Thing 12

Picasa and Google Translate were the Web 2.0 Tools I chose to further explore. I was really impressed with the Google Translate. It had any and every language. This could be helpful if I have a student who has at least one main care taker that does not speak English when a letter needs to be sent home. All I would have to do is type it up in English, paste the letter into the text box, and it would translate it so I could copy and paste it to a document to print and send out. I found Picasa to be very interesting as well. It had a lot to do. I think it would be really helpful so I could connect with the parents of my students online. When I do activities in my classroom, I plan to take pictures of the students as they do things. Using Picasa would be an easy, efficient way to have the pictures in a place where the parents could view them and see what all is going on in the classroom.

Thing 11

I am not very fond of these techniques. It was mildly confusing to figure out what was going on with my RSS, but maybe that was just me! This Google Blog search was the easiest for me to use. Mostly because it is a familiar format because I use Google.com almost every day. Also, it gives the most relative results. Another site I enjoyed was Edublogs.My least favorites were Technorati and Topix. Technorati gave irrelevant responses and was just all around unhelpful. They both were far too busy as well. So, I will probably be sticking to Google unless I have more time to just search through things on Edublogs. 

Thing 10

I like that RSS and newsfeeds keep you from having to visit each site to check for yourself if it has been updated. It saves a lot of time. I can use these to keep up on all of the websites, such as blogs, I enjoy reading information from. For teaching it will be useful for resources and I can also come up with my own things for people to subscribe to if they wish. With some of the websites I chose, I can be kept updated on all of the newest findings in education which be important for me to be the best teacher that I can be.

Thing 9

These generators are very versatile because they have any kind of image you could create. I used ImageChef.com to create an image to represent my faith, and I used the Comic Strip Generator to make one with Bart Simpson about homework. I could definitely use the Comic Strip Generator to create laminated signs as reminders for the kids for things around the classroom such as in a classroom library/reading corner I could use a picture of a comic to remind the children that the library/reading corner is a quiet place.



Thing 8

I could use mashups for many things, both personal and teaching. I could create multiple mashups for special occasions like my wedding to have on display. Also, I could make a large photocopy of the Spell with Flickr for my last name as decor piece in my home.When it comes to teaching, I could use the website that creates puzzles for the students using pictures of their families or for things that they need to learn. I think sharing photos online is a great thing. I use photos a lot for presentations and I rely on things like Google Images and other online resources to get pictures from. It is also a great way for people to connect and share pictures with those they are close to emotionally, but not physically.

Thing 7

Photographer: blmiers2

Flickr seemed to be pretty simple to use. I was looking for photos from Alaska hoping to find some pictures of the Denali National Park. All I had to do was type "alaska" in the search bar and tons of Alaska photos came up. It was difficult to find the URL of this image. I had to go to the properties when I right clicked it on it to find the URL, which was not listed in the Help.

Thing 6



This Web 2.0 tool is very helpful. It is essentially an online file cabinet. You can upload different documents into different files, similar to saving documents to a computer. You have the ability to share documents with others who have dropbox as well. You type in their username or e-mail and choose the correct account to share with. Your things may also be private. Another thing that makes this a useful site is when you upload a document to dropbox, you can sign in on any computer and download it. This could be helpful for things such as powerpoint presentations, so you do not have to sign into your personal e-mail where everyone can see what you are doing, giving you more privacy. I could see myself using this when I become a teacher for multiple things. If there was something I wanted to work on at home for work, but did not have my work computer at home with me, I could work on it at home, upload it to dropbox, and download it on my work computer. Also, if there were assignments or projects that I wanted to share amongst other teachers in my grade, I could do the same.

(The image is a link.)

Thing 5

If I had to make a definition for School 2.0, I would make it based of the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 in the Atomic Learning video. Web 1.0 was read only; whereas, Web 2.0 is read and write, so it is more advanced and is easy for everyone to use now. School 2.0, to me, is already in the making. Schools are already becoming more technologically advanced. I observed in a kindergarten class that had an overhead projector and two computers, which I felt was a little excessive since they were only in kindergarten. School 2.0 makes me think of schools having all textbooks online or on something like a Kindle or Nook and no longer using paper by replacing it with something like D2L. I imagine that to be an improvement for older kids; however, I do not think that will be appropriate for younger children who spend too much time on electronics is. With technology being "second nature" to kids, like techlearning.org says, it won't hurt to wait until students are older to make it more prevalent. Advances in technology are great, but I believe it should be saved for the older kids because the possibilities are endless with what they can manage. Younger children need to focus more on their social, emotional, phyisical, creative, and cognitive developments first. When it comes to teachers, the web is an amazing thing with endless possibilities as well. Finding things like activity ideas, discussing with other teachers what was successful and unsuccessful for them, and things of that nature become easier immediately. Also, when I observed the kindergarten I noticed she had a mic like most of my high school teachers did. I felt that was definitely a great use of new technology because younger children can get loud fast.