Thing #4...Finally

It's Comment Time

     Comments are, in my opinion, just as important as your blog.  The one single way that you can promote a good taste about your blog is by commenting on others who share information that you respect, are mentored by, or just like in general.  They will share your name and promote you as well as you can do for yourself.  You must be the nice guy for a while.  That's the nature of good blogging.

     

       Just a few suggestions for your future following.

"My blogs" by: Ms. Keith    

"My blogs" by: Mellissia Troyer

• "Lots of Literature for Kids From Chalkboards to Smartboards" by: Tiffany Anderson
• 
  
• "My blogs" by: Rachel Jones

• "My blogs" by: Ms.Moates

  
  

  2 Cents Worth By: David Warlick

  Always Learning: Teaching Technology Abroad  By: Kim Cofino

  
  

  Don't be scared.  Leave a comment.  They will be very excited to see it.  I remember some of the first comments that I received when writing my first few blogs on education.  They were the only reason I felt as if I was making any kind of difference in the world of the web.  To those who have commented me:  Thank you for your time and your mind.  You are the reason I keep writing.  

  
  

  Commenting is an art that will be learned only over time.  It is important that you point out very specific points made by the author.  This simply shows that you have given some acute attention to the person and their main idea.  By doing this you are showing some of the most respectable responsibility that a fellow blogger holds.  You must know that comments are what creates the community of bloggers.  If your comment is empty and doesn't hold any value then you are better off not leaving one.  

  
  

  Like I said, "Time Will Teach You."  Your comments are valued, so make them valuable.  

  
  

  
  

Thing #23

My teacher is a Fraud?

23 Things Wilton Teachers Need to Know About Web 2.0 is brought to you by the Wilton Tech Institute. Email hepferm@wilton.k12.ct.us to contact the project facilitator.  



I didn't know that this wasn't Dr. Walls Creation!!!  Excuse the double negative, it's just an exclamation. 


This doesn't meant that my teacher is suspect to being a plagiarist.   She used the material that has been used by many others by following the laws laid before us by the Creative Commons Attribution License.  She followed the correct directions.  


Let me just give you a quick lay of the land.  Copyright laws have been extended over the past few years. The old law stated that work was protected for 14 years.  Well, that changed.  Due to the greed of money, copyright now lasts a lifetime, the producer of the work, plus 70 years.  Yes.  You just read that right.


Don't get upset though.  We can use stuff to teach!!!  As long as we aren't bothering the sales, and reputation of the work for sales, then we can use work under the Fair Use Law.  For example:  I can use any rap song I want to explain iambic meter, so long as I don't sell the lesson or use it in a way that would devalue the music itself.  


23Things is a program that was used under this law.  The past 23 blog postings have been prompted to me from a pre-existing set of prompts that were slightly modified to meet the needs of the course.  It is copyrighted material, but it is out to be shared for educational purposes with a Creative Commons Attribution License.

By using these rules and regulations with care and responsibility we won't have any conflict with the laws of the copyrights, which by the way are probably still in affect for another 100 years, at the least.

It's smart to review these laws for your own, that way you can know for sure if you are abiding by lawful actions upon taking up the responsibility of altering any instruction or, also, adding instruction by use of material covered by licensee.  Be mindful that your actions are a reflection of your own research, and you can't research too much of the wrong thing when it comes to copyright laws.

Share this information with your students!  Especially if you are a teacher that addresses students in high school, as they will be researching topics, and will most likely be tempted by the greedy side of why a piece of work is copyrighted.

Be Careful With Your Work!!!

Thing #22

Please Don't Steal My Essays

     

     I just got my first LiveBinder!!!  It seems to be a pretty efficient way to store my papers.  By using an online live binder I am able to access by papers from any computer with an internet connection.  Here is one of them Just For An Example!

English Resources: Essays

     Now, if you have a hard time getting into my binder, it's because I put a code on it.  The code is 1234.  I didn't want to make it too hard on myself to remember.  I didn't create a passcode tab in the binder, so don't get your hopes up on stealing all of my papers...


     I also created another two folders, one called British Lit, and American Lit.  These binder tabs act more as a tag for myself.  This site has a way to tag every folder, that way if you need to find something on the fly, you can search your tags first to narrow the search.  We all love saving time.  The site is free, and the set up is as easy as Click, Type, Save.


