THING #24 -  Sum it Up

The 23 Things exercise was a lot of work. Due to the number of broken links, sites that have been changed since this exercise was created, and the requirement to join every site we explored, it was a lot more work than was needed. There are things in the Web 2.0 arsenal that have value for teachers, but there are also a lot that are either blocked, prohibited, or just unwise. Social media, for example, has gotten a number of teachers in trouble because they have not found a way to keep their personal lives separate from their professional activities. Many web sites that potentially have value, such as YouTube, are blocked from use in schools. It is possible to copy videos from the site and use them separately from the YouTube site, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the site.
As a technology teacher, I am torn between the need to inform students of those sites that could have value to them and the desire to protect them from those that could harm them. I try to teach how to distinguish between good and bad websites, but once students are at home, free from the parental controls that I put on school computers, there is little I can do to prevent them from browsing wherever they want. The fact that they haven't learned to chose between good and bad is pointed out by the questions I get in class, "Mr. Hirtle, what do you think about XXXXX website." Sometimes I am amazed at the things they are able to find.
Back to the course: I think the 23 Things exercise is badly in need of updating. I realize that there is no full-time faculty member currently teaching the course, but the entire course, whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, is in need of updating. I enjoyed the course, and learned a few useful things, but the course could be made much more useful by creating emphasis on the things that are actually needed by teachers.

THING #23 - Creative Commons

It seems that the 23 Things website was created under an attribution license.


                                         This is the license that allows others to modify your work as long as they attribute the original work to the author. The logo above, from the CC website and its description match the CC license marker shown on the 23 Things website.

I think Creative Commons is a safe alternative for reproducible content from the web, especially content like photos and clip art that we all use in our work. Even though you do a reasonable search for free (as opposed to for fee) work, you can never be sure that there isn't some fine print that could get you in trouble. CC licenses all of their contributors so that any risk is born by them, not the end user. While we, as educators, are unlikely to have to worry about our work being used commercially, you can never tell where your work might end up. If you use content that is not appropriately licensed, and later decide to share your work with someone else, at that point you lose any control of its use. For the classroom teacher Creative Commons is not only an easy resource, it is also a safe one.

Thing #22

THING #22 - LiveBinders

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=689261

I created a Resource Library for Technology lesson plans just titled Technology. I can always use ideas for lesson plans, especially since I seem to run out of cool ideas at the wrong times - like when I'm trying to write my weekly lesson plans. There are lots of ideas out there and good web sites that organize by content. The times when I run out of ideas are when I am trying to create a lesson that relates to other parts of the curriculum. My kids need to realize that the computer is just a tool that they use to accomplish things - and that those things usually fall in other parts of the curriculum.

The LiveBinders site is very simple to use. I could probably create more levels in complexity, but I like the idea of having all the content similar in nature and individual sites identified by a tab. I would like to be able to edit the tabs. Reading abbreviated html addresses on the tab is a little awkward. It would be convenient to rename the tabs by a shorter name.

                                       

Grandboys

THING #21 - Animoto
What better thing than to show pictures of your grandkids!

Grandboys

Animoto is kind of cool. It's an automatic program so you don't have to do anything to crop, edit, modify - you just load pictures, pick background and music and let it go. It is one step up from the slideshow features of a cell phone picture function which just shows pictures in sequence. I could be used when you take pictures in school to set up a show for the kids. Only downside is that, except for the free 30 seconds, you have to pay for it.

THING # 20 - YouTube

Now here is something I can get into. You don't have to join YouTube to get access to their content. All you need is the link. I'm getting links to YouTube videos from friends all the time. I have a friend in Hawaii who sends me all the Table Tennis related links - the test videos of the new ball, table tennis tricks, and the latest, the history of table tennis from a BBC documentary. YouTube is a library of video - from the sublime to the ridiculous. There are clips that I have used in the past, like "Who's on First", clips that are current, and clips that you could use in the classroom. I've embedded the "Who's on First" just because it is such a classic and if you've never seen it before - YOU NEED TO!
YouTube for the teacher is a resource library unlike any other. I remember when I was in corporate training we used lots of videos to support our instruction. We had a video library - all in videotape - that took up a five shelf storage rack. If one of the videos didn't get put back in place you had to do without it. With YouTube - and the other video resource sites - all you have to do is type in a URL, turn up the sound, and you're ready to go. I know that there are sites that are more specific, but why bother? Searching for a video clip is so easy, linking is so simple, playing is a no brainer.

Thing #19 - Other Social Networks
I think the TeacherPop Ning could have some uses in sharing ideas. There does not seem to be much activity on it except for those of us who have to join as a class requirement. There are so many sites out there that one more may just be the one that broke this camel's back. I looked at some of the other Nings - I looked at the Open Source Food Ning - I like to cook. It looks like an interesting site, but there are commercial sites that do the same thing and more - like Allrecipes - that are far larger and have more content. Unless you are just into joining things, which I'm not, less is better and I like to find a single site that meets my needs and stick to that.
I am not a member of any online communities - other than those that I have had to join. The time involved in maintaining a presence online is not a luxury I have at this time.

THING # 18 - Social Networking

I'm probably going to get in trouble for this post.
We have been required to join so many sites in this course that my email account is getting clogged with a bunch of junk I don't want. After the course is over I'm going to have to do a thorough housecleaning - deleting all these sites that I will never use.
I am not going to join Facebook or Twitter. I do not have time for social networking and I don't want my name - or even a screen name linked to my account - out there for anyone to access. I know they are supposed to be secure, but there have been numerous instances of these networks being hacked and personal contact information being sold to the highest bidder. I have been hacked before and I'm not risking it again.
I don't see any educational value to social networking. It is an activity for those people who have too much time on their hands. Twitter advertises itself as a means of telling everyone you know "What you are doing right now." I'm sorry, but "At the coffee shop drinking latte" is not information that I need to share with the world. I can't think of anyone I would want to share it with. We have cell phones, email accounts, text messaging - all means of keeping in touch with those who need to know. Anyone who needs to let 200 people know that they are drinking coffee has other problems to deal with.
I don't think I have to remind anyone of the problems teachers have had with their facebook content getting out on the web. The easiest way to stay safe is to not be out there to begin with.
I like to think of myself as technology savvy, current and up-to-date, and connected to those around me. But I don't need Facebook or Twitter to enable me to stay in touch with those I love.
I may fail this exercise, but the requirements for joining sites have gotten out of hand. There are other ways of learning about the world of technology than having join every site out there.
I am much too busy for that!!!