Thing #24- Food for thought

I almost titled this Blog "Thing 24- My Last post" However, this is not the case. I suppose a more appropriate title would be "Thing 24- My Last Required Post" because this is, you see, my last "required" post for this class. However, I do not intend this to be my last post. I kind of like blogging, I finally am "keeping a journal." I am actually excited to have this assignment over (not becuase I found it so dreadful) but because now the restrictions are lifted. I feel that I have the freedom to say and write about whatever I want to now that I have the graded part out of the way.

My favorite discoveries and exercises on this learning journey were the easy slideshow animato, and RSS & Feedly in Thing #10. I had never heard of Feedly before and truly appreciate that it brings the information to me. Information that I am actually interested in and want to know about.

This program has affected my lifelong learning goals because it truly made me realize the importance technology has and will continue to play in our lives.  Technology is not only important in our own personal lives but the lives of our students as well. As a teacher it is important that we are able to connect and relate to what our students are learning, not only at school, but at home, in the media, and in technology.

There are so many wonderful resources available to teachers that we have no excuse to present a sub-par lesson that is boring. I don't want to ever make my students sit through a "boring" class I want our classes to truly be learning experiences where they LOVE what they are learning and find it fascinating and interesting. I think that the internet and technology is making that possible!

My takeaway is that learning IS a lifelong process. That we really need to actively strive to stay atop of the latest technology so we can offer our students the best education available. Also, the information now available to teachers allows us to connect and pool our resources of knowledge and experience. Teachers can now offer the best nuggets of wisdom of what worked for them and their students.  know that we are in this as a team. As a teacher we should all have the goal of bringing out the best in our students and preparing them to be productive, successful, members of society.

I don't really know what you could do differently to approve upon this format. I learned so much that I really don't know what I would add, especially since I never would have thought of doing this to begin with!

I think I already addressed the question "how will what you have learned influence your practice as a teacher" in the above paragraphs. It will enable me to provide the students with creative, interactive, activities that I wouldn't have known about without using technology.

I will keep up with developments in web 2.0 but using the websites and resources I have learned here on this very blog! I will check in with the teacher social media networks I have joined. I will use Feedly, Facebook, and Pintrest to browse teacher and education groups. I can simply Google developments in web 2.0 occasionally and I know that the newest technology will be the top hits that I should check out. I can even come back here to this website and see what new assignments you have for students to accomplish!

Where do you go from here?
That is the last question posed to officially complete this activity. Well my friend, I like the suggestion of "give yourself the gift of time" - ask yourself what did I learn today? I also plan on using my blog in the classroom. I very well may "re-purpose" it to be my classroom blog. Or I may use it to write down the various events that effect me as a teacher documenting the special things the students do or say.  Maybe I will use it to write what I learned today and set a goal of how I can be an even better teacher tomorrow.

Thing #23- Creative Commons

                      Learning 2.0-23Things for Teachers blog was created under a creative commons license. I can say this with the utmost certainty because I saw the other websites that it is based off of. The websites that it is most closely based off of are Learning2.0-23things and K-12 Learning 2.0 . Also at the bottom of the page it is noted that

"Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers is based on Learning 2.0 - 23 Things, a staff development program for the Mesquite Independent School District. That program was based on the Learning 2.0 program that was designed by Helene Blowers and adapted by the California School Library Association and others. Content and style for Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers has been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Commons License."

                   The Austin Peay State University Learning 2.0 - 23Things for Teachers blog has been modified to more specifically suit our class need but the same structure or backbone is still apparent.

                  I will use Creative Commons licensing in the future as a teacher. When I find an idea or format that I like I will be able to tailor it and add my own creativity to it to best suit my students needs. I will not be recreating the original but rather borrowing ideas from others and then changing it to fit my classroom and students. I think that this is wonderful and necessary as we enter into our new teaching career to understand the Creative Commons.

Thing #22 - LiveBinder

Well, I just finished creating my LiveBinder account. I created three education related binders in my account.

