iGoogle is a very neat Google tool that gives you your own personal homepage where you can add just about anything to your homepage. My iGoogle homepage allows me to see if I have any new emails, RSS feeds that are unread, weather forecast, calendar, horoscope, and my notebook all in one place. You can customize your page by changing the theme and adding applications that are interesting to you. This saves me a lot of time because I can just visit my iGoogle page to see if I have any unread emails, unread RSS feeds, and even check the weather all at the same place. Students could use this in school to become more organized by setting up their homepage to suit their needs. The students can use the calendar to keep track of homework and assignments coming up and display that on there homepage. Also there are a lot of educational gadgets that the students can post on their homepage and if they want they can learn a different word of the day in different languages or learn to use sign language, just to name a few.
Google notebook is now one of my favorite Google tools to use. I am sure by reading some of my previous blogs you can tell that I love to cook. I am constantly looking for new healthy recipes to make. If I find a recipe that I like I use to just send it to me email and store it in a folder. The recipes that I store in my email folder often get lost. With Google Notebook I can copy and paste everything and post it in my notebook. I made my notebook public to share with others. Feel free to take a look at my Healthy Recipes notebook and maybe you can get an idea on what to make for dinner. I think this would be a great tool to use for educational purposes too. Students can research topics and keep everything that they find on the web in one place. This will save students time by not having to keep visiting the same websites over and over again because they will have all there resources in one place. I also like the fact that they can share there notes because the teacher can check up on the students research progress to make sure the student is on the right track.
I was never aware of all the tools that Google had before taking this class and now I feel more knowledgeable and organized just by using Google tools. I always thought Google was a great search engine but now I couldn't live without all the tools that Google offers.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thing #11 (Finding Good Feeds)
The method of finding feeds that I found to be the easiest was searching through Google. Google is amazing I am still wondering how we ever managed to use the Internet without this wonderful tool that does everything. I didn't like the search tool Syndic8.com. When I went to the website to find feeds I felt overwhelmed with all the information all over the page. Plus when I went to search for feeds that I was interested in the site did not give me feeds that I was interested in like Google. I subscribe to a couple of educational feeds like always learning, edublogger, coolcat teacher, CNN feed on elementary education, and faculty focused. I am also following the local Clarksville newspaper the Leaf Chronicle to keep up on local events along with some health and wellness feeds. The best tool that I think for finding RSS feeds is just looking at your toolbar next to the websites that you typed in. If there is an RSS feed to the website you go to on a normal bases you will see the RSS feed symbol located in the far right of the tool bar. I was never aware of what an RSS feed was until doing my blogs. I actually always wondered what that little symbol meant in my website toolbar and now I am aware of what it does. I will be putting this to good use now that I am aware of RSS.
Thing #10 (RSS Readers and Add Feeds)
The reader that I went with was the Google Reader. Google reader is the most convenient reader for me to use since I already have a Google account so now I can access my mail, blog, and now my reader all in one place. With Google Reader it automatically incorporated all the blogs I was following in the class into my reader.
What I really like about RSS is how convenient it is to view blogs, websites, and information all in one place. I feel like this will save me so much time because I don't have to visit and check things every single day because my reader will let me know when there is an update. Also I like that everything that you haven't read is in bold lettering making it easy to find who has update information. I will be using this web tool everyday from here on out.
Teachers can use this RSS tool in school. I now subscribe to a couple of education blogs and news feeds. I believe this will help a teacher keep up to date on educational news and even get new ideas on how to do something in the classroom. They can even subscribe to technology news feeds so as soon as something new comes out the teacher already knows about the information. Then the teacher can try to get that technology into her classroom to help teach the students improve their learning. Teachers can also have there students keep blogs to post assignments or projects and with RSS the teacher can have all the blogs in one place without visiting all the blog sites.
What I really like about RSS is how convenient it is to view blogs, websites, and information all in one place. I feel like this will save me so much time because I don't have to visit and check things every single day because my reader will let me know when there is an update. Also I like that everything that you haven't read is in bold lettering making it easy to find who has update information. I will be using this web tool everyday from here on out.
