Thing # 13: Google Drive

Google Drive Document


Google Drive Form


Google Drive would be a great way for students to collaborate on projects and assignment.  When you edit a document in Google Drive it tells you who added the material or made changes.  This would be a great way for teachers to be able to tell who did what on a group assignment.  It is also a great way for students to help each other when it comes to editing.

It appeared to me that Zoho had more options and features.  The chat and discussion feature would be a great way for students to be able to communicate when at home without having to give out personal information such as phone numbers.  I like the Google Drive because I am comfortable with Google in general.  One thing that Google Drive had up on Zoho was that I did not have to sign up for yet another website. Sometimes it can be overwhelming having to many logins. 

Thing #12: Google is Not Just for Searching Anymore

I chose to set up a Google Alert for Teaching in Tennessee. I have used Google Alert before.  It is a great to to keep up to date on a currently changing topic. I think this will be a great way for me to keep a watchful eye on the ever changing teaching field in Tennessee. 

I made a Google Calendar.  I currently use Outlook to keep track of my appointments and school assignments.  But the Google Calendar seems to have an easier format when it comes to using the calendar on multiple devices.  There was an easy link to add the calendar to my cellphone and to use offline for when there is no internet access.  This would be a great tool to use with my future students.  I could help them organize their time and add the assignments to the calendar with them.  

Finals Week Looks like fun!!

The Google Books and Google Scholar are great research tools for students.  I frequently use both of these when researching.  This is a great place to start which attempting to find sources.  I will share this will my future students. 

Thing # 11: Finding Good Feeds

I felt that all of them were easy to use. Google Blogger Search and Blogging Search Engine had a lot more results than Technorati.   But Google Blogger Search and Blogging Search Engine had results that were not blogs.  These results were still great resources for what I was looking for but I found it odd that they were not blogs.  I found that slightly confusing but like I said they were still useful. 

I found some great feeds about teaching middle school social studies.  I found some from teachers and some from students.  The students ones were interesting they were mostly class projects and homework helping feeds.  This is something that I would encourage my students to use in the future. 

I follow a blog about cooking healthy.  I had never searched the blogs that they had her blog.  It was a great tool to use to find more blog posts about healthy cooking.  I feel like the more sources you have the more well rounded you will be. Following this method I did find that the more I clicked the slightly further I got from my original topic of cooking healthy. 

Thing # 10: Set up a RSS Reader and Add Feeds

I think the RSS and newsreader are a great way to get the information you want.  As the YouTube video RSS Explained commented, it is creating your own internet.  It is nice to have all the websites you would normally be bouncing around to check on in one place.  Time is money in this modern world.   I enjoyed that Feedly let me make categories.  I made one for educational websites and new websites.  This way depending what I am in the mood to read about I am not overrun with the other topics.  

I think a great way to use this tool in the classroom is the example John G. Hendron describe in his article RSS for Educators.  There is a school district that requires all of its teachers to maintain a blog.  This keeps constant communication between parents and teachers.  A great way for parents to maintain this information would be a RSS or newsreader.  This way the parents are not getting overwhelmed by trying to keep up with all the blogs.  The RSS is also a great way for administration to ensure the teachers are keeping their blogs up to date.

I will most likely check my Feedly account regularly.  It is a great way to keep up the ever changing world. 

Thing # 9 : Online Image Generator

Image Chef

I always wondered how people made these.  I really enjoyed using the Image Chef website.  It was easy to navigate.  I found Image & Sign Generator, and Custom Sign Generator not as easy to navigate.  The Smiley Generator was fun to was easy to use as well.  The Image Chef and Smiley Generator would be a great way to start off or end a class on a funny note.  Obviously this would always need to be school appropriate (I found many were not).  I even might leave one of these printed out for my family when they forget something, like doing the dishes.  Overall I think these are very popular and a great way to connect with the students. 

Thing # 8: Flickr Mashups

It was fun using all the Flickr mashups.  I think in my social studies classes the possibilities for using these mashups is endless.  One in particular that I think would be useful in social studies is the Mappr.  It would be a great way for the students to be given a area on the map to discover.  They could then use the Mappr to post pictures of items they found to be associated with that particular region.  It would be great way to show the overlap from country to country but also the differences.

I think sharing photos online can be good.  I think in a classroom setting photos that do not contain the individuals is a great way to share what the students are learning.  But definitely no pictures of students.  On a personal level it is a great way to share your interests with other on the internet that may have the same interests as you.  I still do not think that I would put photos of my family in a public setting. 

Thing # 7: Explore Flickr

Snowy Deck, a photo by nikki49d on Flickr.

The February Blizzard in Clarksville TN

I have never used Flickr before.  It reminded me a lot of Pintrest, which I use regularly.  The photo quality is much better on Flickr than on Pintrest.  Navigating the website was fairly easy.  I searched a few of my interests.  Then I decided to create an account and upload a few photos.  I uploaded photos of the blizzard we got here in Clarksville. Sorry for the sarcasm.  I am originally from Massachusetts and my relatives at home got a foot of snow yesterday.  Here is Clarksville we got what us New Englander's would not even classify as a dusting and everyone panicked.  That is okay though I panicked when I heard the tornado warning sirens the first time :)

When I was uploading my photos I found it very easy and intuitive.  It was great to just be able to drag the photos from my desktop onto the website.  Sometimes it is frustrating to try and locate the photo you want when you are using a browse feature.  I can only think of a few ways I would use Flickr in my classroom, after a field trip or maybe a photo scavenger hunt.  For example I made an assignment for my pretend class to find Greek Gods/Heroes in today's world.  This could be an excellent place for the students to load photos they find of these examples.

