Thing #3

I can think of a couple of ways to use a blog. One way would be to help my fellow learners in the education program. I could blog about my school experiences and issues that I faced as a developing teacher. I could give advice to others about what to do or what not to do based on my personal experience in certain school related situations. Blogging about what worked for me or what did not work may be of use to a fellow student who may be struggling to grasp a concept, seek assistance, etc.

I could also use my blog in relation to my future classroom. Some of the same topics apply to that as well. I could blog about such things as certain experiences that I have had in my classroom, how I handled difficult situations, or what has worked for me as an educator and what has not. The possibilities are endless.

Thing #2

I have very little previous experience with blogs prior to these assignments. What little experience I do have has been centered around reading a few blogs during my quest for research materials. One of my friends recently informed me that she had created a blog. She gave me the URL to her blog spot, and I read a few of her posts. I myself have never written a blog before. To be perfectly honest, I never understood its purpose. However, my views are changing.

It was not difficult to decide which blog name to use. Our instructor for the course told us to use our own names for our posts. The name for my blog was created in haste in order to keep up with my instructors directions. I tried several varying combinations of my name, but few were successful. I
was quite satisfied when I thought of the name jessicahudsonandthe23things, though, because it reminds me of a children's story. It makes me smile every time I read it. It was also the first available combination that was not already taken by another individual.


Creating the blog itself was difficult for me because I was a couple of steps behind the instructor during the time that she was giving directions on how to set it up. I was playing catch-up for the whole process. I still do not understand all of the various components of the blogging site itself. I will have to play around with it for a little while to figure it out. Making a blog to publish is not near the hassle that creating the blog site was.

My first attempt to create my avatar was when my computer neighbor attempted to assist me in the rather confusing process. I did not care at that point if my personality was reflected in my avatar because I was simply trying to understand how to paste it into my blog layout. I still have not figured that one out. My first avatar wound up resembling my grandmother more so than myself. Some of the options are quite limiting during the creation process. I went back to the website and created a second, more whimsical version of myself with my avatar clad in the Disney character Snow White's gown with matching heels and a bumped-up head band hairdo. I created my avatar in such a manner because I love fairy tales and Disney movies. Also, the gown looked really cute on my avatar. I believe my avatar reflects my playful, idealistic personality with her innocent appearance.

Thing #1

I realize that my easiest and hardest lifelong learning habits contradict themselves somewhat. However, they are what I consider to be the easiest and hardest things for myself. The easiest lifelong learning habit for me would be to accept responsibility for my own learning. I do not expect someone else to do my work for me. I am a tough critic on myself when it comes to my own work. Learning is work. It takes effort to memorize the facts, muddle through the mess, organize one's thoughts, and make sense of new things. I like to do things well, and learning is no different. The hardest lifelong learning habit would be to view problems as challenges. I am not a highly competitive person, so a challenge does not appeal to my inner sportswoman. A problem is a problem for me. I am often overwhelmed easily by problems if the answer is not immediate to me. I suppose that is why they call them problems: they are difficult to decipher. I do enjoy getting to the root of problems and figuring out the correct solution though. I think it is just the initial idea of something being difficult that temporarily frightens me.

Setting up the blog was more difficult than I anticipated. I cannot imagine how challenging it would be to set up a blog somewhere else if this one is considered "user friendly." Perhaps it was difficult for me because I was a step or two behind the instructor's directions the whole time. I was playing catch up as she was talking, and that frustrated me. Now that I am writing my first blog, things seem to be going a little smoother. I am taking things at my own pace so I can explore this blogging site more to become familiar with it. I think it will just take a little time for me to get the hang of things to fully appreciate this site and its supposed simplicity. I would like to learn more about how to successfully operate the tools on this website so that I might gain some use from them for my future students and career.