One was "Early Childhood Education Articles" - http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1029484

I also chose to "share" this binder with you because I feel that this one has the most pertinent information. This binder is full of articles about Pre-K and Early Childhood Education in the United States. I have filled it with wonderful websites that discuss many current issues in the Early Education sector of our nation.

My other two binders are titled
  "creative classroom ideas"  (themes, decorations, classroom "flow" and organization) and
  "creative curriculum/ projects" (various project ideas to use when teaching science, reading, writing, social studies, geography).

I might use live binder in the classroom when I am trying to teach the children how to write a story. I can use the binder to organize various forms of writing. For instance I can have a tab about how to help children write narratives, how to write letters, how to write journals, etc..
I could have another tab on teaching the children how to brainstorm and then have sub-tabs off of that listing various forms of pre-writing.

Overall this is a pretty neat feature that makes it easy to organize your classroom information. 

Think #21

Lover of mine

I actually loved this website. At first I was just going to do this "thing #21" to check off the assignment but then I decided that I would spend some extra time and see if I could create something I liked. I really do miss my hubs (he's deployed right now) and I thought I would make a little video of us.. We met on a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, July 2007 and our adventures have just kept going.. this was a neat way of putting a few fun memories throughout our relationship and marriage to video and song..  I have never heard this song before but I think it fits perfectly because I would say we make each-other happy.

As I said my experience with this site was great. It was simple to use and I even liked that one song.. the rest of the choices were not so good, in my opinion. I also was bummed that the quality is so poor because they want you to upgrade to the more expensive version. I'm sure there are other video tools out there but I liked this one a lot.

Thing #20

I picked this video because it shows that "Teachers Really Matter."
I Love youtube. I think that it is a wonderful resource to learn new information. It is full of a variety of videos that cover a wide spectrum.

I chose this video because it touched me. I don't know the song that they played with the clips but it fit perfectly. It's good to be reminded that teachers really do matter. As a teacher you have a HUGE responsibility. What you do and say OR what you don't do and don't say, can have a lasting impact on your students. It's important to be reminded that we really are shaping the future of America as we have the honor of teaching these students. We need to be reminded of that responsibility and not take it for granted.
I think that this site would be very interesting if I applied them to my classroom website. It would enable me to show the children videos that pertain to the topic we are covering at hand. If I got the parents permission I could possible put up different classroom projects that my students were proud of and wanted to talk about.

http://www.go2web20.net/site/?a=Vine
This new tool is called Vine. You use it through your smartphone. It allows you to put up short clips of your life. It's kind of like facebook with it's "newsfeed" but instead its short video feeds of your friends. They recently changed it and now its not just your friends and followers feeds but other peoples as well. I don't really like that aspect as much. It could be useful in the classroom to put up short little clips of the kids and what they are learning throughout the day so the parents could watch them. The parents could be updated and actually get to feel like they were there with their child, even if just for a brief moment. I think it would be neat and build a relationship between the parent and teacher. 

THING #19 - Other Social networks

I think the best use of social networking for educators is in the simplicity and ease that it provides for teachers to connect and share ideas. Teachers are now provided the availability to connect, see pictures, read blogs, and even watch videos that others teachers have made! 

I discovered that there are "teacher / education" networking sites everywhere! The amount of wonderful information available to teachers now is amazing. There is information available now for almost every topic under the sun that a teacher may want some feedback on, AND if there is something that they can't find information on these social networking sites allow the teacher to simply put out a post/blog and ask!

I am a member of Facebook, now Twitter and Pintrest, but I am also a member of Instagram, and (yes, I sheepishly admit it) MySpace from when it was cool. (I assume I still have my account since I never closed it).

 It seems that Instagram is becoming the new "Facebook" or at least in the colleges in Florida. I only created an Instagram account because my sister (who is in college) uses hers all the time and I wanted to keep up with her. haha it's funny but right there, I'm using a social networking site to "see pictures" and read about what she's doing. I find Facebook and Pintrest the most appealing because of their ease. I had already had a facebook and I think Pintrest is a lot of fun as well!

