Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Skeletons in my Closet
Time for another true confession....I have skeletons in my closet...my technology closet....and it's driving me CRAZY!!! I have been a student of technology for years, and as a result I have a closet full of technology tools that I have forgotten were in there. You know how you see something in the store, and you say "gosh, it seems like I have one of those somewhere at home, but I don't know where it is now, so I'll get another one" and then two weeks later you find the original buried behind the winter coats? Well, that is what is happening in my technology world right now!
I currently have two logins for blogger, three logins for google, two diigo accounts, and a BIG headache! I log into my new blog for this class, but my google reader is a different login, so if I want to use that tool, I login differently...then I see something while reading from my google reader, and I want to comment on your blog, but I have to log out of my reader, and back into my blogger before I can comment. I don't remember making a diigo account before, but apparently I did because when I accidentally put in one of my "standard" logins, my diigo came up, but it wasn't the one I started in this class! Huh! Wonder when I made that one?
I need to take a week during this course and just clean out my closet! The trouble is, I don't really know what's in that closet until I open the door and it falls out on my toe! OUCH!
I currently have two logins for blogger, three logins for google, two diigo accounts, and a BIG headache! I log into my new blog for this class, but my google reader is a different login, so if I want to use that tool, I login differently...then I see something while reading from my google reader, and I want to comment on your blog, but I have to log out of my reader, and back into my blogger before I can comment. I don't remember making a diigo account before, but apparently I did because when I accidentally put in one of my "standard" logins, my diigo came up, but it wasn't the one I started in this class! Huh! Wonder when I made that one?
I need to take a week during this course and just clean out my closet! The trouble is, I don't really know what's in that closet until I open the door and it falls out on my toe! OUCH!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Google Reader- Friend or Foe?
I have previously mentioned my addiction to blogging, and now here we are facing one of my most difficult tasks...cleaning out my google reader! I knew this day would come. Here are my conflicting points of view on this subject:
FRIEND
I think my excessive number of feeds is a testament to how helpful using google reader can be for educators. The more you blog, and read other blogs, the more you need a tool to help you keep up with all of the great things you are reading! This tool allows me to keep up with the thoughts and ideas of "several" of my teaching friends from around the globe. I have met most of the people in my reader at conferences, and like to be able to keep up with and talk about new ideas. I must admit I am more of a lurker than a creator of content at this stage of my addiction, but I know that when I have new ideas that I want to roll around with someone, I can go to my blog, write something, and get feedback that will help me refine my idea before trying it with kids. It's like a virtual teachers lounge, but without the gossip:)
FOE
Google reader can be a time vortex. Use in moderation, and set a time limit or you may find yourself so absorbed by the massive amount of great content that you completely lose hours....days perhaps:)
FRIEND
I think my excessive number of feeds is a testament to how helpful using google reader can be for educators. The more you blog, and read other blogs, the more you need a tool to help you keep up with all of the great things you are reading! This tool allows me to keep up with the thoughts and ideas of "several" of my teaching friends from around the globe. I have met most of the people in my reader at conferences, and like to be able to keep up with and talk about new ideas. I must admit I am more of a lurker than a creator of content at this stage of my addiction, but I know that when I have new ideas that I want to roll around with someone, I can go to my blog, write something, and get feedback that will help me refine my idea before trying it with kids. It's like a virtual teachers lounge, but without the gossip:)
FOE
Google reader can be a time vortex. Use in moderation, and set a time limit or you may find yourself so absorbed by the massive amount of great content that you completely lose hours....days perhaps:)
Saturday, September 24, 2011
I Dig Diigo!
I just finished setting up my diigo, and I was so happy to see that I could import my delicious bookmarks into diigo. It made me remember all of the great websites I had saved on there, some of which I have not visited or used in quite a while.
As an eMINTS teacher, I am always looking for great things to use with my students to help reinforce skills that I am teaching. Every Friday I find myself googling for new stuff, which I will probably still do, but now that I have diigo, I will try to work smarter and save what I find to utilize later. I don't want it to turn into a virtual file drawer that I pack full and then never use, so my goal is to be sure to organize it in a way that will make me want to use it as a time saver.
As an eMINTS teacher, I am always looking for great things to use with my students to help reinforce skills that I am teaching. Every Friday I find myself googling for new stuff, which I will probably still do, but now that I have diigo, I will try to work smarter and save what I find to utilize later. I don't want it to turn into a virtual file drawer that I pack full and then never use, so my goal is to be sure to organize it in a way that will make me want to use it as a time saver.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Blogging in Education
Blogging for me as an educator is very much about reflection and growth as I continue to learn more about myself, students, and teaching as a profession. More than blogging myself, I love to read other educator blogs, and I have had some amazing conversations and gained alot of insight from connecting with other teachers from all over the world. I must admit I was once a blog junkie, but I have cut down now, and only read and comment occasionally on other blogs because I could spend hours on them. Here are a couple of my favorite blogs to read (besides Matzat's of course:))
A Year of Reading- because I love to read children's literature
Practical Theory- because I love to stretch my brain sometimes
Blogging with my students is, I believe, one of the things that will link the past with the future. Being able to embed and include tools that students naturally want to use is bringing thier real world into the classroom. Synthesis of classroom instruction and real life skills is a way to empower our students to be creators of content and dialogue in the real world. I love to blog with my students because they tell me things on the blog that they might not say out loud to me. I love that the students can comment to each other and read other students' thoughts and be able to respond to those. I also encourage my parents to blog, and my students think that is so cool when their parents comment on a post. It is another way to be transparent between school and home. Here is one of my favorite classroom blogs:
Mr. Yolli's 3rd Grade
A Year of Reading- because I love to read children's literature
Practical Theory- because I love to stretch my brain sometimes
Blogging with my students is, I believe, one of the things that will link the past with the future. Being able to embed and include tools that students naturally want to use is bringing thier real world into the classroom. Synthesis of classroom instruction and real life skills is a way to empower our students to be creators of content and dialogue in the real world. I love to blog with my students because they tell me things on the blog that they might not say out loud to me. I love that the students can comment to each other and read other students' thoughts and be able to respond to those. I also encourage my parents to blog, and my students think that is so cool when their parents comment on a post. It is another way to be transparent between school and home. Here is one of my favorite classroom blogs:
Mr. Yolli's 3rd Grade
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