Social bookmarking with Delicious. I really like this concept. After setting up a Delicious account, I easily began bookmarking sites. The "save on delicious" icon in my toolbar allows me to bookmark anything in seconds. Tags are a great way to organize bookmarked sites that allow teachers to sort by content (tags) and save tons of time. I like that it allows me to store on-line so that I can access these sites from any computer. I also like that it allows me to use the tags of others to find sites.
I think that this is a wonderful tool for teachers. This could be especially helpful in schools that departmentalize content. I think that actual real-time use in the classroom wouldn't be as effective as using Diigo or other web-site grouping tools. I love it and have already began tagging and bookmarking favorite sites.
scott
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Thing #16
First of all, I am in constant need of organizational tools. In fact, this "thing" might be one of the most helpful tools that I get out of this class. I am constantly looking for information or dates/times of events. An Internet-based organizer looks like the answer for me.
I have been using a "My Yahoo" customized start-up page for years. I like it because I can customize its layout and content so that I can get all of the information that I like to get in a glance. After spending so much time in this class using Google tools, I decided to create an "IGoogle" start-up page. I like it way better than the "My Yahoo page". I like the customizable layout for appearance and content. I really like the "gadgets" available for the page. Especially the weather gadget and the google translator. It is also very convenient that I can glance at my gmail on my start-up page without having to go to a separate link. There are so many options for content that I am going to use google as my home page.
I like the google calendar very much and plan to use it from here out. It is easy to use and efficiently organized my important dates. As far as the "to-do lists", I can't say that I will be using them too often. By nature, I am not a list maker (my wife is endlessly making list).
One tool that I am going to give a trial run at home is Remember the Milk. This tool links to google calender and gmail to provide a notification service that reminds you of upcoming events and tasks. It appears to be easy to use but I am going to use it for a month before I really decide.
I have been using a "My Yahoo" customized start-up page for years. I like it because I can customize its layout and content so that I can get all of the information that I like to get in a glance. After spending so much time in this class using Google tools, I decided to create an "IGoogle" start-up page. I like it way better than the "My Yahoo page". I like the customizable layout for appearance and content. I really like the "gadgets" available for the page. Especially the weather gadget and the google translator. It is also very convenient that I can glance at my gmail on my start-up page without having to go to a separate link. There are so many options for content that I am going to use google as my home page.
I like the google calendar very much and plan to use it from here out. It is easy to use and efficiently organized my important dates. As far as the "to-do lists", I can't say that I will be using them too often. By nature, I am not a list maker (my wife is endlessly making list).
One tool that I am going to give a trial run at home is Remember the Milk. This tool links to google calender and gmail to provide a notification service that reminds you of upcoming events and tasks. It appears to be easy to use but I am going to use it for a month before I really decide.
Thing #15
I believe that Wikis are a fun and useful tool. I enjoy any tool that can enhance collaboration. Wikis are constructed by collaboration.
I uploaded a few photos into the APSU23THINGS sandbox for others to play with and edit. I also experimented with editing the images and posts that were already there. This idea is a lot of fun but I could see how it could create some problems. First, someone must police other people's edits if used in a class-setting so that nothing is offensive. Second, someone must ensure that the information uploaded is fact. I can envision data uploaded to wikis by students that is not fact-based. I think that students would enjoy researching topics and working in teams to post and edit wikis. As with most Internet-based tools, the teacher must consistently monitor the students' activities when using wikis. I think its a great idea that could inspire teamwork in students.
I uploaded a few photos into the APSU23THINGS sandbox for others to play with and edit. I also experimented with editing the images and posts that were already there. This idea is a lot of fun but I could see how it could create some problems. First, someone must police other people's edits if used in a class-setting so that nothing is offensive. Second, someone must ensure that the information uploaded is fact. I can envision data uploaded to wikis by students that is not fact-based. I think that students would enjoy researching topics and working in teams to post and edit wikis. As with most Internet-based tools, the teacher must consistently monitor the students' activities when using wikis. I think its a great idea that could inspire teamwork in students.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Thing #14
Flowcharts and graphic organizers! Okay, so these are both highly practical tools that every teacher should be able to use. Being a very visual learner, I appreciate the clarity that visual representation of information offers students.
