2.1 Finished?

I think I am finished with Web 2.1. This has been a great experience! It has been great to share these activities with my 15 year old daughter. She whines that "It's not fair that you can take these courses and I can't". She has been going through many of the activities to use with her drill team and other activities.

2.1 Thing 46

I tried many times to get my survey posted on my blog and did not manage to do so. I did enjoy making the survey. I made it to ask how viewers liked my blog but I couldn't even get the URL posted on my blog.

The Rescue-Remix (Click on the arrow to see show)

2.1 Thing 45

I like both of the types of chart making tools. My only concern is that one of the sites said that the chart I was making was public. I started making a family tree with dates of births and marriages. When I realized it was public, I deleted it.

http://bubbl.us/
http://www.gliffy.com/

2.1 Thing 44

I am glad to have this possibility to be able to send myself reminders. I see where getting older has affected my memory. (Although I wouldn't admit it in front of my kids.) This will be helpful with all of the ARD (IEP) meetings I have to attend. I can call and send myself a reminder and maybe never be late for another one.

2.1 Thing 43

I tried to go to Midi but it would only work if I gave them a credit card. I do not want to have to pay for anything and I don't want to give my credit card over the net for them to hold until my trial version is over.

2.1 Thing 42

I signed up for an Orientation & Mobility group. They have been talking about some important topics to the field.
I looked for a group for Vision Teachers but did not find one. Both fields cover a lot of the same issues, so I will be watching the O&M group for a while to see what happens.

2.1 Thing 41

I am excited to have a site where I can learn to speak, read, and write another language, especially Spanish. When I was in school, I did not have to take a foriegn language. Now, I wish I had taken it any way. This will give that opportunity to learn. I plan to go to the site in my spare time to work on the language. I like the fact that you do it on your own time and at your own pace.

2.1 Thing 40

"Retroland" is a neat site if you are getting ready for a class reunion or Trivia Pursuit game. It could also be used in the classroom to have students look up information about the events that occurred at the time a famous person was born, graduated, married, or died. This would be very fun in an history or social studies class.

2.1 Thing 39

Even though it took a long time to get the video made, it was fun getting there. I had to find out the hard way to only load two pictures at a time. That is what took the most time. Then, when I finally finished and the video was produced, several of my pictures were left out. I'm going to keep trying until I get what I want.

2.1 Thing 38

I enjoyed exploring Toondoo. However, I would have liked more directions from the site to tell me what I needed to do to make my toon. Also, I could not get some of the items to load. When I tried to save my work, it did not work. I was very disappointed because it took me a while to figure it out and to get what I wanted. (even though it doesn't look like much)

2.1 Thing 37

Pandora seems to have all of the music I really like. This is a site I will be using all the time. I will be exploring this one more to learn all that you can do with it. I regret that I don't have the type of phone needed to play the songs on it. I am glad, though, that I can transfer the songs to my IPod.

2.1 Thing 36

Picnik seems like it would be a good way to edit your pictures. Today, I had trouble going from page to page and it took a long time to load the next page when it did come up. I am not sure if it is my connection or what. I will keep the site in mind and try again when I get to another connection.

2.1 Thing 35

Twitter seems like it would be helpful. I currently use MSM Messenger. Most of the people I know use the same one. I did send an invitation to everyone that I normally communicate with on MSM to try out Twitter. The good thing about Twitter is that it seems there are a lot fewer people who use it so it may not take as long post new mesages. The only problem is getting people to try another blog.

2.1 Thing 34

The Nutridiary site is nice. With weight being such a big problem in our society, I could see how using a site like this could be good in the schools to encourage children to loose weight. I will be signing my own child up for it as well as myself.

2.1 Thing 33

Each of the ones I could do were fun. I could not get the Falling Sand page to work. I must not have the proper software. I tried to find the program I needed but was not able to do so. My children both liked these sites and asked me to email them to their computers.

2.1 Thing 32

I didn't get a membership with Omnidrive because they have too many accounts already. I signed up for them to let me know when a spot becomes available.

2.1 Thing 31

Here it is 10:30 at night and I can't seem to get off of the computer again. There is a lot of things on this site that I want to explore. I have so many things saved in my favorites so I can go back to them. It is a good thing I don't have to get up too early and I can play with this site and some of the others more.

2.1 Thing 30

These are cute. I am not a cat person, but I did like a few of them. The one that really caught my attention was the one where the cat is mixing music.

2.1 Thing 29

I really enjoy scrapbooking but seldom find time to do it. I also seem to have a difficult time getting my pictures printed out or sent someplace to print them. By being able to load the pictures directly to the site and putting them on pages, it takes away some of the excuses I have. The only problem I had was trying to figure out how to get the pages printed. I did get them printed but they did not fit the full page. I look forward to playing with this site to get what I want.

2.1 Thing 28 O&M Experiences Seeing Eye

2.1 Thing 27

I like "Photobucket" because you are not limited to only still shots. I also like that you can get pictures and videos from several different sources including your cell phone. However, when I tried to save pictures from the site, I couldn't do it. After waiting 5 minutes for them to save to my album, I gave up.

