Thing # 12

 I absolutely love some of the tools that Google has to offer. I am a schedule oriented person and cannot function without writing down ever appointment and place I have to be. Especially with three kids, I have to write all our appointments down or I would never remember any of them. The Google calendar is by far my favorite tool that Google has to offer. I put everything on my calendar and it is synced from my computer to my iPhone as well as my iPad. I have set my calendar up to send me notifications to my phone which is extremely helpful to remind me where I need to be. Another tool that Google has to offer that I use a lot is picasa. Picasa is a photo editing tool. I use it a lot when editing pictures that I take for my family and friends. It is user friendly and has a lot to offer for free. I also use Adobe Photo Shop and I can honestly say that I use picasa more. Both Google calendar and picasa can be used in the educational setting. Google calendar can be used to schedule appointments with parents and also to remind the teacher of specials and changes that will occur from the daily schedule. Picasa can be used to create projects and visual aids to place around the classroom to make learning and the classroom in general more appealing. If you haven't tried Google calendar or picasa you should definitely give them a try!

Thing # 11

When I was first asked to start searching for blogs I was unsure how to even go about doing so. Thing # 11 helped me by showing me different search engines that I could use to locate blogs that interest me. After using the search engines to find blogs I found using the Google Blog Search engine to be the easiest. Topix.net and Technorati were the other two search engines that I used. Topix.net was my least favorite one out of the three. I did not like the way that it was set up but it was more of just a preference. I found a lot of interesting as well as useful blogs that I could use in the classroom when I begin teaching. I found one that had a lot of Science teaching resources. I found this blog's section on teaching the life cycle of various animals to be extremely useful for preparation for my future class.

Thing # 10

RSS and newsreaders are great tools to have to be able to save information and readings and be able to group them according to topic. This technology can be used in my life in several different ways. I can use RSS to find resources about teaching and information that I can implement in the classroom. I can also use it to find information about working out and staying in shape. RSS readers can also be used to find recipes and other cooking ideas. Teachers can use RSS readers to categorize information by the different subjects and topics that they are teaching about in the classroom.

Thing # 9

These are some of the creations that I made using the image generators. Once I figured out how to use them, they were fairly simple to create. Some of the ways that this could be used in the classroom would be to create images that draw the students attention as well as ways to make the lesson fun. The second generator shown could be used in a Kindergarten class when teaching the students their letters by using their names to fill in the letters. The first image could be used to allow students to create their own comics to use in the writing process.

Thing # 8

I used Mosaic Maker to make a picture collage of different pictures of people teaching. It was very fun and simple to figure out how to make. I think these Flickr Mashups are great tools that can be used in the classroom when teaching. The Mosaic Maker can be used to show your students different pictures of what ever topic you are currently discussing all in one image. The puzzle maker with Jigsaw is another app that would become very useful and fun to use in the classroom.

Teaching English in China,Mother Teaching Son On Tablet PC 8183,Teaching love for Autumn,Teaching excellence

Thing # 7

I really enjoyed searching for images on Flickr. Some of the keywords that I used to search for images included paradise, exotic animals, and certain places such as Italy. One image that I found that really caught my eye was this one. The picture captures the calmness of the water as well as the beauty of the island itself. The picture reminds me of going on a vacation and feeling as if I am in paradise. 

Thing # 6

The site that I chose to explore was Picozu which is a picture editing site. I have a huge passion for photography and love to take pictures for my family and friends. Therefore, this site really caught my eye. Yet, once I started exploring it I found it fairly difficult to use. I think it could be a great picture editing site to have especially with me taking pictures, I just need to take more time to figure out what all it has to offer and how to use it. One aspect of the site that I really like was the filters that could easily be applied to the picture. This site is not one that would be use full in school or library settings.  Link: Picozu

Thing # 5

I love the idea of School 2.0. Learning does not and therefore should not just take place in the school. It should take place in school, at home and in one's community. No two people learn the same way therefore the different ways to learn should also be endless. School 2.0 to me simply means the next step in education and I believe that it is a positive and great one to take. I think the idea of School 2.0 means a lot of changes in the near future for education and for schools. The way that schools are geared now, does not meet the needs to give our future the best education that they deserve. The students need more avenues to explore and enhance their learning and I believe the School 2.0 is trying to do just that. Change can always be scary at first but once people start to embrace the idea of this new outlook on learning the results will speak for themselves.

