Thing #9 – On Line Generators

It was fun to experiment with the different on line generators.  My first impression was that they are good tools for creating customized signs and graphics.  As a teacher, I could use the signs on a parent-teacher blog or for effect on a homework assignment page on a blog or at a website.  I could manipulate text or create signs to print out and use them as sign labels in a library or classroom at learning stations or in designated reading areas.  The special effects and smiley face visuals could be inserted on a classroom home page or a student blog for added effect.  I experimented with Happy Face Generator and with Image Chef and Post-It Note Generator, and my absolute favorite was the Image Chef.  I think that it could make sight word cards more appealing for younger kids who are learning to read, and older students could enjoy creating signs from key words and graphics for computer practice.  Image Chef is a simple application, and it was very easy to save my creation to my desk top for future use.  The links are below:

Shine sunshine is from http://www.imagechef.com/

The happy face is from http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/

The post-it note is from http://postit.note.txt2pic.com/

Thing #8 – Flickr Mashups

I had a lot of fun exploring the Flickr mashups.  They are very easy to use, and I enjoyed playing with Spell with Flickr, Puzzles and Mosaic Maker.  I think that technology adds a new dimension to creativity in the classroom, and I know that students would enjoy trying different combinations and features.  There are so many opportunities to experiment with Mosaic Maker to use it as a fun, creative exercise and also to reinforce the lesson plan.  To energize a learning activity, students could use the apps to collage pictures from history or literature and present their experiences to the class – either as group presentations or individually.  That’s just one example – the possibilities are endless.  I think that these applications could provide a lively alternative to traditional teaching – a fun way to enhance learning.  I enjoyed the Spell with Flickr and tried out different fonts for several different words.  The Puzzles app was easy to use as well.  I think the Mosaic Maker is great for giving family photos a different look, and I have seen some examples of that on Facebook; but I am not a big fan of sharing personal photos on the internet, and I really wouldn’t advocate that practice for children in the classroom.  Above is a picture of my practice mosaic in the row format that I made with my "wallpaper" photos.  I think the mosaic effect is more pronounced when more than four photos are incorporated but it illustrates what the overall effect would be if more photos were incorporated.

Thing #7 – Explore Flickr

I have mixed opinions about my Flickr experience.  I enjoyed touring the site and looking at the various galleries and available features. There are so many images, and so many possibilities for enhancing a lesson plan.  I didn’t realize how many historic photos are available through a photo site like Flickr, and I especially enjoyed looking through the Civil War photos of Matthew Brady, who left a history in photos.  There are also many photos of nature that would provide added dimension in a science class.  I have never used any other photo hosting service, but I can understand the popularity of a site that can catalog your photos and also share them if that’s your intention.  I do not really prefer to have a lot of photos out there in the public domain, although I have a couple on my Facebook page.  My photo is a picture of a flower that is blooming in my yard that was taken minutes ago and uploaded to my desktop – no sentimental attachment, just a nice picture of a flower and also an opportunity to try the upload feature on the blog.  Although I found Flickr user-friendly for the most part, I was unable to upload any of the photos from the site after numerous unsuccessful attempts – very frustrating.

Thing #6 – Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

I always wondered what happened to paper dolls – little girls don’t seem to play with them anymore.  Well I found them alive and well at Stardoll.com.  My first impression was “you have got to be kidding,” until I realized that that this is a site primarily designed for 7 to 17 year-old girls to be able to play virtual dress up with  virtual paper dolls and to also network with other girls their age. 

The set-up reminds me of Facebook and offers free membership (some accessories and additional feaures cost extra).  Sign up is easy, and each new member receives a virtual room to decorate, a star doll to dress (an avatar) and a personal page for blogging.  Star Doll has an extensive online security guide for parents and teachers to review.  I pretended to be a ten year-old girl, and I was initially impressed that the site would not allow me to join without  parental notification and consent.  However, when I signed in a second time, I was allowed immediate access without the required parental approval – not good. If you are under age, there is a very detailed consent form that is supposed to be faxed in before membership is accepted.  An email is also sent to the minor child’s parents.  Of course there are ways around these security measures, but the site has at least made a valiant effort to maintain the program's integrity.

I think that this is an entertaining site for young girls to play virtual dress up and to also make friends.  It is colorful and there are lots of pretty wardrobe items and games to play, and it allows for creativity as well.  The concept is honorable – the site’s creator designed the site as an alternative to violent video games.  However, I think that if I had a little girl at home, she would only be allowed to blog with friends that she already knows – I am too leery of faceless strangers.  That is also why I could never recommend this site in a school or library setting – because of that potential risk. 

Thing #5 - Perspectives on Web 2.0/School 2.0 and the Future of Education

Web 2.0 is regular, everyday people in all walks of life, old and young, surfing the Web for entertainment and information pertaining to every aspect of their lives. People turn to the internet for everything, so it makes sense that schools should use internet tools to connect with students in the classroom.

