The Journey of Tool #2

So our journey through Tool #2 is taking us through the world of other blogs. It talks about how to use them and how to comment on them. I have blogged before, and I have recently been trying to find a 'fun' blog to follow just for myself (without much success, I might add). I am hoping that searching blogs on the Tools site might lead me to a site that both teaches and entertains. I have already found several that I may be able to use, at least professionally. We have been asked to respond to the following questions, so here goes!!
1. What are your thoughts about building an online education community and participating in a PLN? Well, I like the idea, particularly if I am able to hook up to other theatre educators. Certainly just communicating with other teachers is useful, but the theatre class is so different both in needs and demands that I have always found talking with other theatre teachers and professionals to be an invaluable tool.
2. What point stood out to you from the commenting advice? While I found all of them useful, the one that I need to work on the most is 'Don't be afraid to comment'. I do tent to be one of those blog readers that does not comment. It is odd for me to even read the comments of other readers. I have already commented on several of the blogs that I looked at during this lesson. I hope to make that a habit.
3. What 5 blogs did you select for your comments? I found the following blogs the most appealing: Weblogged, Free Technology for Teachers, iLearn Technology, Tech Paperless, and Langwitches. I believe I will be able to use information from all of these blogs in the future.

I hope this part of the journey will lead to new paths... Who knows?!

The Journey of Tool #1...

As I begin my journey, much like Dorothy, I begin at the beginning. While not a 'Yellow Brick Road", 'Tool #1' has certainly been an adventure... After several days (and nights) and multiple hours of navigating throughout multiple windows (both helpful and otherwise), I believe I have completed all the tasks. I can now say that, having actually read ALL of the instructions, I have a better understanding of what this journey may entail. I am having fun creating this blog and anticipate using it with my students in order to convey thoughts/ideas that we may or may not have gotten to in class. My level of concern for keeping up with the blog is rising as I type, but I hope that the process continues to bring a certain level of glee to the experience, therein helping the upkeep process something that I 'look forward to' rather than 'have to do'. I am pleased with the look of the page with the exception of the Avatar (although the fact that its name is the same as the film did make me happy AND I learned that the film title was not made up for the film... Who knew?!). That aside, I am happy that (I believe) I have at least taken the first few steps of the journey. I hope that I have done them with grace. And that I don't end up being attacked by Flying Monkeys.

The Journey Begins...

This is my first blog. It is the beginning of a journey. A journey of what you ask? I don't know. Really. I don't. What I do know is that as we take this journey into the abyss we will discover what the journey is about, or, if nothing else, at least what road our journey is on and hopefully where it leads. Life, after all, is a journey. Sometimes it is a pleasant jaunt through a forest with bunnies. Sometimes it is a murky slogging through a sad marsh of crying crocodiles. Whatever the case, it is a journey none the less, and I for one am looking forward to what the future holds.