Thing #4

Commenting on blogs is a great way to provide support and feedback to the blogger. Also, when a person comments on a blog, it lets the blogger know that people are visiting the blog and using the information that is posted.

Two of the points about commenting that I found most important came from the Cool Cat Teacher blog. The first, "You cast a vote on the importance of a topic". Weighing in on a topic lets the blogger know which topics are most important to readers. Second, "You become part of the life of the blogger you are reading". As someone who has a personal blog, this is one the best parts of having people comment on your blog. It's fun and meaningful to be able to reach out and make connections with others.

For Thing #4, I commented on the following blogs:

Olivia Rhodes - I commented on Olivia's suggestion for the use of blogs by teachers. I think that blogs becoming communication portals for teachers and a place for teachers to exchange ideas, lesson plans, and information could be invaluable. Teachers can support, give feedback, and encourage their peers.

Janice Stamper - I liked Janice's idea to use blogs as journals for students. I can remember using a journal in school and I think using blogs is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom.

Derek Carroll - Derek posted about using a blog to post photos from class and post class activities. This way, students and teachers would be able to access these photos and information at any time. I think parents especially would enjoy this.

Sarah Hammontree - I commented on Sarah's Thing #2 post, which was about creating the blog and avatar. Sarah and I both had difficulty getting our avatar onto our blog. Also, I thought Sarah's avatar was good.

Lincoln Farmer - I commented on Lincoln's avatar. His avatar has a lot going on, which I really liked. With this blog, the avatar is really the only representation of the blogger, so I liked that he incorporated so much of his personality into it.

Cool Cat Teacher - http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/ I commented on this blog because it's been a reference point for many of the "Things" we've done in this class. The blog I commented on was how the tide seems to be turning against the assessment outlined in NCLB. I think it would be great if that was reviewed and ultimately changed.

Elementary Teacher Blog - http://elementaryteacherblog.blogspot.com/ I commented on the post about APA, MLA formatting. Love that the blogger included this!

Thing #3

I like the idea of using a blog as a way to put class information and assignments in a place that students and parents can access at any time. Students and parents could ask questions and communicate with the teacher and the other students/parents about assignments/homework, classroom policies, etc. Teachers can post lesson plans, write about the experiences with those plans, post photos, and update any information that students or parents may need. Not only is this idea helpful for the students and parents, it's also a way for other teachers to see what their peers are doing in the classroom. Teachers could get ideas and inspiration for their own classrooms and could provide support and feedback for the teacher who created the blog.

Thing #2

Creating this blog was not a new experience for me. My husband and I created a blog a few years ago to help us stay in touch with family and friends. Since we're a military family, we move often and wanted to be able to share our lives with the people we've met along the way. My personal blog is also on blogger.com, so I have some familiarity with the site.
I decided to use my actual name as my posting name. I thought this would be simpler for myself and the instructor. The name of my blog, "Abby Smith's 23 Things", is very straightforward. In my mind, this was the easiest and most simple idea. I knew I needed to include at least my last name, so I decided to use my full name and my blog's purpose in the title.

My avatar reflects my personality because it's clutching desperately to a coffee cup. I'm an avid coffee drinker and don't go a day without it! I created my avatar to look like myself. It never crossed my mind to create one that looked differently. I want the blog to reflect my personality, so I decided that the avatar should be a reflection of myself as well.

Thing #1

While watching the Lifelong Learning tutorial, I quickly recognized which step is easiest for me, Habit 7 1/2 - "Play"! My problem is that I often do Habit 7 1/2 before I do any others. The habit that is hardest for me is Habit 6, "Using Technology to Your Advantage". While I enjoy technology and use it constantly (I love my smart phone!), I use technology primarily for entertainment purposes. I am not as technically savvy when it comes to resources that will benefit me as a student and later as an educator. I'm hopeful that this course and all the tools that I will become familiar with during this course can change my ability to make technology work for me.