Netvibes vs Google Reader

It’s the final countdown…Netvibes vs Google Reader.

When I originally signed up for an RSS reader, I signed up for Netvibes simply because it was the first RSS reader listed in Kate Klingensmith’s chart. Then, I realized that Jason and the others in class are using Google Reader. Realizing this, I signed up for Google Reader this morning. Since then, I’ve been glued to my computer (thanks to being snowed in) and have been playing around with both. With Netvibes, you can choose the look of your page–you can view it in “widget” style or “reader” style. I’ve posted below the two different views. Clearly, the reader view is more like Google Reader.

After playing around with both RSS readers, I stuck by my opinion that Netvibes is better. Aesthetically, Netvibes wins, allowing users to change the colors and themes of their page, unlike Google. In addition to that, users can also decide if they want to view their page “widget style” or “reader style.” As far as adding widgets and feeds, I also feel that Netvibes is more user-friendly. You can preview your feed before adding it. Organization: it’s a tie. Both Google Reader and Netvibes allow you to organize your feeds into folders (I grouped everyone’s blog pages into the folder “LLED 420″). One thing I did really like about Google Reader is that you can click on the title of the blog post and it will open a new window with the actual blog site. Other than that, I found Netvibes to be superior. Just something to think about as far as choices go!

The iPad–A Potential Revolution in Education

As I was talking about in my previous post, an even bigger technology that is going to assist education is the iPad, and other versions of it (For an introduction to what the iPad is, click the link and watch the video). The iPad technologies should be coming out around March or April of this year. There has already been a lot of talk about how these new devices can play a role in the education system.

Here is just one article: Measuring the iPad’s Potential for Education

Author Bridget McCrea says,
“Textbooks, for example, may look and feel very different in a just a few years, thanks in part to the introduction of the iPad. “We’ll no longer be thinking in terms of static publications and will instead be using dynamic content with animation, movies, video, and other multimedia built into it,” Purdy predicted. “We’ll go from trying to feed PDF textbooks into portable devices to building interactive, dynamic applications that students can carry around with them.”

Comparing today’s introduction of the iPad to the 2007 debut of the iPhone, which at the time was not associated with a burgeoning app store, Purdy said educators should view the new device as more than just a new piece of hardware. “This is really just the beginning,” he said. “Just watch what creative developers are going to do with this platform. It should be pretty exciting.”"

Another article, Apple iPad and Education: Teacher’s Aid or Student Learning Tool?

“Of all the wiz-bang features presented by Jobs, the iPad’s e-book capabilities most captured my attention. With a starting price tag of $499 (not including the 3G network costs) the iPad begins to look like a bargain when you compare it with the price of keeping a student in textbooks from k-12. Plus, the potential for enhancing texts with images, audio clips, and videos may pay off immeasurably in terms of keeping students engaged.”

Yet, another article with video: Five Ways the iPad and Education Could Go Together

1. Electronic Textbooks
2. New mobile computing labs
3. Virtual field trip guides
4. Mobile data collection
5. New ways to create content

It’s crazy to think, but the new iPad and other tablets could be a revolution in technology as well as education. As stated in these articles, this new technology could intertwine text with movies, with animation and charts, and so much more. Instead of having a traditional text, we could be teaching from an interactive stance. The traditional textbook could turn into an electronic melting pot full of resources and information.

Instead of reading a book and looking at a picture or two, students could use their new, electronic book to read the text, then to see examples or for further understanding, they could click to play a video demonstrating whatever they’re learning. They could electronically highlight important topics and quotes. They could even possibly create the textbook material in a “dual column response” format, allowing students to write thoughts or questions as they go along. The possibilities that lay before us are endless.

After learning more about the iPad and how it may be the tool we need to revolutionize traditional textbooks, it occurred to me that this is exactly what we are trying to do with our personal learning networks! By creating and using a PLN, we are trying to use a multitude of resources to learn more, better, faster, etc. With the new technologies coming out, if they are able to revolutionize the traditional text book by interweaving text, media (such as videos, animated graphs and charts, pictures, etc.), forums/threads/blogs, and so on, we would be striving for the same goal.

Using Technology to Increase Reading at Home

After sitting in class today, through our discussions, I started considering how technology can truly be used in the classroom. I took into account the many questions we are trying to answer on Wikispaces. Nevertheless, combining our reading questions with the topics discussed today in class, the question that keeps bouncing back and forth in my mind is how do you get students to actually read the book?

I recently bought the Motorola Droid through Verizon. In case you are unfamiliar with this phone, it’s essentially like the iPhone. It is centered around widgets and applications. On the phone there is an application called Aldiko Book Reader. Basically it’s a huge e-library. You can read and download thousands of books right onto your cell phone.

