Thing #24 As explored by me....

So at the end of this exploration, I am grateful for the single MOST beneficial education project I have ever done. I already had a blog up and running for personal use, but this project has helped me realize what kind of impact a daily or weekly blog for my students could be. Also, this has taught me all kinds of new resources that I can use that aren't the plain tradition things that tend to not work well with today's tech savy kids.

All of these things can be used personally or professionally, and that can be beneficial to people not in the education fields as well. I feel this has made me a better teacher candidate, and I can't wait to see how it will grow in the next couple of years to keep up with the ever changing technologies.

I am so grateful to have a chance to do this project and transfer it into my classroom as an effective teaching tool and resource. :)

Thing #23 As explored by me...

Creative Commons!

The little "cc" badge on the bottom of the post lets us know that these things are used and some rights are reserved. It also tells us that the thing can be modified, but credit must be given where credit is due.

I hope to use the Creative Commons resources to make sure what things I use in my classroom that were not originally mine are okay for me to use.

Thing #22 As explored by me...

Real World Math

This livebinder is about real world applications of math that students learn in the classroom. The other two are more for help in math when they are at home. The names of these are Extra Math Practice and Math Worksheets. The Extra Math Practice has links provided to games and activities that can be used in order to reinforce ideas. The Math Worksheets can be used by parents or other teachers to use in classrooms or at home to help the students. I think these binders will be useful when I have a classroom of my own, and they will only need a little tweaking to have whenever I need them!

Thing #21 As explored by me...

Family!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I loved what could be done with this website! It is a great way to organize things, and even lesson snippets to a fun tune for the kids to watch as a supplement. It is easy to use, and the thing you have to think hardest about is what pictures to use, what order to use them, and what music to put with it! It is extremely useful!

Thing #20 As explored by me...

This video is fantastic! It is humorous, and it can prepare future teachers for those parents. It provides a wealth of excuses that any parent could come up with, and future teachers can use this to look up what can be done to fix each of these problems that parents may say their students have. I found this from YouTube and it was extremely easy to transfer and embed it into my blog.

Thing #19 As explored by me....

I love goodreads. I am not entirely sure how I have not managed to find this yet! My favorite part is that people can post reviews all in one place instead of trying to find all the different reviews throughout the internet. This can save so much time when I am looking for books to use in my classroom that are appropriately written. For instance, if someone reviews a book and mentions that it is geared to a certain age group it will help me know whether or not to use it in my classroom or even recommend it for a student to read on the side.

I also liked how Teacher Pop can be used for so many different things. From that site, I can find resources on how to have appropriate conduct as a teacher in the many different types of school environments. Also, it is handy when looking for resources that others may have posted.

Thing #18 As explored by me...

Mhmmm... Twitter and Facebook!

Two of my favrite pages! This is a link to my Twitter. If you want to follow me please sent me a request, and the same thing with friending on Facebook. This is the link to my Facebook. Both of them are set to private, so you can't just creep on me, but you can become my friend or follower!

Educators need to know about, and be active on social networking sites. Through the knowledge base of having full access to these social networking sites they can know what to expect to their students to be talking about. For instance, when I was in middle school I knew more about what was going on in the social world versus the political world and situations. For instance, I follow the History Channel and everyday I get multiple tweets sent to my phone to let me know what happened on this date in history! Very nifty :), by the way, this day in 1931 "The Star-Spangled Banner" became official!

Also, teachers can use Twitter (monitored, and approved before class) as a conversation start for classes such as Social Studies, or Literature it it has to do with books or media. Facebook could be utilized through groups for the class. There can be a groups for my class. One group could be for the parents in order to keep them up to date on classroom happenings. There could be a group for my students to dicuss classroom material and ask each other questions. Finally, there could be a group for fellow teachers who teach similar things in order to help each other come up with new and engaging teaching ideas!

