Social Bookmarking
I explored three bookmarking services as part of this assignment.
1. Delicious is a site I have visited before. I never subscribed because I have an elaborate bookmarking system on my computer and did not see any need to duplicate bookmarks. When I want to share a site with someone - I add it to the email so they can link directly from an email. This is how I personally like to receive links. I can view the link directly from my email and I do not have to move around to the browser. I have seen other people's Delicious sites. They are usually not organized and not anything I would want to plow through. I did join Delicious and explored the options and links.
What I love about Delicious are the 'recent' and 'popular' lists. I enjoy going through those and always find spots that would never find any other way. The graphic design and life hacker sites are always interesting.
2. Ning for Educators
I explored this site but did not join. I think it is very similar to Classroom 2.0 and does many of the same things.
3. Diigo. I joined this site but had difficulty because I do not have administrative rights to my work computer where I usually do my assignments. I had to do this from my home computer.
I really like Diigo. It does more than just organize bookmarks. It allows you to research the web and organize what you find. Another good feature is that it allows you to annotate webpages for yourself or others. This is a good feature that I think would be helpful for teachers. I would not use it as a replacement for my bookmark folder but it would be useful for a specific project that is shared with several other people.
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Syndication
I have used Bloglines for my RSS syndication service for over two years. I like it very much and will continue to use it. I like the ease of subscription. The subscription button is always available and I can subscribe to any webpage that has RSS or XML. I also like the organization tools and folders. I can manage many feeds in a clean and simple way. The editing options are clear and easy to use. What I really appreciate is the simplicity of it. I hate busy websites!!! I like sites and services that are direct and clear. I don't like pictures and bells and whistles all over the place. Bloglines provides a clean interface that does not overwhelm.
For this assignment, I also subscribed to Google Reader. I chose Google because they are trustworthy and it is well-maintained. Other lesser-known services are unreliable and limited in scope.
The Google service is linked to all other Google services as well as gmail. I particularly liked the ease of subscription. It allowed you to browse or type in the URL. This was so convenient. The management tools and the list of subscriptions were easy to use. The webpage was too busy. But I think I could make this work.
I also subscribed to Twitter. I will need to explore this a bit more. I think you need to have a group or a purpose to fully understand the value of this. "what are you doing?" seemed a bit trivial.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Comments on WetPaint Wiki
I joined the Quilt Lover's Wiki on WetPaint. I have participated in many listservs and chatrooms dealing with quilting. Adding to the wiki was really easy and it was easy to add photos. This is much more convenient than the usual listservs and bulletin boards that don't allow such postings.
The URL is :
My posting is:
I will continue to use this wiki. The ancillary links are very useful and I think it will a good source of information and support. It is easy to access and use. I also think I will use this website for setting up other wikis - both at home and at work. This has potential.
The URL is :
My posting is:
I will continue to use this wiki. The ancillary links are very useful and I think it will a good source of information and support. It is easy to access and use. I also think I will use this website for setting up other wikis - both at home and at work. This has potential.
Comments on Elluminate
I think Elluminate is one of the most important educational programs to come along in the last five years. It is replacing audioconferencing as a presentation method.
There are several clear benefits to using Elluminate. It offers both auditory and visual participation. The 'hands-up' feature is an excellent quick way getting opinions. The whiteboard and Internet options make it almost as good as face-to-face presentations. It actually provides better links to technology than a face-to-face class does in many instances.
The are several important negatives. It needs a really good Internet connection - from everyone! One weak link - and the process breaks down. The learning curve is significant! Students really don't use all the features because they don't know how. A major part of every class is spent debugging and training. As the disability services advisor on the Sitka Campus, Elluminate is very difficult for disabled students to use. The auditory component is important. A deaf or hearing-impaired student can't participate fully. Elluminate has really caused us some headaches in the Disabilities Office!
I think Elluminate has applications beyond the classroom. It is excellent for meetings and staff training. It can be used on a personal level for family meetings. I think it will become an integral part of the learning and training environment.
There are several clear benefits to using Elluminate. It offers both auditory and visual participation. The 'hands-up' feature is an excellent quick way getting opinions. The whiteboard and Internet options make it almost as good as face-to-face presentations. It actually provides better links to technology than a face-to-face class does in many instances.
The are several important negatives. It needs a really good Internet connection - from everyone! One weak link - and the process breaks down. The learning curve is significant! Students really don't use all the features because they don't know how. A major part of every class is spent debugging and training. As the disability services advisor on the Sitka Campus, Elluminate is very difficult for disabled students to use. The auditory component is important. A deaf or hearing-impaired student can't participate fully. Elluminate has really caused us some headaches in the Disabilities Office!
I think Elluminate has applications beyond the classroom. It is excellent for meetings and staff training. It can be used on a personal level for family meetings. I think it will become an integral part of the learning and training environment.
Review Wikipedia
I have used Wikipedia for a long time. I think it has replaced the major published encyclopedias for accessibility. I have noticed that whenever I look for a definition as part of a Google search, the wikipedia entry is always listed first.
