Thing Seventeen  

We have actually been asked to use Livebinders at work recently. I am part of a group of team leaders who met a month or so ago, and we were shown this just a bit and asked to begin using this so we could share files and communicate with one another concerning curriculum. It’s one of those things that I have been putting off until the summer so that I can really have time to explore it the way I really want to, to know the ins and outs of how to work the program.

Thing Sixteen

Professionally, I have already begun to use this tool. I used the spreadsheet function in constructing the awards lists required for the year-end broo-ha-ha in the building. I needed to put the list together, and I had just read about using the Google Docs tools; I thought, “Well, why not? “ It would work or not…  It seems to have worked just fine. Go figure. J

Thing Fifteen

I am really excited about the epals opportunity that I found during this Thing. I would be able to locate classrooms from all over the world, and then my students and/or I could communicate with them via e-mail. Since we study cultures across the globe, that is a very exciting prospect!

T hing Fourteen

Down into our reading, it said that many people were beginning to use Diigo rather than Delicious, so that is the option I chose to register in. My name there is daholmes. That being said, for the time being, I am simply registered without anything tagged for a lot of reasons. This is something that I will come back to at a time when I have more time or when I truly have a need to tag items for using them for school.

I do think this could be useful as I find sites that I am using for school information. I am always finding things then either forgetting them or adding them to my favorites. As the video said, that gets a little messy after a while. This looks like it may help clean this up a bit, which, in turn, does enhance productivity.

Thing Thirteen

Of the applications I encountered in Thing Thirteen, Facebook is probably the one that interests me the most. My family, here and away, uses it as a tool, and this makes it a tool that would help me stay connected with them a little more or a little differently.

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post or a response to someone else’s that I had a Facebook page set up at one other time, but I couldn’t remember the password, or I thought I knew it – and still think I did  :-)  - and they locked me out of the system. I had tried all of the routes they suggested, and none worked to retrieve information. The frustrating thing to me there was that there was no “customer service” to speak of to straighten it all out; you were just stuck.  Setting up this new page makes for a new opportunity to contact others across the miles since so many I know are distances away.

I think that social networking sites are so popular with the kids for a lot of reasons. When they are younger, they cannot drive. This allows them the opportunity to connect with their friends in a way that doesn’t require a car or a driver’s license. As they get older, it does the same, but it can expand those connections.

Students must always be aware of predators out there as they are taking on this technological world. They cannot assume they can put out all sorts of personal information and it won’t ever be seen by anyone but the one person to whom it is specifically being sent. The “networking” part of social networking doesn’t work that way. They must protect themselves and be careful about what they put out there for others to see.

They also need to be careful of the kinds of things they say to others or about others in networking. Things can easily get out of hand and even lead to violence because of one flip comment. Good friends can be lost forever because of one silly posting. Charges of cyber bullying may be filed because of words tossed about unthinkingly.

Social networking is a tool. It could be useful; it could be a valuable tool. It could be fun. It could be all of these, if it is used wisely.

Thing Twelve

Thing Twelve

I am getting more comfortable with the idea of embedding code; that doesn’t necessarily mean I am completely comfortable with the actual task of embedding it. I’m sure it’s something that will come with time and the ease of having accomplished this over several hundred episodes of usage. J

Do you belong to other online communities? Yes, and no. I joined Facebook a bit ago (probably about a year ago) when one of my daughters sent me something, wanting me to do this. I set up the initial page, revisited it once or twice over the next few months. I even added some pictures one of those two times. Then, of course, I couldn’t remember my password, and the powers that be at Facebook locked me out. I haven’t been able to find anyone to contact for help, so I am just locked out – although, they keep sending me notifications about all the friends I have who have this or that happening. Hmmmm  I’m not sure if relationships online can be as meaningful as face-to-face ones. There is not the same empathy in play through technology, and that is huge in relationships. Then again, people are often more open if they don’t have to face the person with whom they are speaking, so maybe there is a positive there.

Thing Eleven

Something I like about leaving comments on someone’s blog is that I am able to make what I might believe to be a valid addition to the conversation concerning the topic being discussed. It can certainly be a continuing conversation among people or communities, and that is something that I do like.

Something I dislike is that nearly anyone can comment on your blog, unless you’ve placed safeguards that allow you to determine what comments are posted/not posted. Some of these comments, posted or not, could potentially be inappropriate, which could be upsetting, and in the viewing of children, more than that.

I think this has become more important for online communities because more of what we do is via online communities rather than face-to-face. It used to be that we would go to the university and sit through hours of classes, but we now will most likely complete those classes through an online experience, making the communities an important interactive experience. This will also hold true, as time goes on, for our students, as they share their writings interactively in online communities.