From the new sites given in the learning activity I like IMDB, well, I should say my husband REALLY likes IMDB and I use it a lot to look up movies/actors/shows for him. I like all the cooking sites and if I have the time, perhaps when things calm down, I will attempt making some of these scrumptious recipes! I also like GoodReads because I do LOVE reading and its fun to see what others recommend or are reading now.

 I know that I will be using all of the sites I listed above from time to time... Well, maybe not Myspace..but all the other ones!

Thing #18 - Twitter

https://twitter.com/JstinLorie

This activity took me a while because I have never used Twitter before. I do have a facebook and hadn't seen the need to get a Twitter. It forces you to choose a bunch of friends or things to follow just to sign up. I don't know anyone's Twitter account information so I ended up "following" a bunch of Educational websites. I primarily chose to follow Early Childhood Educational sites.
It is important for educators to understand social networking because its quickly becoming one of the leading forms of communication. It seems that people love the ability to just post a quick little statement about what is going on in their day, or what is on their  mind and post it into the cyber world for all their friends to read.
Hash-tags # confused me greatly at first. It seems to be a type of branding almost. Its a way to provide essential information that is supposed to improve your social media intelligence. Hash-tag searching pulls up relevant information to whatever word you had typed in. It works pretty well in my opinion.

I know that teachers are already using it in the classroom by having their students "follow" them in their class. Teachers use it to update information about their class, assignments, tests, and even schedule meeting times. 

Thing #17 - Delcious

Delicious is a neat site that lets you see other bookmarks and tags that your fellow friends and peers have made. You can see the comments they added about this bookmark and tags they used to categorize this reference. Delicious has a lot to offer for education teachers.

You can bookmark a website, organize them by tags, and be social in the processes.

Clicking the tag button quickly saves the website as a delicious bookmark. A teacher could use it to remember what sites have great information about a particular subject. Other people can see your tags and then use those great resources as well.

It's a way for teachers or anyone to share sites that they really enjoyed. It would be an easy way to access bookmarks from anywhere. I think Delicious could be a very useful tool for teachers as they plan their teaching agendas.

THING #16

              I chose to create my customized start page from uStart.org. I like this one because of its user friendly quick start link. It took me through a little tutorial that showed me how I could best use this to organize my life. All on one page I can find everything I need like my google drive, calender, news, and even social media sites I enjoy. I also like that they let you customize the "skin" or background colors of your page. I don't think I will make it my permanent home page at this time because I like some of the other webstites I have already discovered during this course better.

               An online calendar is wonderful and extremely useful to me! An online calendar allows me to access my information from any computer, or mobile device where ever I am at. I like online calenders because I never have to worry about forgetting to bring my paper calender around with me.

             I definitely discovered a tool that I will use at school and at home! I really like Zamzar which is a free online file converter. This is a wonderful tool and I would recommenced it to anyone who knows how to turn on a computer. I think that this tool is beneficial for everyone because at some time almost everyone will have to write a document and it is extremely frustrating when you send that document or try to print that document from a computer that can't open it because it is in a different format. Zamzar is a wonderful tool that can convert it from one format to another then emails it to you!

THING #15 - wiki

                     Well I just successfully completed my first editing experience on a wiki page! I went into 23 Things sandbox wiki and started messing around with it until I figured out how to "edit" a page. I chose not to edit anyone's previous work because I don't think that's very nice. I figure who ever posted in the past had taken time and consideration into their editing on the wiki page and I don't think its very nice to change that. So instead of editing someone's older material, I added my own new information to the 23 things sandbox APSU wiki page. So far my favorite feature of 23 things that I plan on using in my classroom would be from "thing #12" because I plan on using the Google calender and the Google alert features.

