The Final Post??

Summary: My Crazy Trip through Web 2.0

I can't begin to thank the instructors, PFK, Mesquite ISD, and everyone else involved in the creation of this class. I have learned so much and have had so much fun learning. I have been telling all of my Mesquite teacher friends about this class and how great it is. My family thinks I have gone nuts because I "play" on the computer all the time! And, my youngest son said, "I can't believe that you are taking a class to teach you how to play on the computer at work!!" My very favorite-most Thing was Animoto. I absolutely love making the little 30 second videos and I am very seriously contemplating paying the $30 a year for unlimited videos. I can see so many uses for school, Scouts, family, and friends. I have also used Image Chef a lot. I guess that the biggest surprise of all that has come out of taking this class is the fact that I can really do all of this stuff! I always thought that it would be too hard or too complicated to learn all of the "fancy" stuff, but it has been so easy. Even if I had a little difficulty figuring something out, I kept on until I "got it". Learning it for myself, by myself, just helped me to remember how to do it next time. I can't think of a way to improve the format. This is my best style of learning: self-paced, figure it out yourself with the instructions. I guess that is why it was so easy for me to follow. I would definitely take another class like this. I am hoping that there are more cool things to learn, because I am ready for another one next summer!! I am kind of sad to be finished and I have to admit that I kind of poked along on the last ones, making them last. Like at Christmas, when you don't want to open up that last present because you want to make it last longer. I plan to keep on "playing around" with all of my newly learned tools so that I can find lots of uses for them next year at Berry. If nothing else, I can just teach all my friends what to do!!

Thing #23

I loved the Disney "A Fair(y) Use Tale". It was very clever. Copyright infringement is such a scary thing! I am glad to get this information and to have these sites for future reference. I can remember in the "old days" when we could show whatever movies we wanted in class to go along with books we had read or whatever. Now, teachers must be so careful in what they show. Our all-knowing school librarian is a great resource to have. In order to give credit where credit is due, I am adding to this post, the information from the Learning 2.0 "About" page concerning this class: "The Learning 2.0 - 23 Things program is based on the Learning 2.0 program that was designed by Helene Blowers, Technology Director at the Charlotte Mecklenburg County Public Library system, with the support and assistance of several staff. Helene's program was loosely based upon Stephen Abram's article, 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006) and the website 43Things."

Thing #22

Podcasting is interesting....even though I am a visual person, I do like to listen ocassionally!! I played around in the four different directories listed. I found a very informative podcast about pets (cats in particular) entitled Tacoma Pet Hospital. I listened to two different podcasts on fleas by a vet who specializes in cat care. Alas, poor Jasmine has a few fleas from her walks into the wild. (I promise I am NOT the crazy cat lady.) The life cycle of the flea is fascinating, believe it or not, and I learned something new. Then I looked around at some more podcasts, but then couldn't remember which directory my cat care podcast was on!! I finally found it again. It was on Learn Out Loud, which was by far my favorite directory. It was definitely the easiest to use. I added Tacoma Pet Hospital to my Google Reader, as well as my iGoggle home page. Now, I can find cat care information whenever it need it. I don't plan to make my own podcast at this time, but who knows, maybe I will have something important to say in the future...then I will know what to do!!

Vacation 2007

Jasmine

Thing #21

There have been several of these "things" that I thought were my favorite, but I think that Animoto wins my vote hands down. This was so easy and so much fun. And, just to think that I can make as many 30 second videos that I want for FREE! It is just such a thrill. I really enjoyed making my video and can see so many possibilities for making more. Obviously, I can make some for Boy Scouts, but I can see taking pictures of various students and/or class activities, making videos, then sending them to the Special Education teacher to show to her class. I could also make some at church to add to our church website. This may be the most useful tool of all.

