Thursday, July 31, 2008

Thing 20

Thing 20

I had lots of trouble getting a video into my blog. Took several attempts. Google has several good tuitorials including Gimp tuitorials. Teacher Tube, again, had very little of interest. The advice about evaluating web sites was really good to remember: Credibility, accuracy, reasonableness, support. ePals, ning, podo matic, wikispaces are worth investigating for classroom use.
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=f70780820e714a3fcce8

Thing 19

I spent way too much time on this one. Kept finding interesting places and stayed there too long when I arrived. I opended an account with Stumble Upon and found some great art places such as Drawspace.com. I registered with Drawspace and tagged some great tuitorials and print outs for class on color, drawing, perspective, and shading. Metacafe has many useful videos. I found several about Op Art that I can use for school. Also found Color Blender which will be useful for color theory lessons. I joined The Million Masterpiece and created a digital painting. Students of all ages can participate in this. It is a forum about art.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Thing 18

I think there are many good uses for the online documents offered in OpenOffice2. The advantages are that kids can download and use them at home, free. The draw capabilities are adequate for basic work and you can create Flash versions of your work. The multi-media presentations have lots of good tools and can also be converted to Flash versions. Also, you can save your work in different formats like MS Word. However, most teachers already have all the MS suite at school. Perhaps they might use Open Office2 at home, however. The presentation limitations will make it impossible for me to create slide shows because of all the visuals I use. They make the files very large. Lastly, the calendar is not easy to use. It would work better if you could simply click in the field and type everything directly or at least add everyting to one field. I could not figure out how to do this. I do not foresee ever using these Online Productivity Tools but it is nice to know that they exist. I may find a use for them in the future.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Thing 17

Although I can see the benefits of Rollyo, I am a little frustrated with it. I added my on Searchroll and listed several links to it. But the links are supposed to be short. When I find a page I like and right click on the link, it is frequently very long. So, I shortened it when I could and did not add the others. When I searched other Searchrolls, I found very little that relates to what I teach. When I did find something, I could not click on the links to get to the site. I had to copy and paste in to a new Google page to get there. When I tried to get back to Rollyo from there, I could not. I tried twice to import my bookmarks and I have no idea where they landed. I have no doubt that this is from user error. Perhaps Bruce will help me when school starts.

Thing 16

I plan to add a link to my blog from my web page. I would also like to create a wikki for students to add information about a topic. Fpr example: they could post the Famous Artist Trading Cards or Traidng Cards about a research topic. All would be included in one spot so they could see everyone's work. I will continue to look for wikkis by artists.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Thing 15

Libraries must expand their horizons and offer a variety of ways to access and organize information. People do not attend libraries as frequently as they did in the past. Digital learning and gathering of information is more often used than going to a library to collect information. Most libraries do not have much of the information I look for and I am forced to buy books online or through retail outlets in order to get information I need. Journal articles, magazines, a wide variety of books, and video should be offered through libraries through the internet. Online classes would be nice as well. Also, if classes and workshops were offered to communities through libraries on weekends and evenings, there might be greater participation and involvement from the community. Linking to libraries all over the world, expanding databases, and setting up blogs, virtual book studies and online classes would make libraries more useful to teachers and students of all ages. Lastly, people would be more inclined to linger and enjoy the library atmosphere is there were nice, comfortable areas to sit, and perhaps a coffee-shop available (Starbucks style). People love to "gather and discuss" over coffee or tea.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Thing 14

I did not find Technorati very helpful. I entered searches for 5 different topics of interest and got only a few items that were of interest. Perhaps I did something wrong. When I entered School Library Learning 2.0 I got the same items every time. Perhaps I'll persue it later.

