Thing 7

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Originally uploaded by horsegirl423

The entrance to my classroom -- Mathville (The Math Lab)

For Thing 7, I did open a Flickr account. I also uploaded a few pictures of my classroom and posted them on my blog. Flickr is a little overwhelming at this point because there is so much there. I have spent some time exploring the links for Thing 7, but will need to keep exploring.

Thing 6 Nings

This truly amazed me -- so many people, so many topics. What I really liked was being able to go to a specific Ning for a specific topic. I spent most of my time at the Classroom2.0 Ning and nctmonline.ning.com. I did find several people blogging about a math competition on the elementary teachersnetwork.ning.com, so I want to spend more time checking that out.

I did not join anything yet. I feel like if I join I should contribute. Right now, I am more comfortable just reading the great ideas of others.

Thing 5 RSS and Google Reader

I spent quite a bit of time exploring this one, as it seemed very new to me. Following colleagues was relatively simple. I also did add several RSS feeds including a news feed and the NCTM. I think this is helpful because it allows me to keep up to date by only going to 1 place instead of having to remember to visit several. I am still working on how to take things off that I no longer want to follow.

Chapter 3 Creations Reflection

I thought it was a great activity. All the presentations really helped to deepen my understanding of what I had read. I learned from working in a group to capitalize on the strenths of those in the group. Students would definitely benefit from an activity like this. I think it would help them learn to communicate ideas effectively, work cooperatively, and solve problems.

Chapter 3 Reading

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2255810/fio_coceptional_age



The above wordle shows what I thought were some of the key words and ideas from the reading of Chapter 3 from A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink. http://www.amazon.com/Whole-New-Mind-Right-Brainers-Future/dp/1594481717/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280253021&sr=1-1



Some of the thoughts I found most thought provoking were Bob Lutz' comments about GM being in the art business, the Rainbow Project, and the information on MBAs and MFAs. Reading this really made me think about my own teenage daughters and what the future holds for them. I found as I was driving around town I was thinking , "Is that person's job still going to be here?"



Since I believe we will have to wait on state standards to change if we are going to change what we teach, immediate changes can be made in the ways we teach.

Thing 4

Blogging is brand new to me, so I found the articles informative. I can see the benefits and how important this is for creating learning environments. It is a little uncomfortable knowing that anyone, anywhere might read this and can say whatever is on their mind in response. I think it would motivate students to write more and provide opportunities for them to share in so many ways.

Thing 3 -- Widgets

I added the subscription widget so I could easily read what others are doing to make sure I am at least on the right track. I also added the google search widget simply because I was familiar with it. I have often wondered by such unrelated items show up on other websites, and now I see why--it's apparently people who are way to widget-happy. SO, I only added these two for now.

Thing 2

All the information on the Web 2.0 has been very thought provoking. The challenge I see as a teacher is learning about all of this myself so that I can effectively use it in the classroom. What I see is important to our students is training them in real thinking skills. As we heard in the video presentation, it is going to be important for students to be able to sort through the overabundance of information and use all that is available responsibly, ethically, and effectively.