My First Video!!! Scout Show 2008

Thing #20

I have really be looking forward to this Thing!! I enjoyed looking at the different videos. I actually have YouTube on my iGoogle home page and the video that I chose popped up on there today. I couldn't believe how cute that little rabbit is, so I had to add it to my blog. (Now I may have to get a rabbit for Jasmine...) I did have some difficulty posting it, but I finally figured it out. When I tried to copy the code for "Embeddable Player", I wasn't getting all of it, so it didn't work. But, my persitence paid off and I finally got it to copy. I guess that is what I disliked about it, but at least, I did figure it out. However, whenever you want to watch the video, you must first turn the sound on my playlist off or you have both songs going on at the same time. Not cool......... Anyway, I love YouTube! I can see how it could be applied to the library website. You could have little videos of different books, like "teasers" to get the students to read them. Very cool!!

My favorite video on YouTube!

Thing #19

Okay, so now I am a member of Fuzzter, of course, because it is about pets and I love Jasmine! It was easy to join and so cute! I probably will never post anything, but I enjoyed filling in all of Jasmine's talents (walking on a leash) and interests (sleeping). I looked at several of the others and think that I may actually join Crafts. I really enjoy sewing and making things and that social network looks really interesting. I could probably get some good ideas. I also joined Ning, as you can see from my two other posts. I loved adding the pictures and looking at everyone else's pictures. The new babies are so sweet!! It takes me back about 20 years or more!!! I think that these social networks are more fun that MySpace and FaceBook, at least for me.

Here's my family!

Find more photos like this on 23 Thingsters

My Thingsters Badge

View my page on 23 Thingsters

Thing #18

My sons have both MySpace and FaceBook accounts and I must admit, that my youngest, who is at Texas Tech, said, "Mom, you are not going to set up an account!" I did set up a MySpace account for this class, but will probably delete it afterwards. I can see the uses for social networking--such a great way to connect and communicate. My son has been able to keep up with all of his friends when they scattered after graduation to different universities. There are so many features that can be added to a page, such as pictures, slide shows, videos, etc. I think that it is very important for educators to know about social networking so that they can monitor their student when on the computer. FaceBook seems to be easier to use and set up. It took me a while to do my profile on MySpace. I did add my son as a "friend". I guess that my concern is the privacy issue. I think it is a great way for young people to stay in touch and meet people, but I don't feel the need for an account at this time. As for school uses, much care would need to be taken.

Thing #17

Well, this is an interesting Thing! I viewed all of the tutorials for each of the social bookmarking sites, as well as the cute tutorial by the Common Craft guys. (I always enjoy those tutorials, so simple, yet effective.) I can see how social bookmarking would be helpful with research, as well as a great way to keep up with personal bookmarks. It seems like I have a million bookmarks on my home computer and on my computer at school. It would be nice to have them easily accessible no matter where I am. I am going to try Del.icio.us because I seemed to "get it" at little better than the other two sites. I can see uses for research into Cross Battery Assessment for our district diagnosticians, which I think I may investigate before school starts!

Thing #16

I enjoyed playing around with the different web 2.0 tools. When we were discovering all the wonders of iGoogle, I made a beautiful home page with five different tabs. So, I played around with it some more, adding more stuff. I decided to try out a different home page, so I tried PageFlakes. It did indeed have much local information, but I still like iGoggle better, so I made it my absolute permanent home page. My other tabs besides home are humor, games, cooking, and olympics. So I can just flip through my tabs and get all kinds of info. I added "funny cat pictures" to my home page and every time I open it up, I get a random crazy cat picture! The other two tools I tried out were 30 Boxes , for my calendar, and Ta da list, for my to do list. I liked the calendar okay, but I can do just as well with my calendar on my kitchen wall!! However, I really liked the to do list. I made a list of things to do next week and I have already finished one item and checked it off! I can see how it will be very helpful. I will definitely use that tool next year at school to keep up with things I need to do. I definitely would recommend the iGoogle home page to everyone. It is such a great way to stay organized!!

