thing 12...

Work in progress...

Ok, I've only made a FEW comments, but I hate to comment for the sake of commenting. You know what I mean? I guess I only want to comment if I have something pertinent to say.

Update...

I've made a few more comments. I thought of something "thoughtful" to say. I'll keep it up.

thing 11...

I checked out LibraryThing and added almost every Eric Carle book that was listed. I love Eric Carle! It was a neat site to investigate, but I'm not sure I would use it in my Pre-K classroom. It might be useful if you're doing an author study, because there's groups and "conversations" where you might get some useful information or ideas for your author study. I checked out the groups and I already joined Art Teachers, Children's Literature, and Bloggers. I'm excited about discussing books with others in the groups. It's a book club where I don't have to leave the house!

thing 10...

I used Image Chef. I really enjoyed playing around and making all sorts of images. I created this one because it represents me the most. I can definitely use Image Chef in my classroom. There was an award image generator and I thought that would be cool to make for my Pre-K students. I can use the award for: knowing a certain amount of letters, rote counting, perfect attendance, recognizing sight words, and reading. I also thought the VIP Passes were cool too. I think I'm going to incorporate those into my daily routine, with classroom jobs. I think the students would get a kick out of having a "VIP Pass" when they have a classroom duty, like door holding. The Poetry Blender would be cool, later in the year, to have the students popcorn out words about lessons (i.e. butterflies) and then I can add an image and we'll have a classroom poem - made up entirely by the students. I know there's more to explore, and I'm excited to keep searching for cool ideas to incorporate into the classroom.

thing 9...

I've been blogging, personally, for over a year now. It's therapeutic. But, I have to say that I didn't even know about all the blog search tools out there. I just searched myself, blog after blog or through word of mouth.

1. For sure, the easiest search tools were Edublog, Google Blog Search, and Technorati. I enjoyed looking through the blog winners on Edublog. I found some really great blogs that I enjoyed reading. Google Blog Search was super easy, but blah. Technorati was the most helpful, with an easy tutorial (the one in English, not Dutch). I immediately was able to find LOTS of cool blogs.

2. Syndi8 was confusing. The site itself made me dizzy and I didn't even try to use it. I'm very "Type A" and I need organization in a site. Ick.

3. There were LOTS of useful blogs, that I found very interesting. There are SO MANY, it's going to take me awhile to read through (in between running after two toddlers). I did like Christina's Classroom - since she's an early childhood teacher herself - I found some cute ideas to incorporate into my classroom. I'm excited to keep reading and finding more great resources!

thing 8...

Another "ah-ha" moment. I love the Google Reader. Again, I'm wondering why I never discovered and used this before - I have no idea.

1. The Google Reader cuts down on all the scrolling you have to do in a blog and gives you the most recent posts, all in one place. Love it!

2. I'll definitely use this in my personal life, with my personal blog. I can view all my favorite blogs (and I have alot) all at once and not have to spend an hour after the kids go to bed to read every blog I love. I can use it in my classroom the same way as well. I added 5 blogs: The Crafty Crow, Teach Kids Art, Mary Grace Landrum, Mike Falick, and SBISD EdTech. This way I can keep up on the information I use in my classroom and important educational information at my fingertips, all at once.

3. I think all teachers/librarians/administrators can use this technology the same way I use it. I think this is really a wonderful tool for librarians. Think of all the grade-levels and information they access daily, and now it can be all on one page and easy to access.

thing 7...

I used the Google Calendar (which I did not make public) and iGoogle. I liked the Google Calendar, but I think it's easier to use the Outlook calendar for myself (since any meting scheduled my co-workers and administrator's automatically appears on your Outlook calendar). iGoogle was cool - I'm not sure why I never used it before. I can definitely use this and set my own preferences for my classroom. I use ALOT of online resources for my Pre-K classroom (K Crew, Hubbards Cupboard, etc), so I can easily add great education resources for literacy, math, art, etc to my iGoogle.

Here's what I created...

iGoogle:
http://www.google.com/ig?rls=ig&hl=en&source=iglk

thing 6...

I used MosaicMaker. I enjoyed finding photos and playing around with all the ways I could compose them. You could spend ALL day doing this. I think in my classroom it would be really neat to create little cards for each student. For example, create a card with all sorts of butterflies and on the back of the card list facts about butterflies. The students could use their cards during Readers & Writers Workshop and at the end of the unit, the cards would be theirs to take home. Too cool. I'm excited about using this program in the Fall.

thing 5...

Butterflies! Aren't they gorgeous? I found this photo on Flickr and I was drawn to it because it shows the butterfly drinking he nectar. Even though life cycles aren't part of the Pre-K curriculum, I always love spending a week studying butterflies in the spring. The kids L-O-V-E it! My students would definitely get a kick out of this photo - I can hear them say "the butterfly is drinking nectar through it's straw tongue!" So cool!

thing 4...

I'm finally registered and ready to start. Love it!

thing 3...

Starting this process...

I didn't find it hard to start a blog and create and Avatar, since I already blog and have my own personal blog (about the day in the life of a mommy). I enjoy blogging - it's like therapy.

thing 2...

7 1/2...

I am definitely a lifelong learner. I enjoy learning new things because I am a mom (so I can teach my children), a teacher, and it truly makes me happy. The world is changing everyday and we have to learn and teach to keep up.

Beginning with an end in mind, accepting responsibility, and using technology is the easiest for me. I have lots of ideas of things I want to learn and achieve and goals to meet them. Viewing the problems and challenges are...well, a challenge for me. I tend to get frustrated easy if I can't get a concept the first time and it's sometimes seems easier to quit. Gotta work on that.