Is it the End or only the Begining?

I would have to say that one of my most favorite discoveries was the GoodReads application  and the application that allows us to make videos with our photos.  That was so much fun! I would also have to say that this program has effected my life long learning goals.  For instance, I plan to use alot of the things I learned in my classroom.

I don't think that there really is anything that is needed to make this program better I thought it was great! I plan to use many of the applications in my classroom with my students. I plan to use new developments by trying to stay in touch with the latest technology and of course bookmarking sites.

Thing 23

Now that I know a little bit more about Creative Commons I think it will be a great tool to show my students in the classroom.  I will be able to teach the children that I have in my classroom that it is okay to borrow and share pictures as long as its alright with the original owner of that video or picture.  I will also be able to show my students and explain to them what plagiarizing is and how to effectively avoid it.

Thing 22

I thought that LiveBinders was a great tool to be able to have and to use to organize tons of information.  It will ultimately minimize the clutter that usually takes up space on a teachers desk.  Teachers will be able to easily access the ideas that they have stored away and will also be able to show them to other teachers. The names that I gave my binders were Literature Craft Ideas, Fun Literature Games, and Reading Comprehension test Questions.

Thing 21

I thought this application was awesome!  I will definitely use it a lot more in the future.  I really enjoyed making this video and incase you would like to watch it heres the link! 

http://animoto.com/play/P0sbHnKrxGHP2rcFS6KDEg

Thing 20

Youtube is an awesome website that I use almost daily.  I always look up songs I like, funny videos, and clips of movies that I can't find in my house.  However, I did discover that Youtube is also useful for find educational videos.  You can find almost anything on this site!  I found an animation of a children's book called "Don't let the Pidgin Drive the Bus".  This is such a cute story to read to a class for story time to help encourage reading and the animation is just as good. I have included the link below so enjoy! I thought it was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V10jhsNIMI8

Thing 19

I am a member of a few online communites such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, and now TeacherPop.     I found a few of the links on the page interesting to me.  For instance, GoodReads was something that really appealed to me.  I thought that it was very interesting because I love to read, I am always looking for a good book to read. It is something that I will definitely use later.

Thing 18

It is important that teachers know how social networking sites work because I think that as teachers it is very important to keep yourself up to date on what is going on in the world.  I have had a Facebook account for a few years now and I just recently got a Twitter account.  I would have to say that there are both good and bad things about both websites.  

For instance, I like how on Facebook you can post pictures and keep up with things you like and people you know, but I don't like how public everything is.  Twitter on the other hand seems to be more private, but less user friendly (although this may be because I just got my account).

Although, I admit that both these social networking sites are very fun and even helpful to use, but I cannot see any school using either of these applications unless they were trying to promote a fundraiser or something.  Here's the link to my facebook page though!


http://www.facebook.com/hope.mishel

Thing 17

 I thought that Delicious was a great bookmarking site.  It is definitely an awesome tool that teachers can use and have access to.  One great thing about this websites and others like it, is that it makes it very easy for teachers to get ideas and to look things up.  

Teachers can take advantage of sites like this and Stumble-upon by just simply going onto the website and seeing exactly what they can find to implement in their classroom.  It will help with lesson plans and make things overall somewhat easier for teachers.  I will definitely be using a bookmarking site to help keep my ideas organized in my classroom.

Thing 16

The start page that I chose was from the iGoogle.  I decided to chose iGoogle because I am pretty familiar with Google and how it works.  So I didn't really expect it to be that hard to figure out.  I think that I will make this my permanent home page.  I liked how I could customize it and how easily I could choose things that were interesting to me to appear on the screen.  So for now, yes I think I will be making it my permanent home page.  

Online Calendars can be very useful to you.  For instance, they are a wonderful when helping to keep things organized.  Not to mention, they are very convenient and easy to check.  I thought the To do lists were very helpful and they were not that much work at all surprisingly!  I think that when it comes to using the tools in my classroom it will be easy to use the Calendar to keep track of important dates.  This is definitely one tool that I would recommend to others.

Thing 15

I thought that this was a very interesting experience.  Also, I can see why in the past some of my professors told me that Wikipedia is not really a good place to go looking for information, because it can be edited so easily.  However, one feature that I did find that I really liked was that you can create your own page and share that  and other information with others.

Thing 14

The first Flowchart application that I clicked on was Giffy.  I thought that the Flowchart about what to do if you ever suspect someone has stolen your lunch cracked me up.  Other than that I thought this was an awesome website and a great tool for teachers and students.  Teachers can use this in their classroom, especially if the lesson is over brainstorming or simply going over a story that was read in class.

