Thing #19

 I've used last.fm for a while because it has an application you can download on the Xbox360. It's a lot of fun exploring other people's playlists and finding songs I didn't know I'd enjoy. One such song is "Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie. I always assumed all their music was very depressing until i found it on a friend's playlist.





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Thing #18

Facebook and Twitter are both very popular sites although Twitter was more of a mistake, created when Apple scooped another company on podcast technology. I have been using Facebook ever since MySpace declined into obscurity and it is a great way to plan social events as well as communicate with people you don't really talk to often on the phone. I usually add two or three people from each class on my Facebook just in case one of us needs help on a project or a reminder about when something is due. Teachers can use both sites with their students very easily the same way. they can use either site to post assignments and answer questions and Facebook has a messenger service which would allow live communication between faculty and students if a simple email will not sufficiently answer all of a student's questions.

Thing #17

Teachers can use social bookmarking sites to help students with research on projects and to help others with their projects. Just like the Wikis it is a tool that gives students the ability to help and teach others which improves their independence and self-confidence. I searched for educational technology and found an awesome site called TeacherTube which is a YouTube for teachers. I always knew the instructional power of YouTube because I had to use a video on there to figure out how to slip locks with a credit card when i was locked out of my apartment before work one day, but it is good to see all the teacher related videos gathered in one place for our use.

Thing #16

For my start page I chose iGoogle because thanks to this class I already have a lot of stuff saved to my Google profile and the gadgets on the default page were mostly things I had already completed in my 23 Things. Now that I have seen how customized it already is I switched it to my starting page permanently. Online Calendars are helpful for event reminders such as tests, assignments, or friends' birthdays, but because I already have Facebook to take care of social events and I keep an academic calendar in my backpack I probably won't be using it anytime soon. I enjoy finding a routine I'm comfortable with so scrapping my academic calendar just to lose the half pound of carrying weight isn't really worth it to me. To-do lists are not something I ever use. I overthink things too much and my mind is constantly spinning with any obligations each day brings me and I doubt writing them down would stop that process.The tool I enjoyed the most was PDFConverter because my cell phone doesn't read word documents very well but has awesome capabilities with Adobe Acrobat Reader so being able to convert files to PDF's allows me to take homework and essays with me on my phone for review when I find free time without having to be around a computer.

Thing #15

Wikis are an awesome tool for all facets of life. I use them all the time for video gaming because almost every major game series has its own wiki which not only helps you play the current game, but also lets you read up on the backstory from previous games in the series. Wikis are also useful in the classroom because they are true collaborations of ideas and experiences from everyone in the world with access to the internet. They improve students' independence and creativity while also giving them a taste of what it feels like to be the teacher.The Sandbox Wiki was a fun way to allow all of us to share our favorite things.

Thing #14

I chose Gliffy for my flow chart experimentation and Bubbl.us for my mind map. Both were very helpful with lots of creative options. These would be great ways to organize research papers, with starter bubbles or shapes for each supporting paragraph and the articles cited in those paragraphs attached below. Both are very helpful at organizing your thoughts but I prefer Gliffy simply for the fact that it makes you choose the size of your connections and shapes first unlike Bubbl.us which starts with a small bubble and automatically placed connections and forces you to go back and rearrange things afterwards. I do enjoy the hot buttons in Bubbl.us. Bubbl would be much more useful for quick brainstorming whereas Gliffy would be better for large elaborate sessions.

Thing #13

Zoho Writer was a fun easy way to create documents if your computer doesn't have Microsoft Office programming or if you simply prefer Zoho. It is fast, easy, and it saves it to your account so you don't have to worry about losing your info or forgetting your jump drive at home.I plan on using it for important documents in my scholastic future. I especially enjoyed being able to insert comments as I enjoy writing for fun and it's nice to be able to explain certain passages without cluttering the page. Google Docs was equally fast and reliable, although the interface was a little too businesslike. Zoho's interface was much easier to look at as I played with the features. Google did have one important advantage though and that's syncing the Google Translate software with Google Docs to translate your document into any language you choose automatically, as you can see from my document. This would be especially helpful for students in different countries, making communication with foreign pen pals much easier, as well as helping when students study abroad. Despite the fun of Google Translate though I prefer Zoho, simply because if I am going to stare at the screen that long, i prefer to have something a little easier on the eyes.