Thing #23

Hooray!!! I am at the finish line!!! It seems like yesterday that I signed up for this journey--I hope that does not mean my summer is over !
My thoughts on this fun trip.....

I was guided into so many discoveries. I really loved the mosaic maker. I was proud that I was able to make a video. I also love (and use daily) Google Reader.

This journey has definitely contributed to my goals of lifelong learning. It is so easy to say " I could probably do that" but never take the extra step and actually do it. (make a video, create a wiki). So, I guess I needed a push and I got it. I just hope I remember the thrill of learning this new information and keep on going.

I did have some "take aways" from this program. The most significant is the Wiki-- I am in the process of setting up my Wiki home page so I can share it with the other SLPs in the district. I have a vision for it and I hope I can see it thru.

Improvement on the program? Well, no changes come to mind. I like that everything is broken up into small chunks, it is very doable. I also thought all the links in each Thing-- were so helpful and informative.

Would I do this again? YES!!

How would I describe the process in one word or sentence?
There is a whole world of discovery, ways to create, and teach at your fingertips!

I will definitely keep going to the players blogs and make comments.

It has been fun!

Thing #22

NINGS-- it was interesting going thru this site-- I search for groups my typing "speech therapy" "speech therapist" " speech pathologist"= it was interesting to see what came up. I explored a few of the sites. It is hard to determine how to use this from a classroom perspective- but it is a good resource for professional information. I am not sure I would use it much.

Thing #21

It was daunting to think I had to create a video! But, once I gathered a few pics that I had on my desktop, it went pretty smooth. I even found free music on the web and added a song! My son was in a World Series Baseball Tournament- so I used that for a subject. I think this is a great way for a student to express themselves.

Thing #20

I have been familiar with you tube- of course only for watching silly videos people post and email around. I had not had any experience with teacher tube. I searched for professional information (speech therapy, social stories, apraxia, language therapy, etc). I am amazed at the amount of videos that I found. It is surprising how many people took the time to video and then post a video with information or just a video of a therapy session. I have never thought to actually post of video of me conducting therapy. I can see how beneficial this would be-- I am glad I know it is there. A strategy that speech pathologist use with student that have difficulty with social skills- kids with autism or PDD- are social stories. These are usually short stories with simple sentences, written in the first person and sometimes contains pictures of the student doing the task. They describe what a behavior should look like-- how you stand in line, how you get the teachers attention, etc. Therapist are now starting to use the flip cameras and filming the students performing the task correctly. This is a teacher tool that is helpful for these students. I found several social stories video on teacher tube.

I am glad I know this resource is there--I am not sure I will ever download a video, but I would probably use one of the video's posted in therapy.

Thing #19

The Web 2.0 Awards- is a great resource to "tag". I have used several of the sites--Zillow, google/yahoo maps, craiglist, pandora, esty and facebook- to name a few.
I tried getting on DOOF- because it caught my attention, but the link did not work. I also enjoyed playing with Lyric Mode-- I certainly need that site (my kids remind me of that everytime we listen to music in the car!)
I really like the way it was laid out on the chart format. I am not really sure how I would use this site for my Elementary age speech students. I am sure it is a great resource for librarians- it lists all the sites we have been learning about in one spot. So-- in thing18 I said I was a little overwhlemed with the new info-- now I know all the sites I have learned about are right here.

Thing #18

The online productivity tools are great. I like the idea of having access to your documents from any computer. It is definitely an advantage. I will say that in the past it probably would have been more appealing to me-- but now that I have a laptop- my documents are usually always with me. I do like the idea of using google.docs when you are collaborating on a paper/article/reasearch. A disadvantage of course, is just leaving the comfort zone of microsoft office. I am starting to feel a little overwhlemed with the new information I am learning. There is so much out there that I would like to put into practice- I guess I will just have to file this away for "when needed".

Thing #17

It was interesting exploring Rollyo. My family is in the market for a puppy- a yellow lab. I am trying to get my children involved in researching lab puppies, kennels, how to train, etc. I used Rollyo to set up a search with several sites my children can go to when searching yellow lab puppies. I will set them up on it soon. I am not sure how I would use it for my young elementary kids in speech therapy, but it is a good tool to be familiar with.

