Is the the end or only the beginning?

After completing the 23 things, I look back and found many things useful. I really enjoyed the flikr mashups and the youtube. It was also very useful to learn about the RSS feeds and podcasts.

Thing #23

http://sjlibrary23.blogspot.com/ I found that blog which was very similar to this one. I think that as long as you follow the laws of using other peoples' ideas, it's a great way to expand your knowledge and creativity. If we just used what we knew on our own, we would have little to no creative juices in our body. What we see around us inspires us to do more and learn more. Just have to be sure we give proper credit to the people that we get these ideas from.

Thing #22

Live Binder is a great website that will be wonderful to have for teaching and even finishing college. It's nice that you can share your binder or keep it private. I found it kind of difficult at first uploading files to the binders but managed to figure it out. I think with a few more times of use, I'll be a master at live binder. I also really liked that you can use google to automatically put stuff in your binder then can edit what you what to keep and didn't find useful.

Your First Binder

Thing #21

I really enjoyed using Animoto and am even considering paying for it. They made it so easy to get my pictures right of off facebook so there was no uploading and searching through the pictures on the computer.

Try our slideshow creator at Animoto.

Thing #20

I love using Youtube for almost anything. I have been in several classes where the professor would use videos to help explain what we're talking about. I think Youtube is a great tool for any teacher of any grade level for any subject. There's a plethora of videos, and sometimes it just takes a different way of explaining for students to really grasp what the teacher is saying. I chose Bill Nye the Science guy video because it relates to what we'd use Youtube for and it brings back old memories.

Thing #19

I signed up for lastfm.com and became a member there. I liked that you could listen to different genres of music. Imdb is another community that I like to view occasionally. I am also a part of the online community, Pinterest. I really enjoy that website, it's basically a virtual bulletin board for you to "pin" ideas and quotes, and images for future reference. I've already started pinning useful ideas for when I become a teacher.

Thing #18

I chose to go the route of Facebook, because I already have an account with them. I refuse to jump on the Twitter bandwagon, teaching kindergarten or first grade, Twitter won't benefit me much anyhow. I searched the facebook site for U.S. Department of Education and liked their page. That will be a great way for me to keep updated on the ever-changing world of politics. I never thought about using Facebook for professional reasons as far as teaching, and will definitely be taking advantage of the different sites and groups on Facebook. Social sites are also a great way to get information out to students in older grade levels. It would also work as a discussion site for students needing help with homework or assignments. With the way that social websites are expanding, I believe there is definitely a place for them in the classroom in the near future. Here's the link to my Facebook Profile

Thing #17

Tagging and social bookmarking is a great tool for anyone. It can be used to find helpful information on just about any subject or idea. While using Delicious.com, I was able to quickly find a few websites related to teaching that will be helpful when I am in the classroom. It will also be great to see fellow teachers' websites that they find helpful for more resources. It's like a giant collaboration board for any group of people to post, share, add, etc.. ideas, websites, and resources.

Thing #16

For thing #16 I already had a head start. I made a home iGoogle page awhile back (during the thing with the RSS feeds) and have been enjoying it very much. I was able to customize it to my liking. I'm even keeping up with my favorite blogs through my home google page. It keeps a link to the most updated post from the blogs I enjoy right there on the homepage. As far as the to-do list, I started one through the Remember the Milk site. It was a great time for me to start this list, since I'm going home on Saturday and have much to do before then. I'm trying to get it all done. I started adding things to the list, then before I could even finish my list, I was already checking things off my list. That sure is a good feeling. The CutePDF converter is a great tool. I had to download it last semester for one of my classes and have used it many, many times since. It was super easy to use, and is great for teachers because it guarantees that all assignments submitted online will open for the teacher. All of these tools will be helpful for teachers, the Google homepage is great for teachers to stay updated on news and blogs that they're interested in. The to-do lists, and cutePDF converter are pretty self-explanatory. Once I get in the classroom, I know I will be armed with all sorts of organizational tools to help me succeed.

Thing #15

Wiki is a great place to share information. I like that you can have a class edit a page. It would be great to use in the classroom for research ideas. If your class has to do a research assignment, and you have to approve it as they go, this would be a great way to do so. Also great for collaboration for group projects. This is just one of many websites that can be edited by anyone and that's a great tool for collaborative assignments

Thing #14

I chose to use Gliffy for the flowchart, I was even able to use this for a project I have coming up. I was able to organize my thoughts for a paper I have to write in my near future. It was nice to finally get all of my thoughts written down and I know it will make my paper soo much easier to write. I also chose MindMeister as the second site to use, I didn't play around with it very much mainly since I don't have anything to really use it for. But I do like the idea of both of these virtual charts to keep everything written down as I think of it. I really need to get back into the habit of organizing my thoughts for a paper into flowcharts so it will ease the writing process. Both of these sites will be great sites to share with students so that they can organize their own thoughts for writing their papers, and everyone always needs a little reminder to go back to the basics of writing by organizing your ideas.

