23 Things: 2011

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Is this the end.....or only the beginning?

My favorite discovery about learning the 23 things is the expansion of knowledge I now have about the internet. One of my favorite discoveries was Flickr, the popular image hosting site. There is a vast amount of images that I can use in my classroom to show students. The old saying is true. “a picture says a thousand words” and by having this site available for me to use will allow me open a whole new world to my students I could never had before. Another discovery that is my favorite is that I know now that I can use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to learn from, gets advice, ask questions, and share my ideas with other educators. I have already learned so much from just one class. Staying up to date with these sites is a great way to grow and learn as a teacher.
Since I decided to become a teacher I knew that I would be committing myself to lifelong learning. This is a part of my commitment when I become a teacher. Through “23 Things” I have developed the confidence and knowledge to help my future students use these Web 2.0 tools and apply them to their learning. While I am no expert in these tools I have a pretty good idea of where to go next. I will use what I have learned and hopefully my knowledge will expand and myself and my students will benefit.

This website is very helpful for learning new skills at my own speed and in private. No pressure! However, if I had to modify one thing it would be that I would provide the opportunity to explore some of the 23 things together. Some of the “things” were a little difficult to grasp and therefore some students may give up on it. If I had the time I would narrow down which “things” students might need help navigating through and provide them the extra help.

23 things has influenced my practice as a teacher because it has given me new ways to be creative and more organized in my classroom through the use of technology. Also, I have no come to the realization that students are changing and so are their learning habits. With the expansion of technology our world is changing every day and as a teacher I need to keep up with this new technology or I will fall behind my student. My students are growing up with this new technology and it will be easy for them to use. I see it with the older generation now. Computers, phones, iPods, etc. are so common now and the older generation can hardly turn them on while my three year old daughter is using these technologies every day. I need to keep up on this or my students will be using technology I have no idea how to use.

I plan to become a member of many of the web 2.0 tools/websites that I have recently learned about. For example, if I subscribe to a podcast I can download it for later use. I can have it on my phone and take it wherever I go. I can listen to the new technologies, ideas, suggestions, and innovations, etc. whenever I have down time, sitting in the doctor’s office, or even doing lawn work. So, I plan to keep up with the new developments in web 2.0 by using the tools that I have learned about and from those learning newer tools that are available.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thing 23

Every day as a teacher I will be using movies, pictures, music, and text in my classroom. Thank goodness for Creative Commons!! It allows me to legally copy, modify and reuse the resources I want to use in my classroom. The material that is Creative Commons can be used without worrying about copyright laws. When researching for material the creative commons license would make determining the fair use of material clearer. Also, if I were to create a piece of work I could still have my name on it. If the material I make gets out into the public eye everyone would still know that it was originally made by me. In addition, I can teach my students about copyright while using creative commons material. Instead of teaching my students all the things they cannot do, it will teach them what they can use.
http://sjlibrary23.blogspot.com/

Thing 22

Culture Quest

I think LiveBinder is pretty cool. I like that I can take my websites that I am researching and organize them into one area that I can get to. For example, if I am teaching a lesson on culture and diversity I can already have all the sites I want to include in my lecture bookmarked. When I first started exploring LiveBinder I was a little confused. But, after looking through other's LiveBinders I got a pretty good idea about how to use it. It turns out it is easy to use and easy to organize my websites. Here is an example of one of the websites I choose to use in my LiveBinder. It titled this Binder "Culture Quest". It includes sites that I would use in my classroom to teach students about the differences in culture across the United States and America. All it took was a copy, paste, and click and it was in my LiveBinder! Great site for organizing!!!

Thing 21

Try our video maker at Animoto.

I had a lot of fun using Animoto!! My video was free so it went way to fast but I can always upgrade if I want to pay for the website. It was fun picking out the pictures and setting up how it my video would look. The music was not my style but it was appropraite. The site was easy to use. All I had to do is upload some pictures, select was music I wanted to use and Animoto did the rest of the work. I can share my video with anyone. For example, I can put it on You Tube or Facebook. The negative is that I thought it was expensive. Three months for $100!!! Wow! I wouldn't use it enough at this point to get my moneys worth. Overall though I really liked it and had fun using it.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Thing 20

I thought I would sit down and explore you tube and come up with a funny yet educational you tibe video. I found this video instead. I have never heard of Unicef coming up with a way children can help other children until today. Instead of children going around asking for Halloween candy they go around asking for money for children in other parts of the world who are not being given the chance to attend school. It is just one of the many ways your can teach your students about diversity and to appreaciate what they have.

