Without a beginning, there is nothing to worry about the end.

It's been a fun journey, hasn't it? Haha, but that almost sounds like good-bye doesn't it? Well it's not. Just a final reflection, but not a good-bye. It was great to discover so many new parts of the internet. As someone who's grown up with computers, it's easy to think I already know it all. Been, there, done that. But that wasn't the case at all. I really enjoyed pushing the boundaries, having fun on Flickr, Animoto, and making an online calender. I think the 23 things has really forced me to expand my mind on how the internet can be used and that no matter how often I look, there will always be new things on the internet for me to use and explore. I was pleasantly surprised by the program, especially how up to date it is. It's good to see current and experience teachers taking such a large interesting in technology. It's really changed the way I thought of showing new concepts to my students. English classes don't always have to be about reading from old dusty books in quiet classrooms. There are so many ways to combine books and technology in the classroom, to make it more engaging for students and for teachers as well. I think I'll keep up to date with it by using my rss feeds and just checking in on my blog every so often~ The only improvement I can really think of is just to continue to update it~ Just like the 23 things tells us to look for new ways to use technology, the 23 things should do the same as well~! Take care~!

Thing 23~!

"*Note: This project is loosely based upon the website 43Things (which allows you to set and track personal goals) and the Stephen Abram article titled 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006)." That shows that the work was loosely based off of someone else's work but Dr. Wall gave credit to them so that helped with the creative commons regulations. Creative commons is really interesting and I think I'd love to teach students about it. As an English teacher, it's important to encourage students to share their work but also know how to protect it. It's also important for them to understand it when they're doing their research papers. This will help them better cite and use information that they come across.

Thing 21~!

A day in summer

Ahaha, this was so much fun. Super cute.I can see the educational purposes, sharing info in class and class projects. But honestly, I love the personal use of this too. This was really fun and I think I'll be using this a lot~!

Make a video of your own at Animoto.

Thing 20~

I absolutely love youtube. I have spent so many hours watching countless videos, listening to music from all over the world, watching movies, watching vlogs. Youtube is probably one my favorite sites in the internet. It has so many applications and all for free. You can make playlists and look up anything you want. I chose the Vlogbrothers Crashcourse because they're an educational area that was made by New York Best Selling author John Green, a young adult author who has written some great award winning books (as you can tell, I really like Vlogbrothers a lot.) They have courses in biology, chemistry, history, and now literature and all talk about things in a simple but very honest and funny manner. I will absolutely use them when I'm a teacher.
I think there are thousands of videos that are great resources for both students and teachers and I think the education system should really embrace youtube as an amazing educational tool.

Thing 19~!

I'm a member of Facebook, Reddit, Pinterest, and a few other no name places on the web. I'd never heard on Ning but like the idea of communicating with friends that are in the same degree program and getting to collaborate with them.
I'm also an avid member of Good Reads. I love learning about new books and seeing what my friends have and haven't read. As an up and coming English teacher, I love finding new books to share with my students and just exploring new genres in general.
I think different sites that help you connect to new people and help show you things that you love are always a great thing to be interested in~

Thing 18~

Ha, I never thought I'd have an assignment to make a Facebook page~! I use facebook incredibly frequently to keep up with friends back in AZ and see what they're up to. It gives me a way to feel like I'm still a larger part of their life and I can see their pictures and joke with them. Really interact with them better than the "I'll keep in touch" phone calls that no one ever does.
I think it's really important that teacher's have a class page that their students can follow and keep up to date with. It's also a very cool way for teachers to connect with their students (as long as the teacher doesn't share their personal facebook, it should be fine~). It's also a very good way to keep students updated. Students can subscribe to the page and get updates in real time from their teacher and other students.
https://www.facebook.com/cat.stiegler

Thing 17~!

I like the idea of a social bookmarking site and think it would be a great way for students to collaborate and share information. I think it's a great way to look up information that has been tagged and bookmarked by other people that way you can sort through which people enjoyed what and have a second opinion. It would be great for group projects, where students can bookmark websites they've done research on and show it to other easily and keep it for later as well.
Searching for Education Technology brought up a wide variety of resources and they looked more specific than the typical key word search. They were directly related to what I was looking for. I was also excited to see a Ted talk listed which is something I enjoy a lot. I think it would be great to see what other people are pinning and keeping track of in fields I'm interested in and getting to share those websites with other people who enjoy it as well.