Thing #16

I am glad I finally got an understanding of Wiki's. I am going to create one for the Speech Pathologists in SBISD. We are a collaborative group and are always sending around emails with idea and web links. I am hoping to set up a Wiki so we can have a place for discussions and a spot for posting web links.

Thing #15

Change is hard- the idea of a library changing and "looking" different is hard to grasp. But, the efficiency of all information at your fingertips on the web is fascinating. It was interesting that one of the articles discussed how libraries (1.0, 2.0) do not resplace each other, but absorb the next one. The just add to their usefulness, information, etc. Also, I like the idea of libraries being interactive. As school employees, our students (consumers) change and it is the same for the libraries. We have to constantly change the way we teach or do therapy. We are not replacing what we have previously done, but improving and making it more relevant.
The youtube video was pretty powerful. I think students and adults spend more and more time in front of the tv, computer, on the web, social netwoking, etc. I liked it when the student said she "multi-tasks". I find myself dong the same thing. It is great having so much information readily available. I have not had a phone book or anykind of maps in my house for years. We use the computer for phone numbers, directions, shopping, music, reasearch, and searching products. I have always been open to learning new skills on the computer and the web world, but Library2play has opened up a whole new world.

Thing #14

Once again I am overwhelmed with a site. I could play for hours on Technorati just doing searches and not even actually reading the blogs. When I did the School Library Learning- I used "exact words" to search. I came up with about 21 tags, 128 blogs, and over 3000 in the blog directory. It seems like the most popular blogs out there are technical/computer ones and entertainment information. Which seems pathetic, (the entertainment ones) but I love those sites, too.
I like the idea of tagging. I liked what the news article (Chicago Tibune) said about dilicious - where you (the reader)are tagging what you find interesting and how you want to categorize it--it is for the user. The technorati site is based on how the publisher wants to categorize the post or information. They are both great sites to do searches and explore- but one is based on the writer and one is based on the readers. One thing for sure--- whatever information you need can be found on these sites. I am always "googling" questions (how to paint a piece of furniture= was the latest) now I have new sites to ask my questions.

Thing #13

Wow! I am pretty happy with Delicious. I have a laptop at school and I use a computer at home (I do not always bring my laptop home), so Delicious will be so helpful. I imported all my bookmarks (favorites) from my laptop to Delicious. Then I went thru and gave them all a tag. It is nice and organized. So, now I have access to my bookmarks on my home computer. I think that is a great thing for me. It makes life that much more efficient! I have tagged a few of my previous posts on my blog, so I am starting to et the hang of it. This tool would be great, especially for older students doing research and being able to share info. A study group can just share all their research without cutting, pasting, emailing, etc.

Thing #12

I read most of the articles and just skimmed a few. I like that one of the sources noted that the comments should be concise and also help promote or even sustain a conversation. Of course, I appreciate the fact that criticisms should be constructive, too.
I did notice that one of the blogs discuss responding to comments. I have been getting some comments on my blog and I have never responded to them. So, I am going to make an effort to do that. It is like having a visitor in your home, at least a pleasant "thank you for stopping by" should be given!

I spent some time reading peoples blogs and made my comments on postings and pictures. It is fun to see other peoples avatars, ideas, thoughts.

There are a few blogs I follow personally. The reason I follow them is because they are people I know. http://www.i-get-to.blogspot.com/The women are witty, smart, and funny. I enjoy the smile they give me when I read their blog. I also follow the Katy Blog from the Chron.com website- it just keeps me up to date on the hot topics that are being talked about in my community. http://feeds.chron.com/houstonchronicle/insidekaty

Thing #11

I love to read and I love to know what other people are reading. I really liked this site. I wanted my list of books to have covers/pictures and I did not always find that on the amazon search--so it took we awhile to make a list of my current readings. I found my covers from searching Harris County Library :) and Arkansas library.
I read a few posts about recent books from my favorite authors, but I did not find a group to join.
I will add books to my list as I read them.

