Monday, February 15, 2010

Thing 5

LinkedItn - I had trouble with this the first time I tried it, but Groupwise was having difficulty that weekend and I don't know if that's the cause. It worked fine the following Monday, I got my confirmation email, and was then getting responses to those I have contacted. I also got generic emails from some past-parents who are involved in business. I found this to be bothersome, as I have had no contact in years, and no use for what they were offering. I think this is a wonderful tool for those who have something or service to sell, but don't immediately see a use for educators. We have an audience with different needs than those supported by LinkedIn.

Thing 6

Nings - too overwhelming!!! I hate shopping, and after years of this have decided why. Too mucy to look at, too many choices. I walk in to a store knowing what I want, grab it, and head for the checkout. (Self-service, if they have it. In a rush to get out!) All of the nings choices are like walking into a mall. Where to start, what do I want, and where is the exit? I find the internet to be interesting in the abstract, but when I get there I don't know what to do next.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Thing 4
The positive comments were easy to write. I know I was supposed to add to others blogs with thought-provking insights, but found that much more difficult. Perhaps it was because I was just randomly reading blogs, and not because these were blog topics I sought out. I hope to have greater success in further developing thoughts when I have an investment in the topic.
As to looking for comments from others, it is rather like going to the mailbox and getting something other than bills. It was nice to get Dino's reply :)
Thing 3
So much capability! I found it compelling that classrooms are doing Silent Sustained Reading using blogs! Getting over the fact that the classrooms had sufficient computers for this to work, to let elementary children choose blogs they were interested in reading is incredible. (They weren't allowed to add to the blogs at this time, however.)
I found the blog about the technology "natives" vs "immigrants" to be interesting. I agree that it certainly does increase the comfort level of those on the younger side of the divide. However, this does give a false sense of capability. We can't assume that all of our students inherently know how to do things with electronic gadgets. Skills do need to be explicitly taught.
While there is an infinite offering of blog topics to read, and the capabilities of communicating in a broad variety of ways are now at hand, is this going to make us more isolated?

Saturday, January 23, 2010

23 things thoughts

Web 1.0 vs web 2.0
I think 1.0 is like letters getting mailed-You can read it, but not respond. You can ask questions, but won't get answers any time soon. By the time you read one the news may be very out-of-date.
2.0 - ask and respond, timely

thing 1 winter

thing 1 - Winter -
cold is only fun when you want to play in it
snow is only pretty when it is still white
ice is only good when you have skates on

Thursday, January 21, 2010