Thing #13

Having to choose between Google and zoho, I would have to choose Google. For a couple of reasons, the first being that I am an avid Google user and like that I can keep most of the things I have to do online, through a single website. Also because Google offers more documents to use online. It would be great to keep my grade book spreadsheet online so I can have access to it at school and at home without having to lug a computer back and forth. Between everything that Google has to offer, they almost cover any needs that someone may have online. Google docs is also great for the classroom as an online discussion board, or even as a group project for students to do online. If each student is able do their own research for a project at home, on their own, they can share their research with other students, giving every student access to the project. This would have been nice to have the math project I had to complete earlier this semester in the Google docs, so that everyone can add their answers to the document and it would have made it so much easier to get the project done.

Thing #12

I love to Google. Who can get by now-a-days without google? I saw a picture on pinterest the other day.. It was a picture of a graduate giving her speech, and someone decided to add the caption ".. And thanks to google and wikipedia for helping me get here today." I thought it was hilarious because it is so accurate. Google has become this amazing tool that a lot of people take advantage of and most don't even realize what all Google has to offer. I was aware of some of these things before starting thing #12 but not all of them. I already used Google Alerts and iGoogle. I discovered those during thing #10 about the RSS feeds. I have it set up so iGoogle is my homepage once I open my GoogleChrome window for internet. Haha I just realized, it's all Google.. Anywho, I am able to read headings of the recent posts of blogs that I subscribed to through google reader. It's great! It's like having my own personal newspaper right at my finger tips. I can get news, sports, weather, entertainment, etc.. All on one page. And I was able to customize the page to my liking. Place links where I want them, pick the picture that goes behind the google search bar, pick a color scheme.. Google is a great tool for anyone, and will be even more awesome once I start teaching. It makes so many resources easy to find and it will only keep improving with time.

Thing #11

I found Google Blog Search the most helpful. Oh good ol' Google is always helpful. Who knew it would also be great for searching for blogs too. It was very easy to search, the rest of the websites had other links to things, the search bar was small, and there was just too much going on. Google was plain and simple, just as Google always is. All you had to do was search a keyword and it brings up an endless list of results. Unlike technorati.com, which was really confusing to use. I searched a keyword and it brought up things that weren't necessarily what I was looking for. And then there were links all over the page which was sort of distracting. Even in all the confusion in some websites, I was successful in finding a couple of websites that were focused on teaching. One of them will help to keep me updated on current issues in the political world of education and the other is full of great lesson plans and fun craft ideas. I also found some great blogs about being an army wife. I didn't have much time to play around a whole lot to search for other blog searches but I will definitely be looking around and having more fun searching for blogs.

Thing #10

RSS & Newsreaders are a great tool for keeping updated on things that are important to you. It helps to keep everything organized and readily available to you to read. As far as using it in teaching and in personal life... I already use it now for my personal life, I was able to find blogs that I wanted to keep updated on and I get to read those without having to go to each individual website. It is very convenient. Using it in teaching will be very helpful as well. I can keep updated on the ever-changing rules and guidelines of teaching, as well as using it to keep updated on the political and news aspects of teaching. Things which are very critical in my teaching career.

Thing #9

 
I had fun creating these images. They will be helpful in the classroom at any grade level. You can use them to create fun looking numbers and have them help children learn to count, add, divide, multiply.. Etc.. You can also use them as a fun way to read, or to make clip art for any assignment. Also to help decorate your classroom.
When creating the first image, there were oh so many options.. What to spell, what font to use, what color combination.. I chose the maroon and white because of the school colors back home. I grew up in the home of Texas A&M University and am a proud Aggie. I would have attended school there but God had other plans for me.
And of course for the ribbon, that was a fairly easy choice.. It shows my full support for our troops, we may not agree with the war over there but our troops still need our support. And this also reflects the life that God had in store for me.

