Thing #12

First of all, let me start by saying this: I LOVE GOOGLE! :)  Google has helped me win several arguments, it has helped me answer my random questions, and has confirmed what I already thought to be correct. I use google at least two times per day, and I am not ashamed! Ok, with that being said... let's do this...

I used google translator. I have used this several times before, just to see if what I was doing in Spanish was correct, but it's not always correct. In the English language, we use the same words for several meanings, and Spanish does the same, with less variation, so they don't always translate properly. I played around and used the phrase "I think that would like to go to the mall today. Maybe I will ask my sister to join me. Perhaps she would like that." and the Spanish translation is "Creo que me gustaría ir al centro comercial hoy en día. Tal vez voy a pedir a mi hermana que me acompañara. Tal vez le gustaría eso." Now, if I try to translate back to English, I may not get the same thing! It actually says "I think I'd go to the mall today. Maybe I will ask my sister to accompany me. Maybe you'd like that."

Picasa is also a very cool tool to have for photo editing! Photo editing was once a disc that you had to purchase, (for big bucks!) but now you can access that all online. It is simple, and much less time consuming!

Yep, I STILL LOVE GOOGLE! :)

Thing #11

I found http://technorati.com/ to be pretty easy to navigate. I found it to be the easiest for me. I really prefer google over any of these though.
www.topix.net was my least favorite. It brought me straight to Clarksville's news, and had some pretty inappropriate material that I would never want to be associated with. This makes it the most confusing and interesting, I suppose.
The most useful would be the technorati.com website, because it had some stuff that I could use.

Thing #10

I really like the RSS and newsreaders. I have several different sites that I visit often, and this way I can just look at the blogs all in one place. I knew that there was a way to do this, but I was only familiar with the apps on my phone that allowed this. I think that I can use this technology in my classroom by using articles that I am interested in, and I can learn from others ideas for their classrooms. I can see what did and didn't work for their students. Education is constantly changing, and if I can see new ideas all in one place, that saves me a ton of time!I am not sure how to add my reader as public, and the help site wasn't working, so I added it to my google, if you want to access it, you can try to from here! here are a few of the sites that I subscribed to so maybe you can check them out. paleomg.com    crossfitsolafide.com

Thing #9

http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/

http://www.dangersigngenerator.com/

These generators can be a lot of fun to use for classrooms. You can make funny signs for students and even use characters that they like on movies or tv!

Thing #8

This is my collage! I made it using the facebook app "Mosaic maker" 

This tool can also be used with flickr. I think that it would be a great way to teach my elementary students about different things. If I want them to identify different land types, this would be a great way to have them label each. It would also be a great way to let them see different images side-by side- so that they know what to look for and how to identify differences.
My feelings about sharing photos online are very open. I have been using social media sites since I was 18, so this doesn't come as a new concept to me. I think that it is a great way to keep in touch with family members that you wouldn't see otherwise. Christmas cards with family photos are a thing of the past. It is much easier to upload some candid photos of your kids for the entire world to see!

Thing #7

380819_657394005618_2008835664_n, a photo by jessicastewie on Flickr.

I added this photo to my blog for thing #7!

Thing #6

I chose Facebook for my thing #6. I am incredibly familiar with this site, as I began using it in 2004 when it was only available to college students. I was a freshman in 2004, and there were only a few people from Austin Peay on this site, most were only using myspace (a thing of the past now). I think that facebook is a wonderful tool for both personal social interactions and promotions for businesses. For teachers, discretion should be strongly encouraged, just to be on the safe side. This tool should not really be used for the classroom, because it can be abused entirely too easily. There were no outlets for library usage that I could find.
webware award for facebook

Thing #5

After reading a little more on Web2.0, it looks like it is only really defined by what can become of the internet. It can be used for several different things, which is what the 23 things will be teaching us! Most people don't realize that there really is an unlimited resource out there on the internet, and with just a little digging, you can do anything within reason! Technology is developing more and more each day and the possibilities are becoming much less limited every minute. Technology is so exciting!

To me, web2.0 just means the internet for it's many possible uses. We can use if for business, schools, personal use, etc. It really just means what can happen next with the internet. For schools now and of the future, this means that students have many more resources available to them for research and development of ideas. 

Thing #4

Commenting on blogs can be a great way to connect with others who are teaching across the US, or even worldwide. I think that it is a great way to share ideas about what does and does not work with students as far as educational ideas with students within the same grade. For example, if I am teaching 3rd grade, I might follow a blog of another 3rd grade teacher in Montana. I will comment on his/her classroom ideas and try to use a few in my own classroom. I would also comment on his/her blog and s/he would probably comment back on mine so that the sharing of ideas is constant. This is a great way to encourage each other to try new things to see what works best! This creates a great sense of community for teachers across the US, because eventually we will all be teaching the same thing at the same time!
A few of the points of reading and commenting that I found important were: 1) To get input from peers 2)To learn new ideas and concepts from others 3) To let others know that you appreciate them sharing ideas.
I commented on Kilmer's Thing #1 to say a quick hello and let him know that I look forward to working with everyone on the 23 things. 
I commented on Jeri Thomas's Thing #12 to let her know that I cannot wait to play around with the translator.
I commented on Margaret McCoy's thing #3 saying "I really like your idea about children posting their work to blogs! Parents can easily monitor their progress that way! Also having them post questions is also a great idea because I know most kids will not ask questions in class for fear of humiliation."
I commented on Taylor Bumpus's thing #1 to let her know that I too succeed and struggle with the same learning habits.
I commented on Sunny Peterson's things 5&6 to let her know that I am also intimidated by technology at times, but find no problem with using it for personal use.