11.5 - Evaluation

Yay!!! I barely made it!

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite discovery would be forcing me to look at Hulu and other tv sources. Sometimes I don't think about how I can use resources in the classroom. I sometimes see things for what they are. I learned that not only can tv sources be used for entertainment but educational as well.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
11.5 things showed me lots of new things I can use in the classroom. I feel that it has made me a better teacher and I definitly made me know more about technology. It's amazing to know that there are so many things out there. I don't know how you can possibly keep up to date all the time. I feel like I can now be a technology coach. haha.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
The only thing that surprised me was Second Life. I never really knew that was out there. I'm sure there are plenty of things that are useful in the classroom. It amazes me that people go on there are spend all their time exploring. I guess I'm just not a virtual kind of person.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I think the program was great. You offered many resources to research and look at to form our opinion each thing we needed to explore. I enjoyed the program. I have recommened the first program to many of my collegues. I would recommened this one as well.

Thing # 11 - Digital Citizenship

Digital citizenship is very important to teach students. Many times, students go with the first thing they find on the computer. I think for students, it's hard sometimes to determine if facts are correct or not especially if they are researching subjects they are not familiar with. I enjoyed reading Cool Cat's blog about digital citizenship. I think he had some very valid points and stressed the importance of teaching students to find information from various of sources. I think it's important for teachers and librarians to teach students how to research on the computer.

If I were to teach lesson on digital citizenship the first thing I would do is talk with my students about what they know about the internet and safety. We would discuss how you need to look at various sources and not to settle on the first thing you find. Plagiarism is a very important topic to discuss with students. Plagiarism is a topic I would discuss all year. We would then talk about online safety. I would show students a BrainPop video about online safety. This is something I would talk about all year long to stress the importance to the students.

Thing # 10- Second Life

Wow! I have never heard of Second Life. I knew there were virtual games out there such as The Sims, but Second Life sure is high tech. I enjoyed making my person. I can see how people can get caught up with changing the appearances. As I was walking around exploring, I went to the mall to buy some new clothes. I was shocked to see inappropriate pictures. I was wondering how they new I was an adult but I remembered entering my age when I signed up. If I was using Second Life in my classroom, I would be a little cautious and worried. I would hate from something inappropriate to pop up. I tried exploring but got bored after awhile. Maybe I'm just not a virtual kind of person.

I don' think I would use this in my classroom. I would be too worried.

Thing # 9- SlideShare

I just discovered Slideshare this summer. I did not know you could upload power points or other documents . Slideshare allowes you to upload and share your power points and other documents. I think Slideshare is a great tool for students to use. Most students know how to do power points. When I think about it, it seems like teachers try to think up new creative things for students to do besides doing another powerpoint presentation. By uploading power points for everyone to see, I think students will get more excited about creating a power point slide. I think Slideshare is a great way to show parents what they're working in class. Teachers could upload their powerpoint or other documents on the school website so parents can see.

I made a powerpoint this summer about Shelfari. Below is the power point I created. If you are not familular with Shelfari, please looks at my older posts.


Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

What is shelfari

View more presentations from Erica Finley.

Thing # 8- Screencast

I am very familiar with screencasts especially with Jing. I had to use Jing for my masters class a couple of weeks ago. I made a video discussing how to use a feature on a Mac computer. I thought Jing was very easy to use. What a great idea. I think this tool is very useful for a librarian or techonology coach. I know there are several times when teachers need to do a certain task on a computer and they are at a lost at what to do. The librarin or technology coach can use this tool to help other teachers. I think teachers can use this tool to help students as well. If a techers assigns a project for students to do but require certain steps before they start the actual project, then the teacher can use Jing to show students step by step what to do.

I made a video discussing the accessibiltiy features on mac. I chose to focus on Simple Finder which is on a Mac computer. My video is below. Sorry it is not the most exciting video.

Thing # 7

I am somewhat familiar with Hulu and other video resource sites. I never thought of using them for educational uses because I think
of using the video resources when you miss a show on t.v.
I was able to explore Totlol. I really like this site because I know a lot of kids like to get on Youtube although I think there are too many inappropriate videos that kids can stumble upon accidently. If kids go on Totlo, it's just like Youtube although they have videos that are parent approved. I feel safe having my students use this site.

I did find a useful video through Hulu. I found a video of the Tropical Rainforest. The second graders at my school do a rainforest project every year. The teachers could show the video as a introduction to the project or the librarian can show the video during library time.

