available for the kids. As far as my personal use I use the spreadsheet to list my household expenses and to check them off as they are being paid.

Thing 19

I liked discovering about Voicethread much more then podcasting. It will definitely hold the kids attention and mine as well. This is a really effective tool to use and would be fun to use in a foreign language class. I watched the thread concerning Web 2.0 and I saw how much there is to learn and so many things to do. No time! I would like to come back to these tools when I'm finished with this class and when I have more time.

Thing 18

This is the video that I use for my Spanish I classes at the end of the first semester. They love it because it is so catchy. I use YouTube and Teacher Tube a lot. I have had to use YouTube often to learn how to do some things for this class.

Thing 17

Well I think podcasting is a good thing but I find it rather boring.  I think I'm like the kids if you can't see anything then it won't hold their interest nor mine.  I'm writing mostly concerning the kids.  As for me I can take more listening time since I am used to studying and paying attention.  I downloaded Webster's Word of the Day and Teachers Teaching Teachers. Well the word of the day is super interesting because it is something that you do have to listen.  The other, however, was boring because it is just two people talking about chasing storms.  I'd rather see the pictures or video than to listen to them talk. I really don't think that I would use podcasting because the kids wouldn't pay much attention and would turn off to listening to people talk.

Thing 16

I really like the fact that this is available to us.  I think this is really cool for the kids to get involved with. I wish something like this would have been available earlier in my life because it would have been so great to have a running list of all the books I have read.  I really hope that the librarians in the middle schools would push this so that the kids could take advantage of such a great opportunity.

Thing 15

Of all the things we have done so far this thing has been the most fun and the most informative for me.
Delicious is a great sight and it can become super fun if you let it.  I looked for sight that would give me information for my Spanish classes.  There were plenty of sights bookmarked and tons of tags. I loved the cuisine/cocina tag because it gave a great amount of recipes that were all different and from different places in Mexico and of the different cuisines found there. Another bookmark and tags were on refranes, dichos or wise sayings or as we say in English.  I had never seen so many and had never seen them alphabetized. These were great and I will use them for my classes.  All these bookmarks and tags are going to help me present information to my kids. I believe I can get them to do some research that will probably be fun for them.   http://www.delicious.com/inbox/dalsalmorales

Thing 7a

I went into my Google Reader.  Man it is so confusing to me. there is so much to read everywhere.  I like articles and sites that have to do with cooking.  I learned about making a turkey correctly and cooking the side dished in the correct or and at the correct time.  I didn't grow up eating much turkey so I wasn't up on this information. It was very interesting.
.eader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.cookingwithamy.blogspot.com%2Fatom.xml

Thing 14

Lots of these tools were great fun to use.   I chose Ta-da only because it is so easy to do and it definitely helps me to see what I need to work on  and check off once it is done.  This could also be used as a large tablet in the classroom so that the assignments completed can be marked off by the students.  I would like for them to write the list in Spanish.     http://moralesdalia.tadalist.com/lists

Thing 13

  Using image generators to me was probably the most fun to do. I enjoyed looking through so many.  I would have loved to had more time to play and do some creative posters for my students.  I believe this will be an excellent project for my students to use in making projects written in Spanish.                                       I used Custom Sign Generator to make my Dummy book.

Thing 13

file:///Users/daliamorales/Desktop/dummy%20book

This was my creation. It was fun and I wish I would have had more time to come up with cute stuff.

ttp://dummies.book.cover.txt2pic.com/ is the name of the image generator.

I will definitely use image generators to get my kids to come up with cool posters written in Spanish.

I can't wait to have more time to play more.

Thing 12

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11872189@N00/5121694514/
This was fun and I need more practice to really get it down.

Thing 11

Well my experience with Flickr was ok. It was not the most fun for me.  The instructions again were not clear and I had a hard time getting done what I had to do.  It was confusing and frustrating for me.  I will probably not use this resource very much.  It will probably be more beneficial for someone in a more artistic class rather than a language class. I chose this picture because I like Cappuccino and had never seem a store like this.  They do exist in Europe and that is pretty neat.  Alex Garcia is the photographer for this picture.      http://www.flickr.com/photos/11872189@N00/5121694514/

Thing 10

I really liked watching the videos on Creative Commons.  It sure has taken some of the pressure off my back about using peoples' written materials.  It has also made me feel better about the pressure the school district was putting on us. I am now going to make time to search for information that will enrich my class and enrich my students.  I have never even noticed CC on anything and even if I would have I wouldn't have known what it meant. I absolutely believe that CC will impact how students learn and how teachers teach. Both students and teachers will be able to create projects by having countless resources to pull from.
I'm beginning to use video clips and audio clips from the web. It isn't because I don't want to buy because I don't have the time to search for them.  I am excited about my new found information and I intend to use resources to enrich my teaching.  I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for all educators and students and there isn't anything negative that I can see.  I liked http://varellbrazil.multiply.com.

