Thing #4 - Why Commenting is Important

Explain why commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction.
   After reading what the professionals had to say about commenting, it is obviously important to not only comment on what you have read, but it's also important in how and what you say within the comment.  For courteous reasons, it's professional to be sincere with constructive criticism and also, for my thoughts personally, I think it's good to be straight to the point and make your comment worth reading.  If everyone is able to follow these simple guidelines, it will make a great debate or discussion that is worth taking part in and that can also further your education within that topic.  You can learn effectively from just blogging someone.  So, being able to learn efficiently comes from learning to comment the precise way.

Discuss two other points from the readings about commenting that you found important.
  I think it is very important to leave comments!  I really liked the way Doug Johnson from "The Blue Skunk blog" put it that "writers like knowing that they have been read."  It's so true though because thinking back and looking at everything you have written, the best part was finding out how much the person enjoyed reading it.  That's no different with blogs.  If you were to write something that you knew was never going to be written, then why would you write it?  That's the key question to ask before you choose to read another blog.  However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you must comment on every blog.  I would just encourage that you comment on the blogs that really make you think or that you have a strong opinion towards.  Besides, commenting can bring a well in-depth debate that could teach you a thing or two!

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.
   I chose the following blogs and people to comment on because I share with them their views or their opinions.  I also know these students from class and I think it's important to be able to hear feedback from your peers.  It's important to know that someone you know is reflecting on your classwork.  The people and blogs that I commented on are as follows:
People:

1. Daniel Cozine (DC Blog)
2. Nick Caudill (NC Blog)
3. Ariel Griffith (AG Blog)
4. Jasmine Richardson (JR Blog)
5. Jessica Tucker (JT Blog)

Blogs:

1. Teaching with TLC (TWTLC)
2. PBS Teachers (PBS)

Discuss the comments that you chose to make and why you made them.
   
I really think it's important to show your peers how their work looks.  So, I added comments on the people's blogs that I had chosen and commented on what looked great within their blog.  I think it's important to read through and skim blogs to catch and ideas that maybe you have missed.  I learned through reading and commenting on these blogs that there are so many different ways to view teaching and there are also so many ways that you can teach lessons!  With the help of my friends and the two professional blogs, I feel reassured that I have great resources and people to support my future in becoming a teacher!




References:
The Blue Skunk Blog Johnson, D. August 2005.  02/16/12.  http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2008/5/3/your-comments.html
http://www.teachingwithtlc.com/
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/
Link to Picture: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOd_0vmhvYk2INTEPWupTtqaSuLA7HgGfYpZu_J-kfwIR4lbnyC7svlB9SBsELurIcpkqfyzu9kf9wb0DHSfv579BBaoA-ZEjWBh4LPs4GH0CQTtmGGW-UQ9PP7QguCawVUfT6-Jd-eL0/s320/blog-commenting.jpg

Thing #12 - Google is Not Just for Searching Anymore

Discovery Exercise:

    This was honestly a lot of fun!  I learned lots of new stuff and the best part of it all was that it was all so simple!!  I had no idea that pictures that were taken from my phone could get synched onto my Google page.  Well, of course, as Dr. Wall claims everything is addicting, this truly was!!  I actually set up an iGoogle for myself and then I was able to get into Picasa Web Albums.  I also made an album through Picasa using the pictures that I had taken on my phone!  I thought that was the coolest thing ever because I had no idea this whole time that pictures that I was taking were being saved through my google account.  I also wondered why my phone would tell me that I had uploaded another photo online.  I just thought they were talking about my pictures through my phone!  I feel as though I am becoming smarter through knowing all these awesome short cuts that Google has to offer!
    The icalendar was also such a great tool because it's so accessible and super easy to navigate.  I was able to put in reminders a lot easier than on my phone and now it will be able to send me emails when those dates are getting near!  I had so much fun exploring all what google has to offer and I am hoping that one day, I will be able to use the translator because I never knew that translating could be so easy! It's amazing what you can do online if you just learn how to!


