Thing 11

This class accomplished exactly what I wanted. It introduced me to some new web tools. Now what will I do with my new information? I see myself continuing to play around and explore. I especially like Bloglines and it's convenience. I can easily keep up with a couple of blogs I have grown to like. Google Docs also warrants more exploration. I liked learning how to create a survey and was pleasantly surprised that it gathered some responses. How will I use my new "things" in teaching? I really don't know yet, but I will be looking for opportunities to do so. This class has helped me feel as if I'm making an effort to keep up with technology. I don't want to become the "old fossil" that refuses to learn anything new! It felt great at a conference the other day when the presenter made a comment about "those of you who have a blog". My coworker asked, "Do you have a blog?" and I was able to say yes!

Thing 10 - survey

Thing 10

Thing 9

Every time I learn something new for this class it makes me realize how much I don't know about the tools available on the web. I loved learning about slideshare. Slideshare allowed me to search for something that interests me and add it to my blog, allowing readers of my blog to know a bit more about me. I can see that my students would enjoy doing the same thing. I can also see that careful monitoring of student work would be necessary to avoid inappropriate material.

Relevant Quotes: Smart Folk

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Thing 8

I feel proud of myself right now. I have an understanding of Google Docs and before today I did not know what it was. I had heard our secretaries use the term but thought it must be something they use in the office. Little did I know that I might find it useful also. The students I work with usually have a difficult time writing and I can see that using Google Docs may entice them to write collaboratively, produce more, and actually have fun doing the work. This "thing" gave me a reason, (the assignment), to learn about Google Docs and gave me the confidence to continue playing around with it so I can use it with my students.

Thing 7

I just finished signing up for a delicious account and I think this is my favorite "thing" so far. I love to research new places before I spend my hard earned money going there. While playing around with delicious, I found tags that led me to restaurants that others had tried in towns I visited on vacation this summer. If I had known about delicious this summer, I would have tried these places. I also discovered an interesting site for foreign language practice. Great finds!!