"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." - John Cotton Dana

Monday, February 28, 2011

Thing 12: Google Me

     Okay so you must be joking. I am really going to sound like a Google-fanatic after this post. Really. I think you're right in the direction you're assuming. Today, I'm going to talk about Google and it's amazing qualities :) So excited! You see, Google is not just a search engine for general web pages. (I think I made that a little bit clear in my last post where I used Google to find the term "pineapple" in a variety of blogs.) But it can be used for other things, like translating, alerts, calendars, work sharing, etc. The list could, inevitably, continue. 
     Fortunately for you, however, I am only going to discuss TWO of Google's many talents. The first will be Google Translate. You see, as an English Education major, I have to (unwillingly) take two semesters of an intermediate foreign language. My choice of poison is Spanish. (I'm really not that resentful, I just have a big test coming up and I swear I don't have any time to study for it!) Like I was saying, this is intermediate Spanish dos, and let's just say that I'm a pretty big English-speaker. So Google Translate is definitely my best friend. Without even setting the preferences for language, you can type the language in and if it's Spanish, then the Spanish icon will appear and it will begin to translate. Pretty neat, right? It automatically picks up on what you're saying.
     Not only can it do that, but you can get the Spanish word for "redhead" and if you want to use a different word or spelling, you can double-click on the word and it offers you a variety of alternative words you could use rather than that one. You can also hear what you're typing. (Which is SUPER COOL!) If you know how a word sounds, but you don't know how to spell it, you can simply listen until you hear the right word. Not like I know from experience or anything ;)
     On another note, Google Alert is really a separate yet neat idea. If you are doing research on a specific topic and can't find any good sources, you can sign up for Google alerts and anytime something comes up and relates to your keyword, you will get an email sent to you. How convenient, right?! So perfect :) You can disable these alerts at any time and they are extraordinarily easy to sign up for. Do you believe me now that I've pretty much proven to you that Google is AMAZING! If you really can't, don't, or won't believe me, then you just need to go and figure it out for yourself. Go Google :)

Yours,
TPlummer


Thing 11: Pineapple-Upside-Down Cake

     Hey all! Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. Seems a little subtle for me to say that I've had a crazy ride these past several days, but I have definitely had a busy schedule. But now that I'm back, it appears we have some things to discuss. The first consisting of subscriptions to RSS Feeds. (Seems a little familiar, don't you think?) Well, I guess we'll go ahead and jump on into it!

     First, I'd like to say that I think Google has seriously taken over the world. I mean, we use Google for everything. At least I do, anyway. But here, I used Google Blog Search to look up things with the word, "Pineapple." Okay, so I know that's an odd thing to look up, but I've had this long lasting urge to eat pineapple. And I can thankfully say that by typing in that one word, I found a variety of blogs talking about pineapple: how to cut pineapple, how to cook with pineapple, and how to dye pineapple among other things. Google is seriously, the best ever.

     Next, I tried Technorati.com. All I have is four words for you: What in the world? I typed in the same search word "pineapple." But what did I find? Moby-dork. What is moby-dork, you say. Well I have absolutely no clue what the heck "Moby-dork" is. And I don't have any idea as to what it has to do with the birds and the bees. (I know you're lost. But at least you know how I feel whenever the search results came up.)

     Clearly since Technorati was confusing, I thought I would try Topix.net. I must be the only person to not know the relevance of a pineapple to the Academy Awards. Is it their symbol or something? Regardless, I typed in "pineapple" and BAM! I got all of the information I have ever wanted to know about the Academy Awards.

     This was an interesting exercise. And I am probably not the first person to tell you this, but Google is where it's at. I'm not kidding. Technorati was awful on me. And Topix.net seemed awfully irrelevant to what I was looking for. (Clarksville Singles and Dating? No thanks.) So for the rest of my life, I hope I have Google to lean on.

Yours,
TPlummer

Monday, February 21, 2011

Thing 10: Jesse James is Writing a Book?

     Hey all! I hope everyone is having a nice day today! I know that I'm trying to, despite the fact that it's incredibly windy with a 100% chance of grey skies and somber moods. Regardless, I have some new information for you! :) Ever notice that little icon up at the top right corner of your screen? Sort of looks like this...


