Week 6 Exercise 14

Running searches in different modes definitely gave different results. Searching in posts gave way too many results and very non specific – most just containing one or two words of match. When I used quotation marks in posts I only got 2 results. Using the quotation marks I go no results in blogs, 2 in photos, and 20 in videos. That was unexpected. Who knew that there would be more videos than any other type.
Tagging is a great way to limit searches – something like power googling. Of course, you’re at the mercy of others’ descriptive powers…

Week 6 Exercise 13

Del.icio.us seems like it will be very useful when I'm using different computers, like in August when I get back into the classroom. I transfered my bookmarks from Firefox so that I'm up to speed. One of the most useful things about this exercise was that it got me to get rid of the 98 bookmarks that had been set NOT by me. I realized that I don't bookmark much. I have my website as the homepage and the other things I use frequently I have memorized or they auto-complete when I start entering. However, I do have about 10 and will probably add more as I want to remember some of the cool things I've played with in this class.

I also checked out the comments of others who had bookmarked some sites. This seems like a good way to preview the usefulness of a site without having to go through it for alot of time. Some comments were very specific as to the grade level at which the info would be useful. I just read the first page of comments because going through the 300 or more is time consuming all by itself...

Week 5 Exercise 12

Rollyo (or any selective search engine) seems like a great idea for teaching. It is great to limit the students' search to sites that are safe and specific to their topic. I'll plan to use this (or a similar) tool this year for student research.
For this assignment I created a search engine called MsCSocStudResources with sites for me to use in selecting information for my students.

Week 5 Exercise 11

The potential in these sites is incredible. I truly can't image the many ways to use them and my mind is boggled at the number of ways I CAN actually think to use them. Wow. I tried several of the sites and will definitely return later as I look for creative ways to solve life and work technology questions.
I tried Mango to brush up on my Italian for a future trip to Italy. The lesson was well organized and did alot of looping to increase practice and recall. I'm going to register so I can get to the more advanced lessons. I also sent the link to the rest of my family so they can prepare themselves for the trip. I love speaking and understanding other languages and may even dabble in something unfamiliar like Japanese...
I got a kick out of Roland's picture with hair and think that site will be fun. Thanks for the video tip, too.
I checked out the Ning site and can see the value of the specific social network. I did not join a network because I am not interested in any new information from a random source like this. However, I think it could be useful for class communication. How private it is? One site I checked out said something about membership but I was able to look at their photos, including their names, with no problem. Maybe you need to be a member to post. Do you think it would work within the privacy needs of a school situation? I am unwilling to post my students names with pictures.

Week 5 Exercise 10

I've been working with these tools for the last several weeks. I finally was able to get a photo uploaded and modified. I had alot of trouble with my personal pc because of the security. Firefox also gave me some grief on the mac but today it worked when Safari acted up. Very strange. I've tried to upload the image I created on fototrix.com modifying an image from photobooth. I can't get it to work at all with pasting or using the url. It won't give me the html when I request it and it hangs trying to download the image. I'll come back to this later...

Week 4 Exercise 9

I've been exploring Blogline's search tool - love it. I found a podcast that I can exactly use for my students at 8D Spinning History.

I also found this ongoing support for Web 2.0 - you may have already seen it but I thought it worth mentioning. Classroom 2.0 Wiki.



I've added the edits and discussion to my RSS feeds. I wasn't sure which I'd most want so I figured I'd try both and then choose. I am definitely concerned about getting information without getting overloaded.
Does anyone know if I can mark the new messages as read without having to go to the site. Already I'm finding the news feeds overwhelming. I like to scan to see if there's something I want to read but, if not, I'd like to get them off the screen without having to go to that site. Any ideas?

Week 4 Exercise 8

I signed on to the 5 RSS feeds. I had been aware of them before but didn't use them because I don't go online for news and have little interest in being sent more information. It is a burden to be bombarded... I usually read the daily paper and catch NPR in the morning and in the car throughout day. However, I'll give it a try.
I added The Loh Life from NPR because I do really enjoy Sandra Loh's comments and often miss the show. I also got some tech teaching updates. Plus, I signed up to find out about cool gadgets which may give me some good ideas for interesting gifts.
I did like the video from Common Craft Show and will definitely watch the others when I'm ready to start those tasks. It made it very easy.