     I now have access to my papers anywhere I go.


     Another great thing is that I can share resources with others by sharing an entire binder, or a tab.  I just send a code to the person and they have full access to all of my work.  They can download them for revision, use my articles to study, or even just have a nice information based read.  


     I would highly recommend this if you are a person that enjoys backing up every thing that you do.  There is value in your work and you should take full advantage of every kind of back-up technique you can find.  Again, DON'T STEAL MY ESSAYS...please.

Thing #21

Animoto

   Animoto is my new online fixation.  I just wanted to share a video with you of some of  my engagement photos.  Enjoy.

    I know, I know.  You're bursting with tears over the sweetness of this video.  It is a good one. My wife would whoop me if I didn't include her in my fun blogs.  

     This video was created using Animoto.  It took about 5 minutes to make, but it was well worth it.  This is a great tool to have, and it's free for videos limited to 30 seconds long.  I just found out about the site today, but I feel like I have already mastered the basics.  Its user friendly layout is all you need to make an artsy photo gallery for any occasion.  Send it to a best friend, a lover, or like me you could just send it to the whole family and remind them that your anniversary is about a week away and hope that they send you some money or a gift.  Either way, I just wanted you to know that this exist.  You can use your own music from your iTunes library (as seen in the video above of a song that we used to listed to), and you can even choose the order of the photos as they transition on screen.  

 So what are you still reading this blog for?  Go Make a Video!

Now, for those of you who are future educators, take advantage of this tool.  Your students can use it for in-class projects.  Even better, you can use it to send to parents in emails as a weekly newsletter.  Make it exciting for you parents to trust you with their kids.  You've earned the respect, now Own It!

Thing #20

It's YouTube Time!

     I love YouTube.  Chances are, if you come to eat dinner at my place, we will end up watching videos back and forth for about two hours.  That's just the nature of the website.  It is addictive to say the least.  I placed a video in just to make your head spin a little.  It's quite motivational, as well.  If you put your mind to something, you can do it.  This video just points out the patience that must be behind your persistence.  

     YouTube has so many tools for adding videos to a blog.  This one took about 30 seconds.  I hope that gives you an idea of how easy it is to work with YouTube in correlation with your own work.  Give it a try.  It makes you seem tech savvy, also.

     super easy navigation

    

     Navigation is one of the major key factors in sites that include large libraries and databases of information.  Servers must be on their toes for the quickly changing demands for video web hosting and people are making the most use out of it by using blogs and personal sites to share their favorite videos.  There is even a genre known as Vlogging.  You guessed it, video blogging.

     I enjoy how organized the site is, and I also find that it has a diversity that is unparalleled by any other Non-Member site.  There are videos that can also be used for education.  Instructional videos are becoming more and more popular as the demand is just starting to reach a head in the classroom.

     Expect a lot to continue to flow from YouTube.  They will not stop, nor should they.  They are a close reliable resource for your classroom!  Just watch for language.  You never know what might have strong language.  Happy Video Hunting.

Thing #19

Visit TeacherPop

Are You in the Club?

     

     Are you making the best of the social networks that are available?  TeacherPop is an online community that is built by a teacher from my University.  TeacherPop is  connecting new teachers with one another every day with a social network that is much the same as any other network, but it is focused for educators.  This is the future.  Soon, lesson plans will be things that people will share across the country with ease and personal touches.  It's already being done via downloads, but sites like teacherpop are going to change the way we, as educators look at the world that we teach with. 

      I am apart of several different sites that are moving forward in a professional manner.  I love music, as I am a musician, therefore I follow what is new, upcoming, and exciting for me in that environment.  

     One site that I would suggest to anybody that is interested in communicating with others over a professional network of musicians is:  PureVolume 

     

   PureVolume is an open site that allows you to communicate with others who share the same taste in music, as well as the same ideas in music.  Share music and talk it over with friends; it doesn't get much better than that.

     By having a firm grasp on what is out there for social networks you are including yourself in a never stopping wave of change that will never hesitate in motion.  This is a lesson that students should know.  There are resources that involve other people's thoughts, reactions, and so forth.  By understanding that students can research bias and demographics on social media sites you are giving a new taste to your teaching.  Engage students in reaching into new places that are available to them.  They will learn so much on their own if we let them.  Homework could simply be, "Find a Band that you believe in, then write about why you believe they are a band worth investing in."  Easy enough.  Students will be working on creating a bias belief in a personal favorite and supporting that with rhetoric.  Two birds, one stone.

