Thing 9

Locating feeds can be overwhelming because of the many feeds available. I found the Google Blog Search very easy to use, but I'm not sure it provided me with as many options as other search tools. I found several options under any search I performed, but when searching through Technorati and Syndic8, there seemed many more options. I found that through the two previously mentioned sites, there were many more that were not of the highest quality or content. Maybe because there were so many more options to search through, I found the two sites overwhelming. Feedster is down for some upgrading, so I will check it out later. I really liked Topix because of the way it was categorized and it was visually appealing to me. I found several new celebrity gossip feeds as well as news in other categories that I liked. Overall, I thought Syndic8 was the most confusing. Technorati had a tutorial that helped a little, but I was not very successful using Syndic8. The easiest to use was Google Blog Search or I went to sites I have enjoyed in the past and copied the URL into Google Reader. That has been very easy and successful for me. The hardest part continues to be scaling down the feeds into the ones I would truly enjoy on a day to day basis, and weeding out some of the feeds found through the general searches.

Thing 8

RSS and newsreaders was something very new to me. I love using the feeds. I used Google Reader and it was very easy to locate and manage my list. I found items about book reviews, libraries and current news links. I was also able to satisfy my personal interest in travel. It is so nice to be able to go to one location to catch up on everything. The only problem might be in adding too many feeds. I think on both a personal and professional level it allows me to keep track of current items that will support my work and life. I can see using them in the library to keep current on books and materials through reviews and professional journals. I would like for students to also know more about them. I think anytime we can make students more computer friendly, then they will come to utilize technology in more areas of their life. Social Studies teachers, in particular, will find it great for providing the most current of events to enhance their curriculum. Just like the students, anytime we can help teachers find user friendly technology, it will benefit the school's technology usage.

Thing 7

The Google tools were very user friendly. I found it easy to access and use them, along with adding or removing features. I decided to use the Google Alerts before I fully read and understood the feature. I set up a comprehensive alert for "news". You can imagine my e-mail alerts in a matter of minutes. I left it that way for one afternoon and quickly removed it to look for something I could use and appreciate. I now have an alert set for children's books. I will be curious to see how it will work for me. I also set up an iGoogle homepage. There are so many fun ways to customize the pages, especially when the filter is removed from so many of the "fun" pages. My homepage is http://www.google.com/ig. I am still playing with arranging and accessing the different features. I think it would be fun to set up an iGoogle page for the teachers to visit. It could include both de-stressers and current, useful links. It would be a great way to include access to a lot of current information, in one compact site. It would also work for setting up a page for students that could include book lists, reviews, etc. I would need to check into setting up different accounts for each I think. In all, Thing 7 has been easier to navigate and it really has limitless possibilities for iGoogle.

Thing 6

The Flickr Mashups "thing" has been fun. It was quite time consuming to explore so many interesting and fun ideas. Some I couldn't really see any use for right now, but several will be fun on both a personal and school level. It took me quite a while to figure out how to access pictures I already have saved to create a mosaic, but when I finally figured it out, it was very simple. I just wasn't giving it enough time to upload my photos. I also still like the magazine cover. I would like to use both of these with students on campus. I am going to make magazine covers to post in the library of my helpers to advertise all their hard work. I can also see using them to advertise books students have read or goals they have accomplished. The trading cards would be fun to use and possibly list all the Bluebonnet books a students has read as their achievements. I think it would be fun to make trading cards of teachers listing their reading likes and dislikes. The students might get a kick out of reading about the teachers on a more personal, friendly level.