Close Call

In case you couldn't tell, I nearly forgot about things 13 and 15.  >sigh<

Thing 15

For what once seemed like the dreaded Thing 15, I posted my Animoto video on the 23 things sandbox wiki.  I have a lot more respect for the folks at wikipedia now, that's for sure.  I never understood just how a wiki was edited.  I learned a lot from this activity, but I'm not sure how I might use a wiki as a teacher.

Thing 13

I had never heard of Zoho before.  I still prefer doing as much work as possible offline, but I can definitely see how this could be beneficial to someone who did not have software like Microsoft Word or something similar on their computer.  In addition, if you are creating a document to share with someone, I guess creating it online takes one extra step out of uploading it.
Here's a link to the document I made on Google Docs:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g6LDO-2aPP738FYaGlupBgLHao3cNmMKpJ-aFOZwOE0/edit

I loved that Google Docs automatically saved every change I made to the document.  I can see how students could find both of these sites useful, but I preferred Google Docs.  Its setup was much simpler to navigate for me.

Is it the End or Only the Beginning?

Well, this has been interesting...
My favorite discovery exercises were the ones that involved the creation of some type of artwork, of course.  I also enjoyed the things like # 22 that I can actually see a possible future use for.  Many of the "things" can potentially be used, but some are unlikely to be useful in the future.
As to how this has affected my lifelong learning goals, I intend to familiarize myself with more types of emerging technologies so I can use them with my students.  I would like to create a balanced art program wherever I teach, so I will need to be familiar with technology as well as painting, drawing, etc.
I was surprised by how much I did enjoy some of the assignments.  I was happy to learn a lot in this class.
While I can understand the reasons for many of these activities, I really hated having to have so many accounts on so many websites.  I have a massive list of user names and passwords that I hope no one else ever finds.
I'm honestly not sure how I will keep up with web2.0.  I used to keep track of emerging technologies by watching Attack of the Show on G4tv, but DirecTv dropped that channel (much to my disappointment).  I suppose I can keep up with emerging technologies by following blogs or talking to tech-savy friends on Facebook.

Thing 23

Well, at the bottom of the 23 Things page, there is a brief mention of a "43 Things" upon which the 23 Things were based, but a quick Google search of the phrase "23 things" turned up another 23 things on the Learning 2.0 website.  They are very similar, but thing 23 is a summary activity much like the unofficial, yet still necessary thing 24 on this list.  I had heard of Creative Commons before through an electronic imaging class I took during my first semester.  I think it is great because I love knowing I can use other people's images without fearing a law suit.  I'd be happier if they could also alter the copyright laws so works become free for public use upon the death of the original creator of those works.  Who needs to profit from their creations after they're dead?
I will definitely remember to always search for works with a Creative Commons license that allows me to use them, and I will encourage my future students to avoid borrowing images that are copyright protected.

Thing 22

The three binders I created are called "lesson plans," "art history," and "teaching strategies."  This technology is great because teachers do not always have room for bookshelves, and this creates a virtual bookshelf that can easily be filled with free resources that don't waste paper or space.  Students could also use it to keep track of resources when they are doing research.

art history

Thing 4

Commenting can help create a sense of community by allowing interaction between the reader and the author of a blog.  It would be nice if readers could have such interaction with the authors of their favorite books as they read them.
It is also nice for the author to be able to tell someone is not only reading his or her work, but also "hearing" what they are trying to say.
Commenting on a blog can even lead to a type of conversation; one which is not as efficient as a face-to-face conversation, but can be far more convenient.
The blogs I followed and commented on for this belong to Ashley Nalley, Daniel Cozine, Caitlin Ladd, Ariel Griffith, and Melanie Perry.  Melanie is not in our class, but she is taking the class with another professor, and her name is listed on the 23 things page, so I decided to follow her since I know her from NAEA.

Thing 21

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

Creating a video using Animoto was fun.  I really wanted to do more with the video, but unfortunately,  I am a penniless college student who can not afford to pay for a membership with Animoto. 
I chose to create a video that shows some of the works of art I saw in the Picasso to Warhol exhibit in the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.  I could not include all the images I wanted to use without paying to use Animoto, so I just included some of the main ones I remembered by the artists most people will have heard of before.  I included images of work by Picasso, Matisse, Pollock, Bearden, Johns, and Warhol.

Thing 20

  Well, I finished my explorations of Youtube for today.  I immediately knew what kind of video I wanted to use, but finding a decent one was difficult.  I chose this one because it starts off with the basics, and she takes you through the process of drawing a portrait.  Her finished product did not look as bad as some of the others either.  It's actually pretty good.  There was a fantastic portrait of Johnny Depp, but that's not what I was looking for.
  Youtube could be very useful for a school's library website, but only if they made links to particular videos and kept the students away from youtube as a whole.  It is full of things that are quite inappropriate for school.  It is also full of things that, while not inappropriate, are still quite useless.