     As for educators, there will always be great ideas that are thrown around with other professionals on sites such as TeacherPop.  Join up and find your niche. 

Thing #18

Friends, Hashes, and Likes

     I, like many others, have been involved in Facebook and Twitter for quite a long time now.  I use Facebook for a friend site.  A place to see comments and pics that exceed the professional line created by the 140 character limit that sets twitter apart from other sites.  Using these sites should be a major part of an educator's resources.  

     These sites provide a constant flow of information that can be shared, re-shared, and re-re-shared.  Twitter allows people to retweet messages in a way of sharing the information as a cited comment that refers back to its original writer.  This is definitely a pretty cool concept that has been executed by the twitter community.

Hashes

     The hash system is a way of bookmarking and sorting information that is tagged under a certain topic.  Any one person can search a hashtag name and find posts that are in some way connected to the hash.  For example, if I was looking for a good laugh then I could search:

#Angrycat 

     or

#peopleofwalmart

     I do respect both of these sites for their creativity, and I do feel that it is a great way to communicate with others.  For teachers, this is a great way for sharing information, sites, and resources.  However, I would argue that this should remain a personal site for personal uses.  I have seen many bullying cases that have derived from such sites.  

     I recommend both of these sites for educators, but I do advise to proceed with caution.

Feel Free to Follow me at www.facebook.com/madilinegrant

Thing #17

Social Bookie

   I am proud to admit that I am a veteran tagger ––a Social Bookie, if you will.  I love keeping things organized due to a very fun mental disorder that I have.  Tourette's Syndrome (TS) keeps my OCD in full effect, affecting me as much as it possibly can.  I am okay with this.  It has proven to help my wife find our wedding vowels, my brother to find the right logistics program, and me to be constantly organized with material things.  My thoughts are a different thing.

      I have been using two of the following sites for quite some time now, Stumbleupon and Delicious.  Both of these sites are great for tagging all of the material that is within my interest and are used to keep my mind very organized when I am searching for new ideas and information online.  Bookmark heaven, to say the least!

     I also looked into a new site for myself known as Digg.  Digg uses many of the same tools as Delicious and Stumbleupon, but i didn't find it as visually appealing as the other two sites, so I will be completely honest with you in that I didn't spend much time exploring the true potentials of this site; however, I do have faith that it is very efficient at tagging and so forth.

Let's use this for our future

   Another great part of tagging is it sets you up for success in the future.  I want to be prepared for my class when they need resources to use.  I know that I am enabling my self to be a great teacher by preparing for tomorrow.  I always make a separate account for myself when tagging educational items.  I use the settings to only allow sites that are appropriate for all ages.  

     

     Using these tags could save you so many hours of planning.  Find yourself some good unit plans online, and make sure to tag other teachers within that subject area.  This is a show of good faith and practice and I can guarantee that it will prove to be a tenfold return on those days when your creative mind motor is running on empty.

     Use the tags, Use the bookmarks, Use your friends...

Thing #16

Keep It 

Productive

     Let's face the facts:

1.  We get off track, even when we focus hard

2.  Our acuteness is growing with the use of new tools

3.  Our focus can get help from the new tools that offer some assistance.  

     I would like to introduce you to one way of keeping up with your daily news.  Much like an online startpage, FlipBoard is an app that is offered for download onto iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers.  It is a startpage that remains active with all of the up to the minute things that you need to keep you going throughout your day.

Make it your own

     This app is often referred to as a personal magazine that you can have on your phone or pad at all times.  It is free and links itself with all of your social networks while keeping the information that is fed onto your flipboard within your own personal preference.  Make it your own by utilizing the flipboard in ways that benefit you and your daily life.  Yes, you can keep it FUN!  

     It doesn't have to always be about your productivity, but it does have to do with you as a person.  By using flipboard, you are allowing yourself to be aware of all of your interests, reminders, social sites, and personal accounts on one page.  

     This app is a new way of using the different web source organization sites in one way, as your very own.  Take advantage of it now.  As you know, there is no telling when flipboard will be willing to sell itself to Facebook for a measly 1Billion Dollars.

