I added some more feeds that are about children's book http://planetesme.blogspot.com/ and a writing blog that gives ideas for children when they are writing stories http://writing-for-children.blogspot.com/
I teach reading and writing and these really are interesting blogs.
I found that Blogline's Search tool was the easiest for me to use. I tried Feedster but it took so long to load that I finally gave up! I really didn't like the lay out of Syndic8. I guess maybe because it wasn't aesthetically pleasing! I really liked the way Topix was set up. It was quick and easy to find news blogs that were an interest to me.
I'm really trying to get into reading other people's blogs, but honestly I would rather read a book! I hope I'm not the only one that feels that way!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thing # 10
I just set up my RSS feeds on Bloglines. It was very simple to do. I put websites on mine that I go to every day to read and find out new information. I'm sure that this would save time for teachers and anyone that has several blogs that they keep up with all the time. I know that I do not have time during the school day to check my email, let alone keep up with the minute to minute news or keep track of new information for teachers. I can see this being helpful for me to have so during those few minutes I do get to look at the computer it will be time well spent and not wasted time searching.
Thing #9
Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com
This was fun to explore. My only problem was that I couldn't decide which images to use! I can see me using this in my classroom by posting assignments, making comments about students' responses to questions, and just to make the kids laugh!
I used
to make my cartoon!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thing #8
My Presentation
This is our vacation in Branson, Missouri.
I can see how this can become addictive! I spent hours just creating things! I made a Post Card interactive photo album and then a Mosaic.
This would be a great way to show parents what the students are doing in your classroom! I can't wait to do this next year!!
Here is a Mosaic of our Branson vacation!
This is our vacation in Branson, Missouri.
I can see how this can become addictive! I spent hours just creating things! I made a Post Card interactive photo album and then a Mosaic.
This would be a great way to show parents what the students are doing in your classroom! I can't wait to do this next year!!
Here is a Mosaic of our Branson vacation!
Thing #7
As you can tell I figured out how to use Flickr!! At first I was really worried about figuring out how to do this, but it really wasn't as hard as what I originally thought. Now if I didn't do it right, then I guess it was harder than I thought!
I can see me using Flickr in the classroom to display projects that the students have completed. I could also use it to take pictures how what I expect the projects to look like. Obviously if I were to have pictures with the students in it I would have to have permission. I could always make the pictures private and just add it to my blog. I will definitely start using this for my personal use. I am not a scrap booker, but I could do this and share my photos with my family!
I have never used anything like this before, but I will now!
I am apprehensive about making my pictures public, but I did enjoy looking at other people's pictures. I even posted a few comments! ( I so would have never done that before this class!)
I can see me using Flickr in the classroom to display projects that the students have completed. I could also use it to take pictures how what I expect the projects to look like. Obviously if I were to have pictures with the students in it I would have to have permission. I could always make the pictures private and just add it to my blog. I will definitely start using this for my personal use. I am not a scrap booker, but I could do this and share my photos with my family!
I have never used anything like this before, but I will now!
I am apprehensive about making my pictures public, but I did enjoy looking at other people's pictures. I even posted a few comments! ( I so would have never done that before this class!)
Proud Moment
If you look real close you will see the fish my son caught with his Kung Fu Panda fishing rod!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Thing #6
Holy Cow! I just went to LuLu which allows one to publish a book and then sell it on their web-site. I checked out the Kid Creations section and I was blown away! There is a section for "Aspiring Authors" that allows walks the students through the writing process as they write their own book. Then when they have finished LuLu will publish it and send you a "FREE" printed copy! This would be wonderful for my fourth grade students. This would get so many of my students excited about writing. I already filled out the information and they said they would be contacting me soon! I'm so excited!!
The one thing I don't like is that there are hidden fees. The more you dive into the web-site the more you find out how much is really not free. I am anxious to find out if the students can really publish books for free. I do like that they have their own blog, forum, groups, and their own newsletter. When I went to find a community for teachers that teach how to write I mostly found people trying to sell their own book. That wasn't really helpful! The more I look through the site the more hesitant I become about signing up! I'm going to keep investigating!
The one thing I don't like is that there are hidden fees. The more you dive into the web-site the more you find out how much is really not free. I am anxious to find out if the students can really publish books for free. I do like that they have their own blog, forum, groups, and their own newsletter. When I went to find a community for teachers that teach how to write I mostly found people trying to sell their own book. That wasn't really helpful! The more I look through the site the more hesitant I become about signing up! I'm going to keep investigating!
Thing #5
School 2.0 means to me that we have the world at our fingertips! Literally students can find anything and everything they want to know about a subject in just a short amount of time. I can remember during a research paper in middle school and using the encyclopedia. I mean the set of books that you actually open! I remember reading that information and thinking that it was already outdated(possibly because my parents had the 1976 set for me to use!)
After reading some of these perspectives about Web 2.0 I really am amazed at how much information is accessible to me and my students.Of course that means that it is up to teachers and parents to show children how to understand all the knowledge that is out there for them. I think that Will Richardson said it best,"We are at times teachers and at times learners. Our roles shift with each interaction." I am amazed at how my six year old son is able to use the internet. He is now teaching me how to do things! I think the same can be said for our students. That is why we must be a step ahead of them. (If that is even possible!)
I believe that if the education world is going to continue to "catch" the child's attention we are going to have to prove to the students that we have the knowledge to use and teach technology. We also have to make sure that our students have the skills to survive in the "real" world.
I am very excited to start teaching my students how to be participants and not just consumers. This means that schools are going to have to spend the money on updating computers and servers. It is great that we have computers that we can use in the classroom, but if only two computers can work online at a time this is not going to be helpful to the other twenty students. I think the look of the schools are really going to change. The future may bring a more business like look to schools.
