Web 2.0 Tools

Google Sites is a great to help even the most technology challenged build an easy and useful website.  I actually used this tool to help my friend build a website for her newly launched business...great timing!

Concept Mapping was a great tool and I really liked the outline format that helped with easy organization.

Photobucket is a tool that I have used quite a bit over the years and it works well for me when posting images for marketing programs and marketing for support for students clubs!

Benefits of Twitter

I see Twitter as a great benefit to the classroom to update students on due date reminders, classroom activity ideas, and even class cancellation notices.  Twitter or another microblogging tolld can be used in education for many things including announcements for events, field trips, promotions, activity schedules, and even meeting outcome updates.

Transforming Learning

Incorporating technology into the classroom can be difficult when I only see my students for 50 minutes twice a week.  I do however like the fact the technology can provide more opportunity for collaboration and projects outside of the classroom and time constraints.  I do feel that adding blogs to the classroom helps students tremendously.  Being able to post previous work as examples has helped students come up with their own topics and final projects by seeing examples of others....I know it has helped me in this class!

Curriculum and Technology

Alan November discusses four things students should learn about technology:

1. Global empathy
2. Social and ethical responsibility on the web
3. The permanence of information posted online
4. Critical thinking about the information found online

I enjoyed the article and agreed with him on many points, especially about teaching students of the permanence of information posted online.  I do think that many students do not realize the web is archived every few days.  That is definitely something that needs to be taught and emphasized to students.  I think that next year I will do an exercise similar to the one November describes in the article to show students how "deleted" items are not truly deleted.

del.icio.us

I think del.icio.us is very useful in being able to network with others with the same interests and goals to broaden knowledge and resources.  It helps save time in researching sites by having other assist in researching the same topics and using their links and ideas.  I think it is a great tool that makes research so much easier.

Diigo vs del.icio.us.

I do like the way del.icio.us. simplifies bookmarking pages and I also like the ability to find what others are bookmarking that are following things of similar interest.  However, after researching Diigo, I am so impressed with all of the technology that can be incorporated.  Diigo allows you to access it from a variety of devices, uses digital highlights and sticky notes.  It also allows for active e-reading and is interactive.  I will definitely us Diigo going forward.

GoogleDocs

I knew of GoogleDocs but I had never used it before (although I definitely had a need, I never had or took the time to learn how to use it).  I have to say I LOVE GoogleDocs.  This will make my life so much easier when serving on committees like curriculum creation, department chair, etc.  I think it will also be great in the classroom for surveys and even for my thesis research.

Professional Wiki

I have found the Wiki Student Tech Stories to follow (http://studenttechstories.com).  This Wiki gives ideas and updates on technology for students and how students are using technology today.  It offers good ideas for the classroom and staying connected with students.

Wikis differ from a blog because blogs are typically about one person posting ideas, thoughts, etc.  Although a blog has the ability to have others post, they aren't necessarily intended for all to have equal access to editing rights like a Wiki.

Wikis for Professional Development

Although there are things abouat the Wiki that I do no favor, (like the ability to delete other's posts, or being "locked out" when someone else is editing the page) I do like being able to have multiple users update information.  Instead of sending countless emails back and forth with several updates to manager, the Wiki allows users to update information from a single site eliminating errors and maximizing time.

I believe I will incorporate Wikis in the office with staff having access to make updates, however I do not believe it is a tool I will use in the classroom.  I feel it would be difficult to manage student projects and posts with other students having access to delete or change peer postings.