Thing #16 - Organization

First of all, Dr. Wall, the links you inserted at beginning of this assignment were a dirty trick! You got me distracted for a good half hour before I remembered what I was supposed to be doing!!

Call me sheltered, but I was surprised to realize there are other websites out there that can provide me the same services my beloved Google can. I really liked NetVibes, so i created an account even though I already have an iGoogle start page. After playing around with it though, I'll probably stick with my iGoogle page. It would be more counter-productive to create another home page just because I think the interface is nice. Besides, although I like the idea of a start page, I still end up going to the individual sites whose links are supposed to "save me time".

I also already have a Google Calendar (as I mentioned in a Thing #13), so I added Remember the Milk to it. I'm an avid list maker, so this tool automatically appealed to me. I haven't determined yet whether it'll actually be helpful or not. I like my calendar because it helps me keep track of what I'm supposed to be doing throughout the day (obviously). I like having it online rather than carrying around a planner because I can access it from anywhere I have internet access. Furthermore, since it's on a computer instead of written down, it's a lot easier to rearrange things. I love that I can make different colors for different subjects (I'm a very visual person).

After completing my observations in Kindergarten, I could see Google Calendar being very beneficial in the classroom. I don't think I really understood how organized you have to be when teaching at that level until I experienced it - a color-coded online calendar that I could share with parents and colleagues would be a huge help. I would recommend it to anyone!

Thing #15: The Wonderful World of Wikis

I edited the Google section of the APSU sandbox because Google has by far been my favorite gadget. I took a screen shot of my calendar to insert as an example of one of the tools you could use, but I could not figure out how to insert it into the page, although it seemed like you could insert almost anything else!

I think wikis could be very beneficial and educational in a controlled setting. Obviously many consider their biggest flaw to be their lack of security. As a teacher, you could limit the access so only your class is able to edit the content. It could be a great way to incorporate new technology into group projects - no more poster presentations! And you are able to monitor who edits what, and when.

Thing #14: Go With the Flow

I waited for flowchart.com to accept my request, but was disappointed when I finally logged in. It was confusing for me to figure out, and when I did, I just disliked it. Of the four tools suggested, the one I did like was bubbl.us. I really liked the interface; it was easy to figure out, easy to use, and I generally looked good.
To be honest though, I'm not the biggest fan of flowcharts and mind maps. But I can definitely see how they could be beneficial in helping plan out concepts or make decisions. I didn't create one of my own, but I inserted a flowchart I found online years ago and saved to my computer. I hope everyone finds it beneficial as they progress through their 23things.

Thing #13

I love Google docs. I've used it in the past to help out a friend with an essay they were writing for an English class. They wanted me to look over it and review any stupid mistakes they were making; Google docs was a great way for us to both revise it without making a million copies or emailing back and forth. Another great thing about Google docs is that, even though you don't have hard copies of each revision you make, the website stores your revision history with every correction you make. You can go back and review previous drafts. If you decide one of them is better than what you currently have, you can restore that draft. This could be useful in a class when students are doing peer editing. As the teacher, you could view what changes have been made, and by whom.

The best part of web-based applications is that they are accessible from any computer with an internet connection. I've started using it for documents I don't share with other people too. I find myself using my desktop, laptop, classroom computers, and library computers to work on the same assignments. In the past, I would have to wait for the assignment to load up on my usb drive, and run the risk of losing the drive on the commute (which I've managed to do twice)! Now, I can store them in Google docs and access them from any computer that has internet access. It saves automatically, and I don't have to worry about whether I have my usb drive with me.


(written in google docs)

Thing #12: Google It!