For this assignment, I searched for articles on deflation, elementary algebra, and attention deficit disorder. The articles on deflation and attention deficit disorder were excellent. They were clearly written. They contained a competent survey of the topic. They also contained links to related topics as well as links to more in-depth information. The wikipedia math articles were really not as good as the economics and education entries. The math articles were little more than lists of formulas and worked examples. When you look up math information you usually want to be 'taught'. You want to learn how to do something. The purpose of Wikipedia is not to 'teach'. It is really just description. For math topics, this really doesn't work well.
Questions--
What Wikipedia topic did you visit?
I read entries on deflation, elementary algebra, and attention deficit disorder
Was it creditable and accurate?
Yes, the articles were accurate. The fact that they are written by members of the public does not bother me. Over time, they will self-correct and probably be better than entries written by professionals. I don't expect Wikipedia to provide research or in-depth analysis. It provides description and definitions only. It gives you a good overview of the topic, nothing more. It is good at what it does.
Would you use Wikipedia as a resource professionally in the future?
Yes, I will use Wikipedia in the future. You can always rely on it for a good, concise overview of any topic. Whether you are interested in broad topics or very vague topics, they are all there.
For this assignment, I searched for articles on deflation, elementary algebra, and attention deficit disorder. The articles on deflation and attention deficit disorder were excellent. They were clearly written. They contained a competent survey of the topic. They also contained links to related topics as well as links to more in-depth information. The wikipedia math articles were really not as good as the economics and education entries. The math articles were little more than lists of formulas and worked examples. When you look up math information you usually want to be 'taught'. You want to learn how to do something. The purpose of Wikipedia is not to 'teach'. It is really just description. For math topics, this really doesn't work well.
Questions--
What Wikipedia topic did you visit?
I read entries on deflation, elementary algebra, and attention deficit disorder
Was it creditable and accurate?
Yes, the articles were accurate. The fact that they are written by members of the public does not bother me. Over time, they will self-correct and probably be better than entries written by professionals. I don't expect Wikipedia to provide research or in-depth analysis. It provides description and definitions only. It gives you a good overview of the topic, nothing more. It is good at what it does.
Would you use Wikipedia as a resource professionally in the future?
Yes, I will use Wikipedia in the future. You can always rely on it for a good, concise overview of any topic. Whether you are interested in broad topics or very vague topics, they are all there.
Review of Blog Search Engines
I visited the two blog search engines (blogcatalog and globeofblogs) and submitted a search that I already knew what the result should be. This was my way to test the accuracy and relevance of the search engine. I put in the search topic "peak oil". This is an economic and scientific topic exploring the the current oil markets. The premier blog on this topic is "The Oil Drum". It is updated daily and has the largest number of subscribers of persons interested in peak oil. Neither of these two blog search engines came up with this blog site and they should have. Most of the search results were frivolous and completely unrelated to my search request. I then put this topic into the Google Blog Search engine and The Oil Drum was listed first. In fact, the Google Blog Search gave me a complete list of relevant blogs with no false leads. I do not think I will use the first two blog search engines again. It is obvious why Google is the gold standard. It simply works.
I went back to the first two blog search engines and put in a search for developmental math. I teach developmental math courses at UAS and wanted to see what blogs came up. I searched several different ways and the following site came up
http://mathmojo.com/chronicles/
This blog is for parents, students, and teachers and explores ways to think about math in effective ways. The archives go back 5 years and are searchable. I read several thread about multiplication and ways to teach that topic. There was a thread on whether multiplication should be memorized.
I also searched for 'math anxiety'.
http://afterthemathpanel.blogspot.com/2008/04/math-anxiety.html
This was an interesting personal story about math anxiety but did not offer anything new.
Questions-
List the sites selected
http://afterthemathpanel.blogspot.com/2008/04/math-anxiety.html
http://mathmojo.com/chronicles/
Why did you choose these sites?
They relate directly to my teaching interests and concerns.
What did they offer?
Very little. The search engines did not produce a complete list. Most of the listings were individual journals about people's personal experiences with math or math instruction. There was no real help there. The individuals who were writing were not experienced and did not have helpful information. When I need answers -- I prefer professional journals or more directed research.
Do you plan to continue to use?
I will use Google blog search when I want to local relevant blogs. I think listservs on specific topics is a more useful communication tool.
I went back to the first two blog search engines and put in a search for developmental math. I teach developmental math courses at UAS and wanted to see what blogs came up. I searched several different ways and the following site came up
http://mathmojo.com/chronicles/
This blog is for parents, students, and teachers and explores ways to think about math in effective ways. The archives go back 5 years and are searchable. I read several thread about multiplication and ways to teach that topic. There was a thread on whether multiplication should be memorized.
I also searched for 'math anxiety'.
http://afterthemathpanel.blogspot.com/2008/04/math-anxiety.html
This was an interesting personal story about math anxiety but did not offer anything new.
Questions-
List the sites selected
http://afterthemathpanel.blogspot.com/2008/04/math-anxiety.html
http://mathmojo.com/chronicles/
Why did you choose these sites?
They relate directly to my teaching interests and concerns.
What did they offer?
Very little. The search engines did not produce a complete list. Most of the listings were individual journals about people's personal experiences with math or math instruction. There was no real help there. The individuals who were writing were not experienced and did not have helpful information. When I need answers -- I prefer professional journals or more directed research.
Do you plan to continue to use?
I will use Google blog search when I want to local relevant blogs. I think listservs on specific topics is a more useful communication tool.
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