As far as the mindmap application, I thought it was also a great tool for students.  Students can use this application to brainstorm and get ideas.  Also, I thought this application was easy to use.  However, I would have to say that I really liked the flowcharts better.  I feel that they are easier to understand than mindmaps.

Thing 13

Exploring Zoho Docs was very worthwhile.  I feel that it would be an awesome tool to use when making tests, quizzes, or anything else for the students in mu classroom.  I liked how this website was very organized.  You can make folders for anything!  This will help those like myself who have problems staying organized.  I thought it was so cool that you could not only created tests, but presentations as well! Not to mention, videos and other things that might be useful in class.

Students could easily work collaboratively in Google Docs.  Students can make presentations, drawings, and ect.  Also, like Zoho Docs, students can take quizzes.  Teachers can also use Google Docs to make tests and presentations for their students.  Also, I like Zoho becuase it is an application that can be used without a Mac computer.

However, after looking at both websites, I think I like both of them.  I would have to say that Google Docs was a little better to use when making tests and quizzes.  But overall I thought they were great websites that teachers and students can benefit from.  Here is the link to the document that I created in Google Docs https://docs.google.com/forms/d/167EMfyVBnpTDJPpBxOjYaSpEX4z8NCSdqcoilh1aQFw/viewform.

Thing 12

The two things that I decided to search were the Google Translate and the Google Calendar.  The calendar includes everything that I plan to do for the week and how I plan to accomplish these taskes. Google translathttps://www.google.com/calendar/rendere was something that I found to be very useful as well.

Thing 11

One of the easiest search tools that I found to be useful was  the google search blog.  In the past, I have used Yahoo to search for things before.  Yahoo searches are something I am used to and find easy.  However, Google is always the search engine I go to. I also searched Bing and Topix but I was too distracted by everything else going on in the page rather than searching.  There were some interesting features and tools.  Overall, I think Google is the best search engine to use.

Thing 10

After watching the video, I discovered that RSS gets new updates about other blogs that your follow.  This saves tons of time, and is very convient.  By saving time, you can get other things done quicker as well so I think that this is something that everyone who blogs should use.

This is also a great application because it will help educators stay up to date on new technological advances that they can implement in their classrooms. RSS also allows teachers to have access to a lot of ideas. I plan to definitely use this in the future.

Thing 8

While completing thing 8, I discovered how fun it could be to use Flickr mashups.  It can even be more fun to use in a classroom setting.  For instance, students could use mashups when getting pictures together for an assignment or a project.  I used a mosaic mashup that took pictures off my computer and complied them into a cool way to show pictures.  These mashups will be so fun to use in my classroom for assignments, and if I enjoy them I'm sure my students will as well.

Thing 9

Hello Bloggers!

For this assignment, I used the Application called John's Background Switcher.  You can use this application to create new backgrounds for your computer.  They can also rotate any of the photos that you already have in place on your computer.  They also let you dictate when and how long it takes for your photos to roatate and which ones to show in rotation.  I made the background shown above the letters in black say hello bloggers but because it is in such a small print I thought I would tell you just to let you know.  I found this application to be really fun and useful.  I will definitely use it again.

Thing 7

Good morning bloggers! While browsing Flicker this morning I stumbled upon this absolutely awesome photo by CubaGallery. I love anything vintage and I especially love photography.  I think this photo really was a combination of the two. I love the lighting and how the photo was taken.  Not to mention, I think that cameras are the coolest thing.  I thought this picture was very creative and it just made my day.  So heres's hoping that it makes yours too! Here's the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/cubagallery/5741430753/.

Thing 6

The http://www.go2web20.net/site/?a=Smore website caught my attention almost immediately.  This website is great and helps to make flyers quicker and easier than ever before!  The website itself seems easy to use and I really like that the website has tons of examples of flyers available and allows you to quickly personalize your own.  However, one thing that I was not impressed with was how long it took for me to actually be logged in.  It seemed like I had to wait forever to gain access to the site.

The website has many useful features.  Although the one that I found to be the most useful was that it shows the viewer millions of flyers that other poeple have made.  It would allow the viewer to gain some ideas of how they might want to advertise and format their flyer. 

I could definitely see some applications for its use in the school system.  Teachers could use this website to have students make their own flyers about a book they read in class, a certain cause like to raise awareness for, and ect.  There are many things that teachers and students could do with this application. 