Also, you tube does offer a variety of educational content. For example, I can get anything from expert advice and suggestions to showing examples to my students a variety of methods in solving an algebra problem. The problem is that I am pretty sure that teachers probably do not have free access to you tube in their classrooms. And even if teachers did have access their students probably do not. This is a positive thing because there is also a ton of inapprporaite material on you tube that is not sutiable for any child to see. In the end, I like using you tube because it has the most content and a fast upload speed to the videos.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Thing 19

I signed up to be a member on TeacherPop.

Visit TeacherPop

I really think this will be a useful site for me while I am pursing my teaching career. Since it includes my fellow Austin Peay students I will be able to connect with them now and in the future. I think I will be able to use this site for advice and suggestions and to see what they might be doing to advance in the teaching profession. The only other online communities I am a member of is Facebook and Twitter. Although I have not yet got into Twitter. I understand how it can be helpful in connecting with other educators and learning from them but I do not yet share everyone’s interest in it.
Another site I found that I can see myself using is Shelfari. I am currently enrolled in Reading 4050 and my attitude on the importance of reading has increased tenfold. This site gives me more access to books. While exploring the site I found it great that I can read plot summaries of books, quotes, and character descriptions. There is also an area where I can “build a bookshelf”. It would include books that I have read or interested in and I can share with others. When you find a book there is so much to discover about the book. For example, you can click on book extras and it includes a lot of topics. You can see extra book covers, the series and lists, the book’s classification and subjects. I really like that I can read the reviews and get involved in the discussions about the books.

Another site that I found interesting and useful is Classroom 2.0. I really enjoyed reading through the Classroom 2.0 Live! Each Saturday the site holds sessions and features special topics. For instance, this Saturday the session is about a “featured teacher”. The particular teacher will be haring the ways she uses technology with her students that she works with. I think that it is so great. I could really learn a lot from other educators through this site. Also on the site are special interest groups. I can search through the groups that interest me and become a member and get involved in the discussions and posts. I also think that because members are screened before being allowed to become members it keeps the site safe and spam free.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Thing 18

So, I thought about the ways I could use social networking sites in my classroom but I have to admit that I find it somewhat controversial. I am still skeptical about using sites like Facebook in my classroom because of the negative outcomes it could and has had on some educators. However, there are uses in the classroom for social networking sites. For example, there are apps on Facebook that I can use with my class. For instance, Poll app able me to take polls in my classroom. Also, my students and I are able to connect with others in the field of education. We can friend them and learn from them and others they have connected with. The same goes with sites that are not individuals like a news site or a school.

Thing 17

Delicious seems to be a good social networking site that is simple and easy to use. Searching for tags was very easy and bookmarking was just as simple. When a site from my search came up I could see all of the tags that were listed for that site. I did have trouble seeing the comments that other users had left for that site. Do all of the sites have comments? I am still searching for this. Also, it looks like the site is safe when searching for educational purposes. But the entire site contains inappropriate material that I would not want my students to see. Therefore, I wouldn’t introduce this site to my students for use. I would however use the site to collaborate with my fellow teachers. It is great that I can connect with what sites they are bookmarking. There is always more to learn and I would definitely be introduced to sites I might not have found on my own.

