Tool Number 11-Celebrate!

Favorite Tools?
I love Blogger! I also like the Voki, Blabberize, Xranormal, Skype, and Stupeflix.  I forgot Twitter also.
I would use Blogger to create and have student create class and group blogs around a topic to share ideas and give feedback.  They can embed and post their work with the different gadget and get feedback from their posts.  Just creating and improving the blog is awesome and adding personal pride and responsibility for quality of the product.  It's a process  in product!
I like Xtranormal for many reasons.  This would be for middle school but the students can create different point of view for characters and explain process that they are learning too cross content.  It's great for exploding ideas and seeing how they are coming out. You are the producer, writer and director!
Skype students and teachers can get other perspectives on their work and share ideas and give feedback to other teachers and students.  You could also bring in guest speakers to talk about processes like in writing or current research and experiences in Science/Social Studies.
Stupflix I loved because you can get images or your own personal videos and create a scrapbook like presentation. Could be used in LA for many different projects.
Twitter with the hashtag you could ask questions to get comments and feedback about what they are learning and they can see it instantly.  It creates a community of learners when all thinking is valued.  Students will want to participate more and add their thoughts because it's instantaneous!  You could also communicate with parents quickly!

I am stoked about all that I have learned.  This, for me, has been transformational and high on the HEAT level.  I have never done more this summer with technology.  It has been great as I am playing with the different sites and then when I really feel confident, then mind goes wild with the possibilities in the classroom.
I see myself doing more on the web personally and that helps me professionally.  I am starting to feel like a tecky geek!  I could probably work for the Geek Squad now! NOT!  With the Alan November Symphony happening at the same time, I thought my mind was going to explode but it was great!  I could see the possibilities and understand that we work and collaborate with this and it's okay to ask for help.  We are all learners.  I also learned that we aren't "doing" technology for the sake of doing it but that it would be seamless and purposeful so that students can choose different technology to show what and reflect on what they are learning and that they and we are learning together.  It's not isolated but in a global learning community!
We want our students to be engaged, challenged, see relevancy and go global.

Changes in classroom environment?  More ipods, netbooks, lap tops ect. It should be normal to have these tools and stations have always been a staple in elementary so I'd have to look it over so it's not isolated but a normal part of the classroom.

Surprises?
Yes, I have thoroughly enjoyed going through all of this!  I think that if you don't have fun with it and not use it in a personal way can you see classroom application.  People can say-it's good for this or that-but that means Jack to me cause I can see it the same way until I experience it myself.  It's great being on a journey where everyone is in chaos and we'll get there.  I am surprised that I could actually do it all and I don't want to stop just cause I checked this off my list!  This is for real.  I want to explore other tools and will frequent Atomic Learning and look for other staff developments as well as learn from my daughter, other students and my collegues!  It's not the end product that is important, it's the journey!  And so the journey begins....