Thing 10: "Share, Remix, Reuse-- Legally"

This Video:

Copyright Clarity: How Fair Use Supports Digital Learning

View more presentations from Renee Hobbs. was a revelation! I am so glad it was shared on the 23 things site. I really did use to think that there is some sort of magic number of pages that you are allowed to copy as a teacher, or a certain number of minutes you were allowed to show of a video. I'm glad to know that Fair Use is more subtle than that and can be adjusted to fit various situations. Learning more about Creative Commons has been eye opening as well. I have heard the term and had a general idea of what it is about, but I had no idea about its origins. I am hoping that teaching my students about CC and having them use items that are CC in their presentations will allow my students to have access to the various mediums they need for their projects without breaking the law and putting themselves at risk for litigation.

Thing 9: Playing in the wiki sandbox

Here is my super cool wiki I played around with today. The cool thing about a wiki is that if you can create a document in a word processor, you can create a wiki. Wikispaces has a very simple editor that has lots of great features. I really liked the widgets that allow you to add embedded videos, rss feeds, TOC, etc. I am thinking that my students might have fun creating study guide wikis complete with video tutorials. I love how you can see what changes are made and who makes them. It totally does away with the common problem of one person doing all the work, but everyone getting equal credit.

Thing 7: Comments from a lurker

I'm a lurker. Not in real life, of course, but on the web, I lurk. I do this even though I am constantly thinking of how I would like to respond to the various posts I read each day. Sometimes, I even start writing a response, only to delete it instead of submitting it. For some reason I am more nervous to share my opinion in writing that I would be to share it verbally. However, at the same time, I do believe that commenting is what make blogs dynamic and relevant.

It took me a while to find blog posts to comment on. I almost posted on one post, but I would have been the first commenter and that made me nervous for some reason. Eventually, the blog that I commented on for this assignment was a post on Weblogg-ed by Will Richardson entitled You've got problems, so solve them. I think I will challenged myself to continue commenting on at least a few of the blogs that I read. I think that will help me feel more of a sense of belonging with the edublog community.

Thing 8: WIki Wiki

It seems like educational wikis can be as varied as the teachers who use them. Some are used as a way to have students collaborate on creating study guides like Welker's Wikinomics or the wikispaces study hall site Vicky Davis started with her students. Others are used to coordinate projects like the 1001 Flat World Tales. I can see myself using wikis for either purpose. One of the best parts of a wiki, in my opinion, is that you can see that actual contributions of each person.

My favorite of the wikis I looked at is definitely the Welker's Wikinomics site. I really like how he has set up a course outline with major topics and then has each topic linked to a wiki site that his students can edit.

Thing 6: The future of Web 2.0

I had to control myself to keep from adding too many feeds to my reader. I don't want to overwhelm myself, but there are a lot of great educator blogs out there. I notices that several of them have been posting about the ISTE conference that is going on in Colorado. I am jealous! It looks to be like a great event. Next year it is in Philly and I am already thinking about going.

One blog I have discovered is called The Thinking Stick. JEff Utecht is the blogger and he wrote a post today about a conference session titled Are Wikis Dying? The idea is that with the development of Google Apps and Google Wave, etc., maybe they will replace wikis as the collaborative tools of the future. The answer to the question is unclear, but I think there is a greater lesson to be learned. As educators, we can't be too focused on teaching students specific tools, because the tools are constantly changing. Instead we need to focus on the thought process that goes into learning any new web 2.0 tool. That way they will be prepared for anything the web can throw at them.

Thing 5: I love technology

Can I just say that I love technology? So does my husband. It's our greatest weakness as far as out budget goes. It is no different for me in the classroom. I love new technology that can help me better engage my students. For a while now, the piece of classroom technology that I have been lusting after the most is an interactive whiteboard. It is so cool! So when I was exploring my newly set up Google Reader for Thing 5, and I came across an entry on the Tech Learning blog called Erase Unnecessary Costs by Getting Smart about Interactive Whiteboards by Lisa Nielsen, I had to read it.

Lisa's basic premise is that while interactive whiteboards are cool, you can perform the same function with a projector and tablet combo that would save you over $3000. That amount of money could purchase 9 netbooks or ipod touches or a variety of other technology. As an economics teacher I know all about opportunity cost so I can really see her point. To be honest, I still want an interactive whiteboard in my classroom. It is just all kinds of awesome. However, I do think that we need to be efficient with our resources, so I will settle for a projector and tablet. Now I just gotta convince some one in charge to buy it for me!

Thing 4: Edublogging and Me

I've always felt lucky to have worked in schools where teachers are really working to collaborate and help each other become better teachers. As I read over several blogs in the "EduBlogosphere," I was struck by the fact that teacher collaboration really has no boundaries any more. Through blog posts, comments and links, one teacher's great idea can travel around the world in a very short amount of time. Although, it isn't just cool lesson plans that are spreading, but entire educational philosophies. I really enjoy reading the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. Her post called Spies Like Us was not only fascinating but very insightful. It is true that I have 30 students in my class every period with technology in their hands and pockets that have incredible abilities. I have long though that we are fighting a losing battle with cellphones. Students are experts at stealth texting, chatting and surfing on their phones. I think we need to accept the reality that cellphones are ubiquitous and here to stay. Once we admit to the truth, we can revise our AUP to include cellphone and mobile internet devices. Then we can figure our how to use these cellphones to our advantage.

Thing 2: Web 2.0 and Me

Web 2.0 makes the future of education exciting, adventurous and even slightly dangerous. Web 2.0 isn’t static and controllable, It is dynamic and independent. I think that blogs, wikis, discussion boards, and even cell phones are all technologies that can be used in teaching to make it more engaging and rewarding to the students. As Marc Prensky writes in his article, Digital Immigrants, Digital Natives, today’s students are digital natives, and they aren’t going to be impressed by the PowerPoint technologies used by us digital immigrants. They don’t want to just consume content, they want to create it.

As for myself, I have been using Web2.0 technologies for a while and I didn't even realize it. I am on facebook, I have a personal blog, and I use the Google RSS reader. I haven't gotten into Twitter yet, but I think that is partly because the digital immigrant in me still doesn't get the point. However, I can see how social networking has really changed our society. I recently commented to my husband how odd it is to me to think that our daughter will grow up and never lose contact with her school friends. Sites like Facebook will always keep them connected. Fortunately, MISD has begun to give some great web 2.0 tools for us to use in our classrooms. I'm taking a Moodle class this summer so that I can easily use wikis, discussion boards, blogs and more in my classroom. I also plan to use google apps as well.

Thing 1: Lifelong Learning and Me

I have to say that I have always considered myself a natural lifelong learner. I even felt this way when I was young. I don't remember the age, but I remember my Dad and I somehow came into the possession of a chess board. Neither of us really knew more that the basic moves, but we liked playing together. Then my mom got the two of us an electronic chess game and we became obsessed with beating it. We went to the library,checked out books and began to learn about the strategies of playing chess. Eventually we got good enough that we could both beat the game. I lost interest as I got older, but the knowledge that I could learn anything I wanted to if I just took the time stayed with me. The 23 things course that iIam taking through the district definitely fits in my current lifelong learning path. I am currently working on my Educational Technology Leadership masters degree. I truly believe that incorporating technology in the classroom isn't just a nice idea, it is a necessity.

23 Things

As a brief FYI, I am starting this blog as a part of the 23 Things course I am taking through MISD. It is a course designed to teach us about emerging web 2.0 technologies. As we explore the various technologies, we are supposed to blog about our experiences. However, I am hoping that I will be able to keep up the habit and continue to post about my experiences using the technology in the classroom even after the course is over.