Thing 19

  Thanks to the friend I mentioned in Thing 18, and my affiliation with a student organization, I am a member of an online community.  I joined APSU's student NAEA organization online the same day I joined Facebook.
  Overall, social networks are not extremely appealing to me.  Since I joined Facebook earlier this year, I have wasted far too much time on it, so I really don't have much interest in social networks.  It has helped me keep up with some things because I can always ask a friend, but a phone call would accomplish the same thing.
  I liked the forums I saw on some of the sites.  If I ever form an opinion I think needs to be shared with everyone, I might just hop right over to a forum and share away.  They can be really helpful if I have a question that someone else in the group can answer, but I don't always trust other people's opinions.  They might be wrong.

Thing 18

  I am now grateful to a friend who recently convinced me to join Facebook.
Educators should be familiar with social networking so they can keep up with what is going on in the community; with their friends or maybe even their students.  Facebook isn't much different than I had always assumed it would be.  There are lots of people who post too many unnecessary things I simply don't care about, but it can be useful too.  I primarily use it to communicate with other art ed. students; especially regarding upcoming events in the art department.  I like that I can use Facebook to communicate directly to a friend or to everyone if I feel I have something exceedingly important to say.  I usually don't have anything that important to say though.  I did not like that other people can post things on my page by "sharing" it with me.  Most of the things they have share are things I have liked, though, and it does give me the ability to "hide" things other people put on my page.  That's cool.  I suppose it would be pretty cool if an art class could create its own Facebook page and use it to share artwork they created with everyone.

Thing 17

  This was interesting.  I can see how this could  helpful in a classroom.  Having sites you might use for a class demonstration bookmarked can help you find them later if you forgot what they are called.  Plus, the ability to access them anywhere is great if your computer is not attached to you.  Since I rarely use the same computer two days in a row, this is awesome!
  Teachers can look up new websites in the comfort of their homes and bookmark them, then they will still have access to them on their school computer using sites like delicious.

Thing 16

  I chose to create a start page with iGoogle.  I liked the look of it more than Netvibe, and it took Page Flakes too long to load.  I liked how easy they made it to instantly create and customize a unique start page with iGoogle.  Any time something on the Internet is easy for me, I am happy with it.
  As to how online calendars can be useful for me...they can't unless I am somewhere other than home.  Since I live in the middle of the woods, a regular calendar made of paper is the easiest to use, but if I did have Internet access, I would definitely use an online calendar to help keep track of events.  However, I actually preferred the to-do lists.  I chose Remember the Milk for mine.  Jott looked more professional, but the others practically begged me to sign up for them.  Remember the Milk looked the easiest, and the name is a little funny...you know not really funny, but slightly humorous.  There is also something appealing about a to-do list that is password protected so no one else will be adding to it for me.
  I really liked the start page, and the to-do list can help me keep up with assignments for school.  I would recommend either to anyone who cared to ask about them...as long as they don't need my help with them.

Thing 14

For Thing # 14, I explored bubbl.us and gliffy.  Bubbl.us is a mind map creation site, and gliffy is a flowchart site.  I checked out one of gliffy's example flowcharts.  Unfortunately, the options were "who stole my lunch" or "Lady Gaga adoption process."  I think they intended to be funny with them, but I did not find them amusing.  I did, however, like the website, and I felt it would be useful if I needed to make a flowchart.  I preferred bubbl.us's mind maps to gliffy's flowcharts though.  Bubbl.us was easier to use and more fun.

Thing 12

http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=EN
This is the link to Google Translate.  I translated a portion of my Spanish textbook.  It was not entirely accurate, but I could mostly understand it.  I also made a calendar on Google Calendar, but I do not wish to share it with the world.  It's mine.

Thing 7

This photo was taken by a friend of mine named Melanie Perry.  She was kind enough to allow me to use photos from her flickr page, which I really appreciate because all the photos I wanted to use were protected by copyrights.  I did not like trying to find an image to use on flickr, but writing this blog has been even more troublesome because it won't let me publish it!  Obviously, if you are reading this now, the problem has been solved.  We'll see, or rather we now see. 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melperry03/

Aaaaaahhh!

Blogger is not letting me post thing 7!
Okay, now it let me post it, but only the first couple of letters are showing up.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!  Problem solved.
As you can probably see, it is now not showing the photo I posted.  Oh joy!

Thing 11

I found this less enjoyable than some of the previous assignments.  This was unpleasant.  There was really no method I preferred for searching for feeds.  I mostly just googled things.  I looked up an art ed. blog on Google Blog Search.  To be honest, I found the whole thing a little confusing.  As to what useful feeds I found; define useful.  I don't know that I will find most of this useful.  If anything I feel it will consume valuable time I would otherwise spend finishing the book series I'm attempting to read.  I can see how some people might appreciate such technology, but I prefer to leave it alone.

Thing 10

So, maybe if I was more interested in current events and trends I would be more excited about RSS and newsreaders, but as it is, I feel like it is just another thing I have to remember to check everyday.  I am also quite worried I won't be able to find my Google reader in the future.  It is a good way of keeping up with information if there's something you want to keep up with.  I am thrilled I was able to subscribe to G4, though!  I haven't seen G4 since Directv dropped them a few years ago.  That used to be how I kept up with the latest news in gaming and technology.  I'm not yet sure how this might be useful in a school situation. 

