Thing # 8 Fun Times with Flickr

Can I just say I had way too much fun doing this?? I mean I am seriously addicted now. Anyways, for my future classroom Flickr could be used to take pictures of my students and their activities. If we have open house then I could use it as a PowerPoint presentation. Not only that but I could send the different pictures to the parents by email. For my personal life I could use it to introduce my self to the parents so that they could know a little about my background.
Now, my feelings about about sharing photos online is different. I don't like sharing really anything online. The wrong person get a hold of your stuff, you don't have a chance. Especially as a teacher, I have to be really careful about what I post and what I share. Teachers are under a microscope 24/7. I rather be safe than sorry. Other than that I truly enjoyed this thing!

Thing # 7 Flickr

This was taken by: Kalense Kid from Flicker

For Flickr, the keyword that I used in my search was Alhambra. This is a famous place in Granada, Spain. I choose to look up this picture because it was my favorite place in Spain to visit. It was where the Moors lived for 700 years. It has a water system that travels throughout the whole castle. This picture captures the beauty of it and I love it. I love black and white photos and this a great photo of the castle in black and white. Finding this picture was really easy. I typed in the word and then there were thousands of pictures of just the Alhambra that I wanted. Flickr is a great way to find photos of things from all over the world!

Alhambra

Thing # 6 Mango Languages

Mango Languages is a great tool for students wanting to learn a foreign language. Students would be able to apply their new vocabulary and use them in real conversations. When vocabulary and grammar taught in a classroom, students could go months or even years before using it in real conversations. Mango uses vocabulary and grammar into sentences that are used daily. There are not many language programs that can teach new words and grammar and be immediately used. Mango allows you to see the sentence, says it in Spanish, and then breaks down the sentence word for word. Then, you eventually will be asked to say the sentence in Spanish. What a great idea!! The only problem with this program is the cost. It is $160.00 for a 3-month subscription, $220.00 for a 6-month subscription, and $345.00 for a 1-year subscription. I feel that is way too much money. If the price wasn't so high I would definitely use it for myself. The upside is that libraries can purchase the program. I would honestly see if the program could be purchased through my future school's library.

Mango Languages

Thing # 5 School 2.0

First of all, Wow! I was looking at the website and all the different technology that is being used in school now and it is overwhelming. School 2.0 means that the classroom is no longer limited, it is now enhanced by technology. With all the new technology that has been introduced, students will be able to learn more about the world. I think that one of the websites that I read said it all. "The new tools and processes of Web 2.0, such as blogs, social bookmarking sites, pod casting and RSS, enable individual, continual, and highly customized experiences through the creation of a personal learning environment. The PLE is responsible for connecting individuals to form a community of learners, where all contribute and collaborate in what amounts to a global discussion of ideas" For schools in the future, it means that teachers are going to have to find ways to keep their students up to date with technology. Schools will have more opportunities to teach outside of the classroom. One thing I want to add. It don't think that teachers should drift away from the hands-on activities. I feel that teachers should never fully rely on technology because technology can't replace teachers.

Thing # 4 Commenting

Commenting is a great way for people to interact with one another without leaving the home. People can share their opinions with others about subjects they are interested in. Plus it gives the blogger feedback on what is liked and not liked. I think that the comments you make on others should only be there to help them and not bash them.
I commented on Lora, Amber, Lori, Mitch, and Brittney's for our Education 3040 class. The other two blogs that I chose to comment on were: Teacher Pop and on Facebook. I love commenting on people's pages. It really is fun to give feedback to people because I love getting feedback as well.

Thing # 3 Use of Blogging as a Teacher

For my future classroom, blogging could be very useful. I could post daily homework assignments, post new websites that could be helpful for Spanish, write what I learned what doesn't work and what does in my classroom, and so much more. Especially high schoolers, blogging would be a great way for my students to practice their Spanish. I could have a weekly assignment where students would have to talk about their week in Spanish. Also I could have them look up Spanish websites that was helpful to them and post them on their blog. This would greatly improve their writing and communication skills plus allow them to learn more vocabulary. Another way is students could communicate with each other about assignments or projects I assign in the classroom. It could also be used as a feedback tool where students could express to me what they liked and didn't like about projects, homework, and so forth. I can see blogging being very useful in my future Spanish classroom.

Thing # 2 Blogging and Avatar

After creating my Blogger I decided to make my posting name and the name of my blog pretty simple. I wanted to be creative when thinking of names for both but the creative juices weren't flowing at the time. I wanted something that represented me for both but was just ordinary. Right now I am leaving alone the names until my creative thinking comes back.
I really enjoyed creating my blog. It was kind of trial and error experience. I like playing with different names, themes, colors, settings, and more. I want my page to be unique but simple. It was really easy creating the blog but like I have said previously, it is like Myspace and Facebook with out the applications, millions of pictures, and the updates. Ha ha....Anyways, I like blogger because it is so simple.
The Avatar that I created was looks like me other than I am wearing a dress. I usually don't wear dresses very often so I decided I would be in a dress. I absolutely love animals and that is why I put a dog on there. I have four dogs back at home. Overall the Avatar does reflect who I am other than I wish I felt more comfortable wearing dresses. I am more of a tomboy, always have been. :)

Thing #1 Habits and Web 2.0

After watching the video about the 7 1/2 learning habits, I found two that stuck out to me the most. I realized that the hardest for me is the habit about beginning with the end in mind. I have such a hard time thinking about the things I do now affect my future. This is especially true when it comes to school. I'm not good about writing down my goals and being serious about them. I have a thousand goals in my head short-term and long-term but never take the time to truly set up and time frame. I'm basically wondering around aimlessly everyday with a million things in my mind but never put these goals on paper.
The easiest habit is using technology to my advantage. I find this is very common with people my age. Our generation is all about technology. I'm always looking to the Internet to help further my learning. It is so easy to type in key words and "bam" you have instant information. The problem is that sometimes, without thinking, I tend to think everything on the Internet is true. Trying to sort through opinions and trying to find the truth is like trying to find last year's Easter egg. On the other hand, I love learning new ways to use technology to enhance my learning and look forward discovering new ways to use technology in my classroom.
Web 2.0 tools was something I never heard of before until I came to this class. I was in awe of the many tools that can be used for education. I want to learn how to use Web 2.0 tools in my classroom. I want to learn how I can use these tools for learning a foreign language, specifically Spanish. I have already found a useful website, Palabea, that will allow people to hold conversations with others all over the world. What a great way to get my future students an opportunity to speak Spanish!
Setting up my blog was not difficult. I'm used to setting up accounts with Myspace, Facebook, Gmail, iGoogle, and more. It wasn't much different from these websites. On Myspace you have a blog as well so this was not a difficult task for me.