I looked at several different blogs before I decided on the five that really interested me the most. The first blog I went to was Mark's Edtech Blog. He had the students reading blogs instead of reading books during their D.E.A.R. Time (Drop Everything and Read).  I thought it was a creative way to get his students interested in reading.  The second blog I read, Missing Ducks was about different second graders writing a blog to an answer a question about a missing duck.  Related to the 1st blog that I read, it was another creative way to get students to learn.  The third blog was by David Truss.  This article shows us how the views of children in regards to technology and writing have changed.  A student had written in her homework in her agenda for Monday.  On Tuesday, since the homework was the same as the night before, instead of writing it again, she circle what she has written on Monday, wrote the work Copy, and then wrote the word Paste on Tuesday.  My fourth blog was by Clarence Fischer.  He wrote on “Bias in the Classroom".  He had his students look at pictures and try to explain what was happening.  On one picture there were two girls whispering to each other.  Under the picture there were two statements.  One stated that they were telling secrets.  The other was, the girl was asking a question and did not want to disturb the other students.  It shows that everything has two sides.  The last blog was by Mrs. Edmison.  Her students wrote a letter to an author.  Instead of just writing her a letter and then sending it.  The class wrote a blog.  The author wrote back to the class on the blog.  I also liked the fact that each student was listed and they had their own blog that they could comment on as well.
      Reading a blog is different from just reading a web site on-line.  With a blog you have the choice to comment on what you are reading.  This way the author of the blog can get feedback about what he/she wrote.
     Contributing to blogs makes you connected to other people.  It is an interactive way to communicate.  Also, when people comment on your blog or vice versa, you are getting feedback about what you wrote.  Are there others that agree/disagree with you?

      When I started this course, I had never heard of Web 2.0.  I went and asked my brother who is the Computer Science field, if he had ever heard of this before.  He had and explained a little more than what was written on the site.  I found Web 2.0 interesting, that the internet is now not just getting information passively (one-way street) but not it is a two-way street.  You can get the information off the web but you can also give back.  You can give your knowledge to other people on the web.
    
     At school right now, each month, each teacher has to write a blog about a specific topic.  It is very interesting to see what other teachers at my school feel about this topic.  Even teachers who teach the same grade/subject might see what we teach differently.  You see your colleagues in a different light.

     I feel that this new tool will help teach our young learners that the internet is not a one-way street, which you can engage with other people across the ocean or in the same school.  It also is another way to express their feeling and thoughts.  That is not just pencil and paper anymore.

      The habit that is the most challenging for me is seeing a problem as a challenge.  A lot of the time, when a problem arises, I see it as a crisis and I sometimes will stress about it.  Over this course, I want to see problems that I might occur as a challenge to overcome.  I need to step back and look at the problem and not give up right away but look at it at different angles and try to solve it

     The habit that will be easiest for meas a lifelong learner is teaching and mentoring others.  As a teacher, on a daily basis, I am teaching and mentoring my students.  I enjoy helping others understand new concepts.

     The habit that will be most important for me throughout this course will be the habit of “Play”.  I learn best when I can actually explore or play with something new.  If someone tries to explain something to me, I have a hard time remembering what they were trying to teach me.  However, if I can sit down and “do” what is being explained to me, I am more likely to remember it.