Teachers can use this RSS tool in school. I now subscribe to a couple of education blogs and news feeds. I believe this will help a teacher keep up to date on educational news and even get new ideas on how to do something in the classroom. They can even subscribe to technology news feeds so as soon as something new comes out the teacher already knows about the information. Then the teacher can try to get that technology into her classroom to help teach the students improve their learning. Teachers can also have there students keep blogs to post assignments or projects and with RSS the teacher can have all the blogs in one place without visiting all the blog sites.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thing #9 (Online Image Generators)
Customized Cereal Box
I thought making this was fun, who wouldn't want to be on cereal box. On this site you can choose many different frames to upload your photos too. The process is really easy and all the preson has to do is deceide what frame they want to use (which is the hard part, so many choices) and click on upload image. This will transfer your image into the frame you selected. There are even cropping options so you can crop your picture to get the desired effect you want. I guess you can make your students feel special by uploading there photos onto magazine covers, cereal boxes, or other appropriate frames so they could tape them to their desk or even give them to their parents as gifts.
Garbage Pail Kids Trading Cards
I don't know if anyone remembers these trading cards but when I was a kid I collected them. They came with a cheap piece of gum that would fall apart in your mouth. The cards seemed to disgusted parents but me and my friends loved them. They where not around for very long due to the graphic nature of the cards. This image generator was easy to use. All you had to do was pick the card and type the words you wanted to appear on the card. I would never use this image genorator in the classroom because these trading cards are not appropriate for little kids but I had to play around with these because it brought me back to my childhood.
Word Mosaic
Another easy image generator to use because all you do is have to type or paste the words you want into your mosaic into the text box provided and it will upload everything for you. The word mosaic gives people the option to change the shape, colors, and fonts. This is something that can definitely be used in the classroom to get the creativity juices flowing in children with writing.
Thing #8 (Flickr Mashups)
Pop Art
Spell with Flickr
I would use the Flickr Common section in my future classroom. The common section shows pictures of the "hidden treasures of the world public photography archive." Flickr also partnered with the Library of Congress on the Common section. The pictures in the Commons section show historical events and people which I think would be very educational for the children to look at. The children could also use the mosaic mashups function to combined different pictures from the same event to show the event better. Also the mappr mashup would be great for the children to use in the classroom by allowing the kids to but pictures of events on the map. This will show the children how much they have learned about things from where they took place on a map.
I would also use these applications in my personal life too. Playing with all of the applications that are associated with Flickr put a fun twist on your pictures. I like the pop art mashup application. I would like to put a pop art picture in a frame or even give the picture as a gift. It does get a bit addicting playing with the different applications that you can use with Flickr because I spent a lot of time changing things and uploading different pictures to see how that image would look instead.
I think photo sharing on-line is a great tool. I think it is a shame that some photos are copyrighted and can't be used without permission. I think if you are using the photo for educational purposes that you should be able to use the photo without jumping through hoops. I do like how most sites give you the option to search photos that can be used for reuse so you won't be breaking any laws. Personal photos I am a bit weary on sharing them unless I personally know the person because I wouldn't want complete strangers having picture of me or my family.
Thing #7 (Exploring Flickr)
While exploring the website Flickr I found many interesting photos all over the site. I could have spent all day looking and searching for all different kinds of photos people have taken. I love the last 7 days interesting tab because it shows a wide variety of different types of photos that have been uploaded recently.The photo I choose named U was taken by Spapax of a rainy night at the Panathenaic Stadium. The reason I choose this picture is because it has been rainy for the pasted week. When the weather is cruddy outside I feel a bit depressed since I feel like I am confined inside all day. I think it is strange sometimes how the weather can affect your mood. When I look at this picture of all the different umbrellas it doesn't make a rainy day look so bad. It actually makes a rainy day look more colorful and pleasant.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thing #6 (Discovering Web 2,0 Tools)
I'm Cooked was awarded the number one award among the Web 2.0 food website nominees. This site is a web community for video recipe sharing. If you don't want to post a video of yourself cooking you can watch other people cook many different recipes.
