Thing #24~Amy Rutledge

Thing #24 challenges us to decide how to put to use or knowledge we have gained throughout our journey through the 23Things and Web 2.0. My favorite exercise was the Animoto. It was super easy and provided me with instant gratification. This will be an advantage with teaching since students will appreciate it for the same reason! This whole experience has shown me that it is no longer a time when we have to physically go to a library and check out a book to find information needed to teach our students. The web, and through social networking, we can interact, collaborate, and share our knowledge with our peers, parents and students. I hope to take all of the things and exciting tools and resources I have discovered and apply them not only to my own learning and knowledge base but to my classroom for students as well. I will try to revisit my blog from time to time and reflect on what I am still learning or share my new experiences. We never stop learning!!!

Thing #23~Amy Rutledge

Thing #23 is about Creative Commons. This resource helped me learn that even though you can find something on the web does not necessarily mean that it is free to take as your own. It is important to always give credit where credit is due or ask if necessary before taking a picture or object. Understanding this concept is important to know as a teacher and also to pass on to our students. It is vital that we pass this knowledge on to our students so that they do not erroneously plagiarize material. While we are quick to teach this concept in writing academic papers, we sometimes fail to do so with images obtainable on the web. Hopefully, with the knowledge I have gained, I can pass this lesson on to my students!

Thing #22~Amy Rutledge

Thing #22 is Keepin' it Together: Livebinders. This was a great learning resource for me. LiveBinders allowed me to create an filing system full of resources to share with parents, students, or even peers.
 I created three binders:
 1. Second Grade Reading;
 2.

Students

 3. Assistive Technology.

 My second grade reading binder has sites for reading resources as well as the standards for reading in the state of Tennessee. The assistive technology has resources for hearing impaired students. The students folder has fun websites for students to find games to play that are educational. It will fun to continue to add to this so that I can have more resources available for parents and students to understand what we are learning, why we are learning it, and fun ways to learn!

Thing #19~Amy Rutledge

Thing #19 looks at other Social Networking sites. I liked looking around the TeacherPop site and also a couple of the others like Bake Space and Flixster. I will probably use Flixster a lot more since it gives reviews on movies playing now, coming soon, and new release DVDs. I am not a member of these other communities besides Teacher Pop, but I do enjoy browsing through them from time to time. I belive that most of the Educational and Book social networking sites will come in very handy for when I begin teaching.

Thing #21~Amy Rutledge

Thing #21 was one of my favorites: learning about using Animoto. I had a great time looking for picts to put the video together. I think that this could also be used in the classroom. The students can take pictures of their projects from start to finish and then post the video and share with friends and family. This is my video I made, enjoy!!! Family

Thing #20~Amy Rutledge

Thing #20 lets us explore YouTube. I have actually used YouTube a lot in the past for help with my own homework. My kids like to watch music videos and old cartoons. YouTube can be a very useful and educational resource if it is closely monitored. Some of the content is definitely not suitable for children.This is a video I found on YouTube for learning the parts of a story for second grade reading: Parts of a Story. This was a cute video and I think it was something the students could watch and then try to recreate their own version to better understand the parts of a story.

Thing #18~Amy Rutledge

Thing #18 covers social networking. My Twitter link is: http://twitter.com/#!/micaylamy. I will tell you upfront, I am not a Twitter addict, and forget I have it have the time. However, I do follow a few interesting people to me (Pioneer Woman for example). I like it is a neat way to connect on a different level with friends, family, or even peers. I think teachers utilizing social networks will allow them to have an innumerable amount of knowledge and resources right at their fingertips at anytime! You will be able to keep up with what is going on in other classrooms, tricks for classroom management, or even an easier way to teach a new concept. There will always be someone who has some help for you! I think it would be possible to link up with other classrooms, whether in the same state or another country, and let the kids interact and compare and contrast what they are doing in school. This might be a fun way for students to interact and learn at the same time.