I LOVE Google Calender! I have one set up for my classes, one for each of my jobs, one for when I'm "supposed to" go to the gym, one for other appointments... it lets you set each one as a different color so it's like a rainbow of activities :) I actually get excited when I make plans because I get to add it to my Google Calendar! Wow, just realized how sad that sounds. One of the other features I like is that you can share your calendar with other people. I sent my school and work calendars for my mom to see so she'll know when I'm busy and not call me then (I don't think she bothers looking at them though). As a teacher, you could make a class calendar, with activities, meetings, field trips, that are planned and either invite parents to view it, or make it public. It would be a great way to keep parents informed. You could also make one with your cirriculum plans and share it with the other teachers in your grade. One of the settings when you share your calendar allows you to collaborate on a calendar together.

I tried using Google Notebook; it sounded like something that would be really useful to me. I'm constantly opening a million browser screens when I research something, and then don't want to close them and lose the information. Google Notebook would be a great way to keep all that organized. Unfortunately, when I tried to start one, I got a message saying "Google recently stopped development on Notebook, which means it is no longer being improved upon or open to sign-ups by new users." Sadface.

Google Alerts didn't appeal to me because I couldn't think of something I wanted to be alerted about, although it could be very useful in the classroom when students are doing a project on current events.

I didn't think Picasa would interest me, because I already have a Flickr account and never use it. But I liked the way it's organized, and noticed that Google Translator automatically translates comments people leave in other languages, which I think is an awesome feature.

I ended up making an iGoogle page. Google's "classic" website has been my homepage for years. iGoogle lets me organize a bunch of cool stuff with the Google Search - and I can pick whatever stuff I want. So far, I have a thing that tells me the weather, my Google Calender, a ToDo list, my horoscope, a How To of the Day, CNN.com headlines, and a virtual pet turtle.

Thing #11: Feeding

Most of the blogs I've subscribed to I heard of through word-of-mouth. I'll get an "I think you'll like this" email, or someone at work will show me a link. SInce my last post, I've added a blog Sarita, my friend from home, started when she moved to South America and Stuff White People Like, which Sarita suggested to me. I also subscribed to Improve Everywhere, a site I found in my Social Deviance class when I was in undergrad.

Using feed finders was a new experience for me. I wasn't the biggest fan at first, mostly because I didn't know what topics to search for. But when I went to Topix, there was a headline that caught my attention (At Least 1 Stabbed at Clarksville Mall) and I was tempted to browse the sight more. I liked that it had local news and read a lot from The Leaf Chronicle, but I couldn't subscribe to their website directly. I liked the way Topix was organized and that it focused on news instead of any and every blog. I browsed a little more and added SNAFU-ed (I unsubscribed from Huffington Post because they update a few thousand times a day, so I needed a new news source).

The Feedster and Syndic8 links would not work for me, so for the last two feed finders (Google and Technorati), I did an experiment: I searched for a random topic - Backpack Europe (something I've always wanted to do and hope to get around to someday soon) - at both sites and compared the blogs that they found for me. As a Google Devotee, I was surprised that I liked more of Technorati's results. Furthermore, their site was more aesthetically pleasing to me.

Thing #10: Too Simple?

I chose to use Google Reader because I already have an account with google and check it almost compulsively throughout the day.

The first three blogs I subscribed to were no-brainers because I visit the sites daily anyway. They are FMyLife, MyLifeIsAverage, and S***MyDadSays. After subscribing to them, I felt like I needed something with a bit more substance, so I subscribed to Huffington Post, a collection of news, blogs, and videos about politics, media, business, entertainment, living, style, the green movement, world news, and comedy. The final blog I stumbled upon was Faces in Places, which is updated everyday with a photo of a face found in an everyday place.

At first, I was hesitant about grouping all my blogs in one, easy-to-access location because I tend to visit the first three sites as a way to kill time when I should be doing other things... Who wants to make killing time more efficient? But as I looked around at all the other blogs I could subscribe to, I realized how useful this tool could be when you want to check out a large number of different sites. I also like that there is a way to organize your blogs into different folders, so if you have a group that are about education, and another group about cooking, you can keep them seperate. This could be really helpful in school if you create collections of blogs about a topic you are researching or teaching.