Thing+23

=Thing 23 (Week 10): Where do we go from here?=

Introduction
For the past 7,000 weeks, you have worked hard and persevered. Your brain is full. The "Things" are all running together. You are all blogged out. You see a faint light at the end of the tunnel, but you are fearful that it is a Web 2.0 hallucination...

[|Voicethread] (Education Version) is a remarkable tool that has tremendous classroom potential for digital storytelling and portfolios, multimedia presentations, collaboration, publishing and instruction/demonstration. I hope many of you will explore the site on your own, and discover applications for your own environment.Check out the overview of Ed Voicethread (teacher-moderated version for schools) as well as a growing digital library of lessons for many subject areas and grade levels.

**Task:** **Final Thoughts**


 * PART 1:** Please leave **two comments, ~30 seconds each, as described below** on our closing Voicethread, also below. Your comments do not have to be expansive or perfect -- please just share your thoughts! I hope you will also spend a few moments listening to each others' comments. **HOW-TO instructions** are provided in both written and video format below the presentation.

**What your comments should encompass:**

 * **Comment 1 / Slide 1:** Share your thoughts about Web 2.0 and 21st Century learners. Do you believe the world is changing for our students? Do teachers (and schools) need to consider and address these "shifts?" How can we teach students to be responsible, effective users of these tools?
 * **Comment 2 / Slide 2:** While I know there have been challenges along the way, I hope there have also been discoveries made, and ideas sprouted for each of you. Please share the "top" one or two tools, concepts, ideas or resources from the course that you felt were most valuable for you in your classroom or professional role. What was valuable about them? Are there any tools, ideas or resources you have begun using, or plan to use in the future? What was the best discovery?


 * PART 2:** Write a final blog post reflecting on your overall course experience and next steps.




 * HOW TO:** For this task you will use the Voicethread account you created as part of Thing 1. Just click the "Sign In or Register" button on the presentation above, sign in, then go to the first slide to leave your first comment, then the second slide to leave your second comment. (You will need a microphone, though you can also use the "phone comment" feature if you prefer). **IMPORTANT TIP:** Voicethread recording works better if you don't have a bunch of webpages open in other tabs or windows -- those pages are competing for your computer's resources.


 * HELP Video:** [|How to register for and leave a comment on a Voicethread]

= = = Thing 23.5 (Future Stretch)... = In addition to **continuing your learning** via your Google Reader (RSS subscriptions), by "attending" more K12 Online Conferencesessions, and by participating in a robust network such as Classroom 2.0 (or a more specialized network such as Independent School Educators Network or the English Companion Ning), I **strongly encourage** all of you to explore the **power of Twitter** as part of your professional learning network.


 * Thanks for hanging in throughout the "23 Things" journey. I hope you have discovered, explored, made connections, been curious, been challenged, overcome frustration, felt accomplished, grown a bit and shared with others... ** **and, most of all, I hope you will keep going!**


 * ) Shelley

=Thing 23 - Final Reflections=

Introduction
For the past 7,000 weeks, you have worked hard and persevered. Your brain is full. The "Things" are all running together. You are all blogged out. You see a faint light at the end of the tunnel, but you are fearful that it is a Web 2.0 hallucination. Before we get onto the more serious act of this final Thing, I thought a little video introduction might be in order. Considering the title, I thought it appropriate.


 * The Internet Overdose Song || The Internet Overdose Song - Dowloaded from YouTube ||

**Task**

 * Final Thoughts**

**PART 1:**
Please leave **two comments, ~30 seconds each, as described below** on our closing Voicethread, also below. Your comments do not have to be expansive or perfect -- please just share your thoughts! I hope you will also spend a few moments listening to each others' comments. **If you've forgotten about how to leave a comment on a voicethread, please refer back to [|Thing 13.]**

__ **What your comments should encompass:** __
 * **Comment 1 / Slide 1:** Share your thoughts about Web 2.0 and 21st Century learners. Do you believe the world is changing for our students? Do teachers (and schools) need to consider and address these "shifts?" How can we teach students to be responsible, effective users of these tools?
 * **Comment 2 / Slide 2:** While I know there have been challenges along the way, I hope there have also been discoveries made, and ideas sprouted for each of you. Please share the "top" one or two tools, concepts, ideas or resources from the course that you felt were most valuable for you in your classroom or professional role. What was valuable about them? Are there any tools, ideas or resources you have begun using, or plan to use in the future? What was the best discovery?

**PART 2:**
Write a final blog post reflecting on your overall course experience and next steps. Dont' forget to label your post as Thing 23.



== =Course Completion= Please do not forget to complete the course evaluation - Course Evaluation
 * [|Steps for Course Completion]**