 Enter School 2.0, which is adapted from Web 2.0, and can cause learning to be relevant in a fresh new way. Computer “anything” seems to capture student interest. I believe that it makes perfect sense to use School 2.0 tools in education, since children of all ages seem to live on the internet when they are not at school.  I think that it is hard to fathom just how rapidly technology seems to be advancing, and I wonder what that means for classrooms in the future.   

School systems recognize and are addressing these issues with the installment of School 2.0 –which has introduced blogging, podcasts, videos, and wikis into the curriculum, in order to engage students in more meaningful instruction.  Students participate through collaboration and social interaction, using the 2.0 tools, and they are more involved in their learning experiences as a result.  The challenge for schools is to keep up with technological advancements and the social trends, so that students stay connected and actively engaged. The perspectives that I read all echoed the necessity for technology in education for both now and in the future. I think this is also part of self-education for teachers – to stay informed of new technologies that could be incorporated into the lesson plans to keep learning relevant and interesting. 

Thing #4 – Why Commenting Is Important

Commenting on other blogs brings a sense of community because it invites reaction and interaction from the blog author and his fellow commenters.  I think that comments validate the blog author’s discussion topic, and contradictory opinions can stir up the conversation.  I can certainly understand why comments would energize a blog and give its author a vote of confidence.  I remember in the movie, Julie and Julia, what a rush it was for Julie when she realized that she had an audience – that people were actually reading her blog postings and were interested in what she had to say.  I think that I would prefer blogs that tackle controversial subjects.  A lively exchange would keep my interest because without passion, words can lose their momentum.  A heated dialogue can entertain, as well as inform.  When I conduct my search for two blogs to comment on, I think that I will look for a “controversial” blogger, who knows how to push his audience’s buttons.

I believe it is important to be respectful of other bloggers’ views, and to be agreeable about disagreeing.  The blog tips warned against being critical and offending.  I also think that it is interesting to consider that when I post comments on other blogs, that I am now part of someone else’s blog and part of what I am reading – both inside and outside at the same time.

The five blogs that I selected to read and why are as follows:

Sarah’s 23 Things - Thing #3  Sarah’s musings about the benefits of a classroom blog as a learning method caused me to reflect on how her blog statement prompted her to suggest  researching the potential advantages of classroom blogging. Her suggestion made me aware of the blog’s usefulness in the learning process.  I concluded and commented on her blog that a classroom blog would be an effective teaching tool because it would motivate students to initiate their own learning and research.

Evelyn Estes - Thing 3  - I liked her observations about a classroom blog being like Facebook because it would set up an interactive communication network where parents and teachers could share issues and any relevant concerns about students, curriculum, etc.  My comment was that I appreciated her point of view and that her Facebook analogy enabled me to see classroom blogging in as more beneficial to the curriculum.

Seebert - Thing 1 – I liked her post on Thing #1 because her concerns with using new technologies made me think about the future of technology in the classroom and how different today’s classrooms are from the 60's, 70's and even the 90's.  Technology has caused everything to change in a hurry.  Her comments made me think about how classrooms were in past decades and also to realize how quickly teaching methods have changed because of advancing technology, and that was what I mentioned in my posting on her blog.

Jasmina Kulovic -  Thing 4 – I liked Jasmina’s account of how she discovered fellow blogger Brandi Reed.  It caused me to realize that posting on someone else’s blog does generate more interest in the commenter’s blog.  I commented on her blog that I enjoyed reading about her following Brandi Reed’s posting, and that it helped me to realize how blogs are connected and that there is a mutual dependence there.

Education /Janie Walker – Thing # 3 – I like her suggestion to link library sites to a classroom blog.  That helped me realize that a blog is similar to a living organism that can evolve and change based on how it is set up to be used.  Linking to other sites would help students have multiple resources at their fingertips.  The blog could then be a learning hub that the kids could use for more than blog posts.  I commented to Janie that her suggestion about libraries helped me realize the unlimited possibilities for a blog and that it would be an excellent way to engage students in other learning activities.

For blogs outside of our group --  I posted a comment on an article that was posted on http://www.teachscienceandmath.com.  The article addresses the need for students to be taught how to think critically and how important it is to ask quality questions to stir students to think critically.  I posted that I enjoyed the author's (Dick Wetzel) perspective and the information that his article included and that I agreed with his opinion and appreciated his suggestions for motivating students to think critically.

The other site that I posted on was Cool Cat Teacher at twitter.com/#!/coolcatteacher.   I read a lot of the posts to familiar myself with the topics being discussed, and I commented that I enjoyed her site because it mentions technologies and new gimmicks and strategies that are being explored that I really have never heard about.