Thing # 15

How interesting to know that "wiki" is a Hawaiian word meaning quick! I watched the YouTube video, which was quite cute and informative, and read several of the articles about the wiki. It seems to be quite the thing for planning. I can see many uses...including coordinating our Scouting events! We have people from all over the Metroplex area trying to plan a weekend or week, so what a great help this would be! The sample wiki for the AP world history class looked wonderful. When my son was in Mrs. Muhl's class, they had vertical teams to discuss literary works. This would have been a great tool for them. I was also very impressed with Mesquite ISD Library Policies and Procedures. No wonder we have such great librarians in MISD!!

Thing # 14

I explored Flowchart.com and mindmeister and set up an account in each. My invitation from flowchart.com came almost immediately. It was very easy to register for each one. They both looked very interesting and I played around with them. I am not sure how I would use either of them in my current job as diagnostician, but I will have them, if I ever need them. It is always great to have resources. I can surely see how either one would be great for brainstorming in almost any class, but especially English. (I am partial to English class because it was my minor and my favorite class in school!!)

Thing #13

Wow!! Obviously, I did publish my document from ZoHo Writer to my blog. It was unbelievably easy and I don't think that I will ever use Microsoft Word again. I love how easy it was to write the document, change the font, and add the photos. I will be using this article that I wrote to send to the local newspapers in the Cherokee District area. This will make my job as Marketing Chair for the district much easier! I send my articles out to about 8 or so different newspapers. I will also use this program at school for handouts and such that I do for my department. I could do a testimonial for ZoHo Writer. It is so user-friendly!!

A Week in the Woods

A Week in the Woods
by Judy Johnson
Marketing Chair, Cherokee District
Boy Scouts of America

On June 7, 2008, almost 600 Arrowmen descended upon Mark Twain National Forest for a week of cheerful service.  Nine of those Arrowmen were from Canupa Chapter of Mikanakawa Lodge, Order of the Arrow.  By now, you are wondering what in the world I am talking about!  Let me explain...the Order of the Arrow (OA) is the service organization of honor campers---a part of Boy Scouts of America.  Members are called Arrowmen and are voted upon by members of their respective troops, some of whom are not members of the OA.  These Arrowmen get together many times during the year to spend the weekend in cheerful service, working at the various Boy Scout camps.  This year, Boy Scouts of America, through the OA, in conjunction with the National Forest Service, scheduled 5 weeks of such cheerful service across the nation at five national parks.  The program is called Arrow Corps 5. 


Arrow Corps 5 camp in Mark Twain National Forest

Canupa Chapter is the Order of the Arrow chapter from Cherokee District, which encompasses Henderson, Van Zandt, and Kaufman counties.   Four youth and five adults from Canupa participated at the first of these weeks at Mark Twain National Forest, in Missouri, and they will never be the same. They were: Max Irion, Ben Huddleston, Collin Brown, Bill Neighbors, Earl Brown, Sheri Robson, Willie Robson, David Johnson, and me, Judy Johnson.  The week was spent in the forest, where we camped, played, cooked, ate, and chopped down cedar trees in the deep woods of Missouri.  The work was hard, but fun, and the food was excellent!




Max Irion, Collin Brown, Bill Neighbors, and Ben Huddleston from Troop 333, Mabank at ArrowCorps5, along with other AC5 friends, are  getting ready to cut down some cedar trees!

Thing # 12

My home email account is Gmail, so I am familiar with Google; however, I mainly use it as a search engine. It was interesting to explore the other Google tools. I played around with Picasa again. I took the district Picasa course, so I was familiar with it, but I really like Flickr so much better. I will be using Flickr for my photos. The notebook was good. I can see how it would be very useful in the classroom with research. Students would love the ease of use. It is so much easier than taking notes on those little note cards! I really like the calendar because it is so user friendly. I plan to use it to keep up with all of my school, church, and Scouting activities. If I were still a special education teacher, I would use it to keep up with my class activities and trips. What a great tool! But, my very favorite of all is the Google home page for the Web. Oh, my gosh, it was so much fun to go in there and add the parts that I wanted. Then I was able to customize each part. I really like it. I did have a little trouble figuring out how to link to my creations, but figured it out eventually. I looked some other class members blogs to see how theirs worked! Trouble shooting at its best...

