I took a look around Del.icio.us, and I regret to admit that I do not see a lot of utility for this tool. It is a neat way to share bookmarks and be able to access them from anywhere, but beyond that I fail to see its usefulness. I suppose that a teacher could keep a running list of useful sites for their students to access, but it seems to me that this could be done much more effectively in a blog format. I looked around at the "comments" that others have made on the bookmarks, and some are enlightening and helpful; others are not.
The one good thing I can say about Del.icio.us is that it is pretty well organized, and could be a powerful search engine. You can click on different "tags" and see other sites with similar tags. The risk, however, is that you can quickly and easily veer waaaay off track. When I ventured outside the APSU23 things portion of the site, I wound up looking at a video of the Muppets singing a Queen song. Although this was entertaining, it was hardly relevant to education.
I suppose that teachers can create a Del.icio.us account and create a set of bookmarks that would be useful and relevant to his/her class. Del.icio.us lets students comment on the links, and add others that they think might be useful. Del.icio.us is a fascinating tool, but for teachers I think it is less than ideal. As a future teacher, I think that I will prefer to use tools that I have more control over. For now, I think that I can do everything I can do in Del.icio.us in a blog, and in a blog I will have more control over content.
What about you? Are you going to use Del.icio.us? Or do you think that it is a neat tool, but one with limited utility in the classroom?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thing #16
I have had an iGoogle page for many years now. It has a custom theme on the top of the screen (a country road), the top news stories app, a google maps app, a calendar, a to-do list and a weather app. I chose iGoogle because it works with my other Goggle pages and is really easy to modify. It has actually been my homepage for quite some time, but I think it is only marginally useful.
I actually prefer to use gadgets through the Windows Sidebar. I use a sticky note gadget to write all kinds of things on the sticky notes - important phone numbers, meetings, or homework assignments. I also use a calendar to map out all the homework assigntments and exams I have each school year. The calendar and the sticky notes sit on my desktop, which I find to be more convienient than opening up a web browser and modifying the online versions - perhaps this is because the internet at my house is kinda slow...
I do like making to-do lists, it helps me feel confident in my ability to actually get everything done. Again, however, I do not like using them in iGoogle. Instead, I create them with a sticky note gadget and plaster them all over my desktop.
If I were to suggest an online tool for others to use, it would definitely be a weather app for Mozilla Firefox. I use forecast fox. I think it is really useful to have the weather in a small bar along the bottom of my web browser. Much better than waiting around for the guy on the news to give the weather predictions.
What about you? Do you use the internet for recreation and entertainment, or do you use it to get work done? Which tools do you like?
I actually prefer to use gadgets through the Windows Sidebar. I use a sticky note gadget to write all kinds of things on the sticky notes - important phone numbers, meetings, or homework assignments. I also use a calendar to map out all the homework assigntments and exams I have each school year. The calendar and the sticky notes sit on my desktop, which I find to be more convienient than opening up a web browser and modifying the online versions - perhaps this is because the internet at my house is kinda slow...
I do like making to-do lists, it helps me feel confident in my ability to actually get everything done. Again, however, I do not like using them in iGoogle. Instead, I create them with a sticky note gadget and plaster them all over my desktop.
If I were to suggest an online tool for others to use, it would definitely be a weather app for Mozilla Firefox. I use forecast fox. I think it is really useful to have the weather in a small bar along the bottom of my web browser. Much better than waiting around for the guy on the news to give the weather predictions.
What about you? Do you use the internet for recreation and entertainment, or do you use it to get work done? Which tools do you like?
Thing #15
I edited the portion of the 23 Things wiki for lifelong learning. It was neat to be able to add things and see them all in one place, but I did have one concern. When I clicked "edit" I could have edited anybody's posts, deleted them, whatever I wanted to do. While this is great if you trust or know everyone who can edit the post, it would be bad if perfect strangers could sabotage your work.
