Thing 4

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of blogs out there - how do you handle information overload and how do you think RSS might help with that? 

This picture is an awesome expression of my feelings on the information overload of the internet. 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25031050@N06/3292307605/lightbox/
So having RSS would most definitively seem like it would simplify my ADD of internet surfing.  Of course I feel that when I'm surfing the net I embrace my jumping around for one site to another.  My fear with RSS is that I will subscribe to numerous irrelevant feeds and it will end up looking like my favorites or bookmarks.  

Thing 3

How might a blog support the work you do? How might you use a blog with students? How might they respond to a blog assignment? What concerns do you have about educational blogging?

I would hope that by having a blog it would allow me to enhance my students' learning or parents understanding of what is going on in the classroom.  I think it is an excellent way to communicate with my students, their parents, and other members of our school community. I also think it is a great tool for teachers in the field of physical education for sharing information regarding our content area. 

How might I use a blog with students? How might they respond to the blog assignment? I could create a class newsletter which would include pictures about what is going on in the class. By doing this I would think the students would have more ownership of the coursework. They might be more apt to add input to topics that were discussed in class. I could post assignments and dates of which they are due. Then there would be no excuses for missed deadlines or assignments. I could post links to articles and then have the students respond on the blog. As stated above I feel the students would show more ownership of the coursework. I feel the students would like the change of pace using a blog for school work.  They have completed paper and pencil work for so long it may be a welcome addition for them. One concern I could foresee is the content posted would have to be  intriguing to keep the students interested.

What concerns do you have about educational blogging? Obviously the first concern I would have is that this might violate the electronic usage policy of the school.  The second concern and even more worrisome would be privacy.  There is  always concerns when personal information is posted online. So to take care of that privacy settings would have to be set to give certain individuals the ability to post and or comment on each student's blog.  

Thing 2

Why are you participating in 23 Things? What do you hope to learn? How does writing on the Internet, knowing anyone could read it, change how you write or feel about writing?

The first reason I am participating in 23 things is I am in need of Sb-Ceus to continue my certification. The second reason I am in 23 things is that there is so much more to the internet than I am aware.  I know how to locate various tibits of information, I can use twitter, and I understand the therories behind Facebook. Yet there is much more floating around in cyberspace that could and can make me a more efficient teacher or more efficient in my day to day life. 

Writing on the internet doesn't really bother me all that much. It is easier to write than to stand in front of a group of 300 to 400 people and give a lecture. However, I will need to proofread a little better prior to submitting.