Thing #11

I continued to explore RSS with my Google reader in two different ways. First, I just typed whatever topic came into mind in the search window. I found some great sites that I subscribed to, including one on sewing! Then, I looked a several other class members' blogs to see what they had found. I got some really good ideas. I really liked the word of the day site, so I subscribed to it. I also subscribed to a joke of the day site, which had some really funny jokes on it. There is just so much out there to look at; it is unbelievable!! Right now I have 15 sites on my Google reader, but I have a feeling that my numbers will grow!

Thing #10

I took a little break from this online course to complete my other one, Photo Story 3, because it was a one week course. It was fun and I learned how to do a photo story complete with music, narration, and transitions. I could get addicted to all this computer fun! Next, I spent a couple of days playing with RSS. I created a Google reader. It was extremely easy and I added the recommended sites. I can see how this would be a great way to keep up with all of my interests. For classroom teachers, this would be excellent for current events! As a diagnostician, I could keep up with news in special education.

Thing # 9

What fun!! There were so many different online image generators to play with. For my first choice, I used the Custom Sign Generator. I tried several different choices and really liked the special effects one. This is a picture I took last summer in Corpus Christi at a shop by the beach. I love my digital camera!! I used the stars effect to make this a truly magical picture. First I downloaded a picture from my computer, then I chose the effect. To save the image, I right-clicked onto the image to save as. I saved it on my computer and then used the "add image" button on this post to attach it.


My second choice was the Happy Face Generator.What a cute idea to put into emails!!! I really did like it. It was pretty easy. Once I figured how to put the image where I wanted it, everything was fine. This one is very straight forward, you just follow the directions, but remember to "save as" on your computer, then you can use it whenever you want. I can see using these image generators at school and for my personal use.

I also really liked the Image Chef . I had some more fun with a picture of my favorite cat, Jasmine. Isn't she sweet?? This one took a while, because I couldn't decide which picture to use. I got a message on several that I tried to use, that the picture was too large, so I just tried another one till I got it right. On this one, you could choose the color of the writing and the background. You could also choose the text and the shape of the cutout. You did have to crop the picture to make it fit right. Then, of course, save it to your computer and there you go. Another really cool effect!!


So, I guess that is the end of my playing with the online image generators. It is very addicting, as I have done nothing today, but play on my computer!!

Thing # 8

My creation
Originally uploaded by jkkita

Okay, I think I get it now!!! This was easy and fun. I figured out what was throwing me off....it was the URL. I couldn't figure out where to get it and then I just looked up at the http and there it was!!! Duh!

I really liked the mosaic link. I could see taking pictures and making the mosaic to add to the school department blog that I am thinking of starting. I just like the look of it. I also tried out the puzzle link. It was really cool and you could order pictures for gifts for friends!! The Mappr looked interesting also. Students could add their vacation pictures to a social studies blog and then Mappr could be used to show were everyone went for vacation. What a cool back to school activity!! The possibilities are endless.

Thing # 7--Part 1

Jasmine with bow
Originally uploaded by jkkita

This is part of Thing # 7, using Flickr, which has become exceedingly frustrating for me! I hope I am doing this correctly, because the first time I tried to do it, I posted a weird post that I didn't know that I was doing and I don't know how to delete it. This is my cat, Jasmine, who is very smart, thinks she is a dog, and walks on a leash. She also thinks she is the most beautiful cat in the world. The remainder of my Thing # 7 post will be on a usual post. I don't know what the results of this attempt will be!!!!

