Thang #3

After viewing some of the blogs on the Top 50 list, I realized that I could create a blog for my future classroom as an area to write about what projects the kids are working on and to post student work. I thought the blog could be a place where friends and family of the students plus an area for other art educators to view what is going on in my classroom. Though I would not be able to show the students in any of the photographs, the students could easily tell what artwork belonged to them to their family members. This type of blog would be especially good for areas that had a large population of military families because of the most likely distance between them and their families and hometowns. Also, I feel it is important for art, music, HHP, and other specialized areas to have communication with others like themselves because of the likelihood they will be the only teacher of their kind in that school. My blog could become an area to post suggestions on how to make projects stronger or more well-rounded, or even talk about why it would be better to avoid certain projects all together.

Creating a blog for my future classroom and even using it now for my teacher program is a way to bring insight on how I view technology and art education. I believe that it would be a very helpful tool to have in my future classroom because of its usefulness to my students, my students' relatives, and for educators like myself.

Thing # One

After viewing the 7 & 1/2 habits of lifelong learners, I knew that the hardest habit for me is seeing problems as challenges that will help me along the way. I am a perfectionist to a fault when it comes to learning or creating something, and I have a problem with allowing myself to be okay with not always coming out on top. As I have gotten older, this habit has became more understandable, but it is still a daily challenge. I am art education major, and when I first started out in my art classes I realized that I was not going to be the best out of everyone in that field of study. It was an eye opener and a struggle, but I believe that it made me a better person and will helpfully make me a better teacher candidate and more empathetic towards my future students who struggle with art.

Now the habit that comes the easiest for me is having the end in mind. With that said, the end in my mind might change constantly with where I want to end up, but I have several goals and routes that I would like to take in the future. I love children, but I am not sure if I want to teach in a K-12 setting for the rest of my life because of my love for art history. However, what I do know is that whatever end I do choose in life, I will have chosen it with the knowledge that I made the right decision for myself.

Thing Number 2

When dealing with blogs, I have never read or had my own blog. I have never had much of a reason to put my thoughts so expressively on a site that allows me to talk at great lengths about myself or things close to me. I do use facebook on a regular basis for the usual snooping and alleviating boredom, and the occasional picture and status update. I did not get very creative with my blog name and posting name, because I wasn't aware that it was exactly a choice to do so. However, my blog name and posting name is okie dokie for me, so I feel no reason to change it. The creation of the blog was very easy, and I felt I could have done it by myself with the instructions given on the "23 Things" page. I have been around a computer a great part of my life and so figuring out the simple steps behind creating things rarely give me a problem. My avatar was the difficult part for me, because I deeply enjoyed all of the different approaches one can take when creating an avatar. The avatar does reflect my personality, because I created it with a silly attitude like my own attitude. The avatar does not look like myself, because I felt it was my chance to become a gondola driving, sheep herding wizard. Why? Well who wouldn't want that power? ; )