Thing 6

Well, since it appeared in nearly all of the lists of Web 2.0 winners, I decided to just pick Google.  It is also one of the few sites on the list I have ever used.  I like that it provides its users with categories to choose from (images, maps, etc.).  I know I have used Google Images a lot!  I mean a lot!  Unfortunately, to avoid inappropriate content, public schools usually have the whole category blocked.  This can be frustrating for art students trying to find a particular image.  I'm so thankful for the unrestricted Internet available to me here.  Anyway, as a search engine, Google is obviously useful to any student who is trying to find anything, though it does have the annoying habit of giving you far more information than you asked for.  For example, just googling Google gives you around 15,190,000,000 results!  Why?  Google Maps is also a helpful feature although I don't think it is really useful in a classroom.  Overall, Google is very useful.  Its the only search engine I use, but that is probably because it is the preset search engine on all the computers I use.
https://www.google.com/

Thing 3

How might I make use of a blog in my future classroom?  

Well, once I have more experience, I could use a blog to provide guidance to newer teachers who are just starting out.  I intend to make full use of more experienced teachers' blogs and chat rooms, myself.  I could also use it as a sort of reflective diary; one that helps me make decisions on how I can improve my lessons in the future, and because blogs are not private like a diary, I can get feedback from readers who might have some interesting ideas.  The blog could even be used as an important resource for students.

Thing 2

Well, the avatar creation process was fun, but the web site did not give me enough clothing options.  The process of just creating the blog, easy though it may be, was frustrating for me.  I don’t know why.  It was not nearly as hard as I made it. 

I just used my first initial and my last name for my blog name…I think.  I tried to make the avatar look a little like me, but a very annoyed me (the smiling face was too creepy and I did not like the other faces).  He does not reflect my personality so much as he reflects my attitude toward social networking sites.  Well, it’s really the attitude I have toward the people whose entire lives revolve around having no life but the one they created on Facebook.  This was fun though!
Okay, yeah, my blog name is S Forrester.  It is right there at the top of the screen and I did not notice..................

Thing 9

I made this image on ImageChef

I used ImageChef to make this.  It is really easy.  You just need to choose the shape and the words you want to make up the image.  It also lets you choose the colors and preview your creation.  There are a lot of options available on ImageChef.  I just chose word mosaic because it looked fun.

Also from ImageChef

I wanted to personalize a bowl of soup.....................so I did.  This was another of the many activities on ImageChef.  It is so easy, I had no trouble doing it.

This is a fun way to send a message to someone, and the first one would make interesting posters for a classroom.  

Thing 8

I made this on the Spell with flickr site.
 

While I doubt I will make much use of flickr or flickr mashups in my personal  life, I think it could potentially be used for some art lessons in the future.  I enjoyed using Spell with flickr because it really did all the work for me.  I also liked the Jigsaw site, but I did not upload the one I made.  I really like online photo sharing, or at least I like sharing other people's photos.  I often feel inspired by images I find on the Internet, but I never upload my own images.  This is partially due to the fact that I rarely take photos and, until recently, did not participate in any social networks.

Thing 5

Thing 5 is all about Web 2.0, for which Wikipedia gives a very wordy description.  Web 2.0 is basically the interactive online environment made up of websites and applications that allow audience participation.  It includes social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing sites, etc.- pretty much anything that allows users to participate in the content.  I also read the Web 2.0:  A Guide for Educators article.  I hated the sentence in the first paragraph stating the Web has replaced things like libraries, bookstores, and classrooms.  I like those things!  Why are we happy these things are being replaced?  The article also claims the Web has replaced the need for paper.  I guess those big printers in every computer lab are just for decoration.  I would be impressed if the Web could eliminate the need for toilet paper.  As for “School 2.0,” I see the potential for something good.  It is nice for teachers and students to be able to contact each other and interact outside of the classroom, but as an art teacher in training, I value the in-class production time more than the idea of a high-tech future.  Future schools will probably benefit from the integration the Web into the curriculum, but I hope it is not at the expense of all the good aspects of today’s classroom ( or is it already yesterday’s classroom I’m thinking of? ).

Thing 1

Of all the 7.5 Habits of Lifelong Learners, the hardest for me is definitely using technology to my advantage.  Whenever I try using one of the many technological innovations available to me, things tend to go wrong.  I am almost convinced that there is some great conspiracy to see to it that I never become proficient in the use of technology.  On the other hand, I have confidence in myself as a “competent, effective learner,” which is the fourth habit.  I am sure I will eventually figure things out, as I usually do, but with my luck, whatever it is will no longer be relevant once I understand it.  I hope that by "playing" with Web 2.0 tools, I will learn to make better use of the technology that is available to me.  This process is slightly frustrating for me, but I am beginning to enjoy parts of it.