Katie's corner

Thing 23 - You Made It!

2010-01-03T13:46:00.002-05:00

This has been such a great experience for me. I just spent some time going back through all of the "things" that were covered, and I can't believe how much I have learned in such a short time. I think the most important thing I will take away from this class is an increased confidence in working with Web 2.0 tools. Most of the things we talked about had crossed my path before, but I never felt ready to take the plunge and explore. It can be intimidating and frustrating to take on the task of expanding your technological skills, but I found it to be much easier than I thought. I never thought I would be the one who created a webpage for our counseling office, but now not only do we have a page, we have photos, videos, cool graphics, and so much more!

I like that I can now be a person to whom people can come if they want to learn more about Web 2.0 tools as well. There are so many valuable resources out there to help us reach students, and hopefully if I can lend a helping hand to interested teachers, we can really start making a difference. I know that I will continue to delve even further into the tools we have already learned about, and be much more open-minded to any new tools that arise in the future. I realize that I may not use ALL of the tools available to me, but if I can reach just one more student by taking a risk in technology, it is worth it. I can't wait to continue learning about and then sharing information about these wonderful tools. From several videos in this class, I was reminded that kids are so eager to try new things, but they still need a helping hand along the way. I think if students see that we are willing to take risks with new technology, their minds will open up even more to experiencing new things.

Thing 22 - Online Video

2010-01-03T13:32:00.003-05:00

My feelings are mixed on YouTube. The content provided is so widespread when you search for something, it is somewhat difficult to figure out what is worth viewing or not. And unfortunately, sometimes you are too far into a video to realize it is really inappropriate. I think this is a tool that teachers definitely have to monitor/find the video ahead of time to make sure they are getting what they want.

As of right now, YouTube is permitted at our school (to teachers anyway). When you do find the material you are looking for, it can be very helpful. Last year some of our 6th grade students did a version of Dorothy following the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz, that was presented to our incoming 5th graders during orientation. Some of the kids weren't really grasping what their character were supposed to be portraying, so I went to YouTube and looked up examples of other people/kids playing the parts. It was pretty neat to be able to just have the kids come in my office for a few minutes to view a video of someone acting out the Tinman or Lion instead of trying to explain it myself, take them to some live performance, or dig out the video.

I was not aware of TeacherTube and SchoolTube, so I am really glad I got a chance to explore those sites. I think I will have better luck finding appropriate material on those sites. If used in an appropriate way, I think YouTube could have a lot of value in the classroom. I think it is pretty amazing that I can simply type in a video I would like to see and it is there at my fingertips. It might take a little searching to find just what you want, but most of the time, it is out there!

Thing 21 - Your Heart Will Be All a Twitter

2010-01-03T10:10:00.002-05:00

So far, I have not really jumped on board with Twitter. I have followed its growth for some time now, but have never been compelled to actually make an account or to follow others. For me, it is just a little much. I already have a Facebook account where people can update their status every two seconds if they choose. This in itself can be very annoying to me. I like to keep in touch with the people I care about, but it seems like there is a point where people start to post things just because they have nothing better to do.

I am trying to think of a time when "tweeting" would be helpful, and I suppose if you were in a situation where you could not check your phone for text messaging, but could have access to a computer, a tool like Twitter could be helpful. Maybe someone is trying to organize a project or an event and you could check on the status by seeing his/her tweets. So far, I have not found that telling the world about my burnt toast is worth the time it takes to get on my computer, log on to Twitter, type in "I burnt my toast this morning," and then post. I will however keep an open mind because I know that it is a huge thing for a lot of people.

Thing 20 - Bookmarking with del.icio.us

2010-01-03T09:21:00.002-05:00

Username - hagenk13

I started out by tagging a handful of sites that I use both personally and at school. I think that this is going to be a very helpful tool as I continue to find ways to be more time-efficient and promote collaboration among colleagues. My favorite part about it is that I can access my bookmarks from any computer. There have been many instances where I found a website on my home computer, but then could not find it again at school if I forgot to email the address to myself. The "social" part of all of this is going to be a great aspect to utilize as well. I can see a lot of time being saved by being able to look at what sites others have found useful. I am excited that my partner counselor and I can share websites over del.icio.us, versus trying to remember to send an email (and of course remembering to either attach or copy in the website!).

