Sara The Belles

Today I have said good-bye to my beautful black Havana rabbit named Sara The Belles. Some people may think it silly, but I don't. She gave me joy when I was sad, and jump around the house with such zest. She was the pet I always wanted. Yes, I cried very hard because she has been a blessing to me for several years.

I will miss her very much, and I am so glad that she was a part of my life. Now she will hop in heaven and run through the gardens without barriers or pain.

Thing #23 - Summary of my Journey to the Wizard of Blog

I have finally reached the Land of Blog, and most importantly, I have seen the Great Wizard of Blog! My journey started late due to summer school, and I took each step and followed the yellow brick road until I arrived to the Great Wizard of Blog.

My favorite discovery was 2.0 Award List which gave oodles of tools to experiment, select, and download. This list is something every teacher should try and use in her classroom. I spent countless hours with this list. I enjoyed the different categories that were formulated, and I did not even know that this list existed.

I had to get out of my box in order to work on library2play, and build my confidence in the world of technology. Yes, I was afraid, but with each completed task, I had to enthusiasm to go forth and reach the Land of Blog.

This program was formulated with "the end in mind". Library2play planted a seed and it is up to us to nurture our journey by continuing to blog and write. Imagine if every teacher had the experience to work with library2play, our classrooms would be booming with students learning and enjoying coming to school.

The only improvement I would make is to allow more time to play and experiment with 2.0 Award List. As I said before, this part brings together all of the steps and tasks that were experienced before this step.

I would certainly take library2play again and again! I learned so much by doing and built a wealth of knowledge as I moved from step to step. This sure does beat sitting in a large room with oodles of people on Saturday morning. I was able to take my time and enjoy the learning.

Library2play allows teachers to learn via hands-on while building a wealth of knowledge to use in the classroom! Kuddos!

Thing #22 Nings

Nings are tools that would be great for teachers. Several things I liked about TeacherLingo: share photos, connect with other in a teaching community, it is also divided into categorical levels: elementary, middle, high school, and college. Of course there are other areas.

I like TeacherLingo because it's a community that I can feel comfortable and partake of the advice and ideas. I have joined this community, and I will visit it freguently!

Thing #21 Vidcast

This project took some time and muscle grease to go step at a time. This vidcast did have music when I did this. I know somewhere in the Land of Blog the music plays softly--"Theme from a summer place".

Thing #20 Teachertube

I selected this video because pictures are worth so much to students. This video and others that I have seen are so important in linking concepts to the "real thing". This video will show the processes involved in a lunar eclipse. I know I will hear the "wows and cool" from my students.

In science, or many other subjects, there are so many times that introducing the concept and letting the children watch a short video will make learning fun. Imagine letting the students watch this short video and allowing them to jot downa few notes. Presto, you have an anticipatory set!

Thing #19 2.0 Awards List

Wow! What a list to choose from! There were so many to play with; however, I chose Lulu. Why? With teaching as a profession, I have so many stories to write and publish to show to my students how writing is fun and a form of sharing thoughts. For schools, Lulu offers many parts to publish, sell, or buy.

Someday I would like for the school that I work for to have each teacher contribute a special story about their lives and make a compliation of these stories--a calvacade of experiences! The students would be able to see how creative teachers are, and yes, teachers do write. This would be a perfect "kick off" to fourth grade students who will take the TAKS writing portion. Wow! This would open up the perfect way to see leads, endings, and most importantly the content.

For me this is a way to allow my students to see the different genres that I have composed. This is a point of departure---a way to "open" the eyes of my student. I wish I could have had Lulu three years ago! Well, this will allow me to write and publish!

Thing #18 Google Docs

Google Docs were interesting to me because of the many templates, ideas, or how it can be used. For example, I would say that team meetings would be an advantage to using Google Docs. Why? When an agenda is made, everyone can look at the agenda, make corrections, or add items to the meeting.

Another advantage of using Google Docs is to make schedules for Specials or in lesson planning for library use or research. Google Docs are portable and very easy to use. I am glad that I had the opportunity to look at the different uses.

The only disadvantage I can see is that the teacher/student is limited to the middle or high school. I know I can use a spread sheet for other things that elementary teachers have to keep up with. I would like to see the templates for DRA, OS, ARLAS, and other forms.