Thing #17~Amy Rutledge

Thing #17 is about tagging and social bookmarking.  This will be a great tool as a teacher. Using the delicious resources allows me to organize my regular bookmark pages into a more efficient filing systems based on a system of tags. I will know be able to find what I am looking for, not by paging through my hundreds of favorite pages, but by looking for a specific tag and clicking on it. I can use this to set up a profile where parents/students can find resources for homework or extra help. I can also use it to collaborate with my peers in an effort to provide as much current and interesting material as possible by networking through the site. Overall, I think it will be yet another great asset to me when I begin teaching.

Thing #16~Amy Rutledge

Thing #16: Get Organized with Web 2.0 Tool. Ok, how many of us don't need to get organized? If you raised your hand, please contact me so you can give me the wisdom you must possess! I am always "trying" to get organized yet I never seem to get there! The start page I chose was iGoogle. I liked this page because it was very easy for me to move around, arrange, and edit my content. I didn't choose to keep it as my homepage though since my Yahoo is similar. I love using the online calendars because I have calendars for everything from birthdays to homework! Calendars can also be used in the classroom to let parents know about upcoming events or even whose snack day it is. I played around with the "Remember the Milk" website. I chose it because it sounded cute. I had fun playing around but probably will forget to check it out and use it very much. For me the calendar tools are the way to go. I have a calendar I share with my family that shows the dates me and my children have off from school, family birthdays, and important events. This allows my family to see what's going on here at our house and decide when or if they can come up and join us for our activities! I think calendars also work well as classroom tools for the same reason.

Thing #15~Amy Rutledge

Thing #15 is: "What in the world is a Wiki?" I have always been told not to use wiki for academic research because it is not "reliable". I am learning that it is a great place to go for other people's thoughts, ideas, or perspectives. Looking through some of the resources, I found some very interesting links. I know the one from Book Lover's Wiki was an old link, but it was actually pretty neat. I think their idea of having a wiki book club was a great idea. I tried to figure out how to edit on the APSU 23 Things sandbox, but I was completely lost! I think for the most part the wiki concept is good. I would probably be likely to use the same concept as the Book Lover's group for a classroom wiki page. That way students could see what other students were reading and what each student thought about the books.

Thing#14~Amy Rutledge

Thing #14 is "Go with the Flow".  Many of us have probably heard of "flowcharts". Have you ever created or used one though? I think this was a great refresher activity for me. I have used flowcharts in the past, however, mind maps was a new concept for me. Flow charts are something that show a progression, or flow, of steps you would take for a process. For example, you can do a flow chart showing the steps you would take in making a cake, or solving a mathematical equation. Mind maps are more of a brainstorming of ideas. I did a mind map of things I could or should do over spring break. I put "spring break" as my central idea and put all of my "options" around my main concept. Some of my ideas where: cleaning, school work, visiting friends, read, work in flower beds, etc. While this was not an academically related mind map, it was fun working with the tools. I believe that both of these tools would be great to use in the classroom. I can teach the students how to work mathematical problems, the steps to writing a friendly letter, or brainstorm ideas for summer vacation. Almost any tool in the classroom can be made into a fun activity if you just think it out!

Thing#13~Amy Rutledge

Thing #13 is "Web-based applications".  I explored the Zoho Writer tool. This is an amazing tool. You can use it to create documents, presentations, calendars, planners, and many more things. The great thing about this site is it allows you to share it with your peers. You can have your projects be a collaborative effort without having to email documents back and forth for input or editing. It allows all of the work to be done in the same area. This will be a great resource as a teacher to help create documents, presentations, calendars, or whatever I need for the class. I can also share all of this with my parents and or coworkers. Just as I can create and share my documents so can the students to create joint projects with their peers. I think this is something they would find very fun and exciting. I created an example of a calendar that could be shared with parents so that they know what is going on in the classroom.

Thing #12~Amy Rutledge

Thing #12 is "Google is not just for searching anymore". I used the Google Translate and Calendar. The translating was great! I typed in "learning is fun. Then I chose translate to German, this is what it gave me: Lernen macht Spaß. You can even click to listen to the interpreter say the phrase for you. I really enjoyed the Calendar tool as well. I chose to share it with some of my family members since we are away from them. Now they can see what goes on in our neck of the woods. I think these are great tools for both personal and professional use. In the classroom I can create a calendar to share with all the parents. Then they will know when we ware having tests, going to the library, have special events or days off. I also think the Translation tool will work if I have students who are ESL students or have parents who don't speak English. Both of these tools will be excellent in helping me have a greater connection with my students and their family.