I can see using this tool with one of the student groups the counselors help coordinate at school. Each year, our diversity council puts on a Respect Y.E.S. assembly for the entire school that promotes respecting yourself, each other, and school. This assembly takes a ton of planning time, and if we could set up a system where kids could help look for material at home and then save it to del.icio.us, we could probably spend a lot more time at school doing the actual practice for the assembly. It is a great way to keep things organized so that I am not collecting little notes from ten different students and reading emails form several different teachers who are helping us with the project.

Thing 19 - Introduction to Social Bookmarking

2010-01-02T10:02:00.002-05:00

I am really excited about this Thing. I have definitely found myself getting frustrated when I had previously found a really useful site and bookmarked it, but then cannot remember what it was called or just cannot find it in the huge mass of bookmarks I already had saved. I think tagging could be a really big help in keeping my digital resources organized. One disadvantage I see is that it is yet another site that I have to maintain and update. With so many of the "things" we have been covering, I think it comes down to finding what is really going to be the most helpful for you as an individual to get the most of the resources available and help you to be more time-efficient. If I do decide to use a site like del.icio.us, I need to make sure I am ready to commit to it so that I am really getting the most out of what it offers.

It will be important for me to name the tag something that I will remember -- and probably to be consistent with the naming. I do like that you can tag one thing different names though, because obviously a site could offer information on more than one category that I would like to revisit later. Writing a brief description of the page will hopefully be a good reminder of what I liked about the site and why I chose to tag it in the first place.

I think my favorite part of tagging is going to be that I can access the tagged sites from any computer. There have been plenty of frustrating instances when I had found a great resource on my home computer and made it a favorite, but then forgot to email the link to my school email and could not find it again at school.

Thing 18 - Building Your Personal Learning Network

2010-01-02T09:34:00.002-05:00

I think the idea of creating personal learning networks is a great one. I know that there have been numerous times either when I was still in grad school, or actually working in a school, that I have been so thankful for my network of counselor colleagues. Through email, workshops, newsletters, etc., we have been able to share valuable information that has helped to make our programs better. I definitely like that there are resources out there like Ning, MACUL, and IST, but it seemed a little bit overwhelming to me. If a teacher was having a hard time finding people with whom to collaborate at his/her school, I can see where networks like those mentioned above could be very helpful. For me though, taking the time to connect with those people around me who are working directly with the same students I am and who are working in the same school environment/culture is more important. There is hardly enough time in the week to make a face-to-face contact with other teachers at my own school, so trying to keep up with blogs and questions/answers of teachers in schools all over the country seems difficult to me. That being said, I still think it is amazing that a network is actually set up that if teachers were really in need of advice, it is pretty much at their fingertips. If one could really narrow down the specific information/subject area for which he/she was searching help, I think a personal learning network could really enhance the potential for teaching growth.

Thing 17 - More Web 2.0 Winners

2009-12-31T09:30:00.002-05:00

I got a little carried away checking out all of the winners (cocktail builder was quite fun), but finally decided to explore one that could be useful at school. Revolution Health seemed to be a really good site for some of the health issues we see at school. It is pretty hard to just Google "ADHD" and expect to come up with really valid search results. I like that this site had descriptions of medications and also a place where someone could find a doctor or hospital. I could just type in my zip code, what specific ailment/condition for which I needed a doctor, and up popped a list for me to scan. Another helpful part of the site was a section describing different types of insurance plans and giving more details on what those plans offer. This site seemed to offer answers to many of my questions all on one site, saving me time from searching each specific question over and over.

Thing 16 - Teach Digital

2009-12-31T08:30:00.003-05:00

1. Digital Students at Analog Schools
I liked this video because it was centered around an age group that we haven't talked a lot about yet - students at the universities. I felt like their main point was that by continuing to teach the way we always have (i.e., lecturing), universities are not really preparing students for the future. The new jobs being created are centered on communication, creativity, and being able to express yourself/your ideas in different ways. One line that stuck out for me was that students want us to connect learning with something relevant to them. How many times have we heard, "When will I ever use this?" If we continue to make the connections of learning in school to skills in the outside world, the results could really be amazing.

