Diggo (Thing 6)

My main problem with diggo (and delicious) is that I am too OCD lol. I try to keep my tags to a minimum because I still fall into the habit of thinking of tags as "folders" and I want everything to fit neatly into a folder. I'm not a good tagger at all - not on flickr, not on diggo, not on my blog, etc.

Here's a story to illustrate: Let's say I find a cool web-tech website/blog post/whatever. I tag it with web2.0. Now if this particular website is specifically about plurk, I should tag it with "plurk", right? But in my mind, the conversation goes like this: "But there are a couple of other sites that I've bookmarked that mention plurk - so I guess I should go back and add a plurk tag to those - but they also talk about twitter, so I should tag it with twitter too ... but then that meas I'll have to go through ALL of my links tagged with web2.0 and tag them with whatever specific tool they mention" then I look and see that I have hundreds of sites tagged web2.0 "Geez - that's gonna take FOREVER! And then, I guess I'll also have to see if any of my inks tagged with productivity mention plurk, twitter, etc. - oh and those should really be tagged with GTD if they mention that! And I think there's one somewhere about jott - I should see if any others need that tag too" etc. etc. - and because in my brain, EVERYTHING is all or nothing (no way could I tag just that one website that started all of this with "plurk" without tagging ALL of them!), I end up just tagging it with web2.0 because I have to be at work in the morning and don't have hours and hours to go through and retag all of my bookmarks.

I also try to only keep sites that I refer back to in my diggo and delilcious accounts (I will admit that I usually save to deicious unless I'm at school where it's blocked - then I just import my delicious links to diggo periodically). Sites that I find interesting and may want to come back to when I have time, I usually just add to my google bookmarks - then if I find I'm going back to it frequently, I will add it to delicious/diggo. And I don't often bookmark blog posts, I will star them in google reader ...

In other words, I guess I don't really use diggo as a "social bookmarking" tool like it's meant to be used, but more as a "personal bookmark organization" tool - which I should change now :-) Which is partially why I'm taking this course. I may have to increase my zoloft, but I'll try to be a better tagger and share more bookmarks that I find interesting :-) Perhaps I should use google bookmarks to handle and organize the frequently used bookmarks I've been saving in delicious and diggo and start saving/sharing the ones I've been putting in google bookmarks ... that might make more sense :-)

And/or - I could use lists as "folders" ... hmm... hadn't thought of that one ...

So here is the link to my diggo bookmarks - which I've just looked at and there are several untagged items - my delicious site is much better organized It's a good thing it's summer - my diggo may be getting an overhaul lol

reflections on using Google Reader (the rest of Thing 5a)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I tend to get lost in the blogosphere when reading my RSS feeds - I open links in new tabs as I come to something that seems interesting, and before I know it I have 20+ tabs opened - and in each of those tabs are more links that I open ... etc. etc. etc. ADD is not my friend when reading blogs :-)

When I first started using Google Reader, I would literally stay up all night reading through blogs in each of the categories I have set (political, friends/family, education, ADD, productivity/lifehacks, autism, and humor/fun). Now I just have a set hour each night - I actually have to set a timer - devoted to it. I've become much more adept at skimming and skipping posts, which helped a ton ... When the hour is up, any tabs I have opened from links, I just bookmark to read later. Then when I have free time (like during that 6.5 hour class I'm taking every Monday this summer) I surf through them. It's much less information overload and I'm better able to process what I'm reading.

I've found that the personal blogs of friends and family are the quickest - they're usually just updates, pictures of kids, etc. - so I do that first. Then I skim through the autism blogs (blogs of parents of kids with autism) - again, mainly updates, stories, anectdotes. Those two plus the humor/fun things take about 15 minutes and not a lot of brain power lol. I've weeded out my political blogs because most of them link to each other and say similar things, so those plus the ADD and productivity blogs take me about another 15 minutes, which leaves 30 minutes for the education blogs - the ones that lead to linky-ville and churning brain gears :-)

I used to have lot of news feeds in my RSS reader as well, but I now only have one for autism-related news. Anything else I will either find out in my political blogs or rely on my husband to fill me in on (and the big stuff shows up all over plurk and facebook too - like Michael Jackson's death).

another shared blog and response (Thing 5a)

Not a hero!

Pat writes her response to another blog post about teaching being a calling and not a job. I completely agree with Pat's points, I'm not so sure about some of the points that Tom makes.

