Summary

For the most part, I have enjoyed this journey around the internet. I have been introduced to new applications about which I had no idea. New ways to get organized, something to satisfy the list-maker in me, a new home page that adds a number of interesting links to check out, RSS feeds that will provide information about topics I enjoy, a quick and fun way to make a video out of photographs, an affordable subscription for making genograms and ecomaps - I am overwhelmed with it all.

Some of it had little use for someone entering the profession of School Counselor, and it was frustrating to me to be given tasks that repeatedly seemed as if they had no suitable application. The applications in the second half of the assignment offered more versatility for use from a counseling perspective and to me personally as well.

I do feel like I have become acquainted with some of the resources on the web. I plan to incorporate some of them into my routine and will be investigating many of the others for future use.

Thing 23

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

I was unaware that this option existed as an alternative to traditional copyright law. It allows for the legal incorporation of the works of other people into classroom activities, with the potential for adding interest and engagement of the students in the content. Although I cannot currently determine how this information could impact my work in a School Counselor capacity, I will not rule out that possibility. One can never be sure when it will be useful to have been exposed to new information.

Thing 22

I thought podcastdirectory.com was easy to navigate, and there is an abundance of choice. Although I cannot necessarily think of a way I could use this technology in a professional capacity, I leave that option open for future consideration. I have saved the website to My Favorites for future exploration.

For my purposes in this assignment, I listened to a Christian music selection which I did enjoy and subscribed to the feed. There are a multitude of podcasts for each genre, and it will take some investigating to locate those I am likely to enjoy the most.

Thing 21

Creating this video has been among the most fun things I have ever done. I wish I could think of a dozen uses for it, but I will certainly remember it should the opportunity ever arise. What I can do for now is share it with family members who were present on the balcony for the jam session that lasted well into the evening.

Animoto meets both of my criteria for an application: it is user friendly and it is forgiving as well. I need to learn to focus on the layout rather than the task at hand and maybe I would not have to do so many retakes. I also failed to see the area for the title, and it produced as "null" - but easily edited when the video was finished. I accidentatlly navigated away from the slide viewer and had to upload a second time, but other than that it worked on autopilot.

I was very pleased with what the application put together the first time; I don't think I could improve on it. It was simple, and fun, it worked like it was supposed to, and the 12 minutes to produce it was worth the wait. I loved this experience!

I have posted the video to my facebook profile to share with the other members of my family who were there when the pictures were taken.

Thing 21

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Thing 20

I have explored YouTube on a number of occasions, mostly for sharing music videos on facebook, which makes it a relatively painless activity. I viewed some other videos prior to picking this one, and decided that since it was from Animal Planet it might be worthy of posting in an educational venue. I do have a golden retriever mix and although she doesn't fit the typical golden profile, she still measures up as a terrific family pet, possibly a better guard dog than what this video would lead one to believe.

Many times children are actively looking for a pet, and having videos such as this one might be an excellent service for them to provide input into the family discussion. It offers some objective information while providing clips of this breed of dog in various stages of life.

The only thing I don't like about YouTube is that very often the sheer volume of search results is overwhelming. I am often disappointed when I view something and find out it is far from being something I would share with others. Besides hogging bandwidth, it also hogs time while sorting through the results.

This experience provided me with my first successful post of a video. I'm sure the format had much to do with that, as well as the illustration, but it is a good feeling to know that I can do that!

Thing 20

Thing 19

I liked the possibility of playlist.com because I have not risen to the level of an iPod. I still have a bookshelf stereo and cd's but until I get determined enough to find someone to fix it, the stereo remains a dust catcher. Some background music would be a good thing, and the genre selection seems quite extensive. I see a new bookmark in my future.

Other than facebook, I am a member of two local forums that allow anonymous posting. Time constraints have prevented my being active for the last few months but I still check in from time to time. Being an active participant can usurp a tremendous amount of time without realizing it, and there can be the constant need to realign the priorities.

Thing 18

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1212755437

I have been on facebook for about a year and my friend's list has grown to 77, which includes family members, some instructors from my Masters program, friends from church, and some friends from my early years in elementary through high school. I am an avid "farmer" in both FarmVille and Farm Town, and have "borrowed" friends and neighbors from some family members in order to make participation more enjoyable. Out of necessity, I must budget my time and activities there. I recently heard that the average facebook user is logged in for seven hours a month; I wonder if they misread that information and should have said "per week." I have no business at all setting up a corresponding account in MySpace with similar features and games available.

