Thing 5: Educate Yourself

Blogs I've added to my Google Reader (that I really like):
Dy/Dan
Cool Cat Teacher
Weblogg-ed

Thing 4: Life really simple

I had, until now, used the RSS Feed feature in Outlook. I like RSS feeds because it's easy. It's easy to set up. It's easy to use and it makes life SO much easier when trying to follow multiple sources.
Google Reader itself is not anything spectacular in my book. I might try out the Bloglines or netvibes or something. I really like technology (hardware and software) that offer "the most bang for your buck". So, for me, I like that when I open outlook, it is just one step. I can read e-mail, check my calendar, check my tasks and check for any new blog posts all at once. I understand that this is also true for people who use Gmail... I enjoy Outlook because it "pushes" to my phone as well.

For use in education, I can think of a couple easy applications:
Teachers: an easy, practical way to keep up with any student blogs that you have set into place as well as a way to keep informed and educated about anything from current news to leaders in education.
Students: a great way for them to keep up with other students' blogs as well as an easy/efficient way for them to keep up with the news and other ways to educate themselves.

Thing 1: Lifelong Learning

It's easy to get caught in that trap of thinking that it's too soon or too late or that there is just no time...
As I was watching the 7 1/2 habits of highly successful learners, I was reminded of the fact that we, as teachers (promoters of lifelong learning), should engage in lifelong learning more often than the Average Joe. And we, perhaps, should be the ones who are best at saying there are no excuses.

So... the hardest and easiest habits for me:
Hardest: View problems as challenges... I can easily live with and work through problems without getting too upset... but to have that optimism of viewing them as challenges from the beginning is something I don't do automatically.
Easiest: Play!