Thing # 4

Commenting is such a great tool for both the person who is leaving the comment as well as the person who wrote what is being commented on. When someone comments on something that you have published on the web it not only lets you know that people are reading what you have put work into writing but also giving you feedback on how they feel about what you have said. A lot of the times these comments made are positive comments but sometimes there are negative ones as well. Although, you may not want to read someone's negative opinion it can actually be a great way to enhance your writing. Constructive criticism can be very powerful if taken appropriately. Commenting creates a sense of community through dialogue and exchanging ideas. Everyone involved gets to express their feelings on a certain topic and this enhances everyone's ability to learn. 
Seven blogs that I chose to read and comment on:
1. Kristina Stonerock
2. Erika Gray
3. Erica Vicars
4. Richard Mylowe
5. Holly Jewell
6. Alison Curtis
7. Amanda Barton
After looking through each of the people above's blogs I chose to comment on the things in there blogs that really jumped out at me. There was so much information that I learned through reading others blogs and I found it very beneficial.

Thing # 1

After viewing the online tutorial titled The 7 1/2 Habits I was easily able to order them by which ones were the easiest for me and which ones were the most challenging. Of the 7 1/2 habits the one that is the easiest for me would be having confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner. I am a very confident person. I know that I am not perfect by any means but that I am very intelligent and capable of doing anything I set my mind to. A lot of people lose confidence due to failing at certain tasks in life but what people need to focus on is that we all make mistakes and we can not always come in first place but that how well we strive for greatness and what we do to get there is what really matters. The next habit that is easy for me to fulfill would be play. I am a very outgoing and fun person. I believe that playing and having fun can be incorporated to every aspect of our lives. When we are having fun we learn so much more and do so with a lot less effort. My friends tell me all the time that I am a very goofy person. To me, that is one of the greatest compliments available because life has many ups and downs and being able to stay positive through it all makes all the difference. Using technology to my advantage would be the next habit on my list. I love technology and think that it is of huge importance in the learning process. There are so many technological resources that can be used to simplify and enhance our daily lives, our capacity to learn, and our ability to teach others. There is a lot of technology that I am unfamiliar with, especially since new technology arises every day but I am always trying new technology and implementing it into my life. The next habit for me would be teaching and mentoring to others. I have always had a huge passion for teaching. I believe that we are called in our lives to serve others and being able to educate others is so rewarding to me. I am a natural teacher, for I find myself teaching those around me without even realizing I am doing so. The next habits are the ones that start to become challenging to me starting with creating my own learning toolbox. I have a hard time when it comes to keeping the tools I use when I learn all together. Sometimes I think that my ability to learn something would happen much more smoothly if I carried all my tools in the same box instead of scattered around my life. Putting my learning tools together is something that I need to work on. The next habit would be accepting responsibility for my own learning. Sometimes I can be very lazy and although I know that I am fully capable of doing my work and reaching my goals there are times when I would rather have someone else do the work for me. This used to be the most challenging habit of the 7 1/2 for me but I have learned over time that what I learn and accomplish becomes much more rewarding when I accomplish it on my own. Beginning with the end in mind is the next habit on my list. Sometimes focusing on the end result that is to come from accomplishing something can help you to strive on and finish something that you have started. I try to do this in my own life but when I am struggling I have a hard time focusing on what I am going to accomplish in the end and instead focusing on how incredibly difficult the now is. Challenges can be so huge and feel as if  they are never going to be conquered. Yet, this is something that needs to be worked on in my life because looking back the challenges were nothing compared to the end results. Last on my list would be viewing problems as challenges. Everyone wants to be positive and optimistic especially during difficult times but sometimes being positive or seeing the good in a negative situation can be the most difficult task of all. Viewing problems as challenges in a great way to learn from those problems in your life but in my opinion it is the most difficult task out of all of the 7 1/2 habits. Yet, at the same time it can be the most important one mind changing one of all. I loved playing with Web 2.0 and learned a lot such as creating a blog. My experience with setting up the blog was super easy and fun. I have never set up a blog before and I thought doing so would be difficult. Yet, I was wrong. Making my blog was a lot of fun and easily done :) I am actually contemplating continuing to use one after this class.

Thing # 3

Now that I have created a blog, the use of one in the classroom is a great idea. There is so much information on the web that teachers can use in their classroom and having a blog is a great way to share what I have learned and what I am using in my classroom with other teachers so that they can do the same. I can also follow other teachers, learning and gaining new ideas that I can implement in my classroom. Another way that I could use a blog in my future classroom would be for communication with the students and their parents about what is going on in the classroom. This would also save a lot of trees since teachers are constantly sending home notes and paperwork about upcoming events in the classroom, what the parents can do at home to work with their children, what the students are learning about, and/or needs in the classroom. Parental involvement is so vital in the learning process and this gives the parents an easy outlet to communicate with their child's teacher as well as be able to stay on top of all that is going on in the classroom. I think I have just convinced myself to start one when I start teaching :)