2. Sir Ken Robinson speaking at TED
First off, Sir Ken Robinson was a fantastic speaker and very entertaining. I liked many of his points, including the fact that the future is unpredictable, so how do we really know what is the most important subject to be teaching? His story about his son being in the play with the three wise men made such a good point as well -- that kids are not afraid to be wrong. However, by adulthood, they have been taught to be afraid to be wrong. I never really thought about that point, but I do believe it to be true. There are many times I wish I could go back to the free-spirit of an elementary student, ready to take chances and risks even if I fail. With all of the different job opportunities there are now, I don't think it is fair for us to be the ones choosing what is the most important subjects students should be learning. We have to stop seeing a student who is interested in art only being able to be an artist (like Picasso or someone). Their creative, artistic minds can take them in so many directions these days, not just sitting at an easel painting pictures. My favorite part of his speech was at the very end when he said, "We may not see this future, but they will. And our job is to help them make something of it." There have been so many times when I come to realize, I may not see the results of the work I have put in with a student, but hopefully someday the time we spent together will help them to have a happy and fulfilling life.

3. No Future Left Behind
This video was interesting because it was all coming from the perspective of middle school students. Since that is the population with whom I work, I could really hear their voices coming through. I felt like their main point was that they really do want to learn and experiment, but they still need our help to get to their future. I liked the quote, "I can't create my future with the tools of your past."

Biggest learning takeaway from all three: Kids are ready to take on the future and want us to come along on their journey, but we need to make sure we are up for the challenge.

Thing 15 - How to Use Podcasts in Schools

2009-12-30T19:47:00.002-05:00

Of all the "things" so far, I have had a hard time thinking of ways that I will use this one as a counselor, but I can definitely see how teachers could incorporate them into the classroom. One point I liked at the very end of the Podcasting in Education video was to have the student take on the task of finding podcasts. I can see maybe working on organizational skills, self-esteem boosters, friendship, etc. with a student and have him/her find a helpful podcast to share with me the next time we meet. I think it is so important to incorporate the technology that the kids are using, so I will keep my mind open to podcasting in the counseling office. Cell phones and mp3 players are almost an attachment to the kids' bodies these days, so if I can, I will find ways to incorporate that technology.

In our building, I do not anticipate any pushback from administrators. So far, if an idea is brought to the table that is going to enhance the learning environment in the school, it is supported. I don't think they would like it to take the place of regular instruction, but it seems like mixing things up would help to keep interest of the students (and help teachers to stay up to date).

Thing 14 - Learn About Podcasting

2009-12-30T10:10:00.004-05:00

I have heard so much about podcasting recently, but never really took the time to look into it. Since I am not in a classroom daily, it was hard for me to think of ways to use podcasting with students in the role I play at school. I think that podcasting will continue to grow and be a very popular tool in education. When I think of the middle school students with whom I work, it seems like only a small percentage of them would really benefit from (or could truly take advantage of) podcasting. So many of them still need that one-on-one interaction with the teacher, giving them an opportunity to ask a question immediately. I can see how it could really start to catch fire as the grade level increased though. I would have loved to have something like this when I was in college. To be able to hear the lecture over again and make sure I recorded the notes correctly would have been a huge help.

1. Michigan State Superintendent, Mike Flanagan
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-37818_45256---,00.html

I thought this was a very important podcast for educators. Sometimes it gets overwhelming reading article after article about what is happening in the schools, so to be able to just sit and listen to someone explain it made things much easier. I think it is so important that educators keep updated on all of the changes being made, and it seems like this podcast could really help people become more involved.

2. Radio WillowWeb
http://mps.wes.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8&pageid=115312&sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8

I was interested in checking out some podcasts created by students, and found Radio WillowWeb to be one of my favorites. One of the biggest challenges at school seems to be getting kids motivated to do the assigned work. It seems like if we offered them the chance to demonstrate their knowledge through a podcast, we might get a more enthusiastic response. It could be something that the students could show their parents or grandparents and really take pride in. I think if the teachers also mentioned that their podcast could be helping other students, it may give the kids even more motivation to really make the podcast something special.

