Thing 12

Google is an amazing tool and has essentially become a lifestyle for people today. I , myself, Google in the verb sense everyday. The two Google tools I decided to explore are Google Calendar and Google Translate. These were the two tools I felt to be most useful to teachers. Google Calendar seeds you updates and can be important for teachers who are always on their computers allowing them to keep their notes for each day marked in one place instead of on sticky notes all over their desks. Google Translate is interesting for teachers with ESL/ELL students because you can translate text, websites, educational materials, anything you need to help communicate with your students on a more personal level by trying to reach them in their language.

Thing 11

Before starting this blog I had never noticed the RSS icon in the corner of my favorite websites. Using the tools provided in the 23 things assignment blog I learned how to pay closer attention to where the icons are located. I enjoyed looking at the Edublogs' award winners because it gives you the links to award winning blogs which of course give very useful information for the world of Education. I decided not to follow any more blogs for the time being because I have not yet found one I want to subscribe to, I did however bookmark the page for later use when I have more time to view several blogs and really pay attention to the information contained in them. I did not find the Google Blog Search very helpful because I could not narrow down my search the way I wanted to and produce good results. This assignment helps immensely with locating good education information from either other teachers or those in the education community making the RSS reader worth while.

Thing 10

I believe RSS readers are an excellent tool. I had no idea I could view all the blogs I am subscribed to in one place without jumping between sites. Tools like these are so amazing to have as a teacher because we can subscribe to many different instructional and educational blogs/webpages/tools and view all the material in one place cutting down on time since as a teacher we are very limited on that. I subscribed to the blogs of my classmates that I have been commenting on and also to Pioneer Woman's blog because her pictures are so interesting. Its so neat to be able to browse through their posts in one place whenever I get the time. These tools should be utilized by all educators.

Thing 9

I used the image generator ImageChef to make the above image. I decided to make a sign for my future classroom that would recognize a student for every week of the year. This is a good instructional strategy for elementary school classrooms. The student of the week would be the classroom helper, line leader, whatever tasks the teacher wants to assign to the title. These tasks make younger children feel important. Websites like ImageChef allow teachers to create a template for signs they want to place around their room. These websites are so great for teachers especially being on a budget to create things students will be engaged by.

Thing 8

I decided to use the MashUp tool Mosaic maker. I found this application neat because you can place similar or different photos together in a tile setup. I could use this tool in my social studies classes by placing historical pictures together as a visual for what my lesson will be over. I believe Flickr and these MashUp tools are great period for educators because there are so many various uses for them. I decided to upload pictures of dogs for this assignment simply because I love them but in class I could place pictures of people being discussed or places. I really enjoyed discovering these tools and actually saved my creation on my computer because it made me so happy to look at.

Thing 7

I decided to create a Flickr account and upload my own interesting photos. I titled the one above "Candle pass" because this photo shows myself with my sorority sisters during my candle pass where I told them I was engaged. This picture is so important to me because it was a wonderful day in my life with my sisters. In most sororities engagements are kept secret until they can be revealed to the sorority. In my case I kept my engagement secret for a month until our recruitment retreat before the fall semester. It was so special to let my sisters be the first to know about my engagement besides mine and my fiance's families. During the candle pass the sisters gather in a circle and pass around a candle that has been decorated by the sister who is newly engaged and we sing three songs, two of which are private to my sorority and the final is going to the chapel on which the candle is blown out to tell you are the one engaged. Ill never forget the moment I got to put on my engagement ring and show it to my sisters which is what the photo shows. I am so happy to share this picture and moment with whoever reads this.

Thing 6

www.etsy.com is an internet marketplace for people to buy and sell handmade goods. I am extremely familiar with this website because my mother and I started a shop on their to see her knitted baby clothes. This website is neat because it gives people a virtual shop to showcase their talents and goods that they make without having to own a literal shop. This idea changes the concept of a marketplace because you can buy goods from all over the world without leaving your home. This website has many different categoriesfor items to search for from clothing, to accesories to furniture. Another website similar to this is Ebay but what is different about Etsy is that these are all handmade items from individuals. I believe this item could be used in education classes like Ecomonics or business courses because it shows how an individual can own a shop without having a physical location. This is a good example of our everchanging marketplace.

Thing 5

After reading the articles Web 2.0: A Guide for Educators, and Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education I have come to agree with the fact that the internet is the only resource people need anymore. So much information can be accessed from the internet that resources like books, newspapers and such have become obselete in the hard copy form because the information contained in them has been uploaded to the internet. I grew up in the age where computers were first being introduced into schools. I can remember in elementary school playing educational games on them but not being able to do much with the internet because it was not a neccesity yet. As I went further into my schooling the internet grew and by the time I was in middle school we were using the internet for everything. Of course some of my older teachers still required resources such as books and newspapers to be used in our papers but that slowly died out. Children growing up today do not realize how important and how dangerous the internet is. I believe an internet saftey and usage class should be implemented into schools because the internet is every changing and students have a hard time understanding how permanent the information they are uploading is. In the internet is an intelligent tool and has essentially become a community linking the world together. Educators should take advantage of these new global resources and educate their students on the world and not just what is around them, that to me is what School 2.0 means. Schools are going to have to continually change as the internet does to stay on top of what is going on in the world, especially as educators because your students will know the changes before you will if you do not keep up with them. In my 21 years the internet has gone from barely exisiting to being a neccesity for every day life it seems. Who knows how it will evolve in the next 21 years but as Educators we must follow it and educate ourselves on the changes so we can effectively educate our students.