Thing #3- use of blogs

Having a published blog that my students and their parents will be able to access will help them to understand where I am coming from, as well as know what my beliefs and expectations are of them as well as of myself. I could also use it to post upcoming assignments, and as a way to get feedback from the students or their parents on what assignments they liked or what I could change that they didn't feel went so well. Having feedback is going to be so important during our first years teaching, so that we know if we are on target or not. By using the blog to gather this information, no one will feel threatened or defensive because we may not agree with each other.



I'm not sure that I am fully comfortable with the idea that anyone can access a blog and feel like they know you. It takes time to build a relationship, and by reading what is written some may form the wrong opinion. The written word is so powerful, and in the wrong hands it can destroy so much. It's sort of like having my facebook page, I don't want to see if I can have the most friends, I want to feel connected to the ones that are my friends. I don't see how connecting to someone through someone else is then considered to be a friend and can access your information.

How I came to make my avatar

In picking out my avatar, I looked first at the clothing, and found the outfit with the really pretty color. I love to wear blues and greens, my friends say that they bring out my eye color. Then I found the dog, it looks like my Husky Tasha that I had just adopted from the pound. Then I found the background, and I love the idea of being in the park with my grandchildren playing on the swings. Lastly I found the hair style, it does not look like mine it is to light, but the brown was to dark, so since this is a fantasy me blond is what I will be.

My background was chosen because of my families history of Breast Cancer, and I would like to make everyone aware of the threat of this disease and remind them to do their annual and monthly breast exams. This disease is treatable if we catch it early enough.

Lifetime learners

In viewing the lifetime learners presentation, I was interested in what was presented. As a non-traditional student who has reentered the learning arena I believe that habit 2 will be the most beneficial to me. I need to accept responsibility for my own learning and own my abilities as well as the areas that have presented more of a challenge. For example at home I have 2 PCs both Dell's that I work on, here in school we are using the Apple:Mac, which I find flustering due to the different programs. I know I will be able to understand the programing on a basic level by the time we are finished with our class, but until that time...I will continue to pull my hair out as we navigate through PodCast, WebQuest, and most of all drawing the classroom in the Word program! All new and quite challenging to me. I think I will print out the 7 1/2 habits of Lifetime learners and give it to my grandchildren as well as keeping a copy posted in my office so that I can remember to be an effective lifetime learner.