Thing #10

Okay- By far this has been the most fun exercise. I loved playing with the wordle, word mosaic, and the comic strip. It was entertaining. I posted a fun "speech joke" using http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/ and a word mosaic about our family vacation using http://www.imagechef.com/ it was alot of fun. These would be so easy to use in the classroom. I think about my kids and how they have to develop diaramas, pictures, or a newspaper article instead of old fashion book reports that I did. Well, some of these could be used in place of the diaramas or articles. I think a wordle or word mosaic would be a great way to do a book report or an article summary.

Thing #9

There is so much to see and search. I really liked Google Reader- I thought it was easy to navigate and google is familar to me. I thought technorati was interesting, too. I also liked Topix, it was easy and I spent alot of time on it and even signed up. I set it up for Houston information, so it was like reading the paper. I felt that Blogline was confusing- it was just not comfortable/easy for me. The Edublogs would take so long to go thru. I looked at a few of the blogs. I did not see anything that related to speech therapy, but there were a few interesting titles.

Thing #8

I really am thrilled to learn about the RSS feeder and the readers. There are about 6 blogs that I look at on a weekly basis, most of them by people I know, so having a reader is great. It is like one stop shopping. I was happy to add the blogs to my site. I think readers are great for a professional. There is so much information out on the web and a blog for everything-- from strategies, therapy ideas, discipline ideas, lesson plans, etc. It would be great for a teacher to have all the blogs full of ideas on one site. It definitely makes life and accessing info that much easier.

Thing #7

I am familiar with some of these google features. My family has attempted the google calendar in the past- but just like anything else, if you do not keep it up to date then it is not useful. I enjoy Google Earth. My boys and I sat and played with it by looking up different Major League Baseball stadiums and then looking at photos that were downloaded from Panoramio. Of course, that is a great tool/experience to share in the classroom, especially for students that do not get many experiences outside the classroom. There is a whole world they can at least see from their computer.
I set up my Google Alerts for information on Speech Therapy, Katy, Texas, and one of my favorite authors (I know she has a book out soon). I look forward to getting those emails.

Thing #6

The Big Huge Lab is now on my favorites list. I loved the Mosaic Maker. I am not a "scrapbooker", but I do make a lot of Shutterfly books. I think doing a mosaic maker to commemorate a baseball tourney or family vacation would be great! I will definitely do one before summer is over. I am sure there are a lot of uses for it in the classroom. A teacher can use public flickr photos/images to make a mosaic to introduce a topic or prepare a primary classroom for what they might see on a field trip. Cool site!

Thing #5 Flickr

I had never heard of Flickr-- I could have searched that site for hours. It is quite fascinating to search even the most random words and come up with some pictures. As an SLP I am always looking for pictures and images to describe and explain vocabulary to my students. I usually use Google Images-- but this will be a site to add to my "toolbox of tricks". I recently went to Cabo San Lucas- so I added this picture because it brings back good memories!

Thing #4

I am official! Let the fun begin! :)

Thing #3

So, it was fun picking out an Avatar. There was a ton to choose from and there were so many options I wanted to use. It took me awhile to figure out how to export it. I did not realized that I "pasted" the code in the comment section. That threw me off. I am beginning to like the look of my page. I wanted to add a picture by my title, but it kept throwing off my centering. I looked thru a couple of the summer players blogs and I decided I had to change my template. I did this about 3 times--- I think I will keep the one I have for the time being. It is difficult, because I want it (the blog) to be a true reflection of me and what I am about-- but it is difficult to get that translated.

Thing #2

I have never read the Stephen Covey book, but I have heard alot about it. I would say that my most difficult habit would be to make challenges into opportunities. In my personal and professional life, I sometimes focus on the problem and just gettting thru it or fixing it, instead of taking a step back and seeing a new opportunity to learn or grow. The habit I am good at is PLAY! I love to have fun and spend time doing things I love with my family and friends. I also enjoy relationships and believe that it can make work fun, too.

Thing #1

Wow! This is so exciting. I love playing on the computer and learning new things. I have followed several blogs over the years and I am anxious to see how to set one up. This is such a great way to learn something new this summer and on my own time.