Thing #11~Amy Rutledge

This blog covers Thing #11: Finding Good Feeds. In the last blog, we learned about finding and using RSS feeds and readers. The one I found the easiest to use was definitely Technorati! I think the website for them was much easier to navigate. It was easy to follow along and search things. I found the Google blog search confusing. It may have been just me, but I was a little dizzy looking at that page! I really enjoyed looking over the top edublog award winners. I read most of the blogs from the top teacher blogger. It was amazing! I never realized there were so many different tools for finding blogs. I thought that you could only follow news feeds through the RSS. Now I will have a lot of fun looking up different topics for helping me along in my studies and even personal hobbies as well.

Thing #10~Amy Rutledge

Thing #10 covers setting up an RSS Reader and adding Feeds. I am receiving multiple RSS feeds and they are great! I love that I don't have to go and track down each blog I wanted to follow. With the Google reader, all of the blogs that are important to me are all in one place for me to read. As a mother/student, and eventually as a teacher, efficiency is key. Time is always in short supply and these tools help me tremendously. In my classroom, I can use this tool also. I may have a student with problems and after researching some blogs or posts that can give me support or information, I will be able to stay on top of new ideas to help me. Also, it may help me with keeping up with new technologies or tools to help with class instruction, lessons ideas, or fun activities. I think this will be a great addition to my growing list of teaching tools!

Thing #9~Amy Rutledge

Thing #9 is working with online image generators. I used the Smiley Generator to create these neat images! It was super easy to do. Just type in what you want to say, choose the font size, and choose what you want the letters spelled with. When you have your choices made, it generates the text. Then, click on the image and right-click save as and it saves on your computer. Then to put the image in my blog, I just followed the Insert Image prompts. Super easy!! These image creator tools will be a great asset in the classroom. Children will enjoy the different elements you can use to spell out words. Using them on bulletin boards or class walls will be a great attention grabber!

Thing #8~Amy Rutledge

Spell with flickr: Education
Thing #8 is Flickr Mashup, a follow-up from Thing #7. I think this is a great tool!! When I am teaching children different words, it would be a great tool to spell the words out with the different photos to make it fun and entertaining for the kids. I think they would also like to take one spelling word from their list and play around with different images, whether from magazines or the Internet, to spell out their chosen word.

Thing #7~Amy Rutledge

An Old Barn Along The Hwy. In Tishomingo County, Mississippi.
Originally uploaded by msmudcat2001

Thing #7 is all about exploring Flickr. I have heard of Flickr before and I have skimmed over the website before. This was my first real interaction with the site. I liked how all of the photos can be tagged with different key words for easy cross-referencing, and you can choose to belong to groups with related interests. I chose this barn because I have always loved old barns. While I was looking through the "barn" photos I decided to try so more tags, like "Mississippi". I ended up finding this photo and more of the county in Mississippi that I am from. What a find!! I love that I can just type in a few key words and get a ton of result and see what others are thinking of when they take the pictures!

Thing #6~Amy Rutledge

This blog is about Thing #6~Discovering Web 2.0 Tools.  The list of sites for the Web 2.0 awards was great. I didn't realize just how far advanced this Web 2.0 had gone. Now I see that there is practically a category for every topic imaginable. Since I plan on going into elementary education, I chose an award winner from the Education category and selected from Elementary Teachers. The site I went to is Docstoc. This website had a vast amount of tools and resources for every topic related to education. The main website has many different documents for business and professionals with subcategories for more focused sections. One thing I really liked was the amount of worksheets you can access for the classroom. I think I could find a lot of extra fun stuff to supplement each of my lessons so that I could make sure each child understood the content and had fun learning.