Thing 13 - Sharing Your Vision

2009-12-30T10:05:00.003-05:00

I really like this Thing! I cannot even count how many times I have been to a presentation and the presentor cannot load his/her PowerPoint onto the computer provided by the site. And I'm sure it can get annoying dragging your laptop from place to place and then going through the hassel of getting everything hooked up correctly. I like the idea that we could have a presentation going on our counselor blog also. We do a "Mastering Middle School" workshop at the beginning of the year for parents and their children; many times families are not able to attend because of work issues. To be able to have our slideshow on our website available to them whenever would be great! I think it could really open the communication lines between home and school also.

I ended up making a silly slideshow of my dogs in Slide. Again, like so many of the Things we have been learning about, I think using a tool like this would be so much more appealing for kids to check out. To be able to share picture slideshows of student events, add some music, or even video, to it and then share with everyone is such an asset. This is a great way for teachers to collaborate also. It seems like it would save so much time to have a presentation available for everyone on a certain site, versus going through the process of emailing numerous people, attempting to send attachments, etc. This is one of the first things I will be adding to our counselor blog when we return to school.

Thing 12 - Productivity Anywhere You Have a Browser

2009-12-30T09:22:00.002-05:00

I decided to check out the Remember the Milk tool -- once I saw the word "list" my interest was drawn. I am a big list person, and seem to always be trying to figure out the best way to keep all of my tasks organized. I am not sure if I would use this tool right now, because I do not have Internet on my cell phone. I kind of need something that I can access wherever I am, and not need a computer to do so. Maybe someday when I upgrade into the "cool phone" group I will take advantage of this tool. I definitely like the idea of keeping it all in one place though, versus notes on my dry-erase board at home, sticky-notes all over my desk, a quick note stuck in my purse somewhere, etc. I also like how you can create your own personal categories/headings so that you can keep tasks needed to be done at school separate from those needed to be done at home.

I didn't get a chance to really delve into Knowtes, but I am definitely going to check into that more at some point. Hopefully that will turn into another tool to show to the students with whom I work.

Thing 11 - Online Productivity Applications

2009-12-27T14:54:00.000-05:00

I really like the idea of Google Docs being used for certain types of projects. I can definitely see it being a useful tool for students who may need help with organization or possibly do not have a consistent routine as far as when a computer will be available. If they could just go to the library and jump on a computer there (or even at a friend's house), the worry of availability would be eliminated. I think it is probably a challenge for some of the middle school kids with whom I work to remember what they saved a document as, or creating folders to keep their work organized. If they were to use Google Docs, the ease of having it all in one place could really increase the amount of work that actually gets turned in on time. I also like the idea that if students were doing a group project, they wouldn't have to worry about which version of Works/Word each one had when emailing attachments back and forth.

I don't think I would use Google Docs for a real elaborate project though. I can see using this with my partner counselor to review an article we are writing for the school newsletter, but I wouldn't feel comfortable having a document that is even somewhat confidential on the Internet (no matter how secure they say it may be). And, it seemed to be lacking some of the applications/options that Microsoft Works offers.

I do not think that Microsoft should be nervous at this point. Like I stated above, for simple projects that are not confidential, Google Docs could be a real time-saver. However, for the more complicated or detailed projects that people or businesses are working on, I still think Microsoft will have more to offer for a long time.

Thing 10 - Create Your Own Wiki

2009-12-23T11:57:00.000-05:00

For my wiki, I decided to make a page with goals that we would like to meet in our school counseling office in 2010. I am definitely the list-making type of person, so I can see myself really getting into something like this. I like how it could be a place where my partner-counselor and I could communicate our ideas to each other all on one page. It seems like I have a bunch of sticky-notes or short emails to her, but those tend to get lost in the shuffle. Having a wiki would allow us to easily keep all of our ideas together, and add on when needed. I thought it was very easy to get started, and found myself liking the idea of a wiki much more once I was actually creating one. I could see maybe using a wiki as a form of a needs-assessment for our school too. I am always interested in hearing what teachers and students think are areas of need from the counselors, and this would allow people to quickly communicate those ideas. Again, it would be ideal because other people could see what their co-workers have written, and could then add on more comments or input to the idea. It seems so much more efficient than sending out a billion emails and trying to convey everyone's ideas in a clear manner.

