Thing 12

The first Google tool that I chose to explore was iGoogle. It was very easy to set up and it makes a great homepage. It's almost like the Google reader where it gives you a lot of information all in one place. On the page, It tells me the date, the weather and news stories. I have also have websites I use a lot like youtube and facebook on the left side. One thing I love about iGoogle is all the different gadgets. I went a little crazy and added quite a few of them. I have one that shows me the show times of movies around clarksville. I have a gadget that's a countdown to my birthday. I have a daily bible verse and quotes gadget. I even have a funny cat photos gadget, but my favorite by far is the self-esteem booster gadget that told me my shoes were fabulous! Although I do love my iGoogle, I can't see a purpose for using it in the classroom.

http://www.google.com/ig?hl

My experience making the Google Calendar was a little bit more difficult. I didn't like the default calendar where it showed one week at a time and you had to put a start and end time for everything. It's not something that I could see myself using often. I would rather just use the calendar on my phone or write things down in a planner. It could be helpful for a teacher to keep up with things such as test dates or meetings or parent teacher conferences. The calendar can send a notification to your phone or email reminding you about your events. Or you can put it as a gadget on your iGoogle like I did, this way you can see your events every time you get online.

https://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=OK

Thing 11

Like most of the other "Thing 11" blog posts I've read, I found the Google Blog Search and Technorati the easiest to use. I use Google all the time so the layout was very familiar and easy for me. I liked the Technoranti blog finding tool because it separated the blogs into different categories. There was a category for business, entertainment, sports, politics and there was even one just for women! Syndic8.com was by far the most confusing. I didn't care for the layout and it didn't take long for me to give up on it.

I found the most useful and interesting blog on the Google Blog search. It's called Journeys of an Inspired Teacher. The blog is about a first grade teacher and he writes about his first year of teaching. The most unusual thing I found was on Topix.com. I searched k-6 education and a website about the New Whales Government came up. I noticed a lot of other random topics appearing when I searched on Topix.com.

I also found BlogPulse.com as a way to locate newsfeeds. Like the others, you just type keywords into the search box, explore and learn!

Thing 10

RSS is a great thing that I just now learned about! I've always noticed the little orange icon on my computer screen but I never really wondered or cared to know what it was. Now that I've set up an account, I realize that it's just a faster way to keep up with all your favorite websites. I subscribed to a couple of my favorite blogs, a couple of teacher blogs and youtube. As a teacher, I might have a separate reader to keep up with teaching and school related websites and a different reader to keep up with my personal favorite websites. That way when I'm browsing through school stuff, I won't get distracted with other things. Teachers, like everyone else, can use RSS to stay up-to-date and save time browsing.

Thing 9

I created my first sign at http://www.signgeneratormaker.com/ I just chose the sign I wanted from a long list of already made templates and typed in the message I wanted it to say. It was very simple to make and I think it makes good decoration for a classroom. Also, it might motivate or remind students that it is important to pay attention in class.

The second sign I made was a "reading center" sign. I made it on www.text2logo.com. Most k-6 teachers have different centers in their classroom where the students break into groups and rotate around the classroom in different learning stations. Signs like these are necessary so students know where to go. It also makes the classroom seem more organized when things are labled.

Thing 8

Exploring Flickr mashups and third party tools was really neat. If it had not been for this "thing," I may have never known how to create these neat little signs for my classroom one day. I used Spell with Flickr to make a sign of my name and I could put it on my desk or on the door of my classroom. Flickr mashups can be used in your personal life also. You could just play around with them for fun or you could make gifts for your friends or family.

Sharing photos online is normally a good thing only if it is done tastefully. Teachers need to be careful with what photos they share online on websites such as facebook because people are always watching teachers. Parents want to make sure their child is being taught by someone who is responsible and a good role model. If teachers share pictures of their students online, it is always a good idea to have permission first. All in all sharing pictures online is a good thing because the World Wide Web would not be what it is today if no one shared pictures.

Thing 7

I really enjoyed exploring Flickr! It was amazing to see how artistic and creative some of the photographers were. It was fairly easy to navigate the website. I just typed in a keyword and a lot of great and interesting photos appeared. I typed the word teacher into the search box and this picture came up. I know it's wrong to stereotype, but when a lot of people, especially kids, think of teachers, they might think of someone who looks like the lady in this picture. When I was in first grade actually, for career day, we were supposed to dress like a person in the profession we wanted to go into. Of course I dressed as a teacher. I even wore red glasses similar to the ones in the picture; I think that's one reason why I like this picture by AhavaHaEmet so much.

I thought using Flickr to browse photos was very simple. I'm sure I would find it more complicated if I actually made an account and loaded pictures onto it. I couldn't really see myself using Flickr in the classroom, except for maybe a visual aid once in a while.