On the other hand, a wiki would be a great place for collaborative work or collaborative learning to take place. A small, controlled group of people could really benefit from a wiki, because they could quickly and easily look at each other's work and correct, revise or update it.
The wiki concept has a particularly great potential for classroom learning, especially group projects. A teacher could ask a group of students to create a wiki. They could add images, text, even video. It would also be great because they could work together to revise and proofread their work. A well-done wiki would really make the old poster board projects look out of date.
What do you think? Are you too worried about other people editing your work to put much into a wiki - in other words, do you like your work to be YOUR work? Or do you like the idea of a community of people collaborating to create knowledge? It seems to me that this is the central question about wikis...
On the other hand, a wiki would be a great place for collaborative work or collaborative learning to take place. A small, controlled group of people could really benefit from a wiki, because they could quickly and easily look at each other's work and correct, revise or update it.
The wiki concept has a particularly great potential for classroom learning, especially group projects. A teacher could ask a group of students to create a wiki. They could add images, text, even video. It would also be great because they could work together to revise and proofread their work. A well-done wiki would really make the old poster board projects look out of date.
What do you think? Are you too worried about other people editing your work to put much into a wiki - in other words, do you like your work to be YOUR work? Or do you like the idea of a community of people collaborating to create knowledge? It seems to me that this is the central question about wikis...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thing #14
This is a mind map that I created with bubble.us to use on the first day of class. It breaks school down into to two categories, class and socializing, and then breaks those categories into smaller categories. Mind Maps are really cool - they allow you to break down complex information into smaller categories in a very visual way. They also allow you to see (literally) the relationships between ideas. Creating a mind map forces you to consider these relationships, and organize the information accordingly.
Flow charts, like the ones you can create with gliffy, are a little different. They give you more flexibility, but they are also harder to use. I found gliffy especially hard to use, to the point that I even got a little discouraged. This is a case where there is almost too much flexibility. I much prefer to create a mind map, and I had a great experience with bubble.us
What do you think? Do you find it helpful to create a mind map to break down complex ideas into smaller pieces? Or do you prefer to create a flow chart?
Thing #13
Google Docs is a free word processor available with a Google account. Through Google Docs, you can create word documents, spreadsheets, and even presentations. This seems to be the first step by Google to take on a territory traditionally dominated by Microsoft Office.
I have mixed feelings towards Google Docs. From my experience with the word processor, it seems like a good start; albeit a little less powerful and a little less refined than Microsoft Word. I felt the same way about the slideshow and spreadsheet applications - they were good, but their features were not up to the standards of MS Office. However, I have heard rumors of a major update in the works for Google Docs....only time will tell if it can match the features of MS Word.
On the other hand, there are many areas where Google Docs exceeds its desktop partner. For example, you can upload your documents and share them with others - this way, others can easily view and edit the document. It also saves the documents online - this means that there is no need to keep up with a flashdrive or hunt for it on your hard drive. Once you have created tons of documents, you can even search for them by keyword via a handy search function. Do these pros outweigh the cons? I think that online document creation is certainly the wave of the future. Once Google gets their features up to the standard of MS Office, I will certainly make the migration. Until then, I better keep up with my flashdrive...where did I put that thing???
What do you think? Have you migrated to Google Docs or Zoho yet? Do plan to? Do you think they reflect the wave of the future?
I have mixed feelings towards Google Docs. From my experience with the word processor, it seems like a good start; albeit a little less powerful and a little less refined than Microsoft Word. I felt the same way about the slideshow and spreadsheet applications - they were good, but their features were not up to the standards of MS Office. However, I have heard rumors of a major update in the works for Google Docs....only time will tell if it can match the features of MS Word.
On the other hand, there are many areas where Google Docs exceeds its desktop partner. For example, you can upload your documents and share them with others - this way, others can easily view and edit the document. It also saves the documents online - this means that there is no need to keep up with a flashdrive or hunt for it on your hard drive. Once you have created tons of documents, you can even search for them by keyword via a handy search function. Do these pros outweigh the cons? I think that online document creation is certainly the wave of the future. Once Google gets their features up to the standard of MS Office, I will certainly make the migration. Until then, I better keep up with my flashdrive...where did I put that thing???
