Thing # 9

Well, from everything I have read Blogline is the easiest to read - problem is it isn't working for me right now.  (Says it is FORBIDDEN.  Impressive considering I am not at school and nothing is blocked like this at home...)  That said, Google search was easy to use and I could search for what ever I wanted to.  Edublog is interesting in that it has a TON of sites that apply to education, though the site funnels you through pre-chosen, "award" blogs rather than letting you search for your own content. 
I am finding that I need to decide if I really want to keep up with the site on my reader, because it is so easy to just add sites that I could spend an entire day trying to read all of the new posts.  (Yes, they are easy to remove if I really want to, but I don't want a lot of excess posts keeping me from enjoying the sites I really want to stay caught up with.)  For example, I love getting new recipes to try out - many come to my inbox on a daily basis.  If I really let myself, I would sign up for 20 different cooking/recipe sites.  Though fun to look at, it would consume all of my time to review them all - and I have had to put a limit on my reader time so I don't stay up ALL NIGHT looking at it.  :o)

Thing # 8

What do I like about rss feeds?  It definitely makes catching up on some of my favorite web pages much easier and much more concise.  By visiting my Google Reader I am actually visiting 9 different sites all at once.  Some of my blogs on my rss feed are blogs friends have set up to keep in touch while they are visiting amazing places I can only dream of going myself.  In my personal life, it is so much easier to keep up with them and their adventures on one page.  Professionally, it is so much easier to stay on top of new literature, new articles or just new thinking about student learning.  This is important because we are constantly learning more and more about how we learn.  As a teacher or an administrator it is important to know about these new theories to improve our schools so that we can best meet the needs of our students.
On that note, some of my favorites:
 i can has cheeseburger
Baby Cheapskate
Catalytic Conversations
Daniel Pink
Simply Recipes
That's Fit
(And, yes, the reader must never be opened when work needs to be done or no work will ever get done!!)

Thing # 7

Google tools.  How do I love thee?  I do not believe I can actually count the ways...
OK - Google Maps.  A wonderful tool, especially paired with Google Earth.  Math, Language, Social Studies - you name it you can pair it with this.  The tool bar is wonderful.

At one of the TCEA conferences I saw a presentation from a woman who had used Google Earth to create a real-life tour of New York that simultaneously paired with a book her class was reading.  The ruler can be used to measure how far it takes to get from school to home in various different ways (miles, feet, smoots...).  Truly, it could take days to explore everything these tools could do to support your curriculum.
And, yes, I located my favorite place in Cozumel:

Google Documents are also a fairly large player in our family.  My husband LOVES them because he can start working on something at his desktop at work and continue working on it on our desktop at home, or I can add to it from school.  He loves it for journaling and other on-going projects.  At school, Google Documents could be used to connect busy teachers to enable them to create, build and adapt curriculum.

Thing #6

Wow.  That is about all I have to say about how many mashups there are.  I could play all day and still not have done everything possible with my pictures.  I have wanted to get some sailboat prints for my son's room.  Using flickr I was able to find some great sailboat pictures and then was able to use mosaic to make a great poster that will look great in his nursery!

Thing #5

Yes, I played on Flicker for a while.  (Both baby nap-times worth, actually!)  I wanted to see just how specific the searches would get.  I was impressed with the results.
I began by searching for pictures I could use for my science classes.  But, then I changed rails and decided to have a little more fun with it.

I am originally from Iowa, and this is a picture of what has spoiled all corn for me.  Sweet corn, bought from the farmer who picked it that morning and eaten for dinner that night.  I am telling you, if you ever get the opportunity, this is they way it was truly intended.  (Well, this is more field corn than Iowa sweet corn, but you get the idea.)

Then, I decided to try to see just how easy it would be to find something specific.  I wanted to find a picture of a favorite place in Cozumel.  (It is the kind of place that you trip and fall on, but everyone who has been there will tell you about it in detail and endlessly chronicle just how much they loved it.)  So, how specific do I need to be to find this picture?  The answer is not very.  I actually found a picture of it with just the keyword "Cozumel".  So, either Flickr truly has an enormous plethora of pictures to choose from, the place is more popular than it seems, or I need to dash out and buy a lottery ticket.  (I think the first choice is correct.)  Anyway, here is a picture from Flickr showing Paradise Cafe (though I think it has another name now...):

And if you go - get the shrimp quesadillas.

Thing #3

Well, I have set up a blog before, so adding another blog wasn't too large of a task.  Making my avatar was fun.  Looking through everything can take forever - it definitely helps to use the search box.  I found that you can use the HTML, but you have to add it to a post, so it wouldn't just stay on the side as a gadget. 

Thing # 2

I think Habit #3 - viewing problems as challenges - is probably the easiest for me.  When I want to get something done and something pops up I will work to fix the problem like a puzzle that needs to be solved. 
I believe Habit #4 - Having confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner - is the most important and the easiest to lose touch with.  Getting frustrated can truly be detrimental to your progression as a learner.  I love the idea that the words you use to describe yourself will become your reality, so choose your words carefully.  "Don't say it or think it unless you want it to be true" is such a powerful guiding phrase.