Thing # 12

Alright I admit it.  When I am trying to write a French sentence in class or a letter to my French speaking grandmother and it can't figure it out, I turn to Google translate.  I even have the free app on my phone.  But if I can wait a couple of hours for a response, then I'll email my French speaking relatives.  The problem with this though is I am impatient!  However, I only use this in a situation for a one or two word translation, NOT a whole sentence.  This is what people need to be weary about.  Google translate is good for figuring out how to say a word in another language, but not for sentence structure.  About 85% of the time it is right, but I have found out that when trying to translate French sentences, it didn't go so well (just ask my online workbook after I inputted Google translate's answers).   For foreign language students who need to know how to say a couple of words they are missing, then this is very useful, but don't get the idea that it does your written homework for you.  You still have to pay attention.  

 http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=&ie=UTF-8&text=I+use+this+way+too+much%21&sl=en&tl=fr


The next tool I chose to use was the iGoogle tool.  I went to click on it and figured out that a long time ago I actually set one up and logged into mine.  For those who don't have one, I recommend setting up one because when you log onto the internet, the page pops up and it has the weather, the current news, spotlight videos and a chat box for fellow gmailers and its new social network, Google+.  It also has a button that says add gadgets.  You can add games, various google apps and so much more.  Oh my they have yo mamma jokes to add!!!!!!!!! I added a few things like a link to facebook, the weather channel, this month in history, google calender and cute animal smiles, and yes there is a cute kitty smiling at me right now.  I just made a google+ account and its basically facebook, but it is by google.  This can be used for educational purposes because it is after all an internet database, but just geared more towards your interests.  You can still research things, do social networking, make to do lists and continually see when assignments are due and so on.  It's multi tasking at it finest.

Thing # 11

Finding good feeds to use can be irritating and troublesome, but I managed to land on an excellent one.  Technorati provided the best information while being easy to use.  I searched through the entertainment sections and it gave a brief synopsis of what the article was.  I prefer this tool over google blog search because it was more in depth ,and therefore I could really look at something before clicking it open.  The  google blog search was also easy and contained sites that had your typical business, politics, and entertainment blogs. However, I didn't like topix.net because it had too many components and too many things to look at!  It was just really irritating and confusing.  It didn't provide clear searches like google.  I didn't find any unusual feeds, but I did find plenty of useful ones.  So if you are looking for a blog to subscribe to or just want to browse, use the technorati tool.  It's as simple as typing in a keyword and finding exactly what you need without any hassle.

Thing # 10

Oh how I LOVE this Rss.  All of my blogs are in one place!  That means no more going to individual websites and looking for new information!!!!  What's even more awesome is that my Google Reader was already set up and my blogs, with the exception of my fellow student's blogs, was already in place.  Now all that's left to do is put my Google Reader on my favorites tab and everything I need is one click away!
      This is a great tool to use in the classroom because any information anyone needs can be saved to the Google Reader and can be easily located.  As a future history teacher, this will prove to be an important tool for research papers.  Students can easily access information from historical blogs and get an idea about a topic and be able to fully explore it for their paper.  However, this can be used for all subjects and as long as there is one computer in the classroom, students can take turn using the Google Reader.  It's not a hard tool to use or set up, so there isn't an excuse for teachers not to explore this valuable and free resource.
   

Thing # 9

                                         
I chose to explore the Happy Face Generator and Image Chef.  I started with the happy face generator and went to the smiley face logo.  There are so many different designs, but to get the full benefit I clicked on preview list and found logos made from buttons all the way to zebra print.  I chose the coffee beans because I love coffee and I chose this slogan because I say all the time.  After I played around with different logo types, I added my text and clicked submit.  I was able to save it to my computer and upload it here.
     The next place I explored was the image chef.  I scrolled down to the bottom and clicked on word mosaic. It took me to a blank pallet where I could then choose my background color and word outline color.  I was then able to chose a shape.  I chose the peace sign with the words peace in them.  You can choose whatever image and add different texts, along with different colors.
      I believe the smiley faces logo is a great tool for the classroom and library because you can write out different quotes and put them all around the room.  For example, as a history teacher I could use famous people's quotes, such as Martin Luther King's "I have a dream.." to celebrate Black History month.  The library could use quotes from books such as Harry Potter, to inspire more reading among students.  The image chef has so many components to it.  For example, the poster feature would be an awesome way to display student's pictures in the library who have high reading scores.
     As for personal use, there are many ways to utilize both these sites.  You can make advertisements, greeting cards and make personalized gifts.  Overall, this is a place to have fun and get creative.  Check out the links below and explore your creative side.  Peace out!

