Thing #12

     I didn't realize you could do so many things with Google! They can send you e-mail updates about topics that are important to you. You can create a calendar with Google. I created a customizable home page with Google. When I was creating it, I was asked about things that were important to me, such as music and sports. I said that I was interested in music, comedy, art, and games. When my home page was created, there were all sorts of links and information about the areas I'm interested in! There were links for games, comic strips, information about concerts in my area, and even an artist of the day. There is also a news feed that could be useful for keeping up with current events.
     Another tool Google has is a translator. You can use the translator to translate from one language to another. There are over 50 languages you can choose from! You can also listen to a voice saying the translation. This could be very useful for learning how to talk in a different language.

http://www.google.com/ig

http://translate.google.com/#en|fr|Hello.%20Where%20is%20the%20bathroom%3F

Thing #11

     One search tool that I like is Topix.net. It's not used for blogging, but it includes all kinds of news information. You can search for any kind of topic that you want to read articles about. There's even a "top stories" section and a section on local news. None of the search tools were hard to use. However, when I tried to get on Syndic8.com, it said "Syndic8 is offline-- database backup in process." Therefore, I wasn't able to search that site. I found several interesting and useful feeds while I was searching these sites. When I put "school library learning 2.0" in the Google Blog Search, several blogs came up about the 23 Things program. Technorati.com is also a useful site to search for blogs. On the site, the top blogs of the week are listed. Also, you can search for any topic that you want to read about in a blog.

Thing #10

     I like RSS because it allows you to subscribe to different websites and news feeds and puts them all in one place. Because of this, you don't have to check these websites all the time. All you have to do is subscribe to the website and the updates all go to one site.
     I could use this in my personal life by adding websites of interests to me. These websites may include sports websites or websites with cooking recipes that I want to try out. I could also subscribe to websites that supply me with information about my schooling.
     Teachers can utilize this information in many ways. They can subscribe to websites that keep them updated about breaking education news. These sites can also keep teachers updated about statistics, such as how students are doing in school percentage-wise.

Thing #9

    
     An image generator that I found that I liked is ImageChef.com. This website allowed me to create a mosaic with any words or graphics that I wanted. I chose to create a smiley face using the word "Smile!" I was also able to create a photo frame with a picture of my choice. I picked the beach photo frame with a picture of a couple of jellyfish that I took a picture of at the aquarium last semester.
     Personally, I could use this website to create images and photos in frames to share with friends and family. I could make a "Get Well Soon" mosaic to send to a friend that is sick. There is also a generator on the website to make jerseys with your name on it. In the classroom, I could use this website to teach my students about image generators so they'll know what they are and how to use them to their advantage.

http://www.imagechef.com/

Thing #8

     There are several applications that involve flickr and other websites. In one application I came across, people can upload photos from flickr and turn those photos into jigsaw puzzles. I used this application to create a jigsaw puzzle of one of the photos I uploaded to flickr. I could use this to create jigsaw puzzles to do in my spare time or to give to somebody as a gift. Another application that I found that was interesting is Mappr. This takes photos that people have taken of places around the world and puts them on a map. I could use this in my classroom to show people pictures around the world that have been taken by people. I think that sharing photos online is a great way to show people different things and places that you have seen.

Thing #7

Above are some photos that I uploaded to flickr.com. Creating an account and uploading photos on flickr was surprisingly easy. The site is easy to navigate. When people upload photos, they can tag the photo so that people can easily find them. For example, my photo at the top is of the sun setting in California. Therefore, I tagged my photo as California and sun setting. Now when someone searches for California or sun setting pictures, my photo will be one of the ones that shows up. I can use my photos in personal ways. For example, I can create albums of family gatherings and share them with my family. I can also use other photos to put in powerpoints for classes. The only other site that I've used for uploading photos is Facebook.com. There people can upload photos to share with friends and family. They can also adjust privacy settings so that either everyone can see the photos, or just family and friends can see the photos. I'm not really concerned with having my photos in a public place. If I didn't want people to see them, I'd adjust my privacy settings to allow only the people I want to see them.

Thing #6

     The Web 2.0 site that I explored was Flickr. This site is used for uploading photos and videos for everyone around the world to look at and share. I found several interesting things at this site. First of all, there is a map of the world. On the map, different places are tagged with pictures of those places that users have uploaded. Users can also create photo albums about whatever topic they want to create a photo album about. For example, one person created a photo album called "Me and my Um-ber-rel-la." It was all pictures of different people with different umbrellas. The site could be very useful for assignments. With copyright laws, it can be hard to find a picture on the internet that you can use. With flickr, people could use the pictures in a powerpoint for a class.

http://www.flickr.com/