Thing 14

I used Gliffy and Bubble US. I have to be honest in that I really didn't see a big difference between the two. In essence, both a mind map and a flow chart seem to be very similar to me. I am not certain why you would use one versus another. I have typically used flow charts for org charts. this is the most common application that I have used them for. I can also see a purpose for flow charts in the classroom for demonstrating activities that require specific steps to be followed. There are certain activities that I teach, in which flow charts would be great for my students, as it can simply direct them to go forward or to step back and repeat a particular process. I may look to develop lessons that use these tools.

Thing #13

Below is what I typed in Zoho Writer. It was very easy to publish it to my blog. As I said in the typing that I did on Zoho, I found the tool to be far less reliable than MS Word. I think it may be fine once they get the tool to function at the same level of reliability that MS Word functions at. The way it was functioning for me, I would have to say that at this time, I would not be willing to switch from MS Word to Zoho on a regular basis.

This is my first time using Zoho Writer. It does seem as though this tool is similar to MS Word, which is an application that I teach. One issue that I have with this application already is that I can not see the entire typing area on my computer screen. In addition, I keep getting these pop ups that want me to continually save my document. If the document needs to be saved, then I would like the system to automatically save the document like my MS Word does.

Thing #12

There are multiple tools available through Google Tools. One of them is the calendar. I can see this being a helpful tool, but I am already using my Outlook Calendar, which I share with the people that need to know my calendar. I like this option better than using one based on the web, as I have the security of my server with firewalls, which helps to insure that outsiders can not gain access to my calendar. I can't say that I will use the Google Calendar, as I simply have nothing that I want to post on my calendar and make public to everyone on the web.

As for the Google Notebook, I tried to use it for several hours and it never worked. Based on this initial performance, I can honestly say that I am not impressed. If the operation of this tool is a sporadic as it was when I tried to use it, I can state with certainty that I will not use this tool. The reliability of its performance does not impress me and I do not have the time or the patience to work with tools that create more work for me than I already have.

I think the most valuable tool offered here is the Google Alerts tool. I can see some practical applications for this tool to assist you with gaining access to information immediately. For the subject that I teach, I typically do not have a need to get information immediately, so I do not need all of the "bells and whistles" that this tool offers. For me simply receiving an e-mail to notify me and allowing me to look up the topic at my leisure is more than adequate. For people that are on the go and that have a need for immediate information, I can see how some of the notification features can be beneficial.

Thing #11

I use Google Blog Search for my RSS. I like the look of Technorati, but from what I found this truly seems to be a listing of blog posts. I am very leery of accepting blog posts for information, as it is very difficult to verify the validity of the source. With Googl Blog Search, I am able to stream RSS from varified sources of information such as The Tennessean, The Wall Street Journal, etc. I can get directly to the source, which I prefer to be an established organization, rather than simply a random individual.
I find Google Blog Search to be farily easy to use. They have a descent tutorial tha tleads the user through setting up an account and getting started. It is fairly self-explanitory from there. I found Syndic8 to be more difficult and to not be laid out nearly as nicely.
One of the most useful feeds that I found is the TEA website feed. This will provide information regarding the educator association and any type of changes/upgrades to my contract with the county. I am looking forward to this feed.
On the Google Blog Search web site I was able to simply enter a topic in and the web site would search for it. It brought up several related topics, just like the Google search engine does. I was then able to choose which website or blog I wanted to RSS with.

Thing #10

RSS and newsreaders can provide you with up-to-date information on topics of your choosing. I can see this being a helpful feature for those that are truly interested in following a particular topic on a regular basis. I do not necessarily see how I will use this in my classroom, but I can see some useful purposes in my personal life. I'm not certain that I need to track these items on a daily basis to get the information that I need. Most of the items that I have subscribed to are simply for curiosity. The main item that I see being helpful for me is the TEA subscription. Even this though will not provide me with any information that I would not already receive in the form of an e-mail or get hard copy of.
If you teach a subject in which current events are part of the curriculum that is being covered, and if you have a requirement of your students to get information from certain sources, I can see this being a tool that may be of assistance to you for tracking the latest information. From what I understand from the teachers at my school who do have a current events requirement, they have a difficult time requiring that information come from certian sources, as not all students have equal access to all resources of information. Typically, the teacher provides the current event and the source from which the current event came. After the students read about the current event they have a classroom discussio nor other activitiy associated with the current event.

Thing #9

Comic Strip Generator

I generated this image using the above listed link. It was fairly simple, but I see very little value in this for my class. Most of my students already know how to do these types of things, and the county in which I work blocks access to this web site for the students and faculty.













Sign Generator

I used the above link to generate the sing to the left. This is something that would be a practical posting for my classroom, as many of my students don't seem to understand that cell phones are not allowed in the classroom. Again, I'm not certain that this is something I can get incorporated in to my daily teaching.








I personally don't think that I will be using these in my personal life too often, if ever. I think there is enough "junk" on the web, so I certainly do not need to add more. The only thing I see this type of tool doing is allowing people to essentially waste time creating additional items to sit on the web for little to no purpose at all.

Thing #9

I created this image using

Thing #8

I created the above image using Spell with Flickr. This is something that I think my students could get in to for creating flyers and posters, however, our county will not allow access to this tool, so at this point it will do no good for my students.

I also discovered that Mappr is no longer being supported as of April 2007. this is becaues Flickr has its own mapping program within it. I think I could have seen an application like Mappr being more practical for classroom use.

