Thing 13

I love YouTube. I've used it forever. I have found many videos on Youtube that I was able to use for class. It is easy to search for just the right videos. I also use YouTube to follow global events. The benefit of watching raw video footage and international newscasts and commentaries is an invaluable benefit of YouTube. On a more prosaic level, I occasionally watch a TV show I have missed on YouTube.

While I use Discovery Streaming occasionally, there are not many videos on that site that are useful for my classes. The selection is exponentially smaller and many of the videos feel dated. While one has to screen the videos on YouTube carefully, I can often find videos reflecting themes of justice, prayer, spirituality, etc. which are excellent for prayer services or class. Videos produced by other young people have a contemporary feel and relevancy to my students. They allow them to see what is possible and expose them to new ways of constructing and sharing information. My students enjoy the way music is incorporated into video.

The video embedded below was created by a high school student. He shared what he had learned in his social justice class in a cartoon format. I think my students would revel in such a project.



While working on this Thing, I signed up for a YouTube account. Perhaps I will post a video myself!

Thing 12

I enjoyed looking at these varied Web 2.0 tools. The puzzle site is fun and I want to play around there more, although that is strictly for personal amusement. I found many of the sites interesting, but not things I would visit or use again. It was helpful for future reference to see the types of tools available.

The site I was most interested in for teaching purposes was the timeline site, but I was disappointed in its features, as it only allows for photos and text, not videos, music, voice over, etc. It has spurred me on to further research, as I hope the perfect web tool is out there for making timelines. Any suggestions?

Dolphin Puzzle

Thing 11

I haven't heard of social bookmarking before, so this was a new exercise for me. My immediate reaction was one of incredulity. We live in a society where people are increasingly disconnected in person, but we form online communities for everything--and now we even form communities to help each other find websites! Presumably, there is some advantage in finding websites using a social bookmarking site, rather than simply using a search engine. I'm not entirely clear what the advantage would be, except that it eliminates the commercial aspect common to sites like Google and Bing.

In any case, I plunged in and looked around. I searched with tags in my field of study, but didn't find many new sites. I was able to sign in, since I have a Yahoo account, and set up some bookmarks of my own, but honestly, I doubt I will go back to the site. I prefer to use my favorites tab on my browser, rather than having to not only visit, but log in to yet another website.

Aside from sharing information on websites they have found, I don't see much here that would help in the classroom.

Thing 10

I enjoyed exploring the mashups. I was familiar with this kind of application, but was not aware of the wide range available. Many smartphone applications are mashups, and they are useful for getting information when you are on the move. I have seen students use Flikr mashups in their projects, particularly Spell with Flikr. They are quick, fun and provide a range of visual tools.

For this assignment, I explored some new mashups online. The first is called If You Dig Straight Down. It confirmed what I already knew, that my childhood endeavors to dig to China were sadly uninformed. I now know, thanks to the knowledge base and advanced technology of the 21st century, that children in Argentina can, in fact, dig straight down to China. Perhaps I will raise a family there . . .

Another mashup I explored is called Trends Buzz. It compares the most popular searches on a range of websites from Twitter to Google to Bing to the New York Times. It is a wonderful snapshot of what people are thinking about on a given day and could have creative uses. I can imagine marketing firms mining this information, particular by comparing the traffic on sites which attract different demographic groups.

Finally, I checked out an iPhone app called Siri. It is a virtual personal assistant which can search for movies, make dinner reservations, call you a cab, etc.--all done with voice commands. These kind of apps show that mashups can have very practical uses.

Thing 9

I have used photo sites on and off. They are a convenient way to share photos with others. I am more familiar with Photobucket than Flikr, as I have been a member and used it recently. Sites like this are great for sharing photos of family events, especially when you have a large family spread across the country. I am not drawn to the concept of creating a community through this type of site by exploring and commenting on the photos posted by other people.

The Tags feature on Flikr makes it easy to search the site the way you would search for images on Google. Another feature touted by Flikr is the ability to set parameters for the use of your photos by other people. Of course, the assumption is that the person who uploads the photo has rights to it, which might not always be the case. The photo I have uploaded here was taken from Flikr and may be used with attribution, which I diligently offer: cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#"> CC BY 2.0

I do not see an application for this type of photo site for my students. In our school, we share photos for the yearbook, newsletters, etc. on our server. When the students are looking for photos they are already comfortable using Google to search for them. They learn how to properly use and attribute photos in their tech classes.

Thing 8

I enjoyed playing around with Netvibes. I had a customized start page years ago but abandoned it. I have also tried played around with widgets previously, putting them directly on my desktop. In the end, I find the start page a bit too distracting. When I get on the computer, particularly to work, I don't want to see all sorts of interesting things pop up that will lead me away from my objective. I have explorer set up with 2-3 tabs on both my home and school computers to take me quickly to the sites I use most. That works for me.

I can see that this might be an organizational tool for students, helping them quickly locate and check in on things they have to follow for school. I can also see that it could distract them from their work, as it does for me, especially if they load up their start page with a number of widgets, plus facebook, twitter, etc.

As with all technology, the start page is a two edged sword.