Yeah!! I'm 1/2 way done! I also feel like I may be getting a little burned out, so I will try to concentrate more on things I will use more and are most important.
I checked out all the links - didn't want to create accts. just to brainstorm anything now, didn't really have any presentations to share, already have calendars and task lists set up on Outlook/Google, and my kids are too old for flashcards. I looked at trailfire, but it didn't hold my interest.
That left Library Thing, which I explored. I had seen "Shelfari" so I explored both to compare. They both are pretty nice, I sent links for them to my ever reading English major daughter. I decided to try "Shelfari" and actually put a link to my "books to read" on my blog. I can see where this has lots of capabilities, just not sure how much time and how far I will take it.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thing # 11 - Online productivity applications
I do see the benefit of this if you are working with a lot of people. My husband works at home and uses this daily working on documents, spreadsheets, etc with people around the world, although I think he company has their own version (IBM). I could see the benefits for people to collaborate, but why is it better than a Wiki?? It may be helpful for people who don't have/can't afford MS Office or don't have a computer of their own. It is nice to have documents portable to other computers than the one it was created on.
Here is why MS Office will not worry too much and won't go out of business:
I tried uploading a simple Christmas invitation I had created a few years ago. The original was in color, had a border, etc. (I tried to get a picture of it here but...) When I imported it into Google Docs, it wasn't even close to the original. No color, doesn't even look like an invitation - parts on one page, parts on another. It wasn't usable at all. I tried to re-create it in Google Docs, but was soo limited in the resources to build it I wasn't able to.
We recently upgraded to Word 2007, and once I got used to it, I really like it. It is so powerful, much more so than what I have seen in Google Docs.
I had to go look at Zoho Writer since I had never heard of that. At first glance, I was impressed at how much it had to offer, such as Invoice maker for really small businesses, etc. However, it is still limited in it's features.
Maybe I just need to explore more, or have a need to use this.
Here is why MS Office will not worry too much and won't go out of business:
I tried uploading a simple Christmas invitation I had created a few years ago. The original was in color, had a border, etc. (I tried to get a picture of it here but...) When I imported it into Google Docs, it wasn't even close to the original. No color, doesn't even look like an invitation - parts on one page, parts on another. It wasn't usable at all. I tried to re-create it in Google Docs, but was soo limited in the resources to build it I wasn't able to.
We recently upgraded to Word 2007, and once I got used to it, I really like it. It is so powerful, much more so than what I have seen in Google Docs.
I had to go look at Zoho Writer since I had never heard of that. At first glance, I was impressed at how much it had to offer, such as Invoice maker for really small businesses, etc. However, it is still limited in it's features.
Maybe I just need to explore more, or have a need to use this.
Thing # 10 - Creating a Wiki
I actually finished this Thing before the class started. Part of my duties at work is to set up parent/teacher conferences for a gifted/talented program. This involved 80+ children from over 30 different schools setting up conference times 3 diff. nights for one of 7 teachers.
In past years, we have sent letters to all the parents and they have emailed/called me as I tried to work out schedules and set up a master list of conferences, and then called/emailed everyone back to confirm.
This year I developed a Wiki with separate pages for each teacher. I sent out a link to the parents with specific details on how to use the Wiki, and let them check what times were still available and schedule their own conference. What a time saver for me!!!! Almost everyone signed up fine, with me having to make less than 20 follow up calls. Next year I anticipate it going even better, as people get used to the process.
The PROS:
~ This saved me so much time!! The teachers could also go in and look at how their nights were shaping up instead of waiting for a report from me.....
~ Right before I launched this, PBWiki changed it's access policy to be completely open, so I didn't have to approve everyone for them to use it. This was really big, since I think it would have been annoying to have to wait for permission, and would have taken a lot of my time.
~ We now have a site people are used to going to if we want to keep up ongoing communication with the parents.
The CONS:
One big con is that EVERYONE who creates an account and joins the WIKI gets email notification everytime someone changes anything on the page - it even shows what changes were made. As parents said, they don't need to know every time someone else signs up, and all the emails could get annoying. I couldn't turn this feature off, they could but really didn't know how, and they might want to get some notifications for their page or general changes, but...
We thought about using this for ongoing communication, but again, everytime I changed a side bar, front page, note, etc. EVERYONE is notified. I'm not sure this is going to be feasible....
Time will tell. Here is a link to my simple but effective, efficient WIKI. However, since conferences are over, I no longer have the teacher pages on the front page, and it's hard to see how it was set up. If you want to visit individual pages, you will get the idea.
In past years, we have sent letters to all the parents and they have emailed/called me as I tried to work out schedules and set up a master list of conferences, and then called/emailed everyone back to confirm.
This year I developed a Wiki with separate pages for each teacher. I sent out a link to the parents with specific details on how to use the Wiki, and let them check what times were still available and schedule their own conference. What a time saver for me!!!! Almost everyone signed up fine, with me having to make less than 20 follow up calls. Next year I anticipate it going even better, as people get used to the process.
The PROS:
~ This saved me so much time!! The teachers could also go in and look at how their nights were shaping up instead of waiting for a report from me.....
~ Right before I launched this, PBWiki changed it's access policy to be completely open, so I didn't have to approve everyone for them to use it. This was really big, since I think it would have been annoying to have to wait for permission, and would have taken a lot of my time.