What do you think? Have you migrated to Google Docs or Zoho yet? Do plan to? Do you think they reflect the wave of the future?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thing #12
I chose to set up a Google Alert system and an iGoogle page. I really like the Google alert system. It is an easy way to keep up with current events (i chose to receive emails about Iran, Oil, and Solar Power) and blends seamlessly with my gmail account. The only thing I do not like about this is that my topics are so broad that I receive a LONG email, with too many links to really explore. Eventually, I will probably discard this service or I will choose a narrower topic. As it is, I simply do not have the time or energy to browse all the links.
My iGoogle page is another story entirely. I have had one for a few years now, and love it. It gives me a home on the internet, with links to a few news stories, a map of my hometown, weather, a to-do list, and calendar with upcoming events. This transforms the internet from an impersonal place to a personal place. Instead of going to the internet, the internet comes to me. This seems to be the aim of all these Web 2.0 tools we have been exploring - making the internet work for the user, instead of the other way around.
What do you think? Have you started making the internet work for you? In the 21st century, do you think that it would be importatnt to teach students how to do this? After all, this seems to be the wave of the future, so it makes sense that students need to know how to use the internet efficiently and appropriately.
My iGoogle page is another story entirely. I have had one for a few years now, and love it. It gives me a home on the internet, with links to a few news stories, a map of my hometown, weather, a to-do list, and calendar with upcoming events. This transforms the internet from an impersonal place to a personal place. Instead of going to the internet, the internet comes to me. This seems to be the aim of all these Web 2.0 tools we have been exploring - making the internet work for the user, instead of the other way around.
What do you think? Have you started making the internet work for you? In the 21st century, do you think that it would be importatnt to teach students how to do this? After all, this seems to be the wave of the future, so it makes sense that students need to know how to use the internet efficiently and appropriately.
Thing #11
Once again, I really enjoyed creating this post. Sometimes (I stress SOMETIMES) blogs can be a great source of commentary on news. The problem with using blogs to keep up with news is that they are not as reliable as a real news site. They are not held accountable to any standards. That being said, if you take everything they say with a grain of salt, they can still be thought-provoking. I personally watch Think Progress, Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, and Newsbusters.org. Although I rarely take anything they say too seriously, they can be entertaining.
Finding good blogs is the challenge - there are TONS of blogs, and most of them are pointless, biased, or even misinformative. In the past, I have heard of some blogs by word-of-mouth, but this method is imprecise at best. Instead, it is far easier to use a search engine. Some search engines, like Feedster, have gone the way of the dinosaur, and are now extinct. Others, like Topix, are too hard to navigate. The most useful one is certainly Technorati, because it provide a "Top 100" list, which does a lot of the work in weeding out the junk for you. I have found that Google Blog search is useful to read specific posts, but not so usfeul to keep up with particular blogs.
What do you think? Do you find news blogs useful? Or do you find them biased and pIs it appropriate to expose children to such sources? Will you use them in your classroom?
Finding good blogs is the challenge - there are TONS of blogs, and most of them are pointless, biased, or even misinformative. In the past, I have heard of some blogs by word-of-mouth, but this method is imprecise at best. Instead, it is far easier to use a search engine. Some search engines, like Feedster, have gone the way of the dinosaur, and are now extinct. Others, like Topix, are too hard to navigate. The most useful one is certainly Technorati, because it provide a "Top 100" list, which does a lot of the work in weeding out the junk for you. I have found that Google Blog search is useful to read specific posts, but not so usfeul to keep up with particular blogs.
What do you think? Do you find news blogs useful? Or do you find them biased and pIs it appropriate to expose children to such sources? Will you use them in your classroom?
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