Thing #4 Calling All Comments

   Commenting on others blogs creates a sense of community because you let other people know you are listening. It's why people write blogs, so they can share their knowledge and people comment to show their appreciation and/or to add to the discussion. By reading comments you can get peoples opinions that you might never have gotten before, people that could be anywhere in the world. Making a meaningful comment is the best way to go. If you do not agree with the person, do not tear them down. State your opinion a a constructive manner and give the reasons as to why you feel this is true. Give you audience something to talk to you about. Ask people what they think about what you have said, this will make people feel more welcome to giving you their opinion.
   I have decided to follow http://musicuentos.blogspot.com/. This is a blog done by a Spanish teacher in KY. I want to be a Spanish teacher and I want to see what it is like in the classroom and how people are teaching students to learn and to make it stick. I want to know how to instill in students the desire to learn more so they will go out on their own and find things. I am also following http://teachinglearningspanish.blogspot.com/. There are so many ideas on this blog that I feel will help me not only to teach Spanish but to improve my skills as well.
    I have decided to follow five blogs from our class. I am going to follow the blogs of Christal Reed, Dalton Smith, Leslie Littleton, Shelby Rogers, and Rebecca Sloffer. All of these people really seem to have a passion for their future profession and good ideas.

Thing #3 Uses For My Blog

Since I want to teach a foreign language a blog could be a very good way to reach out to the international learning community. I want to teach Spanish. This could be a way that my students could become blog pals with students in a Spanish speaking country. This could give them practice reading in the language and they could respond to the posts which would given them practice thinking, writing, and responding in Spanish. The reverse could be true for the Spanish speaking country as well with improving their English skills. I could also use this blog to connect with other Spanish teachers. I could get ideas from them and learn from their experiences as they could mine.

Thing #2 This Whole Blogging Thing

• This is the first time, well now the second time, that I have ever blogged. I never did feel a desire to do it. I can see how it could help professionally if  you were posting to a blog where teachers in your subject area also posted. You could read each others ideas and  and help each other out. I came up with the name for my blog because I have a few fish tanks and i usually have some new story about the fish to tell. It seemed extremely easy to me to set this blog up. I never really knew what went in to it. I do wonder how you get a following though. The avatar I made some what reflects me with the hair color and game system in hand. I can see myself making more of them though for however I'm feeling at the moment. I like think it is fun to have it not look totally like me. I think sometimes having The avatar look different  shows sides of that would not normally be seen if you were to just look at me.                                                                                                            

Thing #1 Effective Habits, Lifelong Learning

     There are 7 1/2 things that can help yo become a lifelong learner. These are: Start with the end in mind, accept responsibility for your own learning, view problems as a challenge, have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner, create you own learning toolbox, use technology to your advantage, teach/mentor others. All of these I do in some way already. Some I am better at, for example, start with the end in mind. I know what I want at the end of this. Sometimes it seems surreal like it is never going to happen but at other times it seems like the end is right around the corner. The habit that I have the most problem with is seeing myself as a competent, effective learner. I am in the last few semesters of classes of the subject area I want to teach and I find myself struggling. I do not want to give because I have put so much work in already but I know I can do better. I just need to drag it out of myself.
     
       I feel that lifelong learning is something everyone should strive for. It keeps you young, you can never learn enough. there is always something interesting to know. I really enjoy learning and I enjoy sharing what I have learned with others. I feel it is how we grow in life. Knowledge is power especially when you know what to do with it.