Thing 7: Digg and Stumble

I used to Stumble. I loved it and hated it all at the same time. I mostly loved it... because it solved that problem of me wondering if there was a super-duper site out there that I wouldn't know about... thus not knowing to even type in and learn about. The reason I hated it, you might be asking? It was a HUGE "Weapon of Mass Distraction" for me. I could "stumble away" one to two hours a night without even blinking an eye! Yikes! SO that's why I haven't downloaded the buttons on my computer this time... I'm weak.

Digg: this is something I'm able to check and use now and again and I've found that it keeps me up on the news and current situations in both the news world and in the world of pop culture. I like it. I have it added as a widget to my iGoogle account. I always feel up on top of the news and viral videos... and that is fantastic for use in the classroom and even just connecting with kids.

I feel that, at least in how I used them, there is a fundamental difference between the two different platforms. StumbleUpon is a great platform for finding appropriate and interesting web sites, services and entertainment based on your interests... not based on time. Digg, on the other hand, is very "up-to-date" (read: up-to-the-second) with information and entertainment. The downfall here is that it rarely offers good websites (based on your area of interest), and if you happen to not be online to check it every day/minute/second, you might miss something as it gets buried into the annals of digg.
So my suggestion?
Use Digg for the "now". Use it to find out what is going on right now and what people think are "hot" right now. Digg is, perhaps, more meaningful for the short-term educational usage.
Use StumbleUpon for finding those sites that are out there that you might have never found otherwise. You'll stumble across entertainment and fun in the meantime... stuff that others also think is good... but it just might not be "the hottest right now". StumbleUpon is, perhaps, more meaningful for the long term educational usage.

And then there's Reddit... apparently there is something of a Hatfield/McCoy rivalry going on between Digg and Reddit as to which is better (which one is faster at getting the great things at the top of the hot list). I think I'll stay out of it... but maybe you've checked it out... what do you think?

Thing 6: Social Bookmarking

Hm. Delicious in education.

I feel like I need to delve a bit deeper in and really try it out more to understand it and be able to use it to its full capability. There is something about it, though, that just doesn't seem that interesting. I am glad to hear it's going well for others, though.

Maybe I'll get over this delicious funk soon. :)

A Reason for Us to Learn: Schools of the Future

I'm watching Barack Obama's speech from Ohio about education... and right about minute 24 he talks about bringing our schools into the 21st century. He mentions things like a laptop for every student; allowing them to create webpages and powerpoints instead of pencil and paper book reports.
"By fostering innovation, we can help make sure every school in America is a school of the future... we will help schools integrate technology into their currriculum so we can make sure public school students are fluent in the digital language of the 21st century economy."

He goes on to say, "None of it will make much difference if we don't also recruit, prepare and retain outstanding teachers."

You are that outstanding teacher... the one willing to learn and share that learning with your peers and with your students for their future.

Keep moving forward!

Thing 5: Educate Yourself

Blogs I've added to my Google Reader (that I really like):
Dy/Dan
Cool Cat Teacher
Weblogg-ed

Thing 4: Life really simple

I had, until now, used the RSS Feed feature in Outlook. I like RSS feeds because it's easy. It's easy to set up. It's easy to use and it makes life SO much easier when trying to follow multiple sources.
Google Reader itself is not anything spectacular in my book. I might try out the Bloglines or netvibes or something. I really like technology (hardware and software) that offer "the most bang for your buck". So, for me, I like that when I open outlook, it is just one step. I can read e-mail, check my calendar, check my tasks and check for any new blog posts all at once. I understand that this is also true for people who use Gmail... I enjoy Outlook because it "pushes" to my phone as well.

For use in education, I can think of a couple easy applications:
Teachers: an easy, practical way to keep up with any student blogs that you have set into place as well as a way to keep informed and educated about anything from current news to leaders in education.
Students: a great way for them to keep up with other students' blogs as well as an easy/efficient way for them to keep up with the news and other ways to educate themselves.

Thinking about blogging...

Blogging:
I could really see this as a huge opportunitiy for almost any class.

Here are some ideas...

Teacher:

• blog class updates for students and parents alike to "keep up" with the class
• blog notes (copy/paste) and assignments (upload/embed) for students to be able to keep up/catch up

Students:

• blog assignments: this allows for a lack of "lost papers" as well as easily accessible information for all kinds of things: peer assessment and help, teacher grading, portfolio creation.
• blog reflections on class/school: metacognition is so important and students learn much more through this process. Teachers and peers could also keep up with this information... or the student could set it as private.
• create a flat classroom sort of project where students from different schools (perhaps even in different cities/states/countries) can help each other learn.

I'm just thinking that the networking/support network that we are building here as we learn about things that, for some of us, might be a bit scary is so beneficial... shouldn't students be able to have the same?

What ideas do you have for blogs in the classroom/education?

Thing 3: Registering my blog

Hm. These Things have seemed pretty easy so far... maybe I'll have to take a look at some of the challenges.
____________________________
Back for an edit...
I added the Sitemeter thing for my blog (from the challenge below). It seems cool (although since I just added it, I don't really have any visitors to see). I can see where people are from when they visit my page as well as know how many people are coming to my site.
I see some great possibility for information here. And what is that saying about the most important thing is being armed with information... but what you choose to do with it is up to you?