We're so close. The penultimate "Thing!" We're almost there, so keep going and let's cross the finish line together!
This "Thing" will involve recording audio, so unless you're working at home and your computer has a microphone, you will need to find yourself a headset with a microphone. You can request one from Deb F., who has them in the IT dept. office.
Thing 16: Screencasting with ScreenToaster
Have you ever tried to explain how to use a computer program, web tool, or software application to someone? It can be pretty frustrating, especially if you are not actually teaching them in person. Have you ever used an online tutorial when you were learning a new application or taking an online class? Screencasting is the perfect tool for these scenarios. Screencasting is a way to create short videos where you can record what's happening on your screen while you're narrating via microphone or webcam.
Here is a screencast I created using the application ScreenToaster (this "Thing" was originally supposed to be screencasting with Jing, but Jing requires a software download, something I've been trying to avoid). In this screencast I'm demonstrating a Web 2.0 tool called Glogster, which I'm using here for the first time, so please forgive my incompetence! :)
Upload the screencast to your ScreenToaster account
Embed or provide the link to your screencast in your Thing 16 blog post (I had a problem getting the embedded video to show up in my blog post, which is why I just went with the link)
Add your screencast to the RB Ning in the "Videos" section
We are getting so close to the end! After this, there will only be two more "Things" to complete, and then we'll all be Web 2.0 Gurus. I continue to be amazed and excited by what people are doing with this stuff, and I also continue to encounter new tools that I would love to have included. One of these tools is so awesome and, I believe, so potentially fun to use with kids, that it's bumped a previously-scheduled "Thing" off the program! Voicethread will now be officially replacing Online Image Generators, which are cool but more of "just for fun" applications.
Thing 14: Wikis
A wiki is a collaborative website and authoring tool that allows users to easily add, remove and edit content. Wikipedia, the online open-community encyclopedia, is the largest and likely the most well known of these knowledge-sharing tools. Wikis have many benefits, are easy to use, and have many applications.
Some of the benefits of wikis:
Anyone (registered or unregistered, if unrestricted) can add, edit or delete content.
Tracking tools allow you to easily keep up on what been changed and by whom.
Earlier versions of a page can be rolled back and viewed when needed.
Users do not need to know HTML in order to apply styles to text or add and edit content.
Multiple pages can be added to one wiki.
For an overview of wikis, watch this video:
Educational uses for wikis are great. Check out the sites below to see examples of wikis in use:
Learning the Wiki Way, by Jason Welker (This is a presentation about wikis in the classroom, given at an overseas educational conference. Click through the presentation, reading about this teacher's philosophy of using wikis.)
Welker's Wikinomics (This is the class wiki of the presenter above. Check out the different areas of his wiki.)
WorldIssues08 (Allison C. and I have been using this wiki for one of our Big6 research projects. Students are required to post at least 3 resources they've found helpful, so that students with the same topic can help each other out. They just click on the name of their "world issue", and it takes them to that issue's wiki page. It ends up being a great way for kids to share resources!)
To complete Thing 14:
Watch the video
Visit each of the links above and explore how wikis can be used in the classroom
Click on "Easy Edit" on the 17 Things to Chew On Wiki. You'll be prompted to "Join Now!", then you'll sign up for a Wetpaint account. As soon as you do that, you're in! No need for me to accept or invite you, as I set up my wiki so that anybody with a Wetpaint account can edit (although you can choose to only permit editing by people you approve).
Read the intro page of the wiki and then follow the directions about where/what to post.
Copy and paste the comment you wrote on the wiki into a new post on your blog. This will be your official "Thing 14" post.
***You'll notice that there are lots of ads on the 17 Things wiki, but NONE on Allison's and my wiki, and none on Welker's Wikinomics. If you use Wikispaces (specifically Wikispaces for Educators), you can indicate that you are an educator, and they will remove the ads from your site for free. Wetpaint USED to be this way (which is why I used it to create the 17 Things wiki), but I just checked and they now make everyone (even teachers) pay $20/month to remove the ads. Yikes! So, I would suggest that you stick with Wikispaces for all of your wiki needs.