I found another video about Davy Crockett. Davy Crockett is part of the third grade curriculum. We found out last year the history books do not provide a lot of information about him. It would have been nice to show this video to the class. I now have a video to share with students.

All the video resources are great to use in the classroom. Sometimes it can be a search though unless you're just looking for popular tv shows.

Thing # 6

It's been awhile since I've visited my blog. Sorry about that. I'm taking two classes this summer for my master's program and I've been pretty busy. I am not fortunate to have an I-phone or I-pod touch. As soon as I get a chance to play around with one, I will get back to this post.

Thing # 5 Facebook and Twitter

Facebook is such a great way to waste time and socialize with your friends. I go on Facebook so many times during the day which I don't think is a good thing. I always thought of Facebook as a way to communicate and share with friends. I never really thought about it as a way to help education. I did attend a workshop last summer where every teacher was encouraged to sign up for a Facebook account if they had not done so already. We started a group and were encouraged to use Facebook as a way to communicate with other teachers. Share ideas or videos. It seemed like a great idea at the time but as the year went on, I'm not sure anyone had the time. I did enjoy reading the blog 2 cents worth about the girl who started her own group in Facebook for the liberal arts college she wanted to attend to. What a great way to talk with others who will tell you the truth about what the college is really like.
I have never been a fan of Twitter. I think it's because I associate Twitter with celebrities. I just never understood why people tweet. How is it any different from posting your status on Facebook? I did enjoy reading how teachers can use Twitter for the classroom. I think it would be great place to share your thoughts or ideas. Even though Twitter has some good things to offer, I just don't see myself using it that much.

I do like back channeling especially Today's Meet. I know the kids would love using it. I think that was be a great tool to use in the classroom. In third grade in my district, the students have to learn how to type. By the end of the year, the kids get kinda tired of doing the lessons. I think Today's Meet would be a great way for the kids to practice their typing. The students can type their thoughts about a read aloud or lesson we have done. I know the kids would get excited.

Thing # 4 Youtube

Aww... Youtube. What would people to do if there wasn't Youtube? I have never really visited Youtube that often unless people have told me to look up something. It's funny that thing # 4 is about Youtube because my friends and I just uploaded a video on Youtube just this Monday. Now, I didn't upload it myself because my friend already had an account but I was right there while she did it. Does that count? :) Now, in my earlier post, I told you my friend Lindsey is battling cancer. She has been told that she has about a year to live. (We are all thinking positive. Lindsey is a fighter) Many of us were angry and fustrated when we heard the news. Lindsey had a great idea of breaking plates to let go of our fustration. So we all wrote positive words on the plates before we slammed them on the ground. We decided to upload our video on Youtube because we thought we might be able to help someone else with cancer. Here is our video below. ( it's black for a minute or so but then it's fine. )



I think Youtube would be a great learning tool for new teachers. Sometimes it's hard to explain to new teachers how to do things but if they could see a video of it, then they are more likely to do a good job. I have visited Teachertube this past semester and found some good things. I was able to find a good power point on poetry that came in handy. The main thing teachers need to think about before posting a video with students on Youtube or Teachertube is to make sure you have permission from the parents.

Thing # 3- Skype

I have always associated Skype with connecting with relatives who are out of town. I think Skype is a great technology tool. You see it everywhere now from Oprah,news, etc. I see people on t.v. using Skype although I don't know anyone personally who uses Skype. I really enjoyed the website that had 50 awways to use esome skype in the classroom. There were some interesting ways to incorporate Skype. When I was looking at all the different ways, it made me think about my school. This year we had 5th graders who were pen pals with other students in another country. It made me think that if they were using Skype, they could really get an idea of what that contry was like instead of waiting for a letter to arrive. I know the kids had lots of questions. I do think it would be hard to find schools or teachers who were using Skype as well to link up with. I think the biggest challenge, is for teachers just to be open to using Skype. There are some old school teachers out there and when we got the Active Boards in our classrooms... well... it took them awhile to adjust.

Thing # 2

I have always love image generators. I love how I can spend all day creating different things. You don't realize how much time goes by. I first decided to explore Wordle again. I really like how you can change the font and colors. I think the kids would have a great time using Wordle. In my class, I would have my students use the wordle after they have completed a project. They can use the Wordle to present their information to the class. I made my Wordle from an email I sent my friend. She's been told she has cancer that is terminal. I am amazed by her strength and positive attitude.
I decided to play with Glogster this time around. I have tried to explore it before in the past although I didn't spend a lot of time on it and just didn't want to take the time. I've seen many people's glogs and loved them. It took me awhile to figure things out. I still need to play around with the sound and video but was proud of what I made. I decided to do a Anne of Green Gables glog. I think Glogster would be a great tool for students to use when they are done with book clubs. I could asses their glog to determine if they comprehended the story or get their interpretation of the book.

