Thing #17- Tagging and social bookmarking with Del.icio.us

Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com


This tool has great potential. Prior to this assignment, I have remarked that the "favorites" option is helpful, but after awhile becomes messy and overwhelming. There is no way to sort through what has been added. Using del.icio.us, however, allows it all to be stored in one place. The tags then help ensure that it is all organized, rather than just compiled into one long list. It is great for personal use, as well as for research assignments, projects, etc. There are times where one finds a great site, goes to another, and then forgets the first one. With this program, though, one just has to click the tag button and it is all saved for future reference.

The best part of this service, I believe, is the social aspect. I cannot get over how helpful this can be, especially for those working in the field of education! Think of all the new and creative lesson plans that could emerge from all of us sharing! New sites for instruction, new ways of doing things, the possibilities are enough to get anyone excited!

Thing #16- Get Organized with Web 2.0 Tools

Ok, I am officially amazed. Seriously. I LOVE my homepage! I used iGoogle, and it made this part of the "thing" by far the easiest. It is actually a ton of fun! I set it as my official homepage, and am already enjoying the results. Everything is in one place...Open it up and with one click you are there! (I chose the Dolce&Gabbana leopard print as my background...so cute!)

I specifically chose iGoogle after reading some of the other blogs and seeing how satisfied other people are with this service. I also thought it would be a good choice since I have used Google products for many of the other "things" and feel well acquainted with it.

I have already spoke of the advantages from online calendars. I chose the "Back Pack" for mine and found it easy and fun to set up. Honestly, though, I do prefer "Google Calendars". I have created quite a few, useing Goolge Calendars, for different things I cam trying to keep track of. My daughter even created one to keep track of her work schedule. Paper calendars have tiny boxes, which make it difficult to fit many things, or details, into. With Google calendars, however, you can add as much as you want, because you have to click on the box to get the information. This makes it appear much more organized. The color coding option also helps!

I chose to explore "remember the milk" for my to-do list. I chose this program because I thought the name was cute, and the start page was more appealing to me than the others. It is a cute program, however, I think it is faster to just write things down on paper or with a basic word processing tool (ie Open Office).
One can also add a to-do list to the homepage he created at the beginning of this exercise. This option is more convenient because it is right there when you open up a window, instead of having to go to the web site, sign in, and then view your list.

I believe all of these services can be helpful to one at both home and school. I especially like IGoogle and Google Calendars, as I'm sure you can tell :]

Thing # 15- What in the world is a wiki?

First, check out this website. It has some cool ideas for incorporating wikis into education. The site as a whole is interesting and informative. Check it out :]!

I had learned the term "wiki" before reading to this lesson, and a had some preconceived "bad" feelings about it. My daughter, who attends Texas A&M, has been given many projects where the instructors preface the assignment by saying "no information from a wiki is valid." Now that I have explored a wiki for myself, however, I see that it can be helpful to get other people's input...After all, aren't two heads better that one? I guess I always thought it was just an online dictionary where one could only alter definitions. Now I know it has many more uses...

Wikis can be used for planning, creating ideas, brainstorming, editing, and so on...Basically, everything a teacher does during a daily routine. It helps move things along, so one is not waiting for a response email. So much information gets lost in translation, but with this program, it is all right there. One can even view previous entries if he forgets something that seemed valuable or informative.

I enjoyed the concept of everything being in one place. It seems like many of these lessons have been about efficiency. How to get the most work done in one place, eliminating the "back-and-forth" of it all. How could I argue with that?

Image courtasy of www.ikiw.org.

Thing #14- Go with the Flow

I chose to create an account with bubbl.us and flowchart.com. Both of these programs were fairly easy to use; however,I find it more helpful to physically draw charts and webs out on paper. I am a reading teacher, so I can see how these tools can be utilized in the classroom. I am sure the kids would have fun using these programs to map out cause and effect, sequential order, and many other things of that nature. The fact that you can color coordinate them is also a neat accessory. I intend, without doubt, to incorporate these tools into my curriculum. I think these are great resources to have! I enjoyed bubbl.us a bit more, and found that it gave more direction, so that one is the one I plan on trying out first.

Thing # 13- Web Based Applications

 

 

Zoho Writer 

 

 

 

Importing a picture= Easy! 

 

So maybe I am just a creature of habit, but I honestly do not think Zoho Writer differs that much from any of the other programs I already have on my computer. I can, however, see how this program can benefit those who travel frequently, or do not have their computers with them. Inserting a picture is a breeze, and I found it easy to customize the size and appearance. It is a great option to have, and I do think it is a good program to be acquainted with; however,other than for those few things, there is not much that wins me over. I am sticking to old Microsoft Word...for now

Thing # 12- Google Tools

Oh, Google...

When looking through the list of things to explore, the "Google calendar" caught my eye. I am a very organized person, and thought this would be right up my alley. After taking the tutorial to learn more about it, I created an account. It is so easy! It literally only took a few minutes and I had already added several events. I find this service to be very helpful, especially for people with busy life styles. As a teacher, I find this convenient because I can check it from my computer at school, and do not have to worry about trying to find my physical calendar. Less paper= Less mess! For this exercise we are suppose to make it public, and this makes me a bit uncomfortable. It is one thing to view my pictures, but another to know my daily activities. I only added a few things that I thought were OK to be public, and the rest I set to a private setting. Overall, this is a great method for keeping track of events and things to get done.

To view my calendar simply go to Google calendar and type in my name (Angel Gregory) :]

"Google Alerts" was the next thing I decided to research. I also found this service to me helpful and not very complicated. As busy as I am, it really does help to be sent an email as a reminder. Teachers are busy people, and this program helps ensure that it all gets done!

Thing # 11- Adding Feeds

I liked most of the resources, and found them equally helpful. If I were to chose only a couple, however, I would probably say Google Blog Search and Blogline's search tool. All I had to do was type it a certain topic and then sort through the results. With so many options, alot of them did not seem appealing to me. After looking for awhile, though, I began reading some that I thought pertained more to me and my interest. I found feedster to be a bit challenging. The categories, although there are only three, did not seem helpful at all. On top of that, my computer would constantly freeze...but only when using that specific page. The link kept giving me an internet explorer error, which was very frustrating!

I will say that people write some pretty unusual things! I guess one feels less vanurable when he knows he can publish his opinions anonimously. When I did a search for raising children, for example, I was surprised to see some of the results. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder...