Thing #4

Sent the email to register my blog.

Thing #3

Well, setting up my blog was no problem. I aleady have a blog, but thought I would start a new one here - a more "teacher-ish" one! The hardest part was remembering my password since my last blog entry was in August 2007. The Avatar was fun to create. I wanted to hurry and pick something so I could move along to my next "thing," but had to look at all the fun options anyway. I play bass guitar for my church, and I love surfing and the beach; although I am not to "big" on her pink clothes, but there was no other option with the electric guitar! :( I think I will keep my avatar at the top of each new post so I can change her when I want (although I am terrible at keeping things up-to-date; such as my sad-looking other blog!). For some reason, it took me a few minutes to figure out I had to click on "add a page element" once I was in the "layout". After that, it made sense, and I will easily be able to do it next time. I realized I could click and drag my page element with my avatar in it wherever i want it to be seen on my blog. I never knew how to do that before. I am excited now because I have a lot of friends that have really cool blogs, and I always wondered how they did all this stuff and could change things around. I have a feeling I'm going to learn it all here! This class is perfect - I get staff development hours to learn how to blog!

Have I looked at other blogs? I checked out some of the other teachers' blogs who have already done the "23 Things" to make sure mine is on track and looking okay. I am sure I will be doing much more of that as the weeks progress.

Thing #2

After listening to 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners (similar from the book 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey), I can relate easiest to the first habit listed, "Begin with the End in Mind." I must have a goal and determine what I want the end result to be before I jump into anything. I do this almost daily in my teaching career when planning lessons for math. The hardest "habit" for me is "Use Technology to Your Advantage." I have various technology items for personal use; such as, laptop, internet, i-pod, camera, etc. However, I hardly use any of these items to their fullest potential, and I certainly do not use them to my advantage in the classroom. I know technology in my classroom is supposed to make my life easier, but I do not often take the time required to read the "whole thing" and then implement it into what I am doing.

Thing #1

Sounds fun! I'm ready!