Thing #6

Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

Google Earth is an awesome program! You can literally put in any address and it zooms into that exact location. There are icons that show where everything is located and what the places are exactly (school, church, mall, etc.). Those icons can link you to a place's website, if they have one. There are even real life photographs taken by people when they were there. I've personally used this program in a geography class and found it immensely helpful when researching a region and exploring places I can't actually go to.

Google Earth puts the whole world in your hands!
http://www.google.com/earth/index.html

Thing #5

Web 2.0 / School 2.0

We use web 2.0 technologies everyday (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogger). School 2.0 is taking those outlets and using them in the classroom. Instead of sticking with paper and pencil - teachers are starting to use the best, newest, most technologically advanced tools to educate their students. Essentially, teachers are giving their students the opportunity to learn for themselves and to connect and discuss with their peers.

Web 2.0 already seems amazing - who knows that the future holds! What will web 5.0 be like? Will an entire semester's worth of classes take place on an iPad?

Thing #4

Why Commenting is Important

• Explain why commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction.
  Comments are important in order to start a conversation or to have a discussion! The point of a blog is not to talk to yourself (buy a journal if that's your aim) it's to interact and connect with each other! This is simply not possible if no one comments on each other's posts.
• Discuss two other points from the readings about commenting that you found important.
  Comments give you an idea of what's important to your readers.
  They are also a great way to find and explore other people's blogs.
• Give the names of the seven blogs (5 from our group + 2 others of your choice) you selected to read and comment on and tell why you selected them.
• Discuss the comments that you chose to make and why you made them.

 

Thing #3

Register Your Blog

When I become a teacher I think it would be great for all of the teachers in each grade to have a blog! That way you can connect, discuss, and share ideas among the group. You can get feedback on lesson plan ideas, post helpful websites, plus share tips and tricks that are tried and true.

Thing #2

Create a Blog, Add a Post and an Avatar

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

My posting name is my real name and the name of my blog is Rachel’s 23 Things because that is the project I’m doing for EDUC 3040 :)

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

This is my first blog but creating it was super easy! Blogger.com makes everything very simple and easy to understand.

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

My avatar has a laptop in her hand because I feel like I’m always doing something on the computer! I tried to make her look like me, blonde hair and blue eyes, but either way – she’s cute!

Thing #1

7 ½ Habits for Lifelong Learning

The easiest habit for me is number 2, “Accept responsibility for your own learning.” I’ve always been my best motivator. I know what I do in school is for myself alone and I know it will help me in the future. I take every course very seriously and strive to have pride in all of my grades and achievements.

The most difficult habit for me would be number 3, “View problems as challenges.” Most things in life don’t take much effort for me to understand. But like the video says, when a problem comes up for me - I go into crisis mode. I do everything I can to make sure things go smoothly so when there’s a bump in my plan, I do get a bit frustrated. Then again, anytime I look back to when I had a problem, in life or school, there is always something that I learned from the situation. That’s why I never regret anything and accept everything as a lesson learned.

*This is my first blog so let me know how it looks and how I'm doing! I'm excited to learn with Web 2.0 tools this semester :)  I'm all about new tools to help aid in communication and social networking.