Thing 23 (the final thing)

WOW!!!!

I can't believe how much I have learned while going through these "Things". Some of them are much more applicable for my uses than others, but very interesting. Let me take a look back at some of the highlights in this journey.

Blogging...
I never thought that I would be interested in blogging. I have never been a fan of writing, or anyone to keep a journal, but I have seen how useful this can be as a way to process and respond to information. I could definitely see having my science students us a blog to record their reflections on the material, and as a way to complete some of their assignments. I could also see using a blog to keep a reflection on my own teaching. I could write about what I think I am doing well, and where I have gone wrong. I think that blogs can be helpful even if no one else reads them (although the comments, and feedback would be helpful).

Photos and Images...
I had so much fun finding, and playing with the images from Flikr. The possibilities are endless. Students can find and post pictures related to their subject area. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I would love to have my geometry students, when studying the quadrilaterals, go out and find "real world" examples of each type and post them on Flikr.

Online Video...
At first I thought this would be wonderful to use in the classroom if only I could access YouTube at school. Then we learned how to save the videos and embed them into our blogs, websites, and wikis. There now are so many math and science videos that I can go find and show them to my students. I could see my students making their own video presentations as an alternative to the boring old typed research papers.

Social Bookmarking...
This is probably the "Thing" that I will use the most. What a wonderful tool that is accessible from any computer. I can't wait to get back on my computer at school so that I can upload all of my bookmarks. This also provides an easy way to share bookmarks with your colleagues and friends.

Podcasting...
I really liked looking for, and subscribing to, various podcasts. I am always looking for something to listen to on my 45 minute drive to work. Now I can download some podcasts onto my mp3 player and listen to anything from educational topics to crafting discussions. I know I will be finding some podcasts to have my students listen to too.

Final thoughts...
I have learned so much about how the web has grown. I'm sure my husband is sick of me telling him all about every new "Thing" I have learned about. I would like to continue to explore Web 2.0 by creating a class like this one for my computer lit students. These topics may be more useful (although I'm sure they already know much of this stuff) to the students of the future than spending at least two weeks each on programs like excel or access. Just give them the nuts and bolts of the basic programs they will use, and then advance to how they can make a bigger impact on the world around them.