Thing # 6

On the Web 2.0 Awards site I choose to use Ask.com. I think that it is a very good tool that could be used in both a classroom and a library setting. It is very easy to use with few gadgets to distract you. There is also Askkids.com that is set up for children to use. The Askkids.com also has an answer question that is there to help the children with homework questions.  

I found that Ask.com was easy for me as an adult. I know that we suppose to chose only one link but I thought that Askkids.com would be more appropriate for a school or library setting.

Links:
http://www.ask.com/
http://www.askkids.com/

Thing # 5

I have found that the Internet has changed dramatically over the last ten years or so. When I wanted to know facts about something I went to the library and checked out a book. I then had to read said book to get the information that I needed. Today that is what we have search engines like Google and Bing for. With these search engines a world of information is at our finger tips in an instant. My children will ask me what do this or that mean and I find my self telling them to Google it if they want to know.  Children as early as second grade are doing research projects and having to use the Internet to find facts to support their research. Most kindergarten and prek classrooms are also equipped with computers and the children are allowed to access programs on the Internet with teacher supervision. Children are also starting keyboarding classes as early as prek so that they can be more productive on the computer.

We live in a society that cannot function without technology. Some of the most powerful computers that are produced are carried around in our pockets. Yes, I am talking about our cell phones. When computers were first released, one computer took up an entire floor of an office building. Now they fit into the palm of our hands. Technology and the easy at which we have access to it controls our world along with our classrooms. It is amazing that so many years of research can be available to anyone in the world at any time of the day with just the click of a few buttons.

Thing 3

I think that I could create a blog for the children and parents to communicate with each other and myself. I could post current homework assignments and upcoming events. That way the children and parents could talk about any problems or questions that they are having. The children could learn from each other and form friendships through the use of the blog. The parents could even develop new friendships and become more involved with their children's school activities. Most parents are way too busy to sit down to r3ead papers but most have access to the Internet at work or on a phone. This way, at their convenience, they can access the blog no matter where they are. It would also help those children that miss a day of school to be able to see what they missed in class that day. The children could also post comments back and forth for those children who are sick and offer them help to catch up. It would be like creating our own virtual classroom. Hey...another quick idea that just hit me then I will go. I could even record myself giving the days lessons and post them on the blog so that the children who were absent or had questions could refer to them. That last thought might be a little out there but it could work.

Thing 2

I chose to use my name in the title of my blog so that it would be easy for me to remember. I don't think that using my real name in my blog or my post will be a problem because we are all adults that want to learn from each other.

Creating the blog was a little difficult for me because I have never done anything like this before. It was a learning experience for me. Setting up the blog was not that hard but adding a picture and the avatar was somewhat difficult. I couldn't figure out where everything went and what we were suppose to do.

For my avatar I tried to choose features that did resemble my looks (or how I would like to really look). I had a lot of fun playing with the many choices that I had to choose from while making my avatar.