Thing 16

Having 3 children who range in age from 16 - 22, I was constantly hearing terms that were foreign to me when they all started to "MySpace" and "Facebook" Things like, "I commented you", "I tagged you" and my favorite was "I poked you back!" :) My daughter kept encouraging me to create my own "MySpace" and like so many other adults, I felt it would be nothing more than a waste of my time and totally inappropriate in my profession. Little did I know that she was secretly creating me a "MySpace" as a Christmas gift. :) She was so excited and proud of herself and of course I had to accept this gift like any other she has handmade. Little did I know how fun and social they can be. When several of my colleagues told me to get on "Facebook" I did and have enjoyed it tremendously. Not only have I reconnected with long lost cousins, and gotten the latest scoop on the family tree, I have also been blessed to find friends from elementary school.
As more and more of my co-workers get on "Facebook" I am seeing how easy and practical it would be to use social networking for professional purposes. Many days, we do use our "Facebook" more than actually emailing through our school account.
I think having a PLN would be very helpful and beneficial. Any time, you collaborate ideas and practices, people will benefit.

Thing 15

This was my first experience with Google Docs and I must admit I am hooked!!! I loved all the different aspects and tools that were available. I loved how they were user friendly and very easy to understand. I will be using Google Docs with my students on many different levels.

Thing 5c

In Students 2.0 I was able to read a young ladies blog as she prepares to graduate from high school and the anxiety of choosing her college. My daughter and I have just gone through this and I found the reading very comforting and even comical. I'm glad to know the feelings of worry and concern we had are typical at this stage in a young adults life.

Thing 14

I love YouTube! I have used it on several different occasions simply because there is a video out there on just about anything you need to know. One of my favorite videos was actually the reading of the book, Why Is He Different? It's a story from a child's perspective on his classmate that has autism.

Thing 13

I had never seen Voicethreads before this lesson. I can't wait to use this with my students. A lot of my students are shy and or withdrawn and getting them to interact during lessons can be very frustrating. I would love to see their reaction when the lesson includes their own voice. Voicethreads would allow me the opportunity to let each student read a page of a story at their convenience and comfort and then compile it all for the class to enjoy. Hopefully, this will build the child's self esteem and they will read aloud on their own.

Thing 12

After looking at several Web 2.0 sites, I think my 2 favorite for my classroom would be Wordle.net where I created this document for the students to try and find their name. Our Class.
I also liked Picnik. Using pictures with children who have autism can present a challenge, but this site offered a lot of exciting ideas to help catch my students attention.

Thing 5b

I've enjoyed checking my Google reader and as you can imagine my CNN link was mostly about the death of Michael Jackson. I found it sobering and a gentle reminder that no matter our views on people their passing will always impact others.
Michael Jackson has no doubt left a lasting impression.