Blog Reflection 2-Week 2

I was a little shocked that http://www.allaboutexplorers.com/ was a hoax. The website, at first glance, looked “legit”. From this point forward, I will make a point to more closely examine and verify evidence provided on sites I use (i.e., “Click here for more information about this site.”). I will also use the tools highlighted in this class, such as the link command and www.easywhois.com. Since I’ve not previously analyzed sites using such tools, I cannot be totally confident in the content I’ve utilized.

I see tremendous advantages for organizing my information via Delicious. Since I use several different computers, it would be impossible to easily access my bookmarks without the use of a bookmarking site. As we all increase our use and dependency on a variety of mobile devices, having a central location for saved information, such as Delicious, will take on greater become importance. It would be a benefit to students to create their own Delicious accounts. Bookmarks created in class would then be available to students on non-district devices. While I believe Delicious would be a great organizational tool for our students, it is currently blocked within our district. I believe the reason is because it is categorized as a “forum”.

My purpose in creating a wiki is to allow myself and students a place to interact regarding books, a sort of 21st century book review spot. I have not started to implement my wiki because I do not know if this type of forum will be opened for our students. It was not last year. It is my understanding that students and teachers "may" be able to use https://www.mybigcampus.com/, which I’m told has the ability for teachers and students to create blogs and wikis. I have not had time to explore that possibility yet.

One advantage in using a wiki is allowing students to have a voice within the global community. Knowing that students and wikis are “social”, it would seem these two would go together “like peas and carrots”. I believe our “digital natives” would be very engaged with wiki. In their eyes, It is not enough to be a passive recipients of information; they want ability to interact, modify, and create their own content. One disadvantage I can see with a wiki is the lack of control a teacher might have over a student’s self-created wiki or blog.

Some of the eLearning Tools I would like to explore further:

http://www.planeteye.com/Home.aspx

Virtual Field Trip

I got sucked in here due to the Seinfeld map showcase. This site appears to have real educational potential!

http://traveldk.com/how-to/create-guides

Create a Travel Guide

This is a neat site I’d not seen before. Looks user friendly and would be a great tool to utilize within many disciplines.

http://wave.google.com/help/wave/closed.html

Collaboration/Communication

This site looks very interesting. I think any tool that allows students to communicate and work together would appeal to our “digital natives”.

http://www.diigo.com/?source=redirect_from_furl

Bookmarking Site

I would like to explore this site to see if it as limited (within our district!) as Delicious. It could be an alternative that would serve the same purpose.