(this is a screen shot of the page)

                 I have used Wiki in the past and am familiar with the concept but strictly as an observer. I had never edited a website before so this was a brand new experience. I realized that I had to create an account in order to edit it, they do not allow just anyone to edit on it. After creating an account I searched for the APSU 23 things website and from there was allowed to edit the page and add my own information.

                I find it interesting that wiki essentially lets anyone write anything they want on any given topic. I think that this could be dangerous if there is no one watching over the information to check the validity of what is written. However, I also think that it is up to the reader to be a cautious consumer of the information they are ingesting.

                I might use a wiki with my class. I could give them an assignment to find out all the information they could about BETA fish (ex. where they are from, how they breathe, male/female characteristics) I would tell them to edit and change the wiki page as they gathered information on the BETA fish. I would be the administrator of the page to ensure the information was factual and at the end of the assignment we could purchase a class pet BETA fish.

THING #14 - Flow Charts and Mind Maps

                 After playing around with mind maps and flow charts I think that flow charts are easier for young children to understand. Flow charts use simple boxes and lines to connect ideas, as opposed to a mind map where there are lots of boxes and connecting lines. I think that young children would benefit from learning how to use flow charts and as they mature (and begin writing more complex essays) they should move into mind maps. 

Flow charts would also be fun to use when teaching children how to write "beginning, middle, and ends" of stories. We could have them move the boxes into the correct sequence of events.

            

                  I chose to set up a flow chart account at gliffy because I first tried setting one up at flowchart.com but they still have not sent me an invitation to join their site. SO, I moved on and tried out Gliffy. Gliffy was very simple to use, they have short tutorial that shows you how to use the site then you simply click start drawing. I used this to create a real project that I have coming up, I made a flow chart of my intended research projects for my MAT program. this is a simple to understand flowchart of my intended program of study. I could use this tool in my future class room when I want to create a simple diagram of what my expectations of the day are for the class. 

                                                                  FLOW CHART

                  I set up a mind map account  at Bubbl.us and figured out how to use it. It is actually quite fun to use once you get the hang of it. It helps in organizing your ideas. If you have a lot of different thoughts but are not sure how they connect, this is a great way to get a visual with lines and bubbles connecting them. So you would start with your topic and then put off shoots that support that topic. This would be a great tool in teaching when you teach children how to write essays with supporting sentences. You show them how you write down your topic or idea and use the other bubbles to support it. 

                                                             MIND MAP

Thing #13 -Google Drive

              I have to let you all know, I just recently discovered Google Drive and have LOVED using it for classes and work. My boss is the one who first introduced Google Drive to me because we have to keep track of so many papers and forms regarding our work. It had become a hassle to let each other know what documents had been edited and updated and which ones had not. Now regardless of where we are or when we update a form (even if the other person doesn't know about it) as long as its updated in Google Drive it automatically changes them!.. (SEE attached Google Drive document)

This is the rest of THING #12 blog inside my google drive document : Document link :

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QRWCVCGqNPfkmQ8N7Wh6lGt4gdGPMDAyOrU5Jneyxfk/pub

This is the embedded code
Starting here : 

Here is a picture I created on Google Drive: drawings
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/19CxRtmVHDY335jS2RWcWj-19TN4pEmtwnkv03U9b8_s/pub?w=960&h=720

Thing #12 - Google!

            I have always loved and used Google. Google has been set as my home screen ever since I have had a computer, and I'm pretty sure it was set as my families home computer screen before I owned my own as well. I have chosen to set up a calendar and alert system on Google. I love that Google calender gives you access to your calendar no matter where you are. You are able to sync it with your phone, on your computer, or tablet. If you want you can set it up to send you reminders about different events you have scheduled by text messaging to your phone number! My favorite feature of Google calendar is the "share your schedule" feature. I think that this is the most handy dandy feature it has because you can chose to "share" your calender with your boss, family, friends, and anyone else who may need to get a hold of you. This feature will be extremely beneficial as a teacher because you could create a "work" calender to share with your students parents to set up conferences with them and let them know what will be going on in the class for that week. You could also use this feature to send out to your co-workers if you were trying to set up a meeting time or plan an event.