My only concern is will the students of the future have social skills?
After reading some of these perspectives about Web 2.0 I really am amazed at how much information is accessible to me and my students.Of course that means that it is up to teachers and parents to show children how to understand all the knowledge that is out there for them. I think that Will Richardson said it best,"We are at times teachers and at times learners. Our roles shift with each interaction." I am amazed at how my six year old son is able to use the internet. He is now teaching me how to do things! I think the same can be said for our students. That is why we must be a step ahead of them. (If that is even possible!)
I believe that if the education world is going to continue to "catch" the child's attention we are going to have to prove to the students that we have the knowledge to use and teach technology. We also have to make sure that our students have the skills to survive in the "real" world.
I am very excited to start teaching my students how to be participants and not just consumers. This means that schools are going to have to spend the money on updating computers and servers. It is great that we have computers that we can use in the classroom, but if only two computers can work online at a time this is not going to be helpful to the other twenty students. I think the look of the schools are really going to change. The future may bring a more business like look to schools.
My only concern is will the students of the future have social skills?
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Thing #4
Commenting helps create a sense of community because you are discussing the same topic with a group of people. Just like when you are with a group of people and discussing a topic. You feel like part of the group when you put your two cents in. Constant commenting also lets people get to know who you are. The more people see your name, the more likely they are to respond to you. Who doesn't like seeing comments on their blog? Of course that makes you feel like you belong! I know some people that have a better online community than they do a face to face community!
"The 10 commandments of blog commenting" I thought was pretty much comment sense, but I guess there are "those people" that are going to be rude or try and start a "flame war". I did like the comment to always :) when leaving a comment. I think that is a really good idea. That's like in the education world you can say something to a child that "just doesn't get it" if you preface it with "Bless your heart..."
The blog about the 10 techniques to get more comments on your blog was interesting. The one idea that I thought was really good was to invite comments or ask questions. I also agree with the guy... if you have to log in to make a comment it probably makes people less likely to comment.
I commented on several of our classmates blogs because the topic really caught my attention. 23 Things by Miss Williams held the same idea on humorous comments that I did, Ms Brownie's Blog made me post the question if we should be concerned about people having more virtual friends than face to face friends. I agreed with amisteacher's concern for our students having access to these tools outside of the classroom. Crickets Corner gave me a great web-site to visit and I gave redrivera a question to ponder over. Then I so went out of my comfort zone(I'm so not a virtual type of friend!) and I visited some blogs about Mamma Mia! and found some people that I can sing with during the movie!
Then I posted some blogs about good place to visit after taking a vacation to Branson, Missouri. (And no, it's not just a place for retired people! It is now a great family place to visit!!)
"The 10 commandments of blog commenting" I thought was pretty much comment sense, but I guess there are "those people" that are going to be rude or try and start a "flame war". I did like the comment to always :) when leaving a comment. I think that is a really good idea. That's like in the education world you can say something to a child that "just doesn't get it" if you preface it with "Bless your heart..."
The blog about the 10 techniques to get more comments on your blog was interesting. The one idea that I thought was really good was to invite comments or ask questions. I also agree with the guy... if you have to log in to make a comment it probably makes people less likely to comment.
I commented on several of our classmates blogs because the topic really caught my attention. 23 Things by Miss Williams held the same idea on humorous comments that I did, Ms Brownie's Blog made me post the question if we should be concerned about people having more virtual friends than face to face friends. I agreed with amisteacher's concern for our students having access to these tools outside of the classroom. Crickets Corner gave me a great web-site to visit and I gave redrivera a question to ponder over. Then I so went out of my comfort zone(I'm so not a virtual type of friend!) and I visited some blogs about Mamma Mia! and found some people that I can sing with during the movie!
Then I posted some blogs about good place to visit after taking a vacation to Branson, Missouri. (And no, it's not just a place for retired people! It is now a great family place to visit!!)
Thing #3
I would love for my students to be able to use blogging in my Language Arts class. The only problem is that most of my students don't have Internet access at home. I could set up a time in the mornings before school starts for the students to come into the computer lab and access my blog.
I would love to have a book club blog! I looked at the EduBlog and I really like the idea of putting examples to work that I have assigned on my blog. That would be very helpful to all students and parents! I know that many of my parents have access to a computer at work, so I could have information about school and assignments. Really the ideas are limitless! I'm so excited about blogging!
I would love to have a book club blog! I looked at the EduBlog and I really like the idea of putting examples to work that I have assigned on my blog. That would be very helpful to all students and parents! I know that many of my parents have access to a computer at work, so I could have information about school and assignments. Really the ideas are limitless! I'm so excited about blogging!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Thing #2
There are several things that I want to learn from this class. Obviously, I want to learn about blogging. I want to be able to have my students blog about books they have read next year.
I should just say that everything I am learning in this class is new to me! Apparently there is a whole new world out here!!
Setting up a blog for me was a little confusing! My friend and I did it together over the phone. This may have been why I was confused!ha
I'm still not sure I did everything right!
The avatars were a lot of fun! My two kids were helping me choose one that was right for me. Of course I didn't take all their suggestions!
I should just say that everything I am learning in this class is new to me! Apparently there is a whole new world out here!!
Setting up a blog for me was a little confusing! My friend and I did it together over the phone. This may have been why I was confused!ha
I'm still not sure I did everything right!
The avatars were a lot of fun! My two kids were helping me choose one that was right for me. Of course I didn't take all their suggestions!
Thing #1
So, here it goes! I just finished the slide show and the easiest habit for me is to accept responsibility for my own learning. The hardest habit is to view problems as challenges. For me a problem is just that- a problem that needs to be solved!
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