Thing #15

Sandbox Time

Sandbox is a term used in wiki's that refers to areas of play for abstract ideas, fonts, and just plain old randomness.  It is able to be changed and reformatted due to the fact that it is a wiki page that allows for others to step in and move stuff around, or even enhance the material with color or extra information.  

I jumped in my class' sandbox and chose to color some of the font into a nice lime green tint.  I would have to pat myself on the back for this.  You must understand, I despise lime green, and even more than that, I despise wikis.  I have found that they are great for IDEAS but not for factual information that is able to be used with any authority for my work in writing.  I know that they are fun and offer many new thoughts that can be productive and thought provoking, but I just can't get into them.  

On the Flip Side,

I do see where these pages have come into play with the world of education.  Book reviews will always hold bias and that bias is an important factor in the way someone may react to a book.  By using these for schools and for colleges, alike, we are beginning to move forward into a world of wikis that hold information that is useful to someone on a more personal level.  I thoroughly enjoyed looking around on the "BookLoversWiki" and I find that much of the information shared is clearly used as a personal opinion.  This is the meaty material that wikis can provide.  Personality.  

By using this in a classroom, students will be able to use their input and bias in a constructive way.  By looking at others' comments and reviews, thoughts can be changed, but as long as it is a group activity that includes the entire class, it is doing its job as a wiki.

Thing #14

Shakespeare is in "Titanic?"

     A Flowchart is something that has become removed from the classroom, substituted by instructions and PowerPoints for creative youngsters to follow instruction, instead of instructing their own minds.  By looking around with some of the fun generators, and making use of some of the available designs that have been pre-built in side of the following sites, I have found that this method of instruction is still a way to organize ideas that may be scratched into a piece of paper.  It's important to know that there are minds that aren't able to organize themselves, SO HELP THEM OUT!!!

Gliffy

     Gliffy is the site used to make the above flowchart/mind map, and is a great way for students to express their rhetoric with topics.  By having both sides of the story laid out, it becomes much easier to see the entire picture of the idea.  These help!  In writing, one must be aware of all sides of an argument, therefore, to maximize the use of writing one must acknowledge the opposing views with confidence and poise.  Enter the Flow Chart.

Mindmeister

     Another thing to consider is the brainstorming that must take place before writing and formulating organized thoughts.  One way to do this is by Mind Mapping.  This often ends up looking like a cluster of aphorisms that amount to nothing, but I would like to argue that this is one of the best ways to get all of the thoughts onto paper quick.  Now we have sites like Mindmeister that have already laid out an outline of lines and bubbles that can be added quickly and typed in order to think faster, and save some time.  Print it out!  It can always be changed, but a mind map is an efficient way to lay down what needs to be laid down.

Use these sites and let me know what you think.  Your comments are always welcomed, even if negative.  Your input allows me to be useful to YOU.

Thing #13

ZOHO

You can posts blogs from an online word/writer app that allows you to be more technically efficient with all of your postings.  I recently explored the extremely easy to navigate zoho.com and found that sharing a document online isn't as hard as I imagined it to be.  We can all use this.

Often times is find myself reviewing online documents as saved versions of a document, opposed to a PDF file that must download to my computer.  I realize that I have been waiting my computers memory on things that should just be viewed online in the first place.  The great part about zoho is that any one, given the permission, may view and edit the document that is being shared.  I can make notes on the page, edit small errors for friends, or even just save the document to a compatible version to my computer with the ability to edit it in the future.

Why is this a good thing?  This is good because it allows people to work on things together.  Why should a group project be reliant on one soul person?  Now you don't have to argue about who, in your group, is going to type up all of the information/Data.  THE LONG DEBATE IS OVER!!!  No more arguing about who is doing all the tedious work.

Zoho also allows for comments to be made outside of the document, truly making it a web 2.0 application.  By allowing others to interact and comment on the work posted, zoho has built a program that communicates collaboration.

The Final Plus

Post directly to your BLOG!!!  Use this to be a more precise and accurate writer, technically.  It has a much more "Feature Rich" word processor that will auto check any of your spellings in more than 75 different languages.  So Go ahead, post a blog in Spanish.  At least, you will know that you spelled the words correctly.

