FINAL THOUGHTS

I truly enjoyed this aspect of the project. The 23 Things truly enhanced my learning experience in this class. I was able to apply so many of the 23 things to my personal and professional life. I made this a family affair with my children. There are many of the applications that they learned to use as well. Flickr was probably one of the best assets within the tools for me. Simply because so many applications are linked to the images I store there. I loved the application that made the simple little videos. More than likely I will not add to this blog...but I will begin a new one for my publishing company. When I become a teacher, I will again, create a blog for my students and parents. Finally...the end is near for this experience. (LOL) Yet, I will forever incorporate so many of the 23 things that I was exposed to into my daily life. Thank You!

THING NO. 23- Thoughts on Creative Commons and Copyrights

Thanks to creative commons the above link was where our 23 Things Journey was spun from. It was sited at the bottom of our blog by Dr. Wall. I truly enjoyed the experience. Concerning Creative Commons, I appreciate the effort that is trying to be made here. I believe in the impact that education can make on this issue. I realize that reality clearly is far from a society who respects the creator of any piece of work. I hope that in my classroom, I can do my small part by at least making students aware and educated on what is acceptable...and clearly what is not. I spoke in an earlier blog about the media summit I attended last week. My eyes were opened to how major market industry visionaries see the creator of music as a sole giver to the business. Meaning, they said basically "give your music away for free" because people are going to get it if they want it anyway. This side of the playing field encouraged more branding and merchandise sales than they did stressing with copyrights and protecting original works. Yes, I know what side of the industry these expert panels worked for, which are the artists. I really have no idea what some of these people would sing without the songwriter who makes their dream a profession. Comments like that may only make sense to people like me who fight to protect songwriters but, it simply makes zero sense to not hold value to the people who truly create. Today, most major artist are not writers. If you see their name as a songwriter on a song you can assume that a majority of the time the artist agreed to cut the song only if they would give him or her songwriting credit. Yes, this is how it works and if I am ever placed in that situation I do not know how I will handle it...hopefully calmly. Yet, when we get into copyrights and creative commons often sharing is caring for a while. In fact, hearing our music is a bonus in all directions. It is when other writers and artist steal ideas and music and re-write original works that a major line has been cross. I have ran into this issue once. I can not say the artist because I was not the publisher on the particular song that Kenneth Duncan wrote. Yet, the song ended up on a major artist's album the following year after a song was written and then knock-off written by consulting writers...basically they put their networking skills to the test and banked on it.

THING NO. 22 Thoughts on Livebinders

The three educational binders I made were educational technology, teaching math, and special education. I included my educational technology binder. What I did with this binder is incorporate all the things I found the most useful within 23 things. I now have a binder to keep these things forever organized. I can build upon and share my findings as much as I need to. In the classroom I can keep binders for each subject area. I can begin to build up material that is useful and works for me. Sharing is made easy and so does the process of placing links in each tab of the binder. In addition, the tabs make it even more organized by breaking down the sites into specific subtabs. I have to say this beats storing up papers and books and well, literal binders. These livebinders are a virtual tool to relieve the classroom of clutter. As a teacher, I think I will use this site to place all my materials I find useful.

THING NO.21 Thoughts on Animoto

This was absolutely my favorite "Thing" to do! My entire family enjoyed this. We have made all kinds of videos. I will probably purchase a package that allows us to use this for full length videos so we can get creative with our music...and make music videos. For this project, I took my instagram (OMG do I love love this app!) photos and uploaded them to the site as well as a song of ours written by Kenneth Duncan and Josh Dunne. I created a cute little clip from our launch party. I think it turned out rather fitting and useful! In addition, this was so simple. I downloaded the application to my phone as well. I was very impressed how I was able to load pictures from any outlet to include my photo albums in facebook. Last, please take a took at my video. I placed it at the top of my blog :)

THING NO. 20 Thoughts on YouTube

Currently, YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind Google! I have recently discovered the many uses of this site concerning marketing. In the past, I simply viewed it as a storage place for videos, to include music or any other type of video. Yet, it is more than that as we all know. It has produced fame and generates popularity among viewers...when incorporated into social communities another factor plays part. Viewers who share their favorite videos on facebook and/or twitter for example create potential for videos to go viral.