I like to cook and I am constantly looking to cook different things. Cookbooks often just list how to do everything and you usually do not get to see a picture of the finished product. With this site you can make sure you are preparing the recipe correctly. I know I have often made things that tasted good but didn't quite look like the picture. Seeing the steps allows me to make sure that I am doing everything correctly so it will turn out the way it is supposed too. The quality of some of the videos where not as good of quality, which made it hard to see what the person was doing. I wish that the site also listed a written version of the recipe along with the video so if you missed something you had a list to follow along with the video.
The site did have a few useful features. One obvious feature is being able to upload your cooking videos on to the site for others to view or even to connect with by making them your friend. You are also able to rate and comment on the videos. The site also has a search feature so you can limit your search result to the recipe you are looking for. If you are not quite sure what you want to cook, the site divides videos into channels to help better organize the cooking videos. You can also join a group or even create a group with people with similar cooking interest.
I can see this this application being used in Home Economics classes. I know when I took Home Economics in high school we did a section on cooking. This would be a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom by showing the students how to prepare something before they have to prepare the recipe themselves. You could even have the students do a project where they have to make a video of them cooking and post it on the site and present it to the class that way.
I like to cook and I am constantly looking to cook different things. Cookbooks often just list how to do everything and you usually do not get to see a picture of the finished product. With this site you can make sure you are preparing the recipe correctly. I know I have often made things that tasted good but didn't quite look like the picture. Seeing the steps allows me to make sure that I am doing everything correctly so it will turn out the way it is supposed too. The quality of some of the videos where not as good of quality, which made it hard to see what the person was doing. I wish that the site also listed a written version of the recipe along with the video so if you missed something you had a list to follow along with the video.
The site did have a few useful features. One obvious feature is being able to upload your cooking videos on to the site for others to view or even to connect with by making them your friend. You are also able to rate and comment on the videos. The site also has a search feature so you can limit your search result to the recipe you are looking for. If you are not quite sure what you want to cook, the site divides videos into channels to help better organize the cooking videos. You can also join a group or even create a group with people with similar cooking interest.
I can see this this application being used in Home Economics classes. I know when I took Home Economics in high school we did a section on cooking. This would be a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom by showing the students how to prepare something before they have to prepare the recipe themselves. You could even have the students do a project where they have to make a video of them cooking and post it on the site and present it to the class that way.
Thing #5
"Web 2.0 is not about version numbers or betas" talked about the web as a platform to build on to, to enhance our life's. I think it is interesting how the web is always evolving everyday. We went from just being able to search for limited things on the Internet to being able to interact with people from across the globe. I am just wonder what the web will evolve into next since new technologies emerging everyday.
Another article I found interesting was "new Literacies: Enrichment or Essential." This article points out many good points on technology in the classroom whether is is enrichment or essential to the students. The one thing that caught my attention is the use of blogs and wiki technology in the classroom. Most students already use social networking sites to blog and keep connected with friends. Schools can benefit through this by keeping connected with students and having them do activities and post them to there on-line site. By incorporating more of this into the classroom School 2.0 can become a quicker reality but is doing this enrichment or essential. I believe with the way technology keeps getting more and more advanced it is both of these terms. It will enrich the children and it is also essential for the child's future endeavors since the workplace will be incorporating technologies into their future jobs.
School 2.0 means to me that eventually we may be not only teaching our students from the classroom but they will also be learning at home where not only the teacher would be teaching but also the parents and the community that the student resides by using technology resources. Technology will be incorporate more into the students education which will provide a broader aspect of learning to the students. I am still weary of this happening because not everyone can afford certain technologies at home. In order for this to happen we would need to make sure that everyone had a computer with Internet capability or have resources available for them to access School 2.0 that would be available for the students to use.
What this means for schools in the future is that schools will incorporate more technologies into teaching students. School 2.0 can help deal with overcrowding in schools since students wouldn't be present in school all the time due to learning at home and through the community with technology. All schools would have to have more technology and keep up to date on the latest technology so that students can always be up to date. More classes would also have to be offered on how to use different technology so that the students can be successful with school 2.0 and know what is effective and learn about the new tools that can help them with there education.
