Week 5 Thing 11

I have been exploring the Web 2.0 awards lists. I went into the education awarded site and found there is a site that allows you to take lessons online for free to learn a new language. It was interesting. I wish I had time to do such a thing.

I also looked at the games sites that were listed. My kids enjoyed playing alien hangman with me. I also played a couple of other games.

They also had Del.icio.us listed as the top bookmarking and tagging site. I decided to wait to explore it as part of next weeks thing.

Week 5 thing 10

I played around with the FD toys image generator and came up with this image. I have received this picture through email previously and it really was breathtaking for me. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Week 4 thing 8 and 9

Once again I have been looking at several different sights, trying to find something I might be interested in keeping up with. I have found nothing I would want to keep up with. This is a little too overwhelming for me. Maybe I will revisit it later. I must go on.

I have been trying to figure out how to add a feed to my blog. I did something, I just don't know if it's what I was supposed to do. I signed up to google reader and added a few feeds to that, but I would like to have them fed into my blog.

I also added some games and other fun stuff onto the blog. I have been exploring the blog options. FUN!

Thing 6 Mashups

Okay, I have been exploring flickr and other linked sites and am very overwhelmed. I did manage to create a mashup. I uploaded some pictures onto flickr and created a motivational poster. The girl in the poster is my oldest daughter Kayla.

I am still not real sure how to use and set up flickr, but I guess that will come with time. I would like to explore more of the mashups - like the one that allows you to create trading cards. This really is something that takes lots of time to discover. I did enjoy this thing.

Winter Break Challenge

I found this website with lots of winter activities on it. I have began searching for sites and activities that do not specifically mention Christmas as a result of having students who do not celebrate Christmas in my classroom. I am constantly having to find alternate assignments for them. This is one resource that I found to be helpful. I hope it will be equally resourseful for you all. It also has a variety of other themed sections in it.

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/winter/

Thing 7:Technology Related Link

I was searching on TeacherTube for something about technology. I found this video that explains "Blogging in Plain English". It was short and simple, yet very informative. I also looked at other "Plain English" videos.

Thing 5

I have been exploring Flickr for about an hour. I found this picture of a snowman family found in Texas. Someone was being creative. Since our snow was pretty much gone by Thursday morning, my kids didn't get a chance to really enjoy it much. I spent Wednesday afternoon working in my room. My daughter Jennifer went out front of Rancho and played in the snow as it was coming down. By the time I got home, it was too dark to take many good pictures. I am still learning to use my camera effectively.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=texas%20snowman%20family&w=all&s=int

Flickr seems endless; many of the pictures are great though.

Things 3 and 4

After playing around with the Avatar, I finally decided on "my look". I had a bit of trouble getting the avatar onto the blog, but after using the tutorial, it went pretty smoothly. I also visited a couple of bloggs that were listed at the bottom of thing 4 page in the syllabus. I have been debating searching for a classroom penpal. I think I may have found an answer to my dilemna. I would like to create a classroom blog, allowing students to post entries along with pictures of Rancho happenings. I think this would be fun for the kids and make writing more authentic. I am excited!!
This may take me a little while to get it started, but maybe over the Christmas break I will have time to dedicate to creating it.

Thing 1 and 2

Wow! It is now 11:15 and everyone is asleep, except me. I decided to begin my Web2.0 journey, before the start of the new school week. After watching the 7 1/2 pointers from lifelong learning, I have concluded that the easiest tip for me is #4 or maybe it's #3. I feel I am a pretty confident person. I enjoy learning new things and do not give up too easily. For example, this is my second attempt at posting this blog. I wrote it once and saved it, but I couldn't read it when I went to view the blog. I am hoping this attempt will be more successful. My most diffult tip to follow is # 7 1/2. I have four children at home: three girls and a boy ranging from 17 years old to 5 years old. I am constantly on the go and never seem to have enough time to finish things. One of my biggest goals is to find a way to make better use of my time and find time to laugh and play.