YouTube videos are great teaching tools. Yet, having students engage in search techniques may not be a good idea. I find YouTube as the best asset on the web for tutorials and things of that nature. I think YouTube will be a large part of my classroom!

THE CHOICE - OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO [Billy Gilman and 18 Top Country Artists]

This song was written and produced by Mr. Philip Douglas. He is a co-writer on a large portion of the songs we own at AGSMP. His success on this project is an all around blessing. It is very purposeful. I encourage you to watch the video and download the song from iTunes. 1 download = 1 pair of shoes for children and individuals in need all over the world.

THING NO. 19 Thoughts on other Social Networks

I know you guys get tired of hearing my music stuff, but it is so much of what I have been doing lately... besides these classes for my graduate program. :) So, yes, I try to make my presence known in all Social Networks available. These communities are the heart of the music industry today. It has vastly evolved even from the day of cd sales. iTunes and YouTube's true impact on the revenue on cd sales is obviously a sore subject in the industry...or is it? Well, it is according to which side of the fence your on...and trust me it is the songwriters and publishers affected the most in the modern music world. If you can not keep up in all social medias, you are way behind in the game. I encourage everyone to add music artist to your page. Becoming their friend will keep you exposed to the latest trend of social media...there life depends on these communities to build fan bases and help brand their name.

I "make" myself use other communities outside of facebook. In fact, I am so grateful for the applications that link all of my communities together. When I update, they all are updated all at once. I feel like home is with facebook. There is simply so much it has to offers that I see no point in reinventing the wheel.

THING NO. 18 Thoughts on Social Networking

I created a Twitter account for this class earlier in the semester and placed a link on my blog for others to follow me on Twitter. Clearly, we are a very social culture and facebook has taken social networking to a level that no other social platform has been able to. I attended the Digital Media Music Summit last week at TPAC in Nashville, TN. I was able to gain insight about social media and found it absolutely remarkable how much of our lives are embedded into its existence.  It has become a science...or mathematical concept that business almost completely relies on...or at least the music business. Basically, learning the "system" of how facebook and other social medias work is and should be the goal of each and every artist and company representing an artist today.

If, and it is a huge "IF" I used a social media in the classroom it would be a blog or Twitter. I find that the limited accessible interaction that is capable of becoming more personal than educational is risky for a teacher. I am following Stanford University on Twitter with my account for this class. It is absolutely saturated in valuable information within Tweets. In addition, its current ongoing information that I, as the reader can now be exposed to that would not happen without social media.

In a classroom, ongoing communication is valuable for students, teachers, and parents. The best way is through a social network like facebook. The safest way seems like a blog. There are many ways that these medias are made private and limited for uses by teachers. If anything, It is great for a community of teachers to have and engage in.

Other social networks to be familiar and engage within include tumblr, google+ and foursquare to name a few!

THING NO. 17 Thoughts on Delicious

Bookmarking and tagging becomes organized with Delicious. I can think of so many things that make this site useful to my life. By habit, I will focus on research and gather sources for a paper or project with no intention of doing more than gathering it.  I may not come back to it for a week or longer. Bookmarking sites and filing those into a stack that is accessible when I come back to it seems so much easier.  In addition, If working on a group project, it would be easy to access each others sources. In business, I can take a project I am working on and gather all the best information I can find and file it so that I can come back to it at any date.

I began a stack named "Songplugger". I am in the process of hiring a songplugger for my publishing company. This is the hardest and most important task as my role as a publisher. I was able to view sites and then files those together by clicking on Delicious that I added to my tool bar. Delicious' resourceful bookmarking strategy goes steps beyond a simple journal and makes tagging another luxury of this tool. Tags are the best way to find material that is available on a certain subjects or in relation to key words that become tags by the author or user. For instance, when we searched educational technology many useful links were displayed. Clicking on a tag would serve the same way on this site. Comments were displayed to add further ratings on the bookmark or tag.

I see many uses for this in the classroom. As I mentioned, how useful it would be for me as a student above on research projects. It would be the same for any student. A teacher could make a stack for her classes with valuable resources that could be accessed from anywhere by any number of students.

