Thing 16

Searching for a start page, I chose "netvibes" for a few reasons. First off, the widgets that were setup for me included a refresh button in addition to the typical tools found in each widget. When I wanted to add more widgets, they were easily found under two tablets: "browse categories" and "essential widgets." The way "netvibes" is setup, I could have all of my "webmail" accounts posted on the same page, along with the weather channel and a clock; all I needed to do was type in my username and password, with the exception of one, that needed the server mail info. Nonetheless, I came across A few things that made me not consider keeping a start page. For one, even though the mail on my "webmail" and Facebook page appear on the start page, once I click on it, I would be directed to a page in a new window each time and required to sign in. I also had trouble linking to the widgets, which the site suggested, as they were listed "unavailable." I liked the calendar in 30boxes.com. The first idea that came to mind was to use it for projects. Since projects are usually broken down, I could use the calendar to reflect various components per day that will lead to a complete project. I could then post this very calendar in a blog used to keep parents informed about whats things that would be of interest to them. It could be that a student seems a little stressed with class. If the parent can see what assignments or activities are passed out, they may be able to relate their childs stress with- lets say-a big project. Note: the calendar can just be a reference to support one idea on the blog, which may not be the only idea being discussed. Something else I thought would be useful is the "to do" list, which if I wanted to, I could create an RSS feed so it's conveniently located with other interests. But just like the start page, I'm not sure of it will be permanent. Since I have a gmail account, I have access to a similar feature; although, I will note, the appearance of google's calendar isn't as nice as 30boxes. The nice thing about Googles calendar is it lists my contacts from my phone as an option to share. What I might recommend is the PDF converter, simply because it can be opened in Adobe, using the assistive technology that changes the colors of the text and document so that it is easier on the eyes and also, the file can the be read to you aloud. This is what I try to use when I can, to work around having being diagnosed with ADD.

Thing 15

Having a wiki can be a great tool to provide feedback and resources to students and educators. Within the idea of providing feedback and resources are collaboration among students-educators, and educators-educators as a vehicle. Teachers can have students focus on a subject and have each student add not only their knowledge and opinion on the subject but also a link indicating where they received their information or to lead classmates to a site they believe would be of interest. Educators can simply post ideas for major projects, summarize discoveries in the class room, problems that were addressed,etc, etc. All of this collaboration can be categorized by grade level as a means to providing a link that can be helpful to parents, and other educators. What I found interesting on the wikis that were posted is that it easy for people to build on and share ideas, and how it is set up like a book, with titles instead of pages linking you to the next "topic or story" being the only difference from an actual book.

Thing 14

Bubbl.us is a website for mind-maping, with most of the tools available simply by touching the cooresponding bubble. When I first attempted to create a new sheet, I was unsure if whether I had discovered all the tools I needed. So I went to the help section to follow closely to thier example sheet. There, is where I realized I did discover all the tools that I would need to expand a bubble, create a pair bubble, create more than one child bubble and to delete extras. I'm sure I could use this tool: having students set up their own sheet that provides a chart of multiples, divisors, and factors of a range of vavariables. I was hoping that I could place images in the bubbles, but unfortunately it doesn't. Having this neat feature, my students would be able to explore and express their creativity, while reaching the goal of automaticity and advancing learning. One way to overcome not having the options to change the background is to allow the chart to be transferred to a separate document. Flowchart.com has a lot of symbol templates to choose from; however, it is was a struggle for them to appear when the chart itself would not appear. I attributed the inability to select the templates due to incompatible of software on my pc. Once I opened the app on a mac, I had no problems until it came time to place text within the document. The text would either dissapear once I finished or a symbol would be duplicated in the process. I'm sure I sould use this in my class room just like with the mind maps, but I don't see ..

Thing 13: In the land of Zoho...

Having a Gmail account via Google, I have become familiar with Google Docs. Google Docs has templates to be filled, saved and shared with others. With the possibility of excessive amounts of documents being created and stored, Google Docs also provides a helpful search tool called "Preview." All a person has to do is check mark a document and click "preview," and a small image appears to the right. Every time a document is edited, a date appears next to the file, which also would be a great indicator to find a file of interest. Lastly, like Zoho, it provides the option for the creator of the document to provide access and/ or editing privileged to the creators choosing. Next to the file, along with last date of update, shows the persons that currently have access to that file. Creating a Zoho account was an ok experience. For starters, I felt as if the site was actually trying to hold me more accountable with my password. When I connected to the document file I was prompted to create a separate username and password, which no other website besides my online banking requires such protection. One features I am intrigued by is Zoho's "auto-typing," which anticipates what I am typing before I finish typing a word. Other than that it provides the same features that Google Docs offers: tools to organize various documents, options to convert document file types and the option to share. At first, I thought Zoho was the better option, because it provided the ability to post publish documents to a blog, etc. But a classmate pointed out to me, the very same feature in Google Docs. So for now, I will stick with what I already head, which is Google Docs via Gmail.