            Google Alerts is new to me. I have never used Google alerts before but I like this feature. I like the simple interface and I was able to learn how to use it very quickly. I typed in Elementary Education and it immediately gave me a list of the most current sites that were on Elementary Education. I think this feature will be beneficial as a teacher because it will keep me up to date on the newest news going on in Elementary Education. I could also use this as a teacher by asking my students topics they were interested in and then every day read them an interesting new article on what ever topic we had chosen as a class.

Thing #11 - Finding Good Feeds

                        I enjoyed searching around for blogs to add to my RSS reader. I think that Google Blog Search is the easiest method for me when finding feeds. I like that you can simply type in what you're searching for and it gives you a ton of blogs with that word in the subject. I found Technorati to be a little bit more confusing because of all the options they give you. I like the simpler versions where I just type in a word that I want and it then gives me a list to look through.

                  I used the tools in this lesson to locate newsfeeds and I used  my new Feedly account to search for newsfeeds. I am really happy with these tools that I have to find newsfeeds.

                  For instance I searched for Pre-K blogs. I think the most interesting or unusual feed that I found was the "virtual" pre-k site. I also found feeds to follow all about elementary schools, elementary education, cirriculum, and even activities to do with the children.

                 There seems to be newsfeeds for every topic imaginable, the amount of variation is astounishing.

THING #10 - RSS & Feedly

                        Hello my dear friends, I really did enjoy completing "thing #10" I was able to figure it out quickly and there were no computer glitches. I chose to sign up for feedly (and as you can see from the above picture) it was was a success! I found that they even let you customize your back ground if you want so I chose blue.

                  After signing up for feedly I subscribed to follow 5 different blogs, this way I will be notified when they update without having to go searching for them!

                  I like that RSS and newsreaders allow me to have all the websites and information I use daily in one organized page.

                   I will use this technology in my personal life by putting the pages that I visit most frequently on this feed, when they are updated or changed it will just pop up automatically. I think that I could use this in school by putting websites there that are work oriented. I could put educational journals, teacher websites, games, lesson ideas, and arts and crafts websites on one Feedly page.

                  Teachers can take advantage of this new technology by connecting with their peers. It would be a wonderful way to see what the other teachers in your school and grade level are doing. We could share ideas and suggestions quickly and efficiently.

                    As a teacher you need to guard your time, now that I have discovered feedly it would be a waste of time to have to click on every single persons individual blog site instead of just going straight to feedly and seeing what has been updated. 

THING #9

               I discovered this amazing website after searching the internet for about a solid hour. I could not get any of the image generators to work that I tried on the "23 Things blog site". Then I finally found this working AWESOME website that lets me copy the html address for free! YAY!

              I would use this in my classroom by writing the children a new "sign in the sky" every day. I could change the sign to let them know how the class's behavior as a whole is progressing throughout the day.


             I found these image generators on http://www.imagechef.com/ . The website was so simple to use! I love it! You simply click on the generator you want and then it creates it for you. There is no sign up or registration fee.

             I could make my students their own individual Miss. Lorrie's class ID badges! Children need to feel loved and accepted and I could make each student their own special ID card to know they were part of MY "club or family" for the whole year :)
The ID card also lets you change the back ground color so I could make it go with our school colors!

***THING #3***

            In the future I think that having a blog could be very beneficial in my teacher education program and future classroom.
         
             I think that it will be beneficial in my teacher education program because it will let me see how far I have come. I will be able to look back at the very beginning (right now) before I was even a certified teacher and see my idealistic goals. It can be a reality check because it holds the actual words that I have once thought and perceived teaching to be, and what I have experienced. I think that it will be good to look back and be reminded why I started this MAT program and what drew me into teaching when I do experience various hardships of teaching (be it a student that refuses to listen, disgruntled parents, or if its just as Alexander in the the wonderful children's books says "it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.")                
                 I also think a blog could be fun to use in my future classroom. I was thinking perhaps I could start one with each new class and record various events with them during the year. I could let them write their own blogs on our class page so they could practice their writing skills in a fun way.