I have used Snapfish and Pintrest a lot in the past.  I like to use Pintrest to find new crafts but also to upload my accomplishments after I am done.  This way someone else can use my idea and make it their own.  I use Snapfish to share photos with my family.  For example during the holiday season we all took a lot of photos.  Rather than trying to send them to each other we all upload our photos to Snapfish.  This way we can pick and choose which ones to print/save on our computer.  I like using Snapfish because it only shows the photos to the people I request them to be sent to.  I really do not enjoy having my personal photos being viewed by strangers.

It is good for Flickr to have a private setting.  There are some photos I might not mind letting the public see.  Such as a pretty sunset or the blizzard photos. Anything with my family members I would like to keep to just people I know.  It may seem paranoid but you don't know who is out there.

How do you set your privacy settings when sing social media?

Thing #6 : Discover Web 2.0 Tools

I chose to look at Game Classroom.  The site's description on Go2Web2.0 is "Game Classroom is a one-stop web destination for accessing high-quality educational games, and homework help for K-6 students. Game Classroom offers math games, homework help, worksheets and more. It is a great site for kids, parents and teachers".

It is a great concept.  I think making learning fun and interactive is important.  A great thing was that there was no sign up.  They had games for different game levels and subject.  They even had homework help for different topics.  On the down side there was no social studies games :( which is my deserved field of teaching.  However there was a lot to do with language arts and math, sorry not much science either.  Another downside was that some of the games are very basic.  In this day in age I feel that children expect a lot out of a game format in terms of graphics. 

Overall I think this would be a great tool for elementary level.  The game concepts are simple but allow the students to concentrate on the content not trying to figure out the game. 

Try out some of the games yourself and let me know what you think

Game Classroom

Thing #5: School 2.0

As I read the different articles about Web 2.0 and School 2.0, I learned some very interesting things about new technologies.  In the Machine is Us/Using Us video I was blown away by how the internet has evolved.  I guess I have noticed some of these changes but to see them all laid out together I was surprised.  It is amazing how much is behind it.  In Web 2.0 is the Future of Education it was great to see how these advances were going to benefit us in the classroom.  One thing that really excited me was when Steve Hargadon talks about the future of e-reading.

"Imagine an electronic book that allows you to comment on a sentence, paragraph, or section of the book, and see the comments from other readers... to then actually be in an electronic dialog with those other readers. It's coming." Steve Hargadon Web 2.0 is the Future of Classroom

To me this is such a great way for students to interact with the literature as they read.  Rather than trying to remember every thought they had while they were reading they can comment on it immediately. 

School 2.0 seems to be the present and future of the classroom.  Now that I think back on the classes I am taking currently.  We use Livetext as a portal to for an e-portfolio, the smartboards in classrooms, and textbooks on e-readers.  When I did my undergraduate degree 5 years we did not use any of these tools.  I am excited to see how these advance will enhance my future students experience.  I do want to throw one side note in here.  As great as this technology is I do hope that we do not rely on it completely.  There is something to learning the "old school" way at first.  

Thing #4: Why Commenting is Important

Commenting helps create a sense of community because there is interaction between people.  Some blogger may be writing for themselves but it is a great feeling getting comments.  This lets the bloggers know that there is someone else out there that has the same interests or is in the same situation.

Writing a meaningful comment is very important.  Just agreeing with someone can make them feel good but commenting meaningfully takes the blog to a different level.   It creates that sense of community and challenges both the blogger and commenter.  This can take the bloggers original posts to a different level and help more people along the way.

Leaving posts open ended or asking questions is not only a great way to get people commenting but it allows the topic to grow.  Getting other readers involved gives the blog more substance because more people contribute to give a more diverse perspective.  



Mrs. Suss' 23 Things
Mr. Bream's 23 Things
Mathew's 23 Things
Miss Z's Top 23
Miss Queener's 23 Things

Sweeping the South
2 Peas & a Dog: A Middle School Blog


The first 5 comments I made were to classmates.  I felt I commented when my brain started turning.  Meaning that I thought something was a great idea or I wanted to encourage someone.  I feel this is a great tool to not only help us with our future students but to help us encourage our peers.  We are life long learners so there will always be a new technique that a peer may need help with.

I commented on Sweeping the South.  It is a blog I follow about southern food.  I am originally from Massachusetts but I am learning to love southern food.  This blog is a fellow transplant to the south that discusses her food discoveries. I feel the blog helps me be adventurous with my food choices. 

I commented on the 2 Peas & a Dog blog because I shared her view on feeling compelled to organize.  It helped me feel like I was not the only out there and it also gave me some great tips for my future classroom.