Thing 10 - Wikis

I love watching those Common Craft videos! It makes learning something SO much easier than trying to figure things out by reading oodles of info! I edited the 23 Things Wiki. It was very easy to do. The one use that I can think of right away is a Wiki used for an "online" bookclub. I have "Book Picks" each month, and if I dedicated a Wiki to it, the kids could write comments/reaction to the books. I did not sign up for a wiki, so I'm not sure if I could monitor the comments. I wouldn't want this to become a place for kids to bash school, for example.

Thing 9 - Online Collaboration Tools

I have played with Google Docs for awhile, and am not sure if I prefer that, or Zoho writer. I like the idea of having teachers edit student documents right online using the comment tool. I will introduce this to the English teachers to see if they are willing to try it out. I opened two accounts, so I could see if the chatting feature worked, but didn't have much luck. I could see both of my "identities'" comments on one account, but not on the other. I'm not sure if that could be because I was on one computer. I will try to work on this with another staff member to see if we can get it to work.

The one concern that I have, is the seemingly easy ability to have someone else write your document for you. Not sure how to address this. Of course, kids can cheat any number of ways - not on the internet, so maybe my concern is unfounded.

I would like to see students using one of these programs for their papers, instead of using a word processing program at home, emailing it to themselves, and then printing it at school, since I have to unblock their email site each time they want to get their documents.

Thing 7 - Web 2.0 Communication Tools

In the library, I use email to communicate to all of the staff, as a group. If I have new books, or if there is something of interest media, or technology, -wise that I want everyone to know. The problem is that not all staff use email. Even at this point in time!

We don't have staff meeting too often, and email has been the most timely form of communication for me. However, I still prefer to make contact with people in person. For example, if a teacher is doing a project on a certain topic, and I know we have a few really good books/reference materials/website that would be beneficial to him/her, I might stop them on their way through (or track them down) and actually show them the book/other material and tell them, or show them, a bit about it. In that way, they actually "get" the info. Sometimes when I am in a hurry, I skim emails from people and then "push the info into the back folder in my brain" until I find time to digest it. Of course, many times, I never get back to it. :(

I do use email many times each day to keep in contact with friends and family. Otherwise my long distance bill would be sky high. That, and it is very convenient to write a quick note and they can read it when they have time. I have used IM, but not very often. I like using, but time can go quickly and before you know it, it is hours later! I do not text message. IT takes too much time!

I have done a few phone/web conferences. The most recent being training from Follett. I like the fact that I can see what the trainer is doing, but still feel a little "distanced" and less likely to ask questions. I guess I still like face-to-face communication.