What started as a family venture - to reconnect with our generation of 11 cousins spread from Miami to Columbus, OH - has expanded to include people I met throughout my Masters program, some of whom have already left Clarksville. All three of my children also have accounts and I stay in closer contact with them as a result; there is an email feature and an online chat for communicating privately. A long-time friend held out from my initial invitation until just the other day when she (hesitatingly) joined.

Recently facebook upgraded its service and some of the changeover has not run smoothly. It has been a source of frustration rather than fun, but they seem to be working out some of the details a little at a time.

Nearly all school children from middle school age are active on MySpace or facebook, sometimes both. Although some schools have a policy against such social friendships between teachers and students, my youngest has always enjoyed being online with her teachers. She can contact the teacher through email with questions she might have, and it offers the teacher an opportunity to see the student as a real person instead of just another student - likes and dislikes, how the student interacts with others, what items are added on the Profile page. It also adds a dimension to the students perception of the teacher, who becomes more real as well. Pictures of family, pets, and activities can be shared which can enhance the classroom interest.

Privacy issues for adolescents can be an issue, and besides parent oversight, teachers can encourage their students in the prudent use of this social medium. Teachers can also be alert for unsafe activity on the student's part while interacting with others on the internet.

Thing 17

Since in reading the description contained within the assignment readings and exploring the sites, I considered that there is inherent value in having "portable bookmarks" and explored that option through iGoogle. I found Google Bookmarks, and a Social Bookmark Widget with links to MySpace, facebook, YouTube, and a number of other sites including Del.icio.us. I also subscribed to the feed from Del.icio.us through the Social Bookmark Widget. I have it readily available on my newly designed home page to explore and add to as I wish. No matter where I am, signing into my Google account will provide access, and I may soon wonder how I ever lived without it.

I enjoy reading the comments of others and have participated in forum-type discussions. The comments here are interesting and seem to represent a wide variety of perspectives; the tags appear to be a personal organization for the person who created it. In the classroom, using keywords from academic content provides boundless opportunities for having relevant material at the fingertips.

Coincidentally, my first feed from Del.icio.us includes a link to the Mindjet blog...Getting Things Done With Mind Maps.

Thing 16

For this part of the assignment, I chose iGoogle for my start page. Since I have Google set as my internet home page it allows me a familiar format from which to build. It accesses my gmail account and I picked some initial topics to display here: weather, news, YouTube, etc. I liked the idea of having everything in one place, so after investigating the organizer tools in the assignment I came back to iGoogle and added some gadgets: ToDo, Google Calendar, Sticky Note, Google Map Search, Useless Knowledge, Quotes of the Day. It seems to make sense for everything to be integrated; otherwise it defeats the purpose of getting organized.

In doing it this way, I will eliminate the need for a special trip to weather.com, I stay informed about my mail, I have the headlines where I can easily view them, and I have some fun things there as well: Hamster and Zen Aquarium. I think I may have found myself a new Home, which has a little more interest than just a search bar.

Getting used to using the calendar might be difficult for me, but it would be available to me whether at home or at work. That is an important plus, because mornings are not always conducive to checking my calendar for events of the day. I am a list-maker, so that too is a plus for being either at home or at work; I often remember things I need to do when I'm driving to work and could make the entry when I arrive at the office. Using these tools might encourage me to use the time I do have more wisely. I am excited about getting started on it!

I did explore the other list making and calendar options. I tried to add Ta-Da to iGoogle and it was not recognized. I also checked MSN's calendar, which I am assuming integrates with MSN products and features. That is when I decided to go back to iGoogle and use the same features that are offered through Google. I think I will like having it all there on one page.

Thing 15

As usual, I seem to learn from the mistakes I make. When I thought I was applying the edit tool I was actually only commenting. I was able to use the edit feature, but was unable to delete the comment. For me to maneuver around in new applications requires one of two things: it either must be extremely user friendly, or it must be forgiving. Otherwise, my mistakes are left for all of posterity. Using the formatting tools was easy, and could be valuable in expressing emotions for counseling work.

