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.