Thing #4: Why Commenting is Important

I will continue to return to Thing #4.

Commenting provides feedback to the author and also gives blog visitors the opportunity to express their ideas about an author's posts. Commenting creates dialogue that leads to connections between people. People who are linked by common ideas tend to develop lasting social relationships. When you actively participate on a blog or a forum, you become a member of the online community. You begin to identify yourself with the group of individuals who participate. Social learning environments are, thereby, created through commenting. Commenting can lead to a priceless resource of practical knowledge. For example, if you want to know how to work on your off-road truck, you can join a blog or a forum and ask participants on the forum how to approach various maintenance tasks. If you have a question about the wiring in your house, there is a blog or a forum out there for you!

Two points from the reading that I thought were important come from the 10 Commandments website.

Be polite: I believe this is a general statement that should apply to all aspects of our lives. When you are commenting, there is no need to be rude or unnecessarily critical. A post is sometimes just a statement of opinion or perspective, and we are all entitled to them. Just because your opinion does not mesh with my opinion, it does not make either of us wrong. It makes us individuals. So be polite when posting and commenting.

Never flame: This is an issue I find especially important. The world wide web is out there for all of us to leave our mark on; however, acting in an insulting manner does not accomplish anything. All it does is hurt other people and ourselves. I personally lost what I thought to be a great friendship over a "misunderstood" flame blog post on my friend's blog. There is nothing worse than finding out how someone really feels about you by reading a blog post that is shared for all the world to see. So, be mindful of that when you write posts and comments. You are not the only person who can see what you write!


I selected the following Blogs to post comments on throughout the semester:

Classmate Blogs

Amelia Bedelia Becomes a Teacher (Amelia Crotzer)

• Posted a Comment March 11, 2009: I chose to respond to Amelia's post on Thing #5 because, like Amelia, I enjoyed the suggested reading for Thing #5.

Tink Time (Tanya Williams)

• Posted a Comment March 11, 2009: I chose to respond to Tanya's post on Thing #8 because we both used the Web 2.0 tool, Spell with Flicker, and I liked her classroom application ideas.

Blog by Bowman (Jeannie Bowman)

• Posted a Comment March 11, 2009: I chose to respond to Jeannie's post on Thing #7 because her pictures caught my attention! They are quite cute.

tdezellem (Theresa Dezellem)

• Posted a Comment March 11, 2009: I chose to respond to Theresa's post on Thing #5 because I wanted to express my thoughts on one of the articles she mentioned in her post.

The Cookin' Colonel's Corner (Dudley Griffin, Jr.)

• Posted a Comment March 11, 2009: I chose to respond to Dudley's post on Thing #5 because something he said in his post sparked a thought I wanted to express.

Outside Blogs

Scientific American: 60-Second Science Blog

• Posted a Comment March 11, 2009: I chose to respond to the post titled "I-slate: Electronic chalkboards being developed for students in developing nations" because it contained interesting information on a new form of technology that is currently being worked on for use in educational settings.

The Art of Teaching Science

• Posted a Comment March 11, 2009: I chose to respond to the post titled "From Volcanoes in Your Backyard to Snow in Mine" because the author mentioned Mount St. Helens, which I recently visited.

Thing #3: Register your Blog

I would love to create a blog for my students and their parents. It would be a great place to post classroom presentations on course material, assignments with rubrics, projects submitted by students, study guides, links to websites with challenging activities and tutorials, and detailed steps on how to do experiments at home. A blog would serve as a place where parents can see what their child and other students are doing in the classroom. Because the blog would not necessarily have to be limited to the information covered in the classroom, I believe it would be a great resource for students who take a deeper interest in the material. I also think a blog would serve as a great resource for a new teacher to post lessons learned for other new teachers.

Thing #2: Create a Blog, Add a Post and an Avatar

I relied on my interest in science, especially geology, to help me decide my blog title (Rogers' Science Spot), my posting name (Lady Rocks), and the features of my avatar. Creating the avatar was may favorite part of creating the blog, even though I had to switch browers around until I stopped receiving a flash download error. I finally got it to work under internet explorer. It was very fun to go through all the different clothes and backgrounds! I did find it a little difficult to add the avatar to my blog. In the end, I had to save the avatar to my computer. I kept receiving an invalid html address error when I tried to add the avatar using the html address. However, I did manage to add my avatar, as you can see! It sort of looks like me...I have brown hair and green eyes just like my avatar. I don't own a kakhi shorts outfit with a vest; however, I feel like the outfit speaks to my interests. I would have preferred a hiking pack and some long pants!

Thing #1: Lifelong Learners

After watching the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners video, I chose the easiest and hardest habit for me to follow. One of the easier habits for me is habit #2 (Accept responsibility for your own learning). I feel like I am already bearing the fruit of this habit by returning to school to pursue a master's degree. One of the more difficult habits for me is habit #6 (Use technology to your advantage); however, I am already starting to feel much more confident with my use of technology just from the brief technology exposure I have experienced through this course. I am beginning to realize that I knew more than I thought I did! However, I am no expert, and as such I feel this course will continue to increase my comfort level with aspects of technology I can utilize in both the classroom and in my personal life (which before I have been reluctant to explore). I am eager to know what else is out there in the great world of web 2.0 tools, because I have already been surprised by a few things I did not know existed!

Setting up the blog was incredibly simple. It literally takes less than 5 minutes...excluding the time it takes to think of a blog title, of course. Considering the whole process, thinking of a title and signature name were the hardest parts!