Thing #12

Google+

Google has made it very clear that it wants to be involved in our lives. That's a good thing. Google doesn't stop creating great ideas, which usually build from a foundation to a skyscraper. Take Google+ as an example. It started as a very similar idea as Facebook, but has now developed into a fully organized concept that is growing in new tools every day. You can access all of you google accounts on it, as well as keep up with all of your friends on live group video chats. The endless capabilities of this site design have proven to outweigh its crepehangers by moving forward and propelling far beyond what Facebook could wish to do in the span of months it took for Google+ to get off the ground. The two are no longer seen as rivals. Google+ is for the "multitasker." Any person can set up an account for Google+ and move their friends instantly into a "circle" for organizing friends. Keeping people separated in terms of status updates and friend requests just reduces the unneeded drama. Oh yea, did I mention that you can do almost anything with Google?

Picasa

Oh yes, you can also store, edit, and share your photos with Google's Picasa Web Album. Picasa is a free downloadable program that grabs all of your photos (in your personal library), and organizes them by date, place, folder... It can even recognize faces.

YES, FACES.

Once you tag a person in Picasa, it will recognize that person and tag all of the other photos that that person is in. It proves to be very convenient when you look up photos with friends in the background, or even when you just want to search a name. Probably the best part of Picasa is that it's free. The Second best part about Picasa is that it can remain a private program for you to use, and is only used as a photo share device when you command it to share particular photos. It is a safe and effective way to organize your photos. It organizes them for you!!! You don't have to do a thing. It will recognize all of the information and place it in its proper place without the assistance that many other programs need. (And it's free)

Ya just can't beat free.

These are just two of the many tools that Google has placed on the web for us as users to utilize. We can keep things organized, and better yet, save time for ourselves. Make the most out of Google. Just like any of the other sites that I show you, I encourage you to at least try. If you don't like it, no big deal... It was free in the first place. (unlike free chicken samples at the mall where you run the risk of picking up who knows what.)

Thing #11

Following your RSS feeds doesn't always have to be about work.

I have learned over the past few weeks that fallowing information based blogs doesn't have to be boring. Take, for instance, the Cool Cat Teacher blog as a valid example. I enjoy learning more and more about the developing ideas that she has about her class environment and plans for the future. Her ideas are as fresh as the seafood in Encinitas CA. For those that haven't had fresh fish on the west coast, just know that her ideas are REALLY FRESH.

Let's take a step back though. Our minds are not geared for ideas about our tedious plans for the future, or even about what can be absorbed by reading information. Sometimes we just need to relax and enjoy some "good reads." For this, I will point you in a new direction that I only recently learned about.

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman is by far one of my favorite blogs as of right now. It is a blog about an every day city living woman who has married and moved onto a working ranch in Oklahoma. She makes my days better. Her writing has the ability to brighten any terrible day.

This is just one of the many photos that she shares on her home page (which you can reach by clicking on the Bacon Table Photo). Allowing yourself to enjoy the RSS feeds is a way to keep you up to date on all of the different parts of life that you look forward to. Mine just happens to be the Pioneer Woman.

Follow them. Subscribe. Add them to your RSS feed and stop bouncing from site to site. You can fully enjoy all of your subscriptions by looking into your RSS Feeder. I prefer Google Reader for my own use. Once you catch your stride, you can use this tool to your advantage. Education, work, or just for fun, find a few blogs and watch all of the updates happen in one place, like on your Gmail account. By subscribing to blogs you are allowing yourself to be exposed to new material early on. You are prepared for what comes out of educators mouths. You might even have a very witty, and intellectual comment to add to a conversation. Either way you look at it, you can't lose by viewing. You won't be disappointed.

Thing #10

RSS Feeders Save You TIME.

If there is one thing in this world that we need more of, it's time. One way to keep up with the information that you regularly view on the web is to subscribe to an RSS feed.

RSS simply stands for: Really Simple Syndication

This is an easy way to keep up to date, without losing a date. One suggestion from me would be to add it on to your email account. Google offers this tool with any normal email account, and lets me know when I have new material to read if I feel I am in a reading mood. This also allows you to comment with promptness. Comments are soooooo important to bloggers. That tad bit of encouragement can go a long way in the world of a blogger. If you learn that you have helped somebody in a way that informed them of a more convenient lifestyle then you have accomplished what many try to do every day of their lives in the work place. RSS is a great was to keep those comments in check, and to keep your eye on the people who have new things to say.