Thing 15: Voicethread
Voicethread is my new favorite tool. It seems to me that the possibilities are endless, but I want to hear what you have to say! My husband is currently engaged in a big Voicethread project with his geography classes, and so I keep badgering him to send me examples of their work. Basically, Voicethread is a way to facilitate a discussion of images and video with a large number of people in a totally online environment. After creating a Voicethread account, you can create individual Voicethreads. For each Voicethread, you can upload images and/or video, comment on each page using text, audio or video, and then share the Voicethread with other users, who can then make their own comments using text, audio or video. It's amazing!
Here is a link to a Voicethread created by the company itself: http://voicethread.com/share/409/ Watch it for an explanation and demo.
Here is a link to a Voicethread created by an educator, to be shared with other educators. Check out how many people commented on it! http://voicethread.com/share/3352/
And here is the link to the Voicethread I created, which contains images of the new building as well as a few student interviews re: their use of social networking and the Internet. You should make at least 5 comments on it, one of which should be audio or video. To leave an audio comment if you don't have a microphone (I don't have one here at school), click on the telephone icon after you click on "Comment", enter your phone # (cell, home, or school), and the program will call you within SECONDS! Wait for the greeting, record your message, then hang up. You've just left a comment on the Voicethread! To leave a video comment, you'll need a webcam, which I might try to do later from my home computer. Here is my Voicethread: http://voicethread.com/share/900480/
FYI, you can request that your account be upgraded for free to an Educator Account, which lets you create an unlimited amount of Voicethreads and gives you a lot more storage space. I got mine upgraded within 24 hours of submitting the request.
(Disclaimer: I paid $10 to get 60 minutes of "phone commenting" on my account. If you don't pay that, I think users might have to rely only on text, microphones or webcams).
To complete Thing 15:
Watch the two sample Voicethreads
Set up a Voicethread account
Watch the Voicethread I created and make at least 5 comments, one of which should be audio or video (you'll need to have a VT account in order to comment)
Post about your experience. What do you think of Voicethread? Could it apply to you and your classes? Would you use it?
The next two Things are all about creativity. Creative Commons gives people the freedom to use and share work from and with others without fear of copyright infringement, and Animoto is a new way to put video, photos and music together using content from others (ideally with Creative Commons licenses!) or that you have created yourself.
Thing 12: Creative Commons
Have you ever found a great photo on the Web and used it in a PowerPoint, on a blog, or even in a print publication you were making? Did you feel guilty about it? I know I always do! We're not technically supposed to use someone's work without their permission, but, getting permission is probably not going to happen, and besides, what if the creators don't mind? The people at Creative Commons have given creators of original works an option to give their works a Creative Commons license. This license allows people to use their works, always with attribution, but also with other optional stipulations.
Watch the videos below:
Now visit the Creative Commons website for an overview of the CC philosophy and the different licenses creators may choose for their works. Also, CC licenses aren't just for photos: they can be used with video, music, writing, scientific research, anything that would normally be covered under a copyright license! Cool!
Explore the "creativecommons" tag on my Delicious account (username: mrsduelllibrary). I've posted five sites, including some CC licensed music sites and photo sites (you can actually explore Flickr for CC-licensed images!)
Post your thoughts about Creative Commons. Does CC seem like a good idea? How could you use it with student projects? Could this help or hinder their understanding and respect of copyright law?
Thing 13: Creating Video Shows with Animoto
Animoto is a really cool tool that will create videos using photos, video, and music you upload onto their site (or, you can choose from music in their library). Short 30 second videos are free for everyone to create, or you can choose to upgrade and be able to create full-length videos.
