Thing # 23 - I finished :)

Wow! this has been an incredible experience, specially since I did it in the last 5 days!!!. It was kind of overwhelming, but completely worth it. I'm glad I finally took the momentum to get through it. I learned soooo many stuff, that I have to go back to my postings to remember the things I said I wanted to use in my class.... um, almost everything!!
Ok to answer the questions, because it can take a little long.

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
Oh, there are so many! OK, on the top of my mind I have to say PhotoStory, maybe because I just completed it, but it was so easy and fun. Although I was a little reluctant at the beginning when I thought I had to record a whole speech, but then I figured out it doesn't have to be that complicated, and loved it! Also the mashups and online image generators were pretty cool, and I have a lot of photos to work it on. And, OF COURSE, creating my own blog. It just opened another world that I had no idea of, it broaden my resources and expanded my thinking. Awesome.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
First of all, I didn't know there are so many things still to learn! As mentioned above, it opened a whole new world. Technology and the web is an ever-changing phenomena, and it's important to keep up with it. As the title of my blog says - you (can) never stop learning.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
Well, something that surprised me a lot was on Thing # 19: Web 2.0 Awards list, that they are 500 2.0 tools on the web.... what??? and I thought I was learning most of them.... wow, it took me by surprise.... I was missing all of that?? I had no idea what Web 2.o is, and now I find out there are even awards for it!
There are several take-a-ways: I'm definitely using Rollyo for my student's searches. Also, I started using Delicious right away, as well as LibraryThing.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I really don't know if you need to change anything. Everything is so self explanatory and useful, I don't see any flaws in it. If I think of any later, I will update my posting.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
Of course! To tell you the truth, before staring, I wasn't very excited about it; maybe that's why I started so late. But when I began to see how fun it was, I was completely drawn to it. Probably that's why I was able to finish in such a short time! Anyway, I will sure sign up for another session. As long as it is as user-friendly and laid back as this one was. There is still a lot to learn!

6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?
INTERACTIVE
You'll never believe what you've been missing!

Thing # 22

I think I like Ning better than Wiki. It's a specialized social networking in where people contribute ideas and experiences of common interests. I think it's better organized. It has blogs, discussions, groups... everything you may need. I've never heard of it before, but I can see there's a lot of people in it. I liked Teacher Ningo, it looks like they have lots of useful information and resources. I also liked Future of Education Ning, it is more of a discussion/forum kind of site, but I bet there are some interesting conversations.
A new thing learned!

Thing # 21 - two more things to go, phew!

I enjoyed creating my PhotoStory - it was easier that I thought it was. It's just as simple as attaching the photos, writing or recording the story, selecting a music and viola! done. I was so easy that I'm thinking of tons of ways to use it in my classroom. I've seen other teachers making end-of-year presentations with all the pictures taken during the year, but for me it just seemed like a lot of work.... until now.
I chose my sister's dog, Bella, as the subject of my photostory. She is just so cute and I've taken lots of pictures of her, so I just did a little presentation of some of her photos. Enjoy!

Thing # 20

I've been to YouTube before and I think is a great resource for ANYTHING; you name it, it's probably there. I can totally understand why the district firewall won't admit it, some of it may not be appropriate for kids. I found this cool video about Web 2.o and all the tools we've been exploring in 23Things. It's called Networked Student. It sets an example of a high school student that uses all the resources that the Internet has to offer to do research on a project for a class. He uses GoogleScholar, Deliciuos, RRS feeds, blogs, etc. I thought it was pretty interesting because you can see Library 2.o in action.


I also tried TeacherTube, but it was a little bit too slow for me. The videos took a long time to download and buffer (it may just be my Internet connection). Also, the searching wasn't very specific. It's also a great tool, specially if it's narrowed for instructional and educational purposes, I'll explore it when I have more time.

Thing # 19

How interesting to see all what the Internet has to offer... summarized in a page! I was impressed. I was happy to see most of the ones that I've learned through Library2Play, now I feel I'm kinda like in the loop.
I had to click on most of the ones that drew my attention, sure enough a bunch weren't free, but the free ones were good as well. I likedPandora Radio - very easy to use, it finds Internet stations to listen to any music you want. Just with an artist's name it will find you a station that plays that music style. Also consider Last.fm

Thing # 18

I'm glad I had the opportunity to explore GoogleDocs. When doing Thing # 7 I mentioned I was interested by it, now I actually used it! They have functional templates like the budget planner, calendar, spreadsheets, etc. I think they're useful when you want to share it with someone else. Another plus is that it is done via the Internet, so you can access it anywhere. But it is one of the downsizes as well, because there isn't an Internet connection everywhere.
I was also curious about OpenOffice, specially since it's already on my computer and I didn't know it! So I went ahead and explored it for a little bit. What I liked about it is that it has other applications like Draw and Math, which includes a equation editor.
Other than that, it's pretty much like Microsoft Office so it just depends on your liking.

