Thing # 12

My Photos and my Alerts.  I think that my photos are public, but I am not quite sure about my alerts. 

I liked my experience with setting up my alerts.  I chose to be alerted once a week whenever something new is mentioned about Hillsdale College, where I received my undergrad degree.  I don't think I can actually share it like I said before, but I like getting the notifications.  I also like that I can change what types of notifications I receive and how often I get them.  It's very useful and allows for a quick browse through if I want.  This could be used in education if a teacher sets up an alert for new education trends, alerts about their school, or set it up in a way where they could alert their student.

My photo experience was okay.  It was easy to drag new photos in and apparently it was already set up when I added new pictures to previous posts.  Those were all already in my Google Photos.  I think that this could be used in education to take pictures in the classroom and sharing it with parents in a closed group.  Parents like seeing pictures of their children learning and having a good time.  This could also be used in an assignment as well.  Students could add pictures into an album based on what the teacher asks.

Thing # 11

My favorite method for finding feeds was to use Technorati.  It was a good website and only came up with blogs or blog posts when I typed what I was looking for in the search bar.  It gives you a list of blogs with pictures.  After you click on the picture it takes you to a different page with a brief description, tags, and recent posts.  If you are still interested you can go to the actual blog site and take a look around.

The method I found most confusing was Google Blog Search.  It was like a normal Google search, but not everything that came up after you typed a search word in was a blog.  I typed in education and several of the results that came up were newspaper stories, ads, or links about blogs and not actual blogs.

I found several useful blog feeds while I was searching around the different sites.  The first was Edutopia.  I really like this one because it has a lot of useful information.  Many of the really good ones that I found were off of Edublog Awards.  I looked at many of the winners and runnerups, and most of them had very good information.  An unusual one that I found off that list was Jaden's Awesome Blog.  This is a blog that someone has helped a sixth grade boy write.

I did not actually find another search tool to look up new blogs or feeds, but I do like using Feedly.  We signed up for Feedly in our last blog post and I really like using it to find new blogs and feeds.

Thing # 10

There are several things I like about RSS and newsreaders.  They compile all the information for you and make it easy to browse through.  Instead of scrolling down a blog and continuously pressing the next page button many of the articles are organized with a brief description and picture.  As well there is a search bar in the upper right hand corner so that searching for specific words within a blog is easy.  I like the layout and the conciseness of it all.  All the pages are presented in a similar fashion so it is not a guessing game every time I switch to a new blog.

I think I could use this technology in school by keeping a lot of the different blogs that I read and use as a source of inspiration for what I plan on doing in the classroom.  I think it would also be cool to have a collectivized one for my classroom that the students could get on and use for research.  That way they would all be presented with up to date information that can come from various sources.  The students could also add their own research and sites to it.  It would kind of be like Diigo, but different because of lay out and use.  I will definitely use this in my personal life.  I love staying up to date and planning things and this type of tool will help with my goals.

Teachers can use or take advantage of RSS by simply using one while planning what lessons they will teach and what activities they will present to their classes.  By using a RSS the time they spend looking through various blogs and sites will be greatly diminished.  As well, they will be able to pull up past information without wading through newer information.

Thing # 9

I used Jack-o-lantern to create this image:

To create this image I just typed in the words I wanted to appear and pressed update.  It gave me this image.  It is pretty self-explanatory and quick.  I could use this in my classroom or in every day life to make decorations for either the classroom or for my home.  I think it would also be cool to make labels for the students using these around holiday times.

I used Tree-Heart to create this image:

To create this image I did something very similar that I did with with the pumpkin.  I typed my name into the word bar and pressed update and this appeared.  I could use this in both my classroom and home life for decorating.  I think it could also be a cool project for a history or social studies class.  They could use it to match historical figures to other events.

I did not like the other image generators that much.  They were slow and a little difficult to use.  These were my favorite because they were quick and easy and I liked the outcome of the pictures.

Thing # 8

For Thing #7 I played around with a couple of the Flickr mashup tools.  These included Colrpickr and Spell with Flickr.  Both were really cool tools and fairly easy to use.  I am posting the picture I made with Spell with Flickr.

Posting this picture was a bit of a challenge, and I had to Google directions separately on how to do it.  Apparently other educators have had a similar problem to mine.  I simply switched to HTML mode and added the HTML code that was provided on the website.

I think that Flickr and its mashups could definitely be used in the classroom.  Students can use them to compile different pictures for a project.  They could use a collage feature and put together different pictures of a famous family line or historical event.  I could definitely see myself using Flickr mashups in my personal life.  Especially Spell with Flickr.  I love it and think it is really cute.

I think sharing photos online could be really good, but I also think that it can be risky.  We want to share our experiences and what we like with others, but some people can overshare information.  I do love seeing what other people post, especially when it is art.

Thing # 7

Flickr was pretty easy to navigate around and find pictures.  I looked for pictures of and about London and I found some pretty cool pictures that fit into the word I put in the search bar.  I also searched for more specific places and things such as my hometown and where I went to College.  There a large variety of pictures to choose from and it is interesting to see what pops up.