THING NO. 16 Thoughts on Getting Organized with 2.0 Tools

Me? Organized? Ha! I am not sure there is a tool out there capable. I would love to see that day come before my days are over...Who knows maybe technology is the answer. I admit my iPhone in collaboration with my fiance' keeping me working towards the organization goal has helped over the last couple of years. I felt like this discovery was a repeat in some ways. I had already created a home page on iGoogle when we did Thing 10. It is my homepage that I keep and use.  iGoogle homepage really is such an asset for my business and personal life. I play around with gadgets often. I will add and take away. Usually, after realizing they are just taking up space I will remove as needed.  I keep what I find useful and that usually is calendars.It is for that reason I checked out 30 Boxes. I thought is was a pretty cute little tool. I have is displayed on my blog. When I forget things, it makes for a bad day. So, having checklist and calendars is a must. I use the one on my phone most often. I read on someones blog that the MSN calendar linked to their phone and you could view it from your device. That is what I need in a calendar. The one on iGoogle sends me an email reminder. All in all there are so many helpful tools for organization. It is just finding what works for the individual.

THING NO 15. Thoughts on Wiki

The concept of having a website where people can collaboratively author material of significance is a debatable measure concerning popularity. When I took part in the Discovery exercise I realized that I would need a lot of experience with this type of community in order to find it beneficial. Personally, I am lost in what makes the information in these communities accurate and reliable sources. If anyone can place information and edit the pages without regard to truth, I am not going to trust it. As I say this, all I can think is how often wikipedia comes up as the first source in a search for any given concept. I downloaded a dictionary application to my iPad months ago to use in the classroom because of that factor. As much as I may not mind to use wikipedia for something simple or personal. I would not rely on such a resource in a classroom or as any type of professional for that matter.

Furthermore, the Discovery exercise did not leave me with a clear mental picture of my role as the author or the reader. I have zero desire to get involved in a community of possible good information, yet clearly non administrative support by a source that makes the works within it reliable. Am I wrong? Maybe I am missing it!

THING NO. 14 Thoughts on Flow Charts and Mind Maps

Flowcharts and Mind maps are tools that makes concepts easily to understand or solutions easy to find. I think for people who utilize flowcharts in business or the classroom will find these web-based tools to bea  great asset to their career. As far as me personally, I lack that drive to find value in flow charts. So, I am left not having enough passion for this exercise to give an unbiased opinion. Basically, I am very impressed at how simple the tools are to use. The sites offer such easy ways to organize information that would be invaluable without the tactic of what a flowchart offers.

I played around with bubbl.com a little bit. I chose the chart for business goals. It is a great asset for the tools to be geared towards the need or subject matter. I found it very easy to manipulate the bubbles to create a colorful display of the topic I was covering, which was "Songplugging". Yes, it was organized. No, I probably will not use the tool own my own. Yet, knowing it is available for a project or presentation I may need to complete is a good thing. The sites offer a very easy way to make any topic look and appear as professional, detailed, and organized as possible.

THING NO. 13 Thoughts on the Benefits of Web-based Applications

First, simply being web-based is a benefit of these types of application period. I have struggled in the past trying to figure out how to share works with others. It is a complicated process that basically ends up with me emailing the documents to individuals. At best through a mass email.  Web-based applications  offer a form of freedom in my opinion from larger market products from companies like Microsoft and Mac. I worked on a PowerPoint presentation, simply playing around with the features on Zoho writer. It seemed very comparable to the software/desktop version. I mean, there were signs of limited tools and layouts but, for the most part it was comparable to what we are use to.

Working on the poster below was fairly simple. I created it in Google docs.  It seems like the tools are very limited on this application as well as my ability to enhance it through my own means. I would have loved to have included by logo but, was unable to figure out how to edit the white background of  the logo, which was white...ugh...So it stuck out like a sore thumb. My poster does not look professional. It turned out very cute though and I can see how much fun and useful this application would be in the classroom.

By the way, this is a real event. I would love to see some of my colleges attend our event at Bluebird Cafe'. :)

Join us for this event!