I have seen Voki in the past. My librarian has used it in various lessons at my school. The kids love it and get so excited when they can do their own on the computers. I think Voki would be cool to do school rules with in the beginning of the year. What a change it would be for the kids to use Voki instead of listening to the teacher talk all the time.

Click here to comment on this Voki.
Get a Voki now!

Ok. Now on to Bookr. I heard about Bookr last year. I tried making one although I lost interest but decided to look at it a different way this time. After making my own bookr, I think students would love making their own. I'll be teaching fourth grade next year so I made my book about writing. I think students would love to make one of their own for science or social studies. Last year my students researched an inventor and made a poster about them. I know they would have loved working with bookr to present their information. I think if you incorporate technology into a project, the students will love it and won't complain.


Wow. I think that has been my longest post. I hope you enjoyed my post! :)

11.5 More Things- Thing # 1

Why hello again. Can I just say "yay for summer!" It's nice to relax and not worry about work.

So I am ready for round two. I enjoyed doing 23 Things last semester which is why I was so happy to know there were more things to explore. During this summer, I will continue to post my findings. I hope you enjoy my posts. :)

Thing # 23 Overview

Wow!!! I'm finished. I have to say...I'm a little sad thats it's over. I enjoyed learning about all the stuff this project had to offer. It was great to learn new things and I liked learning new tools that I can implement in the classroom.

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite discovery would be setting up this blog and finding other blogs that I was interested in. I have never set up a blog before and in the beginning, I was a little worried in how I would be able to complete this project. Before this project, I would only be on the computer for email and my celebrity gossip. Now... I'm on the computer all the time exploring different sites and tools.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
As an educator, I am always looking to improve myself as a teacher. Each school year I like to add one more thing to my plate. (This year it was a weekly newsletter to keep my parents informed in the child's learning) This whole project has definitly brought on more lifelong learning goals. Some of my goals for the next school year is to get my students active in Shelfari. I would like to become proficint in storytubes because I KNOW my students would love it. I also feel like I can be a great resource for other teachers at my school.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I was very surprised in how technology savy I was. I seriously thought this project would be a lot harder. I thought I would have to rely on my husband to help me upload videos or upload pictures especially the avatar in the beginning of the project. I was surprised that I was able to teach my husband some things about technology. I now feel like I can easily be a technology teacher at my school. ( at least until I can't do something like add sound to my photostory.)

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I don't think I would change anything. I think there was plenty of time to complete the project. I think the videos and the step by step instructions alon
g the way were VERY helpful. I enjoyed the program.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
If there was another discovery program, I would love to participate. I know new things will come up in the future. It's hard to keep with technology. It would be great to add more tools to my toolbox.

6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?
Gosh...one word is hard. I would have to say Enlightening.

Thing # 21

I was introduced to Photostory in the beginning of the year by my technology sis at my school. I was amazed in how easy it is to use. I haven't used it ever since I was introduced to it. My students will be starting classics for their reading groups. I decided to make a photostory to introduce them to the different classic books so they can get an idea of which book they would like to choose. I didn't have any trouble making the podcast although I did have trouble inserting the sound. The sound would not play back. Very fustrating. Once I figured it out, Photostory was easy to use. Here is my podcast for my students.

I think Photostory is great. I know the students would love it. I would definitly like to use Photostory more often especially next school year.

Thing # 22 Nings

I have never before heard of Ning. I love to go to facebook and since they are both a social networking site, I was sure I would like Ning as well. I went to Texas School Librarian. I really enjoyed this site. I really liked the videos they had especially the story tubes which had been done by students. They were book reviews students had done and they even added cute pictures or changed themselves to a cartoon character.

Find more videos like this on Texas School Librarians

I had never heard of storytube so of course I had to research it. I think storytube would be great. I would like to do one with my students next month since I know the students would fun.
I enjoyed the Texas School Librarian Ning. I can see myself visiting it in the future to communicate with other educators and librarians. I know I will definitly enjoy visiting the videos they have to offer.