While using Delicious I liked that I could save my bookmarks and then actually search through those bookmarks using keywords. I love that organization and ease of use. It will save me time. Another thing I like is that when I searched for educational technology a variety of sites came up. The amount of content this site has and the ease of use will be beneficial to me in my teaching career. I think this site is great for bookmarking but will also be useful in the classroom. For example, I also searched the keyword algebra and came up with a lot of sites. Some of the sites linked me to pages that I could introduce to my students for help and practice with algebra. This worked for other keywords as well. I searched Vikings and came up with many lessons on Vikings history and culture. I also searched Indiana and came up with factual information about the state. The limits are endless. It is a great site that I have already bookmarked!!!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Thing 16

I chose to customize my iGoogle webpage. I find it well-designed and easy to use. I already had basic gadgets on my pages like the weather, time, calendar, news, movies, and you tube. So, I decided to search some keywords in education. I found some interesting things I could use in my classroom. For example, I found a gadget that displays the “interesting thing of the day”. I think it will just be a fun thing for my student to hear to get their day started. Plus they will learn something! I even found a gadget called “For Kids: Safe Search using Google”. I am excited about this. There are an unlimited amount of things on the internet that kids do not need to see. I can be comfortable with them searching the web knowing they are safe.

As far as the Google calendar goes. To me it is just like any other calendar. Great for organizing and planning. But I like my stuff written down with me so I can take it everywhere I go. On the other hand, I can see myself displaying the student’s assignments. I can display the calendar in the morning on the smart board and the students can see what they need done.

Thing 15

I have to admit that why I first started reading about wiki I was skeptical because of the predetermined feelings I have for Wikipedia based on my teachers always banning it from us using it. But once I explored it more I realized that it can be a great tool to have in my classroom. For example, I can use wiki to set up projects with a group of students. They will find it easy to brainstorm ideas and post their information. Each member of the group has access to the exact same page and are able to edit and save the material. Also, as a teacher I am able to get onto the account and see what is going on and how the project is coming along. Not only can I use wikis with my students but I can use it to collaborative with other teachers and colleagues. My major is K-6 so I will be working closely with my fellow teachers. Wiki will be great to use to post our ideas and share our suggestions.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Thing 14

Gliffy.com would be fantastic to use in my classroom. It is a great way to keep my students interested in information that may be a bit boring. I can make drawings and by using gliffy.com those drawing can come alive. I enjoyed searching through the site and seeing how many different types of charts I can make. For example, there are flowcharts, Venn diagrams, floor plans, food charts, etc. Also, it was very easy to use which is great because my students will be able to use it. For instance, one diagram I looked at is the Venn diagram. It was already laid out and included preset layouts and areas for text. With having so many charts my students will be able to learn about all the different kinds of charts available to them. One great feature I noticed is that I can blog about what I am creating with one simple link. If my students do not use Gliffy.com I can still provide them with what I am doing through other sites they are using. Gliffy.com is not free and the is a negative.

Wow! I am excited to have been introduced to Mind Meister!!! I love that I can use it to present material to the class. I can easily use the preset templates and just put in the information I am presenting. Also, it is easy to move the information around. For example, if the students and I have just read a chapter in our social studies book we can use Mind Meister to brainstorm ideas together. In addition, like Gliffy.com this site is easy to share. On the other hand, I did not like that you can only have one center point in mind mapping and I could not copy and paste what I did on one map and move it to another.

Thing 13

Zoho writer seems to be a great online word proscessor. However, I do not believe that it can completely replace Mircrosoft Office. First of all, it is free and Micorsoft Office can not compare to that price. Also, there are many of the same features that are available with Microsoft Office. with it having a lot of the same features as Microsoft Office it is easy to start off using. I feel like I already know how to use it. However, I have to look in different positions and areas for the same tools I am already familiar with in Office. One feature I particulary like is there are a lot of fonts to choose from. Also, I really like that I can tag my documents and they could be organized based on their tags. On the other hand, there is no speller or grammar check as I type. That is actually a deal breaker for me. Although I can type without looking down at the keyboard there are a lot of times that I find myself looking down. Also, I can not right click in my document to copy and paste. I have to use the keyboard. I know this sounds minor, but I am so used to being able to have either feature at my fingertips. :) Overall, I do not think I would use this for an advanced document. For example, I would not use it when creating my merge documents for sending letters home to all of my students. I would however use it when I am just needing to work online and send basic information.

