Thing #8

Before I started this thing, I had no idea what a wiki was. I had heard the word before but, I didn't know anything about wikis or their purpose. After doing a little clicking and reading, I have figured out what wikis are and I have also seen some great ways to use wiki's in the classroom. In some my favorite wikis that I saw, the teachers did an excellent job of finding ways to include students. There were even a few wikis were teachers were able to include young students, like Kindergartens and/or First Graders.

My mind is already churning and trying to come up with ways that I can incorporate wikis into my classroom. I think wikis are a great Web 2.0 tool that students can be introduced to and find that they can be successful. My only concern is that I am not sure I can obtain a wiki address that will not be blocked by my school district. Looks like I will need to do some investigation.

Thing #7

Commenting can be intimidating. You are putting yourself out there for all to read. No one wants to look like an idiot.You want to come up with something profound to say and sometimes I don't have anything to say. Had I not been "forced" to leave comments, I probably would never have done so.
However, by doing this activity, it also forced to read multiple posts of others' blog. I was interesting seeing what others had to say. I found many people had posts on similar things. Many teacher blogs are expressing a concern about the need for updating school's technology so that it meets the needs of our students.
Now, I want to keep reading and keep commenting.

Thing #6

I completed Thing #5 over a week ago before I started Thing #6. I did not look at my reader in that week. When I logged into my reader I had over 1,000 new feeds. WOW! That was a lot to look at. However, I was able to skim through the headlines and find out current information. Obviously, I knew that the CNN news posts were old and I was able to skip most of those.
Now, after spending some time searching for blog that I find interesting I want to be checking my reader to look for udpates on the blogs.

Thing #5

I AM A NEWS JUNKY!!!! I am constantly watching the news at 5, 6, and 10. I also read CNN Yahoo news, and MSN news daily. I added CNN to my reader and I love that I can get updates without having the visit all these sites. I spent several hours today adding these sites to my RSS. Spending the time doing this will save me some valuable time everyday.

One of the articles, I came across was an article about people having diffuculities finding jobs as they finish their degrees or training. I could relate to the article becuase my husband is one of those epople out there looking for work. It's just a hard pill to swallow knowing that there are so many qualified canidates out there and there are not enough jobs out there. It's just very overwhelming and it is a very slow process.

Below is a link to the article...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33242201/ns/business-businessweekcom/

Thing #4

As I have been reading different educational blogs, I have found a whole new world of information out there. Some good things and some bad things about blogs. The blogs that I read today provided me with great ideas for my classroom like having my students read blogs for SSR. I would love to find some blogs that my students will be interesting and could read and provide comments on.

The great things about blogs is that they are easy to read. I think my blogs are written in simple enough language that even my third graders can read them. Also, because blogs are written in simple language it makes it easy for children to respond.

I am hoping to find some blogs that I can share with my third graders. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

Thing #2

Prior to looking at Thing #2, I thought I was pretty internet savvy. Now, I realize I was a 1.0 user. I did not interact with the internet. I knew how to find information on the web but, that's about as far as it goes. I don't think I even realized how much was out there. I have heard people talk about different things like wikis and podcasts but I have no idea how to set one up or even how to use it in the classroom.

I am interested in learning new technologies and figuring out how to use them in the classroom. One obstacle that I think I may face is finding things that my students can do or have access to in the 45 minutes if our weekly computer lab time. Many of my students do not have access to computers at home but I want to expose the to what is out there.

I think that it is my job to expose my students to these 2.0 activities. I know they are not going to get the exposure from home. Also, in the future, I want my students to be competitive with children who have computers in their home.

I can't wait to experience more of the 2.0 activities and then use them in the classroom.

Thing #1

As I think about the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners, I reflect back on my days when I graduated with my bachelor's and started my first year of teaching. I think I was living in the land of "Da-Nile." I thought I had learned everything I needed to learn in college and I was prepared for my first year of teaching. Now, I think back and I just pray that I didn't cause permanent damage to the students in my first class.

Since I graduated with my bachelors degree, I have earned my Master's degree and taken too many staff development classes to name. I know that I am a much better teacher now than I was then. I think I have used to 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners without even realizing it.

However, if I look at each habit individually, I think the one that I have used and will continue to use "accept responsibility for your own learning." I think the only way you can improve yourself is to take the initiative to do it yourself. I realized quickly when I started teaching that I didn't know everything. I needed to learn more. With that thought, I have tried to continue to learn new things every year.

I think the habit that I have the most problems with is teaching and mentoring others. I am the person that always has alot on my plate. I am always busy. I just don't have the patience to mentor or teach others. It just frustrates me when I have to spend time teaching people and they don't "get it"the first time. Then I have to spend more time reteaching. It tests my patience.

During the course, I think I will use the habit "Begin with the end in mind." I know that the end of this course, I want to be successful in all the 2.0 activities. I want to be able to use the things in my class. That is my goal for the class and I guess we'll see how the class unravels.

Stat tuned to see how the 2.0 activities are used by me and can be used in my classroom.