Thing # 17

Rollyo is a neat idea. It will help me a lot in my classroom for students' research. I think is kid-friendly and takes away the worry of what the students might find in the Internet, but of course, you will always have to be there to supervise.
Here is the link of the RollBar I created, It's for when they have free computer time, they can search for instructional games. http://rollyo.com/garzon/kids_activitiesgame/
I will eventually add some more kid friendly websites to it, but so far, so good.

Thing # 16

Wikis will be a good tool to use in class. Every student can collaborate and share; and some of the ideas I've seen will definitely work for my classroom. I can see how it can be another type of social networking, specially for teachers and librarians: sharing ideas, activities, resources.

However, other than for school, I'm kind of reluctant of the other wikis and the idea that ANYONE can make changes. I mean, you will have to rely on that people will be responsible, honest and knowledgeable of what they're talking about. What about just wacko people making changes?I mean, I don't want to sound rude, but there are crazy people out there who won't mind messing with information of someone that they don't know. And spam? I'm sure they'll want to take advantage of this "free editing" thing. And maybe I'm not completely informed, and there are ways to protect your wikis and actually know who edited something, and have some control on who is changing stuff. But that was the first concern that entered my mind when reading about wikis. I'll be exploring it more deeply to find out how it really works.

Thing # 15

I think Library 2.o is the diversification that libraries had to get through in order to keep up with the Internet world. Libraries around the world must have noticed the fact that they don't get as many people as before; times are changing. I mean, I don't remember the last time I went to the library to do research, I find everything I need through the Internet. So I think it is a smart idea that libraries are adjusting to the public needs. Being ahead is a great way to stay in the loop, specially in the constant-changing technology society we live now. Libraries can serve the best for both worlds, because there's always going to be the old-fashioned reader that actually goes to the library to get cozy and wants to hold and read that interesting book that he just can't get enough of.

Thing # 14

Technorati is my new favorite way to finding blogs that I like. I added a couple to the "Circle of the Wise". I also kind of like the "authority" feature, although it may sound like a popularity ranking, if so many people link it in, it must have something good.
Tags is a great idea, it is another way of searching what you like. Although some people may see it as advertising manipulation (for blogs), I just think is another source to narrow your results. It works perfectly with Flickr and Delicious, so I don't mind if bloggers self-tag their posts so they can be found.

Thing # 13

Wow, there is some much to learn that I didn't know! What a useful resource Delicious is! I'm amazed of all these tools that I've been missing. Delicious is a great way to share information, specially for school. I can totally see how my team can share information about websites and resources we may need. I think is a great site and I've becomed a fan.

Thing # 12

Commenting is a little bit hard for me. Maybe because I'm a newbie at blogging and maybe because I'm kind of shy at that (it could be just the newbie thing). Although, reading the various points about commenting, it has some interesting points. I liked how commenting builds a community, an everlasting global conversation. I never thought of it that way. I kind of always thought that having a blog would be for me to express myself, but not that there were people actually reading it. That's why I laughed when I read the Doug Jhonson's post on comments:

"Writers like knowing that they have been read. I don't care how loud the protestations of bloggers who insist they write "only for themselves" or "for personal growth," every public scribbler likes knowing other people have considered what they have written. If they didn't, they'd be writing in a spiral notebook - probably locked away in a garret."

I assume that I'll also be happy (and surprised) if someone comments on my blog, and they like it! I also really liked the 10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog. Those made a lot of sense! I guess I'll have to write about subjects that appeal to people as well.

Something that also drew my attention was to Write a meaningful comment: If you don't care, don't comment, but if something truly resonates with you and you have something to share, do it! That will be something I'll stick on from now on, it's good advice.

I've read some of the Library2Play blogs, and I'm relieved I'm not the only one having this kind of problem (or insecurity) of leaving comments. I can relate to many of them and I'll be leaving my comments on those soon.

Thing # 11

LibraryThing was easy to sign up and their philosophy is very appealing. I thing is a great site, now I can keep up with my reading. I used to read a lot more before, and I want to get back to it. Using LibraryThing will be a great tool to get recommendations and read reviews to find books that I will enjoy. Great website to know!

