Thing Sixteen

How might you use this tool in your personal and/or professional life? What issues come to mind about using this tool with students (ie, they need email addresses to log-in)?

I have heard about Google Docs, but have never used it before today.  My fifth grade daughter used it in school for a social studies presentation that she did with an assigned group.  She really enjoyed using it because she was able to work on it at home, as were the other students in her group.  It allowed them to collaborate outside of their classroom, which was an amazing thing to see.

I could have used Google Docs very recently in my personal life.  I am the team manager for my daughter’s soccer team.  One of my tasks is to create a phone tree and contact list for the team.  I created the document using Microsoft Word, printed it out, and took it to the first game so that parents could review it and make changes as necessary.  I can see how this process of review and editing could have been done more easily in Google Docs.  While playing around in Docs, I uploaded the soccer team phone tree from my computer.  The first time I uploaded it, allowing the file to be converted, I lost the formatting that I had created.  I uploaded it again, without allowing the conversion, and my document appeared without any loss in formatting.  Pretty slick! 

I think I could use this tool both professionally and personally whenever I want input on a document that I am creating.  The obvious issue with this technology is that participants must have a Google account to access the document.

Incidentally, my brother in law is a technology staff member at a school district in Monroe County.  He and I were discussing Google Docs and the practicality of using it, along with its limitations.  He introduced me to a website called dropbox.com.  According to him, documents can be “dropped” into this website and then accessed from any internet connected computer workstation.  I haven’t had time to explore it yet, so don’t know if there are collaboration capabilities on the site, but am curious to see the similarities to Google Docs.  

Thing Fifteen

On your blog, review and reflect on one collaborative project or opportunity that could align with part of your curriculum. Where might you incorporate one of the collaborative document tools for students to work together?

After exploring the multitude of online collaborative projects, I am most intrigued by “Epals.”  Epals seems to be a good fit for early childhood classrooms and appears to be a good starting point for teachers who are new to online collaboration. 

As I explored the Epal site, I found an area in which teachers can look for classrooms within a certain profile (such as age range or number of students), country, or type of project.  As I probed further, I was encouraged to find multiple early childhood classrooms from all areas of the globe who are participating in Epal projects.  I was also able to find several types of projects that fall under the theme of “People and Culture.”  One project helps children to explore, compare, and contrast different types of cultural festivals and traditions.  Another project allows children to explore their own similarities and differences with peers from other cultures.

These projects would align with the following Social Studies outcomes:

*recognize similarities and differences in people (gender, family, race,

culture, language).

*increase capacity to take another’s perspective.

*grow in understanding of and respect for differences among cultural

groups, as well as their contributions to society.

*begin to recognize that people celebrate events in a variety of ways.

These projects would also support the following Language Arts and Technology outcomes:

*understand that ideas can be written and then read by others.

*understand that printed materials have various forms and functions; e.g.,

signs, labels, notes, letters, types.

*begin to develop an understanding of purposes for writing

*understand that some people communicate in different languages and

other forms of English.

*begin to understand the value and enjoyment of being able to

communicate in more than one language or form of communication.

*talk, ask questions, solve problems, and share ideas with peers and

adults, when using computers and other technology tools. 

Thing Fourteen

Include your Delicious username in this blog post so that others can view the bookmarks that you have chosen to share. Then reflect on how you think social bookmarking can be used in your teaching. Does Delicious seem to be a tool that can enhance your productivity?

Share your thoughts about tagging. Is tagging a useful way to organize your digital resources and why? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages? What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?

My Delicious username is hdh.  

Social bookmarking appeals to my intense need for organization.  I love to organize spaces, information, and objects.  In the past it has been difficult and frustrating to me when I have tried to keep the vast amount of internet information organized.  I am always searching the internet for teaching information, themes, websites, and lesson plans.  I work from school, at home, and at the library and have bookmarks at each workstation.  As I switch from one workstation to the next I have been unable to keep track of the websites that I have used.  Now, I can keep this information on the Delicious website and be able to access it anywhere I am working.  This will definitely enhance my productivity. 

