What a fun journey this has been! I knew about few things but had never attempted to use it. ..this gave me a chance to learn and use. I think the 23 Things blog site is so wonderful, the videos are very easy to follow and the instruction/ direction were so simple. I help the teachers to get trained in technology and this has given me so many tools to use in my training and information sessions. . My thinking has definitely changed about Web 2.0. It has opened my mind and made me realize that as educators we are going to have to change our ways of teaching and communicating because the students are learning in different and more advanced ways.
Has this program changed how you view of the Internet or how you view education in the digital world?
Yes, there is so much still left to be explored the possibilities are endless. It is important for educators to keep up with the changing technology. At CMA there are about 12 teachers who have formed a learning group on Wiki to learn 23 Things. There is so much of discussions and exchange of ideas to integrate and implement technology. The notion, that new technology is hard to incorporate and expensive, is totally removed after this training. The staff is exploring and excited about this and it is amazing how easy and free of cost most of the things are. I hope that RESA will continue to offer classes like this one to help educators change with the times.
Google Docs enables multiple people in different locations to collaborate simultaneously on the same doc from any computer with Internet access. For example, as a parent helper for my son's Tennis Team I was working with 4 other parents on putting together the information session for new "tennis" Parents for the open house, and they need to write a document, keep track of their work in a spreadsheet, and create a presentation to share with other people involved in the project. We met twice but still all of us could work on this at our own time....
When I made changes to the document, spreadsheet, or presentation, other parents could see them in real time and respond to them immediately. All of us worked on the same docs, so there was no need to go back and forth, comparing and consolidating individual files. SlideShare can be very useful if used properly. Delicious is so convenient to use and such a time saver.
Overall, this was a very useful, productive, 100% hands-on, informative and enpowering session. Thanks for the fun trip...I'm excitead & ready to use these tools!!!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Thing 22: My Wiki!
It was so easy to create a wiki and I think I will be using it a lot
My wiki is BhattTech.
Difference between a Blog & Wiki:
A wiki is a platform that is meant for anyone to update in real time. A blog is owned by an individual whereas wiki is being updated by many people around the world.
A wiki can host a blog while a blog can not host a wiki. A wiki allows multiple users to create, modify and organize web page content in a collaborative manner.
A blog is a Web site that maintains ongoing posts.
My wiki is BhattTech.
Difference between a Blog & Wiki:
A wiki is a platform that is meant for anyone to update in real time. A blog is owned by an individual whereas wiki is being updated by many people around the world.
A wiki can host a blog while a blog can not host a wiki. A wiki allows multiple users to create, modify and organize web page content in a collaborative manner.
A blog is a Web site that maintains ongoing posts.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Thing 21: Wiki!
Describe a wiki you found that inspires you to create one of your own.
Comparing Hemispheres is my personal favorite. A school in NY (Northern Hemisphere) and one in New Zealand (Southern Hemisphere) working on science project/experiments. Students share their findings so that both groups can compare and analyze the data. Amazing interactive assignment and so much scope for further development!
What hurdles might stand in the way of your using a wiki? What would it take to remove the hurdles? Is it worth the fight?
I don't see much of a hurdle in using and creating the wiki. Infact, at our school we are using wiki as a prfessional development site and presently staff is part of 23 Things as the school learning community.
Comparing Hemispheres is my personal favorite. A school in NY (Northern Hemisphere) and one in New Zealand (Southern Hemisphere) working on science project/experiments. Students share their findings so that both groups can compare and analyze the data. Amazing interactive assignment and so much scope for further development!
What hurdles might stand in the way of your using a wiki? What would it take to remove the hurdles? Is it worth the fight?
I don't see much of a hurdle in using and creating the wiki. Infact, at our school we are using wiki as a prfessional development site and presently staff is part of 23 Things as the school learning community.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Thing 20: Subscribe to Podcast
I have been using Podcast for a long time, especially to listen to NPR. I subscribed to Grammar Girl Quick & Dirty Tips for better writing. This I feel will be useful for students and teachers.
I thought it was very easy to use the search tools for podcasts. I have been using iTunes which has categories too. EPN is helpful if you are searching for educational podcasts. I personally like P_Alley to look for topics of my interest. The collection is extensive and dowloading the podcast to iTunes is a breeze.
I thought it was very easy to use the search tools for podcasts. I have been using iTunes which has categories too. EPN is helpful if you are searching for educational podcasts. I personally like P_Alley to look for topics of my interest. The collection is extensive and dowloading the podcast to iTunes is a breeze.
Thing 19: PODCAST!
