Thing # 18

http://www.facebook.com/maria.donald

https://twitter.com/#!/donald_maria

Social sites are great for being social, hence the name.  I am an avid user of Facebook, and I am getting to know Twitter, but so far I don't really spend much time there.  I prefer Facebook over Twitter because I'm more familiar with Facebook and I find it easier to use.  It's addicting.  I'm not too sure how I feel about social sites for educational use, just because I know how people are when it comes to Facebook and nothing educational will get accomplished and almost nobody will want their teachers (or even students) to have access to such personal information.  I suppose, if done right, this can be a beneficial tool for the classroom as almost everyone has a Facebook/Twitter and knows how to use it.  It is my personal belief to try and keep social media and education separate.

Thing # 17

I figured that after this course is done, I will sit down and properly learn to use some of the tools that I don't quite understand,  with this bookmarking being one of them.  For right now though, I have tested the website and looked around and from an educational stand point, I can see this being a useful tool for teachers and students.   Being able to see relevant links and information for your topic makes life so much easier (bye-bye Google search).  I  like the fact that you can see how many "likes" a link has because that says alot about the helpfulness/relevance of that link.  The idea of bookmarking sites that can be accessed from any computer also ties in with the educational benefit.  For example, if there is a topic in history I'm teaching that has some great extra reading to go with it, then I can bookmark those links and students can access them from whatever computer they use.  They don't have to be confined to a classroom computer or lab, which allows them to read the material at the own pace and leisure.  As teachers, I feel that sharing useful tips, lesson, etc. is highly beneficial.  No teacher, contrary to some beliefs, wants to see their students fail and no teacher wants to endure the burden of knowing they could have done more.  Bookmarking is a free place where teachers can gain useful tips and ideas about how to better educate our youth.

Thing # 16

The start page exercise was a little pointless for me as I already use iGoogle, but it did allow me to spruce my page up.  I changed my theme to show the cover of all the Harry Potter books and I changed my layout so that all my "gadgets" were easier to view.  So sticking with the theme of Google, I investigated the calender.  I filled it out and it's really handy to have because I am on my computer alot and I already use iGoogle.  I like having everything in one place and being able to view it easily and Google calender does that for me.  I didn't like the to-do list because it seemed like too much work.  I usually just write down on a sticky note what I need to do and put it on my desk.  I find that is more beneficial for me because I am constantly looking at it and I am quickly able to check off the things I have completed.
     Overall, I think iGoogle is a really useful tool, simply because everything you need from calenders to a dictionary, is all there.  It's in one place and for those of you that use Google Chrome, it is right there when you log onto the internet.  Organization is handy for education and home life and iGoogle makes it so much easier.

Thing # 15

I don't mean to be Miss Negative, but I hated this whole Wiki thing.  At first it seemed relatively easy, but then I had trouble figuring out how to upload stuff, and then figuring out where to put it.  Once uploaded though, it was simple to edit the text colors, fonts and so on.  I'm not sure I would ever utilize a wiki in the classroom.  I don't like the idea of people being able to go in and change information and it potentially be wrong.  My entire school life, we have always been told to stay away from Wikipedia because "anyone can write and change information in there."  Therefore, I am always skeptical about it being used for anything school-related.  However, I love the idea of a wiki being used for personal planning, such as the video that showed everybody keeping in touch about a camping trip and organizing the trip that way.  I also liked the book review wiki that was sponsored by Princeton.   Outside of educational purposes, I think wiki is a good idea, but when it comes to education I prefer to rely on the experts and not on people who can go in and randomly change information.

 http://apsu23thingssandbox.pbworks.com/w/page/52094767/Maria%27s%20Boogie%20Monster 

Here is the link to the wiki edit I made.

Thing # 14

The first chart I chose to use was a mind map from Bubbl.us.  This looked like a pretty easy chart to use and an effective one as well.  I was drawn to it because I remember in reading and language arts, using this kind of chart to analyze characters and their role in the plot of the story.  I like how the Bubbl.us mind chart is simply divided into "child" bubble and "sibling" bubble.  What that essentially means is you have your main bubble (main subject) and you branch into a sub-category of that subject, which is the "child."  Well, there may be sub-sub category, which becomes the "sibling."  For example, Maria is my subject.  One of the children is "likes."  It then branches into the category of fashion, which can then branch into its sibling "shoes."  It sounds very complex but once you make one the whole idea comes together.  This mind map is fairly easy to use.  There really isn't a lot of colorful or animated things you can do to it.  It's basic and straight forward, and this simplicity is something I really appreciate.  Here is a brief example of my mind chart.  It has me as the subject and I branch off into three relatively simple categories: birthday, education and likes.  The first two get divided into sub-categories, but the "likes" part gets fairly complex.  It delves into what things I generally like and then the specifics of those likes.  A chart like this is great for relatively simple concepts, like describing yourself or discussing main points in a topic that don't need much elaboration.  The great thing about this is I can position my bubbles to where they don't overlap and I can even change the colors of the bubbles (which I didn't do here).
   The flowchart is amazing.  It seems complex but it isn't.  When you open a new template, it asks you what kind of chart you want to make.  I chose the vertical timeline, but there are many others to choose from.  I like the vertical timeline because I am an obsessive list maker and this has a perfect setup for an electronic list.  You can also add graphics, such as pictures and change the background colors.  I can see myself using this not only in the classroom with my students, but in other parts of organizing my life.  This would be a fun and creative way to remind students what is due in the coming week or allow them to make their own.  They could also explore the other components and see how they would use it for note taking.  Below is the link for my flow chart.  
                            http://flowchart.com/editor/#04e640c6d345db62:101076

Thing # 13

I began this activity by looking at Zoho writer, which I am having trouble figuring out.  I like the idea it presents with it being an online "Microsoft office" tool and the ability for everybody to access it without having to spend a lot of money on the program.  However, I think I may be too stupid to figure out this Zoho writer and I have given up.  Luckily, there is also the Google Docs I can test out.  I already have a Google account that you can get through Google Chrome and when I clicked on the link it took my straight there.  I found Google docs really simple to use.  I chose to upload a picture, add a caption and color.  I feel that Google docs would be better suited for the classroom because it is easier to use than Zoho.  I also made a word document which was so easy to use!  I believe it is easier to use than Microsoft Word, especially since I have trouble inserting continuous page numbers and headers.  Google docs would be a great program for students because it doesn't require any software ,and therefore can be accessed from any computer.  It can also be edited by anyone with access to the document.  As a history teacher, I like the idea of having students do their papers in a Google doc because it would be easy for me to review and make comments, and I wouldn't have to worry about them being limited to work on the paper due to expensive software.  I also like how Google docs has different features such as the drawing tool, spreadsheet tool and even PowerPoint.  Students can make collections of their work, stored neatly in a folder and there is even an owned by me folder to avoid plagiarism (although I wouldn't solely rely on this).
*I wasn't able to add my document on here but I was able to write "I love my Boogie and miss her" in different colors and even wrote it in French.  Hopefully I can figure out how to do it.  There is also a way to publish it to the web, but since our class on Copy Righting, I'm going to wait before I do that.  But here is the picture I made!