The two google web tools that I chose to further explore were Google Translator and Google Calendar. I chose to further explore these two because I think they will be the most useful in a classroom full of children.
The google translator is an awesome way to help children who speak different languages understand what a word or phrase might mean. To go along with that I think the translator will be most useful when students are learning a new language in middle school or high school. If they dont know what a word means they can search it, or get the google translator to pronounce it for them so they know how to say the word or phrase correctly.
The Google Calendar would come in handy as a teacher because I could post a schedule for the week or month and choose to share it with my students and their families. I feel like this would be a great way to keep parents up to date on our school and classroom schedule. I also love that I can print the schedule after I make it up on Google Calendar. It will make it really easy to send home with my students newsletters.
Google Translate http://translate.google.com/#
Google Calendar https://www.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Thing 11! More RSS!
I found using the Google Blog Search was easiest. I felt like it brought me exactly what I was hoping for everytime I searched. With that being said I comepletley stand by that I will be using Google Reader/Google Blog Search in my future blog searches. I don't feel like any of the search engines were confusing, I just felt that Google brought me the best results.
During my blog search I found a few social work blogs, which will come in handy to me because I recently changed my major to social work. I feel like it will help me get a better understanding on the types of jobs there are for my future and the things that a social worker has to deal with, and maybe even some advice for my future as a social worker. I didn't really find any unusual blogs because I didn't search for unusual ones. I pretty much just searched and added blogs that i knew would intrest me and encourage me to look at my RSS reader everyday.
During my blog search I found a few social work blogs, which will come in handy to me because I recently changed my major to social work. I feel like it will help me get a better understanding on the types of jobs there are for my future and the things that a social worker has to deal with, and maybe even some advice for my future as a social worker. I didn't really find any unusual blogs because I didn't search for unusual ones. I pretty much just searched and added blogs that i knew would intrest me and encourage me to look at my RSS reader everyday.
Thing 10! RSS Reader!
I think the RSS readers is a really awesome way to check all my news feeds and blogs at once. It is a lot simpler than just scrolling through each website indavidually. I think the RSS reader would help me as a teacher to stay up to date on new technology and to help me get advice and new ideas about teaching my students from other teachers. Like I said before it would be a really awesome way to keep communication more current and more often for teachers. They would be more likely to check one website instead of taking the time that most teachers dont have to sit and thumble through five or six seperate blogs and websites.
Thing 9! Image Generators!
Today I explored two different Image Generators. The first one I explored was the Happy Face Generator. I liked the Happy Face Generator, it was very easy to use and it had some really awesome features like making the letters be formed out of objects like shown below in my first image. The third image posted on my blog was also made on the Happy Face Generator using the wooden sign method. I like the idea of making cute smiley faces that say things to put around my classroom. I think the Happy Face Generator was the easiest generator I explored. My second picture was made using the Custom Sign Generator. I liked using the generator, I just felt like there were so many options that it was overwhellming. I think that the overall use of Image Generators would be useful in a classroom for decorating, or in a library for showing what type of books are where, other than that I don't see a use for them in my classroom.
Thing 8! Mashups!
Flickr and Flickr mashups could be used in my classroom as fun way to decorate the class. Using Spell with Flickr would be a fun way for the kids to make their own name tags for their desks or lockers. The puzzle mash up like I did using the Jigssaw feature on BigHugeLabs.com could be used as away to have puzzles for kids to put together and identify with pictures of presidents or signifigant places in their curriculum. I liked using Flickr and I find that it is easy to use and easy to upload or find photos, i also enjoyed the Flickr Mashups because there were so many different ways to create my pictures into something fun.
Thing 7! Flickr!
I feel like I will use Flickr in my personal life more than I would in my classroom. I feel this way because in the classroom most pictures I show will be out of books my students have. Using Flickr in my personal life will be a great way to keep my pictures and share pictures with other people.
The only other photo hosting website ive ever used is Instagram. I like instigram because it is easy to understand and a lot of my friends are on Instigram so it's easier to find friends and keep in touch. Instagram and Flickr connect in the way they both use tags to help refine searches and describe your pictures. You can also connect with friends and family members on both sites. Its easier to find a photo of a certain thing on flickr and easier to find friends on Instagram.
