Thing #10 Learn about RSS Feeds

I signed up for Google Reader. I did not realize there was something like this. I am happy to have updates on things I look at all of the time iinstead of looking at each site. I signed up for several newspapers, celebrity gossip sites, my friends's blogs, educational sites, etc. This will be helpful in the classroom for up to date information on research topics.

My Star

Thing #9 Online Image Generators

These Online Image Generators sites were fun to work with. I made this picture on the Online Sign Generator site http://www.customsigngenerator.com/ On this site you can make graphics with your own pictures or with text. Students could use these for a creative touch to their projects. In Social Studies with the election coming up I see great possibilities for the students to work with these ideas. I liked the fake magazine covers, also.

I made the star above on Image Chef www.imagechef.com/

Thing #8 More fun with Flikr

I explored the Flikr Color picker which was neat.

My daughter wanted me to spell her name with the Spell with Flikr. She had a good time changing thimages over and over in her name
http://metaatem.net/words/Tabitha

I made a mosaic picture with the Mosaic Maker.
http://bighugelabs.com/photos/5d0e2db09c040551c7e46ac4fbedcbc6/mosaic6642357

All of these would be useful for projects in the classroom. My students could find pictures that go along with a topic in Social Studies to make a mosaic or to spell a word with pictures. Are these sites blocked by the school district?

I am not being successful at transferring the things I make to my blog.

Thing #7 Explore Flikr

I did not know that a site like this existed. You can find any kind of image imaginable. I put in the keyword beach-Mexico and thousands and thousands of photos came up. I chose this topic because that is where I wish I was. My husband and I went to Cancun 4 years ago and had a great time. I picked a photo of of the first few pages that reminded me of my memory of the beach.

This is the url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debm01/2121823728/

This was a photo by Photo7070

I tried to upload the image but it would not work on my post. I tried several times. I will try again. When I do it just shows a little red x where the piture should be.

I went to the 23 thingers group and viewed pictures. I also put in the tag of Mesquite and viewed those pictures.

Thing #6 Explore a site from Web 2.0

I chose to go to the piknik site. http://www.piknik.com/
It sounded interesting. I have always wanted to do something with my saved pictures.

This is the description from the site:
Fix your photos in just one click
Use advanced controls to fine-tune your results
Crop, resize, and rotate in real-time
Tons of special effects, from artsy to fun
Astoundingly fast, right in your browser
Awesome fonts and top-quality type tool
Basketfuls of shapes from hand-picked designers

I picked one of my pictures to work with. I soften it up and it made the picture look alot better. I actually opened a my space account and put the picture on it. I am so proud of myself that I figured it out. I know I am a little behind the times but I finally have time this summer to take time to figure out some things.

I just figured out how to add a new picture to my blog page. Yeah!

Thing #5 School 2.0

Reading the articles about Web 2.o and School 2.0 really overwhelmed me with information about how computers and web based sites could be used in school and at home for students. There is so much to do on the computer. Just working with this PFK class has made me so aware of what is out there and what can be worked with. I have spent many hours exploring and I have barely done anything for this class. I do feel a bit more knowledgeable now about what I am doing and what I can use in my classsroom.

Thing #4 Commenting

I believe that leaving a comment to blog posts are important. It gives feedback to the author of the blog. It lets them know that there are people who are interested and that peopleare reading their posts. I agree with the author of the "10 Commandments of Commenting" that you should leave positive comments and not try to start something by disagreeing with the author. It talked about common sense etiquette.

I have commented on the following posts
from our 23 things community:
teachartis cool-I likes her idea about having a blog for Promethean board ideas and thoughts
mandy's mailbag--animoto

technocricket--podcasts

read and giggle-podcasts

kimberly's corner--animoto

From other blogs:

my friend that I teach with just set up a new blog--I commented that I will be able to keep up with her this summer by reading it

10 commandments of commenting--left a comment on what I agreed with

more comments to come

Thing #3

I would like to have a blog in the classroom to set up communication between myself and parents and between myself and my students. There were a lot of great ideas on how to use a blog in the classroom. One I especially liked was to post readings and students blog their reaction to the readings. The uses of blogs in the classroom are vast and I would like to set a goal of somehow using them in the classroom.

Thing #2

Setting up my blog site was successful. I already had an avatar made in my yahoo account. I kind of like it, so I kept the same one. I may go back and add few changes later. It took me awhile to export my avatar to my blog page, but I finally figured it out. I am excited about having a blog site of my own.

Thing #1

I have viewed the slideshow of 71/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. I am excited about learning new technological things this summer. As a teacher I am always on the lookout for new ideas to use with my students. I would like to add more technology to my classroom and I think by taking this course I will have new knowledge to do that. "Begining with an end in mind" is something I have trouble with. I sometimes start things, get distracted by something else, and never finish.