Myspace/Facebook vs. Plaxo/LinkedIn

Social networking sites have become the new way to stay connected. With everyone leading such busy lives, it has created a quick and easy way for people to be able to keep in touch. I believe that the popularity of myspace/facebook is far greater than plaxo/linkedin. I say this because I actually have heard of and used myspace/facebook before whereas I have never with plaxo/linkedin. I do think that each of these sites are great when used for what they are intended. I view myspace/facebook to be more personal rather than professional - a way for friends to stay in touch. I'd like to use plaxo, however, as a way I stay connected to the other professionals I've met during this time.

Professional Portfolio

Being able to use technology to create and display my professional portfolio was a great experience. These three methods which I used - personal websites, plaxo, and linkedin were all good ways to be able to put it together and share it with others. For me, I prefer both the personal website and plaxo as they were easy to work with as opposed to linkedin. I also like how with plaxo you can both determine the type of connection you will have with others and use it to connect with other sites as well. Using the personal website was easy and allowed me to be creative in the way I put my portfolio together. The one downside was only being able to display it to email addresses that I knew or make it public which I prefer not to do. As a student of technology, I pretty much determine the pros and cons of each site by whether or not they are user friendly to me. For me plaxo and the personal website were, linkedin not so much.

Inside vs. Outside

Sitting here in front of the computer, I was just wishing I was somewhere else - like DOUBLE REEF. Outside it's nice and sunny, just the perfect weather for a family day at the beach. Oh well, don't think that I'm going to get my wish though, but I'll make the most of it.

LibraryThing

LibraryThing is just the kind of site that my mother-in-law would love. Books, books, and more books - the possibilities are endless. This is a site that can be very useful for both professional and personal purposes. It makes searching for books quicker and easier. Personally, I would probably continue to use this site more for professional reasons. It would help me to not only find resources that I need for class, but also organize them so that they are in one place.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/taitano10

Image Generators - Fun!

I really enjoyed taking a look around and playing with the sites. They were easy to use which is the icing on the cake for me. I think that introducing sites like these to students would be a great idea. It would definitely expand their creativity on a project for class. I selected the link I did because I thought it would be a great tool for my students to use to complete a weight training project that they have. Although the site I picked requires you to pay for the final product, it does allow you to put in all the information and view it which I believe would help my students generate ideas for their final project.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php

"Summertime" - YouTube

I must admit that when I had to select a video to post I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I'm a huge fan of my sister and her beautiful voice. I looked, saw a video indicative of the moment I'm in and want to share it. Joy's singing with Dave Santos on a Friday night at the House of Brutus. Dave is another amazingly talented musician from Guam who spends his days teaching and his nights living his passion. Together they made a dynamic duo. During this night, there was no rehearsal. It was just two great singers getting up on the stage and singing with soul. Amazing!

Looking around youtube is always fun. There are so many videos to chose from and such a huge variety. There are definitely videos in this site that could be used by teachers and students. The question is just how do we monitor the videos that students view if schools allow access to this site? From this class I'm thankful for all the different ways I'm learning to help me take the positive things from each site, and fix them in such a way that it allows me to use it in the class.

Mission: Podcast

Wow... that was so easy! Using the site podcast.com, I was able to search a variety of different podcasts, select what I like, and create a feed to my Bloglines account. I definitely should be able to use this in both my personal and professional life. With podcasting, the more that people learn just how easy and fun it is to do, the more they'll try it, and we'll have access to it.

Technorati

Experimented with another new site - Technorati. Interesting to see how many posts come up when I search for "kinesiology." Plugging in 'search blogs' and 'tags only' helped to narrow down the number that pops up. I can't really say that I'd use this site often, but I can see how it makes searching for a particular topic easier. It's always nice to be able to put in a key word to help you find what you're looking for. After that the difficult part is going through all the information that comes up, and deciding what to use or what you need.

Deliciously Del.icio.us?

After some experimentation with del.icio.us, I realize that I can use this site to work for me. The phrase "two heads are better than one" comes to mind after playing around with it. I like the idea that I can pick something of interest, see all the different sites that are offered, and see what others thought of it as well. Also, I think that it's a great tool to be able to help organize all the different information I'm accumulating on the web. At this point, I welcome anything that offers some relief to all the madness.

Web 2.0

New and improved. This is what comes to mind when I think of Web 2.0. It's about expanding more and improving upon what is offered on the web. It's not a site, but a description of the new worldwide web as a whole. Having explored a site, and seeing how the others were listed helped me to come to this conclusion. Don't know if that's right, but I'm going with that. It's always interesting to see the different sites on the web, but even more how they come up with ways to change them to make them better, more user friendly, and geared to more of what the user wants.