With user accounts, this format might be acceptable to use for some specific group work in counseling, with Informed Consent. It would provide a medium for addressing specific issues with opportunities for students to respond, and it would not be necessary for students to be dismissed from class. However, strict privacy must be enforced, and that is what makes me so skeptical about using the internet for professional practice. Without privacy it could not be considered for that purpose.

Thing 14

Oh my word! Gliffy is a keeper for sure! One of the things that is invaluable for counseling is the ability to investigate relationships; this application provides the tools necessary for drawing genograms and ecomaps. Creating them in Excel is cumbersome, and I have only found one commercial software (SmartDraw currently priced at $197) that provides the proper template and shapes. In addition, the Flow Chart feature would add a dimension in creating a presentation that required correlation, such as in explaining the ASCA model to someone unfamiliar with the concept. On a more personal note, I have been found on many occasions drawing floor plans to rearrange a room, or to plan furniture placement for a new home. This application would definitely have relevance in the Counselor's office, and is affordable by subscription for saving projects. I have saved it to My Favorites for future reference.

bubbl.us seems to be useful from a more limited perspective; I was not able to create more than three "children" on one level for making a correlation. I can consider that such a use might present itself in the future, and it can be embedded in a blog. That feature might be of value for communicating a particular idea to parents/stakeholders from a Counselor's perspective. I would need a specific idea or project in mind to investigate it further.

One thing I have not mentioned is that using these applications on the web, I would be able to access them from home in a particularly creative moment that might not happen in the work environment, whether that result from a particularly busy day or just from something that came up during the day.

Thing 13

Zoho Writer appears to be relatively familiar as a word processor, and the spreadsheet is very similar to Excel; however, it would take some practice to familiarize myself with any differences. I do like the available backgrounds for the presentations - something different from PowerPoint - and it is relatively easy to maneuver. This application might be usable for collaboration with other professionals such as through state and national organizations, and groups or committees at the local level.

I also see that in the event education moves into the 21st century and gears the classroom toward the use of technology, this application could be invaluable with the advent of Netbook, which is geared toward the internet rather than local storage. In investigating the pricing, though, extensive use might be rather pricey.

I like doing this exercise more than I thought I would. It is quite versatile and seems to be successful in taking computer applications to a new level. I am going to attempt an export to my blog; we will see whether or not I am successful. :)

Epilog:
I was able to export to local storage, but it appears I will need to become more technologically savvy in order to post directly to Blogger. I was able to do a copy/paste so my efforts in Zoho were not in vain.

Thing 12

With all due respect to Dr. Wall and the Internet community, I prefer to not consider my life being dictated from my computer. I can appreciate the tools and their usefulness in a time-driven environment such as a classroom, but from a School Counseling perspective we are driven by the needs of students. If it takes a few minutes or an entire day, it is our priority. We do not need the distraction of preset alerts, or reminders flashing on our computer screen. The student receives our full attention.

Thing 11

I can only reiterate my post in Thing 10. I already subscribe to the New York Times and the Washington Post for my news. If there is time I check Google News for current updates. I have scrolled through several pages of suggestions for subscribing to feed and I would just be wasting my time to do that.

If I may suggest, there needs to be some content that is relevant to candidates for the Ed.S. in School Counseling. I appreciate the plight of teachers, and I am very interested in what goes on in the classroom and the dilemma within the educational system. School Counselors play an integral role in the academic success of students and our training and focus is an entirely different discipline. We need to feel like we are part of the team as well.

Thing 10

Dr. Wall, this one completely baffles me. I have items in Gooogle Reader, but it is saved to My Favorites under Subscriptions. I found another blog that I wanted to follow, and it is saved in the Feeds tab; another one offered me the option to Subscribe, and then went nowhere. I seem to defy the organization of the Internet, and I hope you can appreciate my frustration with it. I choose to live outside of the boxes that others define for me; I make my own choices based upon my preferences, my own likes and dislikes. Those preferences tend to be "outliers" in the whole scheme of profiling.

If I go any further in this Thing, I may wind up with four more categories that I must routinely access. I do have a collection of links that I access from time to time for information on my chosen professional field.

Aaaarrrrrgh! I do say that from time to time...

Thing 9

I used ImageChef to create these graphics. I can think of possibilities for using them in the future, mostly in consideration of appropriateness for the occasion. I enjoyed the activity and can appreciate the exposure to this technology. Graphic interest adds to the appeal and can bring attention to an otherwise overlooked entry.