Thing # 20 You Tube and Teacher Tube

I have never been a big fan of Youtube. It's not that I don't like it but I just never went on it unless a friend wants me to check out a funny video. I did enjoy watching some of the vidoe youtube has to offer. I found a lot of library rap videos which were very funny. I didn't realize there were so many library videos out there. I did find one that I thought was funny. It's about annoying library patrons. Take a look at the video if you have a chance.





I really didn't know much about Teachertube until recently. Ever since I got my active board this year, I have been using technology at lot in my classroom. I use Brainpop and Discovery Education all the time. I did look on TeacherTube the other day. I found some great Poetry powerpoints that I can use. I like how TeacherTube categorizes there vidoes from recently added to most popular. I found one video about classroom rules that I thought was funny. The second part of the video is what is the funniest.

Classroom Rules

I think YouTube and TeacherTube are both great tools we can use in the classroom.

Thing # 19 Web 2.0 Awards

I really enjoyed looking at all the tools on Web 2.0 awards. I was surprised that I had actually heard of some the sites on there or had actually used. As I get further along in this project, I realized how little I know about technology. I really enjoyed playing around with last.fm which is a free music site. I have always used Pandora in the past but last.fm has a lot more to offer in my mind. I like how it tracks all the songs they play. This helps me when I want to download new songs on my ipod. I also like how last.fm show differnt pictures of the artist that is playing. It's nice to put a face with the name. I often use Pandora in the classroom to play classical music or kids music. Now I can use last.fm.
I found out about Mango Languages. I had fun playing around with the demo. It's a website for people who want to learn conversational skills in a different language. The demo taught me basic converstaional skills in spanish. I like how the lesson reviewed sayings from the beginning so I can remember. This a great tool for libraries to have especially for high school. This site would have been very useful when I was learning spanish in school.
I have really enjoyed looking playing with all the 2.0 tools.

Thing 18- Online Tools

It's funny that for thing # 18 I had to explore Open Office. Just two weeks ago I took my students to the computer lab to type up their poems. My students logged on and automatically went to Microsoft Word and what do I hear??? "Mrs. Finley... I can't find Microsoft Word" ( Microsoft Office had been deleted and replaced with Open Office) It was a little annoying because I did not know we were replacing Microsoft Word with Open Office. It was nice to see that even though the students had never used Open Office, they did not have a problem because they were so similar.I think Open Office is a great tool because it is so easy to use and it's free!
My husband had told me about Google Docs a long time ago. He tried to get me to use it although I never paid much attention to it. I think it is a great way to collaborate with others. When you are working on a new document, you can invite people to use it or edit the document. What a great way to collaborate especially if you are working from home.

Thing # 17- Rollyo

Rollyo is a great tool for all users to use. At first when I was researching the site, it was somewhat confusing to me. I refused to ask my husband to help me so it took me awhile to see the benifit from it. I thought the video from Bruce will helped me understand how Rollyo works and why we should use it.
I think its a great tool for my students when they are doing research. I know there has been many times when my students can't find the information they are looking for or... there is too much information that it is hard for them to synethsize the important information. Now with Rollyo, students can research information that I have already deteremined is appropriate and kid friendly. Hopefully now my students won't be so stressed when researching on the computer.

Thing # 16 Wikis

First off, can I just say I love the videos by Common Craft? They make all this technology stuff so easy to understand. I first heard of Wikis this year. I was at a district meeting where I had to add my thoughts to a wiki.I had no idea what a Wiki was let alone how to use them. Now that I have had some time using the website, I realized how beneficial they can be. I think it's a great way for people to share their thoughts and work on a project without feeling so stressed having to find time to meet. Our group members have been using a Wiki to work on our final project. It has made things easier to collaborate.
I think Wikis can be great tool to use in the classroom. I think it would be great for middle and high school students. Students by then have emails and would understand how to use it. It would be great for when students have group projects. Wikis are a great tool.

Thing # 15 Web 2.0

It's amazing to see how libraries have changed over time. I remember when I was in elementary school and having to go to the catalog to find a book. Now, kids just look it up on the computer.
It was interesting to read about Web 2.0. When reading Michael Stephen's article, I thought it was interesting when he said that "librarians do not buy technology for the sake of technology" I think this is very true. I know our school district bought ipods for the schools although I'm sure how much it is going to benefit the kids. I know there are educational games they can play but why not buy more laptops for them to use? There are 16 laptops in our library but not enough for a whole class to use.