I know that there are many educators out there who blog daily, and sometimes multiple times a day, with information that can drastically enhance other classrooms and educators. Use this tool to better your use of the web. Learning from others is as easy as letting the information directly fall into your inbox. RSS allows that to happen. You can chose to read, or ignore any post, but at least you have the option.

I will use this. (already do use this) I find it to be a convenient way to organize my blogger contacts and to know what is the most recent and relevant information from those that I follow. I hope that others use the same for me. I'm not an everyday blogger by any means, but I do find that there are important things from time to time that I should share with others. If you are looking for some recent posts from you fellow bloggers without the long search of finding their private page, put them in your RSS file cabinet and let the web do the work for you. Give yourself some more time.

RSS = More Time

Happy Blogging, friends.

Thing #9

There was once a time that protesting took full force to the streets. We have, fortunately, passed that chaotic time, but we can still have fun with the concept. I used Image text generator to create this fun rendition of an old-school protest. We need more tools like this being used in our schools. This allows creativity and knowledge to be projected with a fun moral. This image generator was free and allowed me to upload the photo strait into my blog.

This is not the only one of its kind on the web. This was in my opinion one of the more user friendly sites to create a photo of my liking. All that was required of me was a few fun words. The rest of the "production" was done by the site, thus proving: If I can do it, so can you. Image text generator has many templates and photos to choose from, like cartoons, protest signs, sticky notes, love notes... the list goes on. I encourage you to seek for other generators. The ones that pop up on the 3rd or 4th page of your google search are usually the more underrated ones, and those are the ones that are fun to work with.

This type of operation can be done with images also. Use one of your own images and insert some fun text message lingering in the forefront. Use a political figure with some comical remark. For example, I used good 'ol McCain for mine.

You don't have to make fun of the person's public speaking abilities, but hey, why not. I'm sure he meant well.

No matter what you might choose to go find today on the internet, use it to its fullest, and more importantly,

Share It!!!

We are better off working together. So help out, and make it available to others.

Happy generating...

Thing 8 (spell with flicker)

Use the tools designed to fulfill Flicker's potential.






The MashUp you see above took me about 5 seconds to create, 20 seconds to apply to my blog, and will last a life time. I used Spell with Flicker.

This tool is useful in so many ways. I envision a very exciting idea... Allow your class to pick one of their favorite words/phrases from one of the books that have been read in class. With this flicker tool, let the class, in small groups, make their own mash up and then share it with the class as a whole. They will be teaching the class! It's almost a free day for you as a teacher. You are still teaching, but you are allowing the students to search for the ideas that get them excited. With that in mind, let me give you a short description of how this tool works.

You spell the word, the program picks the letters for you, and then you can choose from many different letters that are on the flicker site!

That's all there is to it. Chances are, your students will prove to be more creative with their word and letter selection than you are. Don't be offended. They are young and have a world of artistic creation in their developing brains.

Mind you, this is not the only tool that you can use for Flicker. Many different tools have been created to help you produce astounding images of your own. You can make mash ups with words, collages, and even puzzles! Don't feel restricted. If you do feel restricted, Flicker actually encourages you to write new sites for them to use pictures and resources in new and fascinating ways.

Jump on some of these tools to better your Blog!!!

Design
Color matching photos
Mosaic Maker

The options are endless, and the creative aspect only enhances your work in the digital world. Have fun, and create away with others' creations...

Thing #7 (Flicker)

There has always been something very settling about a dead tree. Maybe it's just a personal preference, but, nonetheless, it calms me. Finding new pictures of trees standing by themselves is in so many ways a perspective that i hold over the life of a human. We are surrounded by the things of the world. Our milieus are dominant in our decision making, and the culture is flourishing with new things all of the time.

Stop!!!

Relax...

and look at this, Click Here



This is a photo by Mark Andrew Turner posted on Flicker. Flicker has a very effective search tool that searches "tags." Tags are short words of simple phrases that describe the photos that are found on flicker.com.

You can find your relaxing photo. Use the tags that you are searching for and dig to find the photo that appeals to you! Use this to better your blog, but be sure to credit your photographer. These people work hard to have their photos shared to you. Photo sharing is not a new idea by any means, but the way that we find the photo's that we are looking for has become extremely easy. I mean ELEMENTARY EASY...