Another article I found interesting was "new Literacies: Enrichment or Essential." This article points out many good points on technology in the classroom whether is is enrichment or essential to the students. The one thing that caught my attention is the use of blogs and wiki technology in the classroom. Most students already use social networking sites to blog and keep connected with friends. Schools can benefit through this by keeping connected with students and having them do activities and post them to there on-line site. By incorporating more of this into the classroom School 2.0 can become a quicker reality but is doing this enrichment or essential. I believe with the way technology keeps getting more and more advanced it is both of these terms. It will enrich the children and it is also essential for the child's future endeavors since the workplace will be incorporating technologies into their future jobs.
School 2.0 means to me that eventually we may be not only teaching our students from the classroom but they will also be learning at home where not only the teacher would be teaching but also the parents and the community that the student resides by using technology resources. Technology will be incorporate more into the students education which will provide a broader aspect of learning to the students. I am still weary of this happening because not everyone can afford certain technologies at home. In order for this to happen we would need to make sure that everyone had a computer with Internet capability or have resources available for them to access School 2.0 that would be available for the students to use.
What this means for schools in the future is that schools will incorporate more technologies into teaching students. School 2.0 can help deal with overcrowding in schools since students wouldn't be present in school all the time due to learning at home and through the community with technology. All schools would have to have more technology and keep up to date on the latest technology so that students can always be up to date. More classes would also have to be offered on how to use different technology so that the students can be successful with school 2.0 and know what is effective and learn about the new tools that can help them with there education.
Thing #4 (Why Commenting is Important)
Commenting on others blogs helps create a sense of community and interaction among the blogger and the readers. When a reader leaves a meaningful comment to the blog the blogger feels good about their post and will often keep posting more blogs. The blogger may even comment on what the reader has said getting them even more involved in there blog. This action will make other readers feel free to leave comments or even start following some of the other readers blogs just based on their comments that they left. Just by doing this you are getting to know each other and start to feel like your in your own blogging community.
Two other points from the reading that I found to be important was criticize kindly and invite comments to increase your comment numbers on your blog. People may not always agree with you and you may not always agree with them but it is important that when you comment you criticize kindly. By pointing out the things that you agree with will help the blogger not feel attacked and then kindly state where you differ. If you want more people to comment on your blog let the reader know that they are free to leave comments. This will allow the reader to feel comfortable leaving comments on your blogs and give the blogger more feedback and comments.
The five blogs that I am following through Education 5540 class are: Cynthia Smith, Kimberly Novitske, Jake Null, Anita Hicks, and Emma Burton. The other two blogs outside of class I follow is Bob Harper who is a trainer from the television show the Biggest Loser. I have been following his blog for awhile because February of this year I decided it was time to start living a healthier lifestyle. He gives people motivation to eat right and exercise plus on his blog site you can become a member and track progress and get helpful tips on how to eat right and exercise. The other blog that I just started following is called Food Snob: More than Just a Picky Eater. I choose to follow this blog because it is inspired by one of my favorite cookbooks called the Hungry Girl which offers healthier versions of some of your favorite foods. Sometimes the food you love isn't always good for you so it is nice to have a healthier version of your favorite foods by substituting certain ingredients to make it better for you.
I believe the comments that you chose to make should be meaningful and show the blogger that wrote it that you can relate to them in some way. So far I have made a couple comments on my other classmates blogs. One of the classmates posted a wonderful picture and when she discussed the picture it made you feel inspired so I wanted to comment on what she posted and let her know that I could relate in some way and appreciate the meaning behind the picture she posted.
Sometimes a blog can inform you of things that you where not aware of. I think is is very helpful to comment on someones blog if they make you aware of something that you did not already know before. I made a comment on one of my classmates blog that informed me about a Web 2.0 tool that I didn't even know existed that would be a very useful tool for me to use. I wanted to let the blogger know that this is a great tool that I wish I would have known about earlier because it could have been very useful.
