Thing 10

RSS and newsreaders are pretty cool creations. It is nice to get current material from blogs or websites that intrest me. In my personal life, I can follow blogs that I like and in my profession, I can use RSS to obtain the most current information to pass on to my students. Keeping up to date on current affairs is valuable to any teacher, reguardless of their field. Students are able to relate class material to what is happening in the world.

Thing 9

I went to comic strip generator to create this one-eyed-monster. I searched for a comic charachter that I liked, added the text and clicked the button to create my image. Then I copied and pasted to my blog. The website for this generator is http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/

Thing 8

I had alot of fun with the spell with flickr mashup. I added my name to my homepage and I thought that was pretty cool. This particular mashup may be used in my future classroom. I am going to be an English teacher and can use this mashup to do vocabulary terms which will be fun for the students. I don't mind people posting pictures online. I feel like it is part of being an American. We are free people and I feel we should be able to post pictures if we so choose. I can see how some people would not want certain pictures posted, but if you are acting in a way you don't wish to share with the world, don't allow your picture to be taken.

Thing 7

I have never been to flicker before and i was AMAZED at all the wonderful photos. I was expecting to see random photos, which is what I got, but these seem to be perfectly artistic and beautiful. My favorite is of a dog, a sheltie I believe, sitting with a cookie on his nose. I can only imagine how hard it was to get this photo. The photographer is runs with *scissors*. You can get to the picture by going to www.flickr.com/photos/imnotcheap/

Thing 6

I explored Im Cooked, which is a sharing website for video recipes. Not only do you get the recipes for new foods, but you get to see how to make the recipe. This is helpful if there are some techniques you may not be familiar with. One downside to this site is that I was not able to find a list of ingredients. I wonder if they expect you to write while you watch. This was just one flaw inside an otherwise neat site. You can visit it at http://www.imcooked.com/

Thing 5

School 2.0 means that children will have many different ways to learn in the future. They will have the classroom, the community will act as educators, and new technology will help them learn material that is not covered in a classroom. For children, this is a really bid deal. Children who have difficulties learning in a classroom setting will be able to get information through other sources. Also, as the children grow into members of the community, they will have a better understanding of how the community works and they will be able to contribute their knowledge.

Thing 4

Commenting creates a sense of community and interaction among people with similar interests because you become part of the bloggers life. You can inspire a blogger or you can hurt a blogger with your comments, so it is important to be courteous.Not only is it important to beware of negativity, but also be specific and heartfelt. A blogger can tell if your comments are just there for the sake of commenting. Another thing i learned about commenting is to create a new post if your comment is very long. For my five classmates I chose people that I either already know or who I wish to know better. I chose Tracie Cannon, Ashley Channel, Lauren Finley, Sarah Willey, Nicole Lee(Short Haired Momma). Two other blogs I have posted to are serendipitylulu.blogspot.com and chunel123.blogspot.com. I chose the later because it was in the top 100 blogs and the first post I read about our pets knowing us better that others was appealing to me. I agreed and stated that my pets love me more than peanut butter. The other blog caught my eye because it had a quote on the first page that made me smile. The quote was "Normal is a cycle on a washing mashine." I commented on this post because I don't feel like there is any certain degree of normalcy. Sarah Willey posted about using blogs to communicate and I agreed and said that research I have done for my website-of-the-day has suggested using a blog post fro communication between teachers, parents, and students. The post I commented on for Nicole Lee was similar and dealt with the same information. Tracie Cannon posted that blogs are similar to facebook and I agreed that I should be leaving more comments because I get bummed when I make a post and noone comments on my page. Ashley Channel wrote about her experience creating an avatar. I wrote that it was not easy for me and that someone with her knowledge of technology should enjoy this class. Lauren Finley wrote about her difficulties as a lifelong learner. I found her post to be very thoughtful and I commented on that as well as saying that computers have helped us tremendously as college students.

Thing #3

I hope to be a middle school language arts teacher. In my future classroom I will be able to use blogs instead of handwritten journals. Journals are a good way for students to release personal thoughts in a safe setting. It also help to get their creative juices stirring. An online blog would be better suited for my students because they spend time on their computers throughout the day, giving them ample opportunity to post. Also, many students prefer to type over writing.

Thing #2

Creating a blog was fairly easy for me. The directions were easy to follow without having substantial knowledge of technology. Creating an avatar was pretty easy. My first attempt was a failure because I did not copy the entire code. Silly me. I thought it was only one line of text. When I realized my mistake, everything followed smoothly.I tried to create my avatar as close to what I look like as possible. I believe it is a good resemblance.I named my blog after myself because I am not very creative in this aspect. Also, because I am the focus of the blog.