References:
Link to picture: http://lifebaker.com/a/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/igoogle.png
Link to my profile: https://plus.google.com/u/0/s/Erica%20Paredez

Thing #11 - Finding Good Feeds

 - Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use?

    I really liked to be able to search all the search engines for finding blogs.  But, wow, there is so many blogs out there that it would almost take you forever just to find the ones that you really like!  However, it's nice to have organized searching methods that help make the search less time consuming and complicated.  It's amazing what searching for blogs can do and to be able to find so many different types of blogs.  Of course, I tried to stay within the "teaching" genre when searching for different blogs.

 - Which search tool was the easiest for you?

    I think since I am already so familiar with Google, I really liked to be able to use Google to search for different blogs.  I also tried using Technorati and it wasn't all that difficult once I got the swing of things.  But, not only am I familiar with Google, I really think that they were the easiest to navigate around.  They were straight to the point and didn't offer any searches that really didn't meet your criteria.  Also, Google is very simple within their design so it makes it that much more easier when searching with Google Blog.

 - Which was more confusing?

    To be honest, I didn't really like Technorati at first.  They have a very bust home page that almost seems confusing and you don't know where to start.  It also took me a while to realize that I was searching for posts instead of blogs.  So, that took me a while before I came to the attention that I needed to be looking for blogs instead of posts.  I also didn't like that they weren't all that organized.  They had women's interests but the topics are very broad within them so it's hard to find a detailed blog that I was looking for.  But, as I explored the website a little more, I got the hang of it.  Just as in any website, if you play with it long enough, you become compatible within their website.

 - What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels?

    I added 3 more blogs to my site, giving me a total of 9 blogs that I am following.  The blogs that I added to my Google Reader were Teaching with TLC, The Imagination Tree and the blog of Joanne Jacobs.  These are awesome blogs so far as they all have great ideas that I can add to my others!  I think my favorite one so far that I added was The Imagination Tree since they show lots of visuals and cute and simple arts and crafts that are so easy to use within the classroom!  

 - Or what kind of unusual ones did you find?

    There was one unusual feed that I found rather interesting.  It's called H8torade, which pretty much sums it all up in it's name!  Basically, it's a blog site about news feeds that break out in the use that could be hating on someone.  For instance, there was a feed about hating on a basketball player for not making certain free throws or shots.  It's pretty interesting to see what people write about other people when it could have been a news break that you felt the opposite about.

 - What other tools or ways did you find to locate newsfeeds?

    Newsfeeds are pretty much everywhere!  I really liked these sites that I visited in order to help me stay up to date within my teaching career.  But, I think that finding new news is endless.  One of my favorites is by word of mouth (which sometimes is slower than the Internet which is ironic) because you have the opportunity to discuss with someone about what new information that you just came across.

References:
Link to picture: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGCMitc9uiz1MwyaN2fUVfeLr4fmlx1utHvb9YP_kzxUHXSY5cB-QOpu8e1bsOCbbndDLZVqYgn_AKBxYDq7vxmOI2WSE27OmjUjLVXilAXc-lVek_YuUU0JqeEKUDocvAN5DuPtU1tBP/s1600/6a00d83452d45869e2015438246251970c-800wi.jpg

Thing #10 - Set Up an RSS Reader and Add Feeds

• What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?

          I almost feel like RSS is as addicting as facebook!  It works the same way as facebook does to a certain extent in that you can stay up to date with all the latest breaking news from your subscribers.  However, it is key to finding someone that is going to update their blog frequently so that you have a further interest in reading what they have to say!  I really liked the subscribers that I got too!  I subscribed to Free Teach 4 Teachers, The Cool Cat Teacher, Dangerously Irrelevant, The Pioneer Woman, Pinterest and PBS Teachers.  All these sites so far have been staying active within their posts so it makes it exciting to check up on!

• How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?