***THING #2***

               Honestly, I didn't really enjoy setting up my blog at first. I felt that it was not very user friendly. I couldn't figure out how to do the most simple task (return to my main editing page!!!) . However, now that it is up and running, and despite my glitches (SEE "THING #1) I do beleive I am on track and moving forward.  I had never had nor read anyone's blog before this blog.  
              
                    I think the avatar gadget is pretty funny, they don't offer many options for style, yet they thought it would be a good idea to put a see through shirt on there, just in case.  Yet, they leave out normal clothing options... haha, that made me chuckle. I tried to create an avatar that exemplified me. I have been told that I have a bright and bubbly personality that is enthusiastic towards living. I usually am smiling, I have blond hair, I like to wear blue jeans, and I do like bright shirts. (Just like my avatar). However,  I don't wear headbands (they seem to squeeze my head no matter how lose they are) but I thought for stylish purposes I would stick one on my avatars head because her head was so big and had a lot of extra space to decorate. And I suppose, since I don't have to worry about actually wearing it, I think it's cute.
            
                     I chose the name Miss. Lorrie's 23 things because the children at school can not pronounce my last name, and it is so large, I feel it's almost mean to make them struggle over it. Also, I don't really like the formality Mrs (insert last name) adds to the classroom environment. I want the students to feel like they can approach me and (in my opinion its hard to approach someone if you can't even say there name haha). 
            
              

*** (OOPS)*** THING #1

I will start off this blog by thanking my sweet new blog (and class) friend teddys23bearablethings. Last night as I was sitting by her in class she asked me why I had not blogged Thing 1,2,3 yet had completed 4-8. I said, "I thought we did 1-3 in class" she replied that we had not, we had only done a portion of 1-3 in class. Therefore, my blog grade is forever indebted to her :) Thank you for looking out for a fellow blogger!

My blog will now be out of order, I do apologize, but I can't find a way to switch them around since I have already posted the previous blogs. I will post blog Things # 1-3 and then the rest should be in order.

The assignment for thing #1 was to  Write about which of the lifelong learning habits are the easiest and hardest for you and why. Also, write about what you want to learn by playing with Web 2.0 tools and your experience in setting up the blog. Was it hard, easy? Describe your feelings as you worked on this.

                                The easiest lifelong learning habit for me is Habit number 2. Accept responsibility for your own learning. This is the easiest habit for me, by far in fact, I would say it is simply part of my nature.  I attribute this to growing up in a large family. I am the second oldest child (my brother bearing a mere 16 months my senior) and I am the oldest daughter. I had a lot of responsibility at a very young age. If I wanted to go and do something, I had to figure out my own way to get there, if I wanted to learn something, I had to figure out a way to learn it! I was self motivated all throughout school because by the very nature, my parents simply did not have the time to help me with my studies. I decided that I wanted to push myself and excel at school, my parents never had to ask me to do my homework, I just did. I was taught that my education was my responsibility if I wanted scholarships I was going to have to get the grades to earn them. 

                                I am honestly not sure what I think find the hardest learning habit for me is. If I had to chose I suppose I would say Habit 1 "Begin with the End in mind." I say this because I don't always have specific goals. I have over all goals. For instance, my education. I knew that I wanted to go to college therefore all through school I challenged myself with the most difficult courses so I could earn scholarships and attend college. However, once in college I wasn't really sure what job I actually wanted to do. As it turns out, I graduated with a double major from the University of Florida in Business Management and Psychology and still didn't have a specific job I wanted to do! Now 3 1/2 years later I'm married to a wonderful military man, and finally realized I want to be a teacher!

                             I want to learn how to keep and maintain an interesting and exciting blog with Web 2.0 tools that has a purpose and is fun. 