As for sharing photos online, I am not a big fan. I do not want people to have access to pictures that I have taken, other than those that I want to have access. Personally, I am not a fan of sharing photos anyway. I do not particularly enjoy looking at photos in albums, and the last thing that I am going to do is go online to look at other people's pictures. I am not a big fan of photos, nor am I in favor of sharing all sorts of informatio nabout myself or my life online. I simply don't care enough about the trivialities of people's lives such as their travels or parties to ever want to go online and look at pictures of it. I certainly am not going to bore other people with the trivialities of my life either. Posting and sharing simply are not my thing!

Thing #7

Flickr Image

I found this image under the travel section of Flickr. The photo was uploaded by wentao_yin12 . This particular sculpture is found in Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway. I chose this particular picture because it is quite unique.

The only way that I can see possibly linking this back to my class is as an introduction to a lesson that my students need to complete for a power point section of the class. I could possibly use this as a demonstration of unique/interesting things to see in Oslo. From there, they would have an idea of what I am looking for from their assignment, as they try to convince their classmates that they need to travel to the particular location they chose.

Thing #6

Career Builder

I chose to use careerbuilder.com as my web 2.0 tool. Careerbuilder.com is a web site that I have used in the past and found very helpful when searching for a career. The premise of this web site/ web tool is to assist people in their career search. Career Builder allows users to not only find positions that are available, but it also provides additional tools for people to determine pay and learn more about specific job titles and employers.

Another great feature of this website is that the user has the ability to gain employment. If you are contemplating a move in either career or location, you can use this website to assist you. Even if you are not looking for a job, this website can provide you with information on possible employment opportunities in a specific geography, as well as rates of pay.

Thing #5

Web 2.0 means people are able to communicate openly from anywhere in the world with each other. Web 2.0 provides a medium through which people can communicate openly on most any topic. There are limitations on Web 2.0 in certain societies that prohibit free exchange of information, but this is societal limitation, and not a Web 2.0 limitation.

As for the future of schools, the advent and progression of Web 2.0 will have an impact on how information is disemminated. With the further enhancement of technology, learning will be doen less through text books and lecture and more through interactive activities that are electronically based. To allow for faster, realtime information, the use of web based applications will become more curcial. Classrooms of the future will need to meet the learning needs of students that are inundated with information from outside sources. A large role that schools will have to play with regards to Web 2.0 is teaching students how to determine sound factual based sources of information from those that are simply made up. In addition, schools will need to watch out for web preditors that will have increased access to children because of an increased web presence of the students.

Thing #4

Commenting seems to create a "sense of community" because it does allow people to communicate with each other. Communication is the backbone of society, so in order for a society to exist within a blog, comments are necessary. The more comments that a blog has, the better rating the blog will typically receive. This is key for those who use blogs as a means through which to communicate or grow a business. In order for posting to be effective and to keep the blog growing, it is important to link other blog sites to it as well. This type of linking increases traffic and improves the blog's rating.

I commented on Ridelto Gutierrez, Mick Welfare, David Rawls, Dusty Brady, and Eddie Barnes blogs from class. I also commented on Dave Ramsey's blog and the TEA blog.

I made comments on my fellow classmates blog that voiced my view and/or support for their view on particular items within their blogs. I especially liked Eddie's last post about his final thoughts. I am very much in line with him with regards to the practicality of some of the things we learned in this class.

As for my posts on Dave Ramsey's blog and the TEA blog, I had questions that I wanted to ask to each source. Personally, I would have found it much easier to simply send an e-mail versus posting on this blog. In addition, I would have gone in to more detail, but I did not feel like having too much detail posted on a public forum.

Thing #3

I am not certain how I would use a blog for my class. Since my county does not allow us to blog or maintain one, and since we can not communicate any student information via electronic means at my school, I am very limited in how I would or could use a blog. I have no means through which to even access a blog site in the county that I work in, as all blog sites and Web 2.0 tools are blocked in our county. Because of this, I am having a very difficult time seeing how I can use this tool in my particular situation.

Thing #2

I chose my posting name because I thought it would be something easy for me to remember so I can sign in to do my postings. If I made the username something too unique, I would have forgotten it.

I did not have a terribly pleasant experience creating my blog. I do not have text messaging, as I feel it is perhaps the worst thing that has ever happened to written language. I refuse to get it and refuse to pay for a service that I feel is degrading society's ability to communicate in an effective and professional manner. Because of this, I had a hard time getting ablog started. Blogger will only forward user names and passwords to cell phones via text messaging. Instead, I have to use WordPress, which we do not learn about in our class, so I am going at this blind. In addition, I am not a "blogging" type of person to start with. i don't even like sites like Facebook. Everyone that I feel I need to share informatio nwith I do. I personally do not feel the need to share my information with others on-line.

My Avatar looks something like me. It is hard to tell, as this blog site forces me to crop my avatar down to the size of a postage stamp, so you can't really see my picture.

Thing #1

I think the easiest thing about life long learning is being able to use daily experiences to learn from. the most difficult way of continuing life long learning for me is through formal school/classroom learning activities. I prefer hands-on activities to learn. I am a kinistetic learner and I prefer to learn through action rather than through passive means.

I want to learn more about Web 2.0 so I can try to integrate more acitvities in my class. Since the county that I teach in has very strict rules on web access and does not allow blogging or web communication, I am not certain that I will be able to allow my students much access to Web 2.0 type programs. i know they will not be able to communicate back out to the web.

I found it somewhat difficult to set up a blog, as I do not have text messging enabled on my phone and many of the blog spots want to send messages to my cell phone. I refuse to get text messaging, as I think it is the bane of society. Text messaging in my view has done more to ruin the written English language in 10 years than mankind has been able to do over the past several hundered years.