Thing 6

While browsing through the Web 2.0 Awards nominees, I noticed many websites that I use very often and some that I even use daily. I found many interesting sites that were new to me, but one I really liked was topix. Topix is an internet news community. Users can read about news stories posted by other users. Users interact with each other by commenting on posts. There is normally a link to the actual story on each forum so you can read and find out more about the topic. You can also type in your area code and find local news. There are also different headings and types of news. There are the top stories, politics, US news, world news and even sports and entertainment news so it is easier to find what you're looking for. You can even start your own forum if you're looking for feedback on a certain topic. Teachers could use this website as a way of communicating with each other. They can also use it as a way to keep up with current news in education.

Thing 5

While reading about Web 2.0, I realized it is a great thing for both teachers and students. I also realized how much technology has changed since I've been in elementary school, which is the level that I want to teach at. When I was in elementary school, we had a computer lab that we would go to once a week. We only used the computers to play educational games. We used a blackboard or chalkboard. Sometimes the teacher would use a projector with transparencies. In fact I didn't even know what a smartboard was until I came to school at Austin Peay! I consider myself old fashioned. I still plan on using paper, pencils, books and blackboards daily with an occasional Powerpoint in the classroom. Technology is always changing and that is not a bad thing at all. As future teachers, we will also need to change with it to keep up. Web 2.0 and School 2.0 are great things that make learning easy and accessible for everyone.

Thing 4

Commenting is not only important in blogging, but it's essential. If someone wrote a blog and no one ever commented on it, the person would probably lose hope. They would wonder if anyone even read their blog or if they were just wasting time. When people give up on their blogs or lose enthusiasm, we could be losing valuable opinions and advice. It is also important not to only leave a comment, but a meaningful and helpful one that isn't rude even if we disagree with the opinions of the blogger. It is also neat because by commenting on someone else's blog, you can cast your vote on the topic and tell how you feel. By doing this, you can also draw attention to your own blog, which is also a cool thing. The more followers and attention your blog gets, the more confidence you build in yourself and your opinions.

Another great thing about commenting is the conversations it starts. When a group of people who are all interested in similar things and follow the same blog, then they can all learn together by sharing ideas and opinions. This after all is the whole point of blogging!

Although I read most of the blogs from our group, I mainly chose to comment on friend's blogs or one's that were interesting to me. I commented on Kelsie Penick's "Thing 2" to encourage her idea to start a blog for her photography. I commented on Kelsey Gardner's "Thing 9" to weigh in my opinion on the images she generated, which I liked. On Kyle Thompson's "Thing 6," I agreed that Skype could be a useful technology in the classroom in the future. On Blair Offut's "Thing 1," I let him know that I liked the name of his blog and I thought his avatar represented him well. I commented on Christy Colby's "Thing 1" because I thought it was inspiring and I wanted to wish her luck.

I also commented on two blogs outside of our education project also. I left a comment on Max Andrew Dubinsky's blog called Make It Mad. He is a christian blogger and he is my absolute favorite. The blog post was called "A Letter To My Future Son," I posted that was something that my parents would want me to hear, especially at this stage of my life. I also commented on a blog called Journeys of an Inspired Teacher which I talk about in "Thing 11" too!

Thing 3

As a future teacher, the blogs I could see myself most interested in would be blogs of my peers. Reading other teacher's blogs could help me get ideas of things to try in the classroom. Since that's what I would find interesting and helpful, that's probably what I would blog about also. Blogging is a good way to share teaching and learning experiences. I could learn what works and what does not work for students in the classroom. I could learn about or share review games, group projects and many other things that students could enjoy and be beneficial to them at the same time.

Since I plan on teaching younger elementary school children, they probably would not be able to keep up with their own blog. It could be a good way however to keep in touch with the parents of my students. I could post what we are learning or activities for the week so they can help their child stay on track, or ask me any questions or concerns they may have. Blogging could be a good way of communication along with sending letters home and email.

Thing 2

I decided to call my blog "Mallory Stewart's 23 Things" because it is short and sweet. The title tells who I am and what I am blogging about. I've never created a blog before, but I was surprised about how simple it was to make. The directions were very self explanatory and I liked that. The avatar was also simple to make, but it did take me a few minutes to figure out how to put it on my page. I tried to make the avatar look similar to me. It has straight blonde hair and green eyes. I think it captures my personalitiy just because it's smiling and seems like it has a positive attitude and I like to think I do too!

Thing 1

Before watching the 7 and 1/2 habits tutorial, lifetime learning was something that I was already aware of. Even outside of a person's education, he or she can see every struggle or obstacle in his or her life as a learning experience. The tutorial did help me recognize the strengths and weaknesses of my learning habits. I believe the habit that comes the most natural for me is the second habit. I accept responsibility for my own learning by always attending class, studying and getting assignments done on time. The habit that I struggle with is the first habit. I normally set goals, such as making an A in a class, but I don't map out the specifics how I am going to accomplish the goal. Because of this I often end up procrastinating and stressing out. Now that I have realized my strengths and weaknesses, I now know what to focus on to help me be a better lifetime learner.