Thing 11

When using different search engines to find RSS feeds, the link to Edublogs' award winners was most helpful, as it not only provides a list of blogs and tools a community considered superb, but also that list had been provided in a long range category, with blogs and tools that was not considered the best but came close.  Having these categories allowed me to find what was of interest to me.   One feed I found, and think will be useful, is a PLN for teachers that provides forums, blogs, and links to other educational sites.  Another feed provided resources from a teacher seminar, to use technology to that are based on certain principles such as Bloom's Taxonomy.  And the last feed discussed the usefulness of podcast for students. Technorati was a very busy web page, which made  searching for feeds overwhelming.  Also unlike the first link I used, Technorati  didn't provide a list of topics to choose from, which didn't give me an idea of what would be interesting to me.  In search of "Educational Technology" via "Technorati"  SANS Technology Institute appeared as an option.  The unusual thing about this "blog" was that it was about security.

Thing 12

From the Google tools that were listed on "Thing 12" resources I chose iGoogle and Google alerts.  Since I already have a gmail account, it was easy to set up the alert.  I thought it would be interesting to get alerts of new information, specifically, responses to my blog as oppose to me checking my blogs with no certainty if comments have been made.  I checked out iGoogle, which was ok, in its features such as having various boxes according to your interest to keep you informed.  I like the idea, because I know I wouldn't overlook what is of interest if the page is in my view.  In the attempt to share the page with the public I found myself confused and unsure of what tool did the settings have an influence on.  I guess upon watching other demonstrations on how to use iGoogle, I could use it as a valuable tool for my students.  Students would use iGoogle to locate tools that they can utilize to elaborate ideas to improve comprehension, to conduct research, improve academically, or just to have fun.

Thing 9

The process to making this sign was very simple.  All I needed to do was choose a template, which did not take long for me to stumble upon the one above. There was a box that indicated where to record my message.  After recording my message, I easily found scrolling my mouse over the text revealed instructions to right-click and copy the URL.  Using sign generators as a teacher I can post up rules and rewards or instructions for various procedures.  In my personal life, I could use this tool to make fun messages in reference to parties.  I could post a sign to make people aware of the location of the bathroom or develop a sign as a great way to propose (ask a hand in marriage).  Fun facts can be created in the library as well as a statement that suggests which book category they were in.  Lastly, just like in a classroom, sign generators can be used to remind students of what is acceptable behavior.

Thing 8

 Purple Flowers via Google search

Using Flicker Mashups students can feel a part of a larger community and explore their own creativity while finding value in others in their creativity.  With Mapr, students can post pictures of sites from field trips and outdoor exploration, while viewing pictures from various locations to help them learn various elements within a particular region.  They can also use Big Huge Labs and Mosaic Maker to share photos that pertain to subject matter during group or individual presentation as a means to enhance learning. They can also use these tools for the sake of artistic expression.   For instance students can show pictures of various insects of they are doing a presentation on insects.   Students can also make a mosaic that spells out Happy Holidays using pictures of individual letters.  Since each of these mashups have fun things to offer, each can be offered to students as a reinforcement.

  I think it’s a great idea to share photos that would be of interest to others; what is shared should be limited to prevent schemes by people being established to bring destruction in their life.  Although I like the settings that Flicker offers, allowing people to choose who can see specific photos, I do not believe have complete confidence that we have complete control over the content that gets posted.  Therefore, as a suggestion people should not post pictures of events along with its details until they are no longer in that event.  But over all I like what Flicker allows us to do, as for many of us will never get to experience the life in a foreign country, some not even another state. It is through these photos shared that we live vicariously.

Thing 7

Having uploaded and organized pictures in facebook, Flicker easily distinguishes itself as a much better tool to upload, organize and search for pictures.  Its amazing how Flicker allows you to do so much with your photos; plus you get to interact with other peoples pictures as well, which also includes desired information about the photos.  Because I couldn't think of anything of interesting at the time, I searched for the tag "toes."  And to my surprise pages and pages appeared with feet as the subject.  To the corner (lower right) I found the tag box, not only with the tag "toes" but various associations to the toes in the pictures.  Associations like, "red," for the toe polish a subject may be wearing or "toe ring."  Upon looking at this box, my understanding of searching and storing pictures became quite clear.  Searching for one idea, I quickly and easily found myself clicker on the associations of subjects, leading me to pictures tagged with "nature."  Check out the photo I ended at, photographed by Andrew with cubagallery.

