Thing #12 Google is Not Just for Searching Anymore

!Google, google, and more GoOgLe!!!! Wow! The possibilities are endless with the wonderful world of Google.  First of all I have had a Google email (gmail) account for a number of years now.  It all began when I purchased a cell phone.  I was required to set up a gmail account in order to use some of the phone's features.  Prior to this I used  yahoo as my preferred email so I figured I would just use the gmail for the less important stuff.  This course had opened my eyes to a plethora of useful tools and information for which I already had available to me.  I can now proudly report that I am now a Google + user, I have a Google Reader account, I set up a Google Alert with the topic "teaching in behavior support classrooms", and I have tried to used Google Translate to learn a few key phrases to use in my overseas travels to Southern Africa later this month.  I looked up Hello, Thank you and How much? in Afrikaans only to discover that in Southern Africa, Afrikaans is considered the "language of the oppressor and I would make more enemies than friends if I chose to use this language during my travels! However, I am still excited about the usefulness of this tool in my future classroom.  Social Studies is one of the subject areas for which I believe I will get the most use of the translate tool.  Often times when studying various cultures unfamiliar words or phrases will appear.  This tool will not only aide students in pronouncing the words but also provided examples of usage to deepen student understanding of the word or phrase.  I also plan on using the calendar tool as a resource for parent communication, visual aides for students, and reminders for myself! 

http://translate.google.com/?hl=en&tab=XT#auto/es/Dear%20Parent%2C%0A%0AThank%20you%20for%20giving%20me%20the%20opportunity%20to%20join%20you%20in%20exploring%20the%20possibilities%20of%20life%20with%20your%20child

Thing #11 Finding Good Feeds

This "thing" turned out to be VERY time consuming! This was primarily because one interesting blog led me to another blog that led me to read yet another blog and so on and on I followed until I forgot where I found the original interesting blog! After about a week or so of my seemingly endless search for a few good feeds, I finally decided to reflect on what I had learned thus far.  I needed to prioritize and fast! So I went back to the APSU 23Things blog and started with the six questions asked in the discovery exercise.

The method of finding feeds I found easiest to use would have to be the method that sent me into this frenzy in the first place.  I just went with the flow! First I selected one of the sites suggested, Cool Cat Teacher, and from there I discovered one interesting lead after the other and I ended up with four blogs to follow in my Google Reader (in addition to a few of my classmates' blogs).

I also used a couple of the search tools listed and Google Blog Search was the most user friendly in my opinion.  This tool was the least cumbersome and most direct method of the few.  Neither Topix nor Technorati were particularly confusing just overwhelming.  Although there are tons of useful and interesting blogs available, there are just as many outdated and, well, misinformed people exercising their right to free speech in the blog world.  Weaving my way through some of the "junk" turned out to be way more time consuming than I had expected. Fortunately the four blogs I found most useful were Free Technology for Teachers, Cool Cat Teacher, Dangerously Irrelevant, and Bellringer.  All of these blogs seemed to have teachers as their intended audience, were written by educators, and were up to date for the most part.

As it turns out, during my quest to discover "good feeds" I also came across several useful websites as suggested by some of the bloggers.  These are sites where I can find detailed lesson plans and other ideas to use in my classroom.  I was also able to bookmark the websites for future (and current) use.

Thing #6 Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

I chose to further explore Wikipedia, a free online interactive encyclopedia.  I chose this site because I have been frequently directed to this site whenever I've searched topics using the google or bing search engines yet I had not taken the time to fully explore the site and discover all it offers. Upon further investigation, I was surprised to discover that each entry has a discussion board where users can talk about the topic and make suggestions for corrections and/or additional information to be added.  I also discovered the many languages available. Although I can appreciate the multiple links provided in each entry, I can see where these tools can also become confusing and cumbersome for students. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Thing #5 Some Perspectives on Web 2.0/School 2.0 and the Future of Education

As a teacher in Special Education, particularly teaching students in Behavior Support Programs, I am intrigued by the phenom of Web/School 2.0. For me this means new and more engaging ways to accommodate students with learning "different" abilities. My new understanding of Web 2.0 is like going from a one or two dimensional Internet to a fully interactive 3D world of learning. Most middle and high school students are actively involved in social networking sites and some students have admitted to spending more time at home conversing via Facebook than any other activity.  Some common characteristics of students requiring specialized behavior supports are: (1) the student feels the material is not relevant to their lives, (2) an inability to remain focused, and (3) the student fails to accept responsibility for his/her own behaviors.  Utilizing the tools now available via Web 2.0 in educational instruction can help students find relevancy, become more engaged in their learning, and take responsibility for their own education.

I found the following link very useful in helping me identify some key terms (jargon) used by authors as I read the articles and watched the videos as suggested in the Learning 2.0 - 23 Things blogspot:
Tech Learning : Web 2.0 Pocket Dictionary 
http://www.techlearning.com/tech/media-coordinators/0018/web-20-pocket-dictionary/44272