Thing #5

Flicker is a great site. My students used it for two different projects this year and were very successful. They were surprised to be able to find so many pictures not copyright protected. Our librarian stresses the importance of that, but they tend to think they have to go to Google to find what they need. By the end of the year, they immediately started with Flicker.

This picture of Scottish Highland "coos" brings back fabulous memories from our vacation two years ago.

Thing #4

After two minor setbacks, I finally accomplished Thing #4. Now, I'm happy to be starting the fun things. Some are familiar, and some are new, so let the games begin.

Thing #3

Setting up the blog was not difficult, but dealing with the avatar was another thing. First, the word reminded me too clearly of the movie which I hated. I know. . .I'm one of a very few on the planet who felt that way, but I was not excited about creating an avatar for myself. That may have had something to do with my initial problems with the process, but I was finally able to accomplish it. In the end, I was very happy I was able to accomplish Thing #3 without help, and I was glad to see that the hardest part is over!

Thing #2

The 7 1/2 Traits were very interesting. For me, the easiest one is to begin with an end in mind. I think it comes naturally to me, but, also, my training as a teacher in writing curriculum, units, and lesson plans has shown me that if you don't begin with the end result as a goal, you could end up anywhere.

The hardest trait for me is to playfully use technology to my advantage. Is that one or two traits? I have willingly, with our librarian's fabulous help, introduced new technology, such as Keynote and IMovie, to my 6th grade GT students, but, although the students had a great time, it was really work, not play, for me. One of my main goals in taking this inservice is to become familiar with technology available to my students and to me so I can playfully enjoy it with them.