Thing 6

I chose Etsy.com.  I absolutely LOVE Etsy!!!!  I even have an Etsy app on my phone.  Since I am an artist and a future art teacher Etsy is right up my alley.  Etsy is a website that is similar to ebay but the difference is that everything on Etsy is handmade.  They have just about anything you can think of.  As an artist I know how difficult it can be to sell your work.  Etsy is a sight that makes it so easy for artists and crafty people to put their pieces in their own "store" and make some money!  I think this would be a wonderful website to share with my future students.  Often people think of becoming an artist only means a future of struggling to survive.  I would love to show them this outlet to display and sell their work.  It's also a great place for ideas and inspiration.  I just love this site....it's a place where artists come together.

www.etsy.com

Thing 4

Commenting is important because it makes the blogger feel they are being listened to and that someone cares about what they are talking about.  Although I have never blogged before I do have a facebook account I know that it makes me feel good to know that people take the time to read what I have said and to comment.  I like to know other peoples thoughts about what I have said.  I know it creates a sense of community because people are able know people think the same way as they do when someone comments.

On the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, they say that "you show the author that you hear them."  I completely agree with this.  I know that if I post something and no one responds I have all these thoughts pop into my head.  Did no one read my post?  Why did no one read my post?  Did no one care about what I had to say?  Maybe these are just insecurities in my head but this part of the article made me think I'm not the only one.

When reading "10 Techniques to get more comments on your blog" I thought that when he said "Interact with comments left" that this was very important.  If someone takes the time to post a comment on your blog I believe it is a must for you to respond.  You should continue the conversation and acknowledge what they said.

The classmates blogs I chose to follow and comment on are: Alyssa Kniffen, Kelley Poole, Natasha Pentacost, Morgan Garton and Katie Robello.  I chose these blogs because I liked what they had to say and felt like they had given good information.


I chose to follow a blog called Art with Mr. E. This is a blog that is from an art teacher in Nashville, TN. I like to look at this blog to see what a local art teacher has to say. Mr. E shows his students work on his blog. He has links to TAEA and NAEA. He has a Wish List of things he needs for his classroom. He has important artists birthdays listed, museum website links and examples of his own artwork.
http://artwithmre.blogspot.com/



The other blog I chose to follow is Adventures of an Art Teacher. I first looked at this blog just because the name is funny and I liked it. This art teacher is an elementary art teacher. She has examples of her students work. Each grade as a link on the page. She has project examples and pictures of her ideas and samples. The main reason I like this blog is because she has a huge list of other art education blogs listed on her blog.
http://artteacheradventures.blogspot.com/

Thing 5

School 2.0 to me means a school that is using the web for best, most up to date, information for it's faculty and students.  Schools that understand and know how to use the internet in the most helpful ways can only benefit.  Students love technology and will be more interested in subject matter that incorporates technology.  It may take teachers longer to appreciate School 2.0 but they should embrace it.  I believe schools of the future should be fully integrated into School 2.0.  These tools make information easier to obtain and more easily passed from person to person. 

Thing 3

I am excited about this blog!  I have never had one before, so this is all new to me but I think it will help me keep track of all the info I learn in this class.  I have a tendency to learn lots of things on the computer and then once I don't use them all the time I forgot them.  So I think this will be a great tool for me to always be able to look back at and remember what I learned.  I am going to be an art teacher once I graduate.  In art it is often helpful to keep a journal of your ideas and inspirational words or pictures.  I think a blog is a great way for my future students to do this.  Having a list of your favorite ideas and photos right at your finger tips could be very helpful for an artist and art students.  They can blog from home or school and probably from their phones too. Then when that next art project is assigned and they need ideas, they will have some where to start.

Thing 2

I decided to use my real name for my blog.  I first thought I should come up with something unique and creative but decided just to stick with my name, so that people who know me can find it easily.  Creating the blog was easy and fun.  I've never created a blog before and I loved being able to select my back ground and theme and change the font styles.  I think I changed everything ten times already!  I also had never created an avatar.  This too was pretty easy and fun.  I made my avatar pretty accurate to what I actually look like.  I made my avatar have a skirt which I rarely wear but I just thought it looked cuter with my avatars outfit.  I also put a laptop in my avatars hand.  I wanted to put a paint brush or something pertaining to art but didn't see anything like that.  So I chose the laptop.  I have my laptop with me all the time so I thought it was fitting.

Thing 1 continued...

Of the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners, the easiest one for me is "Having confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner."  I recognize through out my life, when I have tried my best to study and learn I have always been able to accomplish my goals.  There may be times when things didn't go as I expected but as long as I stayed on track and didn't give up I was able to achieve my goals. The most difficult of the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners, for me would be to "Create your own learning toolbox."  I am a non traditional student, a wife and mother of two little boys and often times I am stressed and things are scattered.  I know that I need to find a way to better manage my time.

Thing 1

Life long learning is something that I am passionate about.  I am a nontraditional student, so I personally believe it's never too late to finish what you started.  You are never too old to learn a new skill.  Also I think to keep your mind young you must keep your mind active.  I love to read and learn as many new skills as I can.  I would like to learn as much as I can about web tools.  I know I have a lot to learn and I think knowing as much about web tools as I can will only help me in my future teaching career.  Students love technology.  I have never set up a blog before but so far this has been fairly easy. I'm just excited about this class and the potential that comes with it.