~ We now have a site people are used to going to if we want to keep up ongoing communication with the parents.
The CONS:
One big con is that EVERYONE who creates an account and joins the WIKI gets email notification everytime someone changes anything on the page - it even shows what changes were made. As parents said, they don't need to know every time someone else signs up, and all the emails could get annoying. I couldn't turn this feature off, they could but really didn't know how, and they might want to get some notifications for their page or general changes, but...
We thought about using this for ongoing communication, but again, everytime I changed a side bar, front page, note, etc. EVERYONE is notified. I'm not sure this is going to be feasible....
Time will tell. Here is a link to my simple but effective, efficient WIKI. However, since conferences are over, I no longer have the teacher pages on the front page, and it's hard to see how it was set up. If you want to visit individual pages, you will get the idea.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Thing # 9 - Wiki, Wiki, Wiki
At first I had trouble finding Wiki's, but when I finally found some listings, I was amazed!
The first one I really liked was set up for a US History Class. I was impressed with how much these 8th graders were using. They talked of making comic strips, scribing, taking tests online, they were really involved and interested in their learning. I thought how fun it must be to be in that class, and how all the kids must try to be in Mr. Armstrong's class. All because he is making the most of the tools out there.
The second one I liked was a Book Site set up by a librarian. I just really liked the layout of the first page, and the way it linked to soo many things.
The final one I thought was really cool and different is called Code Blue. It is for a 6th grade class, and is all Medical and Anatomy, etc. It is really cool.
Once I found this alphabetical site I never got past "C'..... :-)
The first one I really liked was set up for a US History Class. I was impressed with how much these 8th graders were using. They talked of making comic strips, scribing, taking tests online, they were really involved and interested in their learning. I thought how fun it must be to be in that class, and how all the kids must try to be in Mr. Armstrong's class. All because he is making the most of the tools out there.
The second one I liked was a Book Site set up by a librarian. I just really liked the layout of the first page, and the way it linked to soo many things.
The final one I thought was really cool and different is called Code Blue. It is for a 6th grade class, and is all Medical and Anatomy, etc. It is really cool.
Once I found this alphabetical site I never got past "C'..... :-)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thing # 8 - Locating more feeds
Feedster didn't work for me either. Syndic8 was a little overwhelming to me, I don't want another thing that I have to log into. The blog searches I wasn't really interested in. I did find and add a few more feeds, but like others said, I started to feel "why am i out here searching for things I don't really want/need when I don't have time to cover the ones I have set up?" I think I will just stick with the basic 5-6 reads I use. I did add a few more, but I don't know if they will last. At least I am comfortable with RSS and know how to set them up as I find things of interest.
Thing # 7 - RSS Feeds
I started using these just a few weeks ago, and I am surprised at how easy it is to set them up. I even have 2 set up on my Goggle home page, so every time I log into my email at home I also see the news headlines and what is happening.
This is making me re-think whether I need to re-subscribe to the daily newspaper - don't know if this could replace it or not. I was a little disappointed when a few of the sites I liked did not offer RSS feed, not sure if you can set it up yourself, or if the site has to. I know I have just touched the tip of the iceberg on this..
This is making me re-think whether I need to re-subscribe to the daily newspaper - don't know if this could replace it or not. I was a little disappointed when a few of the sites I liked did not offer RSS feed, not sure if you can set it up yourself, or if the site has to. I know I have just touched the tip of the iceberg on this..
Monday, January 19, 2009
# 6 - Technology
Going without technology, to our kids, would be like going without a car or a phone to us. Our grandparents lived without just fine, but we would be lost. Technology has really "opened up the world" to our kids, you can learn just about anything on the web. This is both good and bad...
Still, I can't help but wonder about the cost and the "necessity". The talk at our house currently has been about the new Blackberry phone, does my husband really NEED to be connected to his email and the web through his phone at a cost of $30/month when he works at a connected computer all day???? Is this cost effective? When we give kids a phone and they can call, why do we need to pay so they can "text"? Would our grandparents believe how much we currently spend to have TV connected to 100+ channels in many rooms, numerous phones, and now even paying for radio? We are really willing to pay a lot for conveniences....and often these fun little gadgets are neat when they are new, and then rarely used.
At the same time, I love my laptop and would not want to go back to how it was when we didn't have all this technology. I also think of my parents and how tech savvy they are, I don't think they will ever be sitting in the nursing home bored to death like their parents....
Just some thoughts -
Still, I can't help but wonder about the cost and the "necessity". The talk at our house currently has been about the new Blackberry phone, does my husband really NEED to be connected to his email and the web through his phone at a cost of $30/month when he works at a connected computer all day???? Is this cost effective? When we give kids a phone and they can call, why do we need to pay so they can "text"? Would our grandparents believe how much we currently spend to have TV connected to 100+ channels in many rooms, numerous phones, and now even paying for radio? We are really willing to pay a lot for conveniences....and often these fun little gadgets are neat when they are new, and then rarely used.
At the same time, I love my laptop and would not want to go back to how it was when we didn't have all this technology. I also think of my parents and how tech savvy they are, I don't think they will ever be sitting in the nursing home bored to death like their parents....
Just some thoughts -
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