Thing 19

I am really excited about learning how to make a podcast. I have been thinking about how to revamp a project of mine and I think I am going to turn it into making a podcast!
I already use podcasts to listen to NPR shows.

I also checked out Mr. Langhost's 8th grade American History page and listened to some of his StudyCasts. I am toying with the idea of creating my own "studycasts" as oral reviews for my students.

Can't wait to learn how to make my own podcast!

Thing 18

Check out this SlideShare Presentation. I enjoyed looking at the various presentations and could definitely use some of them in my classes.

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Thing 17

I checked out LibraryThing because I enjoy keeping lists of books that I have read and am currently reading. I also enjoy reading people's reviews (usually after I finish reading) of books. I have been using Goodreads for awhile and I found LibraryThing to be very similar.

I also checked out Remember the Milk. The enrollment e-mail originally got stuck in my e-mail's spam filter. After I finally finished enrolling, the site seemed cool, but I am a more paper list maker so I can carry it with me during the day and when I run errands. If I used a PDA (just not that necessary for teachers in my opinion), I think the electronic reminders would be great.

Thing 16

A major problem that I encountered immediately is that Microsoft Office 2007 documents are not compatible with Google Docs. Very disappointing. I know that I can convert my Office 2007 documents into a compatible format, but that is just one more step.
Google Docs would allow me to access my documents for any computer, which is nice, however my schools internet storage website allows me to do the same thing.

However, for my students, Google Docs would be GREAT for group projects! I will definitely be showing my students the advantages of using this resource.

Thing 15

I have been checking my RSS occasionally, but not regularly. I know once it becomes a part of my routine, I will be more diligent. I enjoyed adding a few news feeds (and refreshing my memory on how to:-) )and plan to check more often.
Today I did read some interesting feeds on a blog I follow about the itouch phone. It makes me think that education blogs might actually be helpful to me!

Thing 14

My delicious username is millersarahk. I like delicious and have been using it for awhile now. It is very convenient because you can access all of your websites from any computer!
Professionally, I haven't used delicious that much as my school assigns every faculty member their own laptop so I always have my internet explorer bookmarks available at school and home.
However, personally, I like using delicious as I end up using a variety of computers including my two home laptops and school one.

Thing 13

Tagging is a great way to organize websites (sort of like putting them into folders). In fact, I have found some great websites that were tagged by other.
The only disadvantage I see (and for me it doesn't really matter) is that many of my co-workers like their "privacy" and would feel uncomfortable allowing other people to see the websites they use.

Thing 12

I love my new widget kitty. She is so cute and play with and feeding her is a wonderfully fun waste of time:-).
Regarding other online communities, I do belong to fb and am a past myspace subscriber. However, I am only "friends" with people I know in real life. I use it as a way to stay in touch with friends and family, thus enhancing my "face to face" contact with them.
The reason these types of sites are so popular is b/c they are fun and a "good" way to waste time while on the computer.

Thing 11

Posting and receiving comments obviously allows the transfer of information and feedback between a variety of people. However, some of my friends have been checking out my blog (I linked it on fb after I posted my friend's pictures from Flickr) but they haven't felt like creating a login to "publish" their comments. It would be nice if there was some universal way to comment on blog, news stories, etc online. I often want to post on NYTimes.com but don't feel like creating a login and going through the whole process of creating yet another password and username to have to remember.
Thing 11 also forced me to check out other people's blogs (besides the ones I follow). I enjoyed reading how various people plan (or have) applied the "things" to their curriculum.

Thing 10

Everytime I would try to download a video, it would end up timing out in the middle. On the Zamzar site, it said it was going to take 32 minutes to download my video. I'm not sure why as I had a strong, high speed connection.

Additionally, when I attempted to add an already downloaded video onto my blog, it took FOREVER to "process" the video and ended up timing out.

However, I was able to easily embed a previously downloaded United Streaming video. This will offer my students an opportunity to rewatch video clips shown in class or for those who were absent to make up work.

Thing 9

I LOVE youtube and use it at least once a week.  In my personal life, I often watch videos that my cousin posts of her cutie new baby:-)

Professionally, I use youtube (not restricted at my school) to use the Schoolhouse rock segments.  While I have the videotape (so archaic!) of America Rock, it is much more difficult to cue up to the correct spot.  Instead, I use youtube!  I have also shown other movie clips from youtube as well.  It's a great resource.

Thing 8

This is a "puzzle" I made from a photo of me and Eddie.  While it looks cool, I'm not sure how/why I would ever use tools like this in the classroom.  

And having students use these tools (for I'm not sure what...a project?) would only create a lot of wasted time while they played with all of the features.

On a different note, today on NPR, there was an interview with a professor who used clickers during lectures to make sure his class of 100 understand the concepts he presents.  In such a larger setting, clickers would be great but I have 14-16 students and I can't imagine not being able to gauge their level of understanding.  However, the interviewer made a good point.  Students are often required to "power down" when they are in the classroom.  While I am always interested in more and better ways to incorporate technology (my favorite is using webquests), thus far, I have not found many of the "things" applicable to my classroom.