This is an older photo of downtown Detroit during its heyday.  It was posted by the Library of Congress.  I love this picture because I love downtown Detroit.  It hasn't changed much in appearance from this picture and is kind of trapped in time.  A lot of the buildings have various stages of disrepair, but some are still very beautiful. I highly suggest Googling pictures of abandones buildings in Detroit.  They are amazing.

Thing #6

The site/tool that I used from the Go2Web2.0 list was Pinterest.  I love Pinterest and it is extremely useful.  I know that it is probably not the most original tool that I could have used for this project, but it is amazing.  

I like this tool because it organizes a large amount of other users' ideas and inspirations into one easy to search place.  It is also picture based so it makes it easy to browse through things quickly.  The aspect of this site that I do not like, is that people often fail to post original websites and ideas onto their boards and therefore the same ideas tend to pop up over and over again.  As well, because of its popularity scammers have started posting on this site.

The site's useful features include a search bar, a category area, and easy to use system.  You simply click on what you want to see and it enlarges it.  Click on it again and it takes you the website that it originated from.

I could definitely see many applications for Pinterest in a school setting.  Many educators use pinterest and post lesson plans, classroom management, and decorating ideas all on their boards.  Assignments could also be made to have students find ideas for projects in and out of class.

Thing#5

     These articles were all very interesting and applicable to Web and School 2.0.  Everything is becoming so interactive in this realm that learning is no longer a one way street where we read something, accept it as fact, and move on.  Learning with School 2.0 is now a complex interstate system with endless possibilities.  The end goal of education is the same, but the routes we can take to get there are endless.

     To me, School 2.0 means an interactive and new way for students to go through the education process and discover the world around them.  They can do this through social networking, blogs, interactive learning websites, Google searches, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  This also allows students to give feedback on what they find, and links them to similar ideas and topics.  It also allows students to develop a passion for something and develop it on their own if they wish.  My favorite blog on this subject was Steve Hargadon's blog on Web 2.0 and its future in education.  I highly suggest it for this assignment.

     For schools of the future, Web 2.0 means that so much more can be brought into and out of the classroom.  So much technology is being brought into the classroom and teachers are getting more and more inventive with its use during and after class time.  Teachers will be able to differentiate instruction even more and can assign more distant learning opportunities for students.

Thing #4

Commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction because it shows that people are reading one another's posts and that they care.  When a blogger posts, they would like a reader to comment on it so that they know where to aim further posts.  It helps identify the hot topics in education and discover the thoughts of those who read your blog.  If someone posts an idea, others can help develop the idea and further research on something.

I found two other points from the reading that I found to be very important.  The first is that almost every reading emphasized the importance of being polite.  Being polite when blogging or commenting is key to having a meaningful conversation on a blog because it makes people feel safe when they contribute.  The second is that you should leave your name when you comment.  Remaining anonymous doesn't help your own blog and people are more likely to say unkind things when no one know who they are.  Both of these points lead to the fact that people need to feel safe when they blog and comment in order to foster good communication and discussion.

These are the blogs that I commented on for this post:

#1 Tonya Van Winkle-  I chose Tonya's blog because we have had several classes together and I like what she writes.  She is a very good writer and I agree with most of the things that she posts.  She is great.   I commented on her use of hyperlinks because it made navigating to other blogs easier and one of the readings said we should use them.

#2 Whitney Butts- I chose Whitney's blog because we are currently in class together and I think we may have gone to high school together.  I liked her post about how she would use technology in the room.  I commented on her use of a blog as communication in her classroom because I have seen it done before and I think it is a really good idea.

#3 Stephanie Freeman- I chose Stephanie's blog because we are currently in class together and she has a lot of posts completed in hers.  I commented on her Thing #9 because she is so enthusiastic about it and has a lot of great ideas on how to use those tools in her classroom with her students.

#4 Jessica Brown-  I chose Jessica's blog because she is in my class, and I loved her post names.  They are creative and you can tell she puts thought into them.  I commented on her Thing #2 because she was very upbeat about it, even though this is something very new for her.  I commented what I did to give her encouragement.

#5 Alexa Aguilar- I chose Alexa's blog because she is currently in my class and I loved all the artsy things on her blog.  She has a lot of really good ideas on how to use the art tools in her classroom.  I commented what I did because I liked her ideas and knowledge of the subject.

#6 Confessions of a Modern Day Substitute- I chose this blog because this teacher goes through very similar things that I do when I go to school.  She seems to be young and is now a teacher like I hope to be!  I commented on her blog about parking because it is often a weird situation to park when you go to a new school for observations or something similar.

#7 Nom Nom Paleo- I chose this blog because I was allowed to choose any blog that I love reading and I love this one.  I have recently become obsessed with paleo food, and try to follow it whenever possible.  I commented on a recipe of a beautiful cake that I want to try because it looked delicious.