                            I thought setting up this blog was rather difficult, (especially since I realized I misunderstood the assignment for Things 1-3).  I became a little bit frustrated when I was trying to figure out how to get back to my main page that lets me edit posts. 

Thing #8 - MashUp

I used Flickr mashup to spell a word.. I chose SMILE :) because a smile bridges all languages!
              Honestly, this was the hardest task I have to complete on the blogsite. For some reason my blog page was being stubborn and not showing the SMILE pictures. After struggling and asking for assistance we were still hitting a dead end when a fellow blogger informed me, that even though we couldn't see it on my page it was indeed showing up.

                This could be fun to use in the classroom because I could turn any topic the students were studying into a world with pictures! We could discuss how every day objects can be looked at in multiple ways, that its just in someones perception if they see a light post of the letter I .

                 I think sharing photos online is a wonderful way to connect with people in other areas of the nation and even world. I love that we can interact with our friends, family, and even acquaintances through pictures! I really do think that "a picture says a thousands words" can often times be very true. When I look at someones pictures I feel that I get a better idea of who that person is and what makes them unique. I get a to actually see what types of animals, food, games, sports, and entertainment they enjoy.




            

Thing #7- Flickr

                     I have never used Flickr before and it was a new experience. I chose not to create an account at this time because I just created a Pintrest account the other day for one of my previous "things."
                   Pintrest seems to be very similar to Flickr. Flickr allows you to look up groups of pictures based on words. I browsed around Flickr for a bit and finally decided on picking this picture because it made me laugh when I read the caption. It's of two cats but one cat is "covering" the other cats mouth to "keep him from blabbing something incriminating." Haha the captions says "No sir, He didn't say anything!" ;) and the cat looks mischievous, in my opinion.

License

 All rights reserved by Tante Kaehte

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rimkusk59/9605732279/in/explore-2013-08-27/lightbox/

            
                I do not think I will use Flickr in my classroom because as I noted earlier, it's similar to pintrest, and I like Pintrest more. I like that more people that I know use Pintrest so it makes it more personal to me. As noted earlier, it is relatively similar to Flickr. 
             
               I do not mind having my photos displayed in a public space, especially since I have the option of marking specific photos as private. I do not have anything to hide from people and am not embarrassed by the people I associate with and the activities I participate in. Therefore if  my life happens to be captured on film, that is ok with me. I strive to live an authentic life that displays my character across all fronts. 
            
               Of course, everyone has those embarrassing pictures that make one reflect, "My land, do I really look like that? Yikes, I'm shocked anyone hangs out with me!" but on a whole I have decided just to laugh at the unflattering picture (where my eyes are half closed in a blink) because most of the time, whoever so kindly posted that picture of you, looks fabulous in it and they really just wanted their own picture up (becuase they look so awesome) and you just happened to be the unlucky chap that was standing next to them haha. 

Thing #6

http://pinterest.com/?ff=1
                      I selected to explore pinterest. I absolutely love the site! I have already had a few laughs and gathered some good ideas to bring into the classroom once I begin teaching. I like that the Pinterest makes it so simple to see others ideas and photos. I like that it is not just photos but also allows the people to write something short along with the picture if they want.

                   I found the sites useful features to be in the organization of pictures, crafts, and ideas that are broken into categories. Once you decide what category you may want to "follow" for instance I selected the "education" category you are then given the opportunity to fine tune the broad education category specifically. I chose Elementary Education boards to follow since I will be teaching in the elementary schools. I also decided to follow "humor" because laughter makes the heart merry

                 I could see Pinterest being used in the schools when teachers want to find motivational pictures, quotes, arts and craft projects, and room decor.

THING #5 School 2.0

                         School 2.0 is quickly becoming an integral part in the education system of students at all ages. School 2.0 allows for people at all ages to truly be life long learners. With the availability of interactive free online courses, internet databases, search engines, discussion boards, blog spots, and the ability to curtail education to specific topics that truly interest the student, School 2.0 has arrived and will continue to expand.
                         
