Thing #8: Wiki's

     The whole concept of wiki's is totally new to me.  I've heard of Wikipedia and was aware that content found there was a collaborative effort from various contributors.  What I did not know was that the idea of Wiki's was so popular and extensive.  Originally, I felt the idea of having random people contribute to a particular topic was unclear in purpose.  Now, I do see the benefits of such interaction and collaboration, especially in certain instances like student projects, business and professional communication, and public institutions such as libraries and county offices.  
     I thought the Book Lovers Wiki was interesting and unique.  Contributors can write and post a book review on the latest book that they have read and rate it.  They had numerous postings on countless books from various reviewers.  This can be very useful if one is considering reading a book and wants to get an idea of what a the book is about and if it's a possible "good" reading.  Although the reviews are subjective, it still could serve as a viable point of view to seriously consider.
     I also viewed several of the teacher's blogs from the Educator Wikis.  This is a great tool to use for teachers to share and find great ideas for their classroom from other teachers.  One that I thought was fascinating was "100 Names" where a teacher was collecting 1000 names so that her students could visually see what 1000 actually looks like.  It seems like the wiki was so popular that people kelp adding to the list until it surpassed its original target of 1000 and was on its way to reach 3000!  This, I think, is a great tool to use when soliciting participation from viewers. I could possibly use a wiki in the classroom to do a lesson on instruments by asking students to add to a list their favorite instrument.

Thing #7: Image Generators

O.k...the possibilities are, quite literally, endless with these fabulous image generators.  I've never  tried any of these previously, but after having played around with a few, my creative mind is "swirling" with ideas and thoughts about how these could be used with my students in the classroom.

The first one I explored was the Tagxedo tool.  I typed in a brief description of what music is and chose the shape of an eighth note to display the words contained in that paragraph.  I also explored each of the tools to the left of the design screen which included buttons for changing the font, color, arrangement of words in the design, shape, and source of text. Below is the resulting design I created.

 

What's really "cool" about Tagxedo is that by clicking on each word found in the design, each term becomes highlighted and enlarged!  Amazing!  This tool could be used to re-enforce vocabulary and musical terms discussed in class as well as explore the various instruments found in each music instrument family.  A different shape of a particular instrument from each family with instruments of that family included within the design could be a great visual tool to re-enforce student's understanding of instrument families.

 

The second image generator tool I used was the Voki. This was interesting because it gave a visual to the printed text and audible voice chosen for the Voki avatar.  This could be used in the classroom to introduce a new lesson in music like the treble and bass clef and note names. below is a link to an avatar created as I experimented with avatar character selections and design.

 

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=8660210&height=267&width=200 

Thing #6: RSS & Newsreaders

The more I "played around" with RSS, the more I could envision the possibilities of its use; although for me personally, I could also possibly find myself "wasting" hours upon hours reading the various news articles that has nothing to do with research for classes or specific needs at any particular time which would, inevitably, work against me and my very "limited" time schedule.  I must say, though, that it is very convenient to have everything in one place, without having to go from website to website to find what you are looking for.  The multiple dashboard concept based on specific topics, was a RSS feature that I think could be very beneficial; especially when doing a research on a particular topic or looking for the latest news on a specific theme.  At the same time, it seemed to be a bit overwhelming with all of the multiple features and display "windows".

For whatever reason, the readers club review feed would not work for me...not for sure if was just me or if the feed was not available.  I would be very interested to find if others had the same challenging experience...

This is my URL to my Netvibes public account  http://www.netvibes.com/musicmandblack

Thing #5: Flickr Mashups

After exploring several mashups, I decided to play around with the Jigsawed.  It literally tranforms your photos into a jigsaw puzzle! I thought this was very clever and fun; especially since I totally "love" putting puzzles together! Some of the others I explored, like the Flickr Color Pickr, didn't really appeal to me. I guess you would use it if you were looking and searching for a specific colored photo for a project or to decorate a room...otherwise, I didn't understand the true purpose for this particular mashup.

Thing #4: Flickr Exploration

IMG_0047, a photo by musicmandblack on Flickr.

This is a photo of my youngest daughter, Destiny, having fun and posing on the Amtrak train ride to California! This whole process of setting up a Flickr and Yahoo account, exploring Flickr website, and uploading this photo to my blog was sort of a "trial-and-error" experience; yet fun and insightful.

Thing #3: Uploading Photos and Images

Thing #2: Blogging

Setting up my Blogging page was fairly easy and straight-forward.  I just followed the steps given and made decisions about my address name and template design.  I, originally, made a mistake in my Blog title and instead of typing "Mr. Black's 16 Things", I typed " Thing #1".  It took me a little time to figure out how to go back and find the edit button to make the necessary change to correct my mistake.
   It seems like I will get the hang of this Blogging idea as time goes on.  This is my first time EVER using Blogging and setting up an account, so I feel rather proud of myself!  I set this up ALL by myself! I guess I'm growing up technologically...I'm no longer a tech toddler!!! :0)

Thing #1: Lifelong Learning

   Viewing the short tutorial on "7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners" really prompted me to think and reflect on my own learning throughout my life as well as my current learning habits. As I reflect, I've come to the conclusion that "attitude" IS everything when it comes to positioning one's self to learn something that is new and, sometimes, even challenging and difficult.  "I will...I can...I do", as stated in the tutorial, is ultimately, the attitude one needs in order to succeed and grow in your learning development.

   In terms of the easiest habit for me mentioned in the tutorial, it would have to be Habit #1: "Begin with the end in mind."  As I prepare to complete a task, project, or assignment, before starting, I always envision what I want the end project to look like.  Even if I'm not sure how to get there, this is always my starting point.  I can literally see it with my "mind's eye" before I ever write one word, draw one line, build one structure, or take one picture.

The most difficult habit for me to master would have to be Habit #4: "Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner." There have been many times, even in this grad program, where I've felt that I know so little about a particular topic, or in the case of being in this program, knowing little about technology.  It's at those times that I've had to give myself a mental pep talk and remind myself that "I can do ALL things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me!!!"  Amen! Then I've been able to move forward.  I'm getting better at this one though!  :0)

Attached, is the link to my "Learning Contract".
Learning Contract