Thanks to podcasting showtime doesn’t matter. I use iTunes for podcasts for NPR and other sites.
NPR’s Talk of the Nation by Neal Conan is my favorite.
I like the Discovery Channel's
Video Podcast on Myth Busters/ Man vs Wild, Planet Earth.
This podcast on Charter School Education is very informative:
For students I think the podcast, Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you to be a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.
NPR’s Talk of the Nation by Neal Conan is my favorite.
I like the Discovery Channel's
Video Podcast on Myth Busters/ Man vs Wild, Planet Earth.
This podcast on Charter School Education is very informative:
For students I think the podcast, Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you to be a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.
Thing 18: Slideshare!
This is interesting and can be very useful. I'm a little concerned about the content accuracy. There were some slides with wrong information and some with really outdated information. The tip would be to do your homework and then use it as a resource.
I searched for slides on Internet Safety which I can share with students and parents:
I searched for slides on Internet Safety which I can share with students and parents:
Internet Safety
View more presentations from mcgeet.
Safety and Ethics 2.0
View more presentations from Vicki Davis.
Thing 17: Online Productivity Tool!
Give a review of the tool you explored - what worked, what didn't work, how might it be used in your personal or professional life?
I'm not too sure of using many of this tools...hassle to keep up with IDs/ Passwords.
There are some tools which might be useful but personally I thought there more of same tools with little variations.
I explored 30 Boxes..found it nothing different from all other calendars.
I liked the Library Thing: I love reading and this is a good tool. LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for book lovers. LibraryThing helps you:
•Keep track of the books in your life
◦Books you own
◦Books you've read
◦Books you'd like to read
◦Wishlist
◦Favorites
You can read reader's comments, top rated books and so on.
Trailfair: I feel I might use this more than any other tools given. This is a tool to create a list of related sites. I liked the hot list...there was trail by someone on travelling to different countries. This trail not only shared websites on the destination but alson gave websites on cheap deals for flights! It is easy to use.
I'm not too sure of using many of this tools...hassle to keep up with IDs/ Passwords.
There are some tools which might be useful but personally I thought there more of same tools with little variations.
I explored 30 Boxes..found it nothing different from all other calendars.
I liked the Library Thing: I love reading and this is a good tool. LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for book lovers. LibraryThing helps you:
•Keep track of the books in your life
◦Books you own
◦Books you've read
◦Books you'd like to read
◦Wishlist
◦Favorites
You can read reader's comments, top rated books and so on.
Trailfair: I feel I might use this more than any other tools given. This is a tool to create a list of related sites. I liked the hot list...there was trail by someone on travelling to different countries. This trail not only shared websites on the destination but alson gave websites on cheap deals for flights! It is easy to use.
Thing 16: Google Docs!
How might you use this tool in your personal and professional life? Google Docs enables multiple people in different locations to collaborate simultaneously on the same doc from any computer with Internet access. For example, as a parent helper for my son's Tennis Team I was working with 4 other parents on putting together the information session for new "tennis" Parents for the open house, and they need to write a document, keep track of their work in a spreadsheet, and create a presentation to share with other people involved in the project. We met twice but still all of us could work on this at our own time....
When I made changes to the document, spreadsheet, or presentation, other parents could see them in real time and respond to them immediately. All of us worked on the same docs, so there was no need to go back and forth, comparing and consolidating individual files.
What issues come to mind about using this tool with students (ie, they need email addresses to log-in)?
This my son's response, he is in Grade7:
Google Docs is a great tool that can help students in many ways. Google Docs is a tool used to upload files onto the Internet for later use, this way emailing as attachments is not necessary. Another great feature of Google Docs is the sharing feature. With this feature you can share your documents with friends. You can either invite people to share or you can give them a link that will let them access that specific file. Google Docs is also helpful if you are doing a bid project with other team members. All of you can be editing the file at the same time; this saves the hassle of updating the file after every edit. Google Docs is a service that is very easily acquired; all you need is a Google account.
When I made changes to the document, spreadsheet, or presentation, other parents could see them in real time and respond to them immediately. All of us worked on the same docs, so there was no need to go back and forth, comparing and consolidating individual files.
What issues come to mind about using this tool with students (ie, they need email addresses to log-in)?
This my son's response, he is in Grade7:
Google Docs is a great tool that can help students in many ways. Google Docs is a tool used to upload files onto the Internet for later use, this way emailing as attachments is not necessary. Another great feature of Google Docs is the sharing feature. With this feature you can share your documents with friends. You can either invite people to share or you can give them a link that will let them access that specific file. Google Docs is also helpful if you are doing a bid project with other team members. All of you can be editing the file at the same time; this saves the hassle of updating the file after every edit. Google Docs is a service that is very easily acquired; all you need is a Google account.