Thing 9 - Wiki Wiki Wiki

2009-12-23T11:07:00.000-05:00

This was an interesting topic for me because I have heard about wikis for some time now, but never really looked any further into it. It was a little confusing to me at first why someone would choose a wiki over a blog, or just a webpage in general, but then I started to see how the wiki allows for much more interaction from its members. It was neat because on some of the school/classroom wikis that I found, there was general information on there, but then the students could add their own personal touch to certain sections. In my opinion, as long as the teacher has time to monitor something like this, I think the buy-in from students could potentially be greater with a wiki than a blog since kids would be reading information posted by their peers. But, I can see the disadvantage of really having to monitor what is included in the wiki, so that someone isn't posting false information that is just going to make a topic even more confusing. I'm not sure if there is realistically enough time for that in a teacher's schedule. Here are three of the wikis I visited:

1. mrsibrahim.wikispaces.com
This wiki caught my eye because it was for a classroom of 2nd grade students. I wanted to take some time to explore it because I was not sure what a teacher would be able to do with wikis when working with that age group. I liked how each student had their own page included within the wiki, so that they could write about themselves and include personal stories. The wiki was pretty easy to navigate, not an overwhelming amount of information. I thought it was really cute to read what the kids had written about certain lessons covered -- always interesting to get the perspective of a 2nd grader. I think it could be a way to see if the kids are really understanding the content or not.

2. bear-den.wikispaces.com
This wiki was created for an 8th grade world history class. It was quite a bit more detailed than the elementary wikis that I looked at, but that makes sense because of the amount of content being learned at a higher grade level. I was very impressed with the amount of information on the wiki. Students could find vocab lists, test reviews, possible essay questions, etc. He even had a spot on there with an updated number of exams he had corrected and how many he had left to go! I wish that our classes would have had something set up like this when I was in school. With our busy schedules, it was always so hard to coordinate with other people to find study times. I really like how this promotes collaboration with kids too. It seems like so many times, the competitive spirit of academics can take over and students don't want to share study materials. As a student who did make study guides for myself and worked very hard at school, I can see where I might get frustrated if everyone was not contributing to the wiki. If it were the same people always putting up good ideas and the rest of the class just kind of "using" their information all the time, I can see where that could get annoying. It seems like there should maybe be some sort of requirement for the class that you contribute to the wiki at least three times throughout the semester or something like that.

3. stanleyyelnats.wikispaces.com
This wiki was targeted more specifically at giving input on a book that the students had read. I think this is a really neat idea. What a cool way to get the different perspectives on a story from all of its readers. I could see how this might actually save some class time, as a teacher could look over the wiki and then pick out certain posts that the class could discuss. I think this might be an interesting way to get the opinions of kids who are not as confident speaking in front of the class. Some students might have a much easier time expressing themselves through typing versus oral expression. It would at least be an avenue to get more of the class involved I would think. This page was very easy to navigate through, and really just kept it simple, which was nice. Some of the other wikis had way too much information.

Thing 8 - Locate Feeds That Interest You

2009-12-10T16:26:00.000-05:00

When learning about RSS feeds, I basically went to the websites that are of usual interest to me and subscribed. I ended up having a variety of different sites -- education, sports, community news, favorite authors' blogs, etc. It is so nice to be able to have all of the feeds in one place - saves a lot of time. The Google Reader Search was really the easiest way to find things for which I was looking, so I stuck with that for the most part. I think this, just like most of the other topics we have covered, will be a learning process as I discover which feeds are the most helpful. It is a great tool though, and now it seems the only thing I need to find is the time to read my feeds!