Thing #5~Amy Rutledge

This post is about Thing #5~ Some perspectives on Web2.0/School 2.0 and the Future of Education. I am from the Web 1.0 generation. This meant that when I began using the Internet, I mostly sent emails or surfed the web and read through the pages. Now we have evolved our Internet experiences to those that we can actually interact with and determine the content we receive. We have gone from reading articles written by one expert to finding articles with collaborative input from many people both professionals and those with real life experience. School 2.0 takes the best that Web 2.0 has to offer and extends this experience to the classroom. Teachers have a wealth of information and tools right at their fingertips. Students can also access more information, both at school and at home, to help them have a more in depth learning experience. By continuing to use Web 2.0 tools we can have a more interactive classroom where learning moves from the textbooks to the more "real-world" of Internet collaboration.

Thing #4~Amy Rutledge

This blog is in response to Thing #4~Why Commenting is important. Commenting is important for bloggers because it helps create a sense of community and unity among your followers. It also can lend clarification and depth to your posts. Having multiple people relate input to your topic can help by providing more information for your readers. Responding to your commenters lets them know you care about what they have to say and are interested in their ideas as well.

I found it interesting that it is important to have a set of boundaries within your blog for etiquette and remembering the impact your words can have on others. I have read a lot of comment type boards where people get tied up in their own response and forget that their posts can be perceived as a personal attack on others. Keeping a relaxed and respectful atmosphere is very important.

I have chosen five classmates to follow: Tammy Waters, Melissa Moore, Gage Morse, Kayla Bearden, and Walter Gott. I also chose two blogs to follow: Daily  Assignment and Criss Cross. I chose these students because I have previously had classes with them and I was interested in their learning experience along the way. I chose the other blogs because after reading some of their posts, I felt like I would benefit from their posts as well.

I commented on Criss Cross and Daily Assignment blogs because they had topics that were personal to me. These blogs were filled with information that is important in my life now and will still be valuable resources as I become a teacher. I think having resources to draw from along the way will help me better understand what the journey I am embarking on will have in store and also help me cope with various situations as they arise.

100 Awesome, Free Web Tools for Elementary Teachers

100 Awesome, Free Web Tools for Elementary Teachers

Thing #3~Amy Rutledge

Thing #3 covers registering your blog. I hope that I am really getting this and that I'm not experiencing a false sense of hope! So far we have looked at some great tools that can help us in the classroom. I had heard of a "smartboard" but never really seen one in action. Learning about these awesome tools that we have at our disposal help me realize that I will always be just a click away from finding resources to use to help my students learn. I think that by blogging my experiences and all of the resources I find along the way, I will have a great tool to look back at when I want a fresh idea or just something to accompany my instructions in the classroom.

Thing #2~Amy Rutledge

This blog is about creating and publishing a blog. I rarely read blogs so this was really unknown territory for me. When I created and named my blog, I wanted to keep it simple. Naming the blog "Rutledges23things" was the best way for me. After reading through the requirements, setting up the blog, and finally starting to write, I felt like it was much easier than I had anticipated. It is almost liking just writing about my experiences as I learn through the blogging process. I felt very apprehensive at first but now its almost just like I'm writing a journal about my learning. I tried to pick an avatar that resembled my personality not just my appearance. I think the avatar doesn't resemble me exactly but it does represent me as a teacher in my mind. Overall, I think that continuing this blog will be very therapeutic for me to see another dimension of my journey.

Thing #1~Amy Rutledge

Thing #1 had a great tutorial to view. This video tutorial discussed the 7 and 1/2 Habits of  Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. There were some really great examples of how to be the best lifelong learner you can. I was surprised at some of the tips included. The hardest habit for me to do will be #4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner. While the road to becoming a teacher is a long and stressful one, it is easy to get discouraged along the path. I must remember that each professional started out as a beginner and had to trudge along the learning  path just as I am. While I may routinely face obstacles, part of being a lifelong learner is facing the challenges and obstacles head on and learning from them along the way.

The thing that will be the easiest for me to incorporate will be #1: Play! I love to play and I think many of our learning opportunities are presented not in a formal classroom setting, but in the real world with those you love around you. Learning is fun, even if it is challenging. Taking the time to find the joy in learning makes it a lot easier! Hopefully, I will be able to revisit each of these habits and successfully apply them to my life as I embark on the journey to become a teacher.