This just keeps getting better! I have always meant to set up Del.icio.us for myself, but I never got around to it. So thank you, 23 Things!
I am delighted by the terminology involved in a lot of Web 2.0 stuff... The name of Del.icio.us is a clever play on URL extensions. I love "folksonomy," to play off the stodgier "taxonomy" as an organizational model. Also, "bookmarklets" are neato - like cute, lighter versions of the heavy bookmarks. I like the abundance -- yet clarity -- of information; I see tags given to a page by others, and then I can click through to them
On Furl, I was disappointed in the Most Popular Bookmarks on the main page. And the tutorial was boring... So meh. I jumped ship. But hey, that's the way it is with the web... If something doesn't grab you, it's super easy to find something else quickly!
The Ma.gnolia service seems very similar to Del.icio.us, a bit homier-looking, perhaps, but functionality seems really similar. (And I hate to say this, but the period-in-the-midst-of-the-name thing is so copying!)
My preference with social bookmarking sites is similar to my preference with a lot of things - which is the most popular? (Even though BetaMAX was a better format, my parents chose VHS because it became ubiquitous; I learned a lot from that lesson when I was, what, 6 years old?) Sometimes, even if something's an inferior product (which I'm not saying Del.icio.us is), the sheer availability becomes important. I know that Del.icio.us is supported just about everywhere. Woo hoo!
I've been meaning to get started on what I'm calling my "TEKS Project" all summer - my categorization of web resources, organized by TEKS. This may be a great help in finding lesson plans specific to TEKS - though a cursory search for "TEKS math 5.1a" doesn't come up with anything - at least I'll be able to stockpile stuff I do find in an easily-accesible, sharable place.
As far as the social aspect, I can see wanting to share, share, and share (and borrow, borrow, and borrow) a lot when I find useful information.
I'm putting my Del.icio.us feeds on my iGoogle page, on my "School" tab along with the RSS feed for my 5th grade wiki updates!
And check out the bottom of my page! Badgeriffic!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Thing #16 - What a Tool!
At this point in the 23 Things course, I feel really cool. Almost every app I read about in the resources I had heard of -- and most of those I'd actually tried!!! Yay!!! I feel way less "lost" online, even though I know I haven't gotten anywhere near the End of the Internet.
I totally chose iGoogle to be my start page. Why? Well, I already use Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Reader! I like that they have "designer" themes and fun "gadgets." I wish I knew if they were behind the MISD firewall... Are they, anyone?
As far as Google Calendar goes, I love it. I have friends who've shared their calendars with me, and it helps coordinate my weeks. If my husband asks, "Can we have friends from Houston stay at our house next weekend?" he can look on my Google Calendar and know what plans, if any, we already have. The calendar on Outlook, though, is what I use at school. It's easy to get to, and it's somewhat easy to collaborate/invite with.
I have a TaDa List, but I've recently jettisoned it, preferring to just use my Notes app on my iPhone (however, that's limited if I want to do something complicated). There may be new apps available for the iPhone, too, that I haven't checked out. Seriously, though, for work, I just use good ol' PEN AND PAPER! Best listmaker ever!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE TinyURL! It's super-hard to tell kids to type a long URL to get somewhere, and heh, even with the shortened URLs, they still make typing errors! But it helps with that.
And Lifehacker! I enjoy it, as well as the other Gawker Media sites (some of which aren't family-friendly, as it were, so I won't link to 'em).
I totally chose iGoogle to be my start page. Why? Well, I already use Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Reader! I like that they have "designer" themes and fun "gadgets." I wish I knew if they were behind the MISD firewall... Are they, anyone?
As far as Google Calendar goes, I love it. I have friends who've shared their calendars with me, and it helps coordinate my weeks. If my husband asks, "Can we have friends from Houston stay at our house next weekend?" he can look on my Google Calendar and know what plans, if any, we already have. The calendar on Outlook, though, is what I use at school. It's easy to get to, and it's somewhat easy to collaborate/invite with.
I have a TaDa List, but I've recently jettisoned it, preferring to just use my Notes app on my iPhone (however, that's limited if I want to do something complicated). There may be new apps available for the iPhone, too, that I haven't checked out. Seriously, though, for work, I just use good ol' PEN AND PAPER! Best listmaker ever!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE TinyURL! It's super-hard to tell kids to type a long URL to get somewhere, and heh, even with the shortened URLs, they still make typing errors! But it helps with that.
And Lifehacker! I enjoy it, as well as the other Gawker Media sites (some of which aren't family-friendly, as it were, so I won't link to 'em).
Thing #15 - Wiki Which
One thing I'm struck by as I explore wikis is how it seems that librarians are totally kicking teachers' butts when it comes to active use! C'mon, teachers! Let's get wiki-ing!