Thing #10

Okay- By far this has been the most fun exercise. I loved playing with the wordle, word mosaic, and the comic strip. It was entertaining. I posted a fun "speech joke" using http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/ and a word mosaic about our family vacation using http://www.imagechef.com/ it was alot of fun. These would be so easy to use in the classroom. I think about my kids and how they have to develop diaramas, pictures, or a newspaper article instead of old fashion book reports that I did. Well, some of these could be used in place of the diaramas or articles. I think a wordle or word mosaic would be a great way to do a book report or an article summary.

Thing #9

There is so much to see and search. I really liked Google Reader- I thought it was easy to navigate and google is familar to me. I thought technorati was interesting, too. I also liked Topix, it was easy and I spent alot of time on it and even signed up. I set it up for Houston information, so it was like reading the paper. I felt that Blogline was confusing- it was just not comfortable/easy for me. The Edublogs would take so long to go thru. I looked at a few of the blogs. I did not see anything that related to speech therapy, but there were a few interesting titles.

Thing #8

I really am thrilled to learn about the RSS feeder and the readers. There are about 6 blogs that I look at on a weekly basis, most of them by people I know, so having a reader is great. It is like one stop shopping. I was happy to add the blogs to my site. I think readers are great for a professional. There is so much information out on the web and a blog for everything-- from strategies, therapy ideas, discipline ideas, lesson plans, etc. It would be great for a teacher to have all the blogs full of ideas on one site. It definitely makes life and accessing info that much easier.

Thing #7

I am familiar with some of these google features. My family has attempted the google calendar in the past- but just like anything else, if you do not keep it up to date then it is not useful. I enjoy Google Earth. My boys and I sat and played with it by looking up different Major League Baseball stadiums and then looking at photos that were downloaded from Panoramio. Of course, that is a great tool/experience to share in the classroom, especially for students that do not get many experiences outside the classroom. There is a whole world they can at least see from their computer.
I set up my Google Alerts for information on Speech Therapy, Katy, Texas, and one of my favorite authors (I know she has a book out soon). I look forward to getting those emails.

Thing #6

The Big Huge Lab is now on my favorites list. I loved the Mosaic Maker. I am not a "scrapbooker", but I do make a lot of Shutterfly books. I think doing a mosaic maker to commemorate a baseball tourney or family vacation would be great! I will definitely do one before summer is over. I am sure there are a lot of uses for it in the classroom. A teacher can use public flickr photos/images to make a mosaic to introduce a topic or prepare a primary classroom for what they might see on a field trip. Cool site!

Thing #5 Flickr

I had never heard of Flickr-- I could have searched that site for hours. It is quite fascinating to search even the most random words and come up with some pictures. As an SLP I am always looking for pictures and images to describe and explain vocabulary to my students. I usually use Google Images-- but this will be a site to add to my "toolbox of tricks". I recently went to Cabo San Lucas- so I added this picture because it brings back good memories!

Thing #4

I am official! Let the fun begin! :)

Thing #3

So, it was fun picking out an Avatar. There was a ton to choose from and there were so many options I wanted to use. It took me awhile to figure out how to export it. I did not realized that I "pasted" the code in the comment section. That threw me off. I am beginning to like the look of my page. I wanted to add a picture by my title, but it kept throwing off my centering. I looked thru a couple of the summer players blogs and I decided I had to change my template. I did this about 3 times--- I think I will keep the one I have for the time being. It is difficult, because I want it (the blog) to be a true reflection of me and what I am about-- but it is difficult to get that translated.

Thing #2

I have never read the Stephen Covey book, but I have heard alot about it. I would say that my most difficult habit would be to make challenges into opportunities. In my personal and professional life, I sometimes focus on the problem and just gettting thru it or fixing it, instead of taking a step back and seeing a new opportunity to learn or grow. The habit I am good at is PLAY! I love to have fun and spend time doing things I love with my family and friends. I also enjoy relationships and believe that it can make work fun, too.

Thing #1

Wow! This is so exciting. I love playing on the computer and learning new things. I have followed several blogs over the years and I am anxious to see how to set one up. This is such a great way to learn something new this summer and on my own time.