Thing #12

I have become very familiar with Google Maps. It allows you to search and look at any place you can think of in a 3D image. I remember in high school me and a couple of friends were in the computer lab and we just went on Google Maps and tried to determine when they captured the image of our houses. Stuff we did back then was crazy I guess.

Since I have learned about Google Translate I really like it. I like the fact that it gives you so many translating options. I played around with it for awhile just entering things to translate in different languages. "Bu benim ilk blog denemesi olacak ve ben keyif aldık." I'll let you guys translate that now It's just in Turksih!

Post # 11

I knew Google offered a bunch of stuff, but did no understand it offered so much that I now recently came to know about. Google Blog Reader was easiest for me because it is just plain and simple like the other things Google has to offer.

I still think Google has the best search tool. Im very familar with it since I have used Google with all my research and when I just surf the web. I really like Google. It's even my homepage when you get on the Internet.

I explored Technorati, but didn't find much interest with it, maybe because I'm just not as use or comfortable with it like I am with Google. It takes me time to get on the same page with something new being introduced to me. I'll try to start using these more often and I might have a different answer later.

I liked Topix because as soon as I clicked on it, it was already giving me newsfeed for my current zipcode. It was pretty cool, I just started putting in other zipcodes like Clarksville and Nashville and read there newsfeed. I really like Topix.

Thing #10

I really enjoyed exploring RSS. I have never even heard of this program before so it was fun to learn something new and be able to work with it. I like that it reminded me of twitter instead of following people, you follow blogs. It gives you the lastest updates and everything on the fisrt page. I like that it has everything your following right there which can come in handy in times.

I can use RSS for the readers that I subscribed to. Cooking blogs, dieting blogs, news blogs, and etc. Checking them on a daily basis will keep me informed with what I would call the lasted trend on all those blogs that I subscribed too.

Teachers can use RSS to subscribe to other teacher's blogs, or some other form of blog that could help them with a lesson or interaction.

Thing #9



I really enjoyed playing around with creating my own signs. It grabs people's attention and draws them in. I chose these two images to show because this is what I want my future to look like. Teaching a 2nd grade reading/language arts class. This tool would come in handy for handouts and news letters as well I'm so excited that I learned more websites that offered to make signs, loggos and etc.

Thing # 8

I went to Spell with Flickr which was fun an easy to navigate. The mashup kinda remind me back to the good ole scrapbooking days. The page gives you a spell bar and then type in the word you want it to mashup for you and then it gives you different mashups of your word. I put in Faith first because that has a great signifiance in my life, then looking through all the different mashups I wanted to make more of these. I deciced to make a mashup of my name.

Using a mashup for my classroom could be used for any kind of learning activity, it's fun an easy to understand and the kids would really enjoy playing around with it. I mean I had fun with mashup.

Thing # 7

Photo by: sammohr3

I used to have a Flickr account years ago back when I was a young teenager. So navigating through Flickr just refreshed my mindset with it. Pictures has always been something I love to look at. I chose this picture for more of a motivation mind set. Once this semester is over I will be on the beach enjoying and relaxing. Now that I have been refreshed with Flickr I do believe I will get back into sharing and tagging my photo's through Flickr. Another reason I enjoy using Flickr is because you can type any keyword in the search engine and have a whole bunch of pictures come up that you can explore through and share.

Thing # 6

I thought this was going to take me forever because I like to explore my options before I actually make a desion about something. Though the first one I clicked on was PowToon I was exploring this and really enjoyed this site. They have unlimited access to all there stuff. It's a free download and you get to have fun will working with animation. I watched one video and it had my focus the whole time, so I know with me wanting to work with little kids that this could come in handy in having my class pay attention to materail they need to learn.

Thing # 5

Web 2.0 is amazing. Using technology in the school will come in hand with teacher's and the feedback. I like the fact that it is not just used in the school but at home and the community as well. I think it will be very beneficial for everyone. I was looking through the 50 web 2.0 tools every teacher should know and some I was fimalar with and some I had no idea about. I went and toured some of the ones I have yet seen before like ISSUU, and Google Sketchup. It tells you if these applications are offered free as well and who doesn't like free stuff? I found that all these applications to be interresting and why they are on the list of 50 web 2.0 tools every teacher should know. I can't beleive nobody has ever told me about them till now!

