Thing #3: Blog & Avatar

Creating this blog was a breeze. I already had the account set up, so I just added a new blog. I also customized the colors a little. Creating the account and the blog the first time was not difficult at all. The website walked me through some very simple questions. And then it was done!

The very new experience for me was the avatar. It was so fun to go through so many clothes, accessories, and themes. It reminded me of the Wii game in that the game, too, requires you to create a customized player. I would like to find new websites that provide avatars to allow my students to create their own. I know they would love to do this, but Yahoo is blocked in my district. Hopefully, I can either get them to unblock it, or I can find a different site to create them before the year begins again in August.

Thing #2: Life Long Learning Habits

Habits for lifelong learning:

The easiest habit for me would be to teach and mentor others. When practicing anything I always look for ways to teach it to someone else. That someone else can be anyone, family, co-worker, student, my own children. After teaching someone, I usually walk away with more confidence in what I am learning. To me, this relates a lot to teaching. In the classroom, I try to learn and prepare everything to teach a lesson. After I teach, I analyze my strengths and weaknesses, and I improve the next time I teach the same lesson. Every time I teach this lesson, I get better and better at it. Practice makes perfect!

On the other hand, the hardest habit would be to view problems as challenges. I can't help but panic a little when something doesn't go according to plan. My first reaction is usually a little panic, followed by frustration, and then comes the realization that I have to resolve the problem. At this point, I focus on the problem at hand and tackle it. It takes me time to start seeing my past problems as challenges that I had to face to learn something. Most of the time, problems for me are just challenging problems, and I need time to adjust before I can resolve effectively.

The tutorial was definitely enlightening. It helped me reflect on my already-existent habits and consider some new exercises to become a better learner.

Thing #1: Library Play

I am ready to explore. It is very exciting to play with technology, and now, I have a great opportunity to learn and discover. I hope to learn so many new things to incorporate in my classroom and future library.