thing #10

Create your own Rubik's Cube

Exploring the text and image generators was really fun. This is something that I know I will use again. I used Image Chef and created a flower text for the subject I teach. You will see it at the bottom of my blog. Dumpr was the image generator that I used to create the Rubik's cube with shoes (my favorite thing to buy) Glogster also looked interesting and definitely worth exploring at a later date. These generators would be really great to use in powerpoints for class.

thing #9

Investigating Useful Library blogs and new feeds was interesting but took forever. I kept reading all the interesting blogs! Some of the sites were definitely better than others. Technorati was one of my favorites. I like the layout of this site and the fact that it allows you to search by topic quite easily. Atomic learning is another useful site. It has technology tutorials as well as projects. I found a tutorial that cleared up some of my challenges with powerpoint backgrounds etc. I will definitely use these two sites. Google Blogs and Cool Cat Teacher will be useful for classroom use, too.

Topix.net provides news feeds but is not my favorite. I did not like the layout and I have other feeds in my google reader that I think are easier to use. Syndic8.com supplies RSS feeds.

thing #8

I really love google reader and rss! This feature gives you all your favorite websites in one location. It is truly addicting. I subscribed to 6 different websites that post to my reader. I love fashion and shoes so I subscribed to fashion trendsetter and also E! online, Houston Chronicle, food network highlights, cnn news, weather channel and geometry junkyard. As a teacher, geometry junkyard gives ideas, worksheets, projects etc that I can use with my students. Principals and teachers would find it easy to use and organize all of their favorite educational websites on one easy to read page.

thing #7

I have used Google before but had no idea of all the cool tools google has! Using the gadgets in igoogle, I customized my google page with a UT header and all my favorites such as news, weather, entertainment, music etc. I also set up alerts to my email for weather. I explored google earth and found my house and Stratford High School. I had done this before and was surprised to find my house pictured with Christmas decorations! I viewed the bottom of the ocean, too. Picaso is definitely a feature that I would like to come back and explore again. I think I can create a book of digital pictures and email it to Wolfe Camera for easy pick up.

thing #6

I had so much fun exploring all the different features on bighugelabs.com! The first application I used was the Warholizer. This photo was taken on my tour of the Vatican. What a cool way to display photos of my recent trip to Italy.

















I also enjoyed using the Hockneyizer Application. This is a photo of Castello di Verrazzano in Tuscany. My family took a tour of this vineyard and had a wonderful dinner!
















I used the Jigsaw Application to create a puzzle of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. The custom is to throw a coin over your shoulder in to the fountain....this gurantees your return to Italy. I threw tons of coins!

thing #5

The picture I posted from Flickr is of the Louvre in Paris, France. I used the search function to find pictures tagged Geometry. I can't believe you can tag one picture with 75 different key words! I used Kodak.com in the past to upload my photos for my family to see. However, I think Flickr is much easier to use.

thing #4

Hopefully I have just registered my blog! So far ... so good!

thing #3

Created an account on Yahoo! to make my avatar today! I followed all of the steps but my avatar refused to show up! I decided to save it on my computer and then upload it to my blog...it worked!

thing #2

I am definitely a lifelong learner. I love to cook, read, travel and sew. I still remember buying my Bernina sewing machine and taking classes on monogramming and embroidering on my new machine. Before I knew it everything in the house had a personal touch. When my daughter was born a friend taught me how to smock. I bought a smocking machine that very day and began to build a library of plates or templates and I still have the 30 or so dresses I made and smocked for my daughter.
I am very good at surrounding myself with the tools I need for any challenge I undertake. I love taking classes, particularly with a friend. It is easier for me to learn when I can bounce ideas off of another person and it is more fun as well. I do find it hard sometimes to use technology to my advantage. I have some skills on the computer that I use daily at home and in teaching but nothing that qualifies me as a blogger. We shall see how this goes!