Thing 12

I saw the PBS Art Activity Widget on Mrs. Makowski's blog and I just had to have my own! In honor of Earth Day this coming week, I chose that Activity Pack Widget to put up on my page. I will be doing a number of activities with my students this week--and hope to pull a couple from this widget myself! I hope you all enjoy it too. 


I don't fully understand 'code' and what is actually going on when I post things, but I am very grateful for buttons that say "Grab it" and "Copy" etc. I am becoming way more comfortable with the activities associated with blogging and hope to continue to increase my abilities. I am not 100% pleased with the look of my blog, and hope to explore creating my own look at some point. I have been relying on the templates offered so far and haven't found one I just love yet. So, in the future, I would like to figure out how to create my own template...but I think that might be in the distant future! 


I am a member of a couple online communities. The friendships that I have gained from forums, etc. are priceless to me. On a daily basis, I communicate with people in online communities more than I do with my family and close friends. I might just be saying something like, "Whoa! I woke up late this morning!" but that is more than I am saying to my cousins, or old classmates. But, that doesn't mean those relationships are AS meaningful as face-to-face relationships. Often times, I feel narcissistic in online communities: I am always talking about myself and only hoping others will engage. If they choose not to, then it's just me talking about myself. In face-to-face relationships, that usually doesn't happen (or at least, we try to make sure it doesn't happen!). The relationships I have gained from online communities that mean the most to me have also become face-to-face relationships. I have met these people, have spent time with them, have had full conversations with them. And in doing so, I have found some of my best friends. It makes sense, too, because we all came together because of common interests, so in person, we have a lot in common and the bonds that began through an online community only grow stronger when face-to-face. 


Social networking sites seem to be very popular with kids today because for a number of reasons. They seem to feel isolated. A lot of the activities today are solitary ones. A lot of homes are broken. Kids need to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves. We all do. It brings a sense of security and well-being. So, possibly, people are seeking that out in any way available to them. Right now, that's social networking. It's definitely a great thing. I just hope that these kids, and adults too, are able to make personal connections with the people on the other end of the line. For me, that has made online communities all the better!