Like Pat expressed, I also find that whenever someone finds out what I do, I frequently hear "it takes a special person to do what you do" - and I as I said in a comment to Pat's blog - I think it takes a special person to come fix my toilet after my husband clogs it up, too! I think that it takes a special kind of person to do any job ... and particularly, people say "I could never do what you do" - well I probably couldn't do what they do either! Especially general education teachers - I have very little patience for "typical" kids who KNOW BETTER lol. At least when one of my students misbehaves, it is often out of a lack of understanding or an inability to communicate or frustration ... and I'm pretty sure they didn't sit at their desk and devise a plan of how to do it and not get caught, etc. It is SO much easier to forgive and be patient when I know it's unintentional (which is why, when one of my students looks at me, smiles, then pushes a desk or shelf over and laughs, I have a completely different response than when they push it over in a moment of utter frustration at not being able to communicate something).

Now - on to Tom's point about teaching not being a calling, just being a job. I think that, yes, teaching is a job -a career. And I don't think teachers should be *expected* to make all of the sacrifices that many of us make, I don't think we should be martyrs, or be nailed to a cross. However, I think that many jobs can be considered "callings" without making professionals who do those jobs martyrs. And I don't necessarily think that all teachers were called to teach. There are plenty in our profession who are only here for the summers off or because the classes for an education major were considered "easy As". And you can tell who those teachers are pretty quickly. Then there are the ones who were called to teach, who do feel that they are doing more than just putting in their time and doing a "job". I think if you get beyond the religious connotations of the word "calling", and just look at it as a "strong inner impulse", I certainly am called to teach!

Goodies from my RSS feed (Thing 3)

a link to a link :-)
Tech Psych has a link and response to a post on Black Briefcase (but since Tech Psych is the one in my reader, I linked to it). It relates to the post I linked to in my previous post - about technologically illiterate teachers. Black Briefcase actually had a teacher who could not even turn on the computer ...
Black Briefcase (and Tech Psych) links to David Pogue's NY Times blog post about computer basics, suggesting that his "tech tips" be shared with the "Luddite" teachers who aren't familiar with computers.
(This is an example of the type of post I mentioned in a previous post - I keep clicking on links and end up in the blogosphere for hours before I realize it lol)

Ideas to Inspire
A post on EdTech Solutions that linked to a webiste that looks like it could be extremely useful! Full of ideas (google presentations actually) on how to use different types of ICT (information and communication technology) in class (there's even a presentation with ways to use Nintendo DS).

Response to a blog (thing 2)

Is it OK to be a technologically illiterate teacher?

Can I just say, Amen? This post really resonated with me. I *hate* when people proudly announce "I'm technologically illiterate" ... One of my professors says that every time we have class! And I love the one commenters question about whether being able to do a powerpoint presentation constitutes being technologically literate - because I know many people who think powerpoint = technology. Especially in higher ed, colleagues will often say "I have to do a powerpoint to meet the tech requirement" (we are required to integrate technology into our teaching) - or worse yet, ask "does showing a video count as technology?"

Computer are EVERYWHERE. My husband's 91 year old GRANDMA is on facebook ... my 4 year old neice has an email account. And there are teachers who don't know how to access the school's webpage!

Honestly, once you get past the initial learning curve, almost everything is SO much easier!! Research for a paper, paying a bill, coordinating a night out with the girls ... You can find any song you want to hear, instantly. Don't have to wait for the radio to play it or go to the store and buy the CD, just go to lastfm or grooveshark! Need a picture for something? No need to dig through old magazines or try to draw it yourself - google images to the rescue! Miss last night's episode of your fave show? Hulu baby! Going on vacation? Don't worry about re-folding the huge roadmap - go to mapquest, print out your route and turn-by-turn directions. I could go on and on - but I won't.

As far as education goes, the possibilities are seemingly endless. You can find lesson plans, videos, photos, almost anything you need! Kids can write to other students across the globe and hear back from them almost instantly - or even videoconference with them (if you can work out the time differences) and SEE their classroom, materials, their teacher, etc. Learning about government? Watch a live stream of a congress session and videochat with your congressman afterwards!

I love the analogy in the bloggers post that compares being unable to use a computer in the 21st century to being unable to read and write in the 20th century. I wholeheartedly agree that currently you have many more opportunities available to you if you know how to use a computer, and that soon you won't be able to participate in society without at least a minimal level of experience and comfort with technology.

