Thing #23

Thing #22

Thing #21

Animoto was ridiculously fun!  This is a great activity that students would really enjoy and have fun participating in.  I think it is an excellent way to link photos and other memories together.  Students could easily use this in a classroom.  First thought that came to mind is for the students to do a video on Julius Cesar with this.  Or, the students could talk about different elements of a story using Animoto.

Try our video maker at Animoto.

Thing #20

http://youtu.be/RtJxzDCQEso; This is a great video for future educators.
I feel like Youtube gets a bad reputation for the use that it often gets.  However, Youtube is an excellent way to share videos.  In a previous class I had, we used Youtube in order to show different micro-teaching lessons.  We shared comments of positive and constructive comments.  This can be applied through our future endeavors as educators.  Many great examples can be seen of lesson and how students responded.  Being able to see the students' reactions has such a greater impact than just reading how to students responded.  Youtube is an excellent form of visual communication for educators.

Thing #19

Having social networking sites for educators only is excellent.  When I log on I know exactly what I am going to look for and I know I won't have to research in extreme measures to find educational related materials.  This is also a great way to communicate with teacher candidates for Education classes!  I also loved Tasty Kitchen.  I love to cook; therefore, it was great for sharing recipes.  It also has different forms of cooking and different approaches that can be taken.  This is great for sharing different cooking failures and accomplishments.

Thing #18

Here is the link to my Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=610346393
I think all educators should be knowledgeable on social networking.  Not only is it a great tool for communication between educators but is also a communication device between students.  Cyber Bullying is becoming so horribly "popular" that it's becoming out-of-hand.  IN order to prevent or address the issues that cyber-bullying has, a teacher must know how to work the social networking cites that students are being bullied on.  It is the only form of prevention.

Thing #17

Bookmarking sites are excellent for educators to communicate back and forth. I feel like educators benefit more than others from these sites because it less time consuming to communicate via bookmarking.  Delicious had great ways for teachers to share different webpages they found useful and vital during their searching.  Bookmarking websites often are looked over; however, I think that is the most obvious and easy way to communicate with educators on a professional basis.  If teachers all in the same state who were meeting the same standards would share student-friendly websites with one another, students could become a part of the bookmarking process as well.

Thing #16

I used the calendars as well as the customized start page.  The calendars were awesome!  I love to do lists and dates and times, so it was like a calendar heaven for me!  This would be great for teachers to have.  You could have one for academic work, one for professional work (meetings), and one for extra events (football games, etc).  It would also be a great thing for parents to see upcoming events and thing such as that in the classroom.  I love the customized start page, too.  It would be ideal if I could have my physical desk pull out everything I need when I walked up to it; however, it is just that easy with the customized start page!

Thing #15

The Wikis are great tools to use.  I work at a retail store and we communicate floor-plans and inventory with our corporate via the Wiki.  It is so simple to use that it is great for just about anyone!  Teachers can really benefit from using this in order to share helpful hints are strategies they have learned.  It would also be great for teachers to share information about a classroom success to the next year's teacher.  That will better help the teacher prepare for the students coming in for the new year.

thing 14

I love Bubbl.us!  I can see so much potential use for this in a classroom!  This would be great for writing (brainstorm), reading (conecting themes), history(lineage), math (connecting concepts), and so much more!  This is a great tool that is easy to understand that students would be able to navigate.  For writing purposes, they could brainstorm here then print the sheet out to use as a reference when writing their essays/stories.  What a wonderful tool!

Mindmapping was the same!  However, I do think Bubbl.us was much easier to navigate.  Mind Mapping might appeal to high schoolers simply because it looks different and they are much more likely to figure out it's usage then younger children.  Two great websites!

Thing 13

I loved Google Docs!  I could play on there all day!  The presentations in Google Docs would be wonderful, especially when collaborating with other teachers!  The spreadsheets would also be useful for this.  Zoho was interesting.  I can't believe I had never heard of it!  It reminded me of the Office programs that are super popular.  Zoho was generally easy to work, which worked out for those who are technology illiterate like myself ;)!