I love both sites, but it depends on what I am wanting to accomplish as to which one I choose to use. I use Facebook more to connect with people, and keep people in the "loop" of my life and what is going on. Twitter is more for finding information out. I have a great group of followers who strive to answer questions and respond to my tweets when they know I am trying to specifically find something. I will continue to use both of these for quite sometime, for personal and teaching purposes!

Thing #17 As explored by me...

Tagging!

I tag many things in a course of a week. I tag clothing at work, people in pictures on Facebook, trending tweets on Twitter, and categories on my blog here. Tagging is a quick and efficient way to let someone know what to expect from something. For clothing, it lets someone know what they will be expected to pay for an item, in pictures it lets someone know who they will see in the picture, and in tweets and blogs it lets them know what to subject to expect to be reading about or dealing with.

Using this handy dandy tool it is possible to see many different tagged items, and how people responded to them. My favorite is this little site that is one fo the most helpful things I have ever found in terms of teaching resources. I love that you can set up a blog dicussing everything that went on in class that day, and it can be found easily especially if multiple teachers from the same all use it, too. I would love to see the school I will eventually work for use this in a way that would be benefial for students and teacheres alike.

Give and Get is Here!

Give and Get is Here!: "Enjoy 30% off from March 17-20 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy plus we'll make a 5% donation to a non-profit." Go shopping for a cause!

Thing #16 As explored by me...

This blog post comes as a relief to me. I can honestly say I am ahead of the game for this one. :) I cannot function without my iGoogle homepage, and my Google synced calendar! The only thing I don't use, and can't see myself keeping up with is the to-do lists. Google calendar is my version of the to-do list. I can't stand to have a to-do list, because every time I look at it, it only seems to grow. The calendar is better for me since it pops up on the top bar of my phone screen, and I can't stand anything extra up there, so I will do what the calendar says in that notification as soon as I can in order to be able to successfully clear it off right then.

I love being able to view my calendar on my homepage, and I use it for everything from to-do lists for school all the way to wedding planning!

Thing #15 As explored by me...

Sheesh! I thought I was past this stumbling block!

The devil returned in the form of Wiki. I came and conquered! This is what ended up happening at the end of the dance with the devil. I am very proud of myself of accomplishing this, and I hope to be able to collaborate with other teachers in order to better each other. First, I was doing pretty good at figuring out how to post on Wiki. That lucky streak ended when Google Chrome decided to tell me the page was too large to load, and I had to find out why and how to fix it. Thanks to the users who questioned how to do the same things I had to find out I was able to finally figure it out.

This shows only one example of why it was so helpful. I hope it stays this helpful, but gets easier to use! :)

Thing #14 As explored by me...

Some things are the devil...

Luckily, those things were the on the last activity. :0 Sorry, I just had to vent! The two things I chose to explore were fairly easy, and I was excited about it. The first place I visited was mindmeister. Mindmeister helped me create a flow chart for my research paper due later this month in World Literature.

The other tool I chose to use was Gliffy. I love Gliffy. It is very user friendly, and I used it the same way I did Mindmeister. They both worked well to express what I wanted, but Gliffy was fun to use. I actually took the liberty to keep exploring it, and came up with a floor plan for a house I one day want to build with my fiancé after we get married. :)

Thing #13 As explored by me...

AHHH!!!!

Wow! Learning how to use Zoho is ridiculous! However, I did master it! I love how it is eventually easy to create things such as banners and signs. It took forever, but I feel like it will become extremely beneficial to use as a free tool for my classroom materials. Overall, I am extremely pleased with my "Welcome to Seventh Grade!" sign I made. :)

Google Docs was not nearly as confusing. In fact, I already use it all the time. The Google Docs I created was a table to calculate my gpa in excel for my freshman year. I love how easy it is to share and edit documents on the amazing Google Docs! I plan to hopefully use it in a way that is shown here.

Thing #12 As explored by me...

Google Tools!

