Google

When I was in high school and college, I often used google to search for research, interesting web sites, and clues to help me with an assignment.  Since I have become a teacher, I have found myself exploring the site a little more. 

During Winterim 2 years ago, I explored Picassa as a way to share the pictures we were taking of students with their families.  We also started a blog so that the kids could upload their journal entries and parents could track where we needed to be.

I also use Google in other capacities now.  For the classroom, I use it to search for Power Points, PDFs, or Microsoft Word files using the advanced search feature at the bottom of the page.  A few weeks ago, I also discovered the conversion application which I used yesterday in my Math in Athletics class to convert kilometers to miles. 

For my personal life, I also used Google Docs to track my wedding list so that it was accessible to both my husband and myself.  It allowed us to quickly update addresses, track responses and food choices, and keep track of gifts making Thank You notes much easier to write.  I also use Google to blog as I am interested in baking and as of late I use the RSS Feed on Google to track both educational and other blogs and websites that interest me for updates.

Some things that I plan to dabble with in the classroom and to prepare for my classes after looking into the site a little deeper today are the graphing feature and using the many different techniques presented to refine my searches.  The graphing feature looks to be very useful when trying to project a graph to my classes (much nicer than the Texas Instrument graphs, and it has color!), and when trying to print out graphs for activities.  Also, refining my searches will help when looking for pictures for my Power Points, and research for my Mathematics in Athletics class.  It will also help me to make sure I am getting reliable information in my searches and it will save me time in weeding out the unreliable sites.

I look forward to continuing to explore all Google has to offer, and still plan to check out the site daily to see how they dress up their logo.

Evernote

I downloaded Evernote on my iPad when we had a workshop in the beginning of this school year, but I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I never had a chance to actually explore it.  So Task 6 from 14 Things to Tame had me revisiting the app.  I actually explored it a bit on my computer.

While I'm not sure how helpful this app will be for my students given that I teach math, they definitely would benefit from this app in other classes.  Evernote seems like it would be very beneficial in writing a research paper, organizing ideas, in English class, or when working on research for a project.

Personally, I can see myself actually using this website and the app on my iPad now that I have explored it a little bit.  My first thought was naturally organizing all of my recipes (not so much useful in the classroom).  But as I began to play with the website, I found it particularly helpful in organizing my PDF's that I use for homework assignments and keeping track of different websites I use in class.  While I have binders full of these assignments and Powerpoints, it will be much easier for me to organize them on Evernote and to access them from any computer.  I look forward to Sara teaching me how to do this!

Wikis

The only experience I have with wiki's is when we used them my first year at Forman to create our class webpages.  Honestly, I was not thrilled with my experience, as I found them difficult to format and I knew there was a better way of updating my classes as to the homework assignments, syllabus, and other important documents.  Thus, Whipple Hill was born.

However, I think wikis may be useful in other capacities.  It seemed to work well for winterim, when you have multiple people trying to post to one site or share ideas.  I'm sure it would be effective for a family trying to share information and/or pictures if they lived a distance away.  In terms of education, I think a wiki would be effective for certain projects or units taught in class.  While, I don't see myself using a wiki in the near future for my mathematics classes, I do see how it could be effective in terms of the book clubs over March Break.  It would be a great way for a group to discuss a book in an open forum. 

Diigo

This Diigo site seems to be pretty cool, but I'll need some more time to explore it.  To me, it seems to be a way of bookmarking interesting websites and articles so that not only you can refer to them later, but also your colleagues, friends, and other "followers."  As I explore the site deeper, I think the "lists" portion of the page will be most helpful in organizing all of the articles and/or websites I collect. 

I always seem to be able to find good articles, videos, and/or websites, but can never seem to track them down again later to share with the people that I think might be interested.  So the iPad app seems like a good option and I would like to explore that eventually (during my free time possibly?). 

Overall, I think this site would be a great resource for an educator to share information with both their colleagues and students rather than trying to find the time to print articles and crossing your fingers that the article somehow finds its way to its anticipated destination. 

RSS Feed

So my latest task was to create an RSS Feed.  Of course when trying to complete this task, I had no idea what RSS stood for (now I know Really Simple Syndication) or what the heck it meant.  So after struggling over it for about 5 priceless minutes of my day, I made the trek to the library to get some help from our trusty librarian (thanks Sara!).  She helped me to set up a Google Reader account and showed me how to subscribe to my colleagues blogs, other educational blogs, and blogs that interest me.

I think this application (is this what it's called?) will be very useful.  I made different folders so that I can check in on my teacher blogs when I'm want to find out what's going on in the education front or feeling so inclined to get new ideas for the classroom.  When I'm trying to relax or wind down I look at the blogs I track for enjoyment.  I really like how Google Reader makes it so easy to stay updated and on top of my game in all areas that I'm interested in.

Khan Academy... enhancing learning outside the classroom...

This is a great video about how Khan Academy creates an open learning atmosphere and allows students, and people everywhere to become more educated in a vast array of areas.  While we specifically use this program in our mathematics department, this video speaks to how the videos on Khan can enhance learning in multiple disciplines and inspire students to nurture their passions and learn, even outside of the traditional classroom.