Eliminating Excuses

"Miss/Sir, I forgot it at home." How many times have we heard this when we ask students for assignments? Google docs can help eliminate this excuse. Requiring students to prepare assignments using this site would ensure that they are submitted on time since the site is accessible at school. Allowing students a way to easily retrieve a document or presentation without needing to remember a flash drive would also be good. Teaching kids the various uses of google docs helps them to practice using technology and encourages student collaboration which would bring cohesiveness to the class. This is definitely a great tool for both students and teachers to use.

Using technology in the classroom

The possibilities of using technology are endless. There is so much that is being created, and most are user friendly that there really is no reason why one can't incorporate it into the classroom. Here I want to focus on pod casting. After doing the podcast exercise for class, I recognized a valuable way to use it. This past school year I saw about a third of all my students in the ESL program. When giving a test it's always difficult to cover all the modifications that these students need. My vision is to use the podcast to be able to keep all students together when taking a test without singling out any who need modifications. Being able to present both an oral and visual version of the test would be beneficial. It would allow students to easily follow and not move ahead before anyone else. Also, since it would be prerecorded, it would enable me to easily monitor the class. I see pod casting as a great tool that I could use immediately in my classroom.

Staying updated

The Bloglines assignment was quite simple. After completing the "to do" list, I took the time to explore around the site. I enjoyed being able to select the feeds that are of interest to me, and clicking on them to see what's the latest. It's always nice to stay up-to-date with news and events that are happening around the world. This site makes it easy to do that, and helps to keep all the links organized. Again, another quick and easy way to stay informed.

What a WONDERFUL World

What a WONDERFUL world
Originally uploaded by joyjames

I think to myself... What a Wonderful World. Listening to this young lady sing that song was amazing. I remember it well. It was a night filled with beautiful music, and her lovely voice. It truly is a gift to be able to touch lives with song, and this lady definitely has that gift. I'm just so happy I could sit back and enJOY it. Thankfully, her voice doesn't ever end for me. What more can I say... she's my littlle sister.

Double Reef

Double Reef
Originally uploaded by Jazzi10

One of my favorite places on Guam is a place called Double Reef. On a typical "Double Reef day," the family and I pack up and head out on our boat. It's about a 30 minute boat ride from the Hagatna Boat Basin before we touch ground on this beautiful beach. Once there, we are guaranteed a day filled with fun and relaxation. It's so refreshing to be able to get away, be together with family, and just enjoy the simple things in life.

Podcasting - Listen to me

What is a podcast? How does it work? How do we use it in education? These are some of the questions answered in the article "Using Podcasts as Audio Learning Objects." I have to say that some of the information went right over my head, but some I was able to absorb. Something that stood out was the idea that podcasts allow for learning through listening. It's obvious that there are students who would rather listen to information than read about it. Podcasting gives these students this opportunity. Also, most of the school population walks around with a device that can access a podcast, so that isn't forseen as a problem. Podcasts, however, shouldn't take the place of classroom instruction. Rather they should be used as an extension of a lesson or a way to make up for lost instruction.

Quick and Easy - "Micro-blogging"

The more I learn about microblogging, the more I like the idea. Then again anything that doesn't take much thought and is easy is more my style--speaking about technology of course. Not that I'm against anything modern, I'd just rather be up doing something than sitting in front of the computer. All that aside, microblogging can be something that I'd like to incorporate in my class to help me communicate with parents. Trying to figure out how to involve those who don't have internet access is going to be a hurdle that I will encounter. Again, I'll just have try it and see how it works for me.

Enlightenment

Reading "Social Networking" really opened my eyes. It was nice to get information on some of the very popular sites that everyone is talking about. Through the work that I've had to do for the class this week, I have a better understanding of what's out there and where it came from. More often my views about these sites have been negative, but I now realize that it was because I never really took the time to research them. There's both positive and negative aspects to these sites, but it's all in the way that you use them. Education is key... learning, knowing and understanding.

Technology--friend or foe?

As I am submerging myself into the wonderful world of technology, I shutter with fear. I can't believe just how far behind I am when it comes to all these new tools out there for me to use. I'm wondering will I ever catch up? I'm hoping that with the three P's, practice, PATIENCE, and prayer I'll enjoy this process of learning. I'm optimistic since I've got people around me who can help me along.

Another Haircut

Tuesday marked another day for my 2-year-old son to get his haircut. What an experience! I can't think of anyone else who has to have their barber come to their house just to get a trim. I don't understand why my son fights, kicks, and screams when we try to cut his hair. It just baffles my mind. I have to laugh though at the way my husband and I have to work together as a team in order to get it done. Hopefully one day soon we'll be able to sit him down and get his haircut without all the drama. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.