THING NO.4 Thoughts on Commenting

Commenting is important to build conversation. A conversationalist is an asset to a discussion and when it comes to blogging the life of the blog depends on it. Within our class we are able to get to know each other a little better. Find out how our way of thinking compares to our colleagues as a tool to gage our weak and strong points in our program. I find my weak area these days being time to devote to things I really do enjoy like blogging and facebook. I try to stay active in the lives of the people I know and care about. It is really hard balancing this class within that. Back on subject, I have noticed that I need to invite conversation. Come across in facebook statuses or blog post as a real person and not a text book or emotionless being. Discussing things that everyone can relate to and focusing on the readers possible reactions to my post are in the forefront of my mind when blogging. I do not want to sound like a text book. I want to sound like a person who you could enjoy conversation at lunch with...no one wants to have lunch with their professor that is way to intimidating ;)

I chose to follow blogs of peers I have seen in class or who had a catchy title. That insinuated creativity to me and I love creative minds and learning from their way of thinking.

http://according-to-mo.blogspot.com
http://misskeems23.blogspot.com/
http://nedsedweb.blogspot.com/
http://mistys23things.blogspot.com/
http://swatson23things.blogspot.com/

THING NO.12 -Thoughts on Google Verbage & Uses

I think I am part of the population that forgets that Google is not a verb...yet I guess we have all made it one and it works for us. If I do not know an answer to a question my mind automatically thinks I need to "google" the answer regardless of the search engine I am using. I guess such a Pioneer in its category deserves some perks. We all know and love google as a very capable and reliable asset to our lives that we have simply made a part of our daily lives. In turn, It seems Google is providing everything we ask for and more. I went to iGoogle and created my own custom homepage. I have done this before with my Yahoo and MSN accounts but I do not remember having all the different elements to add to my page. It was years ago when I set the other pages up. Today, you can really organize business, personal, and school life within one page to make the most of your time during the day.

I think the biggest problem I have come across is where some of the apps and blogs will offer a way to directly post your images or findings straight to your personal blog while some of them do not directly link up the two. So, in this case I added feeds to my RSS yet struggled with trying to include my work in my post. I am embedding them so that I at least have my work visible. Furthermore, playing around with the gadgets and adding them to my iGoogle page was fun. Some are better than others. I would try to check the ratings before adding one to my page. Yet, I still came across issues with some and it may be from my end of just not using the gadget properly or setting it up properly. Also, I set up a calendar but I use my iPhone for so much of that sort of thing that I probably will not refer to it very much. Overall, I love having a one stop shop for my day with iGoogle and Google Reader for my news feeds...priceless!

THING NO. 11- Thoughts on Finding Good Feeds

Google is always a comfortable search method and in this instance I found the same confirmation. I placed the given search and it brought up feeds in a way that I could distinguish an idea about my personal interest to make an election. Yet, I really enjoyed using Technorati to search for blogs. For this assignment, I searched for blogs about songwriters. It quickly brought up many articles that again I could gain information from the search page to decide of I found any value in the site before clicking on it. When I explored with the Topix.net I did not find it as user friendly. Furthermore, In the classroom anything quick and efficient is a plus and I think both Google Blog Search and Technorati fall into that category, making them valid sources to rely on.

American Gold Star Music writer Kenneth Duncan at The Listening Room 2.19.12

THING NO. 10- Thoughts on RSS Reader and Feeds

The video was the best way to grasp the idea of RSS. "Really Simple Syndication" files my favorite blogs or other regularly updated material in to one location. I wish I had known about this a long time ago. I am the worst to have 6 pages open...going back and forth reading and working when I now can have one site to catch up on my latest interest.

I realized that with my google account my reader was already in place...I just needed to utilize the asset. The blogs I follow were listed there. Then, I went and subscribed to several outside blogs that I found interesting. It was a very simply process to click on their RSS icon or Subscribe icon, then be taken to a screen where I would click add to google and it was instantly added to my file.

