Thing #11 Feeds

Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use?

I have to say that I really like Google Reader and RSS the most. They are both user-friendly and accessible to myself since I use Gmail. Both have tools that recommend additional blogs to follow.

Which Search tool was the easiest for you?

Google Reader was the easiest for me. Some of the others were confusing which leads to the next question...

Which was more confusing?

I looked at Topix.net and Technorati. I had no idea what to do on Topix.net and it looked like a chatboard. I then looked at Technorati and watched the tutorial. This was an "okay" search site but not very appealing. Both of these sites also seemed very dated.

What other tools or ways did you find to locate newsfeeds?

I think Google is the way to go, for myself at least. It's easy for anyone to use and it stays up-to-date.

Thing #10 I Have FINALLY Learned About RSS!

I have been an avid blog reader for some time and when stumbling upon a new one to follow, I would always notice that one way to subscribe was to use an RSS feed. I never knew what that was (until now!)and for some reason I have never looked into it. It's so easy!

What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?

What I love about RSS is that instead of subscribing to blogs with my email address (like I used to do), I can subscribe through RSS and have all of the blogs I follow under my Google Reader account. This way, new blog posts are not taking up room in my email and all of the new posts are in one place for me to read at my convenience.

How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?

For my personal and professional life, I will be able to use RSS to subscribe to blogs that will help and enhance my classroom and personal life. RSS conveniently keeps all of my subscriptions in one place and is easily accessible.

How can teachers use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?

Teachers can subscribe to readers or blogs that give useful information for their classroom conveniently through RSS. Teachers may also set up a classroom blog and offer RSS as a subscription service.

Thing #9 Fun Image Generators

There are quite a number of free image generators out there. Image generators are fun to make signs for your classroom or to put on your classroom blog. For the above image, I used an arcade games generator. I love classic video games and my favorite one is Galaga. There are numerous options for making an image generator such as cartoons, famous people, smileys, or even upload your own image.

Thing #8 - Travel with Flickr!

I've never really thought of mashups before reading this article about it by Wikipedia. I learned that a mashup is a remix of digital data. Flickr does this by incorporating Google Maps with the location of the images on the site. I thought this would be a great way to explore different areas of the world with my class. If we are studying say, Ireland, we could search "Ireland" on Flickr to bring up images from that area as well as learn exactly where in Ireland the image is from. This would give the students a more realistic look into life in that area than just looking at a map.

I do not mind sharing photos online as long as they are appropriate and not too personal. I read a lot of "teacher" blogs and I have noticed that they do not show the faces of their students for privacy reasons.

Thing #7 Flickr

Clouds, a photo by StephanieWphotos on Flickr.

I explored Flickr numerous times for this post and finally chose a picture of a Northern Pygmy Owl (I have a new, weird fascination with them for some reason). I know what you're thinking..this isn't a picture of a pygmy owl. This is because I tried and TRIED to upload the picture using the photo link on Blogger and it just would not work for me. Then I thought it would be cooler to have my own Flickr account anyway, so I did just that. I love taking pictures with my iPhone. I took this picture of clouds with my phone and I really like it so I thought I would share it!

Thing #6 Discovering Web 2.0 Tools - Flickr

While there were many sites that I'm familiar with and used on Web 2.0, I've never taken the opportunity to explore Flickr. Flickr is a photo sharing website where you can upload and share photos as well as videos. You can also explore photos uploaded by other people all around the world. Photos may be shared from Flickr to Facebook, Twitter, blogs, emails, and more.

What did you like or dislike about the tool?

The features I love: photo sharing, the option to have your photos private, the great photography from others. As for now, since I'm so new to the site, there is not a feature that I dislike.

What were the site’s useful features?

The site's useful features are the photo sharing features. Flickr makes it easy to post photos to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites as well as emails.

Could you see any applications for its use in a school or library setting?

Flickr is a great tool for teachers to store photos for presentations as well as visual representations of different elements of content.

Thing #5 Web 2.0/School 2.0 What Does This Mean for the Future of Education?

I remember when I purchased our first computer for my husband and I in 1994. He was returning from a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula and I wanted to surprise him with a welcome home gift. We were also newlyweds at the time. To date, that computer is the most expensive one we've ever purchased (they were quite expensive back then). It took a while to get used to, but I loved everything about it! It helped me research for school, it helped me budget, it helped me with time organization and record keeping and a variety of other resources. It made my life a little simpler and who doesn't love that?

Since then, computers and technology has changed so rapidly its almost hard to keep up with the latest tech trends. Today, technology can help me in so many more ways than it did back in 1994. I call my iPhone my lifeline. With my iPhone I'm just a text or call away from my husband and children, my calender keeps up with all of my appointments, I can twitter, I can facebook, and I can access my email from anywhere. I love it!

What does "School 2.0" mean to you?

If technology can help me so much with my personal life, it can definitely help in the classroom. As a future special education teacher, I would love to work with different assistive technologies with my students. I have witnessed an elementary CDC classroom where the iPad was a very useful tool for teaching literacy. The internet is definitely the most useful technology tool in schools today. Information is so accessible on the internet and can be easily found and used by any teacher.

What does it mean for schools of the future?

I believe that School 2.0 is just the beginning of the future of technology in schools. I also believe that the traditional "lecture taught" class with students sitting in desks for the majority of the day will not be so common in the future. A technology driven curriculum does not mean students will be sitting at a computer all day. Technology assists learning for those who may be out of school due to injuries or illness (virtual school). Technology allows more interaction between the curriculum and the student, which engages them and gives a new concept to learning.

Thing #4 Why Commenting Is So Important

Why does commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction?

I really enjoyed the article from the Cool Cat Teacher Blog about commenting. Everyone who blogs LOVES to receive any number of comments (even if it's just one!) because it is so exciting for someone to stumble across your blog and read your thoughts. The author also suggests hyperlinking your posts (as I hyperlinked the blog and article I am discussing) to anything information you are blogging about. This gives the readers a reference to what and where you found your information, which is what a lot of blogs are about - sharing information! Also, replying to comments that your readers have left you gives them a sense that they are heard and friendships may be formed.
 
Any other points about commenting?

Accepting comments on your blog opens an invitation for conversation and shared information. It is important to keep an open mind but also be gracious and not rude. Opinions may differ, which is to be expected, but always keep comments polite and always be polite when replying to a comment. Problogger's 10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog is an informative post about commenting with great tips!

Name some blogs you are currently following.

I have found some education blogs that I absolutely love to read!

Extra Special Teaching
Little Literacy Learners
 Ready 2 Read
What the Teacher Wants



Discuss the comments that you chose to make and why you made them.

I commented on:

Leslie Midlick's blog about how I loved how she signed her posts. She had fun and unique closings for each post.

Luanne Milam's blog about Thing #6. She found that Etsy.com has vendors that sell educational items. I'm thrilled about that because I love Etsy!

Naomi Williamson's blog about Thing #21 - Animoto. I commented mainly because I have known Naomi since I started the MAT program and it was great to finally see her family!