Another blog that I follow asked questions at the end of their blog posting. I felt after reading there blog that I needed to make a comment because the blogger made me feel like my opinion matters. Also I think the blogger wanted people to comment so they could see other peoples point of views on the subject matter.
Two other points from the reading that I found to be important was criticize kindly and invite comments to increase your comment numbers on your blog. People may not always agree with you and you may not always agree with them but it is important that when you comment you criticize kindly. By pointing out the things that you agree with will help the blogger not feel attacked and then kindly state where you differ. If you want more people to comment on your blog let the reader know that they are free to leave comments. This will allow the reader to feel comfortable leaving comments on your blogs and give the blogger more feedback and comments.
The five blogs that I am following through Education 5540 class are: Cynthia Smith, Kimberly Novitske, Jake Null, Anita Hicks, and Emma Burton. The other two blogs outside of class I follow is Bob Harper who is a trainer from the television show the Biggest Loser. I have been following his blog for awhile because February of this year I decided it was time to start living a healthier lifestyle. He gives people motivation to eat right and exercise plus on his blog site you can become a member and track progress and get helpful tips on how to eat right and exercise. The other blog that I just started following is called Food Snob: More than Just a Picky Eater. I choose to follow this blog because it is inspired by one of my favorite cookbooks called the Hungry Girl which offers healthier versions of some of your favorite foods. Sometimes the food you love isn't always good for you so it is nice to have a healthier version of your favorite foods by substituting certain ingredients to make it better for you.
I believe the comments that you chose to make should be meaningful and show the blogger that wrote it that you can relate to them in some way. So far I have made a couple comments on my other classmates blogs. One of the classmates posted a wonderful picture and when she discussed the picture it made you feel inspired so I wanted to comment on what she posted and let her know that I could relate in some way and appreciate the meaning behind the picture she posted.
Sometimes a blog can inform you of things that you where not aware of. I think is is very helpful to comment on someones blog if they make you aware of something that you did not already know before. I made a comment on one of my classmates blog that informed me about a Web 2.0 tool that I didn't even know existed that would be a very useful tool for me to use. I wanted to let the blogger know that this is a great tool that I wish I would have known about earlier because it could have been very useful.
Another blog that I follow asked questions at the end of their blog posting. I felt after reading there blog that I needed to make a comment because the blogger made me feel like my opinion matters. Also I think the blogger wanted people to comment so they could see other peoples point of views on the subject matter.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Thing #3 (Ways that I might use blogs for teaching)
I think blogging would be very helpful tool for me to use while teaching. I think any social network that gives teachers more knowledge and in site is a helpful tool. Blogging just gives it a more personal touch because you can connect with real life teachers and gain insight on their knowledge and experiences. You can then share fun and creative ideas on how to teach certain subjects/concepts so the children can have a better understanding of the content. Also if something didn't work the way you wanted it to you can always seek advice to see what you could have done differently to make the outcome better.
I would also like to use blogs to keep the parents of the children I am teaching up to date on important dates and projects that would be coming up. I want to teach early elementary education so I don't think it would be in the right age group to have an interactive blog site for my students. I do think it is important to try to build a professional relationship with the parents and get them involved with their child's education. The parent then can incorporate what the child is learning into there normal conversation through out the day to fully engage the child's learning potential. Also, if the child is struggling in a certain subject area the parent can be aware of it and help their child to better understand the subject matter outside the classroom. I would also like to post pictures of projects and artwork so that the parents can be proud of what their children are accomplishing in school.
I would also like to use blogs to keep the parents of the children I am teaching up to date on important dates and projects that would be coming up. I want to teach early elementary education so I don't think it would be in the right age group to have an interactive blog site for my students. I do think it is important to try to build a professional relationship with the parents and get them involved with their child's education. The parent then can incorporate what the child is learning into there normal conversation through out the day to fully engage the child's learning potential. Also, if the child is struggling in a certain subject area the parent can be aware of it and help their child to better understand the subject matter outside the classroom. I would also like to post pictures of projects and artwork so that the parents can be proud of what their children are accomplishing in school.