I dont have any concerns about putting photos like the one below on a public site but photos of myself or my family I would not feel as comfortable making those pictures public. The picture I uploaded below is a picture I took in July 2011 on my senior trip to California.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Thing 6! Web 2.0!
From the list of Web 2.0 tools I picked to explore Diigo. I use Diigo computer to go with my education 3040 course. Before education 3040 I had never even heard of Diigo and at first I was apprehensive about learning a new tool to use on the computer. After I used Diigo for the W.O.D. I realized it was much easier that I thought it would be. The more I explore and use Diigo the more I see how it could be useful to me as a teacher and to my students in the classroom. I like that with Diigo I can organize things I found on the internet and highlight parts of an article instead of having to print it off and re-read it just to find the key points. A speical feature of Diigo would be that you can still get back to the webpage even if it was removed. In my classroom I feel like it would be an excellent way to bookmark things on the internet that I would want to show my students during class. It would also be a great way to have my students teach their peers by doing an activity like a webquest or the web site of the day like we do in Education 3040. Below is a link to the web 2.0 tool Diigo.
http://www.diigo.com/
http://www.diigo.com/
Thing 5! School 2.0!
When I hear the term "School 2.0" I think of a newer way of learning, which in a sense could very well be the meaning of school 2.0. I feel like school 2.0 is a way of showing people there is more than one way to learn. Traditionally learning is thought of like children in a classroom listening to the teacher talk. But with Web 2.0 and School 2.0 I think it gives everyone a better idea of new ways to learn. With today's technology classrooms are much more advanced than they were ten to fifteen years ago. I think that the future for schools and learning in the classroom will be centered around technology. If you look in our grade school classrooms today you will see that almost every classroom has a few if not a whole set of computers. Schools are advancing with technology like Ipads, Tablets, and electronic books. I think the future of schools will be technology centered, which may not be a bad thing. Since people learn better at a younger age by introducing technology at the younger levels it may be easier for them to understand when newer technology is introduced when the become workers in our society. In the classroom school 2.0 will be the way we change our teaching methods. Instead of standing in front of the classroom talking to our students all day, we can interact with them through things like blogs and social networks. Using technolopgy in the classroom can heighten the students want to learn and help them be more interactive in the classroom. I personally am excited to see the future of technology in our school system.
Thing 4! Commenting!
Commenting is important because it can bring about an interaction with people you may not know or people you may not talk to. It can help you realize that somebody else is having the same thoughts and ideas you are or it can help you by giving you advice for a problem of your own. Commenting can help you better understand the bloggers point of view by asking questions, or you can comment on it to give in put on your experiences with something. I definitley think commenting can be helpful and can help you gain knowledge.
The two posts that I read were Cool Cat Teachers and Ten Techniques to Get More Comments On Your Blog. I enjoyed reading both posts and could see why what they said made perfect sense in the blogging world. I liked the way Cool Cat Teacher said that you should care when you comment. If you comment and just say something like "yeah" or "cool", then your comment could go unnoticed and doesn't really have a point. If you comment saying "Yeah i totally agree because...." then you seem like you care a little more about what the blogger is saying. To go right along with the the Ten Ways post says that you should be humble when you comment or if you are the blogger be humble to your commenters. Saying "Thanks for your opinion" then your readers are much likely to come back to your blog rather than if you just had no response to their comment.
The first blog I commented on was Kelsi Clark's. On Kelsi's blog she said that in the 7 1/2 habits tutorial the last habit, play, was the hardest for her. I can relate because sometimes it is hard to remember to slow down and have a little fun. Another student had commented on her blog saying that you can think of ways to be productive but still relax. Like walking the dog, you can exercise, take the dog out for a walk, and still relax and enjoy the outdoors. I loved that comment!
The second blog i commented on was Lacera's Education 3040-01 blog. Lacera had a wonderful idea about using the blog in an art classroom. Even though I don't want to be an art teacher, I think it is a wonderful idea. It would give students an oportunity to voive their opinion about the artwork. The third blog I commented on was Emily Rittenberry's blog. My comment on her blog was about the idea she had to use the flickr mashups as an introductory project for her students. They could use flickr to put pictures of their hobbies and family members while spelling their name for the classroom. I think it would be a very fun idea and it would also get the creative minds rolling!