          There are so many ways that I can use RSS in both my personal and teaching life.  I say that because really, RSS is like building your own interests in one so I can subscribe to what I'd like to personally read on my own time, but then I know I have also subscribed to blogs that are affiliated within my teaching career.  These blogs are going to just further my knowledge within my teaching career because they are giving me ideas that I may not have found elsewhere.  That is exactly what I think is great about RSS Reader - it makes my life so easy!  Every teacher should be able to have all these same resources, and the best part about this is that it's free!  Now tell me what's not to like about that!?

• How can teachers use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?

          Just like I was saying in the last post, teachers are able to take advantage of these great resources that are available to them (for free!) on Google Reader.  Within these subscriptions that you can sign up into, you can use all the great ideas that come from these posts.  Especially within PBS and Pinterest!  Not only are you able to see great ideas, but you are also told means of being able to access them yourself.  I can't wait to share these ideas when I'm a teacher!  I just know that there's no limits to knowledge when you become a teacher so there's still so much more to explore within Google Reader!

References:

Link to picture: http://files.mrintech.com/wp-content/uploads/rss_logo.jpg

Thing #9 - Online Image Generators

   This has been probably one of my favorite activities so far!  I have now become addicted to the use of imagechef.com!  I would love to use this in my classroom, especially with the images that I have personally created.  My students would also love to be able to play with this website to make their own personalized pictures.  It would be a great way to incorporate technology within my classroom.  I could also make an activity out of the poetry maker, but it would be such a fun assignment that I feel my students would think of it as more fun than doing just another assignment.

  I would love to be able to have my students make their own word mosaic and a great word list could be their spelling words.  This might even be a great way for them to learn the words!  The website imagechef.com is a very easy and accessible website for the students to use so I would also recommend this website to the computer teachers (if they haven't already heard of it) so that they students can have fun with this website in computer class as well.  I really hope my future students will love this website as much as I did!  There's just so many great tools to play with in this website that the learning within it is endless!

Thing #8 - Flickr Mashups

   This was such a fun activity!  I really liked that I was able to upload any pictures that were on Flickr, and pictures that pertained to my interests.  It is so amazing what technology can do! And I must say that I agree with Dr. Wall that this has now become addicting!  
   This would be a fun tool to use in my classroom to upload all the students drawings, projects or paintings into a mosaic picture.  I think the students would love to be able to see all their work that they have completed over the course of the year.  I also think it could be a great end-of-the-year gift to my students.  The parents would also love to see all their child's work combined into one picture.  
   Overall, I would recommend the mosaic builder to anyone who loves pictures (which there aren't too many people who don't like pictures!)  This would also great to use this tool to make an awesome collage, quilt or picture to be framed.  I really enjoyed this activity and I must admit that I will personally be using the mosaic builder again in the near future!


Pictures Used:
1. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellywestmars/3932316456/">TGIF, doggone it!</a>, 2. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellywestmars/3928163797/">Things I Love Thursday  (9/17)</a>, 3. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellywestmars/3900951393/">wonder is the beginning of wisdom.</a>, 4. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/eduhhz/2377537554/">Origami</a>, 5. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracibunkers/1456364182/">smiley face 1" pin-back button or magnet</a>, 6. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nature_travel_photography/3016605786/">Max the chocolate lab dog</a>, 7. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/5237989497/">Candies</a>, 8. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38301474@N05/3525766387/">National Civic Summit - American Flag</a>, 9. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulamaffei/2522281736/">. colors</a>, 10. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thanh-tan88/3937097553/">funny pictures</a>, 11. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhawalpatel/6850615895/">Funny Pictures (14)</a>, 12. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cubagallery/5599620163/">Sunset Sky</a>, 13. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/weavingmajor/3192410044/">upcycled jigsaw puzzle</a>, 14. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30843996@N02/3785427771/">floor pattern</a>, 15. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohsokoooky/2554804879/">Elevator Love Letter</a>, 16. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluemarla/229631339/">Rainbow Books</a>