Thing #4-COMMENTING AHHHHH!

To be honest, leaving a comment was one of my biggest fears when it came to blogging. A parade of ideas run through my head when deliberating what to leave as a comment such as 'Do I sound intelligent?' 'Should I say it critically or nicely??' 'Am I stupid for thinking this?' 'Should I actually leave this comment?' and so on and so forth. Reading my peers blogs and the tips for leaving comments helped me to realize that yes you should leave a comment that is meaningful and thoughtful but that it does not matter quite so much if you sound silly or professional or critical or helpful. All comments are unique to the writer and should reflect both your own thoughts and feelings as well as keeping in mind those of the blog that you are commenting on.  Going with that thought I really appreciated the 'Your comments?' blog which just really said that anyone who blogs LOVES to receive comments to reinforce the idea that people are reading his or her blog and appreciating it; the idea that someone is affected by what you are writing is what we are all here for anyways! I also appreciated this blog's insistence that commenting become a regular part of a blogger's practices.

As an beginning experiment of commenting I went ahead and commented on a few of my classmates blogs, but have decided to hold off on other individual's blogs as well as continuing my commenting on my classmates' blogs.....

My Classmates:

http://bmenees.blogspot.com/2010/09/thing-4.html

I selected Brittany's blog because I know her and can relate to a lot of the things that she talks about in her blogs!

I commented on Brittany's #5 blog about discovering School 2.0. In my comment I related my feelings of overwhelment with hers in discovering all of the technology. I also talked about how we are both learning so much about technology in the classroom. 

http://teacheffortlearnlife-mciezki.blogspot.com/

I selected his blog because after reading a couple of his posts I felt like I knew him and completely understood the way he spoke to his readers in a very real and educated way. I feel that he will make a superb educator!

I commented on his #4 commenting post because I was very impressed with the way he talked about commenting as something that you shouldn't be afraid of and you should use with gusto! He gave me courage to make stronger comments on other individual's blogs. I offered him commendations for these points!

http://meganartzsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/thing-3.html#comments

I chose Megan's blog because I felt that she was really connecting with her blog and readers and was being very genuine and real in all of her posts.

I commented on her #3 post because I loved her idea of using a blog to communicate with students by including a schedule for the week and to post upcoming assignments. I let her know how fabulous of an idea this was.

edaygoodmanteacher.blogspot.com/2010/09/thing-6-information-overload.html#comments

WOW I completely connected to Goodman's post about being very overwhelmed by technology. This is why I chose to comment on her post. I commented by mutual feelings of overwhelment and amazement at the things I am capable of doing now that I have been in this class for a few weeks.

http://camorgan06.blogspot.com/2010/09/thing-8.html#comments

Cheryl's blog is filled with so many impressive creations from technology and this is why I chose her blog to comment on!

I commented on her thing #8 because I have finally realized after participating in this class how to make all of the wonderful things that she has been making. I commented her on her mosaic and reflected on what I was capable of doing before this class and what I can do now. She impresses me so much because she commonly says how she knew how to do this before the class began!

Thing #3

I think the most useful thing about a blog in reference to my teacher education program is to reflect on teaching methods in the classroom. The hardest thing for me to do when something doesn't work how I want it to is to discover why it didn't work for me and what I could change to make it work in the future. By having a blog not only would I be able to lay out my thoughts to reflect on the pros and cons of my methods, but other individuals with teaching experience would be able to share their experiences or insight on my methods. I would not only be able to learn from my own mistakes and successes but also from the mistakes and successes of other teachers.

Thing #2

I'm so excited to have made my first blog! Because I have never had a blog before and don't feel like I am very creative so I just named my blog with my initials and last name.

It was much easier than I thought to create a blog. It was very simple to set up and took about five minutes. I understand why so many people have blogs these days! Not only are they very easy to set up and use, but it is enjoyable to be able to let all of your feelings and experiences out into the world whether they are read or not.

My avatar looks like me. I feel as though I'm kind of fun and playful, so I tried to convey that onto my avatar. I am very happy with the way she turned out!

Thing #1

Of all the lifelong learning habits, I feel like the two easiest for me are #2, "accept responsibility for your own learning" and #4, "have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learning." Everyone is ultimately responsible for his or her own education, and I am no different.  I have worked hard to get where I am today and am proud of myself and my accomplishments. I feel as though these two habits go hand in hand because without having confidence in myself as a strong learner I will not be able to accept responsibility for my learning. By having confidence in myself, I am more willing to accept my responsibility and therefore be more successful.

The habit that I have the most difficulty with is #6, "use technology to your advantage." I am not very strong in my technological ability and, therefore, do not use technology unless I have to. This is not an admirable trait that I see in myself, but I am hoping that after taking this Instructional Technology course that I will be able to use technology not only to my advantage but also to my students' advantage.

I have never blogged before, and I can honestly say it was not as bad as I thought. I think the most difficult thing to me is to use first person and be talking to other people through my writing.  As an English Education major I am used to writing professionally; however, as difficult as it is to get used to, it is a breath of fresh air to be able to write more casually.