Is tagging a useful way to organize your digital resources and why?

*As someone who thinks her “lable maker” is one of her best friends, I really think this tagging thing has alot of great potential.  I find great joy and comfort in labeling the things in my home (ie. the shelf in the fridge for yogurt, the shelf for my tupperware – and I am not kidding), so labeling my favorite web sites sounds terrific!  I have no experience with tagging but as I read the different articles it sounds like it will provide alot of flexibility in how I categorize things.  One article also mentioned that creating these was like writing in pencil, and they can be edited easily.   

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages?

An advantage that I see is being able to access the sites I use most both at home and work.  Another advantage is the ablilty to label them with multiple labels.  Since I have no experience with this I am not sure what the disadvantages for me will be. 

 What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?

Not being to broad in the tags that you create.  I also see it as being important to think ahead to when you will be looking for this the next time.

*As a reader I really like having to leave a comment, simply because I think it makes me a better reader.  When looking at a site, if I know I can leave a comment it causes me to process the information more thoroughly. 

*When I received my 1st comment I was very interested in what the reader had to say, and to find out if I was approaching this blog in the right manner.  I can compare it to my facebook account – and how interesting it is to see the replies that people make to my comments.

*Students commenting on blogs can be really important because I feel that is will also make them process and think about the information.  They may also have different background knowledge in regards to the subject and may see things in a different light.

*Students sharing their writings online could be really beneficial for a number of different reasons.  The first being that writing on a blog is simply more natural for our tech savvy kids as compared to a spiral notebook.  Also, if they know that someone other than the teacher is going to be reading their journal – they may put more effort into their writing. 

*I do not belong to any online communities, though I visit and utilize two teachers blogs on a weekly basis. 

Google Doc & Maps

Google Doc really interests me because of the ability to invite and collaborate in regards to your documents.  I think there is alot of potential use for this in regards to utilizing for all your saved docments and its ability to save changes along with past versions.  One part of this that really interests me is the ability to share and collaborate with teaching materials in regards to team teaching. 

I went into google doc’s and created a new document (spread sheet) and merged an existing document from my computer.  Both of these were done easily and  I appreciated the tool bars being easy to use.  The one problem that I ran into was when I attempted to share the document I was told that I “couldn’t send until I verified my account” , although I have already verified my account. 

Google Maps:

This part of google has some interesting features ( walking, car, and public transportation maps) that I could see being really useful in planning vacations.  As I played with these maps my mind was running as to how I could integrate this into my social studies class.  We use alot of maps on the blog for my class, but I think that google maps may have more potential because it allows you to interact with the map itself. 

*Changing theme from default:   This was an easy activity.  In the future I would be interested in finding more themes with different options. 

*Embed a photo:

The photo part of this assignment was the most difficult of this post.  I had to consult another teacher in regards to this assignment, and was glad to learn about the website “flicker”. 

Image: ‘experiment with sepia and color‘
www.flickr.com/photos/8787500@N05/875108672

*Favorite Educational Website:

http://blogs.reeths-puffer.org/niklasca/

This website is currently one I visit often because it is designed and used by the teacher I am teaming with.  This site is an awesome tool for teachers, parents, and students.  The site may be visited to review the day’s presentation along with any video clips that were shared in class.  Each Thursday we have a vocab quiz – and this site provides the students unlimited practice on the quiz.  This blog is a great tool for communication and learning.

*5 links to blog:  Posting these links was very straightforward.  In the future I would be interested in categorizing them for educators, parents, and students.

“A Really Different Place…writing…reading….reflecting…creating”

http://areallydifferentplace.org

This particular blog stood out to me because of the number of student blogs that were posted.  I also appreciated this blog because it had a strong statment in regards to the purpose of the blog.  In our district everything we do needs to be realated to our goals/objectives and this blog was a good example of that.  I felt that this blog could be considered “best practice” because it was obvious that the students were getting more than one pieces of feedback in regards to their writing.  As I looked at this blog I thought one way I could use the blog is in place of my students journals.  The blog would be a fresh new place for them to write and meet the objectives of our writing curriculum.

“What’s Happening in Room 8″

http://jmyrmel.edublog.org/

This blog really stood out to be because of it’s easy to use and clean format.  I also liked that there was a place where I could register and request email updates of the blog.  I felt that this website had “best practice” in that it is an awesome communication tool for parents.  There were numerous links that the students could access for additional practice linked to the current curriculum that they are focusing on in class.  There was also a link for the most recent newsletters.  I could use pieces of this blog including the links for current curriculum, and as another tool to communicate with parents.

As I watch the video and read the article …. I felt challenged.  I tend to feel behind the times in technology…. we just got cable t.v. 2 years ago, we just got the internet in our home this summer, we have one of those “pay as you go” cell phones that we rarely use, I don’t have an IPOD, I just sent my first text message this week (and it took me forever to figure out how to do it!).

The good news is I am not afraid of learning new things and over the last two years have had the opportunity to team teach with 2 amazing teachers that have taught me a lot of new things.

Last year the classroom that I taught in had a smart board, and it was great to have the opportunity to integrate this piece of technology into teaching. This year I am in a classroom where the teacher relies heavily on her blog (integrating quizzes, video’s, ect).  I am excited to learn more about integrating the blog into my teaching. 

The thought of using cell phones to teach is entirely new to me.  One that I would love to learn more about and see in action.

I do believe that I need to do a better job of integrating technology into my teaching, and am excited to grow in this area. 

“Educational Blogging”

Before reading this article I had not really given much thought to what a blog is.  I visit blogs and go to them for information – but really didn’t know what the definition or purpose of a blog is.

The article discusses that a blog can be periodic articles that are presented in reverse chronological sequence.  Another important aspect of a blog is that is can be commented on by outside sources.  This provides for an “open dialogue” within the blog.  The users don’t have to simply look at the information, they can reflect on the information and provide thoughts and insights. 

When utilizing blogs within the teaching setting it is exciting that it can be used to provide the students opportunities to participate in peer review assignments.  Blogs are a great tool to utilize in communicating with parents and students.  When students create blogs – they become the teachers – and have to master the subject before they can present/teach the material. 

This school year I am team teaching in a setting where the students will be creating blogs – and using these blogs to reflect on the material we are covering in class.  I am very excited to see how the blogs will be utilized in covering and solidifying the GLCE’s that are being taught.

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