I LOVE Google tools! I use them constantly, and my two favorites are Google Calendar and iGoogle. The homepage on my Google Chrome is my iGoogle, and it keeps me up to date on the latest news. Also, it shows me a glimpse of my new emails, and finally it keeps me up to date on the date. I rarely can keep track of what day of the week it is much less the date of the month. :) The other Google Tool I can't live without is the Google Calendar. I never used the calendar feature on any mobile phone I have ever had, at least until my Driod 2. I love using the calendar on my phone now, because it automatically syncs my phone calendar to Google Calendar. Now if I check my email or my phone I always know where to be and when to be there!

I will definitely use these tools in my classroom, especially if all of my students have access to a computer and internet connection. If everyone of my students get and email account with gmail for my class, I can post events and due dates on calendars that can all be synced together and can be viewed on iGoogle.

Thing #11 As explored by me...

This was indeed the hardest thing for me to stay focused on. It is ridiculous how distracting all of these updates can be. As I am typing this I have seven tabs open. SEVEN! Obviously this is not that difficult to understand and use if adequate time is given to it. I used the bloglines, and I chose it because it was the easiest to explore and use to find what I was looking for. Google Blog search was very effective in helping me find exactly the type of thing I was looking for by simply searching. Bloglines was probably the most confusing to search through, but it helped find things I would not think to search for already organized by categories, too. Through Google Blog Search, I tried to find blogs that I already follow to get a grip on using the search. I could find the vast majority of them! The most unusual one I found, title wise, was one I already follow. It is itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com and it is by far one of my favorites I have found. :)

Thing #10 As explored by me...

Finally! We have hit the double digits in the blogging world!

I have been introduced to the world of instant updates, and I like it! I follow so many blogs, and I am eternally grateful for this new tool. Google reader helps me keep up with everything as easily as having my twitter updates sent to my phone. My biggest crutch in my life electronic speaking, is the fact that I have to be connected. This tool has been fantastic at keeping me happy with all the updates I could ever want. I would love to be able to use this in my classroom one day. I would set up an account just for my class, and follow blogs that are written by other teachers for use in their classrooms, and also posting on my class's blog for other teachers to use as well. Hopefully, it will start a trend at least in the local schools to share information and ideas!

Thing #9 As explored by me...

I went to this website to create a sign. This sign represents the different forms slope can take. First, I went to the website, and chose to make a wooden sign smiley face. After I chose that, I thought about something that would come in handy in my classroom. Back when I was first learning about slope, I would get confused as to what it represented. This will hopefully help students to remember that slope can be described as many different things. It is extremely easy to use, and understand as long as the internet connection is working well! It does take a while if it is not. :)

Thing #8 As explored by me...

Flickr Mashup! REWARDS :)

Everyone loves to be rewarded! If I use this in my classroom I would take a picture of my students individually and not post them using anything permanent, but just upload them and delete them after I am done. Also, I would only do this with the written consent of their parents. There would be a spot in my classroom to showcase the students who have done something exceptional, and I would put their picture up.

Also, I would use this tool to create posters and seating charts as well. Thanks to Dr. Wall for that idea!

Thing #7 As explored by me...

Fun at School :)

This picture was taken my senior year of high school. I love that I can post one picture and everyone can see it, if I want them to. I am not sure if I will use tools like this in my classroom, but if I do it will be for promoting the good my students have done.

For example, I would take pictures of the different projects or assignments that were done by the students so that their parents and fellow students can see what they have accomplished. I would encourage them to create an account with the same host site as myself and then join a group that way there would be some control over who could see the pictures.

Students' pictures would not be on here for safety reasons, but I would use it as a positive resource I if did use it. As of right now, I don't see myself using this as a tool in my classroom, but it is a neat resource!

Thing #6 As explored by me...

Pandora!

Pandora is my salvation! Ok, I know that is extreme, but it is very important to me. As a commuter, I drive over fifty miles one way to school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday I drive over fifty miles one way to work. I have the Pandora app on my phone, and simply plug it into my car. It is free version of satellite radio, and has excellent service. I can't wait to use it for rewards in my classroom if the students behave or do well on an assignment to get to listen their chosen station for the length of a song or two.

