Finally, the End!

I really did enjoy this assignment and finding all the different options that you have to create works and all the tools that are out there to help keep you in the loop of web 2.0. The tools that I liked most was Animoto just because it was so simple and it allows you to create cute little clips that you can share with family, friends, and others.

There are a lot of tools in this assignment that you can use on a regular basis to help keep the classroom exciting and entertaining. The best tools in my opinion are probably mind charts, RSS feeds, and blogging in general. I feel that these tools can help to promote learning easier than trying to teach 25+ students how to tweet. These tools are relatively easy to use and can be used for multiple classes.

What I did not like about this assignment is the fact that I literally had to register to umpteen different sites in order to be able to complete this assignment. I already have a lot of trouble trying to weed out the good and bad mail and for the tools that I may not use anymore, I will still be getting junk email from them. I also understand that not everyone has access to high speed internet and I can imagine that it has really taken a toll on their ability to complete this assignment.

Something that I have learned from this blogging activity is that there is always new technology arising out of what we have already created. The web is an ever-changing tool and it is going to take some effort to be able to keep up with this new blogging thing that I have been doing. I do think that I will try to incorporate it into my lessons, maybe I will even build my own website to where my students can get their assignments. Who knows? The possibilities are endless.

Thing #23

The website that I found that shows that Learning 2.0 23 Things for Teachers was taken from another website is "Learning 2.0 (the 23 Things) A LNSS Project- regional Network for Staff Development at this website http://lnssproject.blogspot.com/. This project is set up very similar to that of APSU's 23 Things in that it follows the same blogging methods and processes for setting up Google accounts and also the website explores a lot of the same technological materials that APSU's 23 Things does. Seeing as how stealing other peoples work happens too often, I will make sure that I give proper credit on everything that I use that I don't create myself. And if I create something that I think is worth presenting to others then I will definitely use a copyright on it.

Thing #22

Go to this website and check out my Live binder! http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1072495
I actually found LiveBinder really easy to use. When you are creating a new binder it gives you the option to allow Google to run a search of article/ websites for you and adds them to your binder automatically. I found this really helpful. Another really helpful aspect is that this tool can allow you to store websites, documents, and other learning materials in organized folders and then you can also share them with other people as I have done for you. Just make sure that you mark the binder as "public."

Thing #21

My Family

I absolutely love this tool! Animoto makes creating these short clips of movies so easy. I literally took next to no effort. I wish that I would have discovered it a little earlier. I am not completely sure how I could use this particular tool in my Biology class but I would definitely be willing to try. This video has a few pictures from over the past few years. It includes my husband and my kids. I hope y'all enjoy!

Thing #20

I have used YouTube before and I do like it. What I like most about YouTube is that you can find a video for just about everything that you can imagine. It allows people to share videos over the internet whether they are videos of your friends and family or if it is a video about a lesson that you are learning. You can take and publish an entire lecture on YouTube and let your students follow right along with it. YouTube allows us to visually see the objects that we are talking about.

Thing #19

I have previously learned how effective social networking is for your personal life. Today I have learned how much it can help collaborate teachers from all over the world. By using sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Pintrest, teachers can share ideas along with lesson plans and create forums for students to share thoughts about the days lesson, topics for presentations, and also ask questions. I already am a member of Facebook and I prefer the way that it is set up. It is easy to use and very self explanatory when you need to find something.
I also tried out Yelp. I was a very informative site that I could use on a regular basis. I don't necessarily know how it would help me in the classroom but it can help me find some great restaurants!

Thing #18

Okay so I am a new-by to Twitter and I have had trouble trying to get my account set up. The entire process is awkward to me. I can't find my friends as easily as I can on Facebook. I am so use to browsing Facebook that it makes searching Twitter hard for me. The idea of Twitter and Facebook are both useful for teachers because they can search Facebook for posts that people have put on Facebook or Twitter and build upon their ideas. Teachers can build an entire lesson from information found on twitter. Teachers really need to appreciate the idea behind social networking because this networking could possibly open the future to virtual classrooms, it could create a different way that students learn and how teachers present the information to students. Students are much more interested in social networking than classes. What if a teacher could take the classroom to the networking site? Teachers could host and individual group based upon social media within the classroom. Teachers could host forum discussions and get students' feedback on assignments. The possibilities are endless.