Thing 5

Until this assignment, I never knew how big of a deal Comic Sans appear to be.  Honestly, I do not see why they would even be considered a big deal in the first place.  As long as text is clear enough to be read, I think Comic Sans would be fine to use.

However, School 2.0 to mean basically means that more and more technology will be and continue to be introduced in schools.  Everything today is becoming more digital.  For example, when I was in school teachers were still using chalkboards and dry erase boards.  Today, not all teachers, but many have smartboards that they use in their classrooms.  Therefore, School 2.0 to me means that technology will always be around and will revolutionize the education system.

For schools in the future, this means that teachers will have to teach children to become used to working with different types of technology.  It will also mean that students will be responsible for finding and interpreting a lot of  information.  Teachers should focus on teaching students how to anaylze information and how to find what they are looking for. 

Thing 1

After reading the Seven and a Half Learning habits, I was quickly able to recognize the learning habits that I can relate to.  For instance,  I have always been a very goal oriented person.  I like to make plans and map out when to do things, but in my case procrastination always seems to rear its ugly head.  Somehow I have still managed to stay on task and not allow my assignments get to out of hand.  Therefore, I would have to say that I find that sticking to my goals is the learning habit that I find to be the easiest.

A specific learning habit that I do know I have a lot of trouble with is that I don't have alot of confidence in my abilities.  I tend to think things are harder then they actually are, as well as over analyzing situations.  I always doubt myself and it is something that I am constantly working on.  I feel that this also ties into making problems into more puzzling situations instead of thinking of ways that I might overcome them.  Both of these habits are ones that I need to break.

On the other hand, creating this blog was not hard at all.  It is the first blog that I have ever created and I was very excited to find that you could use many differnt backgrounds.  I was literally glued to my computer screen for half the afternoon trying to decide which to use. 

Thing 4

Blogging is very important when it comes to helping form a sense of community and interaction.  For instance, it helps to cast your vote on an important topic and discuss your ideas and to gain positive and negative feedback.  When blogging, you become part of that other person's life that you are reading.

Two other points that I found to be important when blogging is that when you immerse yourself in the blogging world, you draw attention to your blog.  For example, if you comment on a particular subject and someone likes the type of comments than they will want to follow you on your blog.  Another point is that when blogging when it comes to your own blog you can make the rules.

I commented on Alison Curtis's, Jeffery Doyle, Ericka Ragland, Angie Kreier, and Hayley Carney's blog.  I decided to comment on these blogs in particular because they're blogs caught my attention.  I also thought they had very interesting ideas and thoughts.  The two outside Blogs that I commented on were The Daybook and Delightfully Tacky.  These were both fashion blogs that I found on the internet.The reason I chose these blogs was because I am really interested in fashion and I like anything vintage or vintage looking.  The comments that I chose to make on the blogs were about things that I like and things that I agreed with. 

Thing 3

After viewing the top 50 Must See Teacher Blogs, I can not help but feel like there are TONS of things that I can do with my blog in my future classroom and for education programs.  For instance, I can blog about ways to effectively manage, organize, arrange, and decorate a classroom.  I would also be able to blog about lesson plans that my students enjoyed and why I thought they were helpful and/or important.   Blogs are also useful tools for students.  They can play games for homework that will help them retain knowledge and help them become used to using technology.

Thing 2

My previous experiences with blogs has always been as the "bloggee" not the "blogger.  I have followed blogs before mostly ones that have great recipes, fashion, or things of that nature.  So when it came time to come up with the name of my blog I thought it would be best to stick with something simple.  Also, I figured that if I were to ever actually come up with a more creative name I could change it at any time, and so "Hope Erwin's Blog" was born.

My overall experience creating this blog was that I thought it was fairly easy.  Never having created a blog before, I wasn't sure what to do or how to begin.  However, following my teachers steps and listening to the directions made things go smooth. Ultimatley, I had no major problems creating my blog. 

However, creating my avatar for my blog is another story.  I do not mean to say that I had trouble creating the avatar, but trouble decideing how to create my avatar.  I created my avatar to look as much like me as possible.  I really wanted the avatar to reflect my personality.  I did this by giving the avatar a cup that resembles a Starbuck's coffee cup and placing a flower clip in her hair.  Being a college student it is only fitting that I am a coffee addict.  I literally can not get enough of the stuff! Its the only way I am able to function during the day, and I always wear flower clips in my hair (or at least most days).  So I think that my avatar reflects not only my personalily but my style as well.