There is no excuse to not use flicker to its fullest potential. It will prove to be enjoyable. If you don't happen to find a photo that helps you reach the goal you have set in your mind, then maybe you need to enroll into NASA and hope that there are some photos in space that help you. (That was a joke.) Photos aren't for every body, but if you are looking for any photo for a use of personal preference, check out flicker and search away.

Happy searching!!!

Thing #6 (Exploring Etsy)

Etsy is a rising web 2.0 star. I am very familiar with the Etsy store, but for those who aren't, here is a little rant to get you motivated to check it out for yourself.

I enjoy seeing homemade things. Earrings for my wife, a cool new personalized amplifier head (for a guitar), the list goes on and on. You most likely can find anything within your interest on Etsy. If you are antsy and can't help yourself from checking it out before you finish reading this post, I understand, just click

Here

Understanding that web 2.0 is growing constantly allows our expectations to reach new heights. Etsy is a very easy site to navigate because it is built around the consumers and artist who fill it's pages with endless items for sale by private artists, designers, and everyday Joe's just like myself. You can browse etsy with a very specific interest in mind, or just look for the fun of it. It is basically a fun style of window shopping at a local, downtown, independent store that is only out to share ideas and build a successful incomes for those who truly work for it.
It is free, however if you choose to become a "seller" on etsy, they only charge $0.30 some odd change to post new items to your personal page. It is a way to network with other sellers who have ideas and are building a reputation as a new business for themselves.
I really enjoy this site and I can already ensure that you too will find joy in a short browse. Enjoy it. It is growing, so know that there are new things to browse every day.

Thing #5

Web 2.0/Education 2.0

How are we so fortunate? When did all of this knowledge slam into our computers? It seems like a logical question. The web has multiplied it's knowledge in the time that it took you to navigate to this post. (that's not a factual statement, but could likely be true)

Lets talk about the 2.0 that has taken over my thoughts for the past 30 minutes. The web was at one time a young seedling waiting to sprout, but with the proper nourishment and the brain-water it has now become the one thing that surrounds every aspect of our lives. Should I feel threatened by this grown seedling? I know that there are so many uses for the web that I could never actually make it to all of the sites in one lifetime, but I do think that it is important that all of us understand its capabilities. With time, web 1.0 (all text) jumped into a new pool of color pictures and hypertext that allows us as users to properly navigate and site almost any source online without ever having to leave a search engine. That's some real talent if you think about it. There are people out there making our world easier to work in, educate in, and live everyday in. (please excuse the bad grammar of ending my sentence with a preposition)

I know that the future will fly into my arms without a warning siren, but I don't know if I'm ready for it. I do know, however, that my students will be ready for it –There fancy phones that speak and answer questions. I know that there will be a better way to communicate than the way that we are communicating now. In the future, Educators will make the most out of this technology. I am learning at a very fast pace that my pace isn't fast enough. Educators need to make a move now!!!

Time is a flyin... As educators, we need to step it up with the technology. We need to assert new and innovative ideas that shake our leaders into wanting to help us. Funding is just the tip of the iceberg in our future. Web 2.0 has the answer. It practically does all of the work for us, but that doesn't mean that we should settle with just that. Make a movement, allow yourself to reach outside of the box. Jump into a computer without the preconceived notion that it is only going to cause retina damage.

Thanks to web 2.0 we can now be better on a computer. I'm only 28 years old. I'm not too far away from kids pointing at my beard in amazement, but that doesn't mean I want to be naive when it comes to networking, wikis, blogs, or even the basic email links that can be used for my students. It is important to know the boundaries, but it is also important to know that there is no limit to the Internet. It can, it will, and if you don't move with the train early on, then it is going to be much harder to jump onto later.

Our future is going to have virtual classes with kids from foreign countries, readings by great authors, and videos that are specifically aimed at the education of our future. We are becoming more information based within our culture, and it is helping us find new ways to move forward in our educational strategies. We need to use them. Not starting next year when we can commit the time to type out new unit plans, but now. Otherwise we are just watching the train speed up.