    Yep, now you know what I'm talking about. Well that little thing is called an "RSS icon." RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." That means that whatever you use it for, it's initially going to be really simple. (Ha, nice use of words there, huh?) Anyways, the way it works is very similar to a subscription. You subscribe to various blogs or news posts and then automatically, you receive daily updates. It's very easy and it requires little to no effort. As an example, I subscribed to five new sources:

1. The Pioneer Woman- it's obvious, isn't it? She's wonderful.
2. The Pioneer Woman (Cooking Section)- I really couldn't help myself. I love to cook and she's magnificent.
3. Julie Powell- I know most of you have seen Julie & Julia. If not, you need to. It's fantastic! Anyways, the blog here is Julie's actual blog. Here, she posts from way back when all the way up to recent events. Her point of view on different topics is quite a read. You'll enjoy it.
4. Perez Hilton- Now you know I have to stay updated on my celebrity gossip. This is the absolute most current up-to-date information. Whether or not it is true, I could careless. It's sure fun to read though. (Just don't spread it, because you might look like a fool if it isn't true).
5. The Gawker- This neat little blog is like a mini-Yahoo! engine. It has all kinds of cool, gadget-y information.

     Regardless of the pages I selected, you can do the same with very different pages. It's very simple and it's through Google Reader. Although my blogs don't relate to education, RSS feed can definitely contribute to educational needs. It's even easier to stay "in the know" with up-to-date information and have access to it anytime. This is an important tool to master as a teacher, afterall, you want to know everything (if not more) than your students, right?

Yours,
TPlummer

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Thing 9: Cook Up a Picture with ImageChef!

     Hey guys! Sorry it's been awhile since I've last posted. On the upside, I have so much to tell you :) You see, Thing 9 is perfect for right now. The task is to play with photo generators and create neat things. Well, I found several adorable pictures that I was able to manipulate. The first one I did was a tree trunk. You see, this past weekend was my anniversary so my boyfriend and I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to celebrate the occasion. While we were there, we could not stop talking about how beautiful it was (especially the trees). So it's incredibly convenient that I discovered this neat little tool. It's perfect!

ImageChef.com - Custom comment codes for MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and more 

     As I kept creating different pictures, I realized that these would be great tools to help motivate students! Needless to say, my next creation was very inspirational to myself... I'm sure you'll agree with me on this one:
Beach custom comment codes for MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and more - ImageChef.com

     "Almost here." That's exactly how I feel about Spring Break. Give me that break already!! I can literally visualize Destin, Florida as I sit in bed and write this post. There are the calm waves of the beach and the warm sand beneath my chair. With the sun beating down on me, endorphins are bursting right out of my body and I can't help but feel happy. And relaxed. Not to mention the fact that I already have a well-planned schedule of all the homework assignments I want to get done. (Sounds great, right?) But nonetheless, I am anxiously waiting for that break to get here. It means half of the semester is over and the other half is quickly arriving. With that preceding thought in mind, I instantly thought of the one thing that has successfully (for the most part, anyway) gotten me through this half of the semester. And that perfect thing happens to be coffee.

ImageChef.com - Custom comment codes for MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and more 

     I know that I said coffee helped me through this semester, but what I meant to say was that Mugsy's Coffee has helped me. You see, Mugsy's Coffee Co. (located on 41-A, across from Gate 3) is the greatest coffee shop ever. I'm not kidding. Granted, I live nowhere near that side of town. But I will tell you that I will drive the 45 minutes it takes me to get there just to have a venti Peppermint Patti- nonfat, no whip. And I always get a cow sticker clinging to the lid of my cardboard cup. Sometimes, the sticker is a star. What I'm getting at here is that I live for that stuff. It's my own personal motivation and can really turn my day around. Even a picture of coffee with the name swirled in it, makes me happy. If pictures are enough to turn frowns upside down, then let's use them in classrooms! ImageChef.com did a fantastic job of allowing me to use their pictures and personalize them. It didn't cost a thing and like I said, if we can use them to emit positive energy, what are we waiting for? Forget motivational posters. Personalize student pictures!

