Thing # 17

I think this is a useful tool. As of late, I have become frustrated with how ridiculously overloaded web searches have become. Even T.V. commercials for search engines like BING touch on the subject. You type in one word or try to be specific and you are wasting time filtering through useless sites and random unimportant needless information since anyone can create or upload anything they want and tag it as anything they want. Sites like www.delicious.com allow you to search through items that you need that are verified by reliable sources or pinpoint what you are looking for. I looooove google but it can be frustrating. This allows you to view collections that are relevant to you and what you are probably looking for. This would be highly useful in a classroom because you don't want your students to stumble upon half the stuff that is out there. Creating a collection or directing their attention to a specific collection of links would be very helpful and time saving.

Thing # 16

I used netvibes to create a custom start page. I had a bit of fun playing around with it. It had a simple and easy to understand tutorial in the beginning. What caught my attention first was that bright colors and modern feel to it but it was very simple to use.
I used ta-da tod do list and it was fairly simple. Well, it was very simple. I just wasn't entirely sure I saw the relevance for it. I mean I could just as easily create a word document list and not have to sign into anything or complicate it. I understand perhaps the sharing tab would be useful but it seems like a few extra steps to an overly simple procedure. http://tadalist.com/
I think online calendars can be helpful and colorful and pretty, etc. but I also, think that they can add a few they can add too many steps. Calendars however are nice if you want an electronic version of your schedule. They also allow for reminders, you can link them to your mobile phone and they provide a clear, organized and easy to read format and layout that can be personalized to your needs. I think once I start working and need to organize a schedule I will use the online calendar tools to keep me on track and have my schedule clearly laid out.

Thing # 15

I had been trying to add something to sandbox page for a ridiculous amount of time and could not figure it out. The computers in the lab would not let me edit the page for some reason and that was so frustrating. Looking at the posts others have made I am not the only one that lost some sanity in attempts to complete this "thing." For some reason it worked from home so, I am thankful for that. If anyone else is having problems it seemed to work after I gave it a couple of hours and tried from somewhere else...lol. Good luck:) I was informed today(thank you Dr. Jerles) that WIKI actually, stand for "What I know is." I think they have the potential to be fun but this was not a good experience and so I am a little irritated with them. I am sure I will get over it....someday!

Thing # 14

I used Gliffy and it was very simple to navigate. I will definitely use this tool in the future. It sure beats trying to cut and paste and use paint to get a flow chart going. This is definitely a useful tool that I will utilize in the future for creating handouts or demonstrating thought processes or in presentations I have to give. Bubble.us is something that I have used before and I think it is very easy to use and useful. It is great for creating webs. I used this in a previous course to create a web for a unit plan showing the possible directions I could take the lesson and types of supplemental content that could be added. Flowcharts and mind maps both start with one idea but the difference is that a flow chart is used more often to show if/then scenarios and thought processes you start with a single idea and based choices are shown that create different pathways to some end result. Mind maps also, begin with one idea and then branch of into other categories, sub- categories and or supplemental ideas that stem from the main idea.

Thing # 13

Grrrr, I was writing this whole paragraph praising Zoho Writer and its ease of use and how it reminded me of Microsoft Office only more convenient because of how it allowed you to access your documents online without having to attach them or save them on a thumb drive but then I hit the wrong button and lost the whole thing.  User error I know!!!!  I do like the idea of being able to access it wherever I need to though and being able to export it easily without saving it and uploading it somewhere else.  

Google Doc Drawing

​I think Zoho was actually easier to use.  I seemed to be able to interact with it better without getting messed up or confused.  I also, liked the set up and flow of things better.  For google docs the classroom could set up a collection and work together on projects and collaborate with each other by sharing their work and making is available to others.  There are a lot of useful tools.  Having a class calendar would be something useful for the students.  There are thousands of templates including surveys, timelines, contact lists, bubble maps and many tools that the children could use to organize data or the teacher could use to present data..

Thing # 12

Google alerts sounds interesting if I had something I was die hard interested in knowing about but I have enough stuff to sift through on a daily basis in my inbox with out flooding my email with a plethora of additional emails about topics.  Google translate is something I use and love!!!!! It helps me test out and fine tune my developing Spanish skills and refreshes my memory on my German.  Having been a military spouse for going on 9 years I have met a lot of people from around the world and stay in contact with a lot of them despite our language barriers.  Speaking a language is one thing but reading and writing it is another and Google Translate helps make that transition easier.  The calendar would be a good tool to use for a class schedule.  Translate would be helpful in communicating with penpals for your students and Igoogle for setting up a class webpage with content that you want the class to see and be aware of everyday.

Thing # 11

The methods all had there own benefits. Not knowing what you are looking for makes the suggestions offered through some of the methods like syndic8 very welcomed.  I thought they were all fairly simple to navigate.  You can follow feeds on just about anything from musicians, to random individuals, track updates about immunizations, etc. I think the question is not what can you find or did you find but was there anything you wanted to look for that you couldn't find?  From what I came acrossed you can search for, follow and find anything that might strike your fancy.  I think the hardest part is actually finding things that you are genuinely interested in and want to follow because there is a lot of junk mixed in with everything.