Thing #12

I created a Google Alerts account. It was pretty simple actually. It was so simple, I thought I might be doing something wrong. I kept checking, and it was up there. I like this site because I am wanting to sell my house. I know when the market doesn't do so good, the housing market isn't as good. I am still believing it will sell and we can relocate.
http://www.google.com/alerts/manage?hl=en&gl=


I set up an igoogle page. I like to use this page as my home page whenever I open up the Internet. I like to have several things in one spot to look at. I have the weather, a calendar, fun items, etc. on this page. I am always googling something anyway. I find it easier to find out information that way.
http://www.google.com/ig

Thing #10

I think using RSS in the classroom would be a great tool for teachers as well as students. Teachers can put up various websites for students to have access to and the material will be suitable for students since the teacher as viewed them ahead of time. My favorite part of RSS was creating five blogs to keep track of. The blogs I chose are websites I view on a regular basis. Now, I have all of them in one spot. That is another advantage for teachers. All of the websites for students to navigate will be in one location, so there will be less confusion.

http://www.bloglines.com/public/CrystalRickard

Thing #4

At first, I didn't really know what to think of blogs. I guess that's because I had never had any practice with them. After much exploring and searching, I am finding that blogs can be a lot of fun once you get going with it. As I was reading comments, I found some of the same from people. Some I think are important are:

1. Assignments are a little frustrating.
2. It takes time.
3. Be kind.
4. That looks great
5. You are doing a nice job

The following are people I commented on:
1. Daily Blessing: I responded to the love of pictures and how much she enjoys working with pictures on the computer.

2. Lorrie Cooksey: I responded to her puzzles blog. I enjoyed reading about how puzzles make her feel and why she likes them.

3. Stacy Jones: I agreed with her blog about this assignment being some what frustrating and difficult to complete.

4. Elizabeth Shepherd: She doesn't like dial and she used a cute smiley face to send her message on Thing 9.

5. Jennifer Menees: I liked her blog and the format she used.

6. Joe Hall: I commented on his clipart and the image he created. It reminded me of me when I get frustrated.

7. Stacy Averill: I responded to the website she chose to create her work. It is a nice website for a classroom newsletter.

Thing #7

I found this picture while searching through Flickr. This has been one of my first times really going through this website and discoverying all of its capabilities. There are so many things that you can do through this website. I have used other types of photo uploads for my pictures and worked through other types of sources for creating things I needed with my pictures. Working with Flickr was really easy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capnsurly/1809605411/in/set-72157600169376857/

Thing #9

I liked smiley generator a lot. I have used some of this smiley faces on my webpage. I think they are so cute. I enjoyed putting different comments on their signs. I chose a police officer one because my husband is a police officer of ten years. The other saying I chose is what I said to my son the other day and he laughed. I thought that was cute. I like using the animated clipart. It brings new light and makes things more attractive to look at.

http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/sign-generators/2.htm

Thing #8

While searching through flickr, I thought I would have a little fun. I found out how to make badges so I put a picture of my son and I when he was dressed up for Halloween last year. I think this is a neat way to create things for your school and/or classroom to make them personal. A teacher can take pictures of their students and create passports for specific lessons, etc. to incorporate into the curriculum. I think sharing pictures online is a great way to allow everyone to see them, especially when you have family out of town. I think you should always use caution, but it is a convenient way to allow friends and family to see who is growing up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eccentricities-studio/2896497417/

Thing #6

http://www.flickr.com/

I like this particular tool. This tool allows you to organize, upload, and send photos. I am always taking pictures and putting them on the computer. I also use this for my classroom to organize photos for my website. I have a photos page of things the students do throughout the year. I find this tool useful for the classroom as well as school wide for the school website. I am also in charge of taking pictures and putting them onto our school website. Flickr is a great tool to use for this type of project.

Thing #5

I do not currently use Facebook or MySpace. I have never really gotten involved with that sort of stuff. I did participate in TeacherPop in a previous class, and that was interesting. In previous classes, I have heard of Web 2.0, but I don't know much about it. I think it can be beneficial to a classroom. I believe School 2.0 will be our future. Blogging, social interaction with Facebook, etc., and wiki's will be more popular than ever. I can see blogging taking place in the classrooms on a regular basis in the future. In order for teachers to keep up with the new era of technology, they will need to be trained on how to use the equipment. Future teachers and students will have access to use Web 2.0 more in the classroom and will be trained on it.

Thing #2

I had a great time creating my avatar. It was fun trying to pick different things. I tried to create an image that looked like me. I was trying to dress one in a way that I would dress at school, but when I found the volleyball outfit, I had to use it. I love playing volleyball. I have played for years. I alway enjoy watching the beach volleyball players and usually wish it was me out there. After I got started creating the blog, it was really easy and fun to do. It took me just a minute to get going real good with it, but once I got started, I was off. It was really hard to stop working on it. I finally decided I needed to do a little teaching, ha ha. I am really enjoying this assignment.

Thing #3

I have really enjoyed creating this blog. This is the first time I have ever created a blog. I have ready many blogs in the past, but never created one. I am always wanting to learn more things that I can incorporate into the classroom and my teaching career. As an educator, I would use blogs to post my classroom newsletter that contains vital information from about our classroom and what we are learning. I would use blogs to post important events. I teach second grade so working with blogs might be somewhat difficult, but I would like for my students to know how to log on and read a blog. The would need to be informed about our classroom blog so their parents would know how to retrieve the information.

Thing #1

I liked all of the habits listed, but the easiest one for me is #6, using technology for my advantage as well as #7, teaching and mentoring others. I work on our school website and I enjoy mentoring others on how to use technology to better benefit them in their classroom. The hardest one for me was #4, having confidence in yourself. I sometimes find it hard to find the confidence I need to accomplish something. I don't really give myself enough credit. When I do things I enjoy, I find more confidence. I really enjoy technology, so this assignment is a good one for me. I am really enjoying this class.