Thing 7 - Learn About RSS & Set Up an RSS Feeder

2009-12-06T11:38:00.000-05:00

This has been one of my favorite lessons so far. I have heard about using an RSS Feeder for awhile now, but never knew the steps to get started. I can already see how much time and frustration this is going to save me, both for work at school and in my personal life. There is so much helpful information out there, but it just takes so long to go from one site to the next, and scroll down, and look around, then go back again --- the feeder makes things so much easier! I like that I can choose my favorite sites too, so I know they are going to be credible sources and I won't have to spend time looking around all over the web for things. I feel like this is going to help me stay connected with things going on in the community, and really, all over the world, much better. I have felt for awhile now that I don't pay close enough attention to things going on in the "outside world," and know that this feeder is going to help me so much.

I can see students using this to do a quick check on current events or checking their teachers blogs. I know that I get frustrated searching all over the Internet for information, so I am sure kids are even more easily swayed away from taking time to look things up. If they had a quick and easy feed to look at, I think they would be much more apt to look deeper into things.

One thing that I will have to watch is not over-loading myself with feeds. I want to be able to pick a few really good sites that I know are reliable, and stick with those. I am really excited to start using this though, I feel more connected already.

Thing 6 - Copyright in the Digital Age

2009-11-30T19:34:00.000-05:00

1. What have you been told that you may have just discovered is incorrect?
In the past it seems like I have always been told to be very careful when dealing with copyright issues. It seems like I have even had a discussion about not wanting to get sued or getting in big trouble for using something "off-limits." I never really have had a good grasp on the topic, so I usually just avoided using things if they had a copyright. Many times, it ended up being a very nerve-wracking experience, and I probably missed out on a lot of neat material. The video and documents definitely helped me to relax a little when I am looking for new resources. I think the information learned will allow me to more confidently choose things to incorporate into my work at school.

2. What things had you believed about copyright that have now been challenged?
The main belief that was challenged for me was the fact that fair use is not something governed by federal law. I thought it was really interesting to find out that there are no "cut-and-dried rules." Something else was in the video when one of the men said that we can use copyright without paying someone or without permission if the benefit to society outweighed the cost of the copyright owner. I really did not think it was as broad of a topic; I thought there were many more detailed rules and regulations on it.

3. What new things do you think you will incorporate into your teaching practice now that you know the reality versus some myths?
I am not sure what specific tools I will incorporate, but I do know I will be much more open to searching for resources and not holding back because of fear of getting into trouble if I do something incorrectly. I think some videos or articles that I have skipped over before might have to be revisited now that I am more informed.

More fun with Big Huge Labs

2009-11-21T23:57:00.001-05:00

Thing 5 - Photo Mashup Fun

2009-11-21T23:07:00.000-05:00

Many hours of fun could be had playing around on these sites! It is such a neat way to make a simple idea much more interesting and eye-catching. Many times when we have made fliers or posters advertising different things going on in the counseling office, we simply use Word to get something out quickly. Now that I know how simple it can be to make something so much more eye-catching, I am excited to go back and revise many of our original paperwork. Besides fliers or informational sheets, I can see using these sites for bulletin boards, on the counseling office web page, or really just for conversation starters with kids. Once you can capture their interest with something like this, they are much more apt to invest a little time in learning more.

I can see using these sites in my own life for party invitations, announcements, or simply sharing photos with friends in a much more interesting way. I always have ideas floating in my head about how I want something to look, but usually give up on the ideas because I don't have the slightest clue where to start. These sites can really help both me and my students take something simple and turn it into something great.

Thing 4 - Photo Sharing

2009-11-21T14:35:00.000-05:00

I LOVE taking pictures. A picture can remind us of why we were at that particular place, people in our lives with whom we should get in touch, the feelings experienced in that moment, and so much more. That being said, I am hoping to utilize photo sharing much more at school. I have found that most kids light up when they see pictures of their group of friends doing something. We do a program at my school where 8th grade girls mentor 6th grade girls. We recently posted pictures (printed) and posters they had made together on the bulletin board outside of our office. I couldn't believe the response we got from it. It made me think of how great it would be if we could have those pictures up on the web so that the kids could not only tell their parents about their day, they could show them! It seems that events become much more special when there is a picture afterward that captured the moments. I also thought how neat it would be to have graduated students be able to put pictures on the site to show where they are now and give helpful advice to the kids still in school. I have so many ideas when it comes to using photos online to promote learning and sharing at school, so reading about making slideshows, tagging places and people, etc. is very exciting!

