Thing 10: Embedded talking cat

I saw this when it was broadcast on television and laughed my head off. It doesn't seem quite so funny now, but it's still quite humorous. See what you think.



I also downloaded the video "Shift Happens" that has been around the world about a hundred times. I chose the high-quality format using KeepVid and it seemed to take a long time. Neither video is the sort of thing I would use with students, but either might be interesting to a small number of kids.

Thing 9: YouTube and Flip Video

I understand how people can spend hours and hours on youTube. I searched through a lot of video with a focus on things that might be useful for me as a teacher. Nada. I understand that it's a revolutionary tool and has the potential to really connect people, but I am not sure how I will use it to revolutionize my classroom.

YouTube is restricted in our district, as are TeacherTube and SchoolTube and every other streaming media website. I understand why, but I think there needs to be some better understanding about how digital media can be incorporated into the classroom lesson.

I did invest in a Flip digital camcorder. It's about the size of an iPod and it records 2 hours of video before it needs to download its memory via USB. Very easy to use. Very portable. Good quality (HD) video. You can learn more about the other Flip cameras and the one I got (MinoHD). It's very, very simple and yet even my son think's it's cool.

Thing 8 manipulators

There are lots of different tools to manipulate images and generate new and more engaging images for use in classes and online.

This is fun to do and might help promote a sense of creativity and foster the students' application of imagination. It's important to integrate visualization with literature and this could be a good way to do it. I'm only a little concerned that it might become a case of using technology because it's 'cool' without having a sound pedagogical function in mind.

Thing 7 flickr postr

This worked just fine. I've done this and other uploading activities before so this wasn't too difficult. I really like the idea of using Flickr photos for in-class or online activities, but I haven't tested to see if our district will allow us to access Flickr over our network. More experimenting time will be required once I'm back in the classroom.

A nice idea would involve having students select photos from Flickr and add them to their own set in response to a reading assignment. For example, they could collect photos as the read for create a portfolio project for a novel.

Here's a picture of Scout and Atticus from a college-level production of "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Blog 6 flickr

I've loved photography since I was pretty young. I used to have a dark room and loved staying up all night working in it with my friend, Gary. In college and had several photography classes and always enjoyed the time I'd take to take and make artistic images. In my advertising career, I used the camera less, but got to work with some really good photographers. Then...not so much.

I think I've taken so few pictures as an adult because I had become impatient with the whole, film, processing, printing, cropping, dodge/burning and storing process. I love PhotoShop, but I hate the input/output stuff.

I have a digital camera, but it's pretty basic and I'm not enjoying the 'capture' process. I got my wife a great digital SLR, but she loves it so much that she doesn't want me to use it.

Flickr might be the solution, along with an investment into a great camera. I definitely could use more visual representation for my classes which tend to be very 'text-centric.' This could apply whether I take or merely find and credit the images.

Thing 5 blog subs

The questions were asked: What questions do you have? What didn't work or doesn't make sense? How might you use RSS in your personal or professional life? Find anything in your searching that you'd recommend to others?

There really wasn't much that was confusing, but I'd say that I the practice of using these feeds needs to become second nature. I really need to become part of an online community. Like anything else with Web 2.0, this is less of a technology and more of a lifestyle. Creating the subscriptions is not a problem.

Thing 4 -- Bloglines

I see the value of developing a bloglines account, especially if there's a collection of blogs that you want your students to track and read...you can make your own account public and do much of the work for them. At the same time, I suppose I don't get around to as many different sources as I'd like to. I think this account would most likely grow in a rather organic way and result from the time I spend online rather than from an intentional effort of set-up. It was a good experience and it's something I will continue to use.