Thing #17

So, I listened to the explanation about how great this tagging and social bookmarking tools are.  I like the idea of being able to bookmark the sites I visit the most.  I am not sure I like the idea of other people piggybacking on them so they do not have to take the time to find the information themselves.  I signed up on Delicious.  Thinking back, I am not sure how much I like the idea of how many sites I needed to join to be able to do the homework, free or not.  Under the tags "educational technology" I ended up on a popular site that allows the viewers to listen to different quotes said by all kinds of people - TED:  Ideas worth spreading.  I did not find the comments section so I typed it in the question bar.  The comments seemed to be more like questions about what could be found on the site than how people felt about using it.  There were ten tags associated with this link.  Within a grade level, teachers would be able to share information quickly and easily with other teachers.  

Thing #16

The start page I chose was Googlei because I had already set it up.  The set up was simple and I liked being to keep my home page simple and not too busy looking.  The calendar I chose was Google calendar.  Earlier, in a blog, I commented  "oh another calendar"-  I still feel that way.  I have events and appointments written on my calendar in the kitchen so everyone can see it.  Then I looked at the sites that are designed to help you keep track of your "lists".  A long time ago, I found myself writing and trying to keep up with a lot of different lists.  Some of which were to be done in the near future and some were more like wish lists or all of the things you wished you had done when you were living in the house, not when you were selling it.  My husband is a list maker, he keeps up with them and updates them constantly.  I got to the point where I had too many lists and all I was saying was" "it is on my list".  Not a big fan of making another list.  Eventually, I will have to be on my computer every day.  When that happens I will probably choose the calendar over the other things.  If needed I can run a copy and post it in the kitchen so everyone will be able to see it and add to it.  The calendar is the one I could see using to keep the parents informed of classroom and school activities.  I am not sure how the students would like it or even use it.

Thing #15

I will have to think about what I will post in the sandbox.  I have never used this application, I agree it looks easy and useful.  This would come in handy for my son's Scout Troop,  for when they plan their trips.  They never seem to know who is bringing what and when and where they are meeting.  This would be nice to use with parents when the class is having a special event and the teacher is asking them to bring in items.  Students could use this in the same manner but for projects and papers. Every teacher has a wish list, this would be a neat way to get parents to donate items that are needed.  I added my thoughts about a blog to consider reading if you are looking to laugh.  

Thing #14

In an undergraduate class I had to create a web which represented my brain storming a topic that I planned on teaching to my class.  My classroom is a prekindergarten room and now that spring is here, we will be learning about insects.  Bubbl.us helped me create this diagram faster and easier than when I did it on my computer.  This might also work with a group of students who are brainstorming their thoughts on a project, each student would be able to have a bubble.

I also looked at the Venn diagrams on Gliffy.  Prekindergarten children are usually only comparing two items, but Venn diagrams help visual learners see the relationship and auditory learners hear the process of the comparison.  In the classroom, the teacher draws the Venn diagram on a large piece of paper and then hangs it in the room.  Using a template would allow the teacher to quickly type in the outcome and then send it home to help the parents reinforce what their child learned that day.

Thing #13

Here we go again.  Checked out the web site, this might be a good tool to use in the classroom.  Students would be able to write assigned work on this site and still access their work on their home, school or library computer.


https://writer.zoho.com/index.do


For some reason, Google docs looks very familiar.  Maybe we explored this site in class or in another "thing".  Students could use this site much like zoho in that it will also allow them to save their work and still be able to access it on another computer.  When students are working on group projects, all group members are able to access the work.  I would probably choose Google docs just because it is familiar to me, both sites seem to be able to do similar things.

Thing #12

I started with a Google Alert page for Clarksville, Tennessee.  I am not able to watch the news everyday and most weeks I miss at least three days of news.  It will be nice to have important news sent to my email account that I try to read once a day.  At the moment, I can think of two examples to use Google Alerts in a pre-kindergarten classroom, the Olympics and Election Day.  These are two topics that, in the past, the students have loved watching and keeping up with.  I also set up an iGoogle page.  I am not sure how much I would actually use this page, unless I set this as my homepage.  It is a simple set up, which I like.  There is a place to chat with friends, that may be used to talk with parents and the option to open a Gmail account, which could also be used in the same manner.  Newsletters and important reminders could be sent to parents through either of these applications.
            http://www.google.com/ig?hl=en                     iGoogle page  
            http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en&gl=us     alerts

Thing #11

This was one Thing that was easy to do.  Click and read.  This was not confusing and some of the feeds may be useful.  I liked the listing for the best feeds.  I think finding a good feed is like finding a good book or a good place to work.  My friends have suggested and recommended many shows, books, movies, clothes, food, etc... to me.  I think a good friend or colleague would point me in the direction of finding a good feed.  And even if the original feed is something that is not that interesting or useful, it could lead to another feed that will be exactly what you are looking for.   

Thing #10

HELP!  Really Simple Syndication.  Understanding what it is and how to do it are two separate things.  I think this should have been Thing #3 allowing Thing #4 to be the five different feeds the user would want to see every day.  I like being able to only have to click on one button instead of clicking on several buttons to get to the same place.  I also like being able to subscribe to what I want to read and see.  I like not having to feel like I have to check the web sites for updates all of the time.  This would have come in handy when I was substituting, I think I would have been able to find job placements faster.  I have worked in classrooms where the teacher was required to have their computer on so they could read any updates throughout the day, this must have been how they were able to do it.  I think this application could be used with a class that was following a news story or learning about a weather event.  Students might use RSS feeds to watch animals in a zoo or in the wild for a period of time.  Some teachers like to base their lesson plans on projects, like themes but taking most of the year to finish, and this tool could be used in the classroom and at home if needed.  

Thing #9

  
I must say, I know I should be playing around with all of these sites and just spending all of my extra time having fun and making fun, creative and useful "things" that I will use over and over again in my personal and work life, honestly, I am just not into it.  I do enjoy having the information on hand, if someone were to ask me about how to do or find these types of activities I could help them.   I liked the smiley faces.  I could make a chart of different feelings and the students could point to the one that describes best how they are feeling.  http://www.happyfacegenerator.com