In my personal life using RSS would simplify all the artist I try to keep up with. I am calling this my personal life because it is outside of my path to become a Special Education Teacher...long story on how I have such diverse career paths going but, that is for another day and time. Just know that I love offering the world a lot more than I care to take from it...I am a giver...teaching keeps me grounded, level headed, and aware of what the world needs from me. Anyway, back to RSS. Personally, filing my music sites that I constantly having to keep up with and artist and band page blogs is now something I can complete in less time that before. Organizing music business, education, and personal to 3 different RSS feeds would be Awesome. I need to take time to sit down and do that very soon. What a great time management skill. I listed the blogs I subscribed to at the bottom. They are all blogs for teachers, about teachers, and by teachers...something like that ;)

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337

http://cecilialcoelho.wordpress.com/

 http://needleworkspictures.com/

http://www.kulowiectech.blogspot.com

http://stumpteacher.blogspot.com

THING NO.9- Thoughts on Online Image Generators

Image Generators are fun to use but not as easy to post to my blog. It seems that the sites are not as user friendly. I simply found it easier to download the images to my computer (like our directions said to do) instead of posting directly from the site to my blog. Either way there are some very cool applications that give character and substance to images. From the Image Chef Site, I created a Word Mosaic. A very simple process of providing text, choosing colors and image shape were the only steps it took to create the image above. I started out by trying to use a line from a song I co-wrote called "Dance Through the Rain". It did not turn out like I was thinking. So, I went back and took out all words except for key words. I was able to generate the wording until I got an image I was happy with concerning where colors and words were placed within the image. The best part about image generators is the creative ways we are able to display our personalities and interest in productive, eye-catching, and simplified ways.
http://www.imagechef.com/ic/myitem.jsp?myremix=21569737

Image Generators can be used for creativity in the classroom. Students can use it for the same exact reason I did. I took my own work and created a symbolic image to what it means. Literature and language arts teachers could allow their students to take their poems or anything of that nature and create a Word Mosaic to demonstrate something further...and enjoyable...something they can look at that portrays their writing in an artistic way. Other generators can be used to create logos, cosmic strips, custom signs and many other projects. I see some of these being great tools for exploration in the field of business. Also, something tells me a cool activity could come from the custom licence plates application concerning social studies and geography. A teacher with a creative mind could take these generators and use them in many valuable ways based on the lesson plan...and her/his students would love it...Just as we all have!

THING NO. 8 -Thoughts on Flickr Mashups

Flickr Mashups are addictive. I could sit and play with the fun hybrid web applications all day and night and not get anything else done. The entire basis of how Flickr has encouraged individuals to create their own applications blows my mind...I guess that is an entire different class on its on to know how to do something of that scale...yet, what simplicity it is for us. I played around with several of applications. I used spell with flickr to create a word art for the phrase "Music City". I embedded that image at the bottom of my blog. I found that I would over work trying to get the right colors and same type of tiles to complete my image...made me think of all the different places I could take photos of "things" that looked like letters to create my own word art.

Big Huge Labs offers options to help get started on making a choice of what fits the intention of a project. I was using images of places I had traveled so I looked for applications that created something to enhance those type of photos. I played with an app that added borders to make photos look like stamps. The, I used the app that takes images and makes them look like puzzles. I was very happy with how this turned out. The puzzle piece break down did not take away from my image like I thought it would. It turned out being my favorite. Also, I used the app that placed an image on a billboard which sounded like a good idea since I have the music business...Made me feel special and so accomplished :^).

I see this being a very useful tool in my personal life as well as in the classroom. Furthermore, I think I will spend the rest of my time in school gathering letter image photos to place a unique alphabet in my classroom. At a high school and middle school level I see these tools being a driving force for students to enjoy technology and grasp how much is out their to enhance their lives. For the younger students, I could create all types of cool stuff for my students and for my classroom. If anything these apps are assets to making me look like a more professional, technology advanced educator...and that makes me SMILE :D

AGSMP

My creation, a photo by americangoldstarmusic on Flickr.

My publishing company's logo on a sidewalk billboard....very cool...I can retire now, right?!

St. Mark's Square, Venice

My creation, a photo by americangoldstarmusic on Flickr.

I used the puzzle application on Big Huge Lab's website. I thought it would not be as cool as it seemed, but wow it is actually pretty neat. It did not distort the beauty of this photo at all.

