Thing 6

The mashups exercise was brand-new to me.  I had not heard of this type of Web 2.0 product before, but I am glad to know about it now.  I really had fun with the Bookr site and had decided to create a book about my favorite time of year (there's a reason I married in October!).  I then went to the FD Toys' Trading Card Maker and found it much easier to work with, especially if I have my 3rd and/or 4th grade students use this.  I was thinking that perhaps they could make a trading card of their favorite Bluebonnet book.  Last year I had my 2nd grade students make a trading card of their favorite library book, with the copyright date, number of pages, etc. be the statistics section.  For this exercise, I decided to turn my Bookr idea into a Library Trading Card about why the fall is my favorite time of the year.

Thing 5

This time I played around with and explored the Flickr site.  Looking at pictures is always fun, which made this site easy to get lost in.  I just completed the YA novel, Peak by Roland Smith, for the Young Adult literature class.  This book is about a teenage boy who is trying to climb the world's highest mountain - Mount Everest in the Himalayas.  Would you believe I found a picture of Mount Everest on the Flickr site?  I just happened to stumble across it, which made the find even more fun.  One disappointment:  there were so many watermarks to let you know that it was NOT a free photo it was a little distracting.  Even one of the commentors on the picture suggested that the photograph's markings were a little over-the-top.  I guess the photographers set that part up for themselves rather than the site itself.  I was still able to enjoy the picture by trying to focus on the scene that I had already imagined while reading the book.

I did, however, find quite a number of bluebonnet pictures that were free to use.  I chose this one because I like how the fog is just lifting from the flowers. 

Thing 4

I have been invited to continue with the 23 Things blog by my professor, Vaughn Branom.  Yea me!

Thing 3

This was not easy for me.  If it weren't for my wonderful friend Christi it would not have come together very well.  I think that I just may like this blogging business - stay posted, I'll let you know as the semester progresses.  Thanks Christi!

Thing 2

Of the 7 1/2 habits, the easiest for me to follow would be habit 1 - Begin with the end in mind.  I have always been a list maker and a planner.  My lists don't start with the beginning; I start it at the bottom of the page and write down steps I think need to be taken as I work my way up the page.

The hardest habit for me is #6 - Use technology to your advantage.  Even tonight, when I was having some trouble setting this blog up, my first reaction was to call John and have him fix it for me.  And being the person he is, he always fixes the problem without explaining to me what the issue was or even how he solved it.  He's my crutch, and we've both become comfortable in our roles.