Thing #13: Mid-Module Reflection

I'm actually more than half way through my 23 things and have enjoyed them thus far.  One of my favorite things includes making screencasts.  They are so helpful in the classroom with providing directions to students; I post them in Edmodo and on webquests.  In the beginning of this TIS journey, I was not a big fan of blogging or podcasts, and since then a deeper understanding and appreciation of them has developed.  My seven year old daughter has even created a blog about her pet snake to further her interest in writing.  In our class, we continue to plan how to incorporate blogs into our activities.

Before the TIS 23 Things Module, I was familiar with QR codes and creating them.  My TIS training has helped me to take QR codes to the next level by having students create QR codes for their digital portfolios.  The QR codes are then placed on the back of the JIST cards they make in class for job search and interviewing purposes.

For this thing, I've also read another TIS candidate's blog and posted a comment.

 

Thing #15: Learn Something New From Listening To A Podcast

Over the past year and a half, I have found a love of reptiles.  At our home we have a bearded dragon, reverse okeetee cornsnake, and five geckos, with a sixth coming this weekend from the Central WV Reptile Show in Summersville, WV.

Most people react to my love of reptiles as if it is strange, and I believe if I were a male, it would be more acceptable and even welcomed by others.  For this "thing", I searched RSS feeds, which stands for Rich Site Summary.  RSS is a web feed format for blogs, audio, video, and headline news.  I searched for information about women in herpetoculture.  I found a podcast of Women of Herpetoculture & Herpetology:  Julie Bergman and learned how she became interested with geckos and about her experiences as a woman in a male dominated field.

Thing #12: Find Something New 2.0

The Web 2.0 Tool I chose to check out is Vine.  I recently got an iPhone 4S and completed a WV Learns class about integrating mobile phones into instruction, so I thought this may be a good tool to use in class.   Vine allows users to make short looping videos to share with others.  When downloading the app, there is a warning that there is content that may not be appropriate for underage viewers.  Most of the videos are small funny jokes but beware that sexual content or language may pop up.  From reading reviews about the app, a profile cannot be private.  For an adult who loves social networking and creating videos, this is a good app.

Thing #10: Figure Something Out On Your Own

I'm having a good Monday morning, especially while finishing up 23 things.  Our students in SPOKES have moved from creating paper portfolios to digital portfolios over the past year.  One of the finishing touches of creating the digital portfolio is to create a QR Code for the portfolio; the QR code is then placed on the back of the students' JIST cards made during Job Squad.  Students love making the QR codes.

Here is one for my TIS Resource Site.

Thing #14: Be A Reader of Blogs

The blog I chose to read was a Dissertation Research Blog from Kansas University's Library, since I plan on going back to school in the spring.  The very first thing I noticed was my inability to read the goal of the blog, which was in small white letters pasted over a picture.  Otherwise, the appearance of the blog was nice and easy to read.  The blog posted learning opportunities on the campus and had research from other government institutions.  There were sections with dissertation handouts, Web 2.0 Tools,  and other resources.  Something I really liked about the formatting was a FEEDJIT that tracked recent visitors of the blog on a world map.  If I were a huge blogger, I would have one on my mine.  

Thing #16: The Backchannel

The Beckley training provided me with my first opportunity to use Today's Meet. I thought it was so neat and provided a tool that was a step above Polly Everywhere.  It's a great way to effectively incorporate cell phone use into a lesson.  Below is my response to the TIS TodaysMeet Question.

Thing #17: Twitter in the Classroom

I have a Twitter account of my own and today made one for our class.  We are initially going to use Twitter as a communication tool with students.  We will send notices of two hour delays, school closings, and class activities.  We will then expand to using it as a public education tool for informing others about our class achievements, such as when students obtain GEDs or certifications, present at job fairs, or participate with community activities.  To help build our followers, I'm going to add the Twitter widget to our class website.  The final phase of Twitter use will be students providing comments about our daily modules and also sharing links and resources that supplement our lessons.