THING NO. 7- Thoughts on exploring Flickr

Speaking of tags! Flickr's tutorial guides us to understand how tags are important to allow others to easily find our work. In this case we are discovering one of the best ways to share, edit, interact and take your photos wherever you go. Flickr makes all of these processes possible and simplified. I enjoy taking photos and sharing them with others. Having a storage place for all of my photos is an awesome incentive to establish an account with flickr. The simplicity and ways you are able to tell stories, date, and keep a running journal of your life through photos is priceless. I can not wait to get started really using this site. I have never taken advantage of its resources until now. I am so excited to learn of a best practice when it comes to organizing all of my photos. It encourages me to do more with them and appreciate the memories I am able to embrace rather than just have saved on my computer.

I have never used a photo hosting service before. I use facebook and one aspect of the social media is sharing photos and I have been content with that...until now...I mean, Who wants to see boring snapshots when it is so easy to upload them to flicker and do so much more with them?!

Flickr is an asset in many ways including for the classroom. As a teacher, I could create a group for my students and I to share pictures as we discuss different topics. Flickr would enable me to keep a journal of photos of my students year after year. Since Flickr is accessible online I would be able to upload pictures and not have the stress of making sure I had them available through particular means. Until now I have had to save everything on a flash drive or email photos to different media in different locations. Flickr simplifies photo sharing and interacting.

Venice, Italy

Venice, Sicily,McGwire_Oct-Nov 2011 338, a photo by americangoldstarmusic on Flickr.

Getting lost in Venice is one of the top 10 things to do while you are visiting there...and this shot is from the day I spent lost trying to capture the beauty of how much character this city under water has...the tones of color seem to be intentional...the walkway is placed in front of the perfect backdrop...OCT 2011

Burano, Italy

Venice, Sicily,McGwire_Oct-Nov 2011 095, a photo by americangoldstarmusic on Flickr.

I took this picture as we first arrived to Burano by boat. It is a beautiful island off of Venice. Homes of Fishermen painted by their wives in vivid colors to help identify their home for their husbands late night returns is captured perfectly. OCT 2011

THING NO. 6 Thoughts on Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

Exploring 2.0 tools among the best resources out there became time consuming for me because, I saw useful and familiar sites that I need and can not live without on a daily basis. Establishing a music publishing company is where my mind is these days, therefore I am going to select YouTube...wait or Pandora...ugh...Have you guys visited Etsy? Oh my goodness, I plan events on the side as well and that site has created opportunity for people who have amazing talents to share those talents with all of us as retailers. So many impressive ideas and Etsy has opened my eyes to how small of a world we are when it comes to loving creativity. I have a bracelet I bought from a vendor on the site that is made of broaches from the 1920's, pinwheels made out of vintage music sheets, and many of my friends have created their personal stores on Etsy. What a great thing Etsy has accomplished for many people who may or may not be able to afford to establish a small business...yet, they are successful because of a 2.0 tool.

As I was saying originally, YouTube a video-sharing website, created by 3 Pay pal employees has allowed many to share and express themselves in so many ways. YouTube from the music aspect has allowed artist to display their work for others to see and hear. YouTube promotes the work of artists by allowing individuals to upload videos, rather professional or homemade. I want to add that tags are useful to understand when it comes to anything you are promoting on the web and the more the more likely your video can be seen from a search engine. ( I am learning all of this more than I am displaying experience when it comes to this :). American Gold Star Musis Publishing is the name of my new company and we recently established a YouTube channel that people can subscribe to. There they can see and know when we have added new videos of our writers and their music. Since establishing this company, I have realised how much advertising and promoting can be done these days through very inexpensive outlets such as YouTube and facebook.

YouTube concerning education is limitless. First, anything and so many things are educational that expose individuals to life outside of their norm, what they know or beyond their means. Youtube has made it possible for teachers to place instructional videos on a site for students to learn as if they were sitting in the classroom. Student's can watch tutorials that help them with their homework, prepare them for standardized testing, and really endless resources when it comes to self guidance. Students need their own login information so sites that children should not be viewing are inaccessible. As much good and creativity is located on youtube, there is a lot of unacceptable material. Furthermore, the world wide web makes youtube a global avenue of wealth that extends into homes and the classroom to further enhance our lives.

