My Experience of 23 Things...

     Remember this guy!  I knew I could do it even though I have to say there where some late nights when I did not think I would EVER get to this post and yet now that I am finally here I know it will not be my last...I have really enjoyed blogging and I know that I will continue to do it.  I have learned so much that it is very difficult to say what exactly was my favorite "Things".  However, I guess if I had to choose it would be creating my avatar and live binders.  I loved creating my avatar and I remember how excited I was and well it began this journey.  I also loved the live binders because they seem extremely useful for a quick reference while I'm in college and I believe that they will help me to create great lesson plans.  
     This blogging journey has helped a non-traditional student like me to see that technology is not nearly as scary and intimidating as I had once believed.  I now feel comfortable using new tools and I even feel assured enough to recommend them to others.  This outcome surprises me because I was terrified at the beginning of this process and I just knew I would struggle along and poke my way through and yet I really didn't.  I did okay!  I even had fun! 
    I don't feel like this program needs any improvement at all because like I have said before, "If I can do it anyone can!"  The tutorials made the process painless...I promise and it's all extremely useful in our lives and future careers!  I love taking a class and saying that!  In addition, Dr. Wall explains everything in class and is very approachable.  That makes all the difference!
     Everything I learned in Education 3040 and while working on the 23 Things assignment will definitely help me in my future classroom.  I have said before that I was intimidated by technology and I had convinced myself that as an English teacher I would have little need for it.  This idea was quite comforting.  However, I was wrong!   My eyes have been opened and now I see!  I can use blogs to help my students feel more comfortable expressing themselves, I can set up blogs about the books we are reading in class, I can even set up blogs to discuss other books that maybe we don't have time to read in class but I would like to encourage my students to read,  I can use technology to introduce new information, organize my day and lessons, and save myself time while staying up to date on the most current information! 
     I plan to do all the things I just listed and keep myself current on technology and new concepts in education.  I will blog and incorporate a blog into my classroom.  I will use power points, (but not too many), just enought to add to my introduction of a new topic or to reiterate an important idea.  I will definitely use google calendars and templates to organize and make my life a bit easier.  I will also use RSS feeds to stay current on the latest news and reviews of literature.  I do not always have time to watch the news so I will more than likely rely heavily upon any easy way to get quick information. 
    I just want to give a special thanks to Dr. Wall all my blog friends/followers, as well as Anne and Sara...Thanks for all your help in class!!! :)

The 23rd Thing!

     Yes, I did it!  It is 11:30 at night the Friday before its due and I am finally there!  Yes, I know I have no life!  Young people just think you're life will be as boring as my soon enough!  :)  Anyways, about the assignment...If you look on the 23 Things For Teachers assignment page you will see to the right under the title, "Credits", that Learning 2.0-23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0-23 Things, a staff development program for the mesquite Independent School Distict and that program was based on Learning 2.0 designed by Helene Blowers and adapted by the California School Library Association and others.  It is borrowed and duplicated with permission under the Creative Commons License.  This explanation contains numerous links to these people and organizations, etc...
     I will use Creative Commons in my classroom because I cannot teach my students not to plagiarize and then do it myself.  I will use only sites that contain Creative Commons and I will always provide links and give the true authors/creators credit for their work.  I will also teach my students that just because the information is easy to obtain it is not okay to steal someone else's work. 

The 22nd Thing!

     I love this tool!  I will definitely use this during my time in college as well as when I become a teacher!  I already organized so much of the material I hope to teach!  I inserted tabs that will make lesson plans a no brainer and I even downloaded my power point that I did for this class, ( which I think will be acceptable for my classroom).  Having all my favorite literature and poetry in one place is going to save me a huge amount of time.
     Live Binder was so easy to use and I will recommend to everyone.   http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=87170

The 21st Thing

     I really enjoyed this assignment it as well.  It was a lot of fun.  I made a video of my pets and I think it turned pretty good.  It was an extremely easy process and I think that if I can do it anyone can!  I believe this would be a neat idea for projects for kids.   You can add text to the videos so I can see how it could be used in the classroom and of course theater and music classrooms would have a great time with it!
   My Furry Friends

The 20th Thing

     I really enjoyed this assignment.  I love U Tube and I was already quite familiar with it.  Mostly  I use it to watch videos, especially old ones, so I can remember the good 'ol days!  LOL!  However, I didn't want to torture you with that so I found the cutest animals ever singing to music!  IT IS SO CUTE!!!!  I love everything about U Tube however, I think some people use it for the wrong reasons.  Like everything else it has to be monitored when children are involved.  I think it would be great for school as long as it was monitored. 
Enjoy the video...I think you'll love it!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgqCVlMtrNc

The Nineteenth Thing

http://teacherpop.ning.com/profile/TammyWaters
I joined teacherpop and the above is a link to view my page.  I also left a comment for Dr. Wall and uploaded some pics.  I tried like everything to add my badge to my blog but had no luck.  So, if anyone reading can tell me how please do :)  I like Whats On My Bookshelf and GoodReads.  I think I would enjoy joining either of them.  I think teacherpop is a good network for connecting teachers and will be beneficial for me as well.
Finally got the badge!  Yes!

Thing #18...

     Okay, we all know by now that I am not the best person to call when in need of tech info...but this class is carrying me kicking and screaming into the big world of cyber space...its scary but I'm managing!  Well, I did not have a Facebook account before I started college in 2009 and since I started college the Education Department has terrified me with horror stories about them, so I graciously decided not to create one.  I am a very private person anyway.  However, I had already created a Twitter account for this class.  Thus, I choose Twitter instead of Facebook.  I added a lot of websites about authors, books, and English teachers.  I actually think I will like following these people and sites.  Especially the ones concerning books!  I love to read and I am always trying to find the next wonderful one I will read. 
     I believe that this type of social networking will be highly beneficial to me as a future educator.  I want to stay on top of the best books.  I want to be up to date on the latest reviews.  I definitely want to have the most current way of analyzing and teaching literature!  I gained a lot of insight from this assignment and as usual I found that technology is not all that bad.  So, yes this will be of much use in my future classroom. 
https://twitter.com/#!/Roscoe2911