Summary: The End AND The Beginning!

What have I learned here? Let me count the tools . . . (a poor paraphrase, I know). I started this course on June 15 (late start because I was out of town) and finished today, July 18. I started with some trepidation, not knowing if I really could do the unknown, but wanting to at least try. There were times I tried the same thing 5 times, and it didn't work all 5! I'd email or call for help, get it and go on. Some things I tried more than once, and when it didn't work, went back again, re-read the information, tried again, and was elated that it worked! Sometimes I slogged through Things, fussing and cussing (silently) that I had ever tried to do things out of my comfort zone—and there were any number of those! It was time-intensive for me; I spent hours at the computer, so many that my husband accused me of not listening when he talked to me. Huh? I was one with that computer!

I think my favorite discovery was first, that this was something I could do, and second, that it opened a new world of terms, tools, places, communication, creativity, possibilities, and that's just the start. I enjoyed creating slideshows, the motivational poster, the playlist . . . really, I can't think of anything I didn't enjoy (maybe not in the process, but joy came when I saw the result). I created two wikispaces, one for some friends, and one for my family. If anything, 23Things has shown me that whatever I do, when I teach, or just live on this earth, it's going to be connected to technology. And that's something I need to communicate to my students who are in many ways more connected than I am! Unexpected outcomes? Probably in every Thing! While I had general knowledge about a few aspects, everything else was like a gift to unwrap (and it takes more effort to unwrap some gifts!), and that made it fun as well as challenging.

You two leaders did a great job in cheering us on, answering questions when needed, and making comments. I think the format was good, content unbelievably well-presented. I would make sure people know it's not a simple month-long course that you can do sitting down each day for a short time—it took concentrated time, at least for me. It might be better spread out over a semester, especially during the teaching year. My first reaction, if asked to take another discovery program like this, would be: heck, no! But on second thought, when I consider all that I've learned and all that will be happening in the future, I would probably change my answer to: let me try it!

My biggest surprise came today, when I was checking my blog before posting #23. I had a comment on #22, and figured it would be from one of my blogmates or from Mary. It was the guy from Keener 13 who said he had more stuff not generally available that he would be happy to share with me. Wow! I never expected that anyone besides this group would read my blog. I know, it's a bigger world now! :)

Where to go now? Full speed ahead! I plan to keep this blog going, although I may make a few changes. I want to keep learning and plan to use the RSS feed for . . . Learning 2.1? There's more?!? I'll start with new developments in 2.0 and go from there. Most of all, I want to use the tools I've learned in lessons—podcasts and videos, motivational posters and comic strip generator, playlists, calendar, and more—and encourage students to move beyond what they thought they could do, as I have through this program. Maybe we need to do a 23Things Revisit sometime, and share ways we've actively used what we learned. It's definitely been a journey for me, and one that I'm glad I took!

Thing #23 Creative Commons

I feel sometimes we are bludgeoned with copyright issues – when to use it, how to use it, what’s covered, what’s not, etc. I agree with Cheryl Morris – in our schools, our librarians have been the go-to people for questions about copyright, and they have always been willing to check it out and give us the correct answer. I will have to say, the “Fair-y Use” video was extremely well-done and fun to watch (while learning, of course). It was a clever way to teach a lesson, as was Duke’s copyright comic book; both exemplified creativity gone wild! Through this 23Things process, I’ve seen the credit at the bottom of the page that mentioned the Creative Commons License, and it’s taken finishing 22 Things to find out what it was! Visible at the end of the Thing 23 page is the CC logo with the information that the work is licensed through Creative Commons. By extension, we are also under that license. I had not given much thought to pictures, so checked out Flickr’s Creative Commons photo pool that gives users 4 basic use choices, as well as any combination of those 4. Plus there’s an option to add a license to my own photostream, if I want. This information is something that I want to pass on to my students and teachers, so they’re aware of the difference between “All Rights Reserved” and “Some Rights Reserved.”