Thing #17

Mt experience with Delicious was different! I had trouble getting the website to allow me to sign on at first, but after that it was relatively easy to use. This website is a great way to get teachers to brainstorm ideas with other teachers to possibly make better educational activities or even to help other teachers get some ideas for their early years. This website is great because it allows you to find the same ideas from many computers which is great especially when you are constantly on the more in today's world. something else I wasn't familiar with is having to give each bookmark tags. I am not use to personally having to tag each item that I am wanting to bookmark. This website really allows others to build upon what you have already put out there and share your ideas.

Thing #16

I chose my start page to be UStart due the easiness and look of the website. This website is extremely user friendly and you can add new feeds to it with no problems. I does take some effort for me to get use to because I have never used a start page before. Once you get use to it though, it is relatively easy to use.
I also decided to use the discovery resource "Remember the Milk." I chose this resource because I have a really hard time remembering everything that I have going on in this crazy life of mine. This program allows me to add task and to customize them and categorize them based upon the importance of the task at hand.
I will more than likely use both of these programs often. I don't know that I'll make UStart my home page just because I am set in my ways when it comes to using the internet, but I will definitely consider it. I will definitely use the "Remember the Milk" program in my daily life and at school since it can help me out so much with remembering tasks that I need to complete.

Thing #15

Wikis are a very interesting way of getting information out on the internet. I really like the idea of being able to post information that can help others further their education or even give them another way to think about things. They are relatively easy to use and can make the internet much more expansive than previously thought. The only thing now that you will have to worry about is if the information provided is correct or not.

Thing #14

I worked in both bubbl.us and also flowchart.com and I found bubbl.us to be so much easier that using the flowchart. I liked the way that bubbl.us looked on the website and it also worked better with my computer than the flowchart did. Bubbl.us was easy to use and maneuver through. I have decided that a good way that I can use this flowchart is to discuss the levels of heirarchy in biology and also to give the different levels of energy consumption in biology. I could use this mindmap for so much in biology.

Thing #13

I was able to discover a lot about Goole in this assignment that I didn't know was possible before I was assigned to do this blog. I have now had my eyes opened to more possibilities that Google has to offer. Google Drive has now provided its users with the ability to create word documents, pictures, and much more. Not only can its users create these documents, but now they can share them very easily with other people who can modify and make corrections to them as necessary. This program has really opened a lot of doors since Google is free to use. I just had to purchase Microsoft Office for my new macbook and it is outrageous how much it costs for a program that you don't use unless you are a student or work in a company that needs to produce word documents or power points. Google Drive Document 
I didn't find Zoho as easy to use as Google Drive was. It seems that Zoho is set up for more business usage than for the everyday user. I also wasn't too pleased with the fact that Zoho charges you to use their website. Charging for use of the website makes it more unappealing to use.

Thing #12

Hola, mi nombre es Dana Brand. Bienvenido a mi salón de clases Hello, my name is Dana Brand. Welcome to my classroom. I explored google in a number of different ways. I personally used google deals to view discounts on hotels for a trip that my husband and I are going to be taking within the next couple months. I can provide you with discounts on hotels, food, activities, shopping, and so much more. I used google translate to create the caption at the beginning of this blog. I can use this in the classroom to help an ELL student if I cannot get english language across to the student to help him understand certain areas of an assignment. Students can use google calendar with their classes to help them keep up with dates and time of when class assignments are due or when they have activities going on at school or even holidays. Google books would be great to find books for my classrom to use for upporting materials on assisngments that we are completing in class. The possibilities with google are endless to say the least.

