Thing 4

Thing 4

Instructions:

• explain why commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction
• discuss two to other points from the reading about commenting that you found important
• give the name of the seven blogs (5 from our group + 2 others of your choice) you selected to read and comment on then tell why you selected them
• discuss the comments that you chose to make and why you made them

Commenting

Commenting on different blogs is a wonderful tool because it allows others to ask questions, make statements, and express opinions on different blogs.  People that are visiting a blog may want to know more about the topic that is being discussed, by leaving a comment they can find out more information.  Without this type of interaction on blogs, it would be extremely difficult for people to have that sense of community on the World Wide Web.  One website that I found extremely helpful on commenting was Drake's Takes: Edublogger Etiquette.  On this website the author made the comment, "While not public, some bloggers choose to respond to blog comments through private email conversations..."  This is a great tip to remember because some bloggers can be more private compared to others.  With this in tote, I think that when bloggers do this, it allows them to become closer with their blog viewers, creating an even tighter sense of community.  The other blog I greatly enjoyed viewing was the Cool Cat Teacher Blog: How to comment like a king or queen.  A few tips that I picked up from this website were: write meaningful comments; if you have written about it, hyperlink it to your post; if you have a blog, share about yourself when you comment; use a comment tracking device.  This specific blogger really invested time into her blog, she elaborated on each topic beautifully!  I think that it is extremely important to always write meaningful comments because the blogger is going to take time out of their day in order to respond to the comment you have left.

Learning 2.0 23 Things Classmates:

• Ashely Irwin
• Thing 3
• Samantha Ebright
• Thing 6
• Brooke Cox
• Favorite Children's Books and Authors
• Morgan Smith
• Thing 4
• Jessamyn Litaker
• Thing 2
• A Cupcake for the Teacher
• "A Mini Sunday Share" Post, September 22, 2013
• 9th comment
• http://acupcakefortheteacher.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-mini-sunday-share.html
• Schoolgirl Style
• Wild Wild Western Classroom Theme
• 15th comment
• http://www.schoolgirlstyle.com/2013/01/wild-wild-western-classroom-theme-2/#comments

All of the comments that I have made on each blog I did was not only because I was assigned to, but it was to voice my opinion to other people.  I have a problem with speaking to large groups, and I am normally a quiet pupil in class, blogging gives me that strenuous feeling of having a voice.  Through these comments I have allowed myself to explain myself without fear.  The two blogs that I commented on outside of the classroom had such wonderful and lovely ideas for any classroom that I have become addicted to the pages; I highly recommend that everyone go check A Cupcake for the Teacher and Schoolgirl Style out.  I have created a hyperlink under Blogs to Visit for A Cupcake for the Teacher, I have yet to do so for Schoolgirl Style; but there are other websites that I thought would be great for future teachers to check as well.  I have greatly enjoyed this assignment and leaving comments on these seven blogs! 

Thing 3

Thing 3

Instructions:  Write about ways that you might use a blog in your teacher eduction program or your future classroom.  

Answer: 

I am basing my first idea off of something that we did in high school.  We actually used a program similar to Facebook, for this class we would upload our projects as a post, then our teacher would grade it and classmates would comment on it.  Another idea that could be done in the classroom by using a blog would be to incorporate it into an English class.  By doing this you could instruct the class to read a novel and answer questions on a classroom blog.  This would involve all students within the classroom, and perhaps interest those who would not be as tempted to read.

Another thing that interested me from the link Best Teacher Blogs of 2012, was a blog called Cool Cat Teacher Blog.  Even though it is for teachers only, it has some wonderful ideas and tips on teaching techniques by using technology.  This specific blog has many encouraging posts to becoming a strong individual who will lead students in the classroom.  I encourage future teachers to take a look at this!

Thing 2

Thing 2

Q1. What previous experiences do you have with blogs, reading or writing?

Answer: 
The most experience I have with blogging is what I have posted on Facebook.  I have never created a blog before, so I find this to be a new and exciting experience.  It is like an adventure because I am learning how to operate a new type of social media!

Q2.  How did you decide on your posting name and the name of your blog?

Answer:
I decided on my posting name by picking something simple, going with my full name.  I decided that the name of my blog should represent what I am using it for, that being my Education 3040 class.

Q3.  What was your experience in creating the blog?  Was it hard for you or easy?  Why?

Answer:
I had a great experience creating this blog, we all participated in making one inside the classroom, which was a fun, hands on activity.  It was fairly easy to create the blog, all I had to do was follow the step-by-step instructions on "23 Things."  Our professor was also very helpful, she guided us through the steps as well, showing us how to do everything by displaying information on the Smart Board.

Q4.  How does your avatar reflect your personality?  Did you create an avatar that looks like your real self or someone totally different?  Why?

Answer:
My avatar does not really reflect my personality as much as I would like it to; this is because there were not many options with the creator tools.  My avatar does look like me, because it has the same hair and eye color, but I would have loved to express my personality and character more through it.

Thing 1

Thing 1

Watch the Seven and 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learner.

Instructions:

• Write about which of the lifelong learning habits are the easiest and hardest for you and why.
• Write about what you want to learn by playing with Web 2.0 tools and your experience in setting up the blog.  Was it hard or easy?
• Describe your feelings as you worked on this.

Answers:

The lifelong learning habits that are the easiest for me would be habits 2, 5, and 6.  Habit 2 states, "Accept responsibility for your own learning."  This habit is extremely easy for me because I take responsibility for what I learn and how I study for certain subjects.  Habit 5 says, "Create your own learning toolbox."  By creating my own learning toolbox I am able to better prepare myself for subjects that I do not feel confident in.  Habit 6, "Use technology to your advantage," this comes extremely easy to me, because I grew up as technology grew.  I use technology to my advantage because it helps me store and discover information.

Working with Web 2.0 tools, I have learned new valuable information; for instance, how I set up this specific blog.  It was not as hard as I thought it was going to be and I explored and ventured out, discovering different ways on how to make my blog interesting and professional looking.  As I worked on this blog I felt that I was not going to be able to keep up with all of the requirements.  Time went on and I slowly got the hang of things!