Blogs

Britain Going Blog Crazy - Metro Article
Originally uploaded by Annie Mole

When I think of blogging, I almost always hear in my head comedian Mike Birbiglia talking about his "secret public journal" (his blog). Blogs are like journals in a lot of ways - they are an avenue to vent our frustrations, work out solutions to problems, express ourselves and record our daily life ... but they're public, which adds a dimension - others can share our frustrations, offer suggestions for solutions to our problems, judge our expressions of ourselves and comment on our daily lives.

There are plethora of "styles" of blogging. Some bloggers post daily short snippets, some post long articles daily or sporadically, some have several posts a day ... some are formal, some are very informal, some invite conversation more than others ... some are meant as a way to keep distant relatives updated with the happenings and photos of the grandkids, some are meant to educate, some are humorous, some are very personal. I really don't know if I have an impression about blogs "in general" because I read so many different types and styles of blogs on a myriad of topics (political, productivity, humor, family, photography, etc. - and oh yeah, education blogs lol)

I often find myself lost in my RSS feeder, clicking on commenter links and opening up new tabs, and realize hours have passed by ... I bookmark interesting ideas and pages, and come up with all kinds of wonderful ideas for starting my own blog. Then when I sit down to write, I can't think of anything lol. Or if I do think of it, I think "there are already so many other blogs out there with this information in it, why would anyone want to read mine?" so I put it off.

I did write one blog post on my personal blog that was education-related (you can see it here), and it gets a few hits per day (but no comments), so that gives me a little boost in the desire to write more ...

Just to share, two of my favorite sped blogs are
http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/
and
http://specialed.wordpress.com/

Kate's blog (the first one) is just PACKED with links, ideas and information and Daniel's has personal stories, anecdotes and ideas/opinions that I can totally relate to.

Another blog that I enjoy is http://kellerbusybees.blogspot.com/ - I enjoy seeing Andrea's little ones and the activities that they do. I "met" Andrea on Plurk and she is a valuable member of my online PLC! I think that her blog is a great example of how you can use Web2.0 tools with learners like those that I work with - when many people would think that it would be inappropriate, impossible or meaningless to do so!

WEB2.0 - Initial thoughts (Thing 1-B)

• Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice.

Web2.0 tools have certainly opened up an entire new professional learning network for me. Because I teach what is still considered a "low incidence" population, finding others to collaborate with is not always easy - but online, they are just a click or two away!

Web2.0 tools also help me share information with parents of my students - not just words on a webpage explaining what we did, but I can share slideshows of photos and videoclips SHOWING their child engaged and having fun - they no longer have to take my word for it ;-)

• How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today's "digital learners?"

I'm going to address this specifically to my class. My students all have moderate to severe autism in addition to moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. Web2.0 has opened up WORLDS of new options for my students. I'd like to have a videoconference/chat with other classes. To have my students be "penpals" and write to other students wouldn't mean much to them - there is so much time lapse between writing a letter, getting one back, etc. - and you can't *see* your penpal. But to videochat with another kid - it's visual (kids with autism learn visually), it's instantaneous, and it involves the computer - what more could my kiddos ask for? (they all LOVE the computer).

Next year I plan to use the Wii-remote "smartboard" setup to work on activities as a class. There are so many excellent web-based activities out there for students with autism - in the past, we would do it on the computer one at a time, which is fine but what are my other students doing during that time? Recently, I've been hook the computer up to the projector and let one student do the activity and the others watch on the screen, but I think with the "smartboard" having them come up to the "big screen", use the IR pen, the others can actually see what they're doing. I'm really excited about that :-)

Additionally, I can use Web2.0 to help with homework! My students don't write, I can't just send home worksheets or something for homework - I need them to practice the things that we have been doing in class. However, unless you've been trained in ABA, which their parents usually haven't been, it's very difficult to explain and understand *how* to do those activities. Written instructions can be a page long and very detailed and not make much sense :-) So ... I use my vado (similar to a flip camera) to record myself working with a student, post that to our class wiki (this year I just posted them to teachertube - but next year I will have a wiki - that's one of my goals this summer, to get the wiki up and running), and the parents can watch, copy me, and do that activity with their child for homework. It's much easier sometimes to imitate someone else doing something than to read long, detailed instructions and do it yourself. (for my students who don't have internet access at home, I try to burn the video to a DVD and send home)

• Why would you want to?

To make my life easier? LOL Seriously, my students (students with autism in general) are visual learners - Web2.0 tools (in particular blog, wiki, and flickr) allow me to put some of those visual instructional materials online so that the students and their parents can access them at home. This helps the student generalize what they're learning from home to school, which is an important goal.