Yours,
TPlummer

Monday, February 14, 2011

Thing 8: Word of the Day

letter L IMG_5568_6 letter C KMcElman_100416_0106 letter A

     After doing this activity, I'm sure everyone can agree that it was an entirely easy assignment. Unless, of course, you're me.
     I spent almost an hour deciding what I wanted to write and which letters I liked best, but then it came time to input the HTML code. Wow. Before now, I never realized the little tab labeled "Edit HTML" above the text box whenever you create a New Post. So the point that I'm getting at is that... well, I kept trying to copy and paste the code into the Compose text box. Clearly, that wasn't working. So after using [what I thought was] all of my options, I waited until I got to class to ask Kayla. Once I learned that I was in the wrong format, it was easy to fix everything. Hence, the beautiful word you see above.
     Speaking of words, the word I chose to display is lycka. The origin of the word is Swedish and it means bliss, luck, success, and/or happiness. I know you're thinking "what the heck?", but since I'm less than 1% Swedish, I thought I'd use it to my advantage. (Ha!) And what better word than happiness? What I've done here is show you a small example of how Flickr mashups can be used in the classroom. Since I will be teaching Language Arts/Literature for 7-12 grades, this is perfect for me. I can use the word mashups to creatively illustrate words of the day. The same can be done for elementary school spelling tests. Some students remember things better by actively matching colors with letters or designs with words. This could definitely help visual learners.
     So the question remains, do I intend on using Flickr mashups for my classroom? Definitely! It's a creative tool that is appealing to the eyes and can be used to help students. As for my personal life, I'll probably use it for social networking sites (unfortunately, however, websites that allow you to personalize your "space" are out of style... cough myspace cough). I do plan on using it though, both personally and professionally. And as for the neat little word of the day - hope you  loved it!

Yours,
TPlummer

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Thing 7: I love you, you love me


     Valentine's Day is, by far, the greatest holiday ever. Okay, so maybe that's just my opinion, but with all of the pretty colors and delicious candies, it's not hard to remember love. Granted, most of us have busy lives and don't always acknowledge the love we have for our families, but we do love them. And luckily, V-day gives us that one day where we can make up for the rest of the year and take the time to say "I love you." Because of that, I became inspired to search pictures with the label, "love." Cute, don't you think?
    With that in mind, think for a second about how many pictures might pop up with keyword love. Oh, you know... just a couple billion. So from that point on, I figured it might be a little difficult to find something that truly resembled the angle that I was trying to illustrate for you here. Thankfully, Flickr has this neat search bar where I can enter in multiple keywords. After jotting in love, valentine, and pink, I got this pretty picture you see now. And not only was I able to view the picture in a variety of sizes, but I also got the link to the photographer's collection. She had beautiful pictures, too, but unfortunately those weren't going to contribute to my angle either.
     Flickr has many qualities that teachers can use in their classroom lessons. Whenever I have a discussion that involves Edgar Allan Poe or William Shakespeare, it will be extraordinarily convenient to just type in his name and bam! There it is, beautiful portraits of each. Granted, I have used Photobucket before and I do get somewhat the same results, I just like Flickr better. I use it personally and definitely plan on using it professionally. And the fact that the pictures are public is of no concern to me. If I was worried about it, I could easily change my privacy settings. It's like a light switch. Private. Public. Private. Public. My only hope is that the school system doesn't block it from school computers like other photo editor websites. But let's go back to my picture! :)
     You see, I picked this picture not because a. it's Valentine's Day or b. it's pretty, but because of the idea behind it. Look at it one more time. What do you see? To me, it's a spoon full of love. There are days when we feel down and it's always nice to hear that one person (whether it's your mom, dad, or a significant other) say that they're thinking about you. It's almost like when you hear those words, you've taken a spoonful of medicine and suddenly your day turns around; that spoonful is love and everyone needs it.