Thing 3 - 7 & 1/2 Habits

2009-11-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

I think the easiest habit for me would be #1, beginning with an end in mind. As long as I can remember, I have been a goal setter. When starting a project, it helps me to have a vision of what I want the end product to be. By doing this, I can better keep myself, and the students with whom I work, on task. If there is a time when frustration or a standstill starts to set in, it helps to return to the initial goal. Like the video said, we might have to take a different direction along the way to get where we want to be. For me, as long as the final goal stays in the forefront, I believe I can reach it.

Even though I think of myself as a confident person, I still think that #4, have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner, is the hardest for me. I am one of the youngest people working at my school, and it can be intimidating to be in a room of colleagues who seem to know so much more about certain topics from their years of experience. I would not be where I am today if I were not a competent, effective learner, but when everyone seems miles ahead of where I am, the confidence level tends to drop. I hope that I can continue to enhance the skills I already have, and to not let fear or being timid stand in the way of learning so much more.

Thing 2

2009-11-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

When I first started looking around at all of the blogs out there, it seemed a bit overwhelming. It reminded me of trying to write a research paper and looking through article after article, looking for credible sources. Some of the sites may look really pretty, but do not necessarily contain realistic thoughts. I definitely think that a good blog should be aesthetically pleasing, because really, that is the first thing that catches most people's eye. But I think even more important is ease of navigation. Some of the blogs had too much information which made it frustrating for me to figure out where to start. I liked the ones that had several links to other relevant, related pages. I think that the blog should be well-written; as in, the person took a little extra time to back his/her thoughts up with legitimate reasoning, instead of just spouting off opinions. I suppose it is all a matter of the reason for which the blog is being used. If you are going to try to sound like an expert in your blog, I would expect that you have some information to make yourself more believable. But, if you are a mom talking about what fun activities you did with your children that day, I can see where rambling would be more appropriate.

I think a blog could help enhance the existing school website by giving parents and teachers even more lines of communication. Some parents have schedules that do not permit them to volunteer or attend school events, like conferences. With a blog, parents who travel for work or are just unable to get in to the school can still stay connected. I think it is really great to be able to share links to student projects or activities that are going on at school. It could also help make relationships at school stronger. For example, as a counselor, a lot of the teachers are not always aware of what it is exactly that I do. If I could post pictures of the activities we run, have students make comments on activities led by counselors, etc., I think teachers might feel more comfortable knowing how to utilize our services. I think it would allow people to experience an appreciation for others' work going on in the school -- it's very difficult for me to escape from my office to see what the art students are working on, or even attend a choir concert. This way, I could still feel a part of the activities and be able to talk to the kids about their work.

I do think blogs are an easier way for people to self-publish. If there is an aspiring author out there who maybe just needs to get a good following of people first to get noticed by a publishing company, a blog would be a great way to do that. The fans could make comments and hopefully a company would see the interest in the work of that author.

My initial thoughts of Web 2.0 have remained much the same as when I first started the class, but now I am beginning to learn just how expansive it really is. I am still amazed by how many tools are out there for people to use. I think it will continue to play a big role in the 21st century. It blows my mind that people can share ideas and connect on issues from all over the world! What a great way to bring people together and share new information with such a wide audience.

23 Things - The First Thing

2009-11-01T07:05:00.000-05:00

First blog -- ever! I feel like I am very well-informed and ahead of many of my co-workers when it comes to technology, but I am still amazed at how much is out there that I don't even know about yet! Keeping up-to-date on the latest trends in technology really helps me to stay connected with the kids at school. They usually give me that look of surprise when I can have a conversation with them about Facebook or MySpace. I think it makes me seem more real to them, so the more I know, the better I can meet the needs of my students. I am really excited to dive into this class, and to take what I have learned and apply it when working with students.

I am also excited to share information learned in this class with teachers. As a counselor, my schedule can be a little more flexible, and I hope that I can be a resource for teachers who may not have that flexibility with their time. I think that a lot of teachers are interested in learning about new technology, but cannot find the time, or get frustrated easily when they do try. I hope that by being a student in this class, I can in turn become a good teacher to my co-workers.