I think every librarian should read Into a New Librarianship. Everything he had to say was true and valid. I like how it said how librarians are trendsetters and they have to make fast decisions. Librarians should be always be up to date on technology. Teachers and staff rely on the librarians for information. It is up to the librarian to provide the information or direct them in where to go. Librarians should be able to move the school forward and be ready for what comes next.

Thing # 14 Technorati

For thing number 14, I was forced to look at Technorati once again. I do think this website is cool for finding new blogs and websites to visit based on your interests. I do like that once you pick a topic, say family for instance, on the right hand side of Technorati includes latest articles that deal with family. I found one interesting article about a girl who has half of her brain removed and recovered. Who knew you could get half of your brain removed. If it weren't for Technorati, I would have never read this article.

I have never been a person who is on the internet for more than 30 minutes unless I am doing school work. I would ask my husband how he could be on the computer for hours, I now understand. Lately, I have found all sorts of cool sites and blogs that I am visiting weekly. I think Technorati is a good site to find new and interesting things that the internet has to offer.

Thing # 13 Tagging and Delicious

I have to say that I wish I knew about the site Delicious earlier in the month. There is this almond spinach salad that I like to make a lot that I got from Recipies.com. You would think that I would write the recipe down since I like to make it a lot. Well, guess again. I now can pull up the recipe up anytime I want all because of Delicious. Delicious is a great website to go to when you would like to bookmark a website. Instead of bookmarking it to your favorites, you can now tag it. I recommend everyone checking out this website.

As I was exploring the site, my husband asks me what am I working on for school. Here I was thinking that I had something new to share with him but of course, he already knew what the site was. I did get to explain to him and his computer geek friend about RSS feeds which made me feel important.

I think Delicious is great for educators. There are several times when I am looking for information that would enhance my teaching. I like how I can tag the websites that I find useful and share it with my colleges. I also like how you can click on a tag that is interesting and it will pull up some good websites to visit. I have to say that 23 things has made more technology savvy.

Thing # 12 Community through Commenting

I never knew there were rules for commenting on peoples blogs. I feel like I should take my own advice when I tell my students to back up there thoughts with a because. I'm always reminding my students to have meaningful reading responses and here I am... I should be having meaningful comments. Although, I am more of a lurker than a commenter. I have to say that I am getting better. I did enjoy reading How to Comment Like a King (or Queen) from Cool Cat's blog. I think his suggestions were helpful and useful. I know I like it when I have new comments on my blog so I have been trying to do the same with other blogs. Hopefully my comments have improved.

I did find some interesting blogs that I have added to my page. Hopefully I can add more to the list. It takes me awhile to find blogs that I can see myself visiting after all this is over. Simply Stated is a blog that I found. It is a blog from the magazine Real Simple. I love that magazine because the cover everything from food, home, fashion, etc. Simply Stated has postings about food, book, home, etc. I was interested because one of the postings was about cute items she found at Z Gallery.

Why haven't I visited blogs before? I didn't realize how fun they can be.

Thing # 11 Library Thing

I have never heard of LibraryThing but was recently introduced to Shelfari which is very similar. They both have the same concept which gears towards book lovers. I like Library Thing although I would prefer Shelfari instead. When I was exploring LibraryThing, I had to think of the titles of books I wanted to add which was a little difficult. I like that Shelfari allows you to choose from books that are categorized for you according to most popular, most comments, and best reviews. Looking at the book covers allows me to choose books that might be of interest. I did like that LibraryThing has a list of topics to read from as well as blogs which were on the right side.

It think both sites would be great for students to have book discussions with other schools. I have lots of friends who are third grade teachers in other districts and I think it would be fun if we could set up a group discussion for our students to participate in. I know they would enjoy it knowing that students from other districts are reading their comments.

Thing # 10 Online Image Generator

I could spend hours visiting all these websites. I was a big fan of Big Huge Labs back when I first noticed it a month or so ago. I like all the features it has to offer. This time around, I spent most of my time on Scrapbook Generator. I loved all the layouts it had to offer. I did take me forever to figure out how to upload the picture. I guess it would of helped to click on the upload button. How dumb of me. Scrapbook generator allows you to pick many layouts such as birthday, holiday, and other cute themes. I like to scrapbook although I never have the time.

I also played around with Make Word Mosaic. I've seen this image before on someones blog and I really liked it. My kids are currently studying poetry. They have written some poems about color and I would think this would be a fun way for them to display their poetry.