Also, if you apply for an Educator Access code, you are given 6 month access to create full-length videos. At the end of that time, you can apply again for another code. If you think you might like to use Animoto to create videos either for or with your students, you should apply for an Educator Access code BEFORE registering for an account. To do this, go to "Contact Us" on the Animoto site and send them a request for an Educator Access code. Include where you work, what you teach, and that you would like to use Animoto with students. Use your work email when you make the request. You'll have to wait a few days, but you will then receive an email containing your Educator Access code with instructions for how to use it when you register. If you don't think you'll use Animoto in your class, or would like to get started with Animoto right away, go ahead and register now. You won't, however, be able to apply for an Educator Access code for your account later (unless you just create a new account using your work email).
Now let's check out Animoto! Visit the site and watch the video "Learn More in 60 sec", then click on "View a Sample Video" to see what the finished product will look like.
Here also are a few student-created Animoto videos I found on SchoolTube:
For this Thing, you should create an account (either with an Educator Access code or not), and then create a video and post it on your blog and ALSO on the RB Ning so we can all check it out. You can use photos from your Flickr account or from your computer, and you can use video if you have it (you can choose to ONLY use photos), and then either upload your own music or choose from Animoto's library. Good luck- I can't wait to see the results!
To complete Thing 13:
Request an Educator Access code if you would like to create longer videos
Register for an Animoto account
Watch Animoto's "Learn More in 60 sec" video and "Sample Video"
Watch the two student videos posted above
Create a video and post it to your blog AND to the RB Ning
Post about your experience. Did you find it easy? Would you use this with students? Have students create a video as a final project?
Alright, onward and upward! Here we are back again, it's 2010, and so let's kick off the new year with Things 10 and 11: social networking and online book cataloguing. I know that getting to this point has been a lot of work. You should be proud that you've stuck with it and made it this far! Hopefully you've already been able to make use of some of these Web 2.0 tools; I know I have!
Thing 10: Social Networking
Social networking is a polarizing topic. Some people think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, while others won't touch it with a ten-foot pole. All of us fall somewhere within the spectrum but, like it or not, social networking is a reality and is where most of our students spend at least part of their time. According to a survey of freshman students taken during Freshman Orientation this year, 60% had a Facebook or MySpace profile. If the same survey was administered to juniors or seniors, this number would undoubtedly be much higher. Harnessing the power of what's already being used by students is the impetus for looking at social networking in an educational setting. You won't be required to create a Facebook profile for this Thing (or share the one you may already have) because using Facebook with students is really a separate issue. We will, however, be looking at a Web 2.0 application that allows users to create their OWN social networking sites! So imagine having your own little Facebook world entirely of your creation, with only members that you invite or grant permission to join.
We will be exploring Ning, which is the most well-known social networking application. Here at RB, Patty S. has already been using Ning with her RB16 News students. We'll be taking a look at her RB16 News Ning as well as the Ning I've created for the 17 Things program. Hopefully it can stick around and can be a resource for the whole school once the 17 Things project is over. Hey, a girl can dream, right? For Thing 10, you will be exploring the Ning I've created for RB. Look at all of the different features that are included, such as the Forum Discussions, photos, videos, members, and poll. You can add so many more, too, such as chat, news, events, and even a live Twitter feed! One thing that's unfortunate is that, unless you upgrade to the professional version of Ning, you are subjected to sidebar ads. Please to ignore!
respond to at least one of the Forum Discussion topics
respond to the poll
post your thoughts about your experience with Ning and what educational value (if any) you could see in using this with classes, teams, activities, etc.
Just For Fun (optional):
add a photo (you can upload from your computer OR link to your Flickr account)
create your own Ning and post the address on your blog (we'll think you're so fancy!)
