Googley stuff!

Ok Ok, so I'm gonna be honest here.

When i first heard about using iGoogle i thought it sounded lame. It did NOT look like something I wanted to use.

But then we used it in class and...

Now I'm hooked!

It is just so stinkin useful!

Everything you want is just there at your fingertips as soon as you pull up the site!

I'm having so much fun using it, at home and at school.

GoogleReader has been difficult for me to figure out, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon.

I'll keep ya posted!

WebQuest Much?

Mmmm, WebQuests.
What an adventure.
My group had an interesting time analyzing our WebQuests.
I feel like people will use different WebQuests based on the goals they have for their students or based on how they like for things on the Web to be organized.
We saw many different types of WQ's, but it was clear that the best ones were very organized and asked the students to metacognitively use the web to learn more about topics.

Personally, I think that WQ's should only be used when in-class work and worksheets cannot be used. Merely using a WebQuest to give instructions seems like a waste of time for everyone, the teacher could just type up the instructions and pass them out!
However when the WQ asks the student to utilize resources on the Web, then it seems fun and necessary.

Wiki Wiki Wiki

First of all, the word wiki is just funny to me.
BUT i am SO glad that we are learning how to use them, because I've always heard so much about them!
I really like it so far, I think they are very easy to use and I like the way they are set up.
It's been a little difficult with my group because people keep deleting each others work, and we keep having to re-do everything...but its ok I guess. Hopefully we will get everything figured out.
Google docs is also very helpful, who knew that was even available! I feel awesome about using it in the future!

Website Evaluations

Last week, we did an activity to show the importance of finding credible websites to use in the classroom when presenting information. I chose to use ASL Pro, because it pertains to my major. I wanted to figure out if somebody unfamiliar with ASL could see this site as a good reference for learning or checking ASL. What I found blew me away! This website I've used for most of my college career could look very sketchy to the rest of the world! There is no contact information for anyone, and the history and start up of the website are not mentioned. Also, there are several annoying pop-ups and advertisements all over the place. Sheesh! Luckily, we use this as a reference in class so I knew it was legit but otherwise... I may have been struggling to find a good visual dictionary forever! Thanks TPTE for teaching me about how to find credible websites.