Self Potrait

During this assignment I had some trouble with the sizing of the objects. In order to fix this problem, I kept trying different things and I eventually found the scaling tool on the website. Also another issue I had was that I didn't feel like there were enough options for me to make a better version of myself. However, I then realized that this wasn't meant to be exact and that I could make one similar to me, just with a few differences. Click here to see the link to my portrait. And here is my beautiful picture(P.S. It took me a few minutes to realize that I had to go through the whole process of a screen capture in order to get this in here):

This assignment fits under the ISTE NETS Standard of: Creativity and Innovation because the students get to create a picture that is original and unique. Also this assignment allows students use the models provided to produce their work of expression.

Learning Styles Inventory

I must say that the learning styles inventory was very accurate when it came to my scores. I was a six in visual, aural, and kinesthetic. However, I was in ten in reading/writing. The results page said that I have a mild reading/writing preference, which is absolutely true. I am pretty well rounded when it comes to ways of learning, but reading and writing seems to usually be the easiest way for me. I think this was an excellent questionnaire! Hopefully being well rounded as a learner can help me find other ways for students who may only have one main learning preference.This activity best fits the ISTE NETS Standard: Research and Information Fluency because it locates and evaulates information collected. Information has been collected from many sources and processed to give a specific answer.

Snipping Tool

I had to do a little bit of research for this assignment. I don't have a snipping tool on my computer, so I used the print screen button to take a picture of the image that I would use to teach a lesson.
For my image I chose to take a picture of the products that I use in Google. This may show students all of the awesome tools that Google has to offer and the best part is that they are all located at one site. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making is the standard that fits this activity. This is because I had to think and explore in order to answer my questions and finish the product. I also had to use several different processes. I really like how this blog went ahead and put my image in there so that I could see exactly where the picture was going to be. Anyway, this image would probably change over time which may be a good thing to show students because I may need to add other products to my account that I use on a daily basis. Very cool!

Voice Thread

Voice Thread is a tool that can be used to communicate with people(in a variety of ways) in a video like setting. This tool can be used in any learning enterprise because if students don't have a web cam and microphone, or they don't have any media files, they can still be a part of the process, through using their phone, or the text.

I used Voice Thread to give a brief response to the video Who Am I? I decided to use the telephone option as a way to comment. I chose this option because I was really curious about how it would work and if my voice would come in clear. I was really surprised because the whole process was easy and my voice came in loud and clear! I believe that this activity most closely matches ISTE NETS T standard of Student Learning and Creativity: "Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments."

This activity could consist of both environments and inspire students to be creative with their technology even though sometimes it is scary and we don't always understand. Voice Thread is very cool and I definitely think students will love it!

Google Reader

I just had my first experience with Google Reader and I have to say that it was quick and painless. It was also very easy to do. I like that I don't have to pull up 5 different tabs to look at the updates made on a blog. The first blog I chose was I.N.K. Interesting Nonfiction for Kids. I really want to make reading a fun thing for kids to do and if I know more about books that are different from the norm, I may be able to inspire more kids who would have rather just quit. From this blog I learned about different books and received a slight review on them. This helps me to know if the book could be used in my classroom. The other blog I chose is called School Food Matters. I think that nutrition is very important and a lot of times the school food is just not as healthy as people might think. I picked this blog because I want to learn more about this topic. From this blog I learned about the things that people are doing to try to make foods more nutritious. I shared my reader documents with someone so hopefully they will respond and find them interesting. Click here to see my Google Profile.

• What is a blog syndication and how does it differ from your previous strategies for information gathering? A blog syndication is refers to making web feeds available from a site in order to provide other people with a summary of the websites recently added content. This is way different from the previous ways I gathered information in that I would have to open up multiple tabs and search for what I was looking for. Now the updates are there and easy to find.
• What does RSS stand for? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.

Google Docs

I completed a resume using Google Docs and I found the whole process very complicated. I tried to publish my original resume that I had made in Microsoft Publisher, but I could not get it to work correctly. So, I just created a whole new resume in Google. I hope that I have published this right. Let me know if you can't view it.

View my resume here.

The standard that corresponds with this activity is Communication and Collaboration because I used a different type of media that was published so that my peers and future employers could view.

Internet Connection

I just completed the Internet Connection Test and I chose to do it from New York, NY. My download speed was 2.86Mbps while my upload speed was 0.73Mbps. I was reading about my results and found out that that download is a measure of how fast your connection delivers content to your computer or local area network. Upload is is the measure of how fast content is delivered from your computer or local area network to others on the Internet. I also learned that for business users your download and upload speed should match or be very close. My results were not that close, which is OK because I am not running a business. I tried the connection test from different cities but my results were consistently the same or very close. This activity fits ISTE NETS standard Technology Operations and Concepts because it involves me using applications effectively and productively while also understanding and using technology systems.