Thing 8

If I could decipher the code posting I might make this one usable. I like it but sizing and line breaks would need to be options. Who knows, I might find a use for it as it is, especially for something that might need to be graphically interesting. I would need to play with it at length to figure out how to get the best results for what I needed at the time.

I am really not a fan of sharing photos online in a public venue. Sometimes I do, but I control who sees them.

Thing 7

Lucie, originally uploaded by tricia1014.

This picture is my pride and joy - my golden retriever mix I adopted from the Christian County Animal Shelter 7 years ago. She shares her space with Dawson, our almost-11-year-old cat who defies description. There is an ongoing debate about who rules, and Lucie usually gets the last word in. Dawson is not impressed.

I originally hoped to train Lucie for animal-assisted therapy; she has resisted my efforts and I finally accepted the fact that some of her personality was shaped in the year-and-a-half of her life before I got her. With family and school responsibilities, I have not had the time I would need to insist that she do things my way. So, we are content to have her as a family member and enjoy her intuitive reactions to our daily lives. She is expressive and responsive to people, especially children, and maybe in the "Autumn of her life" we can explore more of the possibilities of pursuing her "career" in pet therapy.

As usual, I had to use the Help feature in Flickr. Activities there are not necessarily self-explanatory. It was fun, but cumbersome and for me to enjoy it I would need to practice it routinely. If I were posting pictures of human subjects, I might be a little more concerned about the privacy issue, but even knowing my location, finding my dog would take some serious dedication. She's valuable to us, but to others probably not so much. Even though I posted it as "Public" I understand I can change that for future use.

I am glad to have "crossed this barrier" into Flickr, but its use for me will probably be restricted to activities with family and friends. The only other site where I have posted pictures for others to view has been on facebook, where it is extremely simplified for the uninformed and quite easy to share with others through tagging. Although I cannot necessarily think of a way to incorporate this technology into my future professional life, I do not rule out the possibility that at some point I will be able to rely on this experience.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Thing 6

With all of the emphasis on healthy living, I investigated Revolution Health - the 1st Place winner in the Health category. As with any site relating to health it is far from comprehensive, but there is a vast amount of information available - from researching drugs and treatments to conditions, getting a brief (non-medical) report on symptoms, information on nutrition, ways to manage stress, information about insurance, and a locator for doctors, dentists and hospitals. It also offers a membership feature for creating a personal health record. There is a Store for purchasing health related items; it might be a little pricey but I would have to compare it item for item. The only problem I encountered was an inability to move through the alphabetized list of medications, which may have been a temporary glitch. I have bookmarked it to revisit at another time; I could spend days...weeks...months at this site and still not feel like I've been thorough in my exploration.

From the perspective of School Counseling, this site has a number of assets. Students with diagnosed conditions - both medical and learning - will need for me to have information about their disease/disorder and any medications they may be taking routinely. It could also be helpful in giving information to parents who may be new to the community. In addition, teachers in Health/PE might find this site an excellent resource in reinforcing healthy lifestyles for their students.

Please note the application of a new skill from this assignment: I used the words to the link rather than posting the url. I have been curious about how to do that for some time now, and today I learned how to do it. Yea me! :)

Thing 5

I like to think of Web 2.0 as more of expanding the opportunities of the internet rather than replacing the original product, an overlay instead of starting over. Cultural walls have been torn down to some extent, and the internet has responded to a more complex society, one in which people need a more effective means of meeting everyday needs. On-line banking, comparison shopping, paying bills - how often do you avail yourself of these internet services at midnight or 5 am? Are facebook or MySpace part of your routine in order to stay in touch with family members with whom you are geographically separated? Even your own teenagers may find the social connection of these internet applications quite comfortable, allowing a different dimension to your own parent/child relationship.

The internet has opened a virtually limitless opportunity for information on any subject the mind can formulate. Doubting Thomases can confirm or shoot down what they learned in a classroom, and as a result, it is imperative that instruction contain thorough and factual information. Not only do schools need to assign projects that involve the internet, they also need to instruct on how to use the tools that are available. How can that be done unless students are actively participating in the instruction? From my own experience, if someone tells me what to do I can do it then, but I may not remember it for the next time. I can write it down so I have something for future reference, but if I do it I remember the experience. Technology and all that it implies needs to be incorporated into the classroom, whether face-to-face or virtual, giving access to every student the opportunity to investigate according to his or her own interest and potential.

