Thing 18

I have never been a big Facebook user.  I set up an account for another class a few years ago, but restricted it so that only the people in my class that I had to friend had access.  I had just recently closed it when we got the assignment earlier in the semester that required us to have one.  So, resticted to high heaven, is this one, too.  In fact, I've only friended two people so far, and they are both in this class.  I know social networking has its advantages, but I'm not a very public person, I don't take a lot of pictures, and if I don't want to speak to you directly, or at the least through email, I probably don't have that much to share. 

I know this sounds awfully pessimistic, but my family understands.  My sister and cousins are the only ones in my family that I even know have a Facebook account, and they use them mostly for playing games.  I'm sure there are some practical uses for Facebook in the classroom, but I can think of amny other applications and software that are more beneficial to the educator. I guess using Facebook as a messaging tool would be advantageous for a teacher and students. 

I think the most important thing for educators to consider regards privacy, especially when their personal Facebook pages are concerned.  Be careful what you post, should be the motto.  The privacy controls are the best part of both Facebook and Twitter.  I think that I will be more likely to keep my facebook account - or at least open one for family and friends - and delete my Twitter account.  I barely have time to check my email, much less tweets.

Thing 17

Oh my gosh, how fabulously cool is this Delicious.com?  I love the tags, so much more detailed than those you find on the regular search engines.  I love how you can add to them.  That way, you know you'll find it again.  Ok, so it's a bookmarking tool and not a search engine, but still, way cool.  I love the idea of being able to access your bookmarks anywhere.  Stacking is another plus, how much easier it makes it to find things.  I can see how this could be productive in an educational setting.  Each student could have their own account and bookmark things found using a school computer and then access them from their home computer.  Teachers could even set up pages for students to use.  I think Delicious.com is a wonderful site and I can't wait to get a huge of list of stacks going.

Thing 16

I chose iGoogle for my Internet home page.  I've always been a big fan of Google because of how easy everything is to manipulate.  The iGoogle page has so many different things to choose from and you can arrange the items you choose anywhere on the page.  I love the National Geographic Picture of the Day box, it's in the top right corner of my page.  My Google calendar is in the middle of the top row and to its left is the weather.  I also chose the CNN headlines box and the NPR news box.  As mentioned, I created a Google calendar.  I chose the Google calendar because it imports to my iGoogle page and can be accessed from my iPhone.  It also is incredibly easy to use.  To do lists are not my favorite.  I haven't found one that is quick enough to use regularly.  I like sticky notes.  I've downloaded sticky notes to my computer and usually have 3 to 5 of them on my desktop.  I'm even known to have several paper sticky notes around the edges of my monitor.  I can't help it! sticky notes are the best thing since tying a string around your finger to remember.  I love them!  I think that all of these tools could be beneficial to educators, parents, and students.  I would recommend all of them, especially the Google calendar.  I've already created one for my 2012-13 preschool class.  I think that communication is one of the most important duties of an educator and parents really appreciate an easy to access communication tool.  Google calendar is a great way for teachers to inform both students and parents about what is happening in the classroom.

Thing 15

I thought wikis were only found on wikipedia.  I never realized there were pages after pages of them on other sites.  I really liked being able to tweak the submissions of other authors.  Kinda felt good to have that kind control, but at the same time, I felt guilty for maybe hurting some one's feelings.  Oh, well, all fun in completing assignments!

This would be a cool thing to have in classroom. Students could work collectively on a project that could be entirely created on a wiki page.  Although I didn't explore it myself, I believe there are ways to restrict editing privileges to specific users. 

Thing 14

I have to say I really enjoyed this activity.  I've never worked with any of these sites, nor made a flowchart or mind map digitally before now.  I chose to visit Gliffy and make a flowchart.  Gliffy had a large choice of charts to choose from - I appreciate that.  A onestop shop for all your charting needs!  Bubbl.us was interesting, too.  Although I did not finish creating the mindmap I started, I had an opportunity to peruse the different options they had available.  I think I will use Gliffy more, for both personal and classroom use.  My certification will be pre-K through third.  I'm not sure how many of the students could figure out what to do on their own, but I'm sure the older students could make either chart after a tutorial on the programs.

Thing 13

I really enjoyed playing around with both Google Docs and Zoho.  I am more comfortable with maneuvering around Google Docs, but only because I've used it before.  This is the first time I used it to 'share' any of my work.  So, here is a link to an invitation I made and saved on Google Docs.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18_qOprNmqZrjOqiR4Mdi5xiS66JpFko0zJv3MGFVW_0/edit 

And, here is a screenshot so can view it without leaving this post!

 

Zoho was a new experience for me.  I wasn't really sure what to expect.  It seems a lot like Google Docs.  I had worked on a flyer for a class during my undergraduate studies.  I was able to upload it to a Zoho writer document.  I was unable to 'share' it by using the 'post to blog button', so, I've taken a screen shot and inserted it below.

 

Of these two productivity sites, I prefer Google Docs to Zoho.  Some of this may be because I am already familiar with Google Docs, but I think the ease of access for so many to view an edit the same piece work is amazing.  Using Google Docs for collaborative projects in the classroom is a great way to get students used to working in groups and using web-based applications.  One assignment I have thought about using in lesson plans for one of my other classes uses Google Docs.  The assignment is for groups of four to work together on a flyer advertising the reading selection of the week.  The flyer must be created in Google Dos.  Students will have 15 minutes in one class period to decide a theme for the flyer, get a basic idea of how it should look, and assign responsibilities (who will write the text, who will format the layout, who will add the graphics, etc.).  All other work must be done individually.  This kind of collaborative work using Google Docs could be used in many different assignments.  Even peer editing of papers would be a way Google Docs could be used as a collaborative assignment.