For me, tagging is a difficult aspect of Delicious.  I will need to gain more information about effective tags so that I will be able to find and share my bookmarks in a convenient and effective way.  As I was bookmarking sites, it was helpful to me that Delicious suggested possible tags that I could use.  As I continue to use and explore Delicious, I think that I will become more proficient with tagging.  

Incidentally, Delicious reminds me of another social bookmarking site called Pinterest.  I have been on Pinterest for a short time, but find it fun and addictive.  Pinterest allows users to "pin" interesting pictures and images on virtual bulletin boards.  The user names the bulletin board, which I think is similar to naming a stack on Delicious.  Users can follow other people's bulletin boards and repin interesting images to their own boards.  Pinterest contains a wide variety of interests including education, recipes, hairstyles, redecorating, organizing, etc.  Pinterest has associated itself with Facebook and Twitter and allows users to find friends through both social networks.  Pinterest requires an invitation, which reinforces the social aspect of the community. 

The major difference between Delicious and Pinterest is that Pinterest only allows the use of images.  Unless a website has a particular image, it can't be pinned to a bulletin board.  Delicious allows users to keep track of website addresses, not just images.

Thing Thirteen

What applications appeal to you? Now that you know more about Twitter and Facebook, pay attention to where you hear references to them in the every day world. How do you think you might use these tools? 


Why do you think MySpace and other social networking sites are so popular with kids today? What safety tips would you share with your students who are talking about using social networks?  

I have been a long-time user of Facebook and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It has allowed me to stay in touch with family and reconnect with old friends. I do not have a Twitter account, but have been aware of Twitter for quite some time. I know that my school district uses Twitter to update community members on school information and events. I have thought about joining Twitter, but have not done so because Facebook already takes up a lot of my time. I just didn't feel like I could keep up with Twitter. It is quite amazing to see Facebook and Twitter logos on almost every commercial, advertisement, and product. It is hard to remember a time when these tools did not exist.

I think that social networking sites are popular with kids because it gives them the chance to connect with a greater number of their peers and gives them immediate gratification. Modern kids do not remember a world where people had to wait to talk to a friend or family member in person or on the phone. They are used to interacting on an immediate basis at any time. As my own daughter approaches the teen years, I know that she will become a member of this social networking world. It is a powerful, and scary, truth that she will have access to so many people and so much information. On the flip side of this, all of these people will also have access to her. I have already begun to emphasize with her the importance of not sharing her personal information with anyone. I'm also beginning to have conversations with her about how information, especially pictures, that are put on the internet are a permanent record that can't be controlled.

Thing Twelve

Exploring widgets was interesting and entertaining. There seems to be a widget for any topic. I was able to find many educational widgets that could support learners and their parents. There were quite a few fun widgets, which got me thinking…maybe I will need a classroom blog and a personal blog. My classroom blog could be the one that guides and supports learning. My personal blog could be the area where I could have more license to exercise a sense of humor and pursue my personal interests outside of education.

Reading Tip of the Day

Thing Eleven

What do you like / dislike about leaving comments? How did you feel when you received your first comment? Why do you think commenting is so important in online communities? What might this mean for students who share their writing online?

I enjoy leaving comments on blogs because it gives me a sense of connection to a larger group of people.  It also gives me a chance to leave positive comments when I really agree with the blogger.  It is an affirming experience for me because I get to hear from other educators who agree with my philosophy or help me to see things from a different perspective.  Sometimes it can be difficult to compose a comment because of the limits of printed text.  I find myself really analyzing my word choices and the tone that I am using.  I try to review my comments from the bloggers point of view.  It can be difficult to discern whether comments will be taken in the way that I have intended.  This process could be very powerful for students.  It is a “real world” way of publishing work and receiving feedback.  It could cast the work or assignment in a more meaningful light and increase the quality of the work that is presented by students.