Thing #16 (Ahhh!)

• Which start page did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page? 
• I chose iGoogle as my home page because it is colorful and very personal as in that it is exactly what I want it to be. It doesn't give me updates on sports because I don't want that. It does give me my weather updates, National news, and movies, etc. I will not make it my permanent homepage because I rather have Yahoo as my homepage where I can go directly to the email I use the most.

• How can the online calendars be useful to you? 
• Online calendar through MSN/Hotmail is very helpful in categorizing and showing me visually what is coming up and what is planned just by automatically syncing with my MSN/Hotmail email account (Which I use for APSU email)
 

• What about the to-do lists—helpful, too much work…?
• The to-do lists are only helpful to me if I have a mobile device with web access to this stuff at all times. Other wise I would have to get on my computer everytime I think of something new to add to the list, and if I am nowhere near the computer, that would just be a hassle. I would end up using paper instead anyways.
 

• Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the school or at home? 
• Which tool(s) would you recommend to others? The only tool I found to be of use was the calendar that I can check on my computer but if I did have that mobile device with 24/7 web access , it would be handy!

Thing #15 (Wikis...)

Uses for Wikis:

• Conference planning
• Collaborative editing of documents
• Meetings (posting agendas, discussion prior to meeting, etc.)
• Project space
• In place of structured courseware
• Presentation medium
• Web-based notebook to organize your thoughts
• etc.
 

My experience with wikis was a disappointment as I had come in thinking it was easy as 1-2-3. I didn't know that I would be lost in the apsu23things sandbox... I tried to upload pictures, documents, and instead, I just was more confused. 

I would definitely use this tool though as a way of communicating with my students. It would work in a school where majority of the students have internet access. I could send them their assignments and have them help each other out through a wiki tool that I would use for class.

I like how it is editable no matter the time that has passed. However, it is not as safe as one would think, unless there are ways to make a wiki private.

Thing #14 (Application Online)

1. Flowchart.com (flowchart) offers you a way to create your flowchart online. No software install. No downloads. No Plugins required. Just sign up and start creating your flowchart.

• It can be used to create family trees in a class for an assignment for that purpose.
• for mindmapping as well: priorities
• Diagrams

I tried to do Flowchart.com and  it was very complex without a tutorial to show me how to use the website. So I was lost with that. I saw a whole bunch of tabs that led to different contents, but had no idea how to even TYPE any font in the bubbles that were provided in the default! It was a waste of my time. I would use mindmeister.com any time over flowchart.com.

      2.  mindmeister (mind map) is an interesting tool that I could use in an educational environment for showing how I prioritize my life:

• It could also be used to help students prioritize.
• It can be a tool to help with forming a Plot outline of a story.
• Diagramming sentences
• For family trees and networking

• Explore the differences between mind maps and flowcharts, and consider using (or at least testing) one of these tools with a real project that you may have coming up.

I made a mind map to help see how my networking is within in APSU, my family, and my career(s). I had a great map developed but my computer didn't want to cooperate and froze on me. However, it is easy to use after watching the tutorial on how to use it. You can insert pictures, clip-art icons to help visually represent the category on the map. It also has ways you can attach a document and hyperlinks.

Thing #13 (Software Online)

Software that is actually helpful found online!

Zoho Writer is very similar to a Microsoft office Word in the fact that you can import a document and work on it--edit. Also it lets you save, copy, print, and export. It has spell check and is also capable of being published to a blog and even uses mail merge! Once you have created a document, it then saves to Zoho Docs for you so you can go back and access your documents there. Here is once again my political science document but this time used in Zoho Writer--My Doc.



The Google Docs online can help students and teachers share work no matter where you are as long as you have internet and a computer to access. This tool opens up the idea that we can collaborate with worldwide schools all over the country! I can share that simple document I made up with anyone who has a computer with internet access!  My Politica Science Document on Google Docs 

In comparison, I would say that Google Docs was more simplistic and easier to navigate through when creating a document and saving it. It all saved onto a Google storage area specifically for your document. It also gives the option of whether you want it private or public for access. However, I enjoyed playing around with the Zoho applications such as spreadsheet, and writer, and show and the calendar. It was easy to navigate through by just going to the Zoho Apps toolbar at the top.

These softwares could be helpful in many different ways:

1. For students who don't have the money to get the Microsoft Office software on their computer.
2. For easy access to what you as the teacher have handed out to the students.
3. The Zoho Calendar works for you and your colleges to see and share each others schedules to see when the other person is available.
4. The Show is a basic power point that can be used for demonstrations in class and can be created and saved on the Zoho or Google Docs website.

