Thing 12

https://www.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1

http://www.google.com/alerts/manage?mqm=c&q=Current+Events&x=AMJHsmVISEF7vpRJ81stEoNpr_Be_f-lHA:1329343833330

I decided to use the calender and the alerts. I really like the calender and it was very easy to set up and use. This would be great for keeping track of things going on in the classroom and events coming up in the school, like assemblies and drills. The alerts were really neat too because it lets you decide what topics you want, how often you want them, and where you want them sent to. This would be good for educational use because you could get alerts on new technology ideas, new events happening in education, different activities, etc. 

Thing 11

I think the easiest method of finding feeds is to use the search tools specifically for blogs. On websites that I usually visit, I do not really notice that there are icons for me to put into my RSS. The easiest search tool for me was probably the Technorati. One, it allows to to search for blogs very easily. Another thing is that is lets you find the topics that you want to put in your RSS. I did not find any of the tools to be confusing. They all allowed you to look for what you wanted and allowed you to be able to put the feeds into your RSS. I found these to be interesting. Anytime I look for a blog, I use regular Google. To see that there was a Google for blogs was really nice and will make searching much easier. I liked that the Topix.net had your location so that you could look at things that are happening in your area or state. I found a website called Syndic8.com and this site allows you to find RSS and Atom news feeds on many different topics.

Thing 10

• Something that I like about the Google Reader is that you can subscribe to anything you want and there are many different topic areas for you to choose from. It is nice that there is something like RSS to keep you updated on new things that have arrived for you to use.
• This is great for school because it lets you read about things that are going on all over the world as well as in your own state with schools and if you are aware of things that are happening you can do your best to help change the things that may not be going as smoothly as they should be. It allows you to stay updated on the latest issues in education and as a teacher that is very important. 
• Teachers can use RSS to their advantage by actually using it. If you have ever looked up things on a website, sometimes it is just not up to date for what you need. RSS is a neat thing to have so that you can always have the latest information on a topic that you are following on a regular basis.

Thing 9

These were a couple of my creations from the custom sign generator. The process for creating these was not difficult at all to complete. The site is pretty easy to follow and all you need to do at the end is right click and save to your computer. I think that for the classroom you could create a lot of things that students would really enjoy. Some classrooms do a star of the week, or helper of the week, and this would be a great way to put their picture up in a fun way. I would use this personally for different things as well. This would be fun to use for parties/events to display what the event was and who it is for.

Thing 8

This is an example of the Mosaic Mash up on Flickr. I chose to do pictures from the one place that I would really like to travel to which is Ireland. This could be used for a lot of things in the classroom. You could make one for the seasons, months of the year, the alphabet, sight words, etc. This is great for anything you can think of really! I will definitely refer back to this when I have my own classroom and need ways to put things together. I would not mind sharing photos online with others. Obviously we need people to share photos otherwise we would not be able to use sites like this. If they are going to be beneficial to others I would definitely share my photos online with others.

Thing 7

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuppini/4852884811/

On Flickr I decided to use the key word history to see what it would give me. I really enjoyed looking through all the photos and seeing what it came up with. I have never heard of Flickr so I was interested to see if it would be a good site or not. I also like that it gives you a few different size options to view the photos. There are times when you go to sites like Google images and it is always the image you want that will not get any bigger. I think that Flickr is definitely something that I will continue to use for different assignments and also for things I do in the classroom with my future students.

Thing 6

I decided to look into Pandora. I know that a lot of people use it but I had never payed much attention to it. Something that I like about Pandora is that you can pick any kind of music you like, which makes it easy to find stations for you to use in the classroom. I also like that it is not something that I had to pay to listen to the music. I went ahead and listened to a few things that I personally like and they were all really great song choices for what description I gave. Anything that teachers can use that does not cost anything and is beneficial to the students learning is wonderful. Even if there was no application for its use in a school or library setting, I think that it would be approved by a principal for a teacher to use a Pandora app and play songs in the classroom. IPod's are being used quite a bit in the classroom and I think that music can be used as a learning tool or be played while students are having some free time.

Thing 5

I chose to take a look at the Horizons Report and Teachers 2.0. What I liked about the Horizons is that it gives a lot of information about technology and how it is increasing for people of all ages. Technology is something that is always improving and now it has become a focal point in the schools at all levels. The Teachers 2.0 was a really neat podcast. I have never used a podcast and now that I know what it can do I am interested to see what I will be able to do with it in the future. I like that there was a host who brought different guests on to discuss a specific topic together. It is important for teachers from all over to discuss different ideas to help one another out in the classroom. There is always room for improvement and always more for us as future teachers/current teachers to learn. To me, I think that "School 2.0" means more technology and better things for students to benefit from. It sounds like the schools will be really focusing on what technology can do for them and the learning environment. Schools in the future I think will be using way more technology that what we do now. I also feel that in the future the technology will be so advanced and not have all of the "glitches" that we have now. All of the technology that we use now in the classroom will be more improved and advanced for students to benefit from in all aspects of learning. 

Thing 3

A blog could be something very useful in the classroom. Even in grade school, I think that a classroom could share one for parents to use with their students. It would be great for a schedule of events that were coming up and students could put ideas into the blog. Parents could also use it for ideas for the teacher as well. I think that it would be a great way for students, teachers, and parents to all keep in contact and share ideas together for things like field trips, different activities, parties, and so on. Students, with their parents, could also post things in the blog like what their favorite things are at the time such as cartoons, movies, outdoor activities, games, snacks, etc. This would give the teacher ideas for different things to use in classroom that the students would enjoy learning from.

Thing 2

When it came to the name of my blog and my posting blog, I really just wanted something easy that I knew I would remember and what would be better than my name! Creating this blog was not difficult for me to do but I am also still working on being interested in the idea of a blog. This is something that is new to me and something that I have never been interested in but after looking at other blogs I have realized that this could be very beneficial to me and my future in the classroom. The avatar was made based on what I look like, as close as I could get it anyways! I like to create things that reflect me because this is about me and the things I like and my opinions.

Thing 1

I think that all of the lifelong learning habit's are easy for me except for one. Confidence is not always something I always have but at the end of the day I know that I am able to accomplish anything I set my mind to. The first one, begin with a goal, is my favorite because I always go into something with a goal. This helps me to stay focused and determined on what I am trying to complete. I have never heard of the Web 2.0 tools referred to as Web 2.0 tools. Even though I use some of the tools, some I do not so I am excited to see what they will do for me and what I will learn from the tools. Setting up the blog was not very difficult for me. I have never been a blog person so I think it will be interesting to see what I gain from this and if I will continue to use it in my future career as an educator.