Thing #8

I enjoyed using the spell with Flickr website and spelled many different words while playing with it. I liked that I was able to change the picture for each letter so it could better reflect who I am. This will be a great tool to use in classrooms to add some pizzazz to anything I need. It could also be used to help children identify the different styles of letters and how they are still the same letter. So it could be used as flashcards to help them learn letters. I also think it'd be fun to use for any personal use that you want to add just a little bit of creativity and personality to. 

Thing #7

Oh Flickr.. It was actually fairly easy to set up. They walk you through it step-by-step and don't overwhelm you with questions to answer about yourself. And uploading a picture was just as easy. I wasn't able to figure out how to send it to the apsu23things blog like the instructions said to so I'm going to post it on here.
I think Flickr will be very beneficial for a classroom. If you find an illustration you want to show to the class, all you have to do is upload it on Flickr. It definitely beats going back and fourth to different sites to find the pictures or having a gazillion sites bookmarked on your computer just for a picture.
I have a little bit of experience in Photobucket for picture sharing/saving, but that was years ago and I barely remember how that site works.
Flickr does kinda make me nervous about having images available for the whole world to see, I just have to remember to be careful about what I post and the things I say. It's only dangerous if you're not smart about it.
So here's the picture I chose to show!
I wasn't able to find the 'correct' URL that the apsu23things blog mentioned. I followed the directions listed exactly and this is what I got.

Thing #6

I have been talking about having a difficult time containing the resources I find useful. I always feel overwhelmed at all of the tools out there that are available to teachers and I fear that I'll find things I want to remember and use in the future but never make it back to the site to actually utilize it. After looking over the list of websites winners, I chose to look further into Diigo. I know it is one we use for our class where we can share websites but I didn't really consider it being a website I can use to organize my own websites I want to remember. I find it very helpful that I can organize my 'library' by lists so I know exactly what I am looking at. I can organize a list especially for teaching, and if it gets down to it, grade level. I can also have lists I want to remember for personal use and keep those sites separated from the ones I want to save for teaching. I can add tags to each site I add so I can search for a specific topic. And I can high-lite certain sections or paragraphs so I don't have to re-read every single site just for the one piece of information. I am going to start using this site now for my classes I am currently enrolled in. I plan to save the sites I need for research papers so if I need to go back, I can look at the site I got the source from and also high-lite the section I picked to use. I don't feel so overwhelmed and freaked out now by all the resources I find, I just have to be sure I actually utilize this site and don't let it be forgotten. 

Thing #5

Web 2.0 really kind of scares me as far as use for education. I've always liked the hands-on learning and feel that children already have too much access to the technology that is out there. 2 and 3 year old's should not be able to work their mom's iPhone. It really irks me when you see 9 year old's with their cell phones. I understand that the nation is moving more to a technology nation but there is a line we're about to cross. Don't get me wrong, technology is a GREAT resource for education when used properly. Where we are now, is perfect. It still keeps the students very hands on and just helps teachers with their lessons and as tools to keep the students intrigued. What I fear is a total takeover of technology in the class room, where all the textbooks are eBooks, even for elementary ages, and everything is taught through it. I guess you can call me old fashioned. I really hope we, as educators, keep a balanced use of technology and physical tools in the classroom; that we can teach the students through the resources we have available but that it does not take over the classroom.

Thing #4

After reading the blogs about commenting it made me want to go on a commenting rampage. I got into other blogs that I can relate with and really opened my eyes to all the different people out there blogging about all kinds of different things. Commenting is important, it helps the blogger feel useful and like they're making a difference. It also sets up the feel of an online community of people with common interests. If you're going through the same delima or love the same thing as the blogger, tell them. It makes you feel like you're not alone and that there are people in this world who can be very similar to you. In the process of finding blogs to comment on, I found a couple of other army wives who are teachers. People who have to move every so often, and deal with being on their own for long periods of time, just like me, are interested or already have the career I long for. Commenting gives you a sense of connection to people you've never met who could be have way around the world, just as one of the blogs I chose to comment on, "Such is the Life of an Army Wife". I commented on her very first post about coping with deployment. I chose that post because it was not someone telling me to just be strong or it'll be okay, it was different than what I've heard before. The other non-associated blog I chose was "To Love a Soldier", she posted a beautiful poem about a soldier's promise and an Army Wife's promise, it just hit home. As far as classmates I commented on, I posted comments one Robert White's Thing 2 for his knowledge and touch of personality, KSatterly's Thing 3 for the great idea she came up with for blog usage once in the classroom, I chose SRogers and Sloffer for their portrayal of their personalities, ( I found it intriguing to see the wide array of characters in our class.) and finally JRichardson's Thing 1 for the habit of play being a difficult one to master. 7 comments in 2 hours.. This is only the beginning.