My favorite feature of Pandora is the pause button, and the dislike button. I could monitor what songs came on the stations by disliking them as they come up so it would not play on that station anymore.

Thing #5 As explored by me...

School 2.0

Web 2.0 is a fantastic tool that is being used by many educators today. Teachers 2.0 has proved to be a great resource for myself, and other teachers. For instance, through various technologies teachers can post entire lessons, or summaries online for students who have missed class recently. Also, teachers can now use Mobi boards to watch what is going on in the classroom while also having the technologies similar to the famed Smartboards. School 2.0 means that I can post lessons, and not worry about having to reteach a student without them being completely clueless before I start.

School 2.0 also helps keep students caught up on their work. The school where I want to teach uses Google Docs to keep up with a list of students who have excessive amounts of missing work. Every teacher has access to this list, and can help cut back on the amount of missing work by making sure students are doing what they are supposed to instead of going to recess or other activities. I am very excited to see what else schools will start using from this evolving technology.

Thing #4 As explored by me...

Commenting is important. I have been blogging since March of last year, and I know how it feels to think I am writing to myself. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to just write in order to relieve stress, but I do like to have responses. It is like a nice little surprise; it is almost as good as a perfectly brewed triple venti skinny hazelnut latte from my favorite coffee shop.

There are other reasons why commenting is important, but that is my absolute favorite! Another reason why it is important is it provides the blogger with feedback on how to blog better, or to provide feedback on what the topic the blogger wrote about. If every person wrote a comment on every blog they read, the blogging community would be a better place in the world. If one compliment or suggestion has the ability to change a person's day for the better, think of the effect that many comments could have on a blogger.

This semester I am going to try to follow and comment on the following blogger's blogs: Kala Burch, Molly Mitchell, Kayla Bearden, Taylor Plummer, and Terry Waggoner.

Thing #3 As explored by me...

I can't wait to use a blog for the rest of my teaching career. I plan to keep using my original blog to keep myself organized with classes I have to take in order to become a teacher, and I will probably start a new one for my class to access that may cover what went on in class that day or it may helpful hints and such for the benefit of my students. Hopefully I can use the first blog to keep track of what does and does not work my first couple years of teaching. If I do that I can revise or remove things that were not effective, and insert more ideas and methods that work well!

Thing #2 As explored by me...

As luck would have it, I had a time and a half trying to create an avatar for my blog, and getting it posted correctly. Setting up the blog was extremely simple, since I already have a blog here on blogspot. Feel free to read it any time for my quirky inputs about life and what is going on in my world.

The name was difficult to come up with at first, because I couldn't think of anything original and generic. I finally settled on Musings from the Brier: The 23 Things as explored by Lea Avrit. This represented how I view all of my posts as musings, because I don't have everything figured out but I give you all the information I have swirling around in my head at the time. The Brier part of the section is just from where they will probably all be posted. Hope you like it!

Oh, by the way, the avatar shows who I am and kind of what I look like now. :)

Thing #1 As explored by me....

Life long learning is indeed a learned habit. According to the video assigned for this portion of the project there are seven and a half steps to becoming a life long learner.

1. Have a goal.
2. Accept responsibility for your own learning.
3. View problems as challenges.
4. Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.
5. Create your own learning toolbox.
6. Use technology to your advantage.
7. Teach/mentor others.

7.5. Play!

Most of these steps to becoming a life long learner come naturally to me. I have to have a goal in anything I do in order for it actually to have a chance at getting anything done. I also love to teach/mentor others. I have been tutoring math students in all grades now for just over a year and love it!

There are others that are more difficult to master. These include viewing problems as challenges. I am working on this one, but it is indeed still a work in progress. Also, I don't always have confidence in myself as I should, but I am also striving to have more confidence in myself.

Well, here is to the start of a new adventure that will hopefully help me fix the issues I have difficulty with in the seven and a half steps!

P.S. I have mastered the play! :)