Thing 14

Technology can be a great time saver. Technology can be a black hole, devouring our time. Both of the statements are correct. I can see sites such as Technorati consuming a tremendous amount of time. That is not a problem when you have such time to follow key word searches to blogs that lead to who knows where. At this point in my life I only have time for the important, focusing on things of lasting value. Maybe one day (when the kids are gone, and I'm too old to go do things)I will have the time and inclination to chase the threads of others' thoughts.

Thing 13

Del.icio.us is an interesting tool. At first I didn't think it was much different than just creating bookmarks. But, after looking into it in more depth, I discovered that I like it much more than bookmarking. I believe I will start using it to organize all the sites I find.

Thing 12A

Wow, for the first time, I commented on a national forum. It was exciting. I first commented on a recipe I had made, but then I commented on a national news story. Fun! I can't wait to see if someone responds to my comment...

Thing 12

I believe it is very important the way in which you comment on a posting. As my father always said it's not what you say, but how you say it. Unfortunately, when responding, it is almost impossible to convey "how you are saying it". I also worry that too many people are choosing to connect electronically to people instead of developing the personal relationships that are critical to our emotional well being. That said, the two commandments I like best were 1. Read before you comment: so many times, we want to just "jump right in there" with our opinion. The second commandment I like was 5. Don't be condescending; after all, even idiots are entitled to their opinion...just watch mainstream T.V.

Thing 11

Library this is extrememly easy to use. Finding the time to enter all my books will be another matter. This is a site I am going to recommend to my friends who are avid readers.

Thing 10

Thing #9

Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use?
I went to websites I regularly visit and just added them.

Which Search tool was the easiest for you?
I like the Google Blog Search.

Which was more confusing?
The rest of the sites were very similar.

Thing #8

What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
I'm not sure I like it. Does it narrow my view too much??

How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?
What does this provide that bookmarks don't?

How can libraries use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?
The RSS should be personalized to each persons interests so I'm not sure how they could/should use it.

Thing #7

The two items that interested me most was the Google Notebook and the Google Advanced Search. The notebook will be a great tool to organize research. A place to save websites as well as information. The notebook would then be accessible from any computer!! The other nifty tool is the Google Advanced Search. Too many times we recreate the wheel rather than use and modify a wheel created by others (such as PowerPoint presentations and hopefully flipcharts).

Thing #6

Wow! These features are really great. The trading cards could be created for main characters in a book. The mosaic maker could be used for so many things in social studies (land forms, cultures, states reports, etc.).

Thing 5 Flickr

Flicker will be a great resource for students. The number of photos available is amazing. Here is a picture I saved.

Thing #3

Creating and exporting the Avatar was O.K. I did not find it extremely fun or exciting, but I did it and I guess that's all that really counts!

Thing 2 Life Long Learning

The easiest of the 7 & 1/2 things for me is to use technology for my advantage. With technology, we have access to endless knowledge! Everything from finding a doctor or restaurant, planning a vacation, guidlines for creating effective PowerPoint presentations, ... the list is endless. The most difficult of the 7 & 12 things would be viewing problems as challenges. I have always viewed them as obstacles. Maybe I can begin to view them as challenges!