Also, I know that they also recently came out with a piece of technology strictly for reading books electronically. They’re called Digital Books or eBook Readers. I’ve seen them for sale at stores like Best Buy, as well as online.

How can these technologies assist in education or the classroom? Outside of school, students have their cell phones on them at every moment–even in school, they are attached to their phones. This could make reading an easier task. For students who have smart phones like the Droid or iPhone, if they download a book reading application (like Aldiko), this essentially means that they have their book (whatever book you, as a teacher, assign) with them wherever they go. I feel that this would help with the ongoing problem of “How do I get students to actually read the book?”

Everywhere you look, younger people are constantly on their cell phones. If you’re waiting in a doctor’s office or dentist’s office, most of the younger people around you are playing with their phones. What about before a class starts or after a class ends? Out of the pocket comes the cell phone.

Now, with the increase in technology, when students are bored, waiting in a doctor’s office, they could pull out their cell phone and read. The nuisance of carrying a physical book with them is no longer an issue. With their smart phone, it’s as if they have their book everywhere they go.

Our Wiki Assignment

For the past two days I’ve been Googling, copying and pasting, and creating URL links. It’s amazing how one assignment can pack so much learning in it. We are getting to know other students and working together with them as a team to create and edit our wiki. We are also doing research and finding answers to common questions dealing with the subject of reading. We are using skills such as teamwork, our knowledge of search engines, research capabilities, and so on. Also, the thing I love the most about this assignment is that it’s a quick reference for future years to come. When I officially start teaching and am dealing with one of these issues, I will be able to quickly sign onto Wikispaces and pull up the page, giving me answers and links without having to do any further research. I feel that this assignment will come in handy and serve as a very useful tool later down the road. Good idea Jason!

More on Twitter

So I woke up this morning and decided to explore Twiitter (though, I feel that there’s not much to explore). Until this morning, I was simply creating my own “tweets;” I wasn’t following anyone, nor did I search anyone to follow. In addition, until recently, no one was following me. Okay, so I decided it’s time to put my networking skills in gear. I started searching for some of my favorite music artists. To my disappointment, I didn’t have much luck. I searched Pink Floyd, The Styx, Steve Miller Band, Elton John, Billy Joel, The Beatles, and Bob Marley. Since most of these are older bands, they don’t have official, up-to-date Twitter’s like newer artists obviously because these bands are no longer touring, together, etc.). Just for fun, and to fulfill my curiosity, I searched common people like Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, and Rhianna to see what results came up. Overload! All of these artists had tons and tons of search results. When discovering that Lil Wayne had a million sites and Steve Miller Band had zero (that’s right…nada, zip, zilch, zero), I must admit, I was pretty disgusted.

Soap box time… I used to listen to Lil Wayne and rap and all of the stuff played today, but then I grew out of that genre of music. I discovered classic rock and songs with, what I consider to be, meaning. For example, “The Tide is Turning” by Pink Floyd… They played this song live in support of the Berlin Wall being torn down. One of my all time favorite songs is “Grand Illusion” by The Styx (I have the lyrics on the sidebar of my blog), which talks about the internal challenges people face with themselves, only to discover that “we’re all the same.” These songs make listeners think. They aren’t talking about being a “young money millionaire, tougher than Nigerian hair” or being a “venereal disease like a menstrual bleed.” (Lil Wayne lyrics)

Okay, now that I’m done with my soap box… After finding a few artists to follow (I found pages for The Beatles, a fan page for Pink Floyd, etc.), I decide to find some fellow classmates. To my surprise, two classmates had already found me. Yay! From there, I used our “LLED Block” Facebook group to get the full names of people in our block. I copied and pasted names into the search bar. In total, I found about five classmates to follow. I also found Professor Whitney! Another way to search for fellow classmates, is to compare friends. Now that I have a few classmates to follow, I can look at who they are following. By doing this, I might be able to find other classmates of mine.

Although I don’t intend on keeping track of people on Twitter or even posting on Twitter for others to follow me, I DO intend on updating my Twitter status in order to add a little bit about me on my blog page and my other networking accounts that are linked to Twitter. This way, people will be able to keep up with my personal life as well as my professional life (as given on Linkedin, Classroom 2.0).

