Thing 11 - Delicious

I created a Delicious account and imported my bookmarks. Now I can access all my personal bookmarks from any computer. Very cool. I wonder if my delicious account automatically updates when I alter my bookmarks on my home computer or if I have to manually update it whenever I make a change. We'll see.

I also checked out the PageKeeper site for teachers. It seems really cool as a way to store curriculum bookmarks. The best part of this would be that one teacher could create and share with others rather than everyone searching for themselves. I wonder if this is better than the student links on our Google site?

Thing 10

Since I've first heard about wiki's I've been interested in the notion of having a central spot where more than one person can draft, add, and edit content. I've been a part of wiki's used to sign up for conferences and to draft and edit an admissions policy. In both cases I had to have a user name and password which can be tricky to pass around to all and for individuals to keep track of. In the case of the sign up, a couple times I had trouble saving. The format seems to be a little tricky for my brain. I wonder if google docs do the same thing, exactly. They are so easy to use.

Thing 9

Google Docs is the greatest thing since sliced bread. In about a 1/2 hour I figured out how it works, converted the project I reference a thing or two ago as an editing and saving nightmare, shared it with collaborators, and am now ready to watch Johnny Depp on Letterman. This is seriously worth getting your hands around for collaborative projects.

I'll try to link our project personal stewardship project here.

Thing 8

Sharing Creations

I heard some one use the term "digital footprint" this winter and it really stuck with me. I'm not sure it's PC to admit in a tech class, but I'm still wrestling with the idea. I'm intrigued by uses of technology to increase productivity, streamline communication, and archive info. The part I think I'd like to watch is how much time I spend. There's something "addictive" about the new, quick, and visually appealing. Even if I spend 1/2 hour, what about calling my brother, playing a game with my daughter, or taking a walk?? I feel creative in my garden and working in my home, not so much on my computer. My philosophy/balance is a work in progress

So.... What have I done?

I share photos by creating slideshows on my digital frame.

We share tons of docs, ppts, etc. at work in our shared folder. It's a lifesaver in terms of communicating with other teachers, making revisions to curriculum and supporting each others' work.

I'd love to learn a way to share docs easily with people who aren't networked. I do a lot of work at the Basilica and we're constantly re-sending and re-saving work in progress. It's hard to know who has the most current version of anything. Maybe google docs is the ticket. We'll see in August.

I've done a fair amount on Shelfari. If you don't already know it, it's a way to keep track of books you've read and books you want to read. It has a social networking feature so you can see friends' shelves. I'm connected to students, parents, women in my book group, my daughter, her friends, relatives, other teachers, and on and on. It's a great way to keep lit. organized and show a little of yourself to the digital world. Let's see if I can link my shelf.

http://www.shelfari.com/o1517831599/shelf

Thing 7

E-mail is great for both professional and personal communication. It works best for delivering a one way message or setting up logistics, because it can be viewed any time the receiver is free. It's not great for discussions, problem solving, or making decisions that are emotional or mulit-faceted because so much of the message is lost.

E-mail has improved productivity tons! I read, act, and delete or file e-mails and keep my box cleared out.

I will have a student in my room next year who will be homebound for a good portion of the year. I'm learning about how her webcam works.

Thing 6

I finally got a chance to try Wordle. This tool is also very fun, quick and easy.

It'll be a great tool for signs and visuals of all sorts. Just hit the randomize button to view randomly generated design possibilities until you see the color, font and layout as you like it.

Again... Like Thing 5, I can't seem to figure out the steps to view this on the blog. I see the upload image button and am pasting the URL there. I must just be missing a little step?? Frustrating. I'll come back to this.

Thing 5

Spell with Flickr is fun, fast and easy. I spelled welcome and changed around the letters a bunch until I liked the colors and design. I can't figure out how to paste it into the blog.... Bummer!

Thing 4

Photosharing is all new to me. I've always wondered how teachers get great images it drop into powerpoints, etc. Now I know. I just pulled the image I wanted to the desktop and dropped it into a powerpoint.

I checked out Flickr, Picasa, and iStockphotography. They are are pretty easy to search. Now I just have to figure out how to upload something onto this blog. I've tried a couple things and I'm stuck. I'll keep trying. Yikes!

For personal use, for now I'm content with my Mac and iphoto routine. My next step will be to us a web based back up.

I've finally figured out how to upload an image to my blog (Thanks, Mike!) Our first unit of study this year is Monarchs. This is a monarch caterpillar on its food source; milk weed.

Thing 3

I've been wondering about RSS feeds since the speaker at the district kick-off a couple years ago had great things to say about this tool. I tried Newsgator and Google Reader. Google Reader seemed easier to me. I added weather, the Basilica Block Party website, and a couple blogs from people in our 23 Things class. As I use Google Reader over the next few days, I'll play around with the formats to see which one I like best. I think this'll speed up the things I check on a regular basis. It should also be a good way to get ideas for this class from other people's blogs. I wonder how much I'll add.

Thing 2

I'm excited about 23 Things. It seems to address and will help me blend the ways I use technology personally as well as at work. Some of the things I've heard of and would like to know how to use and some of the things I've never heard of. I'm pleased to have summer to explore and increase my basic knowledge.

I use the internet at home for researach and connection. It's such a part of life that I'm hoping an incresed knowledge will lead to streamlining. I use the library personally, professionally and with my kids. However I would say that most of this use is related to simply checking out books.

Thing 1

Whew! I'm all set to go. It would be easy to spend loads of time making an avatar. I think I got it saved so I can change it later if I want to.