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.