Thing #2 (Experience creating my blog and avatar)
The reason I named my blog Sylvia's 23 things is because I am a very organized person and wanted to name it after the project the blog was created for. If I continue to blog after the project I may rename it something different depending what I intend to blog about in the future.
At first I was skeptical of blogging but after posting my first blog I realized it wasn't that bad. It is just odd knowing that your thoughts and opinions are out there on the internet for anyone to read. Thank goodness for privacy settings that allow you to choose who can read your blogs. I do like the fact that editing your blogs are easy so that if you want to add something later you have the option to add to your post. When I first posted thing one I realized I left out some important details I wanted to add but had no problem adding the new information.
It did take me a little longer to try to figure out how to add the avatar but after browsing my settings I figured it out. I did create an avatar that looks like me. The reason I choose to create an avatar that looks like me is because I am happy being who I am. I wanted my avatar to have a happy expression because I have a happy outlook on life and like to remain postive even when things are not going so well.
At first I was skeptical of blogging but after posting my first blog I realized it wasn't that bad. It is just odd knowing that your thoughts and opinions are out there on the internet for anyone to read. Thank goodness for privacy settings that allow you to choose who can read your blogs. I do like the fact that editing your blogs are easy so that if you want to add something later you have the option to add to your post. When I first posted thing one I realized I left out some important details I wanted to add but had no problem adding the new information.
It did take me a little longer to try to figure out how to add the avatar but after browsing my settings I figured it out. I did create an avatar that looks like me. The reason I choose to create an avatar that looks like me is because I am happy being who I am. I wanted my avatar to have a happy expression because I have a happy outlook on life and like to remain postive even when things are not going so well.
Thing 1 (7 & 1/2 Habits Tutorial)
This is my very first blog post. Blogging is still very new to me but the page seems fairly easy to set up since it is like most social networking sites I have been on expect that I will be writing blogs. I am not sure if I am a fan of the blogging but who knows maybe it will start to grow on me as the weeks pass. So here it is, my very first blog post about the 7 and 1/2 habits. Feel free to leave comments. By learning about web 2.0 tools I hope to find many other resources that I can use in the classroom to help the children I teach learn the material in a fun creative way.
I liked the online tutorial about the 7 and 1/2 habits because I felt like I obtained more of the information from the presentation than just reading it from a text book. I can see why technology in the classroom can play such a vital role in learning information. The easiest habit for me is habit number three, "View problems as challenges". I believe this habit is easiest for me because when I encounter a problem, I am always looking for a way to overcome the problem. I just don't give up when a problem occurs because that would not solve anything and I would not learn from my obstacles. All the problems I have encountered in my life has taught me not to make the same mistakes again and think more efficiently when trying to solve a problem to have a better outcome. The hardest habit for me is number four, "Have confidence in yourself as a competent effective learner." I often doubt myself sometimes. I do not know the reason why I doubt myself when it comes to learning new things because I have always done well in school. I just need to overcome the fact that there is always going to be someone out there that is more intelligent than me in some areas. I just need to gain more confidence in myself that I am an effective learner.
I liked the online tutorial about the 7 and 1/2 habits because I felt like I obtained more of the information from the presentation than just reading it from a text book. I can see why technology in the classroom can play such a vital role in learning information. The easiest habit for me is habit number three, "View problems as challenges". I believe this habit is easiest for me because when I encounter a problem, I am always looking for a way to overcome the problem. I just don't give up when a problem occurs because that would not solve anything and I would not learn from my obstacles. All the problems I have encountered in my life has taught me not to make the same mistakes again and think more efficiently when trying to solve a problem to have a better outcome. The hardest habit for me is number four, "Have confidence in yourself as a competent effective learner." I often doubt myself sometimes. I do not know the reason why I doubt myself when it comes to learning new things because I have always done well in school. I just need to overcome the fact that there is always going to be someone out there that is more intelligent than me in some areas. I just need to gain more confidence in myself that I am an effective learner.
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