Thing #4

Commenting is a way to give feedback over the Internet. Without commenting there would be no conversation. Having someone comment on your post means that someone actually has something to say back to your opinion on something.

Responding to a post gives the blogger an insight that maybe they have never even thought about and then can go into a conversation through just one comment. If a blogger never received any comments, why are they blogging for? They want people to view there blogs and be drawn in and read and post on the things they have to talk about.

• I first commented on Angie Kreier's post about her experience with creating her blog. She mentioned where she had never personally blogged before, but have read others time to time. I went along with that and her background was awesome.
• Next I commented on Alena Glassford's post about how amazing her blog was. I was drawn in the moment I clicked her name. She went into detail with everything and you could tell she had experience with blogging before. Go check her blog if you haven't you will see what I mean. Awesome blog.
• Then I went and checked out William Graves's blog and found his blog to be entertaining to to read. I commented on his Flickr post (haven't made it that far) about they were the first utilize the tag option. I had no idea it has been years since I last even been to Flickr. I found his post to be very informative.
• I went to Lacey Butler's next and found her blog to be very good. I enjoyed reading all her post and commented on the 7 1/2 habits post. I found using technology to my advantage to be easy for me where she found it harder. I agreed with us both liking to know where the end was so we could set goals to reach the end.
• Finally I went to Allison Curtis's blog and my first thought was how great her avatar was. Shows her personality with me not even knowing who she is. I did comment on how we both shared the same interest using a blog for our class that would reach out to parents and students.
• The two outside blogs that I went to and commented on was Pioneer Women and Lottie + Doof. We went to Pioneer Women and class and I found her blog to be amazing, I commented on a craft idea of hers and maybe will use it one day. Lottie + Doof is a cooking blog where it gives you recipes and you can see others comments and how their cooking experience went on the food.

Thing # 3

Using a blog can be very beneficial for my future career as a teacher. If the school had financial support then I could use computers for my students to give feedback on the material being learned or they can have assignments that will consist of blogging. They can work in groups through the blog as well.

Another way that I could use a blog would be with other teachers. Maybe setting up a community blog where all the teachers and school systems in the county could share ideas and what worked best in there class along with what did not. Also for updates on school activites.

Finally I could just create my own blog where I can have news letters for the class and updates for just my class. Allowing the access to parents and the students to stay informed with the class information. It could be helpful since everything is going to technology these days.

Thing #2

I can honestly say I have never been a blogger. The most I ever share across the Internet would be my Facebook status for the day. One of my co-workers always wrote these long posts on Facebook and everybody told her that she needed to make a blog, well she did and she loves it. I have time to time visited her blog page and read what she has to say about life. the world, and etc. It can be fun when you really dedicate the time to making a blog.

When I was creating my blog I just kept it simple, and easier to track. My posts to this blog relate to the "Things" from class I go from there adding the number of which thing it is. I just thought using my name with the 23 things would be best fit, since this is what this blog is only going to consume of and be about. I made my URL easy for people to find I used my first name, middle name along with my last name.

My experience in creating my blog was fun. Since I never blogged before I had no idea what I was trying to do. Then after class one day I just went to the library and explored all that I could on blogger. I found out how change a lot of things so the experience was hard or frustrating just taking the time to learn it was the only challenge.

I had fun creating my avatar, I felt like a little kid again dressing up a barbie doll or something. I tried to create the most accurate appearance of myself, I made my background with the chalk board in the back to reflect on how I would like to be a teacher. I was going to reflect my personality a little more, but then I would have been in like the snow white dress. I like to joke around and have fun like that, but I kept it professional more to reflect my teaching career.

Thing #1

Reading through the 7 1/2 habits, I realized how all these could be important as a succesful life long learner. The one that was a definate for me was Habit 6 "use technology to your advantage". This would be easiest for me because I have a great deal of time spent with technology. I love learning new stuff that I can do with technolgy and how I can apply it. I use my phone for everything, to find answers, to get directions, my calculator to add up my checkbook at the end of the week and etc. I find it to be a fun task and challenage when I am given some form of technology to work with.

Looking back over I decided that Habit 4 "have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner" would be the hardest for me. I have always had trouble in having confidence in myself. It is a real bummer when you worked your hardest, and didn't do as well as you thought. I need to start saying things like "I'll do better next time". Take all that gets me down as a lesson learned and remember I tried my hardest, and asking questions what could I done to make it better to extend my knowledge a little more.