Week 4 Social Bookmarking

Several years ago, I took a course on Web 2.0 applications. I opened a social bookmark account with Delicious, but wasn't sure where to go from there. This course has re-energized me to use Delicious again. I added a number of professional sites that I have gathered. I also sent out an email to some teachers whom I know collect special sites. I am hoping to gather a core collection of sites. Then I will have a link to Delicious established from the Media Center's homepage and promote this to the staff through my quarterly newsletter. http://delicious.com/swhsmc
I used to have a place on the Media Center's homepage for recommended websites which were listed by subject area. It quickly became difficult to manage as sites came and went. I will be interested to see how things go with Delicious.
Social bookmarking sites offer libraries, public and school, another way to get good information out to their patrons. I like the tagging concept because often a site has many possible subject headings. Now all facets of a site are searchable and a site's order in a list or group doesn't matter anymore.
I am still thinking about the benefits of wikis versus social bookmarking sites for class uses. Maybe the concept of "versus" is incorrect. A teacher could establish a wiki for a specific unit/project and tell students to look at web sites on a Delicious page as part of their research. As part of their project, students could post websites that they have found and annotated to the class wiki. The teacher could review these and add any excellent websites to the Delicious account. Hmmm. This has possiblilites.

Fun with Blogs

The results of the Typealyzer were interesting. My blog shows that I am a Mechanic type which would amuse my family because I am not quick to learn machines. I agree with some parts of the analysis, but must admit that I have never felt the desire to drive a race car. For fun, I used the Lovetypealyzer.
The Genderanalyzer guessed correctly.
As far as the Business Opportunities site is concerned, my blog is worth $0. Bummer.

I am going to forward the Typealyzer and Genderanalyzer sites to several teachers who use blogs. They and their students might enjoy playing with these site.
A good Friday activity.

Week 3- Wikis

I have had limited experience with wikis. A few of the teachers at my high school are starting to use them. Over a year ago, I read Joyce Valenza's article about converting pathfinders to wikis. This is something that I want to do at some point.
The "Wikis in Plain English" film provided an excellent introduction to the concept of wikis and explained the benefits of a wiki as compared to email.
I explored the wikis provided on the CT 23 Things site. I especially liked the Teen Lib Wiki. What a great way to share book lists. I am always looking for ideas for book displays. There were a number of good bibs assembled at this site. I can understand how the wiki format allows everyone to contribute to an existing list as well as adding one of their own.
Other uses for a wiki: As a media specialist, I could work to promote the use of wikis in the classroom. Starting with converted pathfinders, I could demonstrate to teachers how wikis can be used as a tool for collaborative learning.
For fun, I set up my own wiki to coordinate a trip this summer. Several of my college friends are planning to meet at another friend's house. With a wiki, we can decide who is bring what, where we will meet and what activities are available in the area. A good chance to play with the wiki concept.