Thing #12 (Google Tools Discovery)

1. Google Translate  was my favorite Google tool since it literally translates ANYTHING you type into it. It doesn't even have to be grammatically correct, it will translate word for word. I chose to translate "Hola muy amiga" knowing it would not be grammatically correct, but it translated to "Hello good friend". This is a very handy tool since our world is no longer flat but is instead full of culture mixing here and there including our languages. There have been many times where I was looking up an article and I would get one written in Arabic or even German. With this tool, I can copy and past into it and still get the useful information rather than miss that opportunity because I am unable to translate different languages.

Used in an educational environment:

• I could use this to translate foreign documents and  various sources for the social studies class.
• Also if you have a ESL student, you can use this tool to help them understand what you are saying, or vice versa. (also can be used to translate their homework)
  

2. iGoogle was another tool that I used and experimented with. It is basically a homepage personalized just four YOU! From colors, to the choice of what content you want on there and even the National or Local news. It is a good tool for those who are sick of being overwhelmed with everything thrown at them on an ordinary E-mail  homepage and they could care less about sports or the most recent art piece. It even makes You-tube more accessible right there at your fingertips!

Thing #11 (The RSS feeds narrowed down)

1. Which method of finding feeds were the easiest to use?
1. Google Blogs. All I had to do was just type in my feed I wanted to search in the search bar.
2. Which was more confusing?
1. The syndic8 website. It was more like a database for a library--very hard to navigate through. I would type in what "feed" I wanted to search and it would give me very complex "answers" That I was not sure I could click on it or not.

Thing #10 (RSS Readers...???)

http://dnn.epcc.edu/Portals/212/Tejano%20Tribune/RSS/rss_icon.jpg

RSS Readers are supposed to be Really Simple Syndication or rather a web page that groups all your blogs that you have subscribed to or have "liked".

• What do I like about RSS and newsreaders?
• I like how it shows me all my subscriptions to difference blogs and articles.
• It's all in Google RSS Reader 
• It gives you updates
• How may I be able to use this technology in my school or personal life?
• When I am trying to reference a blog that is helpful to me as a teacher
• Lesson plan ideas shared by other teachers
• How to keep the class orderly
• How to deal with diversity 
• How to manage a safe class environment
• How can teachers use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?
• Basically, the examples I gave in the previous bullet.
• 
  

Thing #9 (Image frusturation)

Paws


ImageChef.com Poetry Blender



Neon Lights




be sure to include ways you might use these image generators in the library, classroom or personally.

Ways I might use these image generators in a classroom would be on powerpoints both original and interactive. That is really the only way I can think of how to use these image generators. It was not fun for me, I was trying to figure out how to put the links in here and to create a unique image.

Thing #8 ( Puzzles and Colr)

 

Jigsaw on Flickr

You can make any of your pictures a jisaw puzzle with only a few clicks of your mouse. Also, if you want to use the puzzle, you can order a real 10x14 inch, 255 piece puzzle with real pieces that you can assemble.

I chose my picture of a espresso because I absolutely LOVE coffee and would consider buying a jigsaw puzzle with this image on it! 

 Colr Pickr was so much fun if you were to look for pictures on Flickr that has color in common.

Both of these different Flickr mashups can be used in a classroom for fun and entertainment. Personally I do not see how this can be used as an educational tool unless as a teacher, you search tags that have to do with showing poopular landforms in a science class or pictures that show popular landmarks. It could also be used in an art class to show different things that are the same color, then one could use Colr Pickr.

When posting pictures for educational purposes, I think that landmarks and possibly PRIVATE photo albums for only the class that the pictures are of is acceptable. But one must get the permission from the parents of each student within the class first.

   
            

Thing #7 ( Kisses all over the World; Flickr)

Tonight I decided I would jump into the world of Flickr, where I realized that "www." never sleeps! People are on all over the world sharing their pictures, their window to their life. I just searched the 3,320 new pictures that came within the ONE minute that I was on. I recognized that there were two photos of a couple kissing the other on the cheek. One is younger,byMarenkathleen. and the other is an older couple  by Nathania. I thought it was really cute and quite coincidental.

This is just something that caught my eye.

Pictures can be found with a tag--a keyword that is associated with the picture.

Thing #6 (Bit, bit, bit, BitTorrent!)

I am a music lover and admit, I love to share music and get music in return! With BitTorrent I have been able to "download" shared music from other users for free and have updated my iPod many times using this database! It has been controversial to the point where people think that it is pirating.  So if you want to use this website, use with caution and make sure you are sharing too!

But it is like if I buy Taylor Swift's newest CD and put it on my computer music file. And I go onto BitTorrent and download my new cd on to the website for someone else to listen to it. But at the same time, I want to download Maroon 5's newsest album and I see that one user has it and I can take bits of the album from him and all the other users who also have the album on BitTorrent!

I look it as "trading" or "borrowing" a friends' cd or even video (they have those on there too! BitTorrent tutorial

I can see how a teacher can use this program if there are National Geographic videos on there and I want to use it in my classroom or even as simple as a song that I want to use to demonstrate something in my class for a lesson plan.