Thing 6

Gaia is a social networking site, with a virtual twist.  You can play games, join a forum or build your virtual platform.  Like Blogger, Gaia also allows you to create your own avatar.   What's interesting is how the virtuality follows into discussions, as your comments are posted on behalf of your Avatar, like a anime.  Most of the topics discussed here (i.e. games, comics, anime) would not be of interest to me; neither gaming nor virtual reality is what I enjoy; nonetheless, for some one who is into those three things, Gaia would be a great site as it includes all three features.  Also it is bound to be connected with more people of common interest unlike facebook, where the interest you share with one person may not be the interest you share with another.  The games I would not mind allowing students in my class using as a form of reinforcement, but the forums I would caution to stay away from as the content of discussion appeared not to be age appropriate. 

Thing 5

It was like an enlightenment had occurred, bringing my attention to  the web on how it took several forms of resources and made it assessible in one place; of course the idea is a lot more complex than it sounds.  Although, for the most part I do agree it replaced the phone book, phone, the library, etc., I would cautiously say the web replaced all those things; after-all, those things are still in use, maybe in a different way now- obviously by less people.  I think its important to note how the web changed things along with how the web will continue to change things, so that people like me as a teacher do not become complacent, or like some older people: lost and full of resentment.  Being informed and reminded of this very fact will only motivate me to be eager to learn new things, even if it's to avoid giving my students the upper hand in my class room.

Web 2.0 seems to be the most current and beneficial way to communicate and collaborate ideas.  While reading an article on wikipedia about the subject, I came across the implications for teachers to use it, which it stated "to give teachers the ability to create a more open atmosphere where students are expected to stay engaged and participate in discussions."  It made sense to me, but I did pessimistically consider if incorporating web 2.0 would guarantee communication and collaboration effectively.  I did find the characteristics of web 2.0 helpful in understanding the dynamics of its usefulness.  My understanding is, if students can take their knowledge and skills to combine with the latest technology, learning and improving reasoning would be warranted.  Students will have to apply basic knowledge of information learned in previous classrooms and current one to approach interactive technology. As long as school systems and government agencies are seeing its significants in our society and how its possibilities can promote quality improvement, schools will be expected to use these tools to enhance our students learning and performances, in turn prepare them for positions that will need to be filled to keep up with the way technology is running the nation.

Thing 4

Commenting on other people's blogs affirms that the person posting the blog and their ideas or welcomed or at least thought provoking.  Whether our responses express agreement or disagreement, our comments reveal what interest us. From there,  we can learn who else shares those interests, in what way they share those interest and what experiences or knowledge do they bring to support their comments.  In 10 Techniques to Get More Comments, I liked the idea of making it easy for people to comment.  On several occasions have I stumbled into a forum, in search of information, only to find that my comments were not welcomed because I was not a registered member.  In a world where technology constantly creates the need to become a member , it is unreasonable to require registration just to leave a comment.  Sure it makes sense to register if you are posing a question on the blog, and you have the need to make it accessible.

The blog also suggests "acknowledging comments," to let the commentators know their comments are appreciated.  Affirming peoples comments on Facebook has already been in my practice, but after hearing someone else suggesting the idea, I will commit myself to making more effort in "rewarding comments."  When I first started posting my thoughts on Facebook, I noticed that I did not get very many, if none, responses.  But once I started commenting on peoples posts, it was as if people were motivated to interact with me.  Maybe, responding to my post was their way of saying thank you for responding to their post.


I viewed exactly seven peoples blog, although, I wasn't sure if two of those blogs were suppose to be from "23 things" blog. One of these blogs was Olivia's.  On Olivia's blog, "Thing 7," I thought posting  the instructions to create a Flicker account and her response to the exercise was fairly easy to follow.  I thanked her for sharing this blog, as I intend to use this particular blog as a reference to complete "thing 7" for myself.  Next, "Thing 1" from Sydney's blog, in which She embraces the idea of being a lifelong learning. Having shared teaching and mentoring as the easiest habit, in my response I went on to elaborate on the idea, explaining why I find teaching and mentoring a habit to promote lifelong learning.  In John Phillips blog "Thing 1," I was  excited and curious to learn his reasons for choosing "accepting responsibility for his own learning" as one of the easiest habits. But I was not satisfied with his points he made to support his claim; more specifically, I  didn't see how "teachers wasting his time" connected to the idea of  him accepting responsibility for his own learning.

I responded to his blog by pointing out other factors that contribute to our ability to learn, in hopes that he would reevaluate his statement or give more consideration to the idea of responsibility of one's own learning.  On the contrary, Irwin's blog "Thing 1" had clear points to support why he choice "accepting responsibility for your own learning" as the easiest habit.  Not only did he identify the implications for this habit in school, but he also related it to life.  Irwin states clear examples of what is not away of accepting responsibility for one's own learning," which is followed by some personal reflections that others can relate to.  I responded with satisfaction of him including all those things in his blog. John Collins blog Thing 2 was how he described his experience creating it "simple." But John also described working with the Avatar as a difficult experience; nonetheless, he expressed his desire to eventually master the layout.  I could admire him as someone who was struggling but is yet determined to overcome an obstacle, which is why I offered to help him with what I feel I just mastered.