Thing #12

I loved the Google tools!  In fact, I had a beautiful vision about what to use to Google Calendars for.  Every year, I plan out schedules for many people right before registration.  Now, with Google Calendars, I will be able to make schedules so much easier and I'll be able to send them out.  Also, this is great for different groups (such as an honor society) to share a general calendar with all members.  I also enjoyed exploring iGoogle.  It is so nice to be able to open your browser and have all of these different topics and applications available in one click.  Ver impressive, to say the least.






https://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=QDEvczRu7ZyUuIdaqDtuCg

Thing #11

I feel like a traditionalist, but I love Google Reader.  I I just typed the subject that I was looking for (such as Book, Literature, or Cooking), and it showed me so many options and possibilities!  It was definitely easier to understand and navigate compared to other cites.  I visit a few others.  Technorati was another world!  I felt like I was lost in Mall of America-too much!  Topix was better, but not nearly as simple as it should be. So, still all-in-all, I'm a Google girl at heart.

Thing #10

I love RSS and Newsreaders!  I think this is the best thing since Google!  I always hated having to open 400 tabs to check the things I wanted to see.  This is an excellent way of being able to connect different mediums of information.  This will be great for me in my career life because it will help me be able to see ALL of the updated websites, blogs, and other pages.  This will help me stay up-to-date on new education legislation, possible lessons, and other important news.  It is also a great way to stay in communication with other educators.

Thing #9

I found these sights fun!  However, I was shocked that some were "charging" for these services.  I felt as if these services were minimal compared to other sites that we have browsed in this class.  The process of creating the image through the generator was relatively easy.  You simply chose the desired picture (in my case, smiley face!), then you type the text you wish to appear.  These could be useful for a teacher because it allows you to create cute/funny pictures while using them to explain or inform.

This image was created at http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/.

Thing #8

I thought the Spell with Flickr was amazing!  The fact that you could change the picture of a letter by clicking it-outstanding!  Also, the Flickr Colr Pickr was very cool.  It is just so interesting that through all of the photos on Flickr, these websites can produce ones which you need.  This could be used for personal and educational reasons.  An example would be: if a class were doing an activity to learn how to summarize a story or sentence, the teacher could have each student come up with a one-word summary of how a character was feeling in the story.  The students could then use "Spell with Flickr".   I think the idea of Photo Sharing is great.  I know my grandmother loves that she can easily access different sites and be able to see pictures of her grandchildren all over-and for that, photo sharing  is wonderful!

Thing #7

Flickr was interesting, to say the least.  There were so many pictures!  I was fascinated that I could type in an obscure word or phrase and the search engine would find an insane amount of images!  This just shows how much the website has grown and how often it is used.  I searched very "typical" subjects at first, such as "flowers".  Naturally, pictures of flowers came up-and there were so many pictures to go through!  Then I decided to try something a little more difficult to capture on film.  I then searched "sunshine".  The results that showed up were so interesting.  Many of them pertained to the idea of sunshine; however, many had few things to do with sunshine.  The most interesting one I found was of a cat (maybe it's named Sunshine?).  Overall, I found Flickr very interesting.

Thing #6

I look on www.etsy.com.  This website was so interesting!  Yes, it is a form of shopping; however, it is nearly al homemade things.  It offers a unique outlet to shopping and shows the artistic ability of others in the country and even the world.  Though it seems unlikely, this website could be extremely useful to educators for all grade levels.  Etsy shows different vendors who create just about anything you want.  When first looking at the website, I assumed the only educational use would be out of an art classroom.  However, after further investigation I proved myself wrong!  Though this is a shopping cite, educators could use ideas for different activities in their classroom.  Making different things in a lesson addresses kinesthetic and visual learners; therefore, a hands-on activity would be extremely useful!