Thing #3

I am looking forward to continuing this blog, I can already tell, just in the two posts I've done, I'm getting the hang of this. I am learning to write showing personality on paper, all the papers I've written in my higher education career has been non personal, not able to say "I" or imply you're the writer. So I am getting used to making this personal and not being afraid to let myself show in these posts. 
I really hope I keep up blogging throughout my teaching career. I would most like to use it to bring the different aspects of my life together and use it as a place for inspiration and ideas and resources to other teachers. I will be facing some issues most other teachers don't have to deal with, moving every 3 years. I am an Army wife on top of going to school and working, and once I graduate, I will face the issues of the different certifications for different states and having to find a new job with each move. I would like to use my blog to keep myself motivated in each of the challenges I face to continue my teaching career and to help other teachers get through any issues they face in their own teaching careers. I also want to use this blog for sharing ideas and resources. I am quickly learning of the countless resources offered to teachers and I know there is an endless supply that I am not even aware of. 
I really hope that I can stick with this blog and record my journey through my degree program and teaching career so I can look back in 20+ years to see where it all began. 

Thing #2

Creating my blog was a new experience for me. I have never kept a blog, and have only read a few posts of other peoples' blogs. So I really am new to all of this. I also haven't had any reason to customize something like this since myspace was a big hit. I was going at this blindly, thank goodness for classmates. So why did I choose the settings I did for my blog? Well to start off with the name.. I married into a difficult name to pronounce for adults, and I have heard of stories of my sister, who teaches, and all the different names she's gotten from her last name (Sulak). I am wanting to teach Kindergarten, so going from my maiden name, Hernandez, to my married name, Beifuss (pronounced bye-fuss), I am very intrigued to hear all the different versions kids come up with on their own for my name. Oh the creativity of childrens' minds. So even though my blog name sounds bland up front, there really is a story behind it. With my avatar, I created it to look as closely to me as possible. There were many different options to choose from in creating my avatar, and by instinct, I wanted something fun and out there, but realizing that I am in a professional degree program, I kept it professional looking but was sure to keep my personality showing in the colors of my blog. Growing up, my mother color-coded us, from towels to dishes to school supplies, she found it easier to tell who's mess was left out. I was assigned the color green, which has kinda stuck and has been my favorite color ever since, I've added blue to the scheme and have blue and green as my favorite set of colors. Regardless of the shades. So I was really excited when I found the spring green & blue template. Not only does it have my colors, but it also has a touch of my personality of the fun spring colors and design. :)

Thing #1

As I watched the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners slideshow, it really caught my attention about being a lifelong learner. Almost everyone is a lifelong learner but most are not aware of it. After watching this clip, I have decided I want to knowingly be a lifelong learner. I was able to pick out habits that I know I can achieve with out any issues and I know that there are habits that will put challenges in my path. The habit that I know I already have down is habit #2. I was home schooled my whole life and am 1 of 4 kids, all home schooled also. We kept my mother, who also worked a part time job, busy. Once we were old enough to be home alone, school was up to us to get it done. She would have our lesson plan ready but we had to be responsible to get it done. Being home schooled has definitely helped me go above and beyond in taking initiative to get whatever I needed done and will help me to be a lifelong learner. The other habit I succeed at as well is habit # 3, view problems as challenges. This is another one I owe to my mom, she has taught me to look at issues and problems as opportunities to improve. Instead of freaking out when a problem arises, I have learned to solve it. Now that I've mentioned some of my stronger habits I have, there are actually 2 habits that I know I do and will struggle with. The first one I would have to say is habit #5, creating your own learning toolbox. I tend to come across great ideas, tools, websites, etc.. but I continually fail to follow through with these things. Even when I can create a list of things to do, or whatever other resources I can find, I tend to get jumbled with all these different ideas. I have yet to find a tool that helps me to contain all the virtual ideas and resources. Once I can conquer this habit, I will definitely benefit from creating my own learning toolbox. The other habit I struggle with kinda goes hand-in-hand with habit #5, habit #6, use technology to your advantage. I am not as knowledgeable as I should be with technology, there are so many great resources out there, some of which could help me create my learning toolbox, that I know I am not taking advantage of. I think the biggest thing holding me back is due to my being overwhelmed by the world-wide-web and all that it holds. I know there are areas I need to improve in being a lifelong learner and there are habits that will help me succeed. I look forward to the everlasting learning experiences. Let the journey begin.