GoogleDocs was great! Immediately when I opened GoogleDocs the program already had brought up my documents, spreadsheets, and workbooks that were already saved on my computer. The easy at getting to those documents was great! Again, I thought that GoogleDocs had many of the same features as Microsoft Office does. Although, GoogleDocs has one big UP on Microsoft Excel. And that is the easy at which I would be able to access all of my documents I have saved onto GoogleDocs. With GoogleDocs I am able to share my documents and use any computer to access them. I would not longer have to worry that someone else is using my computer or that I am at school or work and cannot get to a much needed document.

Now, in comparing the two I would have to say that I would pick GoogleDocs for one reason only. That I can access my documents anywhere I go. But, ultimately I hate to say it but I would not choose either one of them for my needs as of right now. I do not believe that my information would be private and secure. Also, I think that Excel is easier to use. I could however use GoogleDocs in backing up some of my files that I do not feel need security.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Thing 12

As I have said before, I love Google. I have already had my iGoogle page set up for some time now. I discovered it on my about a year ago or so. It is personalized to my own specific preferences and general appearance. So far I have enjoyed putting on my own gadgets. I am always interested in the weather so that I can plan what I will wear for the day or what activities I will be able to do with my daughter outside. So, I have included the weather gadget for my area. I also have a calendar with the date and time. And if the page is opened all the way it gives me a calendar displaying the entire month. You tube is also a part of my iGoogle webpage. It allows me to search for different topics in my current education that I am struggling with. For example, I am in a linguistics class and we have had to make tree diagrams for sentences. At first this was difficult for me so I jumped onto my homepage, iGoogle, typed tree diagram into YouTube and got lessons on how to do tree diagrams. In addition, I have added a little pick me up by putting on a comedy central jokes.com gadget. It gives me three jokes of the day that cheer me up for a quick second. Also, I am informed on the world news, but I would like to be so I added CNN.com, NYTimes.com, and NPR: News, Music, Daily Quiz. They bring me the latest headlines in news and I do not have to go looking for it. Also, I have a gadget that allows me to quickly see what movies are playing at my local theatre and a gadget that displays the editor’s hot list for television shows that will come on that day. And last but not least I have included a gadget that gives me a little dose of celebrity news. There is always room for more gadgets. This is one of the reasons I love Google. It has so much coming directly to me so it is quick and easy.

iGoogle

In the near future I could add the ToDo gadget to my iGoogle page. I could post my to do lists about my upcoming events, activities, meetings, assignments, deadlines, etc. that I may have for my classroom and job as a teacher. This gadget allows me to highlight tasks in different colors, change their order on the list, and strikethrough or delete tasks. I find that this would be very useful in helping my organize my daily tasks in a place where I can go easily each day and see them every time I log on because it is my homepage.

ToDo Gadget

I have already mentioned Google translate in a previous posting, but I wanted to mention it again because I wanted to go into it further. First of all, I think that Google translate is useful but you should be cautious of your results. After all, it is still a machine and cannot take the place of a professional or native speaker of a language. On the other hand, I believe that it can be useful to comparing your understanding of your translation or to get you start on translating. When you use Google translate you have to use simple sentences.

Google Translate

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Thing 11

I hate to sound monotonous with everyone else’s choice of search engine, but Google Search has been and always will be my main search engine. Google is the easiest search tool for me to use. In addition, once I tried Google blogs it has deepened my appreciation for Google. I typed in classroom management and got an overwhelming amount of feeds with effective classroom management techniques. It is simple and always leads me in the right direction.
I was pleasantly surprised by Topix.net. Once I clicked on the site it automatically picked up my location. Instantly I had news in front of me about the area I live in. It even had a poll going about the presidential election. It showed who people voted for how many people in my area had voted and compared it to the national poll. I thought the current news was useful. I am not up to date on current news and it was nice to learn about a site that gave that to me.
I also used Technorhati to find blogs. I like it because I could search be tags or subject area. I found that it be easy and resourceful in the results.
Honestly, Syndic8.com was unusual and confusing. Once I started clicking around and searching I could not even find my way back to its homepage. I tried to explore and learn how to use it, but got frustrated. I thought it would be a great way for me to find a website with RSS because I could not find many with the icon. I am still confused. If anyone has any suggestions, just leave me a comment. :)