Summary of My Networks–feelings, thoughts

Twitter
After discussing our PLN’s in class and after looking at classmates’ blogs, I’m glad to know I’m not the only person who isn’t totally “twitter-patted.” Just this morning, I went to type the thought, “I was awake before 7am, and I don’t even have class today. What makes me even more of a loser is that I woke up and immediately started doing school work, haha.” ERRRR…too long! It’s not like I was creating a blog post; I was typing one update, one thought, two semi-short sentences. Why is the character limit 140? As much as I don’t care for Twitter, one thing I am impressed with is how I was able to link so many networks with Twitter. I have my “tweets” on the sidebar of my blog, as well as adding my “tweets” onto my Linkedin and Classroom 2.0 accounts. I believe I can add Twitter updates on my Facebook and Myspace as well, but I’ve decided not to. As far as Twitter, itself, goes…I’m not fond of it; I think it’s dumb. BUT, because I can add Twitter onto my blog, it’s kind of cool. That way, in addition to people reading my blogs about certain topics, they can also get a feel of who I am by what I’m doing and saying in “my tweets.” For example, they might find out that I have two golden retrievers, or that I just started taking a yoga class, or even that I’m slowly learning how to become a good cook! So if I find other education colleagues, they can read my blog posts on education–they can gain respect for me on a professional level. But because Twitter adds a bit of my personal life to my blog page, they can also gain respect for me as not just an educator, but also as just another regular, ordinary person.

LinkedIn
I’ve had fun creating a personal profile on Linkedin. Although it’s annoying sometimes, other times it can be a lot of fun writing an “About Me” or “Interests” segment. It seems like each time you create another profile on yourself, the description of yourself and your interests have changed. It’s pretty cool to see how you, along with everyone else, is constantly changing. On another note, I also find Linkedin pretty cool in the sense that you can look for jobs and keep a record of your professional profile online. I haven’t created a resume yet, but I took notice that you are able to upload your resume onto the site. While Dr. Whitney and some of the other students in the class said they don’t really understand what to do on Linkedin, I believe it could be quite useful when looking for a job. Perhaps, the hirers might even check Linkedin when considering various candidates for a position. In another sense, it’s a good way to keep record of positions you’ve held, clubs you’ve been in, etc. Usually when someone goes to create a resume or apply for a job, the employer asks for past jobs and positions held, educational history (including clubs, organizations, etc. you were in), and past experience. Using Linkedin, you are able to keep track of everything, so that when it is time to apply or create a resume, all of your information is right there–you don’t have to sit there for 2 hours trying to remember clubs or organizations you participated in during your freshman year of college.

Classroom 2.0
I opened my Classroom 2.0 account shortly after being given the PLN assignment, yet I still don’t have the site figured out. Just like Linkedin, I created a personal profile on this site too. I liked that I was able to add pictures and create photo albums (my boyfriend and puppies need some attention too!). I added a widget for my wordpress blog and created hyperlinks for my facebook, blog, and twitter accounts. Now, as far as actually using the website goes, I have yet to do so. I don’t understand what the site is designed for. I believe the purpose is to network with other educators and discuss current issues and problems by means of forums, but how do I find other educators? I don’t want to just randomly add people I don’t know.

Wiki Spaces
The nerd in me is coming out. Yes, I admit…I think Wikispaces is the coolest thing ever! Obviously, this is my first experience using wikispaces or any type of site like it. Wikispaces makes it so easy to do a project without having to get together in person. Just like the video in Jason Whitney’s blog, by using wiki, it makes planning much more organized between multiple people. Just this morning, before creating this blog post, I was working on our reading questions assignment. After searching for information, I was using the wiki site to post hyperlinks and regular text to answer the reading questions. To conclude, Wiki Spaces: two thumbs up!

Word Press
Yayyy for wordpress blogging! Surprisingly I’ve grown fond of this site and blogging. This is my first blog page, ever. When I signed up for an account, I started by adding my picture, also known as a gravatar. From there, I added widgets on the left hand side of my blog; I added widgets for my recent posts, an email subscription to my blog, the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, my tweets from Twitter, and a calendar of my blog posts. I continued on by posting blogs about creating my PLN, educational issues I feel adamant about, experiences I’ve had, as well as my own personal fluff. I can’t wait to continue blogging and to follow the blogs of fellow classmates!

Delicious
When it comes to Delicious, I honestly haven’t used it at all yet. I don’t understand what to use it for or how to use it. Hopefully in time, and after class discussions, I will be able to better utilize this networking tool.

Net Vibes
As I said in a previous post, I was excited (here comes the nerd in me again) about Net Vibes when I figured out what it could do. I was impressed with how it used widgets just like my cell phone. I setup my page to have the local weather, my facebook account (another way to connect everything within the PLN), my myspace account, my ebay account, a “To Do” list, a virtual pet hamster, my email, etc. Much to my dismay, after telling my boyfriend about it, he made me aware that iGoogle does the same exact thing. After checking out both Net Vibes and iGoogle, I must say that I am torn. While I feel that Net Vibes is more simplistic and easy to use, iGoogle was nice because I have a Gmail account and use the Google calendar to sync important events into my cell phone. All in all, I would stick with Net Vibes because of the easiness in adding widgets and feeds.

