Zoho Writer

I love Zoho Writer! This is probably my favorite of the various programs I've discovered so far in completing the "23 Things" activities. This could be quite useful with my career in teaching, and I am excited to discover the advantages of this program.

Whenever I assign a major project for my classes...which is at least once a quarter...I e-mail the parents with an attached copy of the assignment sheet. It hasn't happened often, but occasionally, there are parents who do not have Microsoft Word on their computers and, therefore, can not open the documents I send them. Most parents like receiving the assignment sheets for major projects because it keeps them more aware of what their children are doing in my class; it also permits them to have a more active role in their childrens' education.

With the Zoho Writer program, I will be able to import documents (such as the speech assignmentI've posted below) and share them with parents in that manner. The one drawback I see at this point is that I don't believe there is a way to save e-mail addresses within the program. This could cause a problem for me because there are so many parents whom I e-mail simultaneously. I have not yet played with it, however, and am curious if I would be able to e-mail the shared document to my work account and then forward that e-mail to all of the parents that way. This definitely has potential!

End-of-Yr Speech

Name: _______________________________

Date: __________________________

Class: _______________________________

End-of-Year Speech

Due Date: ________________________________

Throughout the school year, you have surely grown and changed as a person. You have met new people and learned new things. You have lived through unique experiences both in and out of school. You have had happy times, sorrowful times, exciting times, stressful times.

As the end of the year approaches, now is the time to reflect back on your 7^th grade experiences to discover how those times and the people involved with them have affected you. You might be surprised at just how much you’ve learned and grown in the past nine months!

You will present a 3-5 minute speech in which you share with the class who and what has influenced you this past year. You must answer the following questions in your speech:

1. How do you believe you have changed from the beginning of 7^th grade?

2. Who are the people who have been with you the most throughout the year?

3. What are some things you learned in each of your classes?

4. What are some lessons you learned outside of class/outside of school?

5. Who was the most influential person to you during the year? Why? How?

6. What is your most memorable moment in school this year? Describe.

7. What is your most memorable moment outside of school this year? Describe.

8. What did you like most about 7^th grade? Why?

9. What did you like least about 7^th grade? Why?

10. Any other thoughts, stories, etc you wish to share with the class.

You may organize your speech in any way you wish – you do not need to answer the questions in the order they are given above, but each question should be addressed.

You will use 3x5 inch note cards for your speech. You may only use key words and phrases on your cards – NO COMPLETE SENTENCES! You must use ink, but you may write in print.

You do not need to have a visual aid for your speech, but one is STRONGLY recommended. You could create a poster, bring in mementos and other items that go along with the stories and experiences you’re sharing, etc. You may also bring in a treat for your audience if you wish.

Sandbox Wiki

Posting my blog was easy to do. There were only a few already posted - I'm OCDesque and just have to work ahead - but I thought it was neat that I could look through the postings already there to see what other people think about all of the applications we're learning through this program. I'm constantly amazed at the amount of information out there just waiting to be discovered. And just when I thought I knew it all..........

Wikis

After looking through some wiki sites and reading about their various options, I think this is a great thing for the public, as well as librarians within the system. I've been a fan of wikipedia and its wealth of knowledge made available to everyone who has internet access. Wikis, of course, can be a dangerous place to go for research because the information provided is not always reliable. However, under the right controls, these sites can be quite useful. For libraries specifically, wikis can be used to inform the public about the catalogue and can link to a variety of sites online to provide additional information patrons need whether they are in the library or not. For librarians within the system, wikis can be a great place for research as well as linking information that systems around the globe and share and implement into their own libraries. If used properly, I see this being a great tool for any business.

Learning 2.0

I found the information people had blogged about Learning 2.0 to be intriguing. I think it's great that there are people out there willing to accept that the library needs to change drastically if it wants to survive.

I do believe libraries are moving into survival mode. As a 7th grade teacher of reading and writing, I know that many young people do not enjoy libraries; in fact, many of them may never have visited one. They don't like to read books, but computers offer an entirely different option. They don't mind reading lengthy pieces of information if it's on a computer screen, but print it on actual pages and bind them together...torture.

I know that libraries are important, but that fact seems to be turning into more of an opinion for so many people. We need to give the people what they want how they want it, and do so as quickly as possible. This means major changes, just as the people who wrote the Learning 2.0 blogs suggested. Change is scary, but losing our libraries is even scarier.

Technorati

After visiting the technorati website and beginning to discover the wide array of topics to reserach, I am impressed with the wealth of information. This is a site that could be used for both recreation and professional purposes. I found it interesting that there are blogs in various different languages - a reminder that using the internet can open us up to the world. I also was intrigued by how many people seem to use this site, along with the variety of opinions that are being voiced. In a way, it's sad that so many people rely on technology to speak for themselves, but I do find it somewhat encouraging that there are so many people out there who have opinions on a wide variety of topics and wish for those opinions to be heard.

del.icio.us

I created my own account for del.icio.us and began tagging some of the websites I visit frequently...both personally and professionally. I think this site has some interesting and useful purposes; however, I don't care for the look of it. Having just begun to discover what del.icio.us has to offer, I'm sure there are aspects to this site about which I do not yet know. Even so, I think it has the potential to be a helpful timesaver, especially when I am creating lessons and tweaking units.