Thing 12: Google Tools!

The first Google tool I chose was Google Alerts. It is a great way to get information and you don't even have to spend time searching for it! Every time something new is posted about the keywords that you submit you recieve an e-mail with that information. I think this is a great tool for teachers becuase instead of having to sit down for long periods of time and search for information on topics they can just recieve an e-mail any time something new is posted.

The second Google tool I chose was Google Translate. I've never heard of this tool before now and I'm not sure why becuase it is AWESOME! This tool would allow teachers to communicate with students or parents of students who don't speak english. If a teacher is sending home a news letter to the entire class this tool would allow the teacher to translate the letter into spanish or any other language for the students family to be able to read.

Thing 11: RSS Feeds For Me!

I like the method of looking for inspirational people because I like to know that the person who is posting this blog truly does care about what they are doing and that they are putting out accurate information. The Google Blog search worked the best for me. I liked how I could just type in exactly what I was looking for and it came up. I didn't really like the Topix.net search. It never brought up blogs that I was looking for, just school in the Clarksville area. I found this awesome blog called Kindergarten Crayons. It's by a teacher who has been teaching Kindergarten for 25 years. She posts all kinds of activities that her class does and explains how she did them. I also really like just searching the Google reader because it comes up with almost the same results.

Thing 10: RSS Reader!

I really like how RSS readers allow you to recieve information from your favorite blogs and sites all in one place, that way you don't have to go searching through every single one of them for information. This could be an extremly powerful tool for a teacher because they have to ability to see everything that is new all in one page, and that is a huge time saver. RSS readers like Google Reader allow teachers to create a feed of information that is composed of just educational information. I could also use this in my personal life as a site to link all of my favorite blogs together, that way I could see it all at once and not have to visit every page individually.

Thing 9: Image Generators!

Message in a bottle generator

Etch a sketch generator

Playground sign generator













I chose these generators because they were all super easy to use and pretty fun too! When I created these all I had to do was put in the text that I wanted displayed and then hit change image. It was so easy! And there were TONS of different images to choose from. They all could be used in the classroom as little reminders for the students like wash your hands before lunch, or make sure to clean up your area after craft time. Teachers could even use these to label their centers in their classrooms.

Thing 8: Mashup!

            Flicker mashups are great! I love how easy it was to creat any words you want. They could be used so many ways in the classroom! Future teachers could have their students use Spell with Flickr for their spelling words each week. Students could also have to write a story using this site. It teaches students how to use a web 2.0 tool and is something fun for them to do.

I like the idea of being able to share photos online. It's a great way to keep connected with family and friends. As a future teacher, I also think it would be a great way to share photos of students with their parents who might not be able to go to the Christmas play or on the field trip.

Thing 7: Flickr!

Flickr was a little more complicated than I anticipated! It took me a while to find this image and it did not want to upload! But with all that being said, I prevailed, and Flickr isn't too bad after all. I really enjoy that fact that I can see multiple photos related to the same subject area at once. It gives the viewer a broad range of choices. This can enable someone to pick the photo that best fits what they are looking for. Also, Flickr is a great way to keep all your photos in one place. It also allows other people to veiw, comment on or add your photo to their favorites.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chevywally/4627554942/

Thing 6: Photobucket!

I chose Photobucket as my web 2.0 tool. I really like how easy the site is to use. It's free, all you have to do is sign up. You can search the site for pictures. You just type in the subject of the picture that you're looking for and it will bring up pages of images related to that subject. What i found very useful was that when you find the picture you want to use you can hover your mouse over it and several different options will come up under the photo such as who posted the photo, it's image code and html code for you to copy directly. This way you don't have to continually save photos onto your computer. Teachers could use this in their classrooms as a way to have students find pictures to make a collage project or even have them look up a photo that related to their spelling words that way it's a visual to go along with the word. Photobucket is a great site, and I might just start using it myself!

http://photobucket.com/

Thing 5: Web 2.0!

Web 2.0 means the future of education to me. These tools are being created by the masses and there are thousands out there to access. So why not take advantage of a free resource? Web 2.0 tools can help you to engage your students in every day lessons. Things students might not be interested in normally may become fascinating to them through using a web 2.0 tool.

School 2.0 seems to be a wonderful thing to me. By being able to have your students not only interact in the classroom but also at home and throughout the community is a very powerful thing. Future teachers will be able to teach their students so much more than just the normal every day lessons. School 2.0 will provide a way for every student to learn in the future classroom. Students who may have struggled before will be given the opportunity to succeed with this powerful tool. Although school 2.0 might not be in every school or classroom today, I believe that over time it will eventually reach every school in some way or another.