Thing 4

After reading through some of the blog spots like coolcatteacher, I found some really interesting ideas. I realized that blogs and comments are important because you can get and share excellent ideas from people that otherwise you would never have contact with. The really cool thing that I found was that you can be reviewing one blogger's site and end up finding links to things that you never imagined. The only downside is that you can never have enough time to view everything that you would like to. I found another helpful link to a teacher's site from reading comments on coolcatteacher. This particular teacher uses the blog to help the students learn important writing skills. This is something that I would really like to do. I'm just not sure that it would be accepted by my my school system. I also got cracked up at a comment that said something about using blogs to say everything that you never have enough time to say in a grad./undergrad classroom. I can completely relate to that comment, as I am never at a loss for words lol!
I found it interesting that adding a list of comment rules might increase the amount of comments you receive on your blog. Up until now I have not thought a great deal about blogging so in turn I never considered rules:)
I completely agreed with the commandment 3 on the Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting site about showing emotion in your comments. Often times I find that it is most difficult to convey your feelings with words only. I use smileys :) a lot in my discussions with others online.
I believe if you have a blog that you truly want to be a success, you have to find time to read the comments that others leave. I have already read all of the comments that have been left on my blogs posts. It does not mean you have to respond to every one but by reading them, you can gain insight on things that are important to you as a blogger. That s also why it is important to only leave meaningful comments.
The following are the blogs that I responded to:
Kelly Brown I selected Kelly because I have known her all my life. We are from the same hometown and her kids go to school where I teach. I wanted to let her know that even though school seems like a lot of work; it will all be worth it someday. I also think that it is important for those of us who are already working in the education field to provide a positive view of the profession and not always complain.
Lynette Miller I chose to comment on Lynette's blog because we have had many discussions since the beginning of graduate school. We are both non-traditional students that returned to college and had to face some daily obstacles to complete our degrees and see our dream through. I think that we understand each others need to be successful at whatever we do often at all costs. I just wanted to let her know that however intimidating the assignments may be; we will get through it!
Ebony Freemon I responded to Ebony's blog because I had a couple of classes with her in my undergrad and she always seemed very serious about her career and education. She made a comment in one of her posts about students being able to have a way to express themselves without ridicule. I completely agree. Too often we want our young people to let their feelings out but often we do not give the type feedback that is encouraging. I think that anonymous comments would be great to help with this issue.
Stacy Averill I commented on Stacy's blog because I loved the pic. she posted of her son. I also wanted to ask how things are going in another class we have together.
I also plan to leave some comments for Kristan Bland because we have known each other since we began our journey down the road to get our degree. This will be a great way for us to keep in youch and discuss and compare things we use in our classrooms.

2 other blogs
http://christmasplace.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/have-you-heard-about-the-synchronus-fireflies/
This is a blog from Pigeon Forge Tennesse, my favorite place in the world. I commented on a post about synchronous fireflies. Anything about that area is interesting to me.
Linked here is an interesting blog site that I found and I plan to comment on later in the semester: http://teachersteachingteachers.org/