Thing 18

I really like being able to work on Microsoft without having to open the office suite. It is very productive and convenient when you are working on a MAC. It lets you use the technology that you are familiar with (PC) while still being able to take advantage of all of the WONDERFUL things that a MAC has to offer. It is also convenient when you are somewhere where the Microsoft suite is not installed. For example, when i need to check something at my in-laws house, it is very helpful because they do not have the office suite installed on their computer.

Thing 16

I absolutely love wikis! I used them this past school year with my 4th grade class, and it was wonderful. Now that I am making the transition to middle school, I feel that I will able to do much more with them. I love the idea about using them for group note taking; I think that I will try it when school is back in session. Overall, I think wikis are great tools that are not complicated to implement in the classroom.

Thing 15

I think that transforming libraries is a necessity if we are going to continue to keep our students engaged in the world around them. Often times, students do not explore more in depth about a subject that they are covering in class because they do not want to pick up an encyclopedia to find out more. Library 2.0 gives the students a way to dig deeper while remaining engaged in the subject matter. Transforming our libraries will also help students to use the library more to find out about subjects that are interesting to them: not necessarily just items they are studying in school. This will serve them better, and allow them to become more well rounded learners. It also helps to give them the tools they need to take responsibility for their own learning.

Thing 14

I think that tagging will be useful in creating an online learning community in my classroom. The students will be able to use it to tag their responses to different readings and thoughts that they post on our class blog. It will also enable the students to easily find others that share their thoughts and point of view both in their class period, in different class periods, and throughout the school community. I definitely plan on implementing this technique in my classroom.

Thing 13

Well, I can honestly say that I absolutely HATED thing 13. Delicious was very confusing for me. That is why it has taken me over 2 weeks to complete this 'thing'. I don't have very much to say about thing 13. Maybe it's because I am tired and grouchy and pregnant. I will come back to it after I have the baby and try again.

Thing 12

Well, I will start by saying ALWAYS HIT SAVE DRAFT! I was almost done, went to check on the kids, and came back to find out auto-save was not working. I lost everything! =( Anyway....

The 2 points that I picked were (1) leaving comments for the sake of leaving a comment and (2) signing your real name vs an alias.

I personally hate when ppl leave comments just for the sake of leaving a comments. For me, I tend to get really excited when I see someone has commented on my blog post; I am then extremely disappointed when I read "this was great" or "how true". It is for this reason that I try to only comment on ppl's blogs when I have something truly meaningful to say.

I sign my comments normally using an alias. This works best for me because I really like to protect my identity. Also, some of my friends and family members are ultra-sensitive, and since we read the same blogs, I would rather not say/write things that can be misinterpreted or that will offend.

Making comments on ppl's blogs was interesting for me (point #1 in this post), so I am still in the process of making 5 comments. So far, I only have 3. I did, however, complete the commenting on other blogs that I read/follow.

Thing 11

The library thing made me realize that I do not read nearly as much as I used to or as I thought I did for that matter! It was very eye-opening in that respect. Overall, it was very easy to use. The account was super easy to set up, and adding the book titles was also a breeze. If I only count recently read books, I only have 2-3 books that I can add to my list. I guess maybe I will have to go back to what I read BEFORE I had kids. The titles that I am most familiar with now, "Ten Tiny Tadpoles" and "Goodnight Moon" didn't seem like they would be appropriate choices to add to my reading list. I am looking forward to the day that I can add 'grown-up' titles to my catalog.

Thing 10

I had 1 more that both my husband and I laughed at hysterically! (We would never actually do this!)

Thing 10

This was sooooooo cool, and lots of fun! Check out my comic... I can really see myself using this tool in the classroom! The comic is supposed to represent me dealing with my kids at home after a long day at school. It's pretty accurate. I am going to make another and post it to my kids web blog and share it with my family!

Thing 9

This task I found more difficult than the others. I was not able to find anything that truly interested me. Overall, searching for something to add to my feed was really, really frustrating. I will attribute the 2nd 'really' to me being 36 weeks pregnant, and extremely ready to deliver this baby! I guess I will continue to play with it over the next week or so, and hopefully I will have better fortune after a couple of good nights of rest!