Thing 13

First, I investigated del.icio.us and several art lessons and tuirotials that were excellent. One was drawspace.com (http://www.drawspace.com/) with tons of really good art lessons and a blog. I can really use this. I'm so excited. I tagged about 40 articles. I made a few comments along the way. I'm so glad to know how to tag these places since I have so many of them and organization and finding content has been a major problem for me. It will be nice to be able to access these places at school and at home. I'm anxious to share my bookmarks with other teachers and friends. And I think its fabulous to be able to click on a tag and have all the articles appear! How did I ever live without this. I'm going to use http://gardenofpraise.com/art.htm for kids to study famous artists. It has interactive drawing, print outs, samples of art, and other activities. I've got around 50 links on del.icio.us.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Thing 12

I just commented on Amazon.com. regarding a kitchen item with which I have had considerable problems. I've also left posts on The People's Chemist, on Dr. Hayla Cass's blog, and Dr. Mercola's page, and 5 of our participants' blogs. Two of the most important points about commenting are to refrain from silly comments like, "Whoa...me, too!" or comments that are off topic. Also, one should always be polite and respectful and not attack other bloggers if they don't agree with you. I made a del.icio.us account because blogger was not listed on one of the blogs I commented on. I did finally find a blog about a health issue I've been researching.

Thing 11

I registered for an account and added 6 books. I only found comments on one of the books. I joined two groups. When I looked for groups about topics I'm most interested in other than art, I found very little. Many of the groups were dormant or had little participation. But I did find a lot about art related topics such as papermaking and bookbinding. I don't think I will use this one very much but it was nice to look around. I tried to attach a widget to my blog and couldn't make it work.

Art Rocks!

personalized greetings

A Tribal Moment (I'm allowed!)

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

Flower Name


ImageChef.com Flower Text

Thing 10

I spent way too much time on this one. I can think of tons of places to use many of the things I've created and posted. The Custom Sign Generator can be used to post messages around my room such as instructions, rules, or subject content. The following places are good for this: Image Chef http://imagechef.com/ (the tattoo amd the video) / Custon Soign Generator http://www.customsigngenerator.com/ (the No Gum Allowed) / Bib Huge Labs: http://bighugelabs.com/flikr/ (the Motivator section was used to insert one of my paintings and create a poster.) I can see using this to highlight student art and either print it out or send it to parents or other people. I used the Trading Card Maker to make a promo piece for a piece of my art. I elaborated in a previous blog. I enjoyed playing with the flowers image at image chef. Got it from Erin's blog. http://www.imagechef.com/ic/flowers/

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Thing 9

This was not my favorite exercise. But I got a few things out of it. I added Classroom 2.0 and the Math Forum to my feed list and both look promising. I just clicked on the orange symbol. Bloglines didn't yield much that was useful regarding secondary art and it was really slow to load. Edublogs was not easy to understand. I never found a place to do a search and gave up. School Library blogs was not useful. Topix yielded nothing of interest. Technorati had a little bit but when I clicked on abstract painting (for example), there was nothing available. The easiest method for me is simply to use a search box. Its nice if catagories are available that pertain to my interests but they are often not. Bloglines was the easiest to use. I found no additional ways to locate feeds other than a search box or stumling across a feed through another post. I like the idea of the Circle of the Wise. I'd like to find art teachers out there. I'm sure they are there, I just have to dig a little deeper.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Thing 8

I subscribed to my Google Reader and added several feeds. http://www.google.com/reader/view/#overview-page
I like to be able to get current info. without sorting through endless useless web pages. I like to know that if there are changes or updates, they will come to me and I won't miss anything important. What a great time saver! I will use this to stay current with my favorite health/nutrition sites as well as my art sites for school. I also found a Spaish Word for the Day site that will send me a new word each day. Libraries can use this to connect to publishers for alerts about new books on the market.

Thing 7

I created a Google Calendar and I like the way it prints. No wasted space and large areas for each day. I'll set up my school calendar here. I created a Google Notebook and listed a few places of interest. I like being able to attach tags to tell me what the link is about. This will help me research a topic and organize my links better than can be done in Favorites. Students can use this for research as well. http://www.google.com/notebook/?hl=en#b=BDT3iIgoQ5dSHh68j
Google Scholar really simplifies searches and goes to truly relevant places. Google Advanced Search provided some really nice slide shows that can be used in the classroom as is or modified. I found some good tuitorials in Atomic Learning that I'd like to go back to.

