Thing #4 - Commenting is important

My first approach as everyone is getting involved in participating in 23 Things is to first read what others have commented on for the next thing I am working on. I think approaching it this way gives me some background knowledge before learning. The process of blogging and commenting puts you out there. I am more of a watcher that one who "wears their heart on a sleeve" about everything. I only get on my "soapbox" when there is something I am very passionate about. Posting and commenting allow me to be who I am. Blogging in my opinion is a safer way to express your thought and opinions as is it not a face to face and will give people the opportunity to develop skills in expressing their thought and opinions. Msmusicteacher (MMS Notes) really made me think twice about blogging and commenting and I commented on this posting. Do I really want someone to comment? Do I really want to be noticed? That is a scary thought at first but then how do I not get better if I don't get feedback from others. People who are reading my postings are doing so because they are interested in the same thing I am and want to learn something new just as I do. So far there are some ideas I haven't thought of that I have learned from other postings. (Comments to come). This is how posting and commenting create a community.
In the blog How to Comment like a king (or queen) 2 points I felt were very powerful and important. The first one was #6 - teach commenting. If we are going to use this with our students this is one of the first skills we need to teach, model, and practice before letting students loose. #7 - Remember the power of words is also very important. We have all said the old saying -"sticks and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me" and we all know how untrue that is! If we use blogging and commenting with our students we need to teach them how to properly comment and choose words that build and not hurt.
Although I read all of the suggested blogs about commenting and they all had important advice. I felt that this one statement in Edublogger Etiquette - Responding to Comments - "Are you listening to the voice of your readers or do they really have no voice?" was so powerful. We always have to make sure as teachers that we listen to our students. When we post something we need to "listen" to the comments posted this will help us grow as well and validate and help the person who posted the comment grow.

I posted a comment on 23 Things because I totally agree. When do we not use technology??? With cell phones, dvr, email, microwaves. I can't think of a day when we don't use it.
Wendy's Wanderings - the post on Thing 5 is so true we do need a balance between what these kids can do and help them learn to transfer to the classroom.
mathteachermrscpb had a suggestion of using the generator to create comics to help with SAT words. That was such a great idea that I have started a notebook to write down these ideas so I don't forget.
Additional comments on blogs to come!