The fourth blog I commented on was Samantha Fargis' blog. Her post about thing 2 said that during her blog making process she had some difficulty and I feel like I could relate to that while making my blog and especially my avatar. The last blog I commented on was Caitlin Hayes blog post about the habit number 3 in 7 1/2 Habits. Habit 3 was seeing a problem as a challenge and I shared a peice of advice my mother shared with me, because i also see number 3 as a hard habit.
The two posts that I read were Cool Cat Teachers and Ten Techniques to Get More Comments On Your Blog. I enjoyed reading both posts and could see why what they said made perfect sense in the blogging world. I liked the way Cool Cat Teacher said that you should care when you comment. If you comment and just say something like "yeah" or "cool", then your comment could go unnoticed and doesn't really have a point. If you comment saying "Yeah i totally agree because...." then you seem like you care a little more about what the blogger is saying. To go right along with the the Ten Ways post says that you should be humble when you comment or if you are the blogger be humble to your commenters. Saying "Thanks for your opinion" then your readers are much likely to come back to your blog rather than if you just had no response to their comment.
The first blog I commented on was Kelsi Clark's. On Kelsi's blog she said that in the 7 1/2 habits tutorial the last habit, play, was the hardest for her. I can relate because sometimes it is hard to remember to slow down and have a little fun. Another student had commented on her blog saying that you can think of ways to be productive but still relax. Like walking the dog, you can exercise, take the dog out for a walk, and still relax and enjoy the outdoors. I loved that comment!
The second blog i commented on was Lacera's Education 3040-01 blog. Lacera had a wonderful idea about using the blog in an art classroom. Even though I don't want to be an art teacher, I think it is a wonderful idea. It would give students an oportunity to voive their opinion about the artwork. The third blog I commented on was Emily Rittenberry's blog. My comment on her blog was about the idea she had to use the flickr mashups as an introductory project for her students. They could use flickr to put pictures of their hobbies and family members while spelling their name for the classroom. I think it would be a very fun idea and it would also get the creative minds rolling!
The fourth blog I commented on was Samantha Fargis' blog. Her post about thing 2 said that during her blog making process she had some difficulty and I feel like I could relate to that while making my blog and especially my avatar. The last blog I commented on was Caitlin Hayes blog post about the habit number 3 in 7 1/2 Habits. Habit 3 was seeing a problem as a challenge and I shared a peice of advice my mother shared with me, because i also see number 3 as a hard habit.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Thing 2! Blogging!
I had fun creating my blog and being able to pick a layout and theme for it. Actually creating my blog was the easy part for me. I struggled more trying to figure out where everything was and how to work with the website. I chose to name my blog "23 wonderful things with Manning" because I needed to include my last name and I wanted to ass a little something extra to it so that it was boring. Creating my avatar was fun as well because i got to design a mini me. I chose to make my avatar look as close to the real life me as i could. I wanted it to reflect who I was instead of somebody I wanted to be or somebody who is nothing like me. The directions for creating my blog and avatar were very well explained through the 23 things blog as well as by Mrs. Richardson in class.
Thing 1! Hard Habits!
From the link to the 7 1/2 Habits tutorial I feel like Habit number three is the one hardest for me. Habit 3 is to view problems as challenges. I feel like whenever I encounter a problem, instead of sitting back and analyzing it and figuring out how to fix it, the first thing I do is freak out and think of the worst possible things that could happen. If I changed the way I approached a problem then I probably would not find myself in such stressful situations that aren't ever as bad as they seem.
Habit number one is probably the easiest for me. Habit one is starting with an end in mind, like setting a goal before you start something. I feel like this is easy for me because I am a very organized and structured person. Before i ever start a project or paper I always set a schedule on when I will work on what part. Everyday I have a list of things I need to get done that day and I know those are my goals for the day. Not only do I have short term goals, but I also have longterm goals for myself.
Habit number one is probably the easiest for me. Habit one is starting with an end in mind, like setting a goal before you start something. I feel like this is easy for me because I am a very organized and structured person. Before i ever start a project or paper I always set a schedule on when I will work on what part. Everyday I have a list of things I need to get done that day and I know those are my goals for the day. Not only do I have short term goals, but I also have longterm goals for myself.
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