Reflections

1) My favorite activity was the one with the flower charts and mind maps. While not a particularly "fun" exercise, this graphical tool will be invaluable to teaching students with varied learning styles. I will most likely use this tool often.
- While I would not use them for personal use, the exercises with Google Docs were useful. The benefit of these tools are that they are completely free and available to students 24/7 via the web.

2) While the program has showed me some useful tools, I don't really feel the it has impacted my lifelong learning goals. Hailing from a middle class family and having grown up using a computer and the internet, I was interesting in keeping my computer skills current long before this course. I'm one of those people that is constantly reading tech websites and is very interested in the latest advancements. If anything the dated material on 23 Things and my experience working in local schools has demonstrated that it is very difficult for our education system to keep pace with the rapid advancement of technology.

3) No, I learned some valuable skills (More through the in class projects though through the 23 Things) but nothing about this course surprised me.

4) I would simply suggest that it be updated more regularly in order to keep pace with advancements in technology. Clearly technology - and the world as a whole - has changed tremendously since 2008.

5) As a result of this course I will probably be more likely to incorporate Web 2.0 tools into my classroom lesson plans and teaching method. That said, the same outcome could have most likely been achieved by having me incorporate specific Web 2.0 tools in all of my courses. My fear is that by bifurcating the tech class from the rest of the MAT many future teachers will allow their skills to dull.

6) I will continue to follow websites like CNET and discuss learning tools with other teachers.

Thing #23

http://resa-23things.blogspot.com/2008/02/23-things.html

Via a quick Google web search I discovered the blog "23 Things Teacher Need to Know About Web 2.0". Given that it was published in February 2008 while APSU's blog was created in August 2008 and that they both contain the same basic content, one may assume that APSU based their blog off of the one linked above. While APSU's edition appears to be more content rich, the original version is significantly more ascetically pleasing and user friendly.

While I probably will not license any of my own work with a Creative Common license, I will utilize the Creative Commons website in order to find free videos and graphics that may be shared with my class via PowerPoint presentations and on my course blog and/or website. Generally speaking, I find United States copyright law to be largely a byproduct of the collusion between large corporations and politicians that is an affront to democracy and a drain on creativity. However, as an employee of a public school system it will be my obligation to follow the letter of the law in all circumstances including copyright law. Therefore, all media and resources utilized in my classroom will be appropriately licensed for their usage.

Thing #22

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=388879

Your Government

I) The titles of my LiveBinders are "Government Course Documents", "Your Government", and "News Sites".

II) I would never consider using LiveBinders in my classroom. This website is extremely outdated and cumbersome to use. While the general idea behind the website - to share resource folders with others - is a good one, it is poorly executed and looks like it belongs in the 1990s rather than in 2012. Rather using this site, I would created a "course resources" folder with subtopic headings attached to my course syllabus that would be electronically published on my course webpage. By doing this, students will be able to avoid the unnecessary step of logging in to an external website. My "resource folder" subheading titles would correspond to the various research projects throughout the semester.

Thing #19

Visit TeacherPop

I'm guessing by widget they meant app...So, I've added a screenshot of a TeacherPop app that allows one to track specified terms on Twitter.

http://grooveshark.com/

Just in case anyone is interested, GroveShark is much better than last.fm. We used to use this all the time when I would have parties in Australia. It's great for popular and international music.

3.

I) Being a member of Facebook, I suppose I am a member of an online community. I enjoy keeping up with my friends and colleagues regardless where in the world they happen today. However, I don't really consider Facebook to be a "community". While I readily utilize technology and I am supportive of its role in an educational setting, I decry the decay of real community the "online community" has facilitated.

II) Other than Facebook and Blogger, non of the social networking sites are very appealing to me for use in an educational setting. Given that it is unlikely many parents will visit a website regularly, I am more likely to institute mass text messaging for parent communication than constantly update a social networking site. The text messaging option also has the added benefit of being more equitable for households with a lower SES. 

III) Honestly, I didn't find these tools to be very interesting or helpful. It is highly unlikely that I will utilize the tools in activity 19 during my teaching profession. 

Thing #21

Make a video of your own at Animoto.

Using Animoto to make video was quick and easy. I was able to start using the site within seconds of signing up. I especially liked that I could upload my pictures directly from Facebook and that I could choose fitting music from their database. Despite my liking this website, I would never use it because they charge a hefty fee for videos over 30sec. Everything that Animoto does for a fee I can do for free directly from my iPhone. Like many of the other sides listed in the 23 Things activity, this website is now obsolete. That said, using these types of videos will be a great way to get my students focused on the lesson.

Thing #20

I've been using Youtube for years - so I had no problem navigating around the site. I like that videos may be discovered by either a keyword search or by browsing via a topic. That said, Youtube isn't always the best source for high quality academic videos. While I don't like the latest user interface - which limits the number of videos one may browse at once - or the fact that Youtube is full of ads now, it is still a useful site. I chose the video above because it could be used to facilitate a class debate regarding the meaning of "Socialism" and "Social Democracy". In this video Ronal Reagan speaks out against the bill that created Medicare because he said it would lead to completely socialized medicine. The points in this video could be compared to the arguments made agains the Affordable Care Act  or Obamacare. An analysis of the rhetoric regarding the creation of Medicare will allow students to see how some fears came to fruition while others never did. 

A Youtube like feature is a create addition to any library website. Preserving our audio and visual history is just as important as preserving our written history.

Thing #18

It is important for educators to know about social networking sites because they allow a teacher to connect with students at their level. If I were to teach at a school system were Facebook was not blocked, I would create a Facebook page for my students to discuss class and create event notifications for special events. When I was doing my undergraduate work at WKU - and serving as a club officer - I utilized Facebook to publicize events and allow to community to keep up with what our group was doing. This feature was especially useful when I traveled out of state or overseas. One of the drawbacks of public education in an urban or suburban setting is that a sense of community often disappears. As a teacher, I will utilize social networking as a tool to create the sense of community that I believe is necessary for real personal and academic growth.
A- I didn't gain any new insights about Facebook or Twitter because I am already familiar with them. A- I don't dislike Facebook or Twitter in any way. They are both free services - why would I complain? One thing I found amusing is that the Facebook screen name Austin Peay has not been taken. I tried it out of curiosity and had multiple friend requests before I had a chance to close it down. I would suggest that APSU gain the rights to this name so it does not fall into the hands of someone with malicious intent.