Thing # 7--Part 2

This is the rest of Thing #7. The first post did work out and I was able to post a picture from Flickr. I was also able to delete the test Flickr post that I did that I didn't want! So, that was good. I watched the Flickr video and agree that the program seems to be a great way to back up pictures. I was excited to try it out, but did have some difficulties. I decided to choose option #2. I downloaded 5 pictures of Jasmine, tagged them, made a set, and sent one of them to the 23 Thingsters group. That part was easy. The hard part was posting the picture to my blog. I think I need a little more practice on that part because posting that picture was pretty accidental and I don't know if I can do it again!!! This is the most frustrating thing to do for me so far.

I will use Flickr for my personal pictures, especially my scouting pictures. I searched the tags for Boy Scouts of America and found many, many pictures. I think this would be a great way to share pictures of scouting and meet new friends. I have never used another photo hosting service, so I don't have anything to compare. I will probably look at some of the others, just for fun. I don't mind having pictures of my cat out there for everyone to see, but I will be careful about other pictures due to privacy concerns.

Thing # 6

Oh, my gosh! Such fun!!! I couldn't stop with just one site, but kept on looking. I started out with HairMixer. It was really fun, but without much educational purpose other than Cosmotology. I enjoyed playing around with it and came up with some pretty zany hairstyles! I do know that I will keep my hair long because I look like a boy with short hair. Next, I moved on to Biblio.com because I read about it on ParmentersPlace. I also found a book that I have been searching for at my favorite used book store, Paperbacks Plus, in downtown Mesquite. It was part of a trilogy that I have been waiting to read until I found book two, since I already had books one and three. I was very impressed with Lulu. It opened all sorts of possibilities of publishing a book or calendar. If I were teaching English, I would investigate that site a little more to see if it was feasible for class projects. But, my favorite site of all was Pandora. What a wonderful way to set up music for personal use and for the classroom! I can imagine having students do creative writing assignments to various types of music. You could play music to calm students down during testing. Art teachers could have students paint to various types of music. When school starts, I will set up music stations to play in my office while I am writing all of those reports! This was my favorite thing so far!!!

Thing # 5

Hmmmm.....lots of food for thought. I read several of the Web 2.0 articles, but my favorite was "New Literacies: Enrichment or Essential?" My answer to the question would be "essential". In this new age of technology, the opportunities for creativity are endless. Kids today have been around computers their entire lives, so they are not afraid of technology. If I were in the classroom, I would definitely jump in with both feet and use Web 2.0 as much as possible. The stories you could create in English class! It is overwhelming in many respects to think of every thing that is out there in the web to learn and use. I do believe that the use of Web 2.0 in schools is a very important, and necessary, teaching tool.

Thing #4

After reading several of the resources for commenting, I am thinking that this post will be a work in progress. The 10 commandments of commenting gave me much food for thought. Being polite, positive, and basically nice in comments is a definite must, it seems. I have always thought sometimes emails can be misconstrued because it is hard to convey your tone or mood in just your written words. Apparently, blogging can be the same way. I guess that is where the smiley faces and extra exclamations points help!!! :-) The other resource that made me think was the one about the ten techniques to get more comments on your blog. Since I haven't received any comments yet on my blogs, I was wondering what the deal was...... I will use some of the techniques to get if I can get a nibble. But, then, maybe everyone is waiting to comment just like I am---until I get a better idea of what I am doing!! Is anyone else feeling this way??

I am still having fun, though. I really like this class! :-)

Now, for the completion of Thing # 4: I believe that commenting definitely adds to the feeling of community within the group. It makes the blogger feel that someone out there cares about what she/he has written. The back and forth conversations simply connect the bloggers with each other. In this class, reading the blogs of the other participants has helped me figure out what I am doing. It has made me feel a part of the total group. I can see how having a department blog at a school would open the lines of communication tremendously.

Two points from the readings about commenting that I found important are: #1 : "read before you write" because it is so very important not to skim the surface of the blog, but carefully read the entire blog and think about what the writer means so that you don't make false inferences and #2: "write a meaningful blog, let the writer know that you hear them" because everyone needs to feel validated and important. Since there is no eye contact involved in blogging, it is important that we let the writer know that we "get" what they are saying and value their words.

