Thing # 23 Summarize your thoughts about this program

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
   I really enjoyed most discoveries and exercises. My favorites include Flickr and the Big Huge Labs sites, PhotoStory, Open Office programs, and the image generators.
   
   
   
2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
   As a digital immigrant, I feel this program challenged and stimulated me. Not only have I learned much about Web 2.0, but I've gained more confidence in using the technology accessible to me. I can't wait to share my new knowledge with my colleagues and friends.
   
   
3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
   Yes. I never thought I would have a blog. I've never made time to read blogs, much less create my own. This experience has definitely opened my eyes to the value of blogs. I've encountered some really interesting blogs. One I found the other day was NeverEndingSearch by Joyce Valenza in the School Library Journal. Her blog led me to the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians' Best Websites for Teaching and Learning Site.
   
   
4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
   I suggest you provide more face-to-face opportunities for new participants to work with more experienced users. I wish I could have attended such opportunities this summer, but the hours they were offered conflicted with my summer school hours.
   
   
5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
   Absolutely!
   
   
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?
   This has been an incredible hyper-active learning experience!

Thing # 22 Explore Nings

Yet ANOTHER social networking site!
I joined

Ning in Education--Using Ning for Educational Social Networks' Response to Intervention Ning.

I'm going to be working as a co-teacher in a 9th grade language arts class, and I am trying to learn as much as I can about working with students with special needs. I hope this ning will provide me with many contacts in the field.

Thing # 21 Find, create, and use podcasts and videocasts

I also created this PhotoStory early on in this project. I was at a Summer U technology inservice and took advantage of the opportunity to kill 2 birds with one stone. It's pretty cheesy, since I didn't have access to my own photos and didn't have much time to locate them on Flickr.

Thing # 20 Explore YouTube And TeacherTube and how to download and embed the videos

I learned how to embed external resources, including videos, into my blogs and other web pages early on in this project without even realizing that it would be one of the 23 things I would be working with (See my previous entry "A Teacher's Inspiration"). The background information and instructions for Thing #20 on our site were very accurate in describing the steps necessary for embedding video on your blog or web page. I can see myself using this often in future projects.

I've never tried to download videos from places like YouTube, so I viewed the PowerPoint slide show that describes the process and requirements a few times to get to a point where I sort of understood what it was discussing. I did a few Google searches on the topic, and found this excellent tutorial that provides another very easy way to download videos from YouTube and other media sharing sites. The only catch is that you need RealPlayer (the free version works fine). What's more, RealPlayer allows you to easily save the videos to different formats, like iPod and even Blackberry compatible file types. Here's the tutorial, in case you are interested:

Thing # 19 Explore the Web 2.0 Awards List

What is special about the tool?
It has many applications for various needs...all in one place.

What are its useful parts, especially with regards to Libraries and school?
The Web 2.0 Awards List contains some sites which are just for fun, but also includes several which can be used (and are used) by libraries and classroom teachers. I've seen how Flickr, Del.icio.us, Rollyo, and other sites can be used in 23 Things.

How might you use this tool in your own setting?
I personally use a few such as Craigslist, Citysearch, Yahoo! Maps, Google Maps, Facebook, and Kayak. I had never seen Lulu before, and I got very excited at the endless possibilities of using them in a language arts class...until I saw how expensive each book can be. I'll keep exploring this site, though. Perhaps I can use it for my personal use to create books for my family.

Thing # 18 online productivity tools

Using Open Office is just like using the Microsoft Office programs! I can't see much difference except that Open Office lets you save everything online and share with others much more easily than the Microsoft programs do. I like that the format is pretty much the same; that makes it all the easier to use.

Thing # 17 Rollyo

What a great idea! I played around with Rollyo for a bit, and I hope I did everything right. If I did, then I created my own searchroll for RTI.

http://rollyo.com/suchoffl/rti/

Let me know what you think.