2.1 Thing 26

The "Yourminis" site is interesting. It was a quick lesson to do. I'm not sure that I will use it much but at least I know it is there. It takes such a long time for my computer to start up, that I hate to put something else on the desktop to slow it down even more. Also, the net is not always accessible when I turn on my computer so it would probably not work properly.

2.1 Thing 25 revised

OMG! As you can tell, the link works. I tried to make it a lot harder than it should have been.

2.1 Thing 25

OK, here's the deal. I enjoyed making this wonderful poster for our upcoming play and have tried many ways to get the link to it on the blog where you could just click on it and be able to see it. None of the things I have done have worked. So, I am going to list the URL here and if you want to cut and paste it into your address bar to see it, I think it will work.
The poster is for the play that some of my family members and myself will be a part of at the Brazoria Civic Center and Museum in August. Take time to look over the poster and please consider attending the play.

http://letterpop.com/newsletters/jdowning66/90964/

Blog Change

After playing with it a while, I figured out how to change the slideshow to my own slideshow. The pictures are ones I took during the No-Name fesitival in Brazoria.

2.1 Thing 24

Well, I think I converted the file to "html" format. I'll find out when they send me an email. When I get it, I will post the outcome. This seems like it could be helpful if you didn't have a timeline or if you used it enough to justify the expense. As for me, I don't see a need for it at this time.

Week 9, Thing 23

When I signed up to take this class, I thought that I would be learning more information about the things I already knew (shortcuts, additional editing toots, etc.). To my happy surprise, we covered things that I had only heard about but had never even attempted to do. I thought I was pretty Internet knowledgeable. Big mistake!
I especially enjoyed setting up my own Blog and exploring the different sites for picture editing and the cartoon makers. Setting up the del.icio.us membership and tags was interesting too.
By following the curriculum, I have continued to learn new things and broaden my computer skills. In doing so, it has opened new opportunities for me to learn in order to be the best educator I can be and to be able to share what I have learned.
There were times when I was doing the activities that I was not sure I was doing them correctly. At those times, I would have liked a little better explanation about what it was I was expected to do. I would also have liked to see examples of what others have done combined in the explanations so that I would not have had to go to different sites to see what was expected.
I understand that there is another discovery program in the works. I would be very interested in completing it. The information I have learned has been very helpful and I would like to continue to learn more.
This program was "incredibly helpful and enjoyable!"

Week 9, Thing 22

I checked out www.schoollibrary.com . The list of books seemed good but old. I do know that there are books available for blind and visually impaired children, free of charge, from the Texas State Library and TSBVI (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired), on their websites. With the Texas State Library, you have to sign up and they send you a player and two books of your choice. When you finish with the books, you send them back and they will send you one for each one you send back. There are other organizations that have books available but you have to pay a membership. Also, the state textbook department is working on getting an universal type of file so that all of the textbooks and children's books will use the same type of equipment for audio books as well as books that can be sent to an embosser for the Blind.

Week 9, Thing 21

I have been using podcasts from ITunes for a while. I have found many funny, short clips to share with others on my IPod. I really like the ones from TV shows such as Comedy Central. Again, you have to be careful what you allow your children or students use. But, one of the nice things on ITunes is that they let you know if the material is "explicit" or not so you can monitor what is being seen.

Week 9, Thing 20

I have used YouTube in the past. In fact, some of the funniest videos I have ever seen have been on YouTube. However, some of the worst and most obscene videos I have ever seen have been on YouTube. In order to use it in the classroom, you would have to monitor its use very closely. I have also seen how YouTube is being used in a negative way such as fighting, killing of animals, etc., just to get on the net. It is a shame that something meant to be good fun, has become so corrupt.

Week 8, Thing 19

I like Library Thing. I can't wait to explore it more. In fact, I noticed where it said there were books available for download. I want to explore them to see if there may be some that I could use for my students. If they books can be saved and read by a text reader, it would open a whole new opportunity for them to be able to access books easily, instead of having to go through the process of getting them from the state library.

Notice that I put a link to LibraryThing on the right side of this page.

Week 8, Thing 18

Week 8, Thing 18

    The young girl, named Ann, sat staring out the window waiting for a car to pull into the drive. She was excited knowing that she would soon be meeting her cousin for the first time.  

    Ann had lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 years,and was many miles away from any of her relatives until just recently when her and her mother moved to be closer to other family members.  Ann's cousin, Sheila, was the same age as Ann and they had talked to each other over the phone before, but they had never met in person.

    Living in another country, and in a town without any other Americans, Ann was not sure what it would be like to be around Sheila.  She was both excited and scared.  She was worried that she would not have any thing in common with Sheila or any one else in her community.....

 

This is the story I am started using ZOHO Writer.  I like all of the icons and editing choices given at just a touch of a button.  In fact, it took me a few tries before I found the one needed to post to my Blog, but one I did, it was really to do so.  I see a great use for this site and feel that I will be using it often.