Thing #5

I find it very interesting what Teaching and Learning had to say about Web 2.0.  They listed how overall, it was a good thing for our society as w hole.  Instead of viewing the negative aspects, they focused on how the interenet and the usage of the interent can benefit students.  However, the authors made a valid point.  If we want a positive affect from Web 2.0 then Educators must fully accept it.  Some educators refuse to move from the time of engraving stone tablets-but it is time to change.  We have to get in board with Web 2.0 if we want students to see the education inside of it.  The Horizon Report (2008) looks to Web 2.0's furute in society.  It was so interesting how the report layed out the effects of "four to five years".  The predictions which were made were correct.  We are currently living in their predictions and relying on social networking as a form of bussiness, social work, relationships, and education.  Using social networking sites is now more common than ever!

Schools will now need to focus on how to reach and approach the students.  As studies show, the internet and all it entails has becomes an essential role in students' lives.  We should treat the Web 2.0 as an ally, not an enemy.  I feel as if educators often shy away fromt he ideas of branching out to use "risky" things, such as the internet.  However, if that is the vessle that will keep your students interested, then it is the route to go.

Thing #4

Commenting is great tool for people to communicate.  People's lives are busy with everyday activities; therefore, commenting on their ideas allows you to put an input at their convenience.  In "Cool Cat Teacher Blog," she discusses the importance of commenting and how to properly do so.  I think an excellent tip she gives is that when you comment, you should leave some information about yourself and your blog.  It is important so that if the blogger saw your comment as useful, they could look to your blog later for assistance.  Also, she speaks about the power of words in commenting.  This is very important for all to realize that words can hurt very deeply.  There are proper ways to get your emotion out; therefore, your comment should be thoughtful. In our class, I view April Bumpus' Blog, Kara Wyatt's "My Blog Spot," Jared Sexton's "23 Things," Bliss' "Journey with Bliss," and "Ashlee Boyd's 23 Things".  I chose to view these because they all discussed the similar topic of using digital images in a classroom.  This subject is very interesting to me-but that's for another blog!  I also commented on "Ms_Teacher: The Hectic Life of a Wife, Mother, and Middle School Teacher".  I found her experiences and stories very compelling.  Lastly, I commented on the blog "Cooking From Scratch," simply because I love cooking from scratch!  I commented on a post about homemade bread (which looks delicious!)

Thing #3

Registering the blog seemed like an activity needed only for Education 3040; however, registering individual blogs hold a lasting effect.  Teachers need to be able o rely on each other to further education in our students.  Since we are all future teacher candidates, we need to get in the practice of assisting one another, especially when pertaining to education.  Teachers need to communicate with each other, parents, and students in order to ensure an effective teaching environment.  Teachers need to be able to communicate with parents in order to explain upcoming lessons or any event where parents could get involved.  Blogs are also great for students so that they can see lessons or homework whenever they need.  If a student is absent for whatever reason, a Blog is a helpful as reference source for the students.  Teachers can use the blog with one another when displaying great ideas, great lessons, or classroom activities. 

Thing #2

For whatever reason, creating a blog was difficult to me!  Of course, I am not computer savvy like many people; however, I didn't think I would have too much trouble.  This may sound crazy, but I don't do well with simple things, such as the iPhone.  I would much rather have a Blackberry or some other phone!  The blog may have been difficult, but I am actually enjoying blogging.  It is weird how different it feels to be able to convey thoughts or ideas to anyone on the internet.  This is crazy!  My avatar fits me very nicely.  I am pure Irish, which one should be able to tell from my physical characteristics (red hair, freckles, green eyes, the works).  It seemed only fitting that my avatar wear a sweater because cld weather is my absolute favorite.  I enjoy the summer and the heat, but I love bundling up in blankets and sweaters!  There is nothing I enjoy more than sitting by a fire, reading a good book.  So my avatar fits me well.

Thing #1

Out of the 7 and a half habits, one seemed to be the easiest to me.  Number seven a half, "Play!" seemed like common sense to me.  I've always been told "If you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life", which reminded me so much of this rule!  If one just goes through the monotony of working, eating, sleeping, then are you really living your life to it's full potential?  The most difficult thing I found was habit number 3 "Viewing Problems as Challenges".  Though I would like to say that I do this all the time, I don't.  It is easier to "give up"; however, "giving up" is not nearly as rewarding as finishing something through.  I like the concept of seeing problems as challenged because it means that you still see the "light at the end of the tunnel".