Thing 11: Online Book Cataloguing
This "Thing" is more for fun and for personal use, but you may find that it has potential for classroom use as well. If you're a reader, it's always a good idea to keep a list of what you've read so you can make recommendations, look for books by the same author, and well, because sometimes it's just fun to make lists. Several online book cataloguing sites have popped up in recent years, each of which allow you to create your own "book shelf", tag books, find forums to join, get recommendations, and see what other people are reading. Three of the most popular are GoodReads, Shelfari and LibraryThing. For this Thing, you should visit each of these sites, take the tour or read the How It Works section, and choose one in which to create an account. Try adding 5-10 books, create tags for them, add them to the appropriate shelf, and anything else that strikes your fancy. I have account on LibraryThing, username aduell. Check me out! I also have added a gadget on the sidebar of this blog that shows random books from my LibraryThing.
Add book to the appropriate bookshelf (if applicable)
Post your username and which application you used
Post about your experiences using the application. Would you use this? How and why? Could you see any way to use this in a school setting?
For fun (optional):
Add a gadget to your blog displaying books from your account (each of the three applications has an option to get the code to embed onto your blog, website, etc.)
We're halfway through the program! Give yourself a pat on the back and a big high-five for making it this far. You'll now have over two weeks before Things 10 and 11 are posted, so hopefully you can catch up and catch your breath (I know I will- I've been trying to keep at least one step ahead)! I've already been hearing some great things that people have been doing with some of these tools- keep it up and spread the Word! One of the goals for this program is to extend the skills and knowledge of our faculty and staff, so those of us in the program can pass along some of these Web 2.0 tools to our colleagues.
Thing 8: Photo Sharing
You may already have an account with an online photo sharing site, or perhaps you've had friends or family send you a link to their online albums (I subject my nearest and dearest to monthly Shutterfly.com updates). Photo sharing sites have progressed beyond being warehouses for photos, however: many let you edit, crop, organize, share, add comments, tag, create photo groups, and even apply cool effects to individual photos. We're going to be exploring Flickr, which is one of the most innovative photo sites around. You'll be creating a Flickr account, uploading some photos to it, tagging those photos, and then posting a slideshow to your blog (Customizing Blogs is Thing 9). "She's crazy!", you might be saying. But I'm not, trust me. You can do it! I chose this Photo Sharing Thing to occur right before the break so you'll have time to take some pictures you'd like to share with us (and borrow a camera, if necessary). If you don't have access to a digital camera, you can talk to the AV department here and request to borrow one over the break.
Your goal for Thing 8 is to create a Flickr account and upload at least THREE photos, one of which should be a picture of you doing something related to teaching/technology/reading/chewing- something specific to this program, basically. The other 2+ photos can be of anything, but ideally would be taken specifically to share with the group. You should then TAG the photos with keywords and tag at least ONE of the photos with the keyword "17 Things" (to use a two-word tag you have to put the phrase in quotes). Make these photos PUBLIC (you have to check a box making them public), so that we can search for them on Flickr. You should then write a blog post about your experience with Flickr and make sure to include your Flickr name so we can find your pictures.
The App Garden (these are cool apps that Flickr users have created- there's one called FlickrPoet where you paste in the text of a poem, and Flickr pictures are matched to the text- so your poem becomes a poem in photos)
BigHugeLabs (lets you do fun things with your photos like make them into movie posters, photo booth pictures, add comic book captions, etc.)
Take and upload at least 3 pictures, one of which should have something to do with the 17 Things program
Tag your pictures, and make sure at least one picture is tagged "17 Things"
Make your photos public
Write a blog post about your experience
Post your Flickr account name
Search for and check out other participants' photos on Flickr! My Flickr name is "mrsduelllibrary", and you can see my first few pictures in the "Slideshow" feature on the sidebar of my blog.
Just for fun (optional): Create something fun using one of the Flickr third party applications or mashups and include the results in your photo stream or post into your Thing 8 blog post.