Thing #11

While using the blogsearchengine.org, I found that it was very user friendly and that it also provided a vast array of different information related to the item that i searched for. It was so easy to use and the information was good quality information and sites that I could use in my classroom.Technorati was relatively easy to use but I wasn't comfortable in how the website was set up. There was alot of distracting information as soon as you get on the website that took away from where I was supposed to go to search. When I searched for the same thing that I did on google blog search and blogsearchengine.org, Technorati only gave me five returns on the search. While searching, I used the key word search for "biology teacher" to get general information on the subject. I found numerous websites that are great for classroom use. The main thing that I wasn't too keen on was that there was also alot of advertisements for going back to school and furthering education.

Thing #10

The RSS reader is a great tool to use when your trying to keep up with everything in this hectic world. It can be used to maintain multiple blogs and keep informed on each. I can use Feedly in order to keep track on each different blog that I post on as well as others. This would be great for classroom use in that you could have different blogs for different classes and different periods and your students can get on and post their ideas. Feedly can automatically keep track of when students post on your blogs so that you can respond quickly to them. I really like the idea of how easy it can be to stay in touch with the world around you with this RSS Reader. It can let you know when something happens so that you don't have to keep checking on every different blog and such. I will definitely use this in the future to help me remain in touch with the outside world!

Thing #9

Donkey, a photo by dbrand6708 on Flickr.

Image by Cool Text: Logo and Button Generator - Create Your Own Logo I really enjoyed getting to use the image generators to create items for my blogs. I did have some trouble with my computer allowing certain websites to be used and not websites were user friendly. I used cool text on the 2nd image and it was super easy to use and create images. I could use these and other images in my classroom to jazz up Power Points and activity assignments. I can use the images on papers to draw attention to different areas of the papers and more.

Thing #8

So I got to discover today how to use mashups. I did have alot of fun exploring through the different apps. I used Flickr speller to create this mash up. There a number of different ways that these apps can be used in the classroom. You can use them to decorate, create your own pictures, create scavenger hunts for the classroom, puzzles for students and much more. It's amazing how many talented people there are out there.

Thing #7

My Family, a photo by dbrand6708 on Flickr.

Flickr is an online picture posting website to which you can display your pictures. Flickr was interesting to say the least. I did sign up for the account with flickr and I posted some pictures. One of which is this one of my family. I generally prefer to use pintrest or shutterfly to post or generate pictures. Pintrest in my opinion is much easier to use than Flickr is. Although I really like the idea, I will most likely not be using Flickr very much in the future. If I took more pictures or had out-of-town family then it may proof more useful to allow them to view the pictures alone, but I don't. I am generally okay with posting photos online in public spaces, I even use facebook. I really feel though that people need to be very selective when posting pitures as not to give out too much personal information especially when it comes to your children and where you live. You can never be too careful!

Thing #6

The site that I chose to tell everyone about is Pintrest. I chose this site because I already use it quite often. It is a great site that offers a multitude of ideas from recipes to crafting ideas and family picture ideas. There is so many things that one could take from Pintrest that it just makes sense for me to pick this tool. My favorite things to do on this website is to find ideas of things to do for my family. We have already made Christmas ornaments, Halloween decorations, and also had some great family pictures taken. But the ideas don't stop there. Pintrest offers ideas on clothing styles and vehicles and also travel destinations. The main thing that I don't like about this site is that unless you like or repin what you find, then chances are that you won't see it again. I know that alot of people use this website and are constantly adding new things to it but it does create a problem when you want to find something that you saw a few days ago but didn't repin. You should really check out this website if you haven't already done so at