Thing #9

Well it was ok playing in the sandbox and learning how to manuver in it.  I do have to say that some of the instructions were not very clear.  Somethings that we were asked to do would not work, and even trying again I was still unsuccessful. Once I caught on to the instructions on embedding it was fun to do it and it was really edifying to me to be successful at something like this.   I did like making my page and knowing that someone is going to look at it.  The name of my Wiki page is http://misrecuerdos.com.

Thing 8

I really enjoyed reading Wiki Wiki Teaching and reading about her experience using a wiki in the classroom.  It was such a good learning experience for the kids and it really caught on fire and made the kids catch on fire with a new learning tool.  I would like to eventually come up with a wiki that I can use with my Spanish speaking students especially in my heritage class. I think it would be great fun to be able to get the students to research their family history and their roots.
I totally enjoyed reading about other wiki projects.  They seem to have been so much fun to do and are so much fun to follow. The five that I read were very diverse. Code Blue was so cool because the Drs. gave information concerning their area of expertise and I learned a lot. I also thought it was neat to have different doctors points of view and everyone added informative commentaries to the wiki. In the Wolves Den it was nice to find the feature of a Table of Contents which included poll results, on going conversations, a Voki and educational resources available such as notes, lectures, videos, books, games and email. The wiki Schools of the Past was great to read and reminded me about of many things that were going on in the 50's and 60's. I liked the Thousands Project wiki because it was so diverse due to the diversity of questions being asked every month.  These were more fun to me than reading  blogs.

Thing 7

I adopted The Adventures of Teaching and The Patio Perspective from Thing 6.  I liked the 71/2 Habits that were mentioned in the blog which gives me ideas in what to do when I begin to use what I'm learning.  I also adopted The Patio Perspective that talked about the new technology and all the new stuff we have at our hands and all it takes is for us to do it.   I also adopted a blog about cooking and I'm excited about reading from this post.  I also adopted Walden Media which tells about the latest Christian movies and how these are rated. Well, I definitely agree that commenting is extremely important because if this didn't happen then it would be strictly one sided and a waste.  I think it is very enlightening to be able to read and respond and whatever you respond is your and you can take ownership.

Thing 6 continued

patioperspective.blogspot.com is one of the links I was referring to in my previous blog.

Thing 6

After reading the blogs, I have decided to share concerning what I thought was interesting.  I thought it was interesting that the blogger can make the rules concerning their own blog. I also understand that inviting comments makes the blogging process much more effective. Blogs engage readers where they will usually respond and blogs demand interactions.

Thing 5

Well this is my fifth blog writing and I'm suppose to relate what I have read from one of the blogs.  I chose
the NYTimes newspaper and I chose nutrition.  I read about cholesterol.  The good cholesterol  and bad cholesterol.  I also read about what I can do to get my cholesterol level down.  I need to exercise more and begin to eat more chicken, fish, and much more vegetables. Nutrition is important to me now.  It was never important to me before. Since I have lost close to 90 lbs.  I know to keep my health I need to eat, exercise and rest.

Thing 4

Well I enjoyed reading the blogs. I liked the one about giving homework or not. We have such a diversity of students and their learning abilities that it is hard to tell which kids are catching on. After many years of teaching I have discovered that for my subject area it is better to begin the assignment in class and if it isn't completed in class it is tarea.  They also know that the homework is due the next day because they had class time and time at home to get it finished.
I also liked ready the SSR blog and I would really like to be able to this but there isn't much time due to the curriculum nor computer time available.  I really found it interesting and I'm in agreement that by doing this it does make the kids aware that their voice counts and other people's opinions also count. It also teaches ownership and choice.  Of course this in turn engages the kids in a two way conversation of learning, they will probably continue this for all their lives and will get the courage to become good public speakers. This something I had a hard time with in my earlier years of school. I think that the cool thing about reading blogs is that it isn't just a one way street but conversation can go back and forth. This in turn opens up many opportunities to learn something new each and every day.

Thing 1 and Thing 2

In the first blog I addressed how creating new things wasn't as difficult as I imagined. I also wrote that it was important for me to change my old school attitude.  I needed to learn to swim or sink.  I'm very glad that I have wanted to learn to swim. This is a great learning opportunity for me and I know that it will be very useful for me in the future.  Not only for school but for my personal life.  All this new technology seems overwhelming to me but I believe that as I learn it slowly I will really be more secure and get running into learning more about Web 2 tools.  I really want to.

Dale Ganas

This my first posting ever.  It isn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I still need to learn how to make the blog more interesting with color or a picture.  It has been very difficult for me to even learn how to use the computer let alone how to create anything.  I'm of the old school and we grew up being told not to touch anything and leave things alone and this outdated attitude has remained with me all these years.  I have had to make an attitude adjustment and get into the water and learn how to swim.  The water isn't as deep as I thought and thank God for people at my school that are patient with me. I'm excited about learning how to swim in this large ocean of blogging.