Thing 10

Google Reader allows me to manage a high volume of blog websites. It saves time because I do not have to click on each blog I want to read; instead it all comes to me. I have also learned that I can set up folders in my Google Reader to help manage the different sites. I have loved Google for a long time now so I use it as my homepage. I can connect Google Reader to my Google homepage which is set up to have unread items waiting for me. The blogs are organized based on my preferences.
From what I have heard about teaching, time is a teacher’s biggest adversary. I have begun to learn that there are a lot of educational resources available online and I will not have the time to surf through all of them. So, Google Reader is a great way for me to be able to cut down on wasted time looking from site to site for new information. As a teacher I can use Google Reader to organize current news information, educational sites, and blogs. For example, I noticed that Twitter has a RSS feed, which Google Reader can connect to. I can keep up with the educators that I learn the most from on a daily basis without having to visit the Twitter account every day.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Thing 9

So far I have not really liked these sites. Many are either asking for money to use them or to donate. Plus, all of the websites are cluttered with so many advertisements that I can barely focus in on one thing. I have spent a lot of time trying to make some creations, but have had difficulty with each site. Many times I would upload a picture, click upload, and the picture would never appear. I am actually frustrated and I thought that this would be fun. I did create a cute picture but I have no use for it in my classroom. Maybe I could use it in my future blog that my students and their parents will visit.

I can post something funny or welcoming to make students and parents more comfortable with me. It also shows them more of my personality so they do not just see my teacher side.

Ok, here is a site I found that I could use in my classroom. I could make these certificates to hand out to my students when they complete a task or improve on a subject that they may have been having difficulty with. I think it would be a great motivator.

thing 8

The first mashup I used was Big Huge Labs. Specifically, I went to Motivator. I instantly thought it would be useful in my classroom to create my own inspirational posters. I like the fact that I would be able to use my own pictures. I thought it would be great motivation if I could use my student's pictures for the posters when they did well on an assignment or project. I could hang the posters in my classroom. Hopefully, the students will be more confident once they see themselves on the psoters. In addition, all of the students will want to be a part of it and will work harder. The site is not for only creating motivation posters. It gives you full editing capability. You get to decide what the posters say and what picture you want to use. Here is the posters I created.

Sharing my personal photos online makes me a little nervous. So far I haven't posted many pictures online of my personal life. However, I do have a facebook account and I have posted a few pictures there. I do not know how secure these photos are and that worries me. I have heard certain things on the news that online photos can be seen even if they are on a privacy setting. Also, I have heard that if you take a picture with a smartphone and post it online, then that picture can be hacked into and your location where the photo was taken can be located. That scares me. Therefore, my personal opionion on sharing personal photos online is that we should not do it. Having a couple of pictures up is fine, but why the need to post your entire life?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Thing 7

At first I was a little skeptical about Flickr. I assumed it was just another photo uploading site like Photobucket. It is similar but has so many useful features. I like that you can choose a certain year in time to search for photos. First, I think that being able to post your pictures on Flickr for your friends and family to see is a great way to keep in touch. Also, everyone can comment on your pictures and it will keep up communication with friends and family that you might not have a chance to before. I also appreciate the privacy of the site. It is great to know that you can have the option to set who can see your photos. I especially like the Watch the World with Flickr. I think that I could use it in my future classroom to show the students photos I may have not had access to before. For example, Flickr gives you access to view photos from The Library of Congress, The Smithsonian, The New York Public Library, and The U.S. National Archives. In addition, I thought that having different groups was a great way to narrow down photos by interest. For example, I like a lot of vintage images so I types in vintage and came across the photos presented below and was happily surprised. It actually made me feel happy to see the photos I found. I also found a group put together where the photographers put together a story in 5 frames. I thought that was a cool idea. Here is an example of one title Short Term Memory: http://www.flickr.com/groups/visualstory/discuss/72157627637574313/ , it was cute, right?
This next photo is great! It includes a photo from Bologna, Via Ugo Bassi, 1938 in a newer more present day photo. The photographer lined the pictures up perfectly. For example, a building that was built many years ago are in the pictures and even the windows and lines on the sidewalks are lined up perfectly. For example, this picture shows an old vintage picture of a soldier walking down the street and this picture is in the main picture that is present day. If that makes sense I do not know. But it is great. The photographer did this in more than just one picture and with more then one setting and different people. I love everything vintage and these pictures are awesome. Check this one out by Giuseppe Savini

