Thing 7

GRRRR! I just typed a long post for this thing and then got an error when I tried to post. That's what I get for not saving! Anyway, on to more pleasant subjects....Google tools. I loved setting up my iGoogle page. My husband was amused by my excitement over this because it's been around for quite a while, but I guess I had my head in the sand. As the mother of two active preschoolers (is that redundant???) I don't tend to spend any free time that I have on news or newspapers so I love having a couple of news boxes on my iGoogle page to keep me up-to-date on major happenings. I also love seeing the pictures of Places to See Before You Die...hopefully, I'll get to see a couple of them one day. I didn't spend alot of time on it, but I also enjoyed learning about Google Scholar. I plan to share it with my faculty, some of whom can't seem to understand that elementary school students are not generally capable of coming to the library on their own to use Google in order to research topics for their classrooms. You'd think they'd get tired of hearing my lecture about how the school district spends HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on subscriptions to databases with reliable, current, unbiased information for them to use. LOL! I also took some time to introduce myself to Google docs, which I'd been hearing about, but hadn't actually tried. WOW! This could be a great tool for the library department, as well as our individual campus. We are always asked to work on the campus improvement plan...how much easier if it's posted in Google docs and everyone can view/edit from their own computer instead of providing paper copies to each team. Also, I thought it would be wonderful to have our contact information and / or emergency call list in Google docs, that way everyone can update their own information as needed. Isn't it amazing what we can do with a computer and an Internet connection these days?

Thing 6

WOW! Big Huge Labs is just that....so many interesting things that can be done with this site. I made a trading card of my almost-four year old to give out to her friends at her birthday party in a few weeks. I'm sure it will be a hit, at least with Nana and Grammy. :) I also made this jigsaw puzzle of an unhappy tourist on our trip to Alaska last summer. I could spend the rest of the summer playing on this site. I can imagine lots of uses for these applications, from mapping the location of famous landmarks in social studies to creating propaganda posters for language arts to making trading cards of famous people for Black History month, etc. What a great tool! I'm afraid that it will be blocked, though, like so many of the sites to which our district restricts access. I believe it was Alan November who said during his session at TLA this year something along the lines that we should also take away pencils and paper from the students because some of them might write inappropriate notes if we allow them to have those tools. Excellent point, in my opinion!

Thing 5

Spent quite a bit of time on Flickr...took the tour, checked out the different areas. It's truly amazing to have access to so many photos with just a few clicks of the mouse. What a fantastic tool for showing students geographical features or locations. Being a native Texan, I decided to search for Texas photos. There were so many interesting and/or beautiful shots that I had a hard time just picking one. I finally selected this photo of the 'Aggie' bluebonnet posted by sarowen because I loved the contrast between the brilliant blue and marooon. I don't guess the folks down at A&M will be putting any effort into a burnt orangebonnet any time soon, though!

Thing 3

Wow! Creating the avatar was much easier than I expected, but did take a bit of time because I had to look at every option. I wish I was actually as cute as my avatar! I loved playing with all the outfits and accessories...I got a little hung up on transferring it to my blog, but after a few minutes of frustration I finally figured it out. So far so good....

Thing 2

Lifelong learning....I guess my first thought on the subject would be, "What kind of life would one have without learning?" Learning to me is essential. I love to learn new things and I sincerely want to encourage this attitude in my students and my own two children. I guess the hardest thing for me is the goal-setting habit. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants more than I have a planned attack, which is probably why I don't always get the results that I envisioned. The easiest habit for me is using technology to my advantage. I can't imagine going back 10 or so years before we had the tools that are now available to us. I'm constantly amazed by what can be accomplished with the current technology and it boggles my mind to think about what my little girls will experience during their lifetimes!