THING 21 My Animoto Video

My Animoto Video

This was a fun activity!!!  I hope to make more little clips one day.

THING 16

I chose igoogle for my start page.  I think that igoogle's layout is the most user friendly and can allow me to access many tools such as gmail, calender, google docs and more.  I will probably not make it my permanent home page because I do not use my home computer that much and I do not really like change.  I get in to a routine and I like to stick with the same routine. 

The online calendar can be useful for me to keep organized.  Right now I am going to school and working at two different locations, so a the online calendar can help me keep everything straight. 

I see how the to-do list can be very helpful but if you do not have a method to retrieve it then that can create a problem.

The calendar could be used for school and home.  In the classroom the calendar could be used to be kept up with classroom assignments and school events.  The calendar could be used in the lunch room for the weekly menu as well.  I would tell my friends about both the calendar and to-do lists. 

THING 15

The concept of wiki is very interesting.  I see it as a useful tool to allow people to share what they have learned, discovered or know.  It is an easy assessable network that is a free source for anyone to use.  I may use wiki to allow my students to connect and show what they have learned and discovered from a specific assignment.  It can also be used as a method for students to research for school project.  The only concern that I have with wiki is how reliable the source is that is supplying the information.

THING 14

Gliffy (flowchart)
Bubbl.us (mind map)

I explored the Gliffy (flowchart) website and the Bubbl.us (mind map) website.  I enjoyed using both of the websites but I found that the Gliffy website offered more variety of charts to use.  I did not have an upcoming project to test the tools out so I just made up some random items to test.  I made a mind map using Bubbl.us and a venn diagram using the Gliffy website. 

THING 13

The above is a picture that I created on google doc.  I very much enjoyed google doc.  It was user friendly and had lots more to offer than Zoho.  For me, Zoho was hard to navigate through and I could never find my files after I created them.  I am sure they are lost somewhere out there in the World Wide Web.  Maybe they will find their way home.... or Not.  The applications that Google Doc offered could be used for educational uses.  There is a program for presentations, where lessons can be prepared and used for in class.  Utilizing the web can also allow for the presentations to be shared easily (or any document created on Google doc).  There is also a database option where a grade book could be created.  Google doc also has a document creator, form creator and a drawing board.  All of these tools have potential to be useful in a classroom setting for both teachers and students.  I think it is neat that all of these tools can be found online in one location for Free!!  That is awesome.
As I said before BOO on Zoho and two thumbs up on Google doc.  I just found Zoho difficult to use and got frustrated. 

THING 12

I explored the iGoogle, Google calendar and Google translator.  I can see that the tools could be very useful for anyone.  With my crazy schedule of working at two locations and going to school the calendar had lots of options to notify me of event.  The calendar would prevent me from double booking myself, which I tend to do too often.  The iGoogle is a neat way to personalize your Google account.  It allows you to customize a page to fit your needs and interests.  I enjoyed getting to set my own "theme" for my page allowing it to look all pretty and colorful.  The Google translator could be a great tool to use for teachers who have students that parents who read in other languages.  Google translator could also be used by students to check their work in foreign language classes.  

THING 11

I enjoyed using Google blog search.  It is very similar to the normal google search engine and I am already familiar with using it.  That is probably why using Google blog search was easiest to use.  Google blog search is also my favorite.  I must have a secret obsession with Google.  
Topix.net is not my friend.  I was very confused and lost in trying to use it. Google is very direct and simple page with a place to type what you want, hit enter and there you have what you were looking for.  Topix.net had some craziness about politic crap on it that I had no interest in at that moment.  I do not like using pages that are cluttered up with a lot of crap. 
In my travels I found some really neat feeds on gymnastics (another one of my obsessions), hunting, physical education, and cooking.  I did not find anything unusual in my searches. 
I did discover that you can look for feeds in the actual google reader itself.  There is a search bar at the top of the page that will locate what ever your heart desires.