Thing 15: RSS Feed Revisied!
Is RSS becoming easier to understand?
Yes, it is becoming easier to use and I'm feeling comfortable to use it.
Do you recognize new benefits of using this tool?
Typically, RSS feeds contain news headlines and content summaries. The content summaries contain just enough information without overwhelming with superfluous details. If interested and want additional information I can click on the item in the feed, accessing the website which contains additional details. As a RSS reader, I can aggregate multiple feeds, making it easy to quickly scan information contained within each feed.
The big benefit to RSS is that I opt-in to content of interest, totally controlling the flow of information that I receive. If the quality of the content in the feed declines, I simply remove the feed from their RSS reader and then I will not receive any additional updates from that source...very cool!
Do you remember to check your feeds regularly? Has it become a habit (or obsession!) yet?
I have to admit that I forgot all about my Blogline after Thing 5! Great strategic placement of Thing 15...got me back on RSS and I believe this time around I have become more comfortable using it.
Yes, it is becoming easier to use and I'm feeling comfortable to use it.
Do you recognize new benefits of using this tool?
Typically, RSS feeds contain news headlines and content summaries. The content summaries contain just enough information without overwhelming with superfluous details. If interested and want additional information I can click on the item in the feed, accessing the website which contains additional details. As a RSS reader, I can aggregate multiple feeds, making it easy to quickly scan information contained within each feed.
The big benefit to RSS is that I opt-in to content of interest, totally controlling the flow of information that I receive. If the quality of the content in the feed declines, I simply remove the feed from their RSS reader and then I will not receive any additional updates from that source...very cool!
Do you remember to check your feeds regularly? Has it become a habit (or obsession!) yet?
I have to admit that I forgot all about my Blogline after Thing 5! Great strategic placement of Thing 15...got me back on RSS and I believe this time around I have become more comfortable using it.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Thing 14 - Bookmarking with Delicious !
Wow! I enjoyed and spent a lot of time with Thing 14. Delicious.com was new to me and I spent a lot of time looking at the tagged websites.
My delicious user name is: http://delicious.com/KalBhatt
I think this social bookmarking will be very helpful to me. Even if I have bookmarked a site; I might not have given it a logical name and so I often find a site and use it once and then forget about it.. Now that I am more aware of the capabilities of tagging I think I will keep better track of sites I am interested in. I really liked how Delicious showed how many other people have added sites to their bookmarks. This helped me filter through the sites and picking and choosing the best ones.
I think Delicious will be a tool that will enhance my productivity. I can actually create different categories for the teachers at my school and add on relevenat grade level websites. Teachers can quickly look to see what sites I have on a given topic and then choose which one will best meet the needs of their students at the time. I also think it would be helpful if all of us shared their bookmarked sites with each other.
I think it is absolutely brilliant to put all of the information we need in one location and that we can access it anywhere we have an Internet connection.
My delicious user name is: http://delicious.com/KalBhatt
I think this social bookmarking will be very helpful to me. Even if I have bookmarked a site; I might not have given it a logical name and so I often find a site and use it once and then forget about it.. Now that I am more aware of the capabilities of tagging I think I will keep better track of sites I am interested in. I really liked how Delicious showed how many other people have added sites to their bookmarks. This helped me filter through the sites and picking and choosing the best ones.
I think Delicious will be a tool that will enhance my productivity. I can actually create different categories for the teachers at my school and add on relevenat grade level websites. Teachers can quickly look to see what sites I have on a given topic and then choose which one will best meet the needs of their students at the time. I also think it would be helpful if all of us shared their bookmarked sites with each other.
I think it is absolutely brilliant to put all of the information we need in one location and that we can access it anywhere we have an Internet connection.
Thing 13: Social Bookmarking & Tagging
Is tagging a useful way to organize your digital resources and why?
Yes, for sure. There have been so many times I have lost all my "Favorites" ..it is very frustrating. II like how through Delicious you can access your tagged sites from any computer. Often I will add sites on my home computer and then will have a hard time finding the same site when I am at school.
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages?
Tools such as social bookmarking have made it easy for Web users to not only have a way of remembering a favorite Web page or website in order to reduce the time spent on searching for them, but also to share these bookmarked Web pages and websites to other Internet users in a collaborative fashion.