THING NO.5- Thoughts on 2.0 and its Future in Schools

Understanding Web 2.0 as employing opportunity for any given idea or concept through technological means is my understanding of 2.0's relevance. Taking new or old age tasks and making them readily available, assessable, or constructable is what I am visualizing as an important fact to keep in mind. Rather than taking 2.0 on as "technology derived," I see it as "technology driven" outlook to identify where we currently stand as a population concerning elements of our daily lives. Such and how we go about completing said task today compared to the past and how technology has expanded means to be able to do so in more vast, expansive, and simplified ways. Richard MacManus discusses in his article, "Web 2.0 is not about versions or Betas" the best answer for this conception. He reiterates Ian Davis' words that "Web 2.0 is an attitude and not a technology." Thus, we are able to understand that Web 2.0 is about everyday people with little and even no structured learning of technology and their acknowledged ability to use a web base to prosper in countless areas of life.

Web 2.0 for me is a breath of fresh air when I consider the technology based tools that allow my life to be simplified in a very demanding society. I have many responsibilities and at the same time need outlets of communication to be driven in so many directions at once while remaining balanced. Facebook is an outlet for me to restore myself within what seems real to me and seems meaningful because I communicate with people I know and love. I am able to continue relationships that would have been lost along the way if it were not for social media. Shopping from the comfort of my home and not having to limit myself to local markets is so important for me. I travel often and sometimes when I arrive at my desination I do not feel like it is NOT the first time I have been there in some ways. The internet has allowed me to reach places and their resources before arriving. Also, I recently established a music publishing company. When it comes to music publishing their are many pros but just as many cons that Web 2.0 delievers in this aspect of my career. Illegal downloads and itunes and how music is purchased as an individual song in comparison to the days of CD sales incooperating all writers and songs are challenges. Yet, today independant labels such as mine are being more and more successful. I do not believe that would be possible without Web 2.0.

Web 2.0's place in the future of classrooms depends on how lawmakers respond to change. Realisitcally, we have the resources to reinvent schools and education in ways that allow students to have an exchanged virtual education between teachers and students. Funding placed in the hands of parents to access more feasible entities of how their children recieve an education can be a lot to think about. I favor change and some schools I have seen in the state of Florida have already went to virtual elementary schools and high schools. I consider the ways of our nation compared to the French. We live to work and they on the other hand work to live. Meaning, most have family dinner time and take several weeks off of work to spend with their family in order to enjoy life and what it has to offer.While we work and work and then spend more money trying to keep up with the Jones' that inevitably we work to keep paying off...we work nights, weekends, and somehow earn a week off for vacation within a years time. So, what if Web 2.0 gave life a new meaning for people to integrate education into a natural living environment that meant children could be active in school while being across the country for a family vacation. It seems that careers and education could use the web as a base to live more freely in life without structured walls and limitations. We know it is possible...look how many adults now have the ability to get their colllege degree that would not be able to without Web 2.0. And how many of those have very little experience with technology yet are very successful in the virtual classroom? Many!

THING NO. 3 Thoughts of Ways to Utilize My Blog in My Education Program and in the Classroom

Reflection is going to be a consistent tool that I bring to surface within my efforts to finish my teacher education program. A blog is probably the best way to make reflection a structured process. I have an evolved “talent” of thinking about tasks before, during, and after I complete them. A talent I am hardly proud of because I tend to completely over think everything I do. A blog is a great tool for someone like me that needs reflection to be more compacted into a session of writing rather than a daily obstacle. A blog is a journal of our lives in away that is productive when used as a practical approach to recognize one’s strengths and weaknesses. Also, blogging goes a step further than a simple journal. It allows followers and readers insight to our thought processes and if recognizable: behaviors. Collaboratively, a blog allows us to reflect and also allows others to be influenced through perception, based on their personal life experiences. Interesting enough, as colleagues we can learn an array of information simply from communicating with one another through blog format. Insight to who a person is and establishing related connections forms a respectable level of understanding among a group that becomes a valued asset among its users. Basically, a blog builds relationships that can create a sense of community inside a classroom. Reflection and a source of communication within a group are two practical uses of a blog that create knowledge and skills that go way beyond the classroom

