Thing # 12 Creating Community Through Commenting

I've read several blogs and responded to the following:
Book Egg
23 Things I learned during the summer '09
Aspiring Librarian UHCL
It's Always Pink
In Other Words

I found this to be a challenging task, since not only am I new to blogging, but I found it difficult to find entries to which I could respond in an authentic manner...given the time constraint. I did find some, nevertheless. I also found that I enjoyed reading blogs by other people...much more so than writing my own!

Thing # 11 Library Thing

I joined the group Literatura en espanol. I am always searching for new novels to read in Spanish. I also listed several books in Spanish that I recently purchased. It will be interesting to share thoughts about these books and others with people with similar interests.

Thing # 10 Image Generators

I fooled around with several image generators. Some were interesting and cute, but I couldn't see any academic applications; so I created this image as a homage to my previous campus.

Things # 8 & #9 RSS feeds& blogs

Okay...I set up an RSS feed via CNN main news stories. I went into FireFox and downloaded an add-on that made subscribing to RSS feeds a snap. Only later did I go and re-read my assignment...not quite what I was supposed to do. So I went back to Google and set up my GoogleReader account. Then I went to a site, National Public Radio (NPR), and added an RSS feed for All Things Considered. I read the CoolCat Teacher blog and agree with the comments about bloggers being either egotists or conversationalists. I couldn't really think of a person whose blogs I wanted to receive on a regular basis until I remembered Teri Lesesne. I love her book reviews and find her sense of humor delightful. So I added her blog as well (http://professornana.livejournal.com/ in case you are interested). Finally, I subscribed to several very helpful blogs related to Library Science and Special Education, two areas of study that I'm currently exploring.


Which Search tool was the easiest for you?
Bloglines. Very well organized and simple search engine. Also loved the fact that you can subscribe to search results feeds, so you continually receive updated search results.

Which was more confusing?
Edublogs' award winners... Not really a search engine, but more like a list of good blogs. While the resources may be helpful, I would prefer an actual search engine that allows the user to search by key words or topics.

What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels? Or what kind of unusual ones did you find?
See above comments about Library Science and Special Education. Particularly interesting was the ability to subscribe to search results. I hadn't really ever considered how cool and powerful the feature could be.

Things # 6 & 7 Cool Google Tools

I combined #6 and #7 and came up with a trading card and posted it on Google Presentation. Whew! I'm wondering if I am ever going to complete the 23 things.

Thing #6 (mashups, etc...)

What cool ideas! I can think of many classroom applications for several of these tools. In fact, today I'm covering for a geography teacher who is out today (middle school summer school), and her students are researching different physical features found in Africa. I thought it would be interesting for the students to create a tour guide badge using photos from Flickr. Unfortunately, we couldn't access Flickr, because SBISD has a new web page filter which blocks the site.

Thing #5 (Flickr)

I found the perfect photo which shows where I would like to be right now!
This actually looks like a place in which I relaxed last summer in El Salvador. I sure could stand to be there relaxing on the beach.