Thing # 9 Useful Related Blogs and News

I have never been a blog person before this project. I think just because I never really researched them to find ones that I like. Now that I am somewhat forced to find some blogs I like, I have enjoyed them. I liked Technorati the best out of the other search tools. I like the look of the website as well as the categories at the top to help narrow your search. Of course, I'm always drawn to the celebrity gossip so I found this blog, Just Jared, that I was able to add to my RSS feeder. I did not enjoy Syndic8 very much. It is not eye appealing. ( As you can tell, I am really into the look of the website. I should get over that.) As I click on some of the links, they were somewhat confusing.

Thing # 8 RSS Reader

I have never heard of RSS feeder before so I enjoyed the exploring and seeing everything it had to offer. I think it's a great way to save people time. Technology just gets better and better with how people receive information. I explored Google Reader because I already had a gmail account. I like how I can get all my celebrity gossip all in one place although I do enjoy going to the websites. I like looking at the colored backgrounds and graphics. I think Google Reader is a little boring to look at. It is nice to go to one place to see if the websites have updated information instead of revisiting the websites which I tend to do. I think this is a great way for teachers to keep up with student blogs or projects. I was thinking this would be great for when students post new comments on Shelfari . Teachers would be updated on new posts and keep track of those who are behind.

Thing # 7- Google

I've always heard all the things Google has to offer although I have never really spent the time exploring. My husband loves Google Docs. I think it would be a great way for educators to use. It would be easier to collaborate and add to documents without having to email each other all the time.

I have recently found out about Google Education which is really cool. They offer many different tools educators can use. I think at first, it is somewhat confusing, although I think the more time you time you spend, you realize how you can utilize the site.

Thing # 6

I definitely had fun in all the websites I had to visit. I didn't realize how fast time can fly by when looking at pictures. I really enjoyed looking at http://bighugelabs.com/ I like how there are so many options to choose from. I liked the mosaic and framer option the best. Here is a picture that I made using the framer option.

I've heard teachers using trading cards. I know the kids enjoy making them. I think trading cards would be a great way for students and staff to post book reviews around the library. My kids just finished writing their own book reviews. The kids typed up their book reviews on index cards and we posted them around the library. Using trading cards is a great way to incorporate technology. I know kids would love to have their writing posted around the library for other kids to see. It would be nice to have the staff participate as well so students can get excited about them. It would be important for the librarian to keep up with the book reviews. Here is an example that could be posted in the library. Here is the link to make your own trading card. http://bighugelabs.com/deck.php

Thing # 5

I always thought of flicker being used to view friends photos they have posted. I never thought it would be useful in the classroom or at school. I ended up spending more than an hour just looking at all the photos. Some photos are very impressive.

I found this image a lot. I really liked it because I love books and what a great way to show it.

I wish I would have know how to use this tool earlier for school. The other day, my students were making a brochure about a business they would have to earn money. Some students had a hard time finding pictures to add to their brochure. Flicker would be a great website for them to go to although I think it might be too complicated for a third grader. (saving the picture to their file would be to hard. Getting them to complete the brochure was hard enough) Here is an example of a picture they might have added to their brochure.

Thing # 4

I knew blogs were out there but never visited them before. Now, I'm always looking at other peoples blogs and seeing what blogs they are following. I think I have even convinced my husband to blog as well. Blogging can very therapeutic.

Thing #1

After reading the blog, I am really excited about 23 Things. I've never set up a blog or even read blogs. It sounds like a fun project.

Thing # 3

So creating an avatar was the fun although there were so many choices, it was hard for me to choose. Too many clothes options. Choosing my avatar was the easiest part. Trying to figure out how to put the avatar where I wanted it was a different story. It took me awhile to put the picture to the side instead of right in the middle at the top.

Thing # 2- Hardest habit

I would say the hardest habit at the moment is habit 7. I hate saying that since I am currently serving a mentor to a new teacher at my school. In the beginning, I was all about it. We would meet weekly for our 45 minutes. I realized as time and weeks went by... time is not on my side. Her plate and my plate keep piling up. I would definitely like to find more time to sit down and talk things through.

Thign # 2Easiest Habit

Hmm... out of all the habits, I would say habit 7 1/2 would be the easiest habit for me. Play. Who wouldn't say that? I think being able to experiment is the best way to learn. I like to try things out, see how things go. How else would you know if you're doing things right? Or at least to your liking? Doing things one way would get boring. You need to play around to see what's right for you.