Then, I stumbled onto Ciapann's blog via Worldpress, which included tons of photos of what use to be an airport in Berlin. Just the thought of an airport being utilized for recreational purposes vs. used for illegal activities are advancing a dilapidated  transition, sounds  creative and expresses a sense of community.  Reading this blog, mostly staring at the pictures, I was surprise that this was an airport in Berlin, it also made me feel connected in some way to the culture, as I vicariously lived those moments of thier delight on what they now consider their playground, as I have to consider, I may never get to see Berlin in person.  I decided to respond as many people did with admiration, and surprise that people decided to use it in a positive manner as oppose to tearing it apart.

The last blog of my choice was a discussion about pinterest.  This blogger had ambivilence towards the innovative website, as the very idea she thought was great, was something she couldn't find the time or the ability to do.  I shared my thoughts, agreeing with her thoughts that pinterest can be viewed as a "bottomless pit,"  followed by a disagreement about pinterest pinners implying you are not a good mom, better yet person if you fail to make what they have suggested.  I ended my comment with one that requires thoughtful consideration, asking her to truly become aware of her own abilities to see if they were pinterest worthy.

Thing 10

Using RSS along with Google Reader was a great experience for me as it allowed me to view webpages, and blogs of my interest all in the same place.  It will not only keep me focused by placing each update in individual files to be opened to my own convenience, but also by posting the most current blogs, it will prevent me from getting distracted by old ones, that have the ability to make me overlook the most up-to-date blogs.  Plenty of websites have I saved to my favorites that I couldn't find (probably due to failing hardware) or remember I saved it.  Having the news feed as a tool I am assured that the pages of my interest will not get lost or neglected; instead, they will be viewed as intended.  As a teacher I can use it to stay informed of  the latest information and discussions about policies, technology, lessons plans; etc., all in a more efficient manner.  As recently discovered, I know that my collection of blogs and website will only increase, demanding the need for order, as I receive recommendations.  Furthermore, by using the news feeds, I will be put into a position to establish a sense of community, as it will allow me to easily locate posts/ blogs to recommend to other teachers.

Thing 3

I would use blogs to communicate with parents schedules of topics being covered, major projects, provide tools for parents to enhance student learning at home and opportunities to volunteer within the classroom.

Blogs would be a great tool used to inform students of things to take place in the classroom during the school year, which include: assignments, major projects, etc. I also see blogs as a means to facilitate a classroom book-club and to showcase student achievement, lastly, to communicate and share ideas with other classes outside of our region.

Thing 2

I feel as if the name for the blog came by default, as I struggled to find a name that was available.  The name for the post came as a result of following class requirements, in which I agree to its usefulness. Making the blog was reasonable; however, it was not as easy to relocate it.  It was in the midst of interacting with other features, I stumbled into the location of my post, a few times, establishing confidence of finding posts in the future. 

In creating the avatar, I went for the closest look to my actual appearance to show how content I am with the way I look. The avatar wears locs as I wear.  The degree to which our hair is dyed  red differs, as my hair has streaks, but I have plans to dye my entire hair.  I sometimes wear glasses (non prescription) just to feel studious and prefer to dress business casual, so I can be taken serious enough.  Lastly, since I often have my laptop with me, I did find it suitable for her to have one.

Thing 1

  Viewing problems as a challenge is easy for me to do; after all, challenges are a reality, so why not master them to minimize fear and uncertainty while building self-efficacy.  Approaching challenges has extrinsic and intrinsic (internal/external) values that follow .  Using technology to my advantage however,  has been overwhelming at times.  Being diagnosed with ADD, I often find myself easily distracting.  I get lost  figuring out the technology by itself, let alone making it applicable to my needs. As a result my behavior and attitude towards technology is negatively reinforced by avoiding it or limiting myself  in the knowledge I have surrounding it.

What I hope to gain from web 2.0 is the ability to gain and master all 7 and 1/2 habits of a lifelong learner.  If I can learn how to utilize technology to my advantage, the connection I would have to communicate with other learners would be endless.  I would be able to improvise and overcome the lack of real life experience I might not have had.  My job will be to teach, but my passion is to be a mentor.  A mentor, people tend to place them on the same a level with heroes: as if they are born that way.  As a result more people today are in need of them. Sharing with kids the very tools I find liberating yet empowering has the power to make kids see them selves as a force to be reckon with; furthermore a valuable asset to this nation.  I could go down the list of the habits to further demonstrate my point but I believe you get the idea.