It's All Over But It Is Just Beginning

The journey through the Web 2.0 tools has been very rewarding. Not only that, but it has been a lot of fun. I feel like I know a lot about Web 2.0 but I sure learned a lot more. It has provided resources that I am sharing with others to make our work more productive. But one of the thinks I have enjoyed the most is the way this PD has taken place. It is a wonderful model of PD that promotes differentiation. We have all learned the same things, but in many different ways. I thank Jacki Campbell and Carol Mayer for their leadership and their expertise in developing 23 Things. Not only have I grown in my knowledge and practice but also in my admiration for both of them.

Thank You!!

My Science Wiki's

Our task is to create a new Wiki. Since I have a couple of Wiki's already, I thought I would just talk about them, instead of adding a new one. The first wiki's I did were using pbwiki. You can view them at:

https://geoscienceessentials.pbwiki.com/session/login?return_to_page=FrontPage
http://physicsessentials.pbwiki.com/
or
http://ccwim.wetpaint.com

The only problem with these is that you have to join them, like we did to make a comment in this area. But this is one of the important decisions that have to be made regarding a Wiki--who can comment. Most Wiki's are for a select group. The first two Wiki's used pbwiki.com and the last one used wetpaint.com. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of the Wiki's. I am not sure which one I like best. The first two wiki's were used to develop high school courses based on the Michigan Merit Curriculum for Earth Science and Physics. The last wiki was used in the CCWIM (Comparing and Contrasting Watersheds in Michigan) Project.

If anyone would like to explore these wiki's just send me an email at:
k12science@mac.com and I will make sure that you are invited to join.

Wiki's

I have been using Wiki's for about two years. I will share my Wiki's in my next post. This has been a good lesson to distinguish between a Wiki and a Blog. I wanted to find more answers and this is what I found:

I discovered: http://wiki.wetpaint.com/page/Wiki+vs+Blog?t=anon
and it went over the differences and similarities.

Wiki: A collaborative website which can be directly edited by anyone with access to it. Many authors, various personalities & experiences, opinions face scrutiny of community or are listed as such. Knowledge comes from community of dozens or even thousands of topic experts. Grows rapidly at all hours of the day. Articles constantly change and continuosly updated. Discussions can take place on pages or in the discussion forum (at least in Wetpaint wikis).

Blog: A personal or corporate website in the form of an online journal, with new entries appearing in sequence as they are written. Typically one author, one personality, one opinion. Knowledge limited by single person. Grows slowly, one post at a time. Each post becomes stale over time. Discussions take place in the comments of a post, typically approved by blogger.

I think I feel more comfortable in the Wiki environment, because of the kind of work I do.

Favorite Podcast Sites

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I do podcasts that can be found at:
http:/k12science.net
and then listed all of the podcasts that I am subscribed to. I noticed that I was supposed to subscribe to some in this post. I thought what I would do instead is to mention my favorite podcasts and why I like them. I like using iTunes the most to get my podcasts. Since I am a "Mac" person, it just makes thinks easier.

KidCast--As Carol mentioned, this is a great podcast. The quality is not that great, but the message certainly is. The podcast is done by Dan Schmidtt and i have two of his books. He really understands podcasting in education.

Lab Out Loud--This is a good podcast produced by the National Science Teachers Association. They deal with topics that are of value to the high school science teacher.

MacCast--This may be my favorite. This is a weekly podcast from Adam Christianson and he goes over all things Macintosh. He covers the news, repairs, tips, interviews, etc.

Today in iPhone--Similar to the MacCast, not as good, but focuses in on the iPhone.

Video: Technology with David Pogue--David does a vodcast once a week or every other week on new technology. He has a very entertaining style. He works for the New Your Times and CNN.

PodCasting

Well, podcasting is my favorite 2.0 tool so far. I have been doing podcasts on a weekly basis for a year now and really enjoy doing them. You can find all of my podcasts at:
http://k12science.net
Special thanks to Carol Mayer for mentioning my podcasts here in 23 things. Here is a list of my favorite podcasts (I know this because they are on my iPod). I also list where I found them.

Acoustic Long Island Video – iTunes Store
Apple Quick Tips – iTunes Store
Ask an Astronomer Videos –- iTunes Store
Biology Group 1 – iTunes Store; iTunes U; K-12; Michigan’s MI Learning
BrainStuff – iTunes Store
Chemistry Resources – iTunes Store; iTunes U; K-12; Michigan’s MI Learning
COSEE NOW: Ocean Gazing – iTunes Store
Ecogeeks: Untamed Science Video Podcast – iTunes Store
KEXP Song of the Day – iTunes Store
KidCast: Learning and Teaching with Podcasting– iTunes Store
Lab Out Loud – iTunes Store
Life Sciences -- iTunes Store; iTunes U; K-12; Michigan’s MI Learning
MacCast: For Mac Geeks – iTunes Store
Now on PBS – iTunes Store
NPR: All Songs Considered – iTunes Store
NPR: Science Friday Podcast – iTunes Store
OXM Podcast – iTunes Store
**** Science Podcasts (K12Science in MI) – iTunes Store; iTunes U; K-12; Michigan’s MI Learning ****
TeacherCast: NewsHour with Jim Lehrer – iTunes Store
TEDTalks – iTunes Store
Today in iPhone – iTunes Store
Video: Technology/David Pogue – iTunes Store
What’s Up in Astronomy – iTunes Store
60-Second Earth – iTunes Store

Slideshare

Summative Assessment

View more presentations from guestc5a435.

I really enjoyed learning about SlideShare. I am very familiar with YouTube and TeacherTube, but this was brand new. I think this is a great site for educators to share their PowerPoints and to get ideas about PowerPoint presentations. I added one and it can be viewed at:
http://www.slideshare.net/guestc5a435/summative-assessment
I have already added SlideShare to my Delicious account.

Productivity Tools

I enjoyed looking at the productivity tools. I can see a purpose for all of them, but it is going to take me awhile to get used to some of these online tools. I think part of it is because I am a user of only portable computers, so I always have everything with me. If I had a desktop I think I might look at them differently. Here is a quick review:
Bubbl.US--I like the look of this and I like concept maps. But I don't think I would use it because I already use Inspiration.
Zoho Show--The link did not work. I looked it up and it is:
http://show.zoho.com
This site does presentations online. Again, pretty kewl site, but I can do more in PowerPoint and Keynote.
Remember the Milk--This site deals with tasks and has an iPhone app, but I do not use the task feature, so not really interested.
30 Boxes--This is a nice online calendar. But again, I already have one and can use it online at MobileMe, so not interested.
LibraryThing--I liked this a lot. A nice opportunity to hear others impressions of books.
TrailFire--Probably the lease interesting to me.
Knowtes--I liked this a lot. If it would not be blocked in schools, I think this would be a great student tool for flash cards.