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8913851@N04/6191244295/in/pool-67147471@N00/

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Thing 6

Picnik is an online photo editing site. It is free to use, but for an upgrade to more features there is a fee once per month. I thought it was really fun to play around with. I used the free version which allowed me to take my photo and edit it. There are basic edits such as cropping, rotating, sharpening, and resizing. However, the effects list is huge. For example, black and white, sepia, boost, soften, vignette, matte, infrared film, lomo-ish, holga-ish, gritty, HDR-ish, and the list goes on and on. You can add text to your photos, stickers from many categories, frames, and even touch ups such as blemish remover, and insta-thin, highlights, sun tan, teeth whitening, and lip color. Like I said, for some of these features you have to pay a month fee, but that is the only thing I dislike about it. It was super easy to use and save to my own computer. As far as how much I would use it in school I am uncertain that it has any academic uses. However, I could use the photo tools to enhance or edit photos I might use in my classroom and on the walls. For example, some features were about Earth Day, Breast cancer awareness, and holidays. http://www.picnik.com

Thing 5

School 2.0 means that the students of today are not the same as the students of yesterday. Teachers cannot teach today’s students the same way that they taught yesterdays’. Students of today are using IPods, computers, game systems, smartphones, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Google, and You Tube just to name a few. School 2.0 is affecting how students learn. It helps students experiment on their own and not just memorize material. For example, instead of just giving a student a report to do on weatherization, the student could make a complete presentation with animation, figures, videos and graphs. In addition, School 2.0 is helping with communication. Students are now using Facebook, Flickr, and blogs to communicate. Teachers can now use a blog to present material to a student who may have been absent. In conclusion, the students of today have changed and I feel that the way teachers teach them has to change with them. School 2.0 gives teachers and students this possibility. It means that the future of schools with forever be transforming because the students and teachers are changing.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Thing 4

Commenting on blogs helps to create a sense of community and interaction because when someone meaningfully participates in the blogging you are creating meaningful relationships and a community. Also, by getting and receiving comments like links, tweets, feedback, or a simply hello helps to spread the content or message. For example, by blogging on our education blogs we are able to look at and receive information that we may not have found on our own. In addition, by responding to comments you are showing consideration for the comment you received. You are acknowledging your readers and showing appreciation. This all helps in the sense of community and interaction.

I commented on ADuchscher's thing four because he gave a great idea for using blogs to help his students. He presented the idea that teachers could use their blogs to post examples of what he will be looking for when he assigns his reports. I thought this was great because it would help the students to become more clear on the assignment. In addition, it might help a student who may have been to shy in class to ask a question. This gave me a personal connection because in middle and high school I was the shy student who may not have asked for additional help when I needed it.

Bretlea's thing 9 stuck out to me because I had a difficulty time navigating through the image generators. I was not to happy with what I was able to come up with but was excited when I saw Bretlea's post. Her ideas were fun and creative and promoted a fun learning environment.

Kayla Copeland's thing 4 was interesting. She gave a brief summary as to what she had read which gave readers an idea as to where she was coming from. Commenting on others blogs or websites should be taken seriously and she made that point. Our comments should have meaning and not just be said to draw attention to our own blogs. I think our blogs are about creating these relationships where we might share the same interests and learn new ideas and information from each other.

Robert Gallowitz had an awesome overview as to why teachers need to keep up with the ever changing technology. School 2.0, to me, is about the way students have changed in the way they learn. Since this change we as teachers should be expected to learn about and excel in using technology. Students will not be interested in lectures and writing on the board. Today they are using iPods, smartphones, computers, kindles, and many more and they expect teachers to know how to use technology.