                         In my opinion School 2.0 means a form of "interactive combination learning." This being said, I will explain myself a little bit more. This type of school and learning will never occur solely in the classroom but takes place everywhere. Students and teachers now have the availability to interact and share information virtually anywhere. Children are growing up in a generation that is extremely technologically savvy. They are well acquainted and familiar with Google, Wikipedia, social networking sites, and many other search engines and databases at a very young age. With information available at the tips of their fingers, teachers are going to have to teach them how to wade through this information overload to come away with factual information.
                 
                  School 2.0 is also very interactive and allows people to bring in their own personal experiences and thoughts to a wide array of topics. The wonderful part about this is that it allows people to connect, collaborate, and work as a team from everywhere in the world with the unified goal of furthering their education on a specific topic. School 2.0 can use YouTube, Wikipedia, videos, mp3 files, educational blog spots, and tons of other interactive technology to really make learning come to life for the students.
               
                  The question was posed, "what does School 2.0 mean for schools of the future?" To me, this means that School 2.0 is this generations future. Using state of the art technologies in our in classroom school systems is paramount. We will have to educate our students how to decipher and wade through the internet information overload. We will have the privilege of teaching and showing the children how to actively engage in their own education. This means that we need to show them that not only will they be learning in classroom with their fellow peers, but they will be life long learners that need to fully engage in their education inside and outside of the classroom. 

THING #4

Thing #4
                   I have never had a blog before, I suppose due to the same reason I never kept a journal, I didn't want anyone reading it but me (and trust me, in a family of 9 no journal is a secret). To actually put words to paper and write your own personal thoughts and opinions is opening yourself up to criticism and perhaps, even unwanted judgments. Anyway, here is my first blog.
                     Commenting on others blogs helps to create a sense of community and interaction because you are showing the person who wrote the blog that you actually read what they had to say, and their voice was heard! This gives the blogger and the person responding a chance to exchange ideas and thoughts on a matter.
                     I thought it was important that the readings mentioned commenting on the bloggers site encourages the blogger to keep writing! I liked that it explained that when the blogger receives feedback they then know that their topic has hit a cord with their audience and they can continue writing about that topic or they could open the discussion up and see what similar topics arise. I was glad to see that the readings addressed appropriate and inappropriate ways to communicate on a blog site. I was amused by the tips on "how to get more comments on your blog" but I do think the article made many valid points. I especially like that they suggested leaving open ended questions in order to receive more feedback on your blog.
                           The blogs that I have chosen to follow are:
teddys23bearablethings http://teddys23bearablethings.blogspot.com/

mrsks23things http://mrsk23things.blogspot.com/

theresarogersblog.blogspot.com  http://theresarogersblog.blogspot.com/

23thingsingovernment http://23thingsingovernment.blogspot.com/

and I need to find one more blogger :) but since I'm new at this, I'm not sure how to go about doing that yet.
I selected these individuals because they are all in  this class (EDUC 5540) as well as my EDUC 5500 class. They also just so happened to be sitting in the back row with me and I requested their blogger information. I look forward to getting to know them better as I follow their blogs!

                    So, I have figured out how to find bloggers. The other two blogs that I have chosen to follow are:
http://4theloveofteaching.blogspot.com/
I chose her blog because she is already a teacher and she very obviously LOVES teaching! She has posted lesson plans and various crafts to do with the students. I also like that she has pictures to look at.

http://mscassidysclass.edublogs.org/ 
I chose this blog as well because I like that she lets her kids get involved in the blog. I think this is a great idea and may even chose to do this with my class in the future. This empowers the students by giving them the ability to have their voices heard around the world!

                        I commented on teddys23bearablethings because I was moved by her life story. I think its very admirable that she has chosen to be a lifelong learner and never let any obstacle get in her way.  

                       I commented on mrsks23things about the virtual schools because I agree that we should embrace the new technology that is being developed for education. Like Mrs.K I think that technology will enable us to offer the students a better education.