Thing 4

Commenting on another persons blog is not only important to the person your posting on but to yourself as well. Posting will validate what the person has commented on and will let them know that you will learn and enjoy from what they said. Commenting states that you hear what they have said.

Tonight Coolcat blogged about the passing of a great man, Steve Jobs. I found his passing sad not only for the world of technology but also for his family. He was taken away from us all way to soon. As I continued to follow other blogs, I found the pioneer woman had blogged about a picture she found while writing her cookbook. It reminded her of when she discovered she was pregnant for the 4th time. Pictures help us remember our past, weather it was good or bad. Pictures tell a story about where we were and how far we have come. I pray that as Steve Jobs family looks back on his pictures, that they smile and remember their happy times together and the happiness he also brought to our world.

Thing 12

The Google search tools are wonderful and easy to use! I decided with my busy life to create a Google Calendar to keep us with everything I have to do and places I have to be on a weekly basis. This will also use this as a teacher to keep track of upcoming school events or appointments I may need to attend outside of school. The calendar will also help me remember teacher in-service days and also staff meetings. The link to my calendar is below.
https://www.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1

As a teacher I can easily use Google Translate to assist me with communication between myself and any students that may not speak English. This will assist us both in not feeling so left out of what is going on. A group of teachers I know at a local school have recently used this tool to assist them with communicating with two new exchange students in our community. The link to my translation is below.
http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=&ie=UTF-8&text=Hello+I+am+Mrs.+Colby.&sl=en&tl=es#

Thing 11

While visiting the different search tool resources such as, Technorati, Syndic8.com, Topix.net, and Google Blog Search, I found Google of course to be the easiest one. I also loved the Topix.net because it also gave me some information about my local community as my home page. This will help me as a teacher because I will need to keep up with our local news to be an effective teacher. The site I did not like was Syndic8.com because to me it seemed to difficult to browse and it was not pleasing to the eye. Technorati offered many blog sites to travel, but I enjoyed the site specifically for women. I can browse the site to look for assistance on problems I may be having or ask for help with a specific problem.

Thing 10

Google Reader is a quick and easy tool to use to look up resources and blogs for ones classroom. This resource can be used to aquire information on any topic that will be studied or even if you want to look up new state laws for your particular subject area. I believe that Google Reader will be helpful in my life and in my classroom. As I continue to study Special Education, I also continue to research new laws and new techniques to assist students with special education needs. I have a 13 year old son that needs continued efforts to assist him in every area of his life, school and at home. These sites may assist me in helping him, or even giving new ideas to his teachers at school.

Thing 1

Setting up my blog was scary because I am not savvy with technology. Trying to remember passwords and all of my different email address's can be difficult. I am sure once I start doing this on a regular basis, it will become as easy as eating apple pie. The hardest lesson to take away from lifelong lessons is Confidence, having enough confidence in myself to know that no matter what it may be, technology or writing a paper that I too can get through. The easiest part of life long lessons almost seems strange because of my hardest lesson, but Turning a Problem into a Challenge is how I have lived most of my adult life. Therefore, as a non-traditional student, raising four teenagers, I have accepted the challenge to raise a family and earn a degree in Special Education. I am doing this for myself, but also for my children too. I want them to know that know matter what they are faced with, their dreams can come true!

Thing 9

 Image Generators can be a fun way to express the gratitude you have for your students completing assignments on time or for trying an assignment they knew they would struggle with. Image Generators will also be fun for the students to play around with independently to show their creative side upon completing classwork. The photo below is a caption I created to share with our class for completing this assignment! 

Thing 8

 I made a jigsaw puzzle from the previous pictures I used on my blog. It took me a few tries to understand but this site to me, was the easiest to use, although I really enjoyed them all. I believe with pre-selected photos the teacher could let the students imagination run wild with things they could create not only from this particular site, but from creating things from all of Flickrs tools.

Thing 7

Flickr is one more space to house photos to share with family that live out of state.  You can share funny photos or video's not only with family and friend's, but you can share with the world. This can be a fun and easy place to use in the classroom with parental consent. The parents can easily see the learning activities their child is learning each week. Using Flickr was fun and easy. Even with a technology weak individual such as myself, I even figured it out! I uploaded some images to share at the link below. The first thing you will see is a picture of my house with our brand new windows  that were put in just a few short days ago!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bandmom2011/6214762460/

Thing 6

The site I have chosen to research is called Digby. I have heard my teenagers talk about it, but really did not know what it was. Digby is a site that will house all of your multi-social media networks. It is done from one application page and the best part is, it is free!The link below will allow you to tour too.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13546_109-10237728-29.html?tag=mncol

Zillow is a great resource for anyone looking to make a move to a new area. Zillow is an online resource that assist's you in looking for new place to live. It would be great for teachers because it would allow them to opportunity to review perspective neighborhoods near their new place of employment. This site will also allow the person researching new addresses, to ask questions of the one selling the home or ask their agent. You can also find out if your getting a good deal for your buck, because it shows the amount your paying per square foot. The link below will assit you if you are looking for a new address too.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13546_109-10237702-29.html?tag=mncol

Thing 5

Web 2.0 is the Future of Education is the site I chose to review my two sites for. I reviewed a site for cyber-bullying because it is a very real and scary matter in today's society. Bullying takes place at school, on the playground, on the bus, and unfortunately at home from ones computer! As of now we have not experienced cyber-bullying because I have not allowed my two middle school children to have a lot of social access from the computer. However, my Eighth grade son has experienced bullying from kids at school because he is different. He has an IEP and receives Special Education Resources while at school, he also has several other medical issues that we continue to work on to help him. Children can be very hurtful to others self-esteem and that can cause long term damage.

 I also choice to view a site that assist's teachers with learning, Web Tools for Teachers. It is an easy site that allows the teacher to learn at their pace how to use a smartboard or any other tool needed for the classroom. It also allows you to add your own links to assist others and the best part is, it's free!

To me web 2.0 will mean easier access to topics, tutorials, and assistance for my subject area as needed. For my students, it will allow them the chance to learn the ever changing technology as they grow and go out into the work force. It will give them many more opportunities to learn about the world!

Thing 3

Creating a blog to use in my career as a Special Education Teacher for Middle School Reading will be a wise decision. I will be able to post questions or problems I may be having in the classroom to receive assistance from fellow teachers in the community or around the nation. It will also allow me to post about new resources that I may discover to share with the teaching community. One a fun note, I will be able to post about great accomplishments my class is having and the fun they are having by learning in a fun, safe learning environment.

Thing 2

Working on my blog continues to be a scary experience. I have to go to my teenagers all of the time and ask for tutoring on the ever changing world of technology. Don't get me wrong, I love the evolving of the technology, I just wish I could catch up before the newest thing comes out again! However, creating my Avatar was quite fun! I tried to create my avatar as close to real life as possible. I also included my fat, furry cat. Creating a name for my blog was easy, I am a band mom, like or not! Three of my four children are in band at school, so my life revolves around band all of the time. Two of them are in marching band, so right now we are super busy!!