Thing 6

I hope to be able to use API (Application Programming Interface) in the future. Sounds interesting. The tools are so much fun. I can visualize kids creating color schemes with th Palette Generator. This would help with interior design. A room can be designed around a work of art. The Warholizer & Hockneyizer can be applied to student art or photos to help teach the style of these artists. I can use the Calendar to feature student art for the year to promote my program. Trading Cards can be made by students to feature themselves and their work or to learn elements/principles of art or famous artists...literally "artist" or "art" cards. Poster Maker can be used to post information around the school or I can create posters of art info. that I want posted in my room. Can't wait to use them. I made my own Trading Card.

Thing 5

I finally feel like I'm accomplishing something. I'm very visual so I feel satisfied that my blog is up and working and I have "decorated" it with some of my art.
I love Flickr. It is truly a place to share and connect with people of similar interests. I'm relieved that there are some features that offer control over copyrights and access abilities. Nonetheless, simply posting photos and art will leave them open for infringement. But this is true anywhere on the web.
Since I am an art teacher, I visualize students taking their own digital photos, uploading them to Flickr, and posting comments on each others' work. Hopefully, other adults/art teachers (besides me) will comment on their work so that they can gain some perspective about their work. The only problem is...where can I get digital cameras and enough computers for them to use. Perhaps in the future.
From an instructional standpoint, I would love to make demo videos for kids to access on a dedicated computer so that they can review at whatever pace is needed. It is not possible to repeatedly demonstrate how a project is to be done. It would require too much time and materials. A video would solve the problem and kids could look at whatever part they needed. Absent kids could get caught up also.
I could not figure out how to save the image I selected from Marketseq's Photostream. His work is "breathtaking." I must not lose it. I'll try again.

Thing 4

I had some trouble finding my blog today after setting it up yesterday. Found it again by adding a comment to someone else's post. I think the / was missing at the end of my url. I'll re-register to make sure it "took."

Thing 3

Setting up my blog went fairly smoothly but not entirely straight forward. I had fun with the avatar. I must have tried on every single background, outfit, and hair style. I settled on the Taj with me in an Indian Sari because I just returned from 2 weeks in India. I'm glad/relieved to have my blog set up now. I've never had one before. Should be an interesting adventure.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Thing 2

I never thought of a blog as a memo to the world. Good analogy. I never thought about how blogs can impact politics, learning, journalism, and spreading information about every imaginable subject. This opens up endless possibilities for the use of blogs for teachers and students. Also, those who might not have a voice otherwise can express themselves through blogs and perhaps find someone to listem. I like the ability to control who participates in the blog and to control the content. And to be able to send a blog through your phone and email is equally impressive.
Setting up the blog and the avator went a little slowly but I got though it. Now I feel like I've accomplished something. And to create a post and actually have it show up is equally satisfying!

Thing 1

I hope to learn about blogging and using various technologies such as video, pictures, podcasts and anything else that will be offered. I've never had this opportunity before and I know I will use use everything.
I am glad to know that lifelong learning encompases so many different activities...not just formal channels such as attending classes. Opportunities to learn exist at all ages and in all contexts.
As I read the 7 1/2 Habits, I liked the remark in Habit 1 giving permission to modify learning as one goes along. Viewing problems as challenges, not set backs, will help me focus as I go along. I liked the reference to the toolbox of books, classes, friends, technology, etc. as tools for learning. The reminder that teaching and mentoring others reinforces our own learning was appreciated. And thanks for permission to play. We always need to rememnber to play each day.
Regarding the contract, the easies part will be to set goals. The hardest part wil be getting rid of interruptions and obstacles as I try to work.