As a community of educators the advantage would be to share sites with colleagues. I feel there are so many websites that each individual teacher have saved as their"Favorites" this allows you to create a pool of such websites which if tagged right can be a very good resource. There is a way to import all your present bookmarks into delicious and that might give you a very good start. A second advantage is that you could access the information from anywhere.
DISADVANTAGE:One draw back with this tag-based system is that there are no standards set for the keywords, controlled terms and vocabulary used. This can create a problem, especially since the tag-based system relies on people, and not on any program created in the Internet. Since the people are the ones organizing the tags, there are chances of creating an inconsistent standard and management system for tags. People who create the tags just create them according to their own accord, creating confusion with the other users who rely on the tags to find what they are looking for in these social bookmarking websites.
The lack of standards for tag structures, such as capitalization, singular vs. plural, as well as other similar issues, in social bookmarking makes it susceptible to mistagging. This can be caused by misspelling certain words, by tagging certain subjects using keywords that have two or more meanings, by tagging websites and/or Web pages with unclear tags caused by synonym-antonym confusion, or by using too "personalized" tags that other users will not be able to understand or decipher what the tag is about.
What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?
I think it is important for you to remember that this information can be shared with others, so you need to be careful what sites you tag. It is also important that you give it a tag that relates well to the bookmarked site so that you and others are able to find it in your tags.
Yes, for sure. There have been so many times I have lost all my "Favorites" ..it is very frustrating. II like how through Delicious you can access your tagged sites from any computer. Often I will add sites on my home computer and then will have a hard time finding the same site when I am at school.
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages?
Tools such as social bookmarking have made it easy for Web users to not only have a way of remembering a favorite Web page or website in order to reduce the time spent on searching for them, but also to share these bookmarked Web pages and websites to other Internet users in a collaborative fashion.
As a community of educators the advantage would be to share sites with colleagues. I feel there are so many websites that each individual teacher have saved as their"Favorites" this allows you to create a pool of such websites which if tagged right can be a very good resource. There is a way to import all your present bookmarks into delicious and that might give you a very good start. A second advantage is that you could access the information from anywhere.
DISADVANTAGE:One draw back with this tag-based system is that there are no standards set for the keywords, controlled terms and vocabulary used. This can create a problem, especially since the tag-based system relies on people, and not on any program created in the Internet. Since the people are the ones organizing the tags, there are chances of creating an inconsistent standard and management system for tags. People who create the tags just create them according to their own accord, creating confusion with the other users who rely on the tags to find what they are looking for in these social bookmarking websites.
The lack of standards for tag structures, such as capitalization, singular vs. plural, as well as other similar issues, in social bookmarking makes it susceptible to mistagging. This can be caused by misspelling certain words, by tagging certain subjects using keywords that have two or more meanings, by tagging websites and/or Web pages with unclear tags caused by synonym-antonym confusion, or by using too "personalized" tags that other users will not be able to understand or decipher what the tag is about.
What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?
I think it is important for you to remember that this information can be shared with others, so you need to be careful what sites you tag. It is also important that you give it a tag that relates well to the bookmarked site so that you and others are able to find it in your tags.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Widget: Thing12
Scrabble Game: This is from Google Gadgets
NPR: This is from Widgetbox
I think I'll be using this a lot. This is fun!!
NPR: This is from Widgetbox
I think I'll be using this a lot. This is fun!!
Thing 11: Comments on Blog!
I like receiving comments as they give me a chance to look at things in a different perspective. Comments are very good way of communication if efforts are taken to leave meaningful comments. I like looking for others blog and leaving comments and share certain related experiences.
The Last Lecture Video: Thing 10
Kalyani's Blog: I love the great inspirational video called the Last Lecture by Dr. Randy Pausch. This video is from Oprah Winfrey's show where the professor was interviewed.
I think embedding is good as long as youare sure of the youtube availability. I personally prefer to download the video and I have been using Zamzar for all my conversions. It is easy to use.
I think embedding is good as long as youare sure of the youtube availability. I personally prefer to download the video and I have been using Zamzar for all my conversions. It is easy to use.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thing 9
Kalyani's Blog
I think YouTube can be a very effective teaching resource if used appropriately. We can find videos on just about anything. Watching online videos uses a lot of bandwidth and therefore it might take a long time to load. There are lot of inappropriate links on the side... Teachers need to take time to see the video and download it before using it in the class. It can be downloaded and converted to a different format to burn on DVD (I use Zamzar for that) Can be done quiet easily but we have to be careful with the copyright issues.