THING NO. 2 Thoughts on Creating My Blog and Avatar

My friends are constantly pushing me towards blogging. So, now they can be excited I am finally doing it! I enjoy writing about real life concerns and daily issues that we face...or anything else that comes to my mind on a particular day. I named my blog "Stanley School of Thought" because I once wanted to open a pre-school with that name based on different theories of learning incorporated with extreme psychological influence by educating parents on Behaviorist concepts...blah, blah, blah and whatever else I was hyped on during that time in my life....haha. I am a firm believer that certain mechanics can shape the minds of children to become their best possible 'self'. I believe Psychology as a Science that needs to taught as a subject matter and not sketched beneath the surface of why we do the things we do. Rather, knowledge is power and teaching parents how to raise children based on different theories of learning in collaboration of genetic make-up became very intriguing to me...So, yes, that is where the name came from!

My avatar....She reflects my personality. I love to travel. I just returned from a two week vacation exploring France, Italy, Spain, and Croatia. I was able to fit so much in because it was a cruise...In fact, almost identical to the one you may have recently seen on the news that began to sink after the captain sailed off course in shallow water.  Funny thing, we sailed off course because our captain wanted to get close the island of Stromboli to witness an active volcano. Everyone left their dinner tables on this particular night to stand in the cold to witness nothing but pitch black scenery...never even making out any aspect of the island. None the less, it was one of the most educational experiences of my life. I travel frequently to warm climates to enjoy the sunshine. In the last year I discovered that as much as I love to travel, I would rather spend it visiting places that require only sundresses and flip flops...This may be some type of adaptation to avoiding the misery of packing for cold climates.

I found creating the blog somewhat difficult because of editing color schemes and making the blog as a whole, work well and seem inviting and interesting. To be honest, I may change it around time to time until I get it just like I want it... As I learn more and add more...It may end up looking completely different by the end of the semester. I like color and being creative with color...I have this amazing picture of one of the islands off of Venice, you probably know of Burano...If not, you will feel its beauty in the amazing photo I captured while there. When I locate it I want to post it and really work all the colors together to be complimentary of one another...basically to give justice to the photo...another little hobby I recently picked up...photography!

THING NO.1 -Thoughts on 7 and 1/2 Habits of Life Long Learning and 2.0

I can not ever imagine not being a student. I simply live to stay engaged towards some type of learning process. Contrary to my efforts and natural desires to be a life long learner, it is difficult. In an ever changing world that rapidly takes on new ways of doing things, often even being highly engaged is not enough. It seems impossible to keep up with the latest trends and tools that help advance our lives. Yet, somehow we all want more and more when it comes to technology. We love the simplifications in advancement it brings, right?! Ttechnology simplifies our life!? I do not know some days...What I can account for is how it has allowed this big world to put into a perspective of how relatively small it really is.

When I listened to the tutorial on the 7 and1/2 Habits of a Life Long Learner, I realized that as a life long learner I am very weak at using technology for my advantage. As ridiculous as it may sound, I trust myself more than a computer. I keep a paper copy of everything that I have on the computer. I recently started a new music publishing company and my life would be so much easier if I would trust technological ways of saving information, keeping schedules, and basically every aspect of my business can be facilitated more easily with technology. Yet, I am reluctant. Also, technology extremely hurt the pockets of the music industry. Making CD sales decline and illegal downloads possible. The music business constantly works towards dissolving a problem that cost people like me and my songwriter credit for our works.

I believe Habit 1 comes very naturally to me. I think this Habit is a characteristic of Life Long Learning that may be taken too lightly..not only that some people simply do not have this ability. If they do, they struggle illustrating it to me :). Beginning with the End in Mind is a habit that is going to be so heavily influenced by experience and how a person perceives concepts in order to form basically insight of results. Establishing Goals...most of us assume because it is natural for us that everyone should be able to set a goal and then work on reaching for it until success. Often, I am intrigued that not everyone grasp the importance of Goal Setting. My oldest son really struggles with this. He simply struggles getting somewhere because he can not make up his mind where he is going. Furthermore, He does not grasp the concept when I discuss it with him. So much of how we learn and the priority we place on learning stems from our personality. I chose this habit as the one that comes easiest for me because I have seen so many people struggle with it. I am very fortunate to be able to grasp "Big Picture" concepts to not only set Goals but generate the best possible Goals with the tools, lifestyle, and experiences that I imagine possible.