The first tool that I explored was Gliffy. This is a web based tool that allows a user to create flowcharts and data-organizers from templates in the Gliffy database. I created numerous Venn diagrams and explored various templates and how information could be displayed and organized. Gliffy offers a 30 day free trial when you set up an account. After I did, I was pretty much given unlimited use of the site. I really enjoyed the ease of creating diagrams with this tool. I think it could greatly enhance instruction.
The next tool that I explored was Mindmeister. This site is dedicated to creating mind maps. I found this tool to be very useful after I completed the tutorial, which I highly recommend viewing. Once I got the feel of the site, I could easily organize my thoughts into visual organizational maps. Although I certainly see the benefit of using Mindmeister to organize my thoughts, I do not believe that this would be the most effective tool to introduce material to students.
Flowcharts and mind maps are both clear ways of organizing information and I could see myself using them on a regular basis. To me, mind maps tend to allow for the user to organize his/her thoughts when during the creation step of a project. I could imagine using mind maps to greatly assist in brainstorming. Flowcharts seem to work better in presentations to groups or individuals. This tool can clearly express information and relationships in a visual manner. Both are going in to my toolbox.
The first tool that I explored was Gliffy. This is a web based tool that allows a user to create flowcharts and data-organizers from templates in the Gliffy database. I created numerous Venn diagrams and explored various templates and how information could be displayed and organized. Gliffy offers a 30 day free trial when you set up an account. After I did, I was pretty much given unlimited use of the site. I really enjoyed the ease of creating diagrams with this tool. I think it could greatly enhance instruction.
The next tool that I explored was Mindmeister. This site is dedicated to creating mind maps. I found this tool to be very useful after I completed the tutorial, which I highly recommend viewing. Once I got the feel of the site, I could easily organize my thoughts into visual organizational maps. Although I certainly see the benefit of using Mindmeister to organize my thoughts, I do not believe that this would be the most effective tool to introduce material to students.
Flowcharts and mind maps are both clear ways of organizing information and I could see myself using them on a regular basis. To me, mind maps tend to allow for the user to organize his/her thoughts when during the creation step of a project. I could imagine using mind maps to greatly assist in brainstorming. Flowcharts seem to work better in presentations to groups or individuals. This tool can clearly express information and relationships in a visual manner. Both are going in to my toolbox.
Thing #13
So, I investigated Zoho and Goggle Docs/Drive. I do see the usefulness of these applications. I really like the idea of being able to collaborate on a document or presentation with a group whose members may be scattered throughout the world. That opens up wonderful possibilities for me in music or in education.
Although I liked Zoho, I felt that it was a wee bit awkward to navigate at first. This may be a problem for some students if it were used in a real-world setting such as a classroom. I did enjoy playing around with the various tools it offered.
I loved using Google Docs or Google Drive as it is called now. It was very user friendly and easy to set-up. I created a document to share with parents about summer music lessons that I will be offering. I feel that students could work in groups without ever having to find rides to after school collaboration events. I really like that Google Docs automatically saves changes made so that no new work can be lost. Again, this is a wonderful and effective tool for students to use in group activities or when wanting to share information or work between peers. I feel that I would rather use Google Docs than Zoho and I believe that my students would feel more comfortable using it as well.
here is the link:
summer lessons with scott atchley
here is a snapshot of the document:
Although I liked Zoho, I felt that it was a wee bit awkward to navigate at first. This may be a problem for some students if it were used in a real-world setting such as a classroom. I did enjoy playing around with the various tools it offered.
I loved using Google Docs or Google Drive as it is called now. It was very user friendly and easy to set-up. I created a document to share with parents about summer music lessons that I will be offering. I feel that students could work in groups without ever having to find rides to after school collaboration events. I really like that Google Docs automatically saves changes made so that no new work can be lost. Again, this is a wonderful and effective tool for students to use in group activities or when wanting to share information or work between peers. I feel that I would rather use Google Docs than Zoho and I believe that my students would feel more comfortable using it as well.
here is the link:
summer lessons with scott atchley
here is a snapshot of the document:
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