Thing 9: Customizing Blogs
One of my favorite things to do with my blogs is to add little gadgets and widgets to my sidebar, which gives your blog a more personalized feel. Your task for Thing 9 is to customize your blog by adding at least THREE gadgets or widgets to your sidebar. These can be found in the "Layout" tab at the top of your blog editing screen. Just click "Add a Gadget" in the sidebar, and choose a few things from the list of choices. One of the gadgets you choose should be a SLIDESHOW, which will then let you link to your Flickr photostream, displaying a running slideshow of the photos you uploaded in Thing 8. So cool. Other gadgets you can choose to add include a poll, a video, some HTML/JavaScript, a list of your favorite links, or even just some text.
To complete Thing 9:
Add at least THREE gadgets to the sidebar of your blog
One of the gadgets must be a SLIDESHOW that links to your Flickr photostream
I'm just posting this video because it's awesome. I've been looking for a good, short, student-friendly video about how to avoid creating BAD PowerPoint presentations, so I think I'm going to show this to the freshman classes with whom I'm currently working on a Big6 research project (their final product is a group PowerPoint presentation, although I'm going to encourage them to try Web 2.0 tools Zoho.com or Google Show as alternatives). I think this video really gets across some of the things you've got to watch out for when creating PowerPoint presentations.
We've just about made it 1/3 of the way! Yahoo. Congratulate yourself on coming this far. Now let's keep going! We'll be learning how to create your very own website using either Weebly.com or Yola.com, and then you'll learn how RSS feeds and News Readers can help you stay up-to-date with your favorite websites, blogs and online newspapers.
Thing 6: Creating Websites
Having a website of your very own used to be the stuff of dreams, but now it's become a reality. Creating a multi-paged website used to require familiarity with Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage, in addition to having an FTP program to upload HTML files, plus purchasing a domain name and server space. Have I lost you? Do you have any idea what I'm talking about? Who cares! It doesn't matter anymore, because all you need now is access to the Internet and some content you'd like on the web. You don't even need to be creative because these tools do the design for you! Ahh, web design for the armchair techie. You'll have the choice of using two different website creation tools: Weebly or Yola.
Watch the following video, which describes how to use Weebly.com (and why, as a teacher, you might want to have a website):
You can use websites to do so many different things. Check out Christine Stiel's Creative Writing class website, created using Weebly.com. See how she has created multiple pages for each project? Or you could have each page be a separate class. You could even have students create websites as a culminating project. Here and here are examples of final products created by my husband's social studies classes (password: mcculture).
To complete this Thing, you will choose either Weebly or Yola, sign up for an account, and create a multi-paged website. It can be simple, without a lot of content, but it should at least have a structure. It can be professional or personal. Once you've published your site, post the link to your new website in your Thing 6 blog post.
Write a blog post reflecting on your experience creating your website. Was it easy? Difficult? Will you actually use this website, or will you create another? How could you incorporate website creation into your professional or personal life?
Post the URL (web address) of your new website
Thing 7: RSS Feeds & News Readers There are a lot of websites out there, and most of us have certain websites that we check regularly. Now that we are all "following" different colleagues' blogs, we have even more websites to check. What if you could check for updates of all your favorite blogs, online newspapers and other regularly-updated sites by visiting one simple page? That's the beauty of RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication. You may have noticed that some of your favorite websites have little orange icons that look like this:
This orange RSS icon lets you know that you can subscribe to the website using a news reader such as Google Reader or Bloglines. You simply have to create an account with one of these news readers and then start adding websites that have RSS feeds. Watch this Common Craft video to learn more about RSS feeds and Google Reader:
Your job for Thing 7 is to sign up for either a Google Reader or Bloglines account, add the blogs of the colleagues you're following, plus at least 3 other blogs, online newspapers, or websites to your reader. Chances are, some of the websites you already visit a lot have RSS feeds available! Post about your experiences with Google Reader or Bloglines, if you think you would use it, and how you could use it professionally.
Here are some education-related sites with RSS feeds to get you started:
