Google Sites

GOOGLE DOCS

Having Google Docs means no more messy E-Mail attachments and no more duplicates floating out there in cyberspace. Now you can attach E-Mails to documents instead of Vise versa. Which takes up less space on your computer, and on these sites you can also decide who can and can’t access your documents. It is like having your own bodyguard for your documents. Also if and when you invite people to Google Docs, they can go on and read the document and even edit it. Others who are invited will be able to see it and any changes. http://docs.google.com/support

The Google Doc site is very useful for teachers, businesses and students like me. Why you ask, because all the documents we have saved on our computers can begin to be too much and this way we can remove the bulk of them from our computers and keep this information safe on Google Docs.

Teachers are becoming more and more aware of the great new ideas for help in the classroom. Google Docs has a great potential for being a good assistance in the classroom, like for group papers. All the students can access the same draft from any computer and add information, edit, tweak and more all because of a great site idea like Google Docs. Lastly as a teacher you can go on the site to see who has been participating in that particular collaboration. Wow how cool is that, I am going to use it too. As far as what “School of Learning”, I am guessing “Cognitive” category. http://www.smartschools.ph/SmartSchools/SmartTools/IntroductionGoogleDocsApps.htm

SOCIAL BOOKMARKING

Social Bookmarking is the practice of saving bookmarks to a public Website and “tagging” them with keywords. Social bookmarking is particularly useful when collecting a set of resources that are to be shared with others. Anyone can participate in Social Bookmarking. Social Bookmarking open a door to new ideas in organizing information and categorizing resources. Users may also see how many have used their tag and how many resources have been assigned to that tag.

Teachers that visit the PBS website can visit teachers connect a new Social networking site. It is filled with information all about and for teachers. http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning/now

On the PBS site teachers use Social Bookmarking by adding tags to a particular discussion thread within the PBS Blog. Teachers also use Social Bookmarking when they are online and discussing information between teachers on a particular subject. http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com

Most importantly Social Bookmarking is a way for teachers to save all of their links in one place. Teachers can use a site like del.icio.us to keep track of the different sites they may want to use for a particular assignment for the week, and using this site to keep all the links they want, can keep it from getting overwhelming. This “School of Learning” category is also “Connectivism”.

SOCIAL MEDIA

New opportunities to create and communicate with people that care, is how I best describe Social Media. Social Media is media designed to be used through social interaction created using highly accessible publishing techniques. Social media also supports the need for social interaction, with the use of Internet and Web-based technologies, which transform broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues. Social media has three main components; concept, media and social interface. http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/2009/07/22/10-ways-to-jump-start-your-social-media-thinking/

Social Media is a great idea, but somewhere along the way some people decide to drift away from the idea and go back to Face book or MySpace instead. Because of this social media must make itself more useful, in order to do this there must be new ideas and not duplicate or predictable ideas. Social Media is a great idea for businesses and can really help any company. Social media is especially useful when our Journalists are in another Country and are blocked or prevented from reporting on events, because then is when Social media can get the information to us in the U.S. anyways. http://www.ethanzuckermna.com/blog/2009/06/18/iran-citizen-media

As far as teachers and Social Media; teachers use Social Media through an RSS feed (sometimes) to see updates of where students worked within the Social Network. A School teacher named Dharmesh Ning uses his Social media (RSS feed) for this exact reason. Teachers can see if students have YouTube videos or blogs, and it turns out to be a great form of knowledge. This “School of Learning” category is “Connecti

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Social Networking helps you see connections that are hidden and others can see your connections too. Face book and MySpace are some of the most popular networking sites. Social networking sites are Web-Based services that allow people to view and publicize their list of connections. http://www.creditunions.com/articles Put together a list of other users with whom they can share a connection. Build and construct a public or semi-public profile for others to see.

Social Networking is useful for many reasons, but connecting with friends and loved ones is to me the most important. But, many businesses find that having the right connection can make a huge difference in their success or failure. Social Networking helps people and businesses be seen, and my make for many better connections to all kinds of people. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13

As far as how teachers use social Networking, I learned a few things. One, don’t and I mean don’t use Face book or MySpace as a teacher if you are going to add those pictures from your last party out, because all this information can get out to the community in which you work, and that may not be good for your career. Two, I could not find any personal Teacher stories, just some general ideas about how teachers are using Social Networking. Teachers use it to connect to each other and share ideas and information; this gives teachers the advantage of a lot more information. Teachers also use it as a teaching tool, by gathering information from other teachers and using the Internet to teach the information. This School of Learning is in the Constructivist category.

PODCASTING

Podcasting was created by Adam Curry, former MTV Video Jockey with the cooperation of RSS feed developer Dave Winer. (http://www.voices.com/podcasting/history-of-podcasting.html) Podcasting is a sophisticated method of broadcasting that makes audio available to listeners at their own convenience.

There are many benefits of Podcasting, it is a great idea for marketing your item and a Podcast format can also improve the quality of your information. Podcasting helps you see and hear things at any given time, so you can watch or listen when you want to. Anyone can Podcast from anywhere as long as you have the Internet. Podcasting can be downloaded to all sorts of devices like I-Pod’s and more.

In schools Podcasting is used to deliver information to students anytime of the day. Also you can, as a class build your own Podcast to reach out to students in other Countries or States. Or you can watch a Podcast of another classroom. The concept is pretty darn cool. I went on a site that had Podcasts that were done by an Elementary classroom, it was very creative.

In this day and age, people are so busy and Podcasts give you the opportunity to view your favorites at anytime. Also if you’re the creative type (which I am not), you can make your own Podcast on anything and then share it with everyone. We sure have come a long way in Technology since I had my first Apple computer in the late 80’s. I never thought I would be going to school online, having a MySpace or a Blog, I guess Podcasting will be next on my list!

Web Search Strategies

Web search engines are a vital part of the Web, because they help you get to the information you are looking for. You can find the things you are looking for faster if you use Web Search Strategies. These strategies help you search quicker by deleting the search items that do not pertain to exactly what you are searching for, this can save a lot of time. It is helpful in saving time when you are trying to write a report, because only what you need will come up, it narrows the choices closer to what you are actually looking for.

The History( http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/194507/bush) of this wonderful idea has been in the process since July 1945 when Vannevar Bush published an article in “The Atlantic Monthly” called “As We May Think”, in this article he reached out to all scientists to find a way to build a body of knowledge for all mankind. But the actual father of Modern Search Technology (http://www.searchenginehistory.com/ )was Gerard Satlon (1960-1995). He spent most of his life directly involved in the important aspects of Search, and all its strategies.

Phil Race a teacher in Higher education uses Web Search Strategies to help students with the Lecture process from online classes. He recommends students use these strategies to further their understanding of the Lectures. I believe this falls under the Connectivist category.

I learned a lot today about Web Search strategies, like how to remove parts of the search so your choices are not as many. It is important especially as a student taking online classes, to not waste time looking through a bunch of sites. I would much rather jump right into the good stuff.

The End