I decided to post a comment to Candice Casaday because at first I liked the appearance of her blog. After reading through a few of her "things" I noticed her picture from flickr. It was very clear and I could see every detail in the picture. She mentioned that she had not used flickr before and neither have I. In addition, she said that she would like to use flickr in her classroom to present pictures in her lectures or presentations. I thought it was a good way to use flickr in the classroom because including graphics in my lecture will keep the students interested or get them back on track if they start getting loud or not focusing.

Thing 3

Using a blog in my future classroom

To begin, I would use a blog in my classroom for classroom management. By posting a blog I would be able to provide my students and their parents information on class requirements. I would also be able to post handouts, inform students and parents of upcoming events or scheduled activities. Also, I would be able to post homework assignments. I think this would be a great tool for parents to use and to get involved in their child’s education. Some students may be in the habit of telling their parents that they do not have any homework when they really do. Parents would be given the opportunity to know exactly what is going on in class. In addition, if students have any questions about homework or projects they may be working on they could post them on the blog.

Another way I could use a blog in the classroom is for a student portfolios. Here I could post how my students are doing in class and what areas they may need to work on. Since a blog is something that everyone would be able to see I would not give out any personal information. This blog would specifically be for the class as a whole.

I never thought about using a blog before in my classroom, but after having this assignment I am glad that I will have the knowledge now to make a blog and have it available to my students and parents.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Thing 2

Setting up my blog was easy, but editing it started out a little frustrating. I had to go to a different website to create an avatar then figure out how to get the avatar to the blog. It was not difficult but having to jump back to different webpages and register or sign up for different sites was frustrating to me. First, I had to set up a user name. I decided to keep my name simple. I had to use my last name for the assignment, but I used other letters in my first and middle name to add to my blog name. Then, I had to create the avatar. This was interesting. However, having to sign up just to assess more features held me up. If I had not signed up on the avatar page I would have had to set up an avatar that looked nothing like myself. Afterwards, going through the clothes, facial features, accessories, and hair was fun. I decided to go with an avatar that had my hair and worn an outfit suitable for a teacher. Of course, I added a cup of coffee to show a part of my personality. I drink coffee every morning to start me day.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Thing 1

7 1/2 Habits

I love the idea of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is one of the main reasons I decided I wanted to become a teacher. So, I think that habit #1 is my easiest; I do have an end in mind. I enjoy being in school and learning something new every day. What better way to continue doing what I enjoy then to become a teacher. In addition, I feel that lifelong learning will keep my brain active. Learning something new and different makes life more interesting. I would be very bored if I did exactly the same things every day and never had any new experiences. Also, I am good as using technology to my advantage. The internet has helped me tremendously when I am stuck on a topic or idea that I do not understand. Also, in the past teachers have allowed students to bring voice recording devices to record lectures. I have utilized this to my advantage and it helped me learn the material. At the present moment I feel like my disadvantages are obstacles and that I do view problems as challenges. There are many other things in my life right now that also need a lot of my attention and school sometimes has to be put on the backburner. However, it is on my mind all day until I can get to it. Then, by the time I have a chance I am worn out from the day and probably do not give 100%. Still, I am going to keep trying and giving it all I have until I reach my final goal, to become a teacher and a lifelong learner.

Cool tool that Google has to offer. Google Translate

Google translate allows you to write anything in any language and it translates it to any other language.

Hello,my name is Candice. I am enrolled in educaion 3040 with Professor Ann Wall.

Hola, mi nombre es Candice. Estoy matriculado en la educación de 3040 con la profesora Ann Wall.

http://translate.google.com

Web 2.0 Awards List: Remember the Milk

Remember the milk is on online website that allows users to set up and organize daily tasks or to do lists. I am excited about this website because it will allow me to write down and organize, by due date, my school assignments. I had actually been stressing about how I will remember everything. Now that I have found this site I will not have to write it on random sheets of paper and accidently forget about it. There are alerts that can be set up before a task or assignment is due. Assignments can be sent to my cell phone, email, or I can check the site and mark off tasks. I love that I can even set up assignments and manage them from iGoogle. Each time I log onto my computer my iGoogle webpage will appear with the Remember the Milk gadget. I can review upcoming tasks and add, edit, complete or postpone assignments with this gadget. It will really help keep me on task.
https://www.rememberthemilk.com

CarYingst