Thing 20 the Tubes

YouTube is blocked by my district, but TeacherTube is not. I explored both and found some interesting things. For one, this video on Eliljah of Buxton, created by Scholastic Publishing, is on both sites.



And I found at least one author, Lurlene McDonald, who has several videos on YouTube. This is one of them:


And just because I actually saw it when it was on "Saturday Night Live," Jesse Jackson reading Dr Seuss.



With students so conditioned to watch videos, it's obvious why it's so great to have access to those that could be used to improve a lesson.

Thing 19 Web 2.0 awards

There were a few surprises as I went through the list. First, there were the "missing links" -- sites for which the links no longer worked. I didn't try to find those elsewhere, so they may just have different URLs. I tried and tried to get into Vufind, but couldn't get the site to work.



The second surprise was that I was already familiar with some of them because of the "23 things" program.



And, for those that I found that had educational uses:



Swivel: this site explores and compares data, graphs, and maps. Both math and social studies teachers might be able to use this site to locate data or to practive reading charts and graphs and both students and teachers could use it to convert data into charts and graphs. The Swivel confectionary helps import Google spreadsheets into Swivel, so those who have learned to use Google Tools from one of our earlier lessons could find specific use here. On the other hand the Swivel Toolbar enhances Microsoft Excel so those spreadsheets could easily be Swiveled. Since library circulation figures are already in an Excel spreadsheet, this might be a way to view them graphically.



PBWiki: Another way to take collaboration online. Just need to check from a campus computer and see if it's blocked.



And for personal use:



Zillow: nice site to find a retirement home.



Oodle: I found a free kitten for my sister on this classified ads search site.

Thing 18 Online Productivity Tools

I played around with both Google Docs and Open Office. While others have found Google Docs preferable, Open Office has a drawing program that I didn't find in Google Docs. Google Docs has templates for school and teachers. Familiarity with other tools carries over to use of these. Google Docs would be especially useful for working on collaborative projects. As I looked at the templates, I realized how easy it would be to set up a calendar there.

The main advantage to Google Docs is the ability to work on the documents from any computer; the disadvantage to some is the necessity to register. Because of the other attributes of Google, however, I think that others might wish to register and explore those other possibilities.

Just because of the number of users and popularity, Microsoft Office has more templates and bells and whistles. For just basic, quick use, either of the other programs is very quickly mastered and usable.

Thing 17

I have played with my Rollyo account for several days. I created a search for all the jobbers I use for book orders and other library materials. It should be interesting to see if I remember that I've done this and use it as I intended once school begins.