#20 YouTube and TeacherTube

This was so much fun! I stayed up way too late looking at all the cool videos (and at some that were ... well ... not so much). However, just like Lay's potato chips ... once you get going, you just can't stop. My favorite videos are the ones that have a significant message--they are usually ones that you have to read. Here's a great inspirational video from YouTube: (Remember: YouTube is blocked by the district's firewall, and sorry--I didn't have much luck with ZamZar. I may try again later).



Although it is lengthy, I just had to include this one. It's this an updated version of one of my favorite video found on TeacherTube. I've shown it to my teenagers numerous times. It rocks!

#19 Web 2.0 Awards List

It's neat to have all of the award winner links in one place: Web 2.0 Awards List. I liked SpanishPod, although some of the content is not appropriate for children. And while it is free to listen to lessons, you need a premium subscription to access some of the other features. I also saw some of my other new favorite sites such as, Del.icio.us, Google Docs, PBwiki, and some of my old favorites such as, Zango, Google Earth, MyHeritage, and Craigslist. After reading Double Learner sb's blog (Thing #19: Web 2.0), I look forward to checking out Writeboard and Backpack, but right now my hands are full with SpanishPod. So much to explore, so little time!

#18 Online Productivity Tools Oh My!

With Google Docs I liked the many features such as, uploading, sharing, inserting videos, and the capability to edit and present with others in real time. The toolbar buttons make all of this very easy to do. Vaughn (see VaughnL sb Thing #18) also mentioned that you can edit pdf's (especially when you can not access the most current version of Acrobat Reader). How cool! I also like the fact that it is FREE and you can access it from any computer. I wasn't able to download Open Office (I still haven't figured out how to get past needing administrative rights to download items to the school's laptop). But for right now, I think Google Docs will keep me busy.

#17 Rolling with Rollyo

While I'm not too sure how I'll use this feature personally, I had fun creating my own rollbar. Check it out at Language Arts & More (please note: you will need SBISB passwords to access some of the links). Carolyn suggested creating Rollyo rollbars for students (see Thing 17 from It's a Puzzle sb). Although it might be a little time consuming (with young kids), older kids could be directed to add addresses in their own rollbar, which would make it safer to surf the net.

#16 The Wonderful World of Wikis

My favorite wikis so far are the Book Lovers Wiki and the Sample Literary Circle Wiki (10th Grade English). These would both be great for classroom use. I can totally see kids posting book reviews and literature discussions in these formats. I also liked all of the Curriculum Connections. I was wondering, however, how do you create a wiki that is protected (like SBISD's sandbox portion)? I haven't read ahead to see if that's one of the assignments. But if I used wikis in the classroom, I would want to make sure that only students in my class could add to/edit them. So, if you know how, please let me know!

On another note: Although my son refers to them as "retarded", I must say that I love all of the CommonCraft videos. They are hilarious! I love how the author shoves papers off of the table and says, "Boo!" with a thumbs down sign. It's a little corny I must admit, but I like the simplicity and they clearly get their message across.

And my favorite part about the whole 23 Things experience ... Wow! I'm learning a second language!