To me, School 2.0 means building upon the foundation of where we have been. I am not one for radical change, but more improving the existing format. What works? Where does it fall short? How can money be spent in the most effective way possible, without losing sight of the overall goal - that of providing the best education to prepare the next generation for life in the society they will enter as adults? In order to accomplish those tasks, teacher education will need to evolve to incorporate the technological advances; school systems will need to evaluate the resources they provide to students; money for education will need more than lip service. If we plan to make upcoming generations competitive in a global society, education will need to be a priority, and I don't refer just to academics. Psychological and emotional well-being is equally important when considering achievement.

Thing 4

In leaving meaningful comments that show thoughtful consideration to the topics of other bloggers, we validate the importance of the topic to the author and acknowledge to them that we share that sense of priority. We expand our own world to include their ideas and anticipate feedback from the blog's author or other commenters, allowing for a sense of connectedness.

As a blogger, including a question within a topic could possibly invite comments from others. Doing so would enhance the concept of humility; one who knows it all seldom poses questions to others for fear of learning. Finding questions in a topic also might give a potential commenter the idea that the author will respond to a comment left on the blog. These techniques can encourage contributions from others who may have invaluable information to share.

The five blogs from our group where I have chosen to comment are Jill Blankenship, Roger Taylor, Sarah Sanford, Mary McGowan, and Elizabeth Murphy. Jill and I are both in the program for School Counseling, and she expressed some of my own reservations about the use of technology in this chosen profession. She did, however, elaborate on some of her ideas that would be useful to both students and parents in a generic format and I thought she expressed it quite well.

Roger brought up a point about communication between instructors and students, and how this medium can be useful in accomplishing that feat. Students can sometimes feel unsure about approaching a teacher with a question, and the blog could give a voice to those uncertainties under the mask of anonymity.

Sarah admitted to feelings of self-doubt, and she is not alone there. The discipline of education is so foreign to me it is like learning another language, and I struggle constantly with feelings of inadequacy and wondering if I am up to the task. She shared some good advice, words with which I am not unfamiliar: "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..." Go Sarah!

Mary obviously shares my love for dogs, and I am in awe of her 10 border collies! That cannot be an easy undertaking! My own lone golden retriever appears to have some border collie in her and I recognize some of her temperament as coming from her less prominent heritage. That is a kind way of saying that border collies can be a serious challenge! :)

The name of Elizabeth's blog caught my eye when the page loaded, and I like it. In reading through her topics, she too expressed some frustration with some of the tasks thus far. However, she has the reason of caring for a toddler while working on this assignment; I have no such excuse. Mine is techno-illiteracy, plain and simple.

I have not yet explored the two blogs outside of class so I will come back later to edit this post.

Thing 3

My blog is now officially registered, and I learned something with that step...namely, how to delete a post. I suppose one could learn to think of this process as fun... >.>

Thing 1

Adding the avatar was a test of my patience. The term "user-friendly" does not always consider the novice and I found myself getting extremely frustrated with the dialog box. I was, however, ultimately successful, and I also learned a necessary lesson in (re)design. Onward...

Thing 1 and Thing 2

I know I'm going to be thinking about Dr. Suess and Cat in the Hat all the way through this assignment - that is, when I get over feeling intimidated by the process :)

Since I have been in school for the last 7 years, and still have another year-and-a-half to go, I want to believe I am a "lifelong learner" in concept. However, I seem to do that as the need arises in meeting classroom assignments (like this one :). I never really thought about setting goals for accomplishing it as a task, but more in just continuing the journey. I laugh about Austin Peay having to kick me off campus because it seems that as long as I keep giving them money, they let me come back each semester. I love the idea of learning, and I hope I have inspired my kids to feel that way too.

Thing 2 seems to be requiring me to do something with which I am completely unfamiliar: Using a public venue to put my thoughts and ideas in writing. This one truly meets Habit 3 for me, because it is challenging me to do something I have never contemplated as being part of my life. I have anonymously contributed to blogs in the past, but that is a little different from my perspective. I can see that this medium will be useful in a professional capacity, so maybe it is a good thing that I am working through the feelings of being intimidated by the tools on the internet. Go Dr. Wall! :)