Here's what I put on the Collaboration page of the misd23things wiki:
Here's what I put on the Collaboration page of the misd23things wiki:
I've always wanted to share ideas with other teachers in my school, district, state, etc. - but everything seems so scattered! If I have a connection with certain teachers, we can share a wiki to discuss/play with/collaborate on ideas for the upcoming school year, ways to deal with TAKS, and even stuff like plans for field trips! And I am super-excited about trying to convince my grade-mates to make wikis about our thematic units! - Summer M.And then this is what I put in the sandbox - hope no one kicks me in the face with the sand for it:
¤ ¤¤ ¤¤ ¤Well, okay... So I got a little curvy square!But the real meat - I made a wiki; maybe I'll be able to get buy-in from my team! See, here it is! I'm going to email my team today and see if they'll add on!
The button said "Insert Special Character" (look at the keyboard key above) - and I thought they meant me!
LOL!
-Summer
¤ ¤¤ ¤
Thing #14 - Flow Yeah!
Here's my experience with Gliffy. I'm not a huge flow chart person, though personality-wise, I should be. When I was in 2nd grade, my parents had a First Aid book that featured all kinds of flow charts to diagnose/treat/advise in different health situations. It was AWESOME (and when my mom cut her finger with a peeler, she was royally annoyed with my incessant questioning). I set out to recreate a flowchart from Cooking for Engineers, one of my faves: Making Lime Juice!
Flow charts are very procedural, follow-the-line graphic organizers (I'm thinking about the Flow Map, with split-offs). But mind maps are much more fluid, loose, and non-procedural - like neural nets without the synapse.
So, I then tried out Mindmeister, making a mindmap of some Web 2.0 ideas/associations:
Our campus uses Thinking Maps, and I wish there was an online collaborative app for these. Well! A quick google leads me to this, a place where you can buy Thinking Maps software. But is it web-based? No! But I think that in our Promethean software, we have the ability to type onto them. So I'll definitely use some of those in teaching content as well as going back to that "teaching how to decide what's true and real" online.
Flow charts are very procedural, follow-the-line graphic organizers (I'm thinking about the Flow Map, with split-offs). But mind maps are much more fluid, loose, and non-procedural - like neural nets without the synapse.
So, I then tried out Mindmeister, making a mindmap of some Web 2.0 ideas/associations:
Our campus uses Thinking Maps, and I wish there was an online collaborative app for these. Well! A quick google leads me to this, a place where you can buy Thinking Maps software. But is it web-based? No! But I think that in our Promethean software, we have the ability to type onto them. So I'll definitely use some of those in teaching content as well as going back to that "teaching how to decide what's true and real" online.
Thing #13.1 - Um, no.
Well, the title didn't show up, even though I liked the composition interface better... So I think I'll just keep using Blogger for now!
Thing #13 - Unlucky?
Since I've played with Google's product in the past, I'll tinker around with Zoho. Already, this app is freaking me out. I'm composing this blog entry on Zoho, and we'll see how it turns out!
I am very used to Google Docs, but this seems a lot more complex. My husband and I used Google spreadsheet to build the invite list for our wedding, complete with addresses and replies; we also tracked our wedding gifts and whether we'd sent a thank-you note! I loved that we could collaborate (if his mom emailed him with an address, he could add it himself; if he unwrapped a gift, he added it to the list when I wasn't home).
UPDATE: Okay, I just published the above to Blogger. I LOVE how they let you publish as a draft (something I really wish Flickr would let you do). As far as formatting goes, though, I write in the "Edit Html" window instead of using "Compose" - it makes me feel more in control - and the HTML for the above text looks pretty opaque.
I did, though, in the Google Docs Power User article, read about how Google lets you post to your blog, too. So let me try that -- look for Thing#13.1 in a sec!
I am very used to Google Docs, but this seems a lot more complex. My husband and I used Google spreadsheet to build the invite list for our wedding, complete with addresses and replies; we also tracked our wedding gifts and whether we'd sent a thank-you note! I loved that we could collaborate (if his mom emailed him with an address, he could add it himself; if he unwrapped a gift, he added it to the list when I wasn't home).
UPDATE: Okay, I just published the above to Blogger. I LOVE how they let you publish as a draft (something I really wish Flickr would let you do). As far as formatting goes, though, I write in the "Edit Html" window instead of using "Compose" - it makes me feel more in control - and the HTML for the above text looks pretty opaque.
I did, though, in the Google Docs Power User article, read about how Google lets you post to your blog, too. So let me try that -- look for Thing#13.1 in a sec!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
