Thing #4

Interacting with other authors and commenting on their blogs helps to create a sense of community in several ways; it can help inspire new ideas, create conversations, express feelings and opinions on a topic, and bring life and purpose to writing. Comments are an important part of blogs, (and are almost a duty for bloggers!) If you spend time and thought writing on your blog, wouldn't you want some feedback also?

I decided to fulfill my duty and commented on the following blogs: Clement's Journey Into the 23 Things,   Gryffindonald, Weber's Technology Class, Farmer's 23 Things, Abby Smith's 23 Things, Rhodes 23 Things, and Tucker's 23 Things. I wanted to be helpful in my comments while also inspiring further thought and conversation. Hopefully I was successful!

Thing #3

As I read over the EduBlog Insights, I realized there are many useful ways I could use a blog and incorporate it as an important educational tool. One of the best ways to utilize a blog is to use it as a window of communication. If a student becomes ill or has an emergency and cannot attend school, the teacher can use a blog to post assignments so the student won't fall behind. This is also an excellent tool to communicate with parents who are unable to attend conferences and wish to see lesson plans and understand the concepts of what their child is learning. Overall, I believe a blog can provide important communication outside of the classroom.

Thing #2

Creating a blog is a lot of fun! In the past I have created other blogs, and to be honest I usually spend the majority of my time deciding on colors and a layout. When it came to deciding on a posting and blog name, I wanted to make sure I would be able to remember them easily so I went simple and used my first and last name. Although, I did add more personality into my avatar because I decided to make her look just like me. I think I did a good job!

Thing #1

While observing the "7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners" online tutorial, I noticed some habits which seemed harder and some that seemed easier for me to follow. First, the third habit, or "View problems as challenges," seemed like it would be the hardest to me. I have a tendency to become obsessive when I am extremely focused on my work. If I come across an obstacle in my work which poses as challenging, I become frustrated. Instead of viewing the obstacle as a problem and turning to frustration, I should instead view the obstacle as a challenge. (Afterall, the word challenge sounds much more intriguing than problem.) Additionally, I did find a habit which is easier for me to follow. The first habit, "Begin with the end in mind," is something that comes naturally to me. Finishing any type of work is much easier when focusing on achieving your goal. Also, this makes your hard work much more satisfying! :)

Overall, I hope learn more and further my education in Web 2.0 tools, and to identify how they can help me along my journey of becoming a teacher. I did enjoy creating my blog (and spending most of my time picking out colors - there goes my OCD!) as I have created a few before in the past. I am excited to see the other fun projects we will encounter with the 23 Things for Teachers!