Thing # 4

     Commenting on blogs is a must!  It helps create a community atmosphere by allowing for dialogue between the readers and the writer.  Blog writers feel better when others comment on their blog.  I know that there have been times when I wondered if anyone even read what I wrote.  When someone would comment, I would get so excited.  Also, writer's can respond to what the readers comment on.  If they say something positive, it can be as simple as a "thank you.'  However, if the reader posts a negative comment or poses a question, the writer is given an opportunity to respond appropriately.  Writer's also usually write more frequently on topics that readers are interested in and comment on.
     I found two other interesting pieces of information about blogging while reading.  First, I never thought about the fact that most likely when you comment on someone else's blog, they will in turn read comment on your writing.  I often complained that no one commented on what I wrote, but how many times did I fail to comment on things I read even though I found them interesting?  Second, I found it useful to find ways to encourage comments.  My favorite suggestions were:  be open-ended, ask questions, and be controversial.
     The five blogs I read from class were:

•   Vickie's Blog
• Britt's Blog
• Tabitha's Busy Life: Family, Work, and School.......
• TechTeachFoote
• Bunde Blog

I chose Vickie's and Britt's blogs because they discussed Flikr.  This is one of my favorite tools to use when searching for pictures because of the quality of images that are available.  I learned from Vickie an easy way to upload my picture.  Britt's blog gave me a great new tool that I had never seen on Flikr!
I chose Tabitha's blog because of how useful gradefix seemed to be in my classroom.
I chose Jamie's blog because she had already done the 23 things and I wanted to see some new Web 2.0 tools after spending all week on my 23 Things.  I thought her webbing tool would be great for my own classroom.
I chose Lisa's blog because I saw that she had commented on Google Apps and Skype which are 2 of my favorite Web tools. 


The other 2 blogs of interest that I chose were:

• Thoughts
• Nintendo Papercraft

I chose Thoughts because my friend Katelyn writes it.  We are close to the same age and both teachers (or working to be teachers).
I chose Nintendo Papercrafts because my boyfriend of six years and I are both big Nintendo fans.  We want to have a game room when we are married with our own house.  We always look at this blog to see what crafts they have available.


I commented on Vickie's blog about having the same kind of problems uploading my picture.  I commented on Britt's blog by thanking her for this cool neat tool and by asking for the hyperlink to it.  On Tabitha's blog I discussed a similar tool we use at my school and commented on how I wish it had a new feature.  My comment on Jamie's blog was about the usefulness of the tool she shared in a special education classroom. 
I commented on Lisa's blog by sharing my same love for Google and by pondering about a site where classrooms that wanted to Skype each other could sign up.  When I read Katelyn's blog, I shared my similar experience with student teaching and my excitement about her second placement being at my school!  And on Nintendo Papercrafts, I asked if they had any other Mario crafts. 
Each of these comments I made with the hope of encouraging the writer, sharing my similar thoughts, or asking for more information on the topic.