Thing 3 (Blogging in the Future)

Blogging is a pleasure. As much as it is a pleasure for myself, it can also be a pleasure to follow another blogger who you feel connected too. I enjoy following people who find a way to make everyday occurrences into an extended metaphor for something that normally wouldn't cross my mind.

For example, a pogo-stick can easily be used as a metaphor for the students who will have to overcome the needless anxiety of "Senioritius." To learn how to use a pogo-stick, you must first take the time to understand the balance of your body and the direction of your every bounce. You will fall down, you will come close, and you will most likely succeed if given enough practice. That all applies to the emotional roller coaster that our seniors face these days.

What if there was a way to continue to pump enthusiasm and direction into those seniors after they leave school?

DUH!!! Blog it up!

There are so many ways to remain in the lives of your students, without being "too close" by todays standards/moral positions by professionals who have made it there business to guide teachers (despite whether or not they are in the education profession). It's non intrusive. It's meant to be read, not posted like a Facebook update.

Understanding affirmation and encouragement is a true talent, and I am very aware that those skills will be tested as a teacher. I will look forward to challenges. Sharing information and encouragement, as a whole, is a simple task when I sit down to write a blog. You get what is on my brain's menu. You get the loaded suitcases, the empty trashcan, and the compiled folder filled to the brim that sets on the corner of my heart, ready to pour out onto whoever finds this blog.

Writing a blog in the future will provide convenience in many ways. As a teacher, my students come first; they deserve a simple gesture, like a weekly blog to keep them grounded as they ponder across the world upon greater endeavors. Getting respect in the classroom is a perfect reason to give respect away from the classroom. It goes all ways, and I'm sure that there are students in the world that would appreciate a personal teacher who doesn't cross the boundaries.

Learning from one another is important. It keeps the world from more world wars, economic breakdowns, and can even help to improve the lives of graduates.

Do you have a way to keep in touch with past students in an encouraging way? If so, I would love to hear about it... So share it with me, just as I share with you.

Thing 1 (Let's learn from others)

First of all, let's be honest with ourselves. If you're reading this, it's because you are in the same place as me. We are looking for more out of what we have. That's a good place to be, so don't be frustrated with that notion. It's perfectly normal to want more: More cake, more friends, more clothes, more time... You get the picture. I want more knowledge about teaching with technology in my classroom.

HEADS UP!!! FOUND SOME!!!

I decided to follow some pretty exciting people who bear an enthusiasm about technology that I don't thing Leonidas had when he kicked people into the Spartan Pit. (might be an overstatement) @markbrumley on twitter. This guy can spit our 30 tweets a day about an amazing array of web 2.0 tips. He lights my phone up with my TweetCaster app.

http://teacherseducation.wordpress.com/

http://teachers.net/mentors/booktalk/topic129/6.03.11.13.34.06.html

I wouldn't be a decent person if I didn't give you a couple more Fun-To-Follow resources. So don't get frustrated with dulling ideas. Find the new ones! Dig In, and Dig It –then share them, please. This is the only way, as teachers, that we can keep each other afloat in this constantly changing world of knowledge. To all of you who enjoy these sites, give yourself a double fist-to-chest bump followed by a peace sign raised to the sky. You'll feel better, I promise.

Thing #2

First things first, I would like to welcome you to my first blog pertaining to my education. Blogging has proven to be one of the easiest way to learn, view, and understand many new topics through the eyes of another person. I'm Grant. Most students call me Mr. Brashears and every time they do it reminds me that I have future generations relying on me to make it through college. They are my mind's cup of coffee, if you will.
This blog will show you new sides of me as a student striving to be a teacher. The blog itself was an easy set-up experience for me due to the existing blog that I created a couple of years ago to vent some of the greater issues of my life. I love the concept of blogging. It means that my keystrokes are constantly allowing others to view a life in a new way. It may be a way that is unfamiliar, or funny, or sometimes as though you are looking at a mirror as you look at my posts. I hope that what ever way you find yourself viewing my brain soil is helpful in a way that you didn't already have.
My avatar is named Mr. Brashears. I think it is only appropriate to have a fun mascot to grace my page with it's adorable presence. He is a handsome fellow. He looks like me. I'm not short, however. I didn't find the 'make me taller' tab on the www.doppelme.com web site. If you see one, just leave me a message and I'll have my assistant get back to you at their most convenient time. Until next time, keep those ears open and I'll do the same in return.