Thing 12

Today I created a rollyo searh tool (http://www.rollyo.com/index.html). Basically you can create a search engine just for you with websites you like/trust so that only those ones come up. I would love to use this in the classroom. I sometimes have my kids to research projects using the internet. I would love to have a search engine pre-created of websites I know are academic, fact-based, and 6th grade friendly. I think this would be a great classroom tool and I am looking forward to using it with my next internet research assignment!

Thing 11

I feel like I should post about some educational website I discovered, but I have to choose my new addiction/time-waster, guess-the-google.  It shows you a collection of images that show up under a google key word search and then you have to guess the key word. It's addicting. It's fun. I can't think of any educational value to it. But I love it anyway. And...it makes you think logically? It familiarizes you with google? Yeah, okay. But it's super fun!

Thing 10

My favorite image generator was definitely the "Warholizer," where you can upload an image and have it changed into the style of Andy Warhol's famous Marilyn Monroe portraits. I love it!

I could definitely see using this in the classroom. During the summer program I usually teach we get to do art (which is rare for me), and we d

o a Warhol activity with pictures of the students photocopied onto transparencies and then they decorated them with marker. I would love to incorporate this website into that lesson.

Thing 9

Well, Thing 9 is to find new blogs that interest you using search tools. I played around with both the bloglines search tool and the google blog search feature. I found a technology in the classroom blog that I really liked on the bloglines search tool. It covers some of the challenges of using technology, but also focuses on the many positives. Very cool.

I liked both of the search features, but was a little preferential toward the google one. Perhaps just because I am comfortable with the google format and the bloglines one is newer to me? But, I can see myself wasting some time on both of them, searching for the blogs of strangers. I wonder if any strangers are reading any of my blogs? Hmm...they should comment to make me feel important. :D

I can also see this being a good way to network with other teachers and to expand my understanding of other people. Blogs are definitely a window into someone else's world in a unique way. You see things from their perspective and can see how people perceive themselves, which I always find fascinating. 

I am digging this online class. I am learning new things already, and am relieved that I know what the heck RSS stands for. I feel way less ignorant already!

Thing 8

Today I learned what an RSS is...it stands for Really Simple Syndication. It's basically a way to check several favorite websites all at once. 

Lately, I have been checking several of my friends' blogs daily. I love seeing what my friends' adorable children are up to, reading my sister's hilarious and intelligent posts, and reading Bean's blog (yes, I do find it interesting. No, this does not mean I have aperger's syndrome). 

So, an RSS is my new favorite thing. I set up the blogs I check daily and it tells me all at once if they have been updated. This way I don't have to check out everyone's to see who has new posts. LOVE IT!

You can also add news feeds and other features. This might need to be my new homepage. 

Educational uses...hmm. I'll have to give that one some more thought. But, the fact that it saves a busy teacher some time definitely counts as an educational advantage in my book!

Thing 7

"Yes, I love technology..."

Kip says it right in Napoleon Dynamite. I love technology. I know I functioned without a laptop, cell phone, or ipod throughout college. But I'm not sure how.  I feel super spoiled by technology. No need to make hard and fast plans-I'll just call you on my cell phone when I get there. My Thomas Guide collects dust in my back seat because I either mapquest it or use my handy-dandy GPS-a must for someone lost as much as I am! 

But, I also know that the technology curve moves along. That is one of the reasons I am doing this class. I have no idea how to make a podcast, or use photoshop, and am just discovering how to make a wiki. Even at twenty-five I catch myself saying, "I have no idea how to do that" when it comes to computers. And I know that this is the mentality that will make me obsolete in the future-especially when it comes to middle school teaching. So, I commit to be a lifelong technology learner. I figure if my grandma can send me an email, I can figure out how to use wikispaces. 

Thing 6

This week I learned about mashups-basically when you combine two web applications to create a new one. I used the one recommended by classroom learning and chose a trading card maker: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php

You can upload your photo and make a trading ca

rd. Super fun...I'd love to figure out a way to have my students make a trading card. Maybe for a Greek

 God or Goddess for history? Or for another historical figure. Hm, I might have to try that one.

But first, here is my trading card:

You love it. :D