Thing # 7



When starting my this task, I haven't ever heard of Flickr. I didn't have a clue of what type of picture I was even going to search for. Once I got on the website, I quickly realized the endless possibilities of subjects for my photo selection. I saw options such as "most popular" and "top seven photos for the week." I started browsing through the pictures from these categories and lost track of time being consumed by the beautiful photos. Tommy Forbes is the photographer who took this photo. I found his work stunningly beautiful. This was taken in New Zealand. Since I loved this photo, I wanted to look at his other work. I could view all his previous albums my looking on the tab of this page. Also Flickr makes it easy to share photos. By clicking the share tab you have a choice of either emailing, copying the link, or sending the photo directly to your blog. Searching for a photo is easy. You can type in the keyword or the name of the contributor to find the desired photo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tommyforbes/4978478584/in/photostream/

Thing # 6

From list of Web 2.0 awards, I chose the tool Writely to work learn about. Writely, which is part of Google Docs, allows you to create documents online. You can make word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations online. You can also collaborate with others because Writely allows you to share these documents with others. Furthermore, it allows you to store up to 1GB of data. This tool was extremely easy to use. I simply typed in the address and q window pops up that looks like your email inbox. You then pick which type of document you would like to create. I decided to try a simple word document. I could choose to either keep the document private or share with whoever. You can share with others by typing in their email address. I think this is an excellent tool to use in the classrooms. As a first grade teacher, my six year olds wouldn't have much use for it considering it takes them two minutes to type their name, but I can see middle and high school grades using this frequently. If students are working on an assignment at school, they don't have to worry about having a jump drive to save it to, or worrying about losing their work if the computer crashes because their work is saved on the google servers. If students created their documents here, they wouldn't have to bring up their email accounts to send to the teacher or other classmates. This would be great for everything from typed homework assignments to assigning a group written report. Writely makes collaborating with others as simple as one click of the mouse. This is also beneficial for students who want to work on their assignments from home but can't because they don't have Microsoft Office to create spreadsheets or word processor. All they need is an Internet connection to continue editing their work.

www.writely.com

Thing # 5

Web 2.0 doesn't mean a new version of the world wide web, but a change in the way people are using the internet. In the past, schools used the internet as a read only source of information. It was to expensive and time consuming to create webpages. Today, non-techincal people are using the web for many things in their daily routinues.Web 2.0 refers to the many opportunities that are being used to build upon the web such as blogs, podcasts, wiki, RSS, social networking, and tagging. I think School 2.0 will follow the same guidelines as Web 2.0. It won’t be a totally new version, but a change in the way we do things. In the past, one room schools used a small chalkboard for instruction. Then, technology allowed photo printing and textbooks became the means for teaching and learning. We are now moving to electronic tools as the new change. The New Media Consortium Horizon works to identify new technology to be used in education. They have identified tools such as grassroot videos, collaborative webs, and social operating systems. School 2.0 will utilize technology over the regular pencil and paper method. It will also use communication tools such as wiki, blogs, social networking, and RSS as a way for students to learn and interact with each other. Allow students to experience these tools in school will have them excited and engaged considering they already use these tools in their spare time. As a teacher, I see the impact that technology has on student learning in my classroom every day. In the future, it will be common to see these technology tools being utilized as part of the daily instructional methods.    

Thing # 4

Commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction because it validates the author and readers. The article Your Comments from the Blue Skunk Blog pointed out that bloggers obviously want people to make comments because this lets them know they are thinking about what they have just read. It was also said that people who don't care what others think or are "just doing it for themselves" wouldn't have a blog but a spiral notebook instead. If you do have a blog, it's important to respond to the comments left by the readers.You should at least be appreciative that they have taken the time to comment on your thoughts. This helps in creating a relationship between the writer and readers. The readers want to have a sense they are appreciated too. I thought it was interesting that there is etiquette for blogging. I'm not into the whole twitter and blogging thing so I've never heard of this stuff until now. I especially have never heard of the term "trolling" which basically means don't be a troll by leaving comments that will stir up emotional feelings. Even though I don't follow blogs, that is common sense to me. Like moms always say, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all." The blog called "How to Comment Like a King or Queen" says not to be afraid of commenting which I think is important. Sometimes people might not want to comment until they know more information, but they could add another perspective on the issue.

I have chosen to comment on the following classmates' blogs:

1. Keri Lehman
2. Tamika Jones
3. Savannah Elaine
4. K. Michelle Moore
5. Tabitha Sirmans

Other Blogs:

1. CoolCat Teacher
2. Teaching Tipz

I didn't really choose specific people's blogs to comment on. All of my comments were made when just reading other's blogs throughout this assignment. If I came across someone's blog that gave me a new idea or perspective, I made a comment. I also asked some people questions.

Thing # 3

After I realized how simple it is to create a blog, I immediately started thinking of ways to use it in my classroom. Since I teach first grade, I wouldn't use blogs for student use considering their age. Instead, I would use this as a communication tool for parents. Currently, I have a webpage on our school website where I post things like the story for the week, spelling words, activities for parents to do at home, and information on what we are studying for each week. I would much rather prefer to use a blog than my school website to communicate this information because I can only update my webpage on my school computer. By using a blog, I can update the information from anywhere making it more convenient for me. In addition, parents can ask questions and make comments on the blog, which they can't do on the webpage. I think using a blog makes perfect sense when trying to communicate with parents of my grade level.

Thing #2

Creating this blog was very simple. It took me under ten minutes. I love the avatar. When I read the directions on how to add the avatar, I thought it would be complicated. It took me less than two minutes to figure out how to post my avatar to my blog. For my posting name, I decided to use my real name. Brittany Adams is such a common name so I'm not concerned about privacy issues. I went pretty basic and chose a Brit's Blog as the name of my blog because it's general and broad. If I set up a blog for my classroom, I would change the title to something that reflects the purpose of that blog. The avatar I created is a representation of myself. I picked a fun background for my avatar that is colorful. I used my hair and eye color when making the avatar. Also, the wardrobe reflects my personality. I wanted the avatar to reflect me since this is my blog.

Thing #1

The easiest habit for me is using technology to my advantage. I use technology daily for communicating and for learning purposes. Youtube is a website that I frequently use for learning. I have learned how to replace the screen on my Ipod and how to change my bathroom facets from utilizing technology.

I find habit three, looking at problems as challenges, the most difficult. Whenever I encounter a problem, I look at it as added stress.  I have learned from problems in the past. If I would approach it as a challenge instead, I would not only learn from the experience but also have a better attitude about the situation being faced.

I hope to learn more ways to implement technology into my classroom from Web 2.0 Tools. Until now I have had no experience related to blogs. Setting up this blog was suprisingly simple. I love the avatars. I haven't heard of avatars before given this assignment. I now realize what little effort it takes for both students and teachers to utilizing blogs for teaching and learning.