Thing #5

     Web 2.0 refers to social interaction on the internet as opposed to simply gathering information from an internet source.  You could say that it is similar to having a conversation with someone as opposed to sitting in a corner with an encyclopedia.  The main thing that I took away from the short film was that Web 2.0 is about people and would not exist without their sharing/interaction.  It is also about enhancing our lives by making information and socialization easier for all.
     School 2.0 is an extension of Web 2.0.  Students learn in and outside of the classroom and both of these environments can be enhanced by the internet.  They can take a trip to the Smithsonian through classroom activities or at home.  They can communicate with a pen pal or visit a classroom across the country immediately.  They can work math problems without a pencil and read a book without an actual book............wait a minute..........is that a good thing?  Well, I said enhance, not replace!  Nothing can replace real face-to-face interaction, a good balance between this and the web is essential in a child developing into a well-rounded member of our society.  Integration and exposure to technology in real-life is essential.............and so is reading a "real" book!
     I envision future schools to be very technologically advanced.  Funds (and maybe old ways of thinking) are some things that hold our schools back from this now.  How cool would it be for every student to have access to the web and be provided an ipad?  How great would it be for students to not have to carry a 50 pound backpack around?  I also have to wonder if grade levels would disappear with each student's curriculum tailored individually.  That would really make more sense, each student at their own pace with personalized challenges.

Thing #4

One of the purposes of a blog is to share information. If there is no interaction then you might as well just be talking to yourself or keeping a journal. If you are blogging instead of journaling, then you want interaction and want to be heard. Everyone wants validation of their opinion and/or a different perspective. This interaction naturally leads to a community of shared ideas and thoughts.
I really enjoyed reading the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. The the first thing that is mentioned is to write meaningfully. If you don't have something meaningful to say then don't comment just to be commenting! I also agree that you should use real world examples in your comments when possible.
I am going to follow the classmate blogs listed below. I chose to follow these particular blogs because I have had classes with them before and would like to get to know them better.
Naomi's 23 Things
Stephanie's 23 Things Blog
Bullock's 23
K Mott's Blog
Miss Keem's 23 Things for 5540
I enjoy getting ideas from the following Scholastic site that is written for teachers by teachers. I want to follow The Pioneer Woman because I am curious to see all of the aspects of a successful and prosperous blog.
Scholastic's Top Teaching
The Pioneer Woman Here's what I said and why I said it! Kendra, in Thing #11, provided a great website that ties art and literature together. This resource makes it easy for teacher collaboration as they plan a more meaningful lesson for their students. Kim, in Thing #21, had a great suggestion for using Animoto. Everything Kim had to say in this post was exactly what I would say, except she said it better! In Melissa's final post, I complimented her on her writing style....straight from the hip.....I enjoyed her straight-forwardness and humor in all of her posts. I commented on Stephanie's first post, however, my comment is really about her favorite teacher blogs that are posted on the right of her pages. I am always looking for resources and these are great ones! Naomi, in Thing #18, provides a great source (Sandy Fleming) for Twitter following. I had been looking for something else to "beef up" my Twitter account! The Pioneer Woman is such a great site. I commented on the photography section where there were some beautiful photos, very inspiring and motiviating for me to get outside and start shooting! I commented on one of the Scholastic articles about a "virtual spring cleaning" of your computer. This article offered great tips for organization.

Thing #3

     I registered my blog and am continuing my journey through the 23 things.  The Edublog list is full of great ideas and I will keep this list for future reference.
     I like the idea of students having weblogs and responding to literacy assignments or writing prompts.  This gives them the opportunity to be creative, improve their technological skills, and take responsibility for their work in a different way.  By creating this portfolio, their parents would also have immediate access to their work and hopefully be more involved in their learning.  There are endless possibilities to what the students could do with a weblog, I would have to choose carefully due to time constraints.
     I would definitely use a blog for communication with parents and students.  Class schedules, assignments, activities, photos, work examples, etc. could all be part of the blog.  I would also create a newsletter based off the blog information to be sent home, not everyone has internet access.
     I enjoy hearing what other teachers are doing, so it would be great to create a blog chronicling my first year of teaching and getting input from other teachers.

Thing #2

• How did you decide on your posting name and the name of your blog?

The name of my blog was easy, it is what it is.  I am so technologically challenged that I am not sure what my posting name is.  Can someone tell me?

• What was your experience in creating the blog? Was it hard for you or easy? Why?

It was a bit difficult as I had never done this before.  Just finding my way around the layout and figuring out where to change text color and such took some experimentation and mistakes.

• How does your avatar reflect your personality? Did you create an avatar that looks like your real self or someone totally different? Why?

I tried to make it look like me, it reminded me of setting up the Wii game console for the first time.  I had a hard time deciding whether to use books or coffee as my accessory.  Decisions, decisions.  It was fun to do :)

Thing #1

     The habit that is easiest for me is #1, beginning with the end in mind.  I cannot remember a time when I didn't naturally think this way, it's in my DNA.  When I started the MAT program, I began with the end goal in mind.  I thoroughly investigated the pros and cons, why I wanted to do this, the hard work involved, the money involved, the impact on my family, the impact on my free time, and the rewards at the end.  After much soul searching, I decided that the reward would be worth the sacrifices and so here I am.
     The habit that is the hardest for me is #4, having confidence in myself as a competent effective learner.  I have 30 hours completed in this program, all A's, and still I question my abilities.  I don't worry so much about learning in the classroom but my ability to apply it in the elementary classroom.  I lack confidence in this area because I lack experience in the real world classroom.  I can learn all day, but can I translate what I have learned in a competent, effective way in my future classroom?  I learn by doing and need to volunteer in some classrooms to become more comfortable with that. I need to quit procrastinating about that and make time to do it.
     Lifelong learning means that we are constantly learning through our experiences.  I believe that there is a lesson to be learned in everything that we do, be it in a learning environment or everyday situation.  We learn from our mistakes and we learn from our successes.