Thing Four

Although I already had an iGoogle homepage from another tech PD I did with Maureen and Joan I had fun updating it with some new gadgets (the hamster with the wheel) and adding a few new news feds from the Hartford Courant as well as Google News which I thought offered a wider world news feed then CNN did. My only compaint is that once you pick a theme (mine was valentines day) you can't change the font color which made some things hard to read. I will be sure to pick an easier to read St. Patrick's day theme in a month

Thing 3

After taking sometime to explore other people's education blogs I have found that there are so many more uses for blogs then I was previously aware. So many of these blogs were used for various purposes other than your basic homework/organizational classroom tools. I even looked at some there were almost a lesson/activity in their own right. I found one teacher off the blog list that was in the process of having this classroom Skype with another teacher across the country for a joint class session. This was amazing. I think back to how excited I used to get at the thought of a pen pal letter in elementary school, what about a lesson and collaborative working with a student who lives across the country or perhaps the world.

When I look at other people's blogs I start to realize the endless possibilities that are out there for putting technology into my classroom

Thing 1 and Thing 2

So originally I signed up for this because it looked easy and a great way to put an extra credit in the bank for some day when I needed one. Now looking at what we will be working on I am excited. I have always loved to have the newest tech stuff in my classroom and love to use it with my students.

This year I have really been working hard with my students to get into Blog and Wiki use. We use blogs weekly in my psychology class and use a Wiki for informational purposes. I am always looking for something to grab the attention of kids who spend most of their day glued to their technology.

Personally, I love this stuff. I have my own blog that I talk about mom stuff and review books (I even do some for publishing companies), I love my new kindle, I am a full blown facebook addict, and my newest addiction is my cell phone that now has unlimited texting and Internet access (thank god I couldn't afford an iPhone or I may never have left my couch).

I can't wait to see what the rest of our Things are!!!

PS-I had way to much fun designing my avatar for this!!!!