Facebook
Facebook, facebook, facebook…oh what to say. Yes, I’m an avid Facebook user. I check it multiple times a day. If you can imagine, I used to be a lot worse; I used to spend HOURS on Facebook. Adding pictures, commenting on people’s profiles, looking through “bumper stickers,” and so on, I would spent most of my free time away from class surfing Facebook. It was sad. Thank goodness, I no longer allow a social network consume my life. Although I still check it multiple times a day, it’s usually because I’m bored on my computer. I briefly scan over my news feed, see what’s new with everyone, then go on to something else. In a way, I’ve grown out of Facebook for the most part. Now, I use it mainly to upload pictures and keep in touch with friends who I haven’t seen or talked to in awhile (oh wait, wasn’t the purpose of Facebook in the first place? haha, Facebook now has games, virtual gifts you can send to friends, and movie and music quizzes you can take…none of these in which I partake anymore).

Myspace
It feels like I’ve had a Myspace since the beginning of time. I was curious just how long I’ve had an account, so I went through my comments to find that the very first one was in 2005. Five years…wow, that means I was 16 years old when I created a Myspace page for myself. I can’t believe it’s been so long! And even after five years, I’m still a diligent Myspace user, checking my page about one a day. I think myspace is fun for social networking, but as far as using Myspace on a professional level, I don’t ever see that happening with me.

How It All Comes Together

When I first signed up for these various sites and networks, I didn’t understand how everything was going to tie together, nor did I know what purpose each site held. Now, after creating accounts, learning more about them in class, and playing around with them at home, I have been able to link most of my sites together. I have “My Tweets” from Twitter along the right side of my blog page. Although I do not understand the real purpose of Twitter or how it can be useful to the PLN, it was amazing how many of my networks I could link it to. In addition to having my tweets on my blog page, I was also able to add widgets for Twitter on my Linkedin and Classroom 2.0 profiles. Also, while creating my personal profiles on Linkedin, Classroom 2.0, etc., I was able to create personal website links to my facebook and myspace pages. To sum this post up, it was amazing to see how you can interconnect a multitude of sites and networks in order to create one huge network–a network that can serve as a learning tool, a way to connect with other people, and so much more.

Lesson Plan Project

Ok, so, I finally started my unit lesson plan project, and I must say, I’m having a lot of fun.  Unlike other projects I’ve done in the past, this one I’m actually excited about.  Using search engines, such as Google, I was able to research information regarding lesson plans, projects, writing topics, and vocabulary words to use while reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.  After giving it much thought, I finally decided upon this book because I’m also using the book for a group project for LLED 411.  Also, as Professor Whitney suggested, this is a book that I have never read before.  I ordered the book, and it should be arriving tomorrow.  Until then, I have been able to use spark notes to give me an idea of what the book is about, as well as themes.  While reading the plot overview and summary, I was able to find out that one lesson Morrie teaches Mitch is to accept death and aging.  Along this theme, I was considering discussing the practice of Buddhism and their belief of the Four Noble Truths.  Until I read the book, though, that is all I have so far.

Blast from the Past

Through elementary school, I used to get off the bus at my grandmother’s house.  From the time school ended to the time my mom was able to leave work and pick me up, I was teaching.  I was giving homework, assigning book reports and projects, and disciplining the kids—Cabbage Patch kids that is.  Being that my mother and grandmother were teachers, I was greatly influenced by their careers.  I’ve wanted to become a teacher since I was wee little.  It wasn’t until about middle school when I decided that I was going to become either a middle school or high school English teacher.

I can remember when I was in middle school and had just learned the eight parts of speech.  I was so excited!  On the Friday of that week, my family and I went out to eat at a local restaurant.  While we waited for our food, I asked my parents to give me sentences to copy onto the plain white placemat.  After the sentence was written, I excitedly went on to label every single word.  I proudly showed my parents.

Every once in awhile I’ll remember memories like these, and they will remind me and reinforce the reasons why I chose to become an English teacher.

“If someone hits me, I’m supposed to hit them back.”

It’s 3:30 PM, and I just got to work.  Shortly after washing my hands and preparing snack, one of the fourth grade girls from program comes up to me and says, “Mariah called me a dum-dum yesterday at the play park.”  The girl continues telling her story of how one of the first graders threw a rock at her, so she hit her back.  I went on to tell her that it’s not nice to hit someone back.  I said, “If something like that happens, you should walk away and tell an adult.”  She says, “My mom said that if someone hits me, I’m supposed to hit them back.”  Ahhhh!  My mouth dropped when I heard this.  That is not where it ended.  Next thing you know, three other young girls chimed in and said, “My mom says that too…if someone hits me, I’m supposed to hit them back.”

What would you do in this situation?  What should I have done?  This is just one experience of many that I’ve had at the after school program where I work.  This experience contributes to the idea in my previous blog—the detrimental effects of young parenting.  I just repeated myself and said, “No, you should never hit someone back.”  What am I supposed to do if the morals I’m enforced aren’t being enforced at home as well?