Thing #5.

Thing #5 requires us to analyze what School 2.0 means to me and what it means for the future of our students. From my perspective as a classroom teacher, I can envision the use of Web 2.0 tools becoming more and more prevalent in lesson plans. Our culture is so dependent on connectedness and web 2.0 sites encourage it. Plus, many of the 2.0 tools you may find on the Internet perform many of the same functions as high-priced software, but for free. Obviously teachers on a tight school and personal budget will be drawn to this. So School 2.0 represents a merging of the two worlds...the academic rigor of school crossed with the convenience and low-cost of Web 2.0 tools. And this IS the future of our schools. For me, it is already the present. In my online graduate classes, I have been introduced to countless web 2.0 sites with a myriad of functions. You can do basically anything you want to on the Internet.

Thing #3

Blogging is a great way for people to stay connected. I think it would be useful to teachers to help design and improve lessons by allowing someone to post an idea and initiate discussion to get advice. In the classroom, it could act as an extension of classroom discussion. It can give those students who are not eager to speak in class a chance to voice their opinions through blogging and commenting.

Thing #4...in progress

Blogging and commenting is an amazing part of the web world. You have the ability to start a conversation about anything and your peers can add any advice, correction, opinion (agreeing or disagreeing), affirmation, or other pertinent information right with your blog statement. I have used the blog function on MySpace several times and the good thing about that is I have a way of seeking advice from my friends and family on matters of a personal nature (though not of a private nature) and generally, I am better at expressing myself through the written word than the spoken word. It gives me an extra few minutes to hit the "delete" button. Commenters have the same luxury; being able to take a few minutes to review the comments and be sure that is really what they want to say in response.

I recently commented on Heather Adcock's blog about using blogs in the classroom as a way for her students to proofread each other's work. I commented that I really had not thought of this, but blogging is useful in this manner. Plus, the students are much more likely to want to write in their blogs because of the way they are designed to be personalized, etc. I also commented on Kristan Bland's use of her graduation picture with the puzzle feature and how she equated each step in her education as another piece of the puzzle. I totally agreed with her and shared that I felt the same way, but though it is difficult and time-consuming, piece by piece we'll have it finished. A third one I commented on was Andrea Bledsoe in relation to her introduction to, and subsequent addiction to, blogging. I agreed with her. I really like the personalization this blog page has. What a great way to share thoughts and inspire discussion.

Thing #2.

For thing #2, I was asked to create a blog and and inside it, begin making postings and create and avatar of myself. I did, in fact, design my avatar to be an image of myself in terms of appearance (short brown hair, brown eyes, etc.) For the background and activity my avatar is doing, that just happened to be what I just got through doing...cooking supper. It also reflects part of my job as a Family and Consumer Science teacher. I teach 3 Nutrition and Foods classes so it is quite likely you would see me with a skillet (or any other kitchen tool) in my hand and an apron on. This was a relatively easy assignment, just a lot of directions to make sure I am doing it all correctly.

Thing #1.

So out of the 7 1/2 things noted in the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners, I think #3 is most troubling to me. #3 encourages us to view problems as challenges. I tend to look at problems as obstacles in making a simple task difficult. I think # 7 1/2 is the easiest...Play. Playing comes natural to everyone and although you think you are only having fun, play is an important part of learning.