#20 YouTube

I really enjoy the old commercials - from 60s & 70s. Of course, I also remember going into McDonald's and singing, "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." Workers enjoyed it and once gave a friend a free big mac. I would like to add "Apple Trees and Honey Bees" video from Coke. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osSbT5WWsJA. I remember teaching that song in my music class, but without the coke words. Good times. But can I add to my blog without breaking copyright? YouTube could be used for demo purposes for research or a how-to for students when they were working at home.

#19 Other Social Networks

The only online communities that I belong to is 23thingsters.ning.com and 23thingsters.com. I enjoyed joining ning and seeing what others in the group looked like. It was easy to upload a picture. That pictures was taken in 1983 at Beasley when I taught on the stage. I was able to leave a comment for Phil Bailey. When checking my pic on ning, I could also see who was online at the same time, Phil was! Like AOL with the opening and closing door. This would be a good way to keep in touch with others for various projects or events. I was also able to look at Fuzzster for pets. Someone even included a sock dog. Oh, well. I did have trouble watching the video of ning. Apparently, someone did not know how to handle a mic and my connection was very busy at the time I was on. 

#18 Social Networks

I felt very uncomfortable with MySpace. This is the one that I hear elementary students talking about and having their own "space". I went to Facebook, www.facebook.com. To me this site seemed more in my comfort zone. We need to know about these spaces as the kids are already here, sometimes without supervision. Reading some of their "space" lets you know what is going on in their lives, what they are thinking and doing. Sometimes a whole new side of a child. I will limit the readers to my site; however, I did like looking for former classmates. I have lived several places, even Germany, and it is nice to connect with former high school friends. This would make it easier to possibly find someone instead of using switchboard for the entire US. At this time, I don't see a school or library application.

#17 Del.icio.us - Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking would be wonderful for research at home since it is not tied to one computer. Kids doing research projects, GREAT! The fact that anyone can bookmark could become a problem as elementary students do not always discriminate about sites. They think if it is out there it must be ok or true. I have gotten some unusual information from students and when I went to their site, I understood why. The site very plainly told you that some info (it had a red or yellow light) was suspect, but the kids did not pay attention. The report had to be redone. While I like sharing with others and having an organized storage for tags, it is just one more site to keep up with.

#16 Online Productivity Tools

I had already created a new homepage on iGoogle, so I did try Pageflakes. I really like Pageflakes better as it brought up info concerning the Dallas area. It also had a to do list, calendar, weather and tv listings. I could also set weather for Chicago as my youngest is working on his MA there. I'm thinking about making it my perm homepage. Calendar - I liked 30 Boxes, but be sure to read the email that they send after signing up before creating a calendar. Email was to confirm your email address. 30 Boxes could be used by teachers to coordinate withother on a project or trip or even with your children or among children. Especially good for children at college to remember their schedule. (Mine as several labs) A simple to do list like Ta Da would be easy to configure and use; but for me, Backpack with pictures, uploads and dividers, I think this would take up more time than necessary. TaDa will also send you an email. Maybe just a desk calendar for yourself, but when working with others, I suggest TaDa. All of these had the RSS icon. I really liked PageFlakes, 30Boxes and TaDa. I liked their simplicity and convience.

#15 Wikis

I did not know that wiki meant quick, but I can see why the name is appropriate. This would save time when trying to coordinate events or even planning lessons among a group of teachers. Students could also use this when coordinating information for a project. They could work at home then add what they have found. Wikis were not hard to use. It is / will be interesting to see how people use them in the future, this includes their information and sources. 

#14 Go With the Flow

I set up accounts in Bubbl.us and Flowchart.com. Bubbl works like Inspiration-Kidspiration. Once I figured out how to type in the bubble it was easy to create a map. I set up a map for instruments of the orchestra. I am waiting on my invitation for Flowchart.com and will then set up a flow chart for 23 Things.