Thing #3 – Blog Benefits in the Classroom

A blog can be an effective tool for today’s busy teacher.  It is an easy time-saver that can quickly inform parents about classroom activities and student learning.  I have always viewed teachers as “professional communicators” (among other things), and blog postings about curriculum and current assignments can provide notification faster than the traditional classroom newsletter.

As a teacher, I can blog about my successes and failures and evaluate my postings, in order to modify my teaching plans.  My blog becomes a place where I can objectify the ever-changing, unpredictable activities of the classroom and then use my observations for review and analysis –much like an after-action report.  I think the most beneficial thing about this type of self-education blog is that it keeps a record of classroom specifics, and it gives teachers time to reflect and regroup for professional growth and more dynamic teaching.

I believe that blogging can be very beneficial to math students, who struggle with abstract concepts and have difficulty conceptualizing.  Integrating a writing element into the math program has always intrigued me – probably because it was virtually unheard of when I was in school.   I think a blogging project can be used to help students, who are strong in reading and writing but struggle in their math class.  A self-paced, reflective writing project, similar to 23 Things, can cause students to think through the more difficult, abstract concepts and ultimately be able to understand new lessons.  I believe math blogging can be a great way to evaluate student abilities.  As their teacher, I can also provide constructive feedback and use their blog comments to measure their individual progress.

Thing #2 – Create a Blog, Add a Post and an Avatar

Creating a blog and adding a post and avatar are not complicated procedures from the mechanical standpoint, but they are a little more labor-intensive for my brain cells.  Fear of unfamiliar technologies tends to cause me to have mental gridlock.  

Maybe I should name my blog “At a Snail’s Pace” for obvious reasons, but instead I choose the more appropriate: “Amy Monson: 23 Things,” in order to convey through a simple title, that my blog’s subject is about Amy Monson and 23 Things. For my purposes, simple is better because my main focus is on working with the 2.0 technologies and then sharing my impressions – which is why I am trying to save more original and interesting wording for the 24 blog posts. 

The overall blog set up and design went well, except for numerous trial and error attempts while installing my avatar and figuring out how to move it five inches across the screen to a new position—obviously a technical deficiency on my part.  My blog template is the green grass because I like the dandelion “blow things” that appear in the scene.  My sons (when they were little) always called them “blow things,” and that memory makes me smile every time I open up my blog. 

I think that my altar ego is sort of funny-looking with her “o”-shaped mouth and her frumpy dress. Yes, there is an uncanny likeness, and her facial expression is a “deer in the headlights” look, which is how I feel most days with my crazy school/work schedule.   I also dressed my avatar conservatively with my hair and eye color, and she is standing in front of a school blackboard, as I hope to be doing some day.   Her appearance reflects her reserved, introverted side, and her physical and personality similarities definitely make her a “Mini Me.”

Now that I have started posting, I am intrigued by this whole blogging thing and the individualism and self-expression that a blog affords. 

Thing #1 – Lifelong Learning and Learning 2.0

This is a blog about exploring the 23 Things and documenting my personal growth.  Setting up the blog was a simple procedure (no stress), and it reminded me of setting up a Facebook or email account – no difficulties with the process.  I would like to learn all that I can about the 2.0 web tools to be more comfortable with these technologies and so that I can use them to enhance my students’ learning.

How appropriate – that the first of these 23 Things is a short video that defines learning and then calls for reflection on what it means to be a lifelong learner. The video was a good summation, and I agree with the main theme, that learning lasts a lifetime and should be by design.  The most challenging habit for me is Habit # 3, to view problems as challenges and as growth opportunities and not to see them as roadblocks.  This statement reminds me that lessons are not only learned in the classroom, but also through day-to-day living.   For example, I have learned from past mistakes how to troubleshoot by solving problems that are broken down into smaller, more manageable parts – essential to know for math class, but also an important life skill.

The habit that will be the most valuable to me as I work through this course is Habit #4, remembering to trust in my abilities as a competent and efficient learner.  There is a lot of writing in this course, and I sometimes spend too much time on word choice and on overthinking my ideas before I can come up with the “right” thoughts.  Reflection is sometimes more difficult and a much slower process for me than already knowing what the “right” answer is.   In other words, writing becomes a learning challenge – I mean opportunity, and Habit # 4 will keep me going.

The easiest habit for me (and the most enjoyable) is Habit # 2, accepting responsibility for my own education, because I love doing research and keeping informed, and I am always learning something new about something.  The video says, “Break out of the box,” and that we are to be intentional about self-education.   I have discovered (or learned) that sometimes learning is not “cookie cutter,” and it is oftentimes an out-of-the-box approach.   I am usually on a fact-finding mission at work or at home and always trying to connect all of the dots. 

Hmmm, I wonder – how could it even be possible to be a teacher and to not enjoy learning?