The document summarizes the author's experience using various social media and online tools for educational purposes. The most useful tool was Twitter, which allowed the author to reconnect with colleagues and stay informed on education topics. The author also enjoyed creating a Pinterest board focused on literacy strategies and using Animoto to create short videos for students. While Delicious and deciding on additional social networks provided some challenges, the author found value in connecting socially with other educators online and learning new techniques.

2. MOST USEFUL TOOL
The most useful tool for me was Twitter. I was able
to reconnect with my school, former students,
and other colleagues. I really like the brevity of
the posts and the education tweets are so
informative! It is something I will continue to
use and update on a regular basis.
https://twitter.com/wallachm
Check out my tweets!

3. OTHER USEFUL TOOLS
I really enjoyed creating my Pinterest board. I
based it on my upcoming year’s agenda for
literacy including reading strategies I plan to
incorporate.
Here is the link to my Pinterest page…follow me!
http://www.pinterest.com/weaverm2/mrs-wallachs-
middle-school-literacy/
I also created a social bookmarking page on
Delicious:
https://delicious.com/wallachm

4. ANIMOTO…
Animoto was another favorite tool to use. It was
so easy to use and create short videos for
classroom use. I created two videos…one of me
and my colleagues and one of my students
engaged in literature circles. The link below is
my colleague one to share.
The only downfall was the type of videos that can
be made for free. I found that I couldn’t use all
the pictures I had unless I created another video
or paid for the longer version.
http://animoto.com/play/hx8bwbQ7r78Vgnfw0TQc
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5. SUCCESSES
• Reconnecting with my Twitter account and linking up with
some of my former students and colleagues. I am loving
the Tweets on education by following educational gurus
and gaining insight, lessons, ideas, and assignments for
my classroom for this upcoming school year.
• Creating a super-cool literacy Pinterest board and
connecting with others on some great ideas for the
novels I read.
• Understanding and really appreciating the need to
connect socially with other educators.

6. CHALLENGES
• Trying to decide which additional social
network to create. I was researching each to see
which would be the most useful to me and user-
friendly. I am so glad I chose Pinterest.
• I did not find Delicious to be as user-friendly as
I would have liked and had trouble finding
people to follow that interested me in my field.
• I do not consider myself technologically-savvy,
so it does take me longer to create
assignments, but I am learning and getting
better each time!

7. ONLINE LEARNING AND MOODLE
Interactive
• Socially and
technologically
interactive with
students, the
instructor, and
the world
Flexible
• Working at
your own pace
and time:
teachers are
busy and we
value
convenience
Easily Accessible
• The instructor
is readily
available via
email and
provides
quality
feedback
quickly

8. MY COLLECTION AT A GLANCE…

9. WRAPPING IT UP…
• I love these courses because I learn so much and I am excited and
motivated to try new ideas with my students.
• Thank you for a another great course!