Week 7, Thing 17

I wrote a beginning to of a story to go with the picture on the Classlearning Sandbox. I am interested to see if anyone will add to it. I can see how interested things could get with people editing your site. It could also be scary if you do not monitor it closely.

Week, Thing 16

The short description does not give you much information on what a wiki is. I have seen that it can be used for class discussions from the digital camera class. I am interested to find out more to be able to use it for my outside groups as well as a way to communicate with family members.

Week 6, Thing 15

Talk about confusion, after looking at this information, I feel more confused than before about copyright laws. I have always tried to be very careful about using someone's material because of the warnings we've received at work. However, with there being so much information on the web, it is even harder to determine what is and isn't copyrighted. I have a question. Is a picture, drawing, etc. still copyright material if it is edited to meet your needs?

Week 6, Thing 14

Well, I am not sure if it is because I am tired or if it is just not my type of thing, but I did not care for the Technorati site. The site was a bit cluttered for me. However, I will keep it in mind in case I ever need to try to find a blog about a specific topic or by a specific group.

Week 6, Thing 13

I like http://del.icio.us/ . It is a neat way of organizing your favorites. I like the fact that you can just click on the icon and it will list the site for you and you can give a short description of the site and why it is important for you.

Week 5, Thing 12

It is funny that we are doing this activity because I was thinking the other day about putting all of these sites in a folder to make it easier to find the information on them. Wow, now it is done and so easily. I can use this tool with my students who are learning to find their way around the web but have trouble doing so because of their vision losses. This is the Rollyo that I came up for a starter. I will be making many changes to it and making new ones too.
http://www.rollyo.com/index.html

Week 5, Thing 11

I enjoy playing games from the net. I usually play the games on www.shockwave.com I especially like the strategy games where you have to find the hidden objects to solve the mysteries. So, I thought this would be great because I would be finding some different games to explore. Well, I have to say that I am disappointed. The first site I went to was mostly older games that did not have the graphics and technology that children like today. The other sites I tried would not work. I guess I will just have to stay with Shockwave.

Week 5, Thing 10

I used http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/ It was really fun. I can see a lot of fun and silly posters coming from this site.

Week 4, Thing 9

I am going to use the RSS with one of my students. I am working with him to find his way around the web. He does a great job but his vision loss makes it slower for him. With this site, he can put all of his favorite sites on one page and be able to learn the order of display and easily access the ones he prefers. I can see this being a great tool for him for many years.

Week 4, Thing 8

At first, I wasn't sure about the RSS and newsreader sites. However, after playing with it a while, and figuring out how to set it up to show me the sites I want in one click, I think it is a great tool. I listed it in my favorites and I will be using it daily to check news, weather, and comics as well as Suduko puzzles.

Week 3, Thing 7

I have been using my camera to take pictures of the teachers who work with one of my blind students. I am making a book that will have a picture of each of the adults who work with him as well as a tactile symbol that represents each of them and the names and sentences typed in Braille.
You may be wondering what benefit a picture of someone would have for a blind child. Well, as another person is reading the book with the student, they can look at the pictures and describe the person or object to the student to help him better associate with the person. In addition, the person reading with the student does not have to try to remember everything about the person or object, they have a picture to help them make the book more meaningful.
I have seen similar books used with blinds students and it helps them to better understand the world around them.

Week 3, Thing 6

I made a cube using a copy of the picture below. It looks like a die. My son loved it. He has been showing it to everyone. Now, I have others wanting me to do one with their pictures. I guess I'm figuring out this site after all. I just don't like having to start a new account every time I turn around. But, oh well!

Week 3, Thing 5

I explored with Flickr on many different occasions. I am not very comfortable using the site. I keep going back and forth from one page to the next and I'm not sure how to get it to do the things to my pictures that I want it to do. I will keep playing with it and see what comes up.

Field of Gold

Thing 4

Well, my name isn't as catchy as many of the others in the class, but it was all I could come up with at the time. It does tell something about me and what is important in my life. Working with children who are blind or visually imparied is a wonderful gift given to me and I pray that I am doing the best for the children whose lives I am a part of.

Thing 3

I enjoyed setting up this blog. I am learning more about it everytime I get on it and I am enjoying exploring all of the aspects of the blog.

Thing 2

7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners:
The habit that I can proudly say I do best is to take responsiblity for my own learning. In the last few years, I have determined that I am much happier when I am learning. Or, should I say, when I am teaching myself how to do something or learning more about my fields of study. My whole persona seems more in tune when I am working on educating myself, either with technology, or in the area of visual impairments (VI or O&M).
However, my weakest habit is that I often do not have the confidence in myself and my ability to share what I have learned with others. I enjoy trying to, but I worry that I may not be expressing myself nor my knowledge well. I have been working on this skill for a while and feel that I am getting better at it but I am no way where I feel I need to be. I will keep working on it and hope that one day I will be more confident in myself.

Thing 1

After reading the summary of the class, I am very excited about everything we will be learning. I can't wait to get started.

Welcome

Welcome all to my new Blog. Hopefully, this will get more interesting as I go. I am just getting started and not sure what I am doing.

Have a great day!