Thing # 10

I discovered there's a lot of tools out there to be creative. I liked Wordle; it takes a different approach at being creative with words. I can see my students using it as a fun activity after writing a story or in their journal. Here is the link to what I created with the posting I did for Thing #9, I named it "Blogging thoughts"

I also liked Dumpr, as the site says: "Dumpr is where you create marvellous photos to share with your friends" - and it certainly is! Some of the effects are for "Pro members only" and you have to pay for, but the free ones are just as good. This is what I created with one of the pictures I found on Flickr.

Something else that I really liked was Glogster. It is a combination of blog and poster to "express yourself". You can embed pictures and music and create it however you want. I can see a lot of teenagers doing that, and it can work for younger children too. They can publish their final draft for a short story or writing project. I think they will love it!

Thing # 9

I did most of my searching for blogs and my "Circle of the Wise" for the previous "thing", but I did find some more interesting sites and blogs using the Search tools suggested. I liked the Google Blog Search and Edublogs' award winners. I had no idea that there were awards and everything for blogs; it surely makes you want to know who was nominated and who won - so I thought that was pretty interesting.
I didn't care much for School Library Blogs on Suprglu, the postings were so random that you don't even know what they're talking about; maybe I'm not that into blogging yet, so for me it was a little confusing.
Something that I really liked was Topix.net. It had the top stories from around the world, as well as local news and discussions, which was nice. I felt like if the most important news you need know were right there. And it wasn't as overwhelming and cluttered as I thought it will be. Neat site.

Thing # 8

RSS was completely new to me. At the beginning I couldn't think of any websites that I wanted feeds from because, really, I don't spend that much time in the Internet. But then I started browsing around and I found plenty that interested me: news, magazines, recipes , some blogs, oh! and some teaching sites, of course. It's good to have all of that in one page you can log on.

I'm not really sure how I can use it on my classroom. Well, I teach young children, so I don't really see them working on it; but I surely can see my self taking advantage of my Google Reader. Now I know I can add a subscription to a cool website that I just happened to pass by, instead of forgetting about it.

Thing # 7

Google is pretty cool. I knew it had fun applications but I've never used them, so I'm glad I did now. I created my iGoogle page. It's nice having all the things that interest you in one page. I added a calendar, and neat stuff like post it notes and to do list. Of course news, weather, music and entertainment is a must.
Another thing that I explored further was Google Earth. I've seen it before but now I actually used it. And I can totally use it in my classroom, I know my students will be amazed. It will work perfect for landforms, continents and geography. I'm glad I now know how to use it.
I was also interested by Google Docs. Although I didn't actually use it, I think it's a very good and useful idea. Hopefully I will use it in the near future.

Thing # 6

Wow! I had no idea how many things you can do with your photos! Those applications are incredible. Specially the ones in Big Huge Labs. It gave me a lot of ideas to play with my own photos and make some fun stuff. I know I'll be using the mosaic maker for the highlights of my last trip.
I also really liked the Color Pickr - its a very neat idea. Here is a photo of one of my favorite colors, which was also the color of my bridesmaids dresses.

Thing # 5

Flickr was fun, I spend way too much time in there - but there were so many pictures to look at! I loved the idea of tags and groups, it just made it so much easier. As always, it was hard for me to just pick one; I started looking for something in the curriculum but then completely deviated to my own personal liking.

I chose this amazing picture of a sunset. The colors are startling and the setting just marvelous. I can imagine how the pink stain was everywhere. Any time I catch something like that happening during my day, I immediately head outside to admire.

Thing # 3

I'm kind of excited about having a blog; somewhere, on the back of my mind I always wanted to create one, but I never had the time (or the momentum) to actually do it.

Creating the Avatar was fun - so many options to choose from (especially for outfits and background) that it took me some time to decide, and I'm sure I'll change it again soon. It is kind of hard to think how I wanted to portrait my self. But, anyways, I enjoyed it.

Thing # 2

Just starting... I know it's a little bit late, and I had the whole summer to get this done, but I'm determined to finish this on the 3 days I have left.... or at least I'll try my best. Therefore, going back on the 7 1/2 Habits, I think is obvious to say that the most difficult one for me is #3- Accept responsibility for your own learning. I tend to leave things for the last minute, something that I don't really like, but it's hard to avoid. So I'll work on that, specially this school year.
On the other hand, I'm pretty comfortable with technolgy so I'll say that the easiest one for me is #6: Use technoloy to your advantage. Technology is an every day thing now, and most of it is very user-friendly and easy to learn. I use it every single day and it helps me a lot.