Thing 11

Google is always the easiest to understand and use. I already subscribe to several blogs, but I found a new one called Voicethread-Computers and Writing 2009. This blog was created by Joe Wood. This blog explains how to create voice threads and it is pretty neat. You can find this blog in my shared items link if you want to look at it. I also clicked on links in blogs that I already subscribe to, to find other good blogs. Cool Cat Teacher is really good with providing links to other useful blogs. I think I successfully managed to place the RSS icon in my url.

Teacher Blogs Showcase: Teacher-bloggers share their interests and display their various skills and hobbies! - Teachers.Net Gazette

This is a cool site. They will send newsletters to your email and there are all kinds of articles and suggestions. They offer lesson plans, project ideas and lots more.
Teacher Blogs Showcase: Teacher-bloggers share their interests and display their various skills and hobbies! - Teachers.Net Gazette

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Thing 10

I set up the feeder and created a public page with no trouble at all. Check my blog, the link is on the sidebar. Teachers could use this to keep up with their favorite educational blogs and to post their own ideas. Communication is a very useful and, I would say, essential part of being a teacher and with this RSS feed you can keep up to date with the very latest technology.

I was already a subscriber to some educational blog sites and Google Reader puts them all in the same place. You can also put them on iGoogle which is more compact and there they are right at your fingertips.

Thing 9

I used the comic strip generator. But I selected a magazine cover instead. It was very simple to do and easy to post on your blog. Students will have fun with this tool and can create comic strips of lessons, which will reinforce their learning. I really like this tool, the possibilities for using it in a classroom setting are only limited by your imagination. Just click on the magazine cover and it will take you to the Imageshack site. The code it shows is mine, but there are links to the site at the bottom of the page. The site provides free image hosting, but you can subscribe if you want access to more features for $8.00 a month.

Thing 8

I created a mosaic of my digital pictures using zumyn mosaic creator. The process is easy and so was putting on my blog page. I had a little trouble placing it in the right place, but I finally discovered that placing at the bottom worked best.

Students would have a great time creating projects using third party tools. This is great for home use as well. I created the mosaic and saved it as a jpeg file and now I can print it as a picture to frame. Like Zumyn states these would make a very creative gift.

A mosaic made from historical pictures would be an ideal project for my future students. I plan to use this when I have my own class.

thing 7

me & jr
Originally uploaded by lorijax45

My husband, Junior, and me at Cumberland Falls, Ky. I have joined Flickr and uploaded some of my photos. This is an easy site to navigate and it's fun. I created my own url for looking at my pictures and now I am going to try to figure out what photo mashing is.

Things 5 & 6

School 2.0 offers the opportunity for teachers to open many new avenues for their students education. Discussions between teachers of different nationalities are possible and the global educational door is opened. Learning what and how students of other countries are learning is exciting to me and I think that my students would be interested and excited to be involved in a learning project with a class from across the world. School 2.0 and Web 2.0 tools help to make this possibility a reality. Schools in the future will benefit as technology progresses. These tools are beneficial to educators, students and their parents. Parents can be as involved with their child's ongoing projects as they want to be.

I joined wetpaint from our list of Web 2.0 tools and installed a wiki on the sidebar of my blog. This site has everything. You can blog, chat, join educational communities and link it to your facebook page if you want. It is very easy to sign up and it is free. There is a video tab and you can add your own video or view videos from all over the world. Click on the tabs at the top of the wiki and you can get an idea of how wetpaint works and what it offers.

I especially like the videos tab because it offers lots of choices. You will need to be selective with how you allow your students to use the site, but for classroom viewing it is a useful tool. For example, I want to teach history and there is an excellent video of the Bill of Rights. You can also create your own website. This could be used for a class project for almost any age group. Wetpaint has excellent instructions, so creating the site is easy.

Thing #4

I read the material provided and commented on five of my classmates blogs. There were some really helpful sites on their blogs. I also subscribed to Teachers.net, The Social Studies Teacher's blog and Cool Cat teachers. These blogs are filled with useful information and lots of support from other teachers. I simply googled teacher blogs and find more than I could possibly read.

I chose to read Shannon's, Abbey's, David's, Lori Gill's and Jeff's blogs. I chose them at random, because I don't really know anyone in our class. But I was glad that I did, because they posted some insights and websites.

Making well thought out comments on a blog allows other people to read your ideas and add their input. It is also important when commenting on a blog to make sure your response is well thought out and not just "I agree with you."

I complimented them on their choice of website to post and I really looked at them. They also had some interesting thoughts on how blogging could be used in a classroom setting.