Thing 12 - Commenting

I read the blog about using an alias or your real name when commenting. It was very interesting. People choose to use an alias because there may be many people with their same name. I won’t have a problem with my name because it is very unique. I got to thinking that with students we should recommend that they use an alias when they are posting comments to blogs that belong to people they don’t know.

I also read the 10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog. One of the techniques mentioned was to invite comments. I never thought this would be necessary because the link to post a comment is right there. But the author stated that he received more comments when he asked for them. The author also stated that we need to interact with the comments that are left for us. As a courtesy, we should at least thank the person for the comment. We shouldn’t just read the comments.

I commented on Brooke’s 2.0 Blog, Aspiring Librarian, Check This Out!, Excel in Education, and Kindergarten Teacher’s Education Journey.

I found a blog on teaching second grade and posted a comment there. I also found a blog on healthy tips and conceiving because my husband and I would like to start a family soon.

Thing 11 - LibraryThing

LibraryThing is a useful tool to keep track of books I've read. I have read sooooo many books that I don't even remember the titles anymore. Using LibraryThing will help in that area. I check out the groups but didn't join any. Students can join LibraryThing and keep track of their books and get recommendations on other books to read. They can also join groups and share with their friends.

At first, I was so frustrated with LibraryThing because it kept telling me that I needed to turn on cookies. I did everything I could and still it wouldn't let me in. Finally, after a lot of prayer and some language that I'm not particularly proud of, the Thing let me in.

LibraryThing is one thing that I will be using. :)

Thing 10 - Image Generators

I really enjoyed working with image generators. I like the fact that you can order what you created, share with others, and post your creations on Facebook and MySpace. I had already played with Big Huge Labs and Trading Card Maker. I focused my attention on some of the other ones that I did not know about. My favorites were Dumpr, ImageChef, Wordl, and the Comic Strip Generators
http://www.dumpr.net/
http://www.imagechef.com/
http://www.wordle.net/
http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/
http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/

In Dumpr, I think the kids will have a blast using Amazing Goo. I really liked it. I also can see my students using Kid-Friendly Image Generators. It’s easy to use and cute. I probably won’t use it for my personal use but I will use it in my classroom.
http://www.customizemagnets.com/ecards/childrens.asp

In Wordl students can create various poems. I can see middle and high school students using Glogster just for fun and it can easily be integrated into the curriculum. The Comic Strip Generators can be used to teach students when to use quotation marks. My nieces already knew about some of these and upload to their MySpace. This means that teachers can implement them in the classroom easily.

Thing 9 - Searching for Blogs and Feeds

The search tools that were the easiest for me to navigate were Google Blog Search, Bloglines Search tool, and Edublogs Award-Winners. I thought these were easy to navigate and to find blogs that I might read.
http://edublogawards.com/2008/
http://blogsearch.google.com/
http://www.bloglines.com/search

The one that I did not like at all was Syndic8. I found it very hard to navigate because the site is too cluttered for my liking.

I didn't particularly like this Thing. As I stated in my earlier post, I don't really use the Internet to read. I know I'm going to have to get more up-to-date on information and these blogs and feeds will come in handy. I have to push myself to read these blogs.

Thing 8 - RSS and Readers

I had seen the icons on various web pages but never knew what they were for. Now I know. I created a Google Reader and set up a couple of news feeds that I am interested in. Some are personal and some are professional. I don't have many right now because I don't have much time to get on the Internet and read blogs or feeds.

I know RSS is supposed to save a lot of time. I get that. You don't have to go to all these different sites to read what you are interested in. You go to one site and get all the news and blogs you need. My only problem is that I hardly get on the Internet to read. I will try to work on this more, there is a lot of useful information out there.

On a personal level, I can subscribe to friends blogs and celebrity gossip. On a professional level, I can subscribe to blogs and feeds that pertain to my field. I think I wouldn't separate the two for myself.

At the school level, a public Reader can be set up that someone updates. That way all teachers will be able to access it and get helpful information and new ideas.

I like it. But to be honest, I probably won't use it as often.

Thing 7 - Cool Tools that Google

I had no idea you could do so much with Google. I personally never use Google to search. I am a Yahoo! gal. After playing with all the cool features that Google has to offer, I know I will be visiting this site more often and conducting my searches using Google Scholar and Google Advance Search.

I create a Google Calendar for my class. I made it public so that parents can see upcoming events. Right now, all I have are the school holidays, but as the school year gets started I will be adding more information. I will include upcoming tests, open houses, and deadlines. Here is the link.
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=clemenciarocks%40yahoo.com&ctz=America/Chicago

I also played around with Google Earth. It's fun to look up your address and spot your vehicle. I think it will be a great tool to show students other parts of the world and to show various landforms.

I used Picasa Web albums for my personal use. You can upload your photos and share them with friends and family.

Thing 6 - Mashups

I could not stop playing with mashups. I love Big huge Labs. There is so much to do. I enjoyed the Mosaic Maker, Trading Card Maker, and the Warholizer!! This is a great tool to use in the classroom or library. I think the Captioner will be great for story telling. Students can make a story or comic strip using captions on various pictures. Trading Card Maker can be used when studying character analysis or as a way to booktalk a new book. There are so many things you can do with mashups. Check out a mosaic and warholizer of my husband and me and my very own trading card!

Thing 5 - Flickr

I thought I was going to have a hard time searching through Flickr, but I really liked it. I like the fact that you can use the pictures without breaking any laws. I searched through all the Creative Commons licenses. I liked the noncommercial license the best because I think it gives you the most freedom.

In Social Studies students learn about monuments so I chose 2 pictures of the Lincoln Memorial.

I also chose a picture of the Presidents sculptures by David Adickes because I love his work and I have visited his studio. It is amazing!

Thing 3

Setting up a blog and adding an avatar were Easy Cheesy! I already had a blog for one of my previous classes, so I just added another blog to my account. Since I use Yahoo Mail, I already had an avatar for that. All I had to do was save it as a picture and add it as a gadget to my blog. I like this "thing" very much!!

Thing 2

After viewing the 7 1/2 Habits on-line tutorial, I discovered habit 1 to be the easiest for me. Habit 1 states "Begin with the end in mind." I need to know what it is that I want to learn. After knowing what I want to learn (and how bad I want to learn it), the other habits will fall into place. For example, I always wanted to learn how to swim. This spring I made my mind up that it was time to learn. I set a goal and have been working towards that goal. I am not there yet, but I can see the end in sight.

The hardest habit for me would be 3. Habit 3 states "View problems as challenges." When a problem arises, it's hard to see it as a challenge or learning opportunity. I tend to see problems as a sign or an omen. I know, I know, it sounds funny. But right away, I start thinking, "Maybe I'm not supposed to be doing this." I'll have to work at it.