Thing #5

School 2.0 can be a great idea for the future in schools and education in general. I say this because, it can provide a way for many generations throughout many countries a way to not only get information, but also to give it. For example, a person in a foreign country may have an idea that they may not have completely thought through or may need help figuring out the how to's to complete the idea. Well if that person post the idea and it is opened to the public, someone from another country can give supporting ideas on how to complete this idea. Imagine the possibilities, we could cure cancer, fly into other galaxies, and more by building on others ideas. All this can happen with simply posting comments on other ideas. This can be applied to school in that it can be a way to open up classroom discussions and provide a multitude of information for students. And now students won't even have to be in class to learn this information. They can be in totally different countries and taking class here in the United States. They can attend lectures that are posted online also. This influx of information has changed the way that people are learning and the amount that they are learning. Now students can learn after leaving the classroom by continuing discussions, checking their smart phones or ipads. It has provided us with so much information that I now worry about how to sort through it all. How do you tell which information is correct or valid? We are going to need to set new requirements for the way that we are going to obtain information in the future, whether the information is scholarly or just someone's "expert" opinion. I can see how much Web 2.0 is going to help with the way students are learning. I can also see how much it is going to affect the amount of time students are going to have to work on finding the correct information for what they are needing. Too much information is not always a good thing!

Thing #4

Commenting is a great way to build relationships with people as well as a community of individuals who share the same interests. By commenting on people's blogs/posts, you are telling them that you care enough about what they are saying to take time and post your response to it. It builds a community of people across the nation and/or world who have the same interest. The blogs posted for reading had many good points but the main one that stood out to me was Vicki D's How to comment like a king (or queen!) I chose this blog because it had better ideas in my opinion when I came to writing better posts. I do agree with many of the things that Ms. Vicki put in her blog including the idea that when you post on people's blogs, you need to leave meaningful comments and not just "yeah" or "right on." People do value your opinion but they want your ideas on it too. Another great point that Ms. Vicki touched on was the "Darth Commenter." She is so true when she is writing about this and how negatively it can affect a blogger. Whether new blogger or not, it is never fun to have someone comment on your posts in that manner. I have chosen five of my education classmates to follow and comment:

Thing #3

Blogging has never really been my thing to do, as you can read in the previous post. I work all day on the computer currently and don't really want to use one when I get home. With this said, I am really amazed at how effective this strategy can be. I guess in my case ignorance has been bliss. Blogging can be really useful for classroom discussions. It can give students a chance to open up and voice their views on things from the comfort of their own home or library setting. You can post links to websites for the students to check out and study by also.

Thing #2

So I have created my own blog as you can see and I have also created an avatar. I created this avatar to be similar to what I actually look like in order to give people a feeling as to who I am. So the hair is similar and the shirt depicts my favorite color. I had alot of fun creating this blog and avatar because it gives me a chance to be creative when I don't get to express myself very often in my crazy life. Before this class, I had never blogged. I had not had any interest to blogging. Since starting this assignment, I can see the usefulness of it. When I was thinking of a title for this blog, I wanted to make sure that I had something that was different but catchy so that people may be interested in reading what I have to say. I didn't really have trouble creating the blog since I am normally good with technology. It took me about 10 minutes to get everything set up and then design my page to be the way that I wanted it to be.

Thing #1

         The eastiest thing for me from "Seven and 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners" would be to begin with the end in mind. I have always been great when it comes to setting goals that I want to meet or accomplish. From the start of college I was always interested in Biology and wanted to take my knowledge further with this subject area. What I didn't know is how exactly that was going to happen. I went ahead and got my degree in Biology without knowing exactly what it was that I wanted to do with it. I figured that I would get a job in research so that I could continue to learn in this great field. However, I determined shortly after finishing my degree, that what I really wanted, was to teach people how great Biology can be. With this said, I have now set another goal to reach that point one day. I have set the goal to throughout my life teach others that Biology is not some hainous subject to be feared, but something that takes place around you everyday whether it be from the air that you are breathing and how you process it, to the things that you touch.
        The hardest thing that I have come across of these 7 and 1/2 things is to have confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner. I graduated in 2009 with my degree and tried to get a job in my area but to no avail. I was turned down many times for no experience even though I was straight out of college. I lost faith in what I really wanted to do with myself and my life and had to get a job to help support my family. I have now been out of school for almost four years and am completely terrified that I may not still have what it takes to become a teacher. I know that no one ever stops learning, so I must tell myself everyday that I can do this for me and also my family and every child's life that I may one day impact.