There are so many web 2.0 tools out there it is hard to pick one to review. For this post I have decided to review Pinterest. This is a really neat tool that does a lot. Pinterest is in a way like Delicious. You are using the program to store things that you think are useful. With Delicious you are using links and with Pinterest you are using images. Pinterest lets you post pictures to boards. The pictures are actually links to the site they came from. I really like pinterest because I can pin a picture right from my browser. It is also nice because the picture is a better reminder of what I viewed. Sometimes you might favorite a website, but you forget why you did. Pinterest solves that issue because it shows you exactly why you wanted something saved.
A great thing that you can do with pinterest is to search other peoples boards. Say I want to find more web 2.0 tools, all I need to do is search for web 2.0 tools in pinterest and it will show me what other people have posted. The best type I can give for pinterest is to just explore it. Search for things and browse boards, ypou might find something that catches your eye.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
PLN
Our personal learning network is something we all have without even realizing it. We all use search engines at some point, and these are great learning tools. All you need is something to search for and it connects you with all sorts of information on the subject by linking you to other pages. Web searches are fast, and easy. Other ways that we connect are in our everyday interactions. I constantly learn from those around me. I may not be a teacher yet, but I have classmates who are teachers and have gone through the same things that I am currently doing. By conversing with them I am able to gain knowledge from their experiences. They provide a lot of insight on what really happens in a classroom and what types of technology you can expect within a school.
There are many things that I never really thought about as really being in a PLN. I never thought about pintrest being a useful tool, but after talking to a classmate I found that you can find all sorts of useful ideas just by doing the right search. Really most things can be useful to a PLN.
At the moment my PLN is small but it continues to grow all the time. I really think the best way for it to grow is by interacting with my peers. By interacting with them I am able to learn about more programs that I can add to my PLN. Everyday you learn something new and that knowledge just expands your network.
There are many things that I never really thought about as really being in a PLN. I never thought about pintrest being a useful tool, but after talking to a classmate I found that you can find all sorts of useful ideas just by doing the right search. Really most things can be useful to a PLN.
At the moment my PLN is small but it continues to grow all the time. I really think the best way for it to grow is by interacting with my peers. By interacting with them I am able to learn about more programs that I can add to my PLN. Everyday you learn something new and that knowledge just expands your network.
Reflections
Today I finished all of my learning units. I found coming up with the various projects to be difficult. This is mainly because I am not currently a teacher and I had to come up with things, I had no previous experience or anything like that. As I made the units I had to think of projects that would make use of various technologies. I found some programs that I really enjoyed and some that I hated.
My favorite program that I used was Xtranormal. I absolutely love this program and can see myself using it again. The program lets you create videos using characters. A lot of the characters that you can use are of famous people. That right there adds a lot of fun and makes whatever you are assigning more relevant to the students. By adding relevance and some humor students are more likely to not only want to do the project, but they are also more likely to learn something from them.
In learning Unit 1, my favorite tool was glogster. I really like the idea of making a poster online. It let's even the most un-artistic make awesome creations.
In learning Unit 2, my favorite tool was Xtranormal, but I also really like Wordle. This was probably my favorite Unit to make, because I really liked the tools. They were fun and easy to use.
In Learning Unit 3, my favorite tool was probably google presentations. Overall I was not thrilled with this unit. I would have like to reuse some programs.
I think that in an actual classroom I would use glogster and xtranormal without a doubt. I think I could come up with some fun assignments using those. I know that I really have no artistic talent, but both of these programs let me great some great looking things. I could never make a poster that looks half as good as what I can do on glogster. With xtranormal I am able to make a goofy video and I don't even have to talk I can just type in what I want said.
One of the programs I didn't use were the ones for screencasting. I really couldn't see how they would be useful to me in a class room. I actually found myself in that situation with a few other programs. I think one reason for that is that I am not teaching right no so it is hard to visualize what I would do with the technology. It is also hard to gauge what the students would be interested in. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean that they wouldn't like and benefit from it.
The biggest peace of advice I can give about these programs is that you have to experiment. There's no way to really know what you can do with them until you try it. Spend time messing with the different programs. There's so much that you can do with them it really is hard to know how to do everything. I would also suggest that you seriously consider what your class is in to. This can make selecting a program a little easier. If a class is interested in making comics you can have an assignment that does that. If they are into videos you could do that. You can even do podcasting.
If I did any of these in a real class I think there are things I would change. I think one of the big changes that I would make is that I could make a better more focused lesson. Again because I did not really have a lesson plan or students I had to just come up with what I think I would be teaching. Having a more concrete idea would really have helped me.
My favorite program that I used was Xtranormal. I absolutely love this program and can see myself using it again. The program lets you create videos using characters. A lot of the characters that you can use are of famous people. That right there adds a lot of fun and makes whatever you are assigning more relevant to the students. By adding relevance and some humor students are more likely to not only want to do the project, but they are also more likely to learn something from them.
In learning Unit 1, my favorite tool was glogster. I really like the idea of making a poster online. It let's even the most un-artistic make awesome creations.
In learning Unit 2, my favorite tool was Xtranormal, but I also really like Wordle. This was probably my favorite Unit to make, because I really liked the tools. They were fun and easy to use.
In Learning Unit 3, my favorite tool was probably google presentations. Overall I was not thrilled with this unit. I would have like to reuse some programs.
I think that in an actual classroom I would use glogster and xtranormal without a doubt. I think I could come up with some fun assignments using those. I know that I really have no artistic talent, but both of these programs let me great some great looking things. I could never make a poster that looks half as good as what I can do on glogster. With xtranormal I am able to make a goofy video and I don't even have to talk I can just type in what I want said.
One of the programs I didn't use were the ones for screencasting. I really couldn't see how they would be useful to me in a class room. I actually found myself in that situation with a few other programs. I think one reason for that is that I am not teaching right no so it is hard to visualize what I would do with the technology. It is also hard to gauge what the students would be interested in. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean that they wouldn't like and benefit from it.
The biggest peace of advice I can give about these programs is that you have to experiment. There's no way to really know what you can do with them until you try it. Spend time messing with the different programs. There's so much that you can do with them it really is hard to know how to do everything. I would also suggest that you seriously consider what your class is in to. This can make selecting a program a little easier. If a class is interested in making comics you can have an assignment that does that. If they are into videos you could do that. You can even do podcasting.
If I did any of these in a real class I think there are things I would change. I think one of the big changes that I would make is that I could make a better more focused lesson. Again because I did not really have a lesson plan or students I had to just come up with what I think I would be teaching. Having a more concrete idea would really have helped me.
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