Yours,
TPlummer

Thing 4: Un Commentaire

     Everyone loves comments. It doesn't matter if it's a new picture uploaded to Facebook, a tweet, or an email. When you check your inbox and see that "so-and-so" just commented on your new profile picture, you can't help, but smile. There's something about that feeling when you know someone out there cares about you and what you're doing. This same feeling is felt everyday by fellow bloggers, like myself.
     CoolCatTeacher says that most bloggers "feel like they are posting to themselves." And I think it's safe to say that we all feel like this. Actually, some of us might; the others just remember that this is a graded assignment so we know that at least one person out there is reading our posts. (Ha!) But for the most part, we like to hear feedback every once in awhile to let ourselves know that our opinions do matter. That's why most people debate sensitive topics via Internet. The best way to sort out your supporters from your opposers is to just go public with it! ;) Believe it or not, it creates a sense of community and interaction when you can share your ideas through commenting on each other's blogs. This same idea is proposed by ProBlogger who posts "10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog." Here, the author tells you how to properly construct your blog through complimenting each other's posts.
     Let me be the first to tell you that I love compliments. When I receive a comment from someone, I treat it just like a compliment. It doesn't matter if it's hateful and rude, or a sincere gesture- regardless, the reader took the time to ponder my words and submit a response; my post was worthy of a reply. It wasn't just any reply, either. It was a well-written and thoughtful response. My friend, KBearden, is awesome at leaving posts that are professional and cutting edge. She tells you like it is and that's the way commenting should be. According to Will Richardson (Edublogger Etiquette), it's rude to leave a short, insignificant response. After spending an hour writing the perfect post, no one wants to receive feedback that says "cool." or "nice."
     If you, as the reader, notice something in error, try offering some advice to help fix the problem. Or if you can relate to the matter being discussed, share your story. There's nothing more fascinating than bonding over blogging (catchy, huh?). But it's true. Don't be afraid of the "comment box." It is your friend. And since we've talked a little bit about it, I hope you feel more comfortable in leaving some love on your friends' pages. But in case you're still a little weary about how it works, I'll give you a few examples.
     I'm picking five of my fellow classmates to periodically comment on his and her posts. They will be in alphabetical order, along with why I chose them
  • Kristin Barrett (TeachMe) - Kristin and I know each other on a friendly basis. I would like to get to know her more and this could definitely be the best outlet for doing so. I love learning more about people through their career goals and what a good way than by sharing advice on teaching through technology?
  • Kayla Bearden (KBearden) - Kayla and I share a personal relationship outside of the classroom. Although we will be teaching in separate environments (she is elementary education), she is smart and has a lot of sense about her. I look forward to reading about her ideas for teaching.
  • Jesse Brewer (JBrewer) - Jesse and I are somewhat of acquaintances. From our surroundings, I can tell that he is very motivated and appears to have a strong head on his shoulders. By having him in a previous class, my guess is that he'll be making History a lot more fun than it was for me in high school.
  • Gage Morse (GMorse) - Gage has recently decided to teach Secondary English education, like myself. With this being said, of course I want to get a glimpse inside his head. Granted, we hardly know each other, but with his ultimate goals being very much the same to my own, I think I can make this work.
  • Chelsea Walker (CWalker31) - Chelsea and I also have a personal relationship. She has a very bubbly and whimsical personality about her, so I'm interested in learning about her professional expectations. I'm sure my interest will remain piqued throughout her posts.
Not too bad, right? The hard part is over. Now that I know who I will be paying most of my attention to, I will come back and let you know exactly what I said to who on what post. While I do that, I will also follow a couple of personal blogs that really interest me. The first will definitely be the Pioneer Woman. Not only do I get told on a regular basis how much I resemble her, but I cook like her as well. With that being said, it won't be hard to follow her around and comment. But as for the other one.. well, we'll see.

Yours,
TPlummer

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Thing 6: Owl love Etsy Forever!


     For starters, I feel obligated to tell you that I've cheated a little bit on this assignment. You see, Etsy.com and I have been best friends for almost a year now. I first found this site last year when a sorority sister of mine sent out an email naming Etsy as the best place to find cute owl items (owls are our mascot, sort to speak). So of course we all immediately entered the site's URL and whaddaya know? It's like a Chi Omega's heaven. But other than my sorority, there is a tremendous amount of other items.
     Since the website mainly sells homemade products, you can find nearly anything. They have cards, artwork, blankets, jewelry, clothing, etc. It's pretty much like your one-stop-shop! And with low shipping rates for U.S. citizens, it's almost impossible to find a reason not to buy anything you love.
     Let's talk about homemade gifts for a second. Everyone likes them, right? At least they did the last time I checked. Well, maybe you're not the "sewing material"... or maybe you just don't know how to use a sewing machine. Etsy is here to your rescue! You can easily purchase something and pass it off as something you've done (Yes, I know that's wrong, but hey. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do). I'm sure we've all been in that situation, or at least I have ;) But for those of you that do know how to sew and/or paint, you can search for ideas on what to make. It's that simple. If you're looking for how to make owl cards, just go to http://www.etsy.com/ and type in "homemade owl cards" in the search engine.


     Cute, right? Now you can look at them as models for your own project. Websites like these are definitely inspirations for creativity. Students that have to create projects in school can log on and browse Etsy's collections. Like I said before, sellers sell anything on here! And it's wonderful quality because an exact description of the product is listed. If you receive the item and it isn't up to par- guess what. You can return it for a full refund! I mean, it just keeps getting better and better, don't you think? The same concept applies for students that need items for a project. It isn't often that you can find homemade items in stores. Nowadays you have to make them yourself and then compile all of the pieces into one big presentation. But now that Etsy is here with each of her sellers, you have access to over 1,000,000+ homemade objects. How is it that students don't know about this website? Teachers can definitely use it to help give better examples for project ideas. Don't be the last to get on the bandwagon. Help yourself and your future students. As for me, I'll definitely be continuing my online addiction! ;)


Yours,
TPlummer