Thing #22 Podcasts

I was exposed to podcasts for the first time (that I was aware of) last spring and even helped my 6th graders create a rudimentary podcast (no bells or whistles) as part of their 6 weeks' composer report. I do plan to find more opportunities for them to podcast their information. However, I'd never heard of podcast directories so this was a fun search. Sometimes you choose a directory based on the first look, and that's really what I did (isn't that what a lot of people do when checking out places on the internet? - it's the appearance that grabs them or puts them off). I looked at all 4 of them: Learn Out Loud required a sign-in; Podcast Alley had too-obvious ads on the first page; Educational Podcast Directory was too stark, and then I found the one that was "just right," :) PodcastDirectory. I checked out some Gospel podcasts, then went to my usual favorite, 60's music. The Soul Shack had some good soul music, but the one I thought I could use best with my students was Keener 13, claiming to represent a time " when rock and roll meant the Beatles, garage bands and Motown, and a 5000 watt AM station in Dearborn, Michigan transformed Detroit radio." And yes, I think I might want to subscribe to this one and listen regularly. I liked what I heard, and that's anyone's primary criteria.

Thing #21 Amazed at Animoto!

What fun! This was an incredibly easy way to make a short clip. I linked to Picasa with no difficulty, and they (who is "they," by the way! A person? A machine? Someone or something had to make choices!) did the work of moving them (took a little while, but that's OK). I had too many pictures so didn't get them all in - I was warned that could happen. I liked the ones that were used. I thought I had chosen the Mozart clip, but had also looked at Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," which actually goes better with the pictures, so I didn't change it. I liked the ending, with the daddy looking at his baby as the music faded - sweet! This is something that students could do, after taking pictures of a project, event, or anything. I really like that you have a copy mailed to you - it's a way students could have a personal copy. I could have gone back and tried again, but I was happy with the one you're seeing. Enjoy pictures of a beautiful baby girl!

Thing #21 Animoto

Thing #20 YouTube Musings

Obviously I have spent time on YouTube before – hasn’t everyone? It runs the gamut from funny to embarrassing to learning videos to entertainment in its various forms. It has a variety of languages, although English is the primary language. I looked at all the YouTube sites listed on the assignment page; the first ones were amusing (loved the MISD version of Nextel’s ad and remember when it first hit the schools a couple of years ago) and interesting, but the three about student learning and Web 2.0 were riveting in terms of what it means to be a teacher today. Watching them brought lots of questions about my own teaching and how I should/can change to be more relevant, to be technologically-inclusive, to learn where my students are, and then to help them build with the right tools to reach their goals.

I started looking at videos, and went to the music arena fairly quickly (no surprise there!). Looking for 60’s music, I found 2,090 on Roy Orbison, 60,300 on Elvis, 187,000 on the Beatles . . . and went on from there. YouTube will be a good source for our school’s 60’s music – with the caveat that student exploration (at school anyway!) will need to be guided to ones I have previewed. Everyone knows there are videos and posts on YouTube that are not meant for children, and teachers need to be extremely careful in allowing access. I also enjoyed watching and hearing Mario Lanza, one of my favorite tenors from the past. I saw “Classical Gas” – a great 60’s piece by Mason Williams to teach my students about the guitar. Of course, nothing beats my favorite: Pavarotti singing “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s opera, Turandot! Magnifico!! (that means "really cool!) Then I had a really special find: a childhood favorite of mine, the Swedish children's hymn, "Tryggare kan ingen vara" or "Children of the Heavenly Father," in Swedish with the words on the screen. It has a very special meaning to me, especially on this day, July 16. The problem with YouTube, at least for me, is that it is so addictive – it’s hard to sign off once you’re on. I wasn’t sure everyone would like Pavarotti or understand Swedish, so I embedded good ol’ Elvis, singing “Hound Dog.” Not as sublime, perhaps, but still a form of music!