I commented on GALLOWAY because, first of all I know him, was a Cub Scout leader with him, and haven't talked to him in a long time, and secondly, because he has having trouble getting his avatar and I wanted to help him. I also commented on Loving Summer. I told her that I really liked her idea about having students who are reading the same books, but are at different schools, blog each other about them. Next, I commented on Ms. Brownie because I taught with her at MHS and never knew that she was called Ms. Brownie by that student. I commented on Tara Johnson's site about the HairMixer--I agreed that it was a lot of fun and easy to use. The final class site that I commented on was Kimberly's Korner because it is SO beautiful and she has music and everything on it. I want to be just like her!!! I was so impressed with her blog list that I looked a some of the blogs. I used two of them for my non-class blogs. I commented on Devin Dakota's Journey which is the story of a precious little girl born with some problems. I wish the family the best and we should all keep them in our prayers. Finally, I commented on The Good, The Bad, and the Fugly about her little girl's pretty eyes that changed from blue, to green, to brown!!

Now, my Thing # 4 (a work in progress) is through..............

Thing #3

I registered my blog and it only took one day to receive my welcome email. I was excited and thrilled to see my blog name in print on the sidebar. This is such fun!! Now, for how I plan to use my blog.... Since I am not in the classroom, I obviously cannot use the blog in a conventional, classroom type setting. I can see several other uses for the blog other than with students. One possibility I am considering is communication and/or team building with the special education department at my school. Our department isn't very large, but with everything that goes on during the school day, this might be an excellent way to touch base with each other. Another idea is a diagnostician blog. We diagnosticians are always calling each other to discuss testing scenarios, vent about our frustrations, and pick each other's brains for solutions to problems. Why not blog instead of call?? Then we could all help each other since we are all dealing with the same issues. I will think some more, but I am pretty sure that I will try to get both of these ideas going when school starts....maybe before!

Thing #2

Woo hoo!! I have a blog....complete with a pretty close representation of me on my avatar. Learning something new every day!! My avatar fits me because I love camping and have been involved in Boy Scouts of America for over 20 years. I am getting a late start on this project because I spent the week of June 7-14 at Mark Twain National Forest with about 600 other Boy Scouts, Arrowmen of the Order of the Arrow to be exact, in the forest, camping, and working on a service project. The project was clearing out cedar trees which were overtaking the glades of the forest. My job, along with my husband and 10 other Scout leaders from around the country, was to prepare a feast every evening for 600 hungry Scouts.....in the woods, without a kitchen!!! That was quite an experience, I will never forget. It was a challenge. I learned a lot.

But, I must say this: figuring out how do make my blog and get my avatar exported was just as much of a challenge!!! But, I did get it done. And, without any help from my son, so I am really proud of myself. It really was a fun learning experience. I am getting more and more excited about this whole process. I can see how well the blog could work in the classroom. I am the diagnostician at my school, so I am not in the classroom, but I am going to encourage our teachers to use blogs. I also plan to use this idea with Scouts. Our district includes troops from three counties, so this would be a great way to communicate!

Thing #1

After overcoming my initial fear of the unknown, I am now BLOGGING!!! I can't believe it. However since, I really, really like to do things in order, my first blog will be, Thing #1. I am a firm believer in lifelong learning. I certainly know more now, after 35 years as an educator, than I did that first year I taught 3rd grade in Hereford, Texas! Many years, many students, many fellow teachers, and many summers later, I am still learning. I am excited about this class because there is so much freedom in the learning. When considering the 7 1/2 habits, I must say the easiest for me is Habit #71/2--Play. I have always been good at that. I believe that the more fun you have when learning, the more you will learn...and remember what you learned. The hardest for me would have to be Habit #4, for sometimes I am not as confident as I would like to be as I begin to learn something new.

So, here goes.....I am jumping in with both feet!!! Let's begin JJ's summer time fun!!!