                                         

http://free.text2logo.com/smiley-faces.htm

http://www.imagechef.com/ic/word_mosaic/

Thing # 8

Mosaic Maker

http://bighugelabs.com/
     I decided to explore this website where you can mash up photos!  I love editing and doing crazy things to photos, so I decided I would explore this site and test my rabbit's photos out.  So what I did first was the mosaic maker.  Here you can select your rows and columns (I did 2 rows and 4 columns).  Next, you select a background color and a border color.  Then, you can upload a picture from your computer, or an album from Facebook (which is what I did) or from your Flickr account.  I love the mosaic maker because it allows many pictures to combine on one sheet.  This could definitely be useful in a classroom because you can place many different concepts on a scale like this.  You can also allow the children to design a concept a piece and then mash them all together on the mosaic maker.
     Next, I decided to try the Fx tool which allows you to transform your photos with special effects.  As you can see below, I took Boogie's picture (both are the same) and made it into a negative picture.  I adjusted the darkness of the negative because I wanted to bring out the bunny shape on her nose.  What I used next was the implode tool.  I imploded my poor rabbit on the highest setting which caused her head to disappear.  I believe I will take this picture home to show Boogie what will happen to her if she continues to be bad.  Back on topic, the Fx tool is something that students will get a kick out of, especially art students.  They can transform any photo they want and make it something so incredibly different.  I have had so much fun playing around with this tool.  I have been doing it for about an hour, playing with different photos and concepts.
     All of this is fun and games, but you do have to be careful with what you put online, especially when it comes to pictures.  I believe in sharing your life with your social family, but not in a provocative or disrespectful way.  Share what's decent but what you love; like an evil bunny!  Have fun photo chopping! 

Fx

Fx

Thing # 7

Exploring Flickr was a unique experience.  There were so many photos to look at when you typed in a key word.  What I really loved was the geotagged photos.  That is a place where you type in a country and it show you all the photos taken in that country.  For example, I typed in Egypt and all of these photos came up.  Some were of the scenery and some were of the historical tombs.  I then went to the most popular tags and clicked on London.  I found several fantastic pictures that people took.  However, I did have trouble copying the url and having the picture show up.  I had to instead save the picture to my computer and upload them from my files.  I chose this picture of the London Bridge because I absolutely love London.  I thought this picture by Hawkeye1967 (No real name was given) was magnificent.  This photo was taken on October 5, 2011.  Below is the link to the photo.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/40712218@N04/6811453371/  

Thing # 4

Everyone desires to be acknowledged and heard by their peers.  Commenting allows us to acknowledge and recognize people who we care about or who we feel their subject matter hits home.  It also allows us to engage in a "discussion board" to brain storm or share our stories and experiences.  However, there always needs to be a commenter etiquette.  Cool Cat Teacher makes a wonderful point when she illustrates that every comment should be meaningful and not a one word answer.  It makes it seem as though you don't care or have an opinion on the topic if you answer with a simple "Right!"  Tying in with the etiquette aspect of commenting, remember that Words are powerful and while they can encourage and provide positivity to people, they can also shatter them easily.  We are all guilty of posting negative comments at some point, and we all can work on that together through our blogs.  I have chosen to randomly follow Mrs. Miller, Future Teacher (Sabrina Miller), Goda's 23 Things (Christopher Goda), Rhodes 23 Things (Olivia Rhodes), Carroll's Cavern (Derek Carroll) and Melanie Perry's 23 Things (Melanie Perry).  All these students are from my current class and I have chosen to follow their blogs because we interact twice a week in class and I would like to get to know them better to see their ideas on teaching and other things.  I now come back to why I have chosen my fellow students blogs after reading them.  Their positivity, honesty and knowledge about their topics are outstanding.  I'm glad to be able to connect with everybody and not feel stupid about things I don't understand because I know my fellow students will help me.  I vow that all my comments will be positive and for those blogs that I have already commented on I hope you will see that.  For my additional blogs, I have decided to follow the History Blog and the Historical Blogs: Fiction and Fact.  I have chosen these two blogs because I love history and I will be teaching it.  I need to know as much as I can and also brainstorm with fellow history lovers as I continue to embark on yet more history classes with lots of research papers.  Here is the link for the History Blog http://www.thehistoryblog.com/  and the link for the Historical Blogs: Fiction and Fact http://historicalnovelblogs.blogspot.com/

Thing # 6

For Thing # 6 I chose Google Chrome because I adore it for several reasons: it's fast and it's easy to use.  For those who don't have Google Chrome, you can download it for free.  When you explore the site, it is broken down into five different categories where you can find information on what makes those individual sections so special.  A unique feature about Google Chrome is it's online store where you can buy different apps, extensions and themes.  I won't go into massive detail about Google Chrome simply because there is too much to talk about.  I will say, however, that I believe it will be useful in a school or library setting because of its simplicity and speed.  It's easy enough for all grade levels to navigate and whatever work or research they do, it will take less time to search for information.  Lastly, it is designed with security in mind, so feel free to explore the internet with it and if it does feel the site is unsecured, it will let you know and provide options for you.  But don't take my word for it.  Here is the url and have fun exploring!    https://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/more/index.html