I think YouTube can be a very effective teaching resource if used appropriately. We can find videos on just about anything. Watching online videos uses a lot of bandwidth and therefore it might take a long time to load. There are lot of inappropriate links on the side... Teachers need to take time to see the video and download it before using it in the class. It can be downloaded and converted to a different format to burn on DVD (I use Zamzar for that) Can be done quiet easily but we have to be careful with the copyright issues.
More Fun with Thing 8!
Kalyani's Blog:
Thing 8 was a lot of fun. I thought Spell with Flickr and Big Huge Labs were fun and I can see Yearbook staff, Newsletter Group and students using it. Very easy and fast. Personally and professionally I see myself using it.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Flickr: Thing 6 & 7
I searched for Porbandar and I was amazed to see all these pictures. Porbandar is a small town in the Gujarat state of India. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhiji and my husband!! I grew up here. The picture just brought so many memories of my childhood.
I know I will be on this "Flickr" a lot. I set up my account and uploaded pictures for my family to share. It is easy and very fast.
Thing 5
Kalyani's Blog
Well this was challenging; for some reason my Easy subscription step was the hardest..I couldn't find the link button and therefore it added to the Favorites folder. I found the manual method easy to use and I thought it will give me a better control of adding to right folder. I think clearing & updating the folder might be a challenge, before you know your blogline is full of clutter!
Monday, March 15, 2010
RSS Feed: Thing 4
Kalyani's Blog
Information overload is a common problem with the sheer volume of information on the web; RSS feeds is a great way to get information at one place. Presently, I have bookmarked so many sites and then when you use a different computer you have problems!
I was reading other "thingers" comments and one of them was:"Consider how a newsletter sent weekly or monthly is not posted on a blog, and the information is automatically dropped into a person's Bloglines or Google Reader account. Announcements, assignments, district related news, and other forms of information can be sent out." WOW! WOWIE!!
It was so easy to set the bloglines. I have used google reader which is equally user friendly. This is so exciting....having a news stand at home or where ever you go.
Reflection on Thing 3
Kalyani's Blog:
I feel blogs can be used very effectively at Creative Montessori Academy. The fact that it is a small school gives us an advantage to develop a learning community that is easy to keep up. We can have student-learning community shared and controlled by teachers. Teacher-learning community shared and controlled by teachers and administration.
· There are so many ways that blogs can be used in a classroom. Have students blog about a current issue, about a specific piece of writing, or some question that comes up in the course. Students can share opinions with each other and support each other with commentary and answers to questions. Students can have a very wide audience or can have each other as their potential audience. It helps them to see each other’s work, which in turn might help their own learning. This way integration of all subject areas is easy to implement.
· Times when students are absent, they forget to check what was done in class the next day. With a blog that contains the information for each class, students can see what was accomplished the day they were gone and complete the work before they even return the next day. The challenge here is for the teacher to post updated information.
· For administrators it can be a very useful tool. School forms and common documents can be posted. All communication can be posted in the blog. Teachers can share teaching ideas and lesson plans. Principal can post meeting schedules and agendas. The professional learning community can use this to interact with each other.
· At CMA we use Montessori methodology/ philosophy to teach the traditional GLCE. New parents always have so many questions in this direction. We can create a blog that allows teachers, principals and parents to communicate with each other. …… the possibilities are endless!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Things 1 & 2
- I'm very excited to be part of 23 Things. I'm greatly interested in learning all the latest web tools that I can use in a classroom. I want to become comfortable using the latest technology and then I want to train my Teachers and Teaching Assistants in this technology.
- I hope to learn the inteactive information sharing tools and techniques, Most of the time I go to the WWW to merely retrieve information but I'm hoping with this tool I'll be able to actively contribute. I want to learn about blogs, tags, RSS, flicker, google docs e.t.c.
- I've become aware of how technology has grown so fast but how little we use this in the classrooms. Most of the time we are restricted due to budget restrains but most of these tools don't need much investment. What we need is the awareness of what is available and the willingness to learn new things. These tools can be used to empower students and create exciting new learning opportunities. This could create a truly democratic learning atmosphere in a classroom/ school/ community.
- Writing on the Internet, knowing anyone could read it doesn't change the way I write or feel about writing. When I'm reading an article I appreciate the author's viewpoint but at the same time I feel I don't necessarily agree with everything; blogging would give me an opportunity to comment, critic and at the same time give my opinion about it. Will I be more gaurded? It depends on how personally I'm commenting and what the issue is. I think one should use their own judgement as to what is appropriate and acceptable....Well, that is my 2 cents on this!!:-)
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