Thing #18

Thing #22

Ning is very user friendly and easy to navigate.  I really enjoyed the Classroom 2.0 page.  It was easy to search the discussion page and videos.  I found a neat video explaining adding and subtracting integers using an “out of the box” method.  I had no idea that so many free resources and communities existed for teachers!

Thing #21

I really like the name “Pageflakes”…it just sounds pretty!

It took me a minute to get used to Pageflakes and all of the sections and add-ons.  After playing around, I started to like it more and more.  I really enjoyed visiting the sample Pageflakes sites.  It was neat to see the stock market info on the Economics page and the storytellers on the 3rd grade page.  I also like that you can personalize your Pageflakes page and add or delete specific sections.  What a neat tool!

Thing #20

I am blown away…again!  Google Docs is so cool and I didn’t even know that it existed!

Idea #1:  As a math teacher, I could create a spreadsheet and have each student enter his/her information about the subject being discussed.  We could document the number of hours it takes each student to complete homework and then build “work” word problems from the data.

Idea #2:  Google Docs would be an easy way for the math department to brainstorm ideas for improving math achievement for the next year.  Each math teacher could add or subtract from the plans without spending extra time in meetings.

Idea #3:  At my church, I serve on the Children’s Ministry team.  We are in the process of writing policies, procedure sheets, supply lists, etc.  This would be a great way to ask volunteers to give their input about the workings of the ministry.

Thing #19

I “youtube” everything!!  Call me a nerd but in my spare time I love to search for “how to” videos!  I have learned how to make my own laundry detergent, wrap a baby using a moby wrap, and make cute craft projects…just to name a few!  I enjoyed searching for math related videos for this “thing”.  The following video is a drummer who teaches math lessons using drumming.  It was hard for me to follow his explanation but I have quite a few musical students who would love to see lessons like this!  It would definitely grab their attention!

Thing #17

I have listened to podcasts online before with great success!  My favorite is the Dave Ramsey Show.  =)  I actually found this “thing” to be a little frustrating though.  My computer was running very slowly and it took forever to hear some of the podcasts.  Also, some of the podcasts were “skippy” even after I waited for them to load.  I searched Skip the Tuition and Learn Out Loud.  I did not find any podcasts that would be really exciting for my students but I did find nutrition podcasts that were interesting to me!

Thing #16

LibraryThing makes me want to sit down and read a good book all night!  I love the idea of tracking my reading for a year.  This would also be a great motivator for students.  They can easily find new books to read that will interest them and they can log books that they read.  I searched a few of my favorite authors and enjoyed looking at the suggestions from other readers!  Awesome resource and tool!

Thing #15

Again…I have heard of Delicious but have never used it.  How cool!  I like that you can install buttons on your browser to make saving a site very easy!  I had fun adding and tagging my favorite sites that I visit personally and for school purposes.  The layout of Delicious was a little confusing at first…it’s not pretty but it’s very functional.

Thing #7b

I found this crazy article in my reader today:  Dealer Sues Woman to Cancel ‘Good Deal’

I must be honest and say that I do not check my reader often.  After browsing for a few seconds, I was reminded that it is so easy to log on and see new additions to my favorite sites!  A few clicks and I’m there!  I love that I don’t have to waste time checking every site that interests me.  I can quickly see the updates and I get to choose what to look at!  Beautiful!

Thing #14

Ta-Da! I am a MAJOR list maker! I am constantly finding old handwritten lists all over the house. Ta-Da List is an online tool for creating lists.  The site even gives you ideas on what kind of lists you may want/need to write.  Ta-Da is extremely user friendly.  I had the whole thing figured out in less than 5 minutes!  Now I can make lists for my lists!  =)  I think this would be a great tool for students to keep track of the things that they needed to do…if they could resist the urge to browse Facebook before and after checking Ta-Da!