Photoshop

Photoshop is something that I have been interested in learning about ever since I first saw what it could do. I am at a disadvantage, however, because I own a PC rather than a MAC, which photoshop is created for. I have also discovered that it is a very complicated process. Contrary to what I had imagined photoshop would be like--more like cutting, pasting and editing--photoshop really is about layers. Each layer can be worked with independently, which allows for a flawless finish if done right. One of the positive things I learned about this program was that there are thousands upon thousands of tutorials floating around the web to help users create shockingly professional-looking works of art by giving step by step instructions. This is very helpful in my case due to the fact that I am not particularly computer savvy.
I am so glad that this is one of the skills that I have begun learning in this class. I know that I can continue to grow and become more talented at it, which is a great skill to have as a teacher. The possibilities of what I could do with this program are limitless. In addition to the basics such as decorating a classroom that will stimulate the interest of my students, I can develop images to teach lessons that will engage kids in what they are learning and make it fun. Even outside the classroom I am excited to use this new skill by making presents for friends, birthday cards, and even recreational projects.

http://psdtuts.com/web/20-insane-comic-book-style-photoshop-effects/

I've included this link to photoshop tutorials involving comic-book looking images to demonstrate how I could engage children of younger ages with something that they may already be intersted and can reach them even though I might use it to get a point across that they might not be intersted otherwise.

Web 2.0: Pandora

As I have already mentioned in a previous blog, I am extremely into the music scene. And as great as I thought the other website was, I found Pandora, which offers an equally incredible and unique advantage to collecting music. Pandora is an online radio website that creates unique stations that are tailored to your preferences in music. The user simply needs to enter an artist name, song title, or composer, and Pandora will create a radio station using that artist, and other artists that are similar to the one you selected. This is very exciting for me, because I always am frustrated that the only artists I know are either ones I've known and loved for years, or ones that my closest friends have told me about. Now a whole new world of music will be opened up for me.
Similarly to Blyper, Pandora doesn't have a literal application to the elementary school setting. I still feel strongly, though, that helping students learn about tools such as Pandora will inevitably help them become more cultured and well-rounded people as they grow older.

http://www.pandora.com/stations/27cceb41dd9b1afb0d10f69ab632d6e6fc083eb2d8dfd754#

The link I have provided is my first created radio station on Pandora. The artist I chose to have Pandora find similar bands to was MSTRKRFT. I was pleased to find that Pandora not only gave a description of the type of music I asked for, but also created a great list of songs that I loved!

Web 2.0: Favorville

Another of the more unique online tools that I found on Web 2.0 was Favorville. Most basically, this is an online community where people can exchange favors. The site is free, and the user simply needs to register and enter the city that they live in before they can send requests and answer requests for favors. The favors done on this site really can vary. They could be simply to borrow a ladder, get a ride somewhere, or even get advice on an issue. Once you've gotten/done a favor for someone, you can rate them. In additon, that person permanently becomes on of your "connections": another feature of the site. This allows you to build lasting relationships with helpful people in your community and in the world. You can also add to your connections by inviting members, who immediately become a part of the connections list.
I think this site is not only genius, but also can be extremely helpful as an elementary school teacher. Favorville can help me acquire materials that might be expensive that I don't want to buy but simply use once. I also think I would be able to even have speakers come in to speak to my class if there are people who are particularly qualified on a certain subject that I am going over in class. I feel that the possibilities are endless with favorville.com, and as someone who doesn't mind at all helping others, I know I would benefit greatly by becoming a member of this onlne community.

http://favorville.com/miami/ride%20share/postview.aspx?id=10524&p=1

I chose this link to favorville.com because of how simple it was to find, and to prove how easy it can be to benefit from favors people offer. By simply clicking on the city of Miami, which is near where I am from, I found an offer for a ride to Gainesville after the end of this semester or to transport belongings here. This obviously really applies to anyone living in the Gainesville or greater Miami area, which is many people who may even be in this class.

Web 2.0: Blyper

Music is one of my greatest passions. I dream of collecting all of the music I love, but I always feel like I am so far behind in acquiring it, and am falling farther and farther behind all the time as more albums come out. This is why I was delighted to come across Blyper on our page of Web 2.0 tools. There are a lot of music websites out there, but I have never come across one like this. Blyper.com is a website that allows you to type in the names of whatever musical artists you like. Then, the website will notify you anytime those artists are coming out with a new album. The website boasts that it can notify you about any band, regardless of their mainstream popularity. This is a great advantage to have because the only music releases that you will most likely hear about will be in the papers and on MTV and a great number of the artist that I love are not famous enough to be on MTV.
I have had quite a difficult time trying to figure out how I could use this online tool in my future as an elementary school teacher. I really think that music is extremely important for children to learn about. I would like to think that I will be the type of teacher that will broaden students' horizons in more than the expected ways. So in this sense I could utilize this website to give my students the most up-to-date information about music releases. However in general, this tool is really for my own benefit so that I can have my dream music collection.

http://www.mtv.com/music/the_leak/

Due to the fact that there are no real examples to show on the blyper.com website, I decided to provide this link the MTV's The Leak, which shows upcoming album releases. The point of this is to show the limited selection that is found on websites other than Blyper, so you can appreciate what this website has to offer.

Web 2.0: Storybird

One of the first of the Web 2.0 tools that caught my attention was the Storybird website. This is a collaborative storytelling page where children as well as adults can create short stories, and even work together with others to have two people's input. After I took the online tour, I was extremely excited by how easy to use the site is. After you sign up for the program, the website will give you your own personal dashboard home page. This includes unpublished stories that you have started by haven't yet finished, stories you have already published, as well as your reading list which is your own collection of stories you've read and want to have easy access to. There is also a public library on the site where all published stories can be found. When you click on a story, lots of information becomes available such as the author's name, the illustrator, the age range, and comments. When creating your own story, you have the opportunity to look through all different sorts of illustrations, and can become inspired by them to write a story. Your story can have a theme and be customized to look how you want it to. Creating stories is extremely simple. All you need to do is drag and drop illustrations and type text using your individual creativity!
Because of my major which is elementary education, I am very positive that I will have lots of opportunities to use this website in the future. Regardless of what age I end up teaching, I know that this site is user friendly for kindergartners through fifth graders. I cannot think of many better ways for students to be creative in writing stories in such a simple way in our age of rapidly growing technology. This website could be employed as an activity for the entire class, or even during free time at the students' discretion.

http://storybird.com/books/i-love-my-family/

I chose to add this link to one of the